Hi there everyone! My name is Atsushi Hashimoto, and I have reprised my role as director for Oninaki following on from Tokyo RPG Factory’s previous two games, I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear. Joining me today is Takashi Tokita, who worked as creative producer for Oninaki, and we’d love to tell you about some of the things to look out for in the playable demo of Oninaki which is available to download today.
Oninaki is set in a special and unique new world: a world where reincarnation is real and known by everyone. This makes for some pretty interesting changes to the narrative and gameplay that we hope players will appreciate when exploring this exciting new world.
A brand-new demo is available to download for Oninaki now and we’d love to give you some tips and tricks to look out for when playing the game!
The world of Oninaki
Tokita: We decided to set Oninaki in a new world which shares a common thread with our previous titles in its unique take on life and death. This time it’s centered around the idea of the cycle of reincarnation. In many ways, it’s a totally different kind of world compared to what most players will expect from us, so we think that should be an exciting prospect for players who have seen our last titles too.
I feel that we have created a completely new style of RPG here, using a quirky touch for the characters, backdrops that have a unique and living sense of motion, a highly resonant use of color, and various anime-style visual effects to make something entirely unique!
Kagachi, the Watcher
Hashimoto: Kagachi is a Watcher whose duty is to usher Lost Souls into the next world. In Oninaki, everyone who dies can be reincarnated and have a new life, so the attitudes in the world towards death and grief are very different to our own. In fact, people shouldn’t grieve for the dead in Oninaki, as that emotion can stop souls from being reincarnated.
It’s Kagachi’s role in the story to guide these lost souls into the next life, and we think players will definitely find his story interesting. On top of this really different life and death cycle within the game, players will uncover a mystery surrounding a girl called Linne and The Night Devil — we think there’s a lot here to keep players interested!
Daemons and how to use them
Tokita: Each Daemon Kagachi possesses has unique abilities that make them fun to use in battle. Part of the fun of playing Oninaki is finding the right set of Daemons that match how you would like to play and upgrading and developing their skills to unlock their true potential!
Aisha, for example, is the first Daemon players will be able to use in the game, and she has a sword weapon that can deal damage to enemies quickly at close range. Her first ability Gale Slash lets Kagachi leap forward and strike the enemy, and Aisha follows up with an additional attack — if used correctly it can do a lot of damage! Additionally, Aisha is able to quickly dodge out of the way of enemy attacks using the X button, which should help players get away from strong enemies.
On the other hand, Zaav is the second Daemon players will meet and his abilities are radically different! I think JRPG players might see he plays similarly to the Dragoon job from classic Final Fantasy titles, as he attacks with a strong spear weapon that can reach enemies from far away. His Meteor ability is also great to use — Kagachi will leap into the air before crashing down on the enemy and dealing massive damage. Definitely keep Zaav close by when going up against strong enemies, as he can completely turn the tables.
Battle Mode
Hashimoto: After players have completed the substantial Story Mode in the demo, they can check out Battle Mode for even more fun. Battle Mode gives you four Daemons to use, who each have four different abilities to try out, which should give you the chance to enjoy some of the nuances of Oninaki’s combat.
We hope players will be able to test out different abilities in this Battle Mode and get excited for using and developing these Daemons in the full game when it launches. Of course, there are plenty more Daemons in the final game to look forward to, so I hope every player will find one that matches their preferred style!
Your save data can carry into the full game!
Hashimoto: In the demo, you can play through the opening part of the story of Oninaki and then carry your progress across to the full version of the game when it releases on August 22. We hope players enjoy playing the demo and look forward to playing the full game soon. Oninaki can be pre-ordered digitally today from PlayStation Store, and everyone who pre-orders will get the Emrys spear weapon and an exclusive Oninaki dynamic Theme too!
Thank you for reading, and we hope you enjoy playing the Oninaki demo today!
