Rainblood: Town of Death

By: Derek Yu

On: June 14th, 2010

It’s a rare treat to be able to play an original indie game from China, especially one that is as unique as Rainblood: Town of Death. The first episode in an ongoing RPG series, Town of Death takes place in a dark fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology and Gu Long martial arts novels, among other things. And when I say dark, I mean dark – the game doesn’t shy away from violence and some pretty fucked up imagery. It was originally released in Chinese in 2007 to some acclaim and has since gone through a few English translations. The latest (version 1.15+, by Steve Gibbon, aka Drunken Paladin) was released this year and is considered the definitive translation.

Town of Death was created in RPGMaker, which is notorious for its widely-used default tilesets, but Rainblood’s creator, Soulframe, chose to create his own graphics using distinctive pen-and-ink linework. The drawings are quite good and convey the desolation of Central Land, where Rainblood takes place. Pretty much every area in the game is different, too. My favorite artwork, though, belongs to the monsters, who are relatively few but have pretty inspired designs. Similarly, the sound effects and music, while also fairly sparse, are nonetheless unsettling.

The game’s story really hit the right notes for me. As a fan of horror and Chinese classics, I got a kick out of reading about the mysterious “Organization” of assassins at the center of the story, and all the bizarre cults, monsters, and superhuman martial artists involved in the struggle. There are some really weird ideas in here – I love it! The story paired with hand-drawn graphics definitely gives Rainblood a unique flavor and separates it from other indie RPGs.

The battles were kind of a mixed bag, though. The system feels puzzle-like – find the right combination of moves to use on a particular enemy, and you’ll win handily (provided that you keep healing/recharging at the right time). Otherwise, you’ll be cut down like it’s going out of style. Overall, I didn’t feel like the battles were particularly exciting, but they look cool and never felt too intrusive (the chance for a random encounter is pretty low and unless you’re attempting one of the game’s optional side quests there’s no need to grind). I appreciate the fact that you’re fighting real monsters and not the typical JRPG stable of random animals, bugs, and plants!

The full version of Rainblood: Town of Death costs $9.99, but you can play a 30-minute timed demo. Be warned: the demo immediately kicks you out of the game after 30 minutes, so make sure you save regularly. It’s also worth noting that the game itself is not that long (I beat it in a few hours) and only constitutes the first part of the story. The second episode, City of Flame, is currently in production (you can see a trailer here).

TIGdb: Entry for Rainblood: Town of Death

Posted in RPG, Windows | Tags: Soulframe

http://moonloop.vg Eclipse

I don't like jrpgs but this one is actually quite good, great atmosphere and good use of violence
Anon

hah well it shouldnt really be classed as a jrpg considering the “j” stands for japanese
AndroidMusic

I was watching it on ModDb for some time. It's a great game indeed. Excellent graphics, music, everything. :)
bombboy

Ain't it a Chinese Japanese-styled RPG, though? jrpg should make sense.
Dodger

It's great to see such a uniquely stylized game made with RPG Maker and this one looks great. I've watched the trailers and they look bloody brilliant. I'll definitely be trying this one out soon. I really like the artwork and those baddies look extremely creepy. I'm not a big fan of the battle system in RPG Maker games, I used to be a huge fan of that old system, but my Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest/Warrior, and Suikoden series (to name but a few) battle mechanics fascination has long since left me jaded and bored with that particular type of grinding. Thankfully Derek mentioned that Rainblood doesn't involve as much grind, which is great, but I'll definitely be looking for fights just so I can see all of those cool looking enemies and monsters.

Also, as a side note, if you go to the game website there are a lot of great pics that preview the next game in the series plus you can see some of the developers (Soulframe) real sketches and artwork that he's used in the game. It's all expertly done and great to browse some of the creativity and actual hand drawings that are going into this interesting RPG series.
NinjaPirate

A rpg maker game that actually looks ? Am I dreaming ?
NinjaPirate

fuck, I meant “looks good”
anon

inb4 JRPG hate
PhasmaFelis

Any bets that “Central Land” should've been translated as “Middle Kingdom” (one of the names of China)?
Ghede

It's not a jrpg. ARPG? Asian RPG?
Freeman

CRPG, except it's not on hex grids.

Wait what
&/c.

i am drooling over this art

this is amazing art right here
renkin

Sounds likely, yeah. 中国。
http://twitter.com/jrjellybeans Jr. Jellybeans

This looks beautiful!

It's nice to see an RPG Maker game that is outside of the usual big headed style that is usually seen.
Blade

People have become really anal about this lately, for some reason.

If you look at how the term's used, the J really stands for Japanese-_style_ RPG. The game doesn't necessarily have to have been made in Japan. It's just easy shorthand for that particular style (mostly linear narratives, pre-determined characterizations, plot-heavy with an emphasis on pre-scripted dialogue, menu-driven battle system, etc.) The particulars may vary, but telling someone JRPG (or WRPG) is usually enough to give them an idea of roughly how the game plays.
Anarkex

Exactly. JRPG is a genre, and like all game genres, it's based on how the game is played, not where it's made.
xot

I always figured the J was some kind of negation operator. *ducks*
bombboy

I just wanted more people to agree on the obvious so I'll just comment again! I agree with all of our sentiments that everyone else agrees with too.
bombboy

I'm not completely sure that the jrpg hate is as widespread in these comments as they are in, say, the kotaku ones. But I dunno.
Asdfasdfzxcvzfallsd

I'm going to be brutally honest. Looks like complete ass.
Dodger

That's okay, I'm going to be brutally honest as well, it looks extremely awesome! I've had a chance to play it and it is extremely stylized and unique when compared to other JRPG's and even RPG's in general. The hand drawn artwork that displays a style straight out of the ancient orient and Chinese mythology is very nicely illustrated. The style also conveys a dark and foreboding atmosphere, quite a contrast from other recent JRPG's.

Nicely done.
Www

hi
Cypress_dahlia

I'm going to be brutally honest and say “obvious troll is obvious”.
funny

Not bad, not bad at all Dodger.
Asdfasdfzxcvzfallsd

Not trolling. Artwork just doesn't suit my tastes at all. It has some polish to it, but looks, and I'm unsure of the correct word to use here, immature? Immature in the sense that I feel it needs more work.

To each his own.
http://twitter.com/alecspurse Superfly Johnson

yo
http://twitter.com/AlfredBaudisch Alfred R. Baudisch

I thought the same. It's amazing to see such a game made with RPG Maker. My only complaint about RPG Maker is that it hates OSX.
Soli

I've got 2 questions. What does the Hardening Orb do? I've been holding on to it, not sure when to use it. And 2, does anyone know if the sequel will be translated? I know it's not even released yet but I'm really enjoying this one, but from what I've seen the sequel looks even better.
DalaranJ

I don't understand why RPGs use this distribution method for demos. When I play a demo for an RPG I want to tool around in the menu system to figure out what the system is capable of.