99 Spirits

Lore & Background

The story of 99 Spirits is set in medieval Japan, in Heian-kyō, and follows a girl named Hanabusa. After her mother is killed by evil spirits, Hanabusa seeks revenge. She receives a sword passed down from her mother that allows her to see the spirits' true forms. A spirit claiming to be her father destroys the sword, forcing her to mend it and uncover the truth about her father. The game's combat revolves around turn-based battles against Tsukumogami, evil spirits. To damage an enemy, players must first discover its identity by charging gems embedded in Hanabusa's sword. Charging is done by attacking and defending; once the first gem is filled, clues such as letters or words related to the spirit's name appear. Filling the second gem allows players to type a guess at the name. A correct guess enables combat; a wrong guess damages the player and resets the gems. As the game progresses, players acquire new gems that grant additional abilities, including one that allows capturing spirits to use their abilities in battle and in puzzles. Outside combat, players navigate a grid-based overworld, solving puzzles with captured spirits' abilities, fighting spirits, and finding items that restore health, sate hunger, or mend the sword.

Reader's Guide

99 Spirits received a wide range of reviews, from negative to highly positive. Critics generally appreciated the art, sound, presentation, and inventive gameplay, while criticizing the plot, level designs, and repetition. RPGFan gave it a score of 74%, praising the battle mechanics as unique and inventive but ultimately repetitive, and questioning whether the gameplay would click with players. TechnologyTell gave it an A− rating, calling the battles inventive but noting that filling gem gauges could be tedious. CD-Action gave it 40/100, describing battles as shallow and primitive mini-games. The overworld map was criticized as plain and uninspired, with repetitive level designs, and the hunger meter was seen as an unnecessary addition given the limited inventory. The presentation was mostly well received: RPGFan called the hand-drawn art solid and aesthetically pleasing, though the art direction was disappointing due to bare overworlds and lack of animations. TechnologyTell praised the character art as reminiscent of anime. Both sources appreciated the music, with TechnologyTell calling it more than generic JRPG fodder and noting well-done voice acting. The story received mixed reactions: TechnologyTell found it inventive, RPGFan said it provided little new, and USgamer called the premise unoriginal. USgamer cited the game as an example of creativity in the Japanese role-playing genre.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally released in Japan in July 2012, with a physical release at Comiket 82 in August 2012.
• Two downloadable content side-stories in visual novel format were released: Cage of the Night on July 4, 2014, and Weeping Demon's Bell on February 23, 2015.
• Players must correctly type a spirit's name to harm it; a wrong guess damages the player and resets the gem gauges.
• One gem allows players to capture spirits and use their abilities in battle and puzzle-solving.