Originally a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army separates itself from Atlus's other games. One aspect is that the story's tone sits between Shin Megami Tensei and Persona's. It's not as apocalyptic as Shin Megami Tensei, but you're also not saving the world with the power of friendship like in Persona. This helps Raidou Remastered forge its unique identity amongst the SMT spin-offs.

While certainly not a low point, The Soulless Army's story isn't the most profound. Despite Raidou being a detective, there aren't any deep gameplay mechanics that involve solving mysteries. This is first and foremost a fun action RPG with a protagonist that happens to be a detective. The game leans into it a bit with Case Files, which are simply just optional side quests. However, they're rather fairly easy, like one that has Raidou bringing a demon that has a mind-reading skill so that he can talk to animals.

These don't really require a lot of sleuthing and are just optional incursions that reward Raidou with some helpful items throughout his journey. It's best to keep expectations in check; you're not going to experience deep political themes like in Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Another aspect the Raidou spin-offs utilize is a real-time action system rather than the typical turn-based ones that Persona and Shin Megami Tensei have. Here, Raidou can fight along two other demons in exciting battles that are only enhanced by the remaster's bevy of new features.

As mentioned in the preview, the game received a ginormous overhaul to its combat system that makes it resemble more like the sequel,Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, whose Sword Alchemy feature is present in this new remaster. Raidou can now drain MAG with light attacks so players don't have to worry as much about conserving special attacks compared to the original. Players can also lock onto enemies and that makes combat feel much smoother by ensuring that Raidou hits whoever he's aiming at. All of these new adjustments makes Raidou Remastered feel like an actual modern game and not one that's stuck in 2006.

Like Raidou himself, the demons have gotten many changes as well. Compared to the original 70, the remaster now has more than 120 demons to capture, create, and train. This opens up even more gameplay variety by letting players mix and match which demons to bring out. Fusing demons has never been easier too. Expanded search options lets players more easily see which combinations produce new demons, and makes the process of completing the compendium much less of a chore. My favorite new demon mechanic is that now all of them in my party gain experience rather than just the ones that fight in battle. This cuts out any needless grinding that could potentially cut into the game's pacing.

In addition to the combat changes, gameplay outside of battle has been drastically improved. There are no more random encounters. Now, enemies show up on the field and you can choose whether or not to engage them before being whisked into battle. Random encounters feel archaic these days, and it feels great not being constantly interrupted by battles when I sometimes just want to progress through the story.

There's also now instant fast travel between different locations, both autosave and quick save features, as well as revamped mini-map and objective marker systems. These quality-of-life additions make Raidou Remastered a much better experience than the original ever was. However, the game can't completely escape some of its outdated PS2 idiosyncrasies. In particular, the fixed camera angles navigating through towns and dungeons are annoying, constantly causing me to run the wrong direction when the camera suddenly shifts to another point of view. It's a weirdly puzzling contrast to how the battle camera has been changed to allow full 3D rotation.

The presentation itself has improved too. Older Shin Megami Tensei games and its spin-offs have a uniquely charming art style, with its characters distinguished by lanky body proportions and pale skin complexions. They also had very pronounced and stylized upper lips, which became the distinctive marker for Atlus's art direction in the Shin Megami Tensei series. Menus, colors, and character models are much more vibrant in this remaster, enhancing the original PS2's retro visuals (yes, PS2 is now considered retro).

The music also sounds even better than ever, as Atlus has made new arrangements of the original's soundtrack. Fans of Persona will enjoy the jazzy songs that play outside of battle while navigating the town. The upbeat nature really fits the more light-hearted nature of Raidou's adventure. When battle starts, however, the music ramps up with Shin Megami Tensei's signature rock sound. The electric guitar riffs shred alongside Raidou's sword, and its punchier melodies sound like a welcome throwback.

To wrap it all up, Raidou Remastered has brand new voice acting, which makes the game feel even more lively than before. Given the amount of work Atlus has already put into this, the voice acting is the cherry on top of an impressive remaster.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is the gold standard that all PS2 remasters need to adhere to. It's more akin to a remake than a remaster, which is a testament to how modern this almost 20 year old game feels. The overhauled battle system and quality-of-life improvements more than justify any veterans to return, and there's no better spot for newcomers to finally experience this quirky Shin Megami Tensei spin-off. Hopefully, we'll also get to see the follow-up, Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, get a remaster and join modern platforms sooner rather than later.