Blood Will Tell

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye (and an arm, and a leg, and another leg). In Sega's Blood Will Tell, is it any fun trying to get them all back?

	Version PS2	Developer Sega Wow	Publisher SEGA	Genre Action

By Stephen Rowley

As stories go, a road trip involving a demon slaying cyborg samurai, an androgynous teenage thief and a setting of feudal era Japan, is different if nothing else. It is the story of Blood Will Tell (titled Dororo in Japan), based on the original manga created by Tezuka Osama (also the creator of Astro Boy). The samurai, Hyakkimaru, must find and kill the 48 Fiends, a pact of demons whom each took a part of his body at birth, as part of a plan to rule the world. On his quest, Hyakkimaru bumps into the child thief Dororo, and off they go on their merry adventure.

There is a large need to suspend your disbelief here. You could just about accept artificial limbs in feudal era Japan, but Hyakki manages to survive without any internal organs, muscles or skeletal structure, replacements for which are a little hard to swallow. However, the setting is fantastical in its own right and the back-story is just an excuse to go round killing demons, so it has very little impact on the experience.

You might also think that, being so lacking in the physical department, Hyakki would have trouble doing this. However, not only was he given artificial body parts, he was also kitted out with a swords hidden in each arm (the right arm also conceals a machine gun), and last but not least a cannon, in his right kneecap; he is well weapon.

For the most part you are in control of Hyakki and his arsenal, dispatching any number of lesser demons. The combat system is responsive and simple, and new abilities are granted with the return of certain body parts (a dash move when you get your left leg back for instance). The camera can be a little unhelpful at times, not pointing at your enemies.

The odd thing is, during boss fights (the 48 Fiends) the camera locks onto them; if this were somehow implemented into the rest of the game it would have fixed this issue. The biggest problem is when the game requires platform jumping, as the controls and camera just aren't up to the task. Thankfully Hyakki is all about the combat, and these sections are mostly limited to the sections where you take control of Dororo.

Ah yes, Dororo on the other hand leans more towards being an irritating and obnoxious little brat. Unfortunately that has more to do with the script and voiceover being slightly too Westernised, than it does with the character. It is an issue with the game as a whole, but don't get me wrong, the rest of the voice acting itself is of a decent standard (and Dororo isn't that bad). It's just when a game is so steeped in Eastern mythology and history that, for the sake of atmosphere and authenticity, it just makes sense to at least include the option of original language with subtitles. Aside from the speech though, character design is one thing this game has got nailed.

The main human characters all look the part but the star prize goes to the 48 Fiends. They are a strange looking bunch for sure, drawing inspiration from mythology, and the fights with them are the crux of the game. It is true that it boils down to pattern recognition, but the feeling of accomplishment when one is defeated and another limb or organ is returned is very satisfying. Not only that but this small thing compels you to hunt down all 48 of the fiends, returning to previous areas with new abilities to root them out. Even though character designs are nice, the PS2 isn't being pushed to the limit on the visual side of things. There are some nice lighting effects and the environments and model textures aren't bad, but that's about all that can be said about the graphics.

The bulk of the playing experience is fairly basic in premise, and therefore could well become repetitive to some, but the act of regaining Hyakkis' humanity, and the additional abilities that come from doing so, keep things running along at a tidy pace. It isn't the most difficult game to complete by any stretch of the imagination, but the learning curve is mostly well thought out, giving you plenty of time at the start to get used to the controls.

The more challenging parts are around the middle of the game, as the fiends get stronger, but toward the end of the game you'll have collected most of your bits and be getting much stronger. At this point the only real challenge is that final Fiend, yet despite the voice acting you'll want to see things through to the end. The main game contains around 20 hours of play, with an unlockable Dororo mode (if you can stomach it) and art gallery to show off the excellent character designs.

Click here for our recent interview with Sega Wow.