■ About
blood penny features a world twisted in gothic horror and nightmarish imagery rarely seen in Japanese RPGs. In blood pennyPlayers follow the story of Matthew, an investigator who embarks on a dark international investigation through the iconic Roaring Twenties, gathering allies and facing trauma in a world twisted by cosmic horror, malice and chaos.
Players will circumnavigate the globe, from the US to Europe and Asia, exploring nations recovering from or enjoying one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, oblivious to the turmoil brewing below the surface.
blood pennyThe story of begins with Matthew Farrell, a lone wolf private detective in New York who works for the Bureau of Investigation. Despite hating the cursed powers he inherited from his father, he uses his fusion transformation abilities to hunt monsters at the Bureau’s behest.
One day, Matthew is tasked with investigating a strange incident that occurred in an insane asylum in New York. After rushing to the asylum, he finds it teeming with grotesque, rampaging creatures. Using his occult power, Matthew manages to score a narrow victory.
In order to uncover the truth behind the strange incident, Matthew’s investigation will take him from America to the far-flung continent of Asia, including Japan and China, as well as the far corners of Europe. Along the way, he will meet those who fight for revenge, those who seek to use aberrant horrors for their own gain, and those who simply wish to destroy. Penny Blood tells the story of a man who must become what he seeks to defeat.
blood pennyOverworld maps offer a bird’s-eye view of cityscapes and cities that will teleport players back to the 1920s, where they will experience the world as it was, unaware of the dire events that will soon unfold.
From busy streets to haunting sanatoriums, players will delve into carefully detailed countryside maps as they purchase essential items for their quest, investigate supernatural occurrences, and battle Stygian monstrosities.
Easy to learn and difficult to master, the Psycho Sigil battle system combines traditional Japanese turn-based RPG strategy with trigger reaction time to maximize the potential of attacks, keeping players on their toes in every encounter. Players can embrace the darkness within by using Fusion to summon the abyss and fight fire with fire, harnessing the power of darkness to drive demons back from whence they came.
Interactions with the demon will affect the sanity points of the heroes. If players lose too many sanity points, their allies will succumb to madness, gaining strength and losing their composure. However, that boost in power could be just what is needed to turn the tide of battle.
Returning to the helm as composer is Hirota Yoshitaka (of shadow hearts Y Shadow Hearts: Covenant fame) to inject a sense of dread and eerie uneasiness befitting the atmosphere. And he is accompanied by Akari Kaida from fire breath 3infusing a strong dose of jazz on the stage of the Roaring Twenties.
“This is my second chance. The chances of making another game like this are rare, so please give me your support,” says lead game designer Matsuzo Machida.
With direction by Matsuzo Machida, character design by Miyako Kato, and music and sound composed by Yoshitaka Hirota and Akari Kaida, Penny Blood promises to sink its claws into gamers as it revives the darker side of Japanese RPGs.
■ Background art
The haunting landscape of North Tarrytown
Located 30 miles north of New York, located right on the east bank of the Hudson River. Some call this little town Sleepy Hollow because of a legend about a headless knight who 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 Matthew within the eerie, thick fog of Tarrytown…?
The Imperial Capital of Tokyo: Asakusa Rokku and Ryounkaku (1923)
After achieving victory in both the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, Japan basked in glory as one of the most formidable empires in the Far East. This wealth also led Tokyo to build the Ryounkaku tower in Asakusa, the tallest structure in all of Asia, which the natives of Tokyo called the “Asakusa Twelve-Story”.
After an assault occurs in Asakusa involving the American ambassador to Japan, Matthew rushes to Tokyo and glimpses a threat that intends to plunge the entire world into darkness.
■ Characters
matthew farrell
An Irish-American born in 1895. Now 28 years old, he lives in New York and works as a private detective. After serving in the great war, he returned to the US and traveled to various states to investigate a series of grisly incidents. One day, William J. Burns, the director of the Bureau of Investigation, assigns him a top-secret mission that takes him to Japan.
Normally, Matthew uses a sawed-off shotgun and martial arts to subdue his enemies, but when in danger, he can transform into a Fusion Monster, allowing him to disembowel his enemies in various ways. Those who know this secret call him the wretch, but he doesn’t care.
As Matthew searches for Emilia, he slowly finds himself drawn deeper into a war against creatures from another plane.
Demna, the knight without a crown
A fusion monster with no elements and a symbol of the loneliness and emptiness that lurks deep within Matthew’s heart.
Well balanced in terms of offense and defense, Demna can come in handy in all sorts of situations. Both his sword and shield are inscribed in Old Goidelic. The text on the sword reads “The power to grant sinners endless sleep”, while the shield reads “The power to accept any kind of hardship”.
Demna is the first Fusion Monster Matthew transformed into after inheriting his father’s ability, and it hides even more potential…
Emily Dawson
Born in London in 1898. Now 25 years old, Emilia is currently serving as a member of the UK Secret Service. After being praised for her fierce passion and incredible skills, she was promoted to a special agent specializing in foreign affairs.
On her last assignment, she was appointed as a bodyguard to Mr. Tubbs, the American ambassador to Japan. Shortly after, Mr. Tubbs was killed in an incident in the Tokyo district of Asakusa, while Emilia went missing.
One of his eyes and three of his limbs have been replaced with robotic implements, giving him superhuman abilities capable of taking down all manner of monsters.
Suseri Otsuki
Born in Tokyo in 1906. Now 17, Suseri serves as an advisor priestess to Kamuzumi, the Japanese empire’s monster extermination force.
As her mother came from a family of spiritualists gifted in the kidō magical arts, Suseri has the ability to sense otherworldly creatures as soon as they appear. She was to be the eyes of Shinteigumi, Kamuzumi’s frontline brigade, but she never hesitates to dispatch monsters when the need arises, using the vast reserves of spiritual power that swirl within her.
After Matthew and Emilia save her in the imperial capital, she joins their cause to repay them. Suseri’s weapons of choice are her seimakyo magic mirrors.
■ Monsters
fuji motorcycle
The name given to the gruesomely grotesque thing discovered within Golgotha Asylum.
The Motofuji discharged large amounts of malice, a type of energy born from negative human emotions. This malice is supposedly to blame for the monstrous transformations of the asylum patients. The negative miasma that seeped from every pore of the horrible Motofujis invaded the body and mind of the patients, awakening despicable desires within them.
After Matthew rushed into the asylum, he engaged in a furious battle with the creature and managed to destroy it… But still no one knows why the monster appeared there in the first place.
maliferous patient
The malice released by the Motofuji has caused some Golgotha Asylum patients to undergo monstrous transformations.
Long devoid of all intelligence and emotion, these zombies now have only one goal in mind: devour as much living flesh and life energy as they can get their hands on. Rejected by the instinct to drown their bodies in malice, these patients shocked the NYPD with a brutal and bloody attack.
atam
A manifestation of the darkness that has settled on Matthew’s psyche. Unbeknownst to Matthew, Atam is the Lord of Death who commands the Seven Deadly Sins: demons representing the sins of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy, and pride.
Originally an inhabitant of the ‘other side’, or the root of the Tree of Life as some call it, Atam has found sustenance on ‘our side’ by hiding within the souls of humans who possess divine blood. And so, after many years of feeding on these souls, Atam acquired a great deal of knowledge that steadily transformed him into something more akin to an omnipotent god.
Several years ago, Atam failed in his attempt to curse and murder his previous host and was instead beaten inches from his own life. Now, Atam lies dormant within a new host, focused on nothing more than retrieving power from him until one day he can be reborn again.
■ Screenshots
