I recently made a youtube video laying out my thoughts on this game (shameless plug) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4-dTYHgHds

And basically, I found that aside from not being the most faithful followup to the devil summoner series, or even to the original Soul Hackers, I still think it's a pretty good megaten game that is for the most part undeserving of it's hate and controversial standing.

I think this game has a really good gameplay loop and battle system, which does a really good job of utilizing modern megami tensei's gimmick of heavily rewarding exploiting weaknesses, while at the same time being unique enough to stand alone as it's own thing. Alongside with a very solid character progression/customization system that while being similar to modern persona games, feels infinitely deeper and more rewarding. It's definitely a more casual experience but that's not something I'm necessarily against as long as it remains engaging in it's own right, which I found this game consistently was.

A lot of the sidequests and some of the later/deeper soul matrix dungeon layouts were pretty annoying, but with the inclusion of the sprint button and faster battling added post launch these issues were nothing more than just a few minor annoyances in an overall pretty fun experience.

The game isn’t as bad as everyone says, it just needed some more time.

The things that are bad in the game are the dungeons, the party (in combat specifically) and the soundtrack.

The dungeons are just plain bad. I’m not going to say much about it except that the final dungeon is actually the worst thing Atlus has ever made.

But what really irks me is the party, and how no one specializes in anything except Milady who has a better magic stat than the others. Ringo is too balanced in her stats, and Saizo and Arrow specialize in Agility and Endurance, what? The party isn’t varied enough so you can just make demons and give it to them and it doesn’t really matter who you give them to. Save for that the COMPS make them so and so better in an element. And the party talks way too much. You can press any button and they’ll all chirp in and say something, FOR EVERY BUTTON PRESS THEY SAY SOMETHING. They just don’t shut up in combat, which is a negative.

And the soundtrack is just boring. The only notable songs i can think of is Hopeless Call and Devil Summoners’ Clash. Rest is just plain and boring. Atlus is better at music than this.

But the positives outweigh the negatives for me:

The graphics, art style, art direction and character & demon designs are super great. Probably the best Atlus has put out.

And the story, is no joke, is one of the best ones Atlus has ever made. Great characters with compelling stories. After you find Mangetsu the story skyrockets insanely.

And the combat itself isn’t so bad you just need to get a little bit into it. Stacks and Sabbaths are a pretty new and unique feature.

Soul Hackers 2 is a great game that people gave up on because it starts bad but gets better as you go.

I am a Soul Hackers 2 defender to the end.

Soul Hackers 2 is a JRPG by Atlus which is a sequel to a game that came out in 1997 and ported to the 3DS much later. I never played the orginal but it really seems like it wasn't needed to understand the plot as this one seems extremely seperated from it all.
This game honestly is boring. I hate to say it but I just can't get over how underwhelming the whole experience was. Obviously Atlus have made some bangers and I won't begin to compare them because I'm sure it's all different teams.
However, Soul Hackers 2 lacks anything that I can cling onto and say is good except for one character and the OST.
Gameplay, we are looking at your standard SMT and Persona combat. Nothing is really all that different except for one additional move that can change up combst strategies.
You fast travel to certain locations on a map and the areas themselves are small with about two stores in each and 5-6 npcs you can talk to in each area. Between the main dungeons, you can accept requests (side missions) and buy items. As you go through the few main dungeons, you do unlock side dungeons for each character but the main protag Ringo (a total of 3) and you get a lot of side dungeon crawling from that.
So it's pretty simple, dungeon crawl > buy items and accept side quests > go back to old dungeon > hand in side quests > unlock new dungeon
Which the dungeons all suck. I actually think there is only ONE good dungeon out of the 7+ there are and it's the final one. They're all extremely long for no reason, filled with extremely dull environments and the side dungeons are all the same but with annoying portal mechanics that drive you up the wall in their slog fest.
The story is lackluster. You are given 5 main characters in the first hour and I do love that. I am appreciating RPG's giving your full party so early on. It makes you appreciate the characters more. Too bad these characters but one are all dull basic written pawns for the overall story.
The character Saizo and his counter character Ash are the two best parts of the game. They carried a lot of my interests and I think their subplot is done really well. It's gripping, they're both likeable and do a good job at making you feel connected to them.
Milady and Arrow are two other characters in your party that honestly feel generic to hell and back. Their subplots have been done a thousand times before and done a lot better.
Ringo and Figue are our two special main characters. They're counterparts and are basically AI gone to help humanity not explode.
AI + what is humanity = the plot.
A tale as old as science fiction itself that left me in the most predictable state ever. I guessed the final boss right away and I figured out who the main villian was as soon as one possibly could.
The best parts of this game are simply listening to the main enemy theme. Staring at Ringos butt in the safehouse and watching Raizo and Ash have their stories unfold.
I really really didn't care for Soul Hackers 2. Sure the game has no glitches at all but as a game should. That can't be the norm to give a point for that.
This 37 hour experience (including a speed run second playthrough) was the opposite of fun.

The voice actors slap though. So they get an extra point.

I'm still disappointed by this game. I had high hopes because Atlus had a good streak going with their new releases and they seemed passionate about reviving Soul Hackers, but this was just boring. Environments and animations were stiff and bland to look at. Gameplay was just okay, but going through the dungeons were just tedious.

I'd like to note that they added a run button MONTHS after release. As an update.

The characters were the only saving grace for this game, but they weren't enough to keep me playing. I may come back to it, maybe not.