Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade from Game Source Entertainment and 7Quark is a Japanese-style fantasy roguelite RPG set in the Edo period. Learn more in our Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade review!
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade from Game Source Entertainment and 7Quark is a Japanese-style fantasy roguelite RPG set in the Edo period. Many, many years ago, the balance between the human world and the demon world allowed everyone to live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, this was not set to last. The Nine-Tailed Fox – a.k.a. the ruler of the demons – descended upon the land, leading an army of evil spirits to invade and conquer the human world. The good news is that three heroes have now risen to try and save the day before it’s too late: Shigure, the Immortal Ninja, Sara, the Oni Emissary, and Taketora… the Demon Samurai!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/7quark/yasha-legends-of-the-demon-blade-japanese-style-arpg
7Quark took Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade to Kickstarter last year, seeking HK$400,000 in funding for the game’s final development push leading up to its console release. Once the crowdfunding campaign was over – and thanks to the support of more than 700 backers, the team ended up with more than HK$609,000 in funding. After an initial plan for an April 24 release – up from a February launch plan – the game was delayed to May 14 for one final push of extra development and finetunning.
Shiruge, the Immortal Ninja, is, well, an immortal. For her, death is very much just part of the equation, which is on brand with the whole roguelite experience. Sara, the Oni Emissary, was in charge of capturing the Okami in order for Yomi to rule all three realms. After failing miserably, she is banished to the Mortal Realm to try and prove her worth. As for Taketora, the Demon Samurai, he’s an anthropomorphic tiger demon who is fighting against the other demons in a mad dash to save his Lord and Princess before it’s too late.
Each of the aforementioned characters offers a very different experience thanks to the overall nature of their movement and attack patterns. Shiruge features dual-wielding potential, so she’ll be able to use two different blades to mix things up for combos with light and heavy attacks that can cover a wider area, hitting multiple enemies at once. You can think of Shiruge as the more all-around, balanced type of character, which makes her a good option for you to get started with Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade. She deals good damage, has a solid defense, and can dash out of danger if needed.
Sara is a more fast-paced type, making the most of her dashes and quicker attacks, which allows her to be everywhere at once while swiftly avoiding incoming attacks. She can also use both of her weapons at once, which makes up for her lower health and lower damage output. As for Taketora, he also offers gameplay mechanics that are very different from Shiruge and Sara. Taketora is basically a tank, which means he can dish out a ton of damage while also having a high defense that will lower how much damage he receives with each hit. On top of that, Taketora can unleash powerful close-range melee attacks as well as some safer long-range attacks with his bow that can still pack a punch. Do know that Taketora’s dashes are extremely short, so upgrading his dashes might be a good option if you’re going to be using them often to try to avoid attacks.
In essence, all characters will control the same. You’ll use the left analog stick to move the character of your choice through each area as needed. Light attacks will be mapped to the Y button, while heavy attacks will be set to the X button. Mix things up with light and heavy attacks for combos to deal as much damage as possible while keeping your enemies on their toes. You can dash with the B button to avoid incoming attacks or put a bit of distance between yourself and your enemies. There’s also the option of performing a dash attack. Switch weapons by pressing the L button. Interact with objects and other characters by pressing the A button.
If a yellow circle appears on an enemy, press the R button to perform an Ian Strike, which will allow you to execute a parry to cancel the attack. You can then press the R button again to perform a Mystic Artes. You’ll need to pay attention to enemies – and bosses! – at all times so that you can try to spot when they show a special orange circle. When this happens, you can use a charged attack by pressing and holding down the R button for a Grand Mystic Art to break the circle, which will make that creature show its weakpoints. When this happens, you can use a charge attack with Shiruge, Sara, or Taketora to perform a critical attack that will deal a ton of damage. How much damage is dealt will depend on how long you charge your attack for, as well as your character’s loadout and current stats.
As you defeat all demons in each of the areas you take on, you’ll get to collect Soul Orbs. Soul Orbs will allow you to gain bonuses that can definitely be useful. Some of these include the Soul Binding Soul Orb, which will increase the damage bonus dealt – by up to a maximum of 20% – depending on how low your HP is. Another Soul Orb is the Moonlight, which will increase the damage of heavy attacks by 30%. Or maybe you want to go with the Swift Bird Soul Orb, which will boost the damage dealt by light attacks by 30%.
While those only offer temporary upgrades that are only available during your current run, you can also collect a special resource to spend on more permanent boosts that can aid you for subsequent tries. This can be done at the shrine you find yourself in front of when you fail. Upgrades are split into common ones that all three characters share, as well as those specific to a character. These permanent common upgrades include things such as Terminal Lucity, which increases the number of revives for that run; Flash Step, which increases the dash count; or Second Wind, which has some of your HP recovered after you complete a stage. As for those specific to each character, taking Shiruge as an example, you can unlock Self-protection, which adds a shield after taking damage from an enemy, or Posture Adjustment, which, after a successful parry, allows you to gain some HP. Same goes for landing a Mystic Artes!
During your runs, you’ll be able to find some peace and quiet in the village. Once there, you can visit the old tea lady to receive some healing tea that will partially treat your wounds so that you can recover some HP. Interact with the ramen stall to bring its owner some ingredients so that he can make some tasty ramen for you to buy. This ramen will provide you with some boosts, such as additional HP, a shield to protect you, or the ability to receive less damage from attacks. You can also visit the Hideaway Daruma to activate timed challenges for you to complete for a reward. Fail the challenge, and you can be penalized by, say, having your HP lowered by 50%! Succeed, and you could end up with a blessing amulet that can increase your HP by 30%… or go with a forbidden amulet that can increase critical damage by 30% while also increasing the damage taken by 15%.
You’ll have a variety of options for the weapons that your character will wield. These are known as Demon Blades and will hold different elemental attacks and stats for you to keep in mind. You’ll be able to craft and unlock additional Demon Blades as you collect their fragments and visit the blacksmith Hantetsusai when you’re back in town. Shiruge can gain access to blades such as the Red Crane, which limits attacks to heavy attacks but carries additional power. Another one is the Undyinc Cuckoo. Dealing damage to enemies with it grants Mountain Feather, and once it reaches 100%, you will gain a shield equal to 10% of your max HP. Or you could go with the Crimson Autumn Demon Blade, which gradually gains Flame over time. Once Flame reaches 100%, it will deploy a Flame ring for 8 seconds that burns enemies. Your attacks have a 15% chance to apply a stack of Burn. Once an enemy has 5 stacks of Burn, an area explosion will be triggered! You can also spend resources to upgrade the Demon Blades you’ve unlocked.
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is a Japanese-style fantasy roguelite RPG set in the Edo period. Many, many years ago, the balance between the human world and the demon world allowed everyone to live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, this was not set to last. The Nine-Tailed Fox – a.k.a. the ruler of the demons – descended upon the land, leading an army of evil spirits to invade and conquer the human world. The good news is that three heroes have now risen to try and save the day before it’s too late: Shigure, the Immortal Ninja, Sara, the Oni Emissary, and Taketora… the Demon Samurai! Will you be able to succeed on this important mission? Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade launches tomorrow on Nintendo Switch with a $29.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Game Source Entertainment.
