Publisher CFK and developer DeerFarm have released new information and screenshots for side-scrolling shoot ’em up gameShikhondo: Blue Pieta‘s introducing major characters Layla, the vampire hunter; Chae Woori, the rookie grim reaper; and Sister Maria.
For the first time in the series, Shikhondo: Blue Pieta makes the jump to side-scrolling. Where previous entries used a vertical-scrolling layout, this entry brings a fresh perspective to the series’ signature bullet hell gameplay. Further details on game systems will be announced in the coming weeks.
The three characters revealed today are the game’s two protagonists and one boss character, brought to life by voice actors Yoshino Aoyama, Ikumi Hasegawa, and Sayumi Suzushiro. Here’s a closer look at each of them.
■ Characters
Layla, the Vampire Hunter (voiced by Yoshino Aoyama)
Layla is the heir to a wizard lineage with a long history. She calls herself a vampire hunter, but her identity has never been tied to a single title—over the years, she has been a wizard, a monster, a saint, the leader of a secret society, and a witch. Every name has passed through the same person.
The wizard family Layla belongs to follows a system of apprenticeship rather than bloodline inheritance. A predecessor selects a disciple, and when that disciple is judged ready, a ritual transfers the magical power—fixing the successor’s appearance and physical state in place. Layla received her inheritance about twenty years ago, at the age of twenty-nine. Since then, she hasn’t aged a day.
She quit being a wizard at seventeen, then returned ten years later. What happened in those ten years, she doesn’t seem particularly eager to share. Twenty years on from inheriting her power, she carries herself with the ease and humor of someone who has seen everything at least twice.
In her teens, she joined a yokai-sealing mission alongside a fellow grim reaper named Gangrim and her mentor. Gangrim’s strength left a deep impression on her. These days she uses a hammer and chisel for her vampire hunter work—not out of preference, but practicality. She’ll use whatever gets the job done.
Chae Woori, the Rookie Grim Reaper (voiced by Ikumi Hasegawa)
Chae Woori is a twenty-three-year-old rookie grim reaper—though not long ago, she was just a college student living an ordinary life.
During a previous incident in which yokai broke out of purgatory, she and Gangrim managed to seal all the escapees. But the disturbance stirred something deeper: creatures that had been dormant for a long time began to stir, and new ones started to emerge from the darkness.
After returning home safely, Chae Woori graduated high school and started university. She now takes on yokai incidents during her breaks, building connections with the many organizations and people who deal with the supernatural.
Of all the yokai sealed during that incident, one slipped away—a nameless creature that had just come into existence at the time. Now, traces of that same creature have appeared across the sea. With a letter from Gangrim in hand, Chae Woori boards a plane.
Sister Maria (voiced by Sayumi Suzushiro)
Sister Maria is a boss character in Shikhondo: Blue Pieta—and the first human boss in the history of the series.
Where every previous Shikhondo boss has been a yokai or a creature of fantasy, Maria stands apart. A human being as the final obstacle—that alone tells you this game is trying to say something new. What exactly is she? That’s a story best experienced in the game itself.
