Tsukumogami

The Japanese version of a really terrible RPG idea that I'm pretty sure snuck into my account in a bundle. Don't get me wrong, there might be a decent story here but the game play and mechanics are just ... awful!

Note: This is a Japanese only language game, however they deliberately put the game into bundles being sold in English speaking countries around the world, so they're getting a review in English. This is the Japanese language version of a 2D RPG/puzzle game/visual novel hybrid translated as 99 Spirits. The game has three basic phases that you repeat as part of the process. First, clicking through heaps of visual novel rambling dialogue. I'm not going to hold the fact that it's in Japanese against it... but if the 99 Spirits translation is any guide, well, there's nothing compelling about the VN component. That leaves the main course, the gameplay part of it. This consists of a large grassy field with a grid on it. You must move from one end of the grid to the other. in the way are a number of monsters (well, spirits of house furniture that came alive like an even more dystopian version of Beauty and the Beast). Combat is the third gameplay component and this is basically a simple quick time events melee combat where you need to attack, block, and counterattack. Doing that in the wrong sequence will hurt you. The implementation and gameplay here are far from compelling.…

https://youtu.be/uCJzlselQWk Review is for the English version 99 Spirits. Moving at a painfully slow pace the interesting spirit identifying mechanic is lost to the time it takes to progress.

Tsukumogami is an unusual indie role-playing game developed by TORaIKI and published internationally by Fruitbat Factory that blends traditional RPG storytelling with puzzle-based combat mechanics inspired by Japanese folklore. At first glance it resembles a classic turn-based RPG with exploration, battles, and character progression, but its defining feature lies in the way players must identify and reveal the true nature of the supernatural enemies they encounter. Drawing heavily from mythological traditions surrounding tsukumogami—household objects that awaken as spirits after many years of existence—the game builds its world around a creative and culturally rooted concept rarely explored in mainstream RPGs. The narrative takes place in a stylized version of feudal Japan and follows the journey of a young warrior named Hanabusa. Her life changes dramatically when her mother is killed by a malevolent spirit, leaving Hanabusa determined to hunt down the supernatural beings responsible. These creatures are not ordinary monsters but tsukumogami, spirits born from objects that have existed long enough to gain consciousness and power. In folklore, items such as swords, bowls, tools, a…

I like this very much, and it does have some original content i don't have on the english version. The mini extra game is very helpful, for the main game. A puzzle game with words, identifying the original creatures body. In japanese is a lot of challenge for me, and helps me learn a bit more on Kanji. The combat system can be very monotonous, i give you that, but, everything else, feels for me oldschool sega saturn style and ideas. Overall, i like the japanese version more then the english. I just don't understand, why THIS game, seem not to deserve Cards, and the english one does.

Just as good as the English version, perhaps even better.