The announcement of Soul Hackers 2 is shocking, as Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers turns 25 years old in late 2022.. Even though it appeared on the 3DS in 2013, it’s far from a current Megami Tensei game. Reviving Soul Hackers after all this time suggests Atlus may be interested in revisiting some of its other dormant Megami Tensei games now that its fanbase has expanded significantly thanks to Persona. Soul Hackers 2 is exciting on its own, but it may just be the first in a series of franchise revivals.
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Dormant Megami Tensei Franchises
There’s quite a few different Megami Tensei games that deserve revival, but some stand out in particular. For instance, there’s the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor series that saw a brief life on the Nintendo DS and 3DS. While the core Shin Megami Tensei series is composed of turn-based JRPGs, Devil Survivor is a grid-based tactical RPG. Players manage multiple squads of humans and demons in combat and try to complete various mission objectives. Devil Survivor’s unique tactical identity makes it more than worthy of a revival in the same vein as Soul Hackers.
Atlus could also take a second look at the Devil Children series from the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance era. Also known as DemiKids, the Devil Children franchise took a more lighthearted approach to the Megami Tensei model. As young half-demons, players commanded demons in battle, but Devil Children’s demons were generally cuter than most Megami Tensei fare. The games often released in pairs, leading to a more Pokemon-styled experience. Pokemon has plenty of imitators, so Atlus could consider jumping on the craze by giving Devil Children a second chance.
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A More Experimental Atlus
Aside from reviving these former core franchises, Atlus could also take a second pass at some its more experimental games. For instance, some fans might remember the Wii U’s Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei crossover with Intelligent Systems’ Fire Emblem series. Tokyo Mirage Sessions has shown some signs of life in recent history thanks to its expanded Encore version for the Switch, but about six years since its original release there’s no sign of a sequel. Now that Persona has expanded its influence, Atlus should consider trying to make another Tokyo Mirage Sessions game, potentially crossing over with a different franchise.
The bottom line is that Atlus should be bold now that Persona 5’s family of games have made it so more famous. It has tons of franchises and subseries with potential; they just need a little faith from Atlus itself. Thankfully, Soul Hackers 2 getting announced with a simultaneous international release date on multiple consoles is a wonderful display of confidence. Atlus is clearly excited about Soul Hackers 2 and thinks the game can be another big hit. Hopefully Atlus holds onto that sense of ambition and uses it to revive more franchises in the coming years.
Soul Hackers 2 releases August 26, 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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