A charming little Eastern style rpg game, and an almost poetic one at times - probably much more so in the original Chinese. It features simple but artistic backgrounds and an at times lovely melancholy musical score. The characters are interesting and the setting original by gaming standards. It kinds of feels like you are playing an anime crossed with a dark martial arts flick. On the down side the gameplay is very short (5 hours? Less?), and the battles repetitive (not helped by the fact you attacked every minute or two by trash mobs). There are a small number of sidequests to extend the game by an hour or two but I didn't feel much like exploring to fiund them when I kept getting attacked by time-wasting adversaries (really, they are a harmless waste of time!). Anyway, 3 stars for originality, sometimes lovely writing, a fun base game, and general style.

This game is amazing. The graphical quality is unparalleled for a game made in one of the RPG Maker engines, the music is hauntingly memorable classical (Eastern and Western) mixed with elements of electronica to create something you've never heard anything quite like. The story falls a bit into the grey area of shonen manga, but saves itself by being genuinely interesting, outlining a world but leaving the player to fill in most of the blanks, and having some of the best dialogue in indie games.

And that just leaves us with the gameplay. It's true that it's a turn based RPG, but there is a level of "don't be stupid" difficulty that can approach the Souls games. Buffs aren't just nice to have, they're absolutely mandatory and you'd better hope you pick the right one. Bosses are guaranteed to be difficult after the first "training" boss, who is thrown at you immediately after the intro, and grinding won't help you a whole lot. You have to use your items wisely, and you WILL be using them. It's not easy, but it's also not unfair -- it doesn't ever put you in an unwinnable fight.

Overall, this is the best turn based RPG I've played to date. It's positively stunning, if a bit on the short side, and easily worth the 7 dollars it costs. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting the two announced followups.

Rainblood Town of Death is a little gem. Don’t start it up until you are ready to change mood (and tone) in comparison to Western’s RPGs. This game takes time to win you over, but if you persist you will find an enthralling story and a very challenging (and rewarding) battle system. You will even learn to love the graphical style. Factor in the price, and you have a must-buy.

Rainblood is a great little storyline-driven indie horror RPG. The brutal, bloody storyline, beautiful hand-drawn art design, tone-coordinated color scheme and atmospheric music all make for this to be an absorbing experience.

The only drawback, and the reason why I deduct a point from my score, is that the gameplay is standard, linear, turn-based RPG in the oldschool Japanese style. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does limit the target audience to a specific type of gamer. There will be many of course, who have been craving that oldschool style and Rainblood is a great re-entry point, and I'm one of them. This game definitely brought me back to my youth. However, I still believe that had the game had any unique play elements it would have been the full package. While you are initially stunned by the beauty and excited by the great music, it soon becomes clear that the battle system offers absolutely nothing new. The linear nature of the gameplay is not a problem, as it allows for the strong plot which is the centerpiece of the game.

Also it would've been nice to see some cool death graphics at the end of battles, instead of every enemy just fading into neon red.

But these are minor faults, the important thing about Rainblood is that in the short time it takes to complete this first episode of the game, you are told one of the best storylines that's been told in an RPG for years. The narrative really is that good.

So, the tall and short of it is really this: JUMP on this game and love every moment if you are a fan of oldschool J-RPGs, if not you will still definitely appreciate the sheer beauty of the game, and it will also definitely appeal to any horror fans.

9/10

I was really interested in the game, because of the Art Style. But what I did get was a ride into Chinese Horror storytelling that, left it´s marks in my memory. Despite of being an RPG, Rainblood is full of action and moments that are really tense enough to make your skin crawl.

The Turn Based fighting system is excellent, and since you start the game with quite a high level (meaning your character has already seen some) grinding is very rare. Not purposely stretching game time for the sake of it.

That said the game is not so long but the complex story line really demands - and catches - your attention. So this is rather a good thing. This game has something special you won´t find anywhere else in a game and miss it there.

Totally worth your money and time.

Really cool game. The style is dark and cold, the story is mysterious, and the fighting is challanging(and very cool actions!). This is a great small RPG with very special style!