Penny Blood is a turn-based role-playing video game developed by YUKIKAZE, STUDIO WILDROSE, and Shade, and published by YUKIKAZE.

About

Embark on a dark investigation through the iconic Roaring Twenties, amassing allies and confronting traumas in a world twisted by cosmic horror, malice and mayhem.

Circumnavigate the globe, from the United States of America to Europe and Asia, and explore nations either recovering or basking in the wake of one of history’s bloodiest conflicts, oblivious to the turmoil that brews beneath the surface.

Choose wisely and train your trigger finger with the Psycho Sigil battle system which pairs classic JRPG turn-based battles with intense real-time action.

Penny Blood promises to sink its claws into you as it revives the darker side of Japanese RPGs, with direction from Matsuzo Machida, character design by Miyako Kato, and music and sound composed by Yoshitaka Hirota and Akari Ka da!

Story

1923—five years after The First World War. Exhausted by the tribulations of the great war, Europe experiences a fleeting sense of peace as a new storm begins to brew on the horizon.

Meanwhile, across the pond, the United States of America flaunts the growth it has gained from its support during the war. Now in the midst of the Roaring Twenties, they are wholly oblivious to the beings from another plane that steadily invade its borders.

Our story begins with Matthew Farrell, a private detective working for the Bureau of Investigation who is one day tasked with looking into a bizarre incident at a mental asylum in New York, Rushing to the scene, he finds the asylum teeming with grotesque, rampaging creatures, and utilizes his hidden power to achieve a narrow victory.

In order to unearth the truth behind the incident, Matthew’s investigation will take him from America to the distant continent of Asia, including Japan and China, as well as to the far flung comers of Europe.

Along the way, he will encounter those who fight for vengeance, those who seek to use the ab rant horrors for their own gain, and those who purely wish to destroy. The stage is set—prepare to embark on the tale of a man who must become that which he seeks to vanquish.

Characters

• Matthew Farrell – A lone wolf detective in New York. Despite hating the accursed powers he inherited from his father, he utilizes his fusion transformation abilities to hunt down monsters at the behest of the Bureau of Investigation. Normally, Matthew uses a sawed-off shotgun and martial arts to subdue his foes—but when in peril, he can fuse his soul with the dark knight Berserk, shedding morals and mercy in exchange for overwhelming power.
• Emilia Dawson – A member of the UK Secret Service, milia’s legs, left arm, and left eye were replaced with the latest in robot technology after losing almost half of her body in a terrible accident. Meanwhile, the hereticore implanted in her chest serves as a reactor, supplying her body with a constant stream of superhuman energy.
• Suseri Otsuka – A Shinto priestess working for the Kamuzumi, a task force assembled to combat the otherworldly monsters that have been plaguing Japan. After Matthew and Emilia help her protect Asakusa from a Motofuji assault, she decides to aid them in their quest. Her weapons of choice are the kido magic arts passed down from her spiritually gifted ancestors.

Gameplay

Penny Blood‘s gorgeously rendered overworld maps give a bird’s-eye view of cityscapes and towns that will teleport you to the 1920s, where you can experience the world as it was, unaware of the gruesome events soon to unfold.

From busy streets to haunting sanitariums, delve into beautifully detailed field maps as you purchase items paramount to your quest, investigate supernatural happenings, and battle stygian monstrosities.

Easy to learn, difficult to master—the Psycho Sigil system combines traditional turn based JRPG strategy with twitch-trigger reaction time in order to maximize the potential of your attacks, keeping you on your toes with every encounter. Then embrace the darkness within by using Fusion to call upon the abyss and fight fire with fire. Harness the power of the darkness to hurl demons back whence they came.

But try to keep your wits about you, for interactions with the demonic will affect your heroes’ Sanity Points.

Lose too many and your allies will succumb to madness, gaining strength and losing composure. But all may not be lost, as that boost in power might be just what you need to turn the tide in battle.

Enemies

Europe and the United States experienced a slew of assassinations of the wealthy elite and government officials after the great war ended. Left at every scene was an Electrum coin emblazoned with the image of a dog and a phrase written in ancient Greek: “By my hands, I deliver God’s judgment unto thee.”
Society viewed the work of these Hellhounders as more mindless violence by insane anarchists, but their zeal was enough to instill fear in the hearts of the shady moguls who lurked in the darkness.

But they are not the only threat Matthew will have to face throughout his journey.

• Motofuji – The Motofuji is a mysterious grotesquerie that appears in Golgotha Asylum. It discharges copious amounts of malice – energy born from negative human emotion and allegedly the culprit behind the asylum patients’ transformations. This negative miasma that seeps out from every pore of the hideous Motofujis invades the patients’ bodies and minds, awakening despicable desires.
• Maliferous Patients – Defeating the Motofuji does nothing to revert the monstrous transformations of the asylum’s patients. Long devoid of all intelligence and emotion, these zombies have but one goal in mind: devour as much living flesh and vital energy as they can get their rotting fingers on. Spurned by the instinct to drown their bodies in malice, these patients shock the NYPD with a brutal, bloody onslaught.
• Atam – A manifestation of darkness that has taken root within Matthew’s psyche, however unbeknownst to him, Atam is the Lord of Death commanding over the Seven Deadly Sins: demons representing the sins of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Atam had failed its attempt to curse and murder its previous host many years prior and now lies dormant within a new one, focused on regaining its power until it can be born anew.

Locations

• Times Square, New York – After the first world war came to an end, the United States of America rose to distinguish itself as the generation’s new world leader. At the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, Times Square served as a symbol of America’s newfound prosperity. Not only is it constantly bustling with people, but the branch of the BOI (Bureau of Investigation) that Matthew and his allies work for is located right in its backyard.
• North Tarrytown – Located 30 miles north of New York, positioned right on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Some have taken to calling this small village ‘Sleepy Hollow’ due to the legend of a headless horseman that roams the area. In order to solve the mystery of the monster that appeared in Golgotha Asylum, Matthew visits Tarrytown to speak with Oswald Craig, the local innkeeper. But what awaits him within Tarrytown’s eerily thick fog…?
• Asakusa Rokku and Ryounkaku, Tokyo – Following their victory in both the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, Japan basked in glory as one of the Far East’s most formidable empires. This affluence led Tokyo to build the Ryounkaku tower in Asakusa—the tallest structure in all of Asia, which Tokyo natives have come to call the “Asakusa Twelve-Story.” After an assault occurs in Asakusa involving the American ambassador to Japan, Matthew rushes to Tokyo and catches a glimpse of a threat that aims to plunge the entire world into darkness.

Music

Returning to the helm as composer is Hirota Yoshitaka (of Shadows Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant fame) to inject that sense of dread and eerie unease befitting of the atmosphere.

And accompanying him is Akari Kaida of Breath of Fire III, infusing a heavy dose of jazz into the Roaring Twenties setting!

Key Features

• Veterans of their craft team up once again to tell a tale that unfolds in the shadows of the early 1920s.
• Teleport back in time and explore towns across post-war America, Europe and Asia.
• Join an eclectic team of heroes determined to overcome their own personal trauma as they vanquish evil.
• Embark on an investigation across a world twisted by gothic and cosmic horror.
• Train your trigger finger with the Psycho Sigil battle system, pairing classic turn based battles with real-time action.
• A medley soundtrack filled with anxiety and jive: perfect for both facing your demons and running wild with the Charleston.

Staff

• Overall Game Designer and Scenario Writer: Matsuzo Machida
• Character Design and Art Director: Miyako Kato
• Main Composer: Yoshitaka Hirota
• Composer: Akari Kaida
• Visual Director: Tsuyoshi Watanabe
• Monster Designer: Nobutaka Hanya
• Concept Artist: Masato Watanabe
• Mastermind: MONAKA
• Development: Shade