This handheld remaster of Soul Hackers (originally released in 1997 on the Saturn) is a fast-paced and fun Shin Megami Tensei game that is pretty approachable despite its retro design. It's a game that doesn't always explain itself and is not afraid to knock you right back to the title screen. But rather than being frustrating, it all felt like part of the charm due to some relatively forgiving mechanics and a wide array of tools at your disposal.

The turn-based combat is the star of the show here. It has a quick, snappy feel to it, which is great since you control up to six characters at once. While you'll upgrade and equip the two human characters, the other four slots belong to demons. These demons have set stats and moves, and you can only change them through fusion or items that adjust their temperament and loyalty. They usually follow orders, but also have a mind of their own. Their unpredictability in combat and recruitment adds a fun layer of surprise. I liked that you don't invest much into them, and that carrying them around has a cost. This means you constantly switch to new demon partners, and makes summoning feel like an interesting situational decision.

Much of the game takes place in a first-person dungeon crawler format. These dungeons can be a bit bland, but usually have a cool theme or hook. Exploration can be a bit stressful since the dungeons can be maze-like and some demons can smack you with an instant Game Over. Luckily, you can get some upgrades and enable some optional settings to tune it to your liking. I definitely think some of the dungeons are a bit annoying in their design. There can be lots of backtracking and trial and error. Generally though the game paces them pretty well and makes them make sense for the story.

Visually, even the 3DS version is definitely still a Saturn game at its core, but it looks good for its age. There are some good FMV cutscenes, music is solid, and the character designs and voice acting are as well. I enjoyed when the game leaned into the glowing cyberpunk vibes. It's also nice when it takes a detour into some cool visual theme like an astronomy museum or a virtual haunted house. They kinda dropped the ball on the big VR city that's a core part of the story, though. It's a pretty bland and unimaginative environment that could have been much more.

The game's story can have a bit of an unpredictable flow to it, and generally is pretty cool. The characters feel relatively distinctive and memorable, and each gets their own little section to shine in. There are lots of bizarre little things going on, and while some of it is a bit silly, it all kinda adds into the game's mystery and quirkiness in a way I liked. Another cool aspect is that you sometimes take control of other characters in flashbacks leading up to their death. They should have fleshed this out even more, it's pretty neat.

This is pretty short for a JRPG and enjoyable almost all the way through. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a JRPG fan who wants to experience some more old-school-leaning Shin Megami Tensei with a far lower time committment than the modern Persona series.