Bakumatsu Kourinden Oni

Description

The events of the game take place in Japan toward the end of the Edo period (1600-1868). Japan, which had been put to sleep for three hundred years by its feudal rulers (shoguns) of the Tokugawa dynasty, was jolted awake by the arrival of Westerners, who brought with them new ideas and ways of doing things. It appeared that all they wanted was for Japan to be brought back into the fold of the rest of the world. However, their true objective was to seize control of an unknown source of energy that was called reiketsu in Japan. During their three hundred year reign, the Tokugawa Shoguns were responsible for the formation of the renowned Shinsengumi special force. This was done to protect the sources of power that were eventually going to run out. In addition to its primary mission of rooting out forces that would try to topple the shogunate, the Shinsengumi had a specialised unit known as the "Shadow Shinsengumi" at its disposal. The "Shadow's" job was to take care of "those things the human hand cannot manage," and it did just that...

You control Yamatomaru is a sixteen-year-old boy with a strong will who lives in the village of Iida, which is close to Koufu. His father just passed away a short while ago. Mibu Juurota, a member of the Shadow Shinsengumi, came to his rescue after he was unable to vanquish a monster that had appeared in his village. After being given the katana that belonged to his father, he immediately sets out on his first mission, which is to save some boys who were stranded in a mountain path. Soon, the plot will begin to thicken, and the young hero will become involved in mystical struggles between forces that are attempting to gain control of reiketsu...

The gameplay is comparable to that of the Dragon Quest series and other role-playing games designed in the Japanese style; the battles are turn-based, random, and viewed from a first-person perspective. You fight using a variety of different special moves that are based on spiritual energy as well as physical attacks. The karma system is an interesting addition that was made to the gameplay. In a manner analogous to that of Ultima, you can raise your karma level by performing acts of charity. When you defeat monsters in this way, you not only increase the value of the money and items you obtain, but also the potency of your special abilities. If you do not show compassion for other people, steal their belongings, or lie, your karma will suffer, you will not receive money from random battles, and some people will fight against you.