Developer: Alfa System/Japan Studio

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Wesbite: http://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/oreshika-tainted-bloodlines-psvita/

Let me preface this review with one statement; I am not a consistent gamer. I start one game, never completing it until month’s later and I have a backlog as long as my arm, getting bigger with each passing month (Damn you Playstation Plus!!). However, with Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines addiction set in and in trying to see this game to it’s conclusion, I won’t be playing anything else until it’s finished.

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines is a Western release of “Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke 2” (Over My Dead Body 2) and is a Japanese RPG with an old-school bent. It has impressive, straight-forward turn based combat a-lá 90’s Final Fantasy games. You have your basic attacks using weapons gathered throughout your trawls in dungeons, while you supplement these attacks with magic abilities from scrolls picked up in battle.

The story is an interesting one that helps feed directly into the gameplay mechanics and how you approach your playthrough. You start the game as the head of a Clan in Feudal Japan, blamed for failing their duty in protecting the Five Instruments of Festivity that have been stolen from The Imperial Treasure House. This triggers widespread disaster and demons to be released into the world and your Clan are all killed as a human sacrifice to the Gods.

Your Clan are then resurrected by Gods looking to reclaim the instruments from the Demon Thief. You are resurrected with two curses, first, your clan-members can only live for two years and second, your Clan can only expand by unions with Gods who have made themselves available to help your Clan get stronger. That’s right, the Gods themselves are down for some hibbity dibbity!

This makes Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines one of choices and risk versus reward situations. Do I raid a dungeon this month for supplies and increase my party stats and risk losing my most experienced party member, or do I take this month to expand my clan by creating a Son/Daughter for them? I grew attached to my Clan members and it was a genuinely sad occasion when my first Clan-Head passed away at 19 months old, after a particularly poor dungeon raid. As his scroll of achievements rolled, I was caught with a genuine outpouring of emotion for my digital family. Expansion of the Clan is very important in order to reach the End Game though. As of writing, I am in my Third Generation of my Family Tree, and only one Instrument has been found!

The Anime art-style is beautiful in Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, with its painted backgrounds and art designs that have bright colours and pop on the Vita’s OLED screen. The visuals are some of the best I have seen on the Vita.

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines can be played as long or short as you like; with several gameplay styles to available to be chosen while you play. You can speed through the game, getting each Instrument as quickly as possible or slow things down and have a deeper experience when you raid a dungeon. There’s also a helpful assistant called “Kochin”, in the shape of a Weasel no doubt! Japanese RPGs eh? You can give complete control to Kochin and she’ll look after all your details each month, suggesting things of how the month should go.

The long and short of it, I can’t put this game down, when I’m not playing, I am thinking about it and that’s possibly just me, but I am really enjoying this game. The gameplay; with the turn based combat, and throwbacks to older JRPGs I grew up with is incredibly addictive and satisfying. If you happen to own a PS Vita, this would be a great addition to your collection.