Devil Summoner 2 - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon sped up the pace and added handy QoL conveniences, with a set of rearranged combat controls and mechanical tweaks that - oddly enough, embraced a more chaotic but more tactical, meter-dependent form of action-RPG. Alas, whatever potential it had was largely wasted by an even greater demand for elements, revolving its overhauled MAG system (now a universal MP bar) solely around exploiting weaknesses. Battles are faster and flashier at the cost of flexibility. Whereas the previous game captured a balance between motor and strategic skills, combat here boils down to simply picking the right spell type instead. Progression was similarly monotonous at times, and the large batch of extra systems (mostly descending from SMT, including: alignments, negotiation, pre-battle RNG, roaming bosses, etc.) didn't amount to much. Atlus addressed the more confusing and tedious aspects of the past, but they also dropped much of the humor in favor of lengthy, banal drama - while a few unwelcome add-ons magnified the same issues that only slightly detracted from Soulless Army.