The Sega MD supports some polygon rendering capabilities, and combined with Pokeni's self-developed graphics tools, it can actually greatly enhance drawing precision and polygonization. However, it is still evident that the transition lines are not quite smooth or fluent.
Overall, it is still slightly rough compared to works from a decade in the future, but this is already the best graphical quality for an action game at the moment.
After the opening, it enters a tutorial section.
"Hello, can you hear me?"
On the left side of the screen appears a young woman wearing headphones and tech-inspired glasses, full of futuristic vibes.
She looks like someone who is highly skilled and experienced.
Her name is [Sisyphus].
"Sisyphus, 4 members of the Blood Tribe have been detected ahead of you. In addition to eliminating them, your objective is also to rescue the surviving humans inside the hospital."
"The Blood Tribe are incredibly formidable; please be sure to be extra careful."
At the same time, several red dots appeared on the map. At first, they were just fleeting black shadows, which then rapidly took form on the ground. By the time you realized what was happening, they had transformed into terrifying monster forms.
This was the [Monster Spawning] effect that Pokeni had creatively used in Diablo. Adding these spawning animations made their appearance feel more natural and rich.
It also allowed players to feel a stronger sense of immersion.
Seeing the name Sisyphus, Hirozawa Furukawa was taken aback—
The heroine's name is Sisyphus?
What is Gen Urobuchi up to? Giving a girl such a name?
No matter how you look at it, this slender girl has absolutely nothing to do with Sisyphus.
Although the heroine's figure was slender, even overly thin compared to the monsters, it was a completely different story when combat began.
On the heroine's back was a short sword, and tucked into her waist were two pistols.
In the game, the heroine [Sisyphus] can use several different types of actions to fight.
A clear distinction from Diablo is that in the game The Witcher, the protagonist's weapon type almost never changes; you either upgrade them or replace them with higher-level weapons of the same type.
You can choose to invest skill points into a certain weapon category, and at the same time, you can also acquire skills for that type.
Moreover, in The Witcher, a skill is not just a single skill; it is a set of combo moves.
Even though it's integrated into just one button, when the skill is unleashed, the heroine will perform a whole set of flashy moves.
Following the instructions, Furukawa used the first and only skill currently available: [Night Raid].
In the scene, the heroine lunged forward, sword in hand. With a flash, her body suddenly vanished, transforming into a swarm of bats. The bats immediately flew through the enemies, dealing a flurry of damage. She landed, reappeared, and returned to her girl form. The heroine then swept her sword horizontally, knocking back the surrounding enemies. The three stages of damage were perfectly synchronized with their special effects, leaving one in awe. Furthermore, more enemy feedback had been added to the game. When hit by the dash attack, the monsters would tilt their heads back, freeze momentarily, and then be launched into the air. Upon landing the strike, they were knocked airborne, then swept away by the long sword. After hitting the ground, they would slowly stand back up. This entire combat sequence was incredibly fluid, delivering a flashy combo effect that gave the feeling of playing Street Fighter in a 2D game. No, it was even more impactful than Street Fighter, with even more dazzling special effects and animations. Hirozawa Furukawa was completely stunned. He had never experienced an action game with such satisfying combat before.
Especially with this top-down perspective, being able to create such a feeling is truly remarkable.
Wow.
This combo system is pretty cool!
Moreover, the heroine can use both melee weapons and pistols, perfectly showcasing the richness of her moves and the diversity of the combat system.
The only drawback is—
When playing this game with a controller, turning can be a bit troublesome. For instance, when dealing with enemies coming from the upper diagonal, it's hard for the directional pad to make timely adjustments.
This is also a problem that Aoki Haruhi currently wants to solve.
The best way is to use dual joysticks.
But currently, the controllers produced by major game console manufacturers are still stuck in the four-directional button era.
Of course, the main problem lies in the fact that no game has yet demanded higher requirements for more directions, as well as greater flexibility and precision from the directional keys.
And now, such a game has appeared.
It is Pokeni's "The Witcher."
It has placed higher demands on existing gaming equipment.
The joy in Furukawa Hirozawa's heart was written all over his face.
The game was far better than he had imagined; not only was the art style unique and full of charm, but the combat system and gameplay also far exceeded his expectations.
He had almost missed out on an excellent work.
"The Witcher" proved with its actual quality the value of this producer named Mikami Shinji.
At the very least, it was a success in terms of gameplay and originality, and it had already managed to get Furukawa Hirozawa hooked.
Moreover, once he realized this, he felt full of confidence in the entire game.
The store manager really didn't lie to me.
This game might actually become Mikami Shinji's breakout hit.
At the very least, based on the early combat experience, Furukawa Hirozawa could give this game a perfect score.
All that remained was to see how Gen Urobuchi would perform.
On the world map, one can clearly see traces of an abandoned modern city; not only are there dilapidated reinforced concrete skyscrapers, but also some damaged neon signs at entrances, bearing the "GG" brand...
Hirozawa Furukawa even suspected that the development team of The Witcher designed it based on Tokyo's Ginza district.
Because many of the sets looked too similar.
It was just a scene of what it might look like after it had fallen into ruin.
In addition to the dark, dungeon-like experience, the game The Witcher also incorporated some labyrinths with puzzle-solving elements.
On some of the walls in these labyrinths, one could see some very strange, meaningful paintings.
For instance, there is a famous painting by Michelangelo—The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
God flying down from the heavens, reaching out His finger towards Adam, about to transmit the soul to Adam as if connecting a power source.
This dramatic moment, which wonderfully juxtaposes man and God, triggers an infinite sense of awe in us; it is truly unprecedented and will never be surpassed.
In "The Witcher," within a similar painting, God is replaced by a bearded human, and the young person whose finger is being touched is a vampire girl.
Although there are heavy pixelated traces here (mainly due to hardware limitations), you can still accurately recognize the content within.
Seeing this painting gave Furukawa goosebumps.
Oh no, it's over. For some reason, a sense of foreboding welled up in Furukawa's heart.
This is Old Xu's style.
He always manages to design various hints and puzzles, adding a thick layer of suspense to the entire game. And even though you know the future path might take a turn for the worse, like a huge abyss, you still jump into it without hesitation.
Successfully finding the survivors in the hospital, the heroine prepared to lead them to safety.
Just then, the voice of the scout, Xia, rang out in the earpiece:
"Sisyphus, be careful. Something about them doesn't seem right."
Hirozawa Furukawa's heart tightened involuntarily.
Sure enough, a terrifying, monster-like roar came from the television.
Immediately following this, the shadow of a monster appeared from the corner.
But this was merely a diversion. When the heroine turned back, the little girl who had appeared human suddenly let out an eerie laugh, and her body began to expand rapidly.
A red light suddenly flickered in her light-brown pupils, giving Hirozawa Furukawa a start.
To be honest, this sequence of plot and camera transitions was terrifying.
Just when you thought you were leading the humans to safety, an unexpected twist occurred—it was like a demonic claw suddenly appearing before you in the silence.
The girl's skin also changed color; veins bulged one by one from her face and wrists, and at the same time, a pair of giant bat wings sprouted from her back.
Her face was hideous, devoid of any human appearance, with only a pair of giant, protruding eyeballs and sharp fangs.
ROAR~~
The vampire let out a roar, and the entire screen trembled slightly.
"This is the True Form of the Blood Tribe."
"This Blood Tribe is clearly much more powerful than the previous ones; it must be a Source Race."
"Please be very careful."
"Understood."
In the lore of The Witcher, Blood Tribes are divided into several different types. The Source Race belongs to the earliest generation of Blood Tribes; they propagate their descendants by turning other humans or creatures into Blood Tribes.
These Blood Tribes are known as their Blood Parents.
Once a Blood Parent dies, their descendants will also perish along with them.
Therefore, in the game, if you are faced with too many enemies, you only need to concentrate your strength to defeat the Blood Parent, and you can instantly destroy a whole wave of monsters, potentially turning a desperate situation into a comeback.
This is considered a very interesting mechanic in The Witcher—
It is a strategic question of whether to take out the mobs one by one or to risk concentrating your strength to take down the Blood Parent.
Players like Hirozawa Furukawa, who are confident in their own skills, might choose the high-risk, high-reward "mob-pulling" strategy: charging directly at the Blood Parent, taking care of all the other monsters along the way as a bonus.
Naturally, this demands higher skill.
Moreover, once you attack the Blood Parent, the surrounding monsters—even those that hadn't discovered you before—will come running at the sound, and one small mistake can easily lead to a game over.
After the boss fight, the vampire was successfully slain. The heroine was pushed against a wall, cracking it upon impact.
At the same time, the corner of a broken scarf on her neck was revealed, showing what seemed to be a metallic ring.
A collar.
A blue light flickered from its center.
A crack had appeared in it.
Click...
As expected, the collar shattered and fell from her neck.
This cutscene, like the opening sequence, was presented through static images and text. Although it lacked animation, the artwork was so exquisite that Hirozawa Furukawa could almost visualize the entire scene.
Her eyes suddenly lit up from the darkness, turning a terrifying crimson, and at the same time, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Just then, a figure appeared on the ground.
When she looked up, her expression suddenly changed.
Standing before her was a man.
He wore leather armor and had a robust build, with a long, triangular red cape tied around his shoulders.
His facial features were soft, his physique was burly, and one of his arms had been modified into a mechanical one.
He carried a greatsword on his back and held two high-tech pistols in his hands, looking like a male version of the heroine.
"Damn it..." the heroine glanced at him, uttering a low curse.
The screen goes black.
When it lights up again, the surroundings are completely white.
This time, the character Hirozawa Furukawa is playing has become a man.
He looks down at the heroine waking up on the bed.
"You're awake?" the male lead [Sisyphus] says with a smile.
At the same time, he softly calls the heroine's name, "Mia."
"I almost let you escape."
Then, he says word by word, "Damn ~ vampire."
Mia, with her silver hair and red eyes, touches the collar on her neck, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Damn it... it was just a little bit more..."
"Huh?"
Furukawa Hirozawa was stunned for a moment, and then he realized.
So, the heroine is a Blood Tribe member?!
Then what was that battle just now about?
Who is actually the bad guy here?
For a moment, he felt a bit confused.
Damn it!
As expected.
This is Gen Urobuchi's style!
In less than half an hour, a twist had already occurred, and the story had been draped in a thick layer of suspense.
The mystery was like an invisible, untouchable, yet terrifying fog hanging in his mind, making every nerve tense up.
However...
Furukawa Hirozawa smiled silently.
That's right, this is the flavor.
The flavor of Gen Urobuchi.
With a hint of Kogahara Tsubakiaki's touch in it.
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