Part 23: EX Update 2 - PSP Remake

Like many other MegaTen games, Devil Summoner was remade for fans new and old. Devil Summoner's PSP remake was released on December 22, 2005, almost exactly ten years after the original Saturn version was released. It didn't bring much new to the table, but it polished many of the original Saturn version's problems. It was rereleased under the PSP Best line in 2007. Let's check it out.



The start screen has been revamped with some official art by Kaneko. The "Special" option shows the opening of Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army, which was still in development and would be released in 2006.



Options gives us one new choice - screen size. You can play in two different resolutions, depending on which you prefer. I'll be playing the "full-screen" resolution, so to speak, but the other resolution lets you pick between three different frames, the one here and the ones below.





Once you get options all figured out, the game prompts you to choose difficulty. "Normal" is just the Saturn version, while "Hard" is new to the PSP version. In Hard mode, you take 1.5 more damage, the bosses all have twice the HP (which makes some boss battles ridiculous), and the demon compendium's summoning costs are doubled.



And since this is a new century, I'll go with some fashionable English instead of katakana for my codename.

Now, there's two major areas where the PSP version diverges from the original - graphics/UI and gameplay.

GRAPHICS/UI

Let's check out the graphics first, as there were quite a few things changed in this version.



One of the first things you'll notice when you start actually playing the game is that the UI is different, starting with the text boxes.



The character portraits have stayed the same, though they look a bit crisper.



Stepping outside reveals that there are places where the graphics have improved. Now you can actually sort of tell what the buildings look like.



Other than the city map, the dungeons have also been smoothed out.



The battle UI has been spruced up a bit.



As has the menu.



This remake takes some cues from Soul Hackers when it comes to menus. Items and spells are now split up into different categories instead of being one jumbled mess.



The level-up and stats screens also now resemble Soul Hackers, though in a nice bright green color unlike SH's blue. In addition, the loyalty gauge is the same as in Soul Hackers.

Many of the demon sprites have been polished, and three were censored - Angel, Waxwork, and Rahu. Two were due to nudity, and one was due to an uncomfortably phallic appendage.



GAMEPLAY



First, instead of having just three save files, you can have as many damn save files as your heart desires.



The Back-Upper item, which allows you to save anywhere, has now become reusable. The type found in Normal mode, Back-Upper R, can be used at any time; the type in Hard Mode, Back-Upper M, can only be used during the new moon.



There's only two big things added to this game. The first is the Demon Compendium, first introduced in SMT3, that allows you to summon any demons you've had for the cost of some MAG.

The second is the inclusion of four new bosses in the Astral World after you defeat Nanto Seikun and Hokuto Seikun - David, Enoch, Leviathan, and Skoll. Like most ultimate bosses, they all have crazy stats - level 99 with 9999 HP to burn through. They also have some powerful moves, including the formerly Gargantua 8-exclusive Diablo de Corps. They're not really interesting to see fought, but their designs are interesting.





All of them have the same design as one of the Zeeds from Soul Hackers. In the order shown above, David is Latter Human Type 2, Enoch is Latter Angel Type 2, Leviathan is Latter Dragon Type 2, and Skoll is Latter Beast Type 2.

The first time you play the game, you go up against boss individually. If you're playing for the second time then you'll challenge two at a time. When you defeat them you receive the Death Tally, which halves the summoning costs for the Demon Compendium.

There's one last unintentional addition to the PSP version - the door glitch. They fixed the glitches that showed up in the original version, but somehow they inadvertently added this one. This glitch allows you to pass through doors that you normally can't, such as the ones blocking your way in the sewer. It's pretty easy, as far as glitches go.



The first step is to be directly in front of the door you want to pass through. The door I chose is the one to get to the Colonel's underground bunker.



Next, save your game and then completely shut your system off (you can't just exit the game to the main PSP menu).



Boot the game back up and ta-da! You can pass through the door. Let's pay the good Colonel a visit.



: Who the hell are you!? You can't just wander around in here!! Come on, hurry up and leave!!

Whoa, there's even text for this. I guess they figured somebody would get here before the Chinatown event.

There's also little things that you can't really see, but they're there. Loyalty is now much easier to raise, most skills and weapons do more damage than before, most skills have had their costs changed for higher or lower amounts, and a lot of armor actually has lower stats. Most importantly for me, the game is a lot faster, to the point that when I play it I sometimes run into things because I'm going much faster than I'm used to with the Saturn version.

Overall, Devil Summoner PSP is a major improvement on the Saturn version and fixes most of what bugged me about the original. If you're going to play only one version of SMTDS, play the remake.