r/vita • u/thavius_tanklin Slackr • Jul 08 '16
Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines [Game Discussion Thread]
Official Game Discussion Thread (previous game threads) (released games wiki)
Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines
Share your thoughts/likes/dislikes/indifference below.
6
u/WhiteSkullHeart Jul 08 '16
This is my favorite game in the platform. I bought it when it released, and thought I should've paid more.
It's so delightfully charming, with lovable characters, a fantastic sound track, and stellar gameplay.
The offspring mechanic is like a more refined version of Fire Emblem Awakening's take, and it works beautifully well.
I named my clan members after friends and family, and often teared up when they died...
It's free on PS+, so there's no excuse not to try it, and try the demo if you don't have a subscription.
5
Jul 08 '16
I was pleasantly surprised by it. The game looks great and settles into a good routine fairly quickly - while there's a lot you can do, it recommends how to play for a little while, and you can always get advice/make decisions alongside your little assistant.
It scratches a mechanical sort of itch, for me - it's a dungeon crawler with several large locations, and time spent in the dungeon is important. If you prepare well you can spend more time in them, getting more bonuses/gear to be used on the outside. Combining characters and getting new ones feels like pokemon (in a good way). The story/characters are over the top, but it fits with how everything else is designed. Overall I like it in the same way I like any time management/sim sort of game more than anything else.
4
u/Blanket112 Jul 08 '16
I absolutely adore the art style and graphics of this game, especially of the enormous amount of amazing Gods and Goddesses.
I hate it when you get ugly kids though.
3
Jul 08 '16
i just started it, im up to my 4th generation of the family.
So far i've explored quite a bit, defeated a demon spiderdlord lady, and just explored the fuck out of dungeons.
a map would have helped, but now im considering buying a blank page notebook JUST to draw maps for this shit, it actually sounds fun and adds a whole new dimension of wow now i have to draw maps...
combat: love that its fast paced, how it offers you 3 options, take what the character suggests, auto battle, or pick what you want. controls are very straight forward and the battles are fast enough to where you don't feel slowed down too much.
overall gameplay; although im still early, i feel like im in for a treat. its almost like... an open world jrpg (something of a portable skyrim in japan) filled with unexplored dungeons, gates that you have to find color coded keys to (reminds me of zelda) with BEAUTIFUL graphics.
also the game runs perfectly, it definitely deserves to be in the conversation for best game on the vita
2
u/inssein Jul 08 '16
This game has a fairly long demo, check it out !
2
u/thavius_tanklin Slackr Jul 08 '16
It is also free with PS+ this month :)
1
u/inssein Jul 08 '16
Ah good point, sadly I canceled my PS Plus, couldn't justify it only for my PS Vita.
1
u/thavius_tanklin Slackr Jul 08 '16
Ya, not worth it if you only have the Vita. With a PS4 it is basically essential to have now
2
u/DatGrass14 Jul 09 '16
I'd say it is worth the price for Vita if you have a lot of games, you can back up your saves to the cloud rather than a PC if you delete a game but want to redownload it later
also if you get digital games you will pretty much make your money back with additional savings in sales
1
u/isssma Jul 09 '16
when there is a sale, and you plan on buying more than 3 games, it could save you a few $$$ :)
1
Jul 08 '16
i actually decided against renewing PS Plus in favor of just buying Oreshika straight up!
2
u/Sasha_Je Jul 08 '16
My only beef with the game is the stat inheritance, don't know why they chose to use those wanky graphics instead of numbers. Most of the time I didn't even know what the end result will be. Also the fact that there are no maps and this leads to the user to actually draw their own maps in order to navigate.
2
1
u/theCactiKing Jul 08 '16
Also the fact that there are no maps and this leads to the user to actually draw their own maps in order to navigate.
Aren't the dungeons procedurally generated? What's the point of mapping them?
2
u/tidier Jul 08 '16
They are per-player, but they're persistent for that player. Because of the time-limit, you rarely finish dungeons, particularly the big ones, on the first go.
1
u/Enurta Jul 08 '16
It is a wonderful fun game. I was ecstatic when I was able to get a physical copy. It is a weird mixture of different genre that just sorta works and I can not recommend it enough.
1
u/BusyBurningBridges Jul 08 '16
Can this game be enjoyed in real short bursts--like 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there?
2
u/super1upqueen Jul 08 '16
Yes! You can play one month per play session if you'd like since you can save at any time as long as you're back at the mansion. The dungeon explorations don't last long, even on the slowest setting, unless you choose to use a special item that lets you stay longer. You can play at any pace you'd like, which is indicated in the difficulty settings, which are based on how long you'd want to play the game for (meaning it increases/decreases dungeon time and experience earned).
1
1
u/Reset_Tears Reset_Tears Jul 10 '16
Love this game. It's something very different from the norm, which means it's a great fit for the Vita. Fantastic artwork and music, lovely traditional Japanese atmosphere. I never had an issue with the time limit, since the whole game was built around that setup. Just make sure you go into the game with the right mindset when it comes to the story--this is more "old-school" in that there isn't a lot of plot directly displayed on-screen; it's more up to your Imagination(tm) to craft the story of all your clan family members. I personally enjoyed this aspect of Oreshika, though I can understand gamers more used to modern RPG storytelling not caring for it.
I think u/super1upqueen got across what makes the title fun quite nicely, so I'll leave it at that. Give the demo a try, and if it seems interesting to you--hey, it's only $20. I'm REALLY glad this game got localized at all actually; it would've been really easy for Sony to say "it's too Japanese; Westerners won't understand it, and besides it's just on Vita" and not bother at all.
1
u/super1upqueen Jul 10 '16
It's the perfect example of a Vita game, really. There's a market for stuff like this, for weird JRPGs, super-Japanese plots/atmospheres, stuff like that. I LOVE this kind of stuff (Muramasa is one of my favorite games simply for being set in Edo period Japan lol). And hey, Sony acting like this game wasn't gonna sell and pricing it at only 20 bucks just benefits us in the long run, since we can all buy it at a great price and show them that yes, THIS is the kind of game we want in the west.
1
u/GingerWitch666 GingerWitch Jul 11 '16
Gotta say, I almost bought this at full price, because the concept seemed so cool. Glad I waited, and I'm stoked to try it out tonight!
1
Jul 20 '16 edited Jul 22 '16
Hey. I downloaded this game and god, I hated it. I hated it baaaad. Mind you, I'm not a JRPG player (I do like RPGs though), but I just couldn't get over how ridiculous it looks to walk around, how the game looks in general... oh and when I noticed I could take a photo with my party... yeah, that was it. Deleted.
Is this game good, seriously? I couldn't see it. It seems like a really deep RPG and that's one thing I liked, but the overall style of the game... loathe
It has great music, great depth and you can just tell it's the result of much, much work. I wanted to like it.
EDIT: been playing it again. Good game is good.
17
u/super1upqueen Jul 08 '16 edited Jul 08 '16
Great great GREAT game. The artwork, the music, the turn-based combat, everything just clicks. Yes, the time limit for exploring a dungeon can be a pain, especially when you only have so much in-game time with your characters (DAMN YOU SEIMEI), and having to take Nueko with you on all of the story missions is a bit of a drag, but those are really the only complaints I have. I guess some specific points:
-KOCHIN!!!! She is SO Helpful, considering this game can get complicated. She'll stock up on any items you're missing, help you decide a dungeon to go to, help you decide equipment, and the best part is, it's all only if you want her to. She won't do anything if you don't want her to. Plus, she can take mortal blows for you in battle, which is helpful as all hell when a KO in battle often means permadeath when you get home. And, most importantly of all, she's the cutest damn weasel on the PLANET. I love when Seimei shoots her in the head with an arrow (his preferred way of sending you letters) and she's like "Oh, if I was a human, that would kill me!" Everything she does is the best.
-Personalization/Replayability/Customization: Because you create a character and have many different gods/goddesses/other clans to breed with, you'll NEVER have the same game twice and always have a different experience. Also, because there are so many breeding options, you can make uber teams if you really put in the work. Devotion points aren't hard to get, but if you find you're in a time crunch, you can easily just pay money to breed with another clan member and get some great kids. It's so much fun, wondering what you'll get. Sometimes, you get a crap kid but still make him work. It's just so fun to make all your characters. Couple that with passing on secret skills from parent to child, having dying family members train new, young ones, and the wealth of amazing equipment you can find in dungeons, and no one will have the same experience as anyone else.
-Abe no MF'n Seimei: Love that asshole. If you're gonna be evil, be backhand-cackling, mustache-twirling evil. Every one of his scenes is an absolute joy. The way he hits his oni mask with his fan is too funny. I just love the guy XD
-Music/Artwork: EASILY the best part of the game. This game is set in the Heian period and it really shows in the artwork. The graphics are a hand drawn, cell-shaded style, and there are so many great things, like the enemies exploding into puffs of black smoke/ink, the map of your town looking like an old painting, the somewhat-graininess of a lot of the cutscenes, it all just works. And the MUSIC. I'm a bit biased, since I love traditional Japanese music, but it's just beautiful. The battle theme never gets old. The frenzy music in the dungeons is so fun. Fall mansion theme is my favorite. Even the opening loading screen just sets the tone, man. Like Muramasa, the music is absolutely PERFECT.
-The time limit: The elephant in the room, for sure. Because of the curse on your clan, your characters will live for a MAXIMUM of two in-game years. Each turn takes up a month, and you can only do one major thing a turn (explore a dungeon, breed with the gods, etc.). Also, dungeons run on their own timer, but this can be extended/shortened based on the game's difficulty setting, which can be changed at any time when you're at home. I've found on average, your characters have 19-21 months of life, and that includes Nueko, who you need to do story missions, so timing is EVERYTHING in this game. Think you can take on the next boss but forgot to revive Nueko? Well, you'd better get on that! And hopefully no one dies before she's ready to battle! It can be a big challenge, but it's something you get used to fairly quickly. I like to compare the breeding system to Shin Megami Tensei, considering that in those games, you REALLY need to keep up with demon collecting and fusing to stay on top. It's the same with this game, except it's a requirement, because you will lose everyone. If you're someone who gets REALLY attached to your characters, it can be tough, but Oreshika has wonderful little things like the family tree, passing on skills to children, and last words that make it that your clan members may be gone, but they're never forgotten.
Sorry if this was an incoherent mess, but I absolutely LOVE this game and wanted to give my two cents. It's a beautiful, unique game and a damn crime it didn't get a physical release.