Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines

Did You Know?

• The story is based on a cursed bloodline destined to fight against a demon.
• Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines is set 100 years after its predecessor, with no direct story connections between the two games.

Development

The game was first briefly introduced in 2011 with a teaser, and further details emerged at the Tokyo Game Show in 2013. Its graphical improvements over the predecessor maintain a visual style resembling Japanese traditional artwork. The shift to three-dimensional graphics came from fan requests for visible hereditary resemblance between characters, according to director Shoji Masuda. Sony gathered fan feedback via questionnaires on Twitter, mixi, and 2channel. The script is more than double the length of the previous game, with a larger variety of scenarios. Animated cut-scenes were produced by Asahi Production.

Gameplay

Characters and labyrinth levels are fully rendered in 3D with a fixed camera, unlike the original 1999 game. The system resembles the original, with basic enemy encounters and decreased character strength when running. The PlayStation Vita's camera is used for face recognition. Defeating enemies earns points to marry deities and create children, who inherit facial features from parents and can be custom named. Each character lives only two years, requiring progression through generations. Eight job classes are available: swordsmen, archers, spearmen, dancers, naginatamen, breakers, martial artists, and cannoneers. Character development involves leveling up through experience and equipment, with abilities called arts and secret techniques. The party consists of a leader and three members. In dungeons, players fight demons and acquire items; dungeons include caves, forests, mansions, and temples. A Symbol Encounter system allows battle advantage by approaching enemies from the rear. The player controls a family faction expanding its control across the nation, managed from a central mansion base, with nearby towns offering stores.

Reception

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines received generally favorable reviews, with aggregate scores of 76% from GameRankings and 78/100 from Metacritic. Famitsu gave it a 36/40. Hardcore Gamer rated it 4 out of 5, calling it a strange, captivating experience unlike any other RPG. In its first week in Japan, the game sold 93,775 physical retail copies, a 73.64% sell-through of its initial shipment, with retailers noting the primary buyer demographic was existing fans of the 1999 PlayStation game.