From “moe” characters and hip-hop to cyberpunk and yakuza, Orangeblood is a 2D sprite-based RPG that provides interesting cultural juxtapositions. The battle system, which includes hack-and-slash elements, provides enough options for strategic combat. However, after the credits had rolled, I felt that both the story and combat needed a bit more volume.

Dropping the player into a uniquely vibrant and charmingly bad-mannered game, Orangeblood manages to give a memorable RPG experience in spite of its conventional gameplay.

Orangeblood has some really nice ideas, but the execution can feel lacking at times. However, the soundtrack and battle system is robust, which made getting through the game pretty entertaining at times. However, the confusing story and excessive padding keep Orangeblood from reaching its full potential. Thankfully the coolness of these characters might allow some players to look past that.

When all the profanities have been said and all the odd jobs have been done, Orangeblood is a one-of-a-kind experience that’s equal parts endearing and incoherent. There’s just enough to see, hear, and do to warrant a two-day getaway to New Koza.

Orangeblood is a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s visually striking and has a conceptually deep battle system. On the other hand, the english translation is incomprehensible and your characters are too powerful to really have any sort of challenge or interesting fights. It won’t physically and emotionally destroy you like the Lisa games, but it’s still a decent enough RPG that I can recommend if it’s on sale.

It tries to do a lot of things, and definitely has a distinct personality from anything else I remember playing. Layering everything with needless profanity is not the magic bullet to become amazing though, and using the game’s real bullets is often more complicated than it should be. If a sequel should come to pass, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

I came to Orangeblood almost determined to like it. It had everything, seemingly. Gorgeous 90’s inspired art design, the promise of a funky soundtrack, JRPG style but in a more modern setting… I was so ready to fall in love. It’s only two weeks into 2020 and I’m going back to being jaded and miserable and its this game’s fault.