If the link with the first part is not yet established, this sequel will propel us into the middle of the 21st century, at the very moment when Aion, “the other entity that watches over the world“, anticipates its inevitable end. The AI duo composed of Ringo and Fig are then sent to Earth to prevent the extinction of humanity, ensuring that the key people necessary to save the world are put under guardianship… before realizing that two of them have already been liquidated. Time to bring them back to life with the Soul Hack special ability, the heroines will join the ranks of the Devil Summoner, in order to unravel the mysteries linked at the apocalypse.
Few elements have filtered for the moment on the side of the game system, even if the first trailer released today mixes exploration elements and combat sequences. True to the spirit of the series, the emphasis will be on buffs and debuffsnot to mention elemental weaknesses, with an action order clearly displayed on the screen – and the possibility of switching to Auto Attack if the game seems won in advance. Fusions will again play a major role in obtaining more and more powerful demons and defeating boss still just as devious. The title will be produced and directed by Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata, with Shirow Miwa for character design and Shinjiro Takata as production manager.
As for collectors and packaged editions, the studio is already planning the release in Japan of a large pack at 17,380 yen (€133) with a 3CD album on the program celebrating the 25th anniversary of Soul Hackers, which brings together arrangements supervised by the sound team of Atlus and MONACA, to the compositions of this suite. A total of 20 modern arrangements of compositions made for Soul Hackers, and 10 soul-jazz arrangements of previous and current tracks. There will also be a hundred-page artbook in tribute to the series, including a special file on the 25th anniversary, interviews with the development team and unpublished illustrations. A figurine of Ai Ho-kun, the improbable version of the Jack Frost mascot crossed with the heroine Ringo, will also be present in the box, to fill the shelf with a small 8 cm statuette.
On the DLC side, a maid outfit for Ringo evoking Mary from the first Soul Hackers will also be included as a bonus, as well as a DLC to give Ai Ho-kun his skin demonic. It will not have escaped you either that Atlus intends to play the card of fan service Persona 5, again and again, with a set of costumes and DLC pieces to dress the main characters in the colors of the Phantom Thieves. It will also be possible to modify the combat theme by Keeper of Lustthe game’s signature music.
Finally, let’s add that the game will offer the choice between English and Japanese dubbing but also texts in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.