History YMMV / SoulHackers

* EvilIsSexy:
** Nemissa, depending as much on your definition of [[AntiHero evil]] as on your definition of sexy. What is arguably her strongest skill set requires that you refer to Hitomi, whose body she possesses, as sexy.
** Kadokura to some.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: A lot of the things that are hyped as revolutionary aren't particularly noteworthy nowadays, with a lot of them being impractical or needlessly complicated. Even by the time the 3DS version was released, little of it would be seen as anything more than a gimmick. As a result, the game sold especially poorly in the US.

* TierInducedScrappy: The Zoma is pretty terrible unless you know what you're doing, since it has reduced stats compared to the demons used to fuse it. This inevitably means it'll be worse than what you used to make it, with its only advantages being that it doesn't consume MAG and it starts with level five loyalty.

* HilariousInHindsight: The NamesTheSame confusion between Masahiro "Spooky" Sakurai and [[Creator/MasahiroSakurai the actual, real-life game developer]] became ten times more hilarious when [[VideoGame/Persona5 a certain other SMT protagonist]] was announced as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. Gets even better when you realize both characters [[spoiler:are related to Satanael]] in different ways (Spooky [[spoiler:dies after being possessed by him]], while Joker [[spoiler:uses him as his Ultimate Persona in the final battle]].)

* HilariousInHindsight: The NamesTheSame confusion between Masahiro "Spooky" Sakurai and [[Creator/MasahiroSakurai the actual, real-life game developer]] became ten times more hilarious when [[VideoGame/Persona5 a certain other SMT protagonist]] was announced as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. Gets even better when you realize [[spoiler:Spooky dies because he gets possessed by Satanael, who would go on to become Joker's ultimate Persona]].

* {{Woolseyism}}: The game features a MagicalNativeAmerican character who was codenamed "Redman" in the Japanese version. His title was changed to "Kinap" in the English localization, a reference to Algonquian folklore.

* CompleteMonster: [[EvilGenius Kadokura]] is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO]] of technology giant [=AlgonSoft=] and one of the most influential men in Japan. Though [[VillainWithGoodPublicity beloved by the public]] for his useful products and philanthropy, this masquerade hides a twisted man devoted to [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]]. Prior to the start of the story, Kadokura had discovered Manitou, [[TopGod supreme god of the Native Americans]], and decided to use his power for his own ends. Kadokura founds Amami City, a state-of-the art seaside metropolis, and Paradigm X, a totally-virtual city that can be accessed by Amami's computers, as an excuse to get millions of people into one place to [[YourSoulIsMine sacrifice their souls to Manitou]]; the chips that run the virtual city are infused with demonic power, sending the souls of the players via cyberspace to feed the sleeping god. By the end of the game, most of the city's population has had their souls removed. When he meets the heroes for the first time, he falsely blames everything on his demon partners Azazel and Satanael, then after the heroes kill them he thanks them for saving him the trouble of doing it himself. When the heroes finally corner him, he swallows a number of souls himself to [[OneWingedAngel power himself up]]. Willing to exploit everyone from ordinary citizens to a creator god, Kadokura has no place in his heart for anything other than [[ItsAllAboutMe his own rise to the top]].

* ContinuityLockout: Downplayed. You don't ''have'' to know the story of the original ''Devil Summoner'', but it does allow you to understand several references, [[spoiler:The BigBad and TheHero of ''Devil Summoner'' appear as bonus bosses.]]

* TierInducedScrappy: The Zoma is pretty terrible unless you know what you're doing, since it has reduced stats compared to the demons used to fuse it. This inevitably means it'll be worse than what you used to make it, with its only advantages being that it doesn't consume MAG and it starts with level five loyalty.

* HilariousInHindsight: The NamesTheSame confusion between Masahiro "Spooky" Sakurai and [[Creator/MasahiroSakurai the actual, real-life game developer]] became ten times more hilarious when [[VideoGame/Persona5 a certain other SMT protagonist]] was announced as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* EvilIsSexy: Nemissa, depending as much on your definition of [[AntiHero evil]] as on your definition of sexy.
** What is arguably her strongest skill set requires that you refer to Hitomi as sexy.

* GameBreaker: Once you reach level 59, you can fuse Kartikeya. At first, he seems unremarkable aside from his high speed stat, but if you can fuse him with Tetrakarn and Makarakarn, then you'll find that you have created a demon who can and will protect your entire party from nearly all damage. Because of Kartikeya's speed, he will most often move first, and wise casting of Tetra/Makarakarn depending on the situation, combined with those spells lasting the entire turn instead of for just one attack like in other SMT games, will prevent your team from going down. However, you still need to get his Loyalty up, and of course neither spell works against Almighty spells, but he is still a valuable asset that one would be able to keep for the rest of the game and even into the extra dungeons because of his utility.

*** Before that, there's Last Resort, a skill used as early as the airport by Moh Shuvuu. It's not automatic, but it functions the same way as Self-destruct does and can either wipe your party or get them down to a range where they're easily picked off.

* ThatOneBoss: Mayone. She appears nearly right after you finish the VR Haunted Mansion. She packs a full team of five demons; one of them a Purple Mirror that will discourage you from using spells till you break it, many of them like flinging spells your way, and she has Mudola to cheap-kill the main character and anybody else in any row she targets but his survival is key. Either you equip yourself with anti-Death armor, have a fast-enough demon with Makarakarn to nullify nearly all blows and Mudola, or have a lot of luck. It doesn't help you need to see a cutscene before you're forced to fight her.

* ThatOneLevel: The Amami Monolith requires an absurd amount of backtracking compared to other dungeons across a huge swath of space, all with a high encounter rate with powerful demons with annoying resistances, including one that can ''de-level the party''. The final dungeon is a cakewalk in comparison.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Voice acted menu prompts in the shops. Especially annoying is the "announcement" voice in Paradigm X's forums. The translators opted not to voice minor [=NPCs=], which includes the people inside the forums. But for some reason they left in the announcement voice. It doesn't make any sense for there to be a voice out of nowhere asking which person in a room you want to talk to. But it's there nonetheless. Fortunately there's nothing useful to do in the forums and anyone who wants to hear what the [=NPCs=] have to say can turn the voice acting off first.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Kadokura]] is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive CEO of technology giant [=AlgonSoft=]]] and one of the most influential men in Japan. Though [[VillainWithGoodPublicity beloved by the public]] for his useful products and philanthropy, this masquerade hides a twisted man devoted to [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]]. Prior to the start of the story, Kadokura had discovered Manitou, [[TopGod supreme god of the Native Americans]], and decided to use his power for his own ends. Kadokura founds Amami City, a state-of-the art seaside metropolis, and Paradigm X, a totally-virtual city that can be accessed by Amami's computers, as an excuse to get millions of people into one place to [[YourSoulIsMine sacrifice their souls to Manitou]]; the chips that run the virtual city are infused with demonic power, sending the souls of the players via cyberspace to feed the sleeping god. By the end of the game, most of the city's population has had their souls removed. When he meets the heroes for the first time, he falsely blames everything on his demon partners Azazel and Satanael, then after the heroes kill them he thanks them for saving him the trouble of doing it himself. When the heroes finally corner him, he swallows a number of souls himself to [[OneWingedAngel power himself up]]. Willing to exploit everyone from ordinary citizens to a creator god, Kadokura has no place in his heart for anything other than [[ItsAllAboutMe his own rise to the top]].

** Meat Bullet, a rare instance of a mutual HPToOne attack. If the main character is hit by this attack, you are [[CriticalExistenceFailure one hit away]] from an instant [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou game over]]. Especially bad cases are Tuo Fei, who is so fast that you can die before doing anything, and the Romero fight that can have three to five Rolwoys, all capable of using this move.
* ThatOneBoss: Mayone. She appears nearly right after you finish the mansion level. She packs a full team of five demons; one of them a Purple Mirror that will discourage you from using spells till you break it, many of them like flinging spells your way, and she has Mudola to cheap-kill the main character and anybody else in any row she targets but his survival is key. Either you equip yourself with anti-Death armor, have a fast-enough demon with Makarakarn to nullify nearly all blows and Mudola, or have a lot of luck. It doesn't help you need to see a cutscene before you're forced to fight her.

* ThatOneLevel: The Amami Monolith requires an absurd amount of backtracking compared to other dungeons across a huge swath of space, all with a high encounter rate with powerful demons with annoying resistances, including one that can ''de-level the party''. The final dungeon is a cakewalk in comparison.

* HilariousInHindsight: The NamesTheSame confusion between Masahiro "Spooky" Sakurai, and [[Creator/MasahiroSakurai the actual, real life game developer]] became ten times more hilarious when [[VideoGame/Persona5 a certain other SMT protagonist]] was announced as a DLC character for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.