Onigiri (video game)

Onigiri (鬼斬) is an action massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by CyberStep. It is set in a fantasy land reminiscent of ancient Japan in which humans and non-humans such as Oni and other Yōkai coexist. The game was originally released in Japan on February 6, 2014 and in North America on July 1, 2014. The English console versions were released on October 2, 2015 for the Xbox One and on October 6, 2015. for the PlayStation 4. The game's title means "oni cutter", reflective of the player characters' background as an Oni; the title can also be taken as a pun on onigiri, the Japanese rice ball.

Plot
The game is set in a fantasy version of ancient Japan that is filled with creatures of myth. Ages ago the terrible Kamikui wreaked trail of death and destruction across the land before being stopped by the goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu Oomikami. The goddess places three great Seals that forced the Kamikui to retreat. Now one of the Seals has shattered.

The player character is an Oni whose peaceful life in the Western island of Onigashima is disturbed by the revival of the Kamikui.

Gameplay
The game has different servers for the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 versions but the gameplay is the same for all versions.

Unlike most other MMORPGs that have different races or classes, in Onigiri players can only play as Oni and choosing a class involves picking a favored weapon to specialize in. When creating a character, players choose one of five traits that will determine which weapons they can use. The traits are Power (Axe, Oodachi, Spear, and Sword), Defensive (Spear and Staff), Kind (Staff and Wand), Daring (Axe, Oodachi, Dual Swords, Bow, and Sword), and Cautious (Dual Swords, Bow and Wand). Characters level up five basic stats: Power, Vitality, Wisdom, Mind and Dexterity.

Partner System
In Onigiri players have eight NPC partners that each have distinct personalities and abilities. which can be improved as they gain more affection for the player. Affection levels can be raised by giving the companions gifts that they prefer.

Characters

 * Shizuka Gozen (静御前)
 * A princess of the shogunate who has a large mansion in Edo. She runs away from home because of the strict discipline she has to undergo as a princess since she was little. She uses bow and arrow as weapon. She is voiced by Cynthia Martinez in English.


 * Yoshitsune (義経)
 * A steady girl who is strict to others, but even stricter to herself. Though, she likes to spoil Shizuka Gozen. A person who is given responsibility by Bakufu to suppress evil spirits. She is a relative of Shizuka. If it doesn't involve Shizuka Gozen, she is a person with common sense, but when something involves Shizuka Gozen, she becomes irrational. She acts cute when drunk, which Kijimuna points out even cuter than Veronica. She uses a katana as weapon. She is voiced by Stephanie Wittels in English.


 * Ibaraki doji (茨木童子)
 * The daughter of the Oni who runs Nagare tavern. She drinks sake thrice as much as she eats rice. Her favourite is matatabi sake. She has a cheerful personality, and she loves to do foolish things with her friends. Even though she runs an alcohol bar, she is always drunk (as pointed out by Shizuka Gozen). Her weapon of choice is a sword in the shape of a cat's paw. She is voiced by Brittney Karbowski in English.


 * Kaguya (かぐや)
 * A weird girl whose deeds and words can't be understood. What does she thinks or where does she comes from is also not known. Her hobbies include surfing internet and reading "large-electron tile block print" (electronic newspaper). In her free time, she can be found posting a fresh thread or being a troll. She wears an eyepatch, and suffers from chuunibyou. She uses a rifle as weapon. She is voiced by Kira Vincent-Davis in English.


 * Amaterasu (あまてらす)
 * She is formerly the sun goddess who sealed Kamikui in the past, Amaterasu Oomikami herself. When an incident of a large barrier gets destroyed occurred a few years ago, her form turns into a little girl. She feels good that she can conduct herself skillfully in her little girl form. She is voiced by Hilary Haag in English.


 * Veronica Vasilyevna Vonitsky (ヴェロニカ・ワシーリエヴナ・ヴォイニーツカヤ)
 * A boy. He used the power of Kamikui to be like a girl (at least in appearance) to take part in "Her Party". He is the so-called "male daughter". His physical ability is low, but in exchange, he is clever, a genius scientist. He always stand in the way of Shizuka Gozen's party with his dubious invention. His name is always should be read in full. She hates anyone who is cuter than her. His affection towards Susanoo (which becomes apparent during Kaga missions) implicates he is a homosexual crossdresser. She is voiced by Margaret McDonald in English.


 * Uzume (うずめ)
 * "Her Party"'s symbolic goddess. She is a real goddess. Even though she is a good-hearted goddess with twisted personality, she hates the unnatural existence=male daughter=Veronica Vasilyevna Vonitsky. Firstly seeming to hate Shizuka Gozen, she falls in love with her after an incident where both of them are drunk. She is voiced by Joanne Bonasso in English.


 * Kijimuna (キジムナー)
 * Seems to be a Yōkai who originally is a tree brimming with curiosity. It can die by not saying Veronica Vasilyevna Vonitsky's name properly. Alongside Uzume and Veronica, they secretly is on a journey to get the shogun's hidden treasure. It has a habit of saying "muna" at the end of its sentence.
 * It has a running gag where it would give experience and coins upon dying, in which the other characters take advantage of. She is voiced by Tiffany Grant in English.


 * Sakura (さくら)
 * The descendant of an Oni who once lived in Onigashima, but are now separated from this world. Since now Onigashima is crowded with tourist, she lives her daily life just by training herself. Along with fellow Oni descendants Jin and Shizuka Gozen, she travels to destroy the Kamikuis. She is voiced by Chaney Moore in English.


 * Jin (ジン), stylized as Zin in the anime
 * The only male in Shizuka Gozen's party, he is with Sakura when they get separated. Since Onigiri only has female voices, his dialogue is always written ADV-style, like in Visual Novels.


 * Narrator
 * The narrator of the story, who provides the background story of each episode, and mostly acts as the straight man to Shizuka Gozen's party. He is voiced by Jay Hickman in English.


 * Miroku
 * Uses a spear. Appears only in the game and related promotional materials.


 * Momotarou
 * Uses a pair of katana. He is often hungry. Appears only in the game and related promotional materials.


 * Susanoo
 * Amaterasu's brother. Uses a large sword shaped like flames. Appears only in the game and related promotional materials.

Reception
Onigiri has garnered a number of favorable reviews. Bradly Storm of Hardcore Gamer felt that it was "a fairly competent and enjoyable hack-and-slash experience" even though the launch suffered from server-side latency issues. Reviewer Angelique Stokes praised the game's combat and wrote that the game was "bursting with personality." Sheattack's Charnelle Schindel found the plot "lackluster" but overall she felt Onigiri was generally "great fun to play." Crunchyroll called it "a very solid title."

On the other hand, many players have criticized the game for its monotony after reaching a certain level.

Anime
An anime television adaptation of the game was announced by CyberStep on January 27, 2016. It aired from April 7, 2016 on Tokyo MX and BS Fuji then finished on June 30, 2016. Pierrot+ produced the anime with Takashi Yamamoto directing the series, Takamitsu Kouno handling series composition, Takashi Aoshima and Atsushi Oka writing the scripts. Yukiko Ibe designed the characters and is the series' chief animation director.

Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series for North America.

The opening theme is "Hime wa Rankiryuu☆Goikkou-sama" (姫は乱気流☆御一行様, The Princess is Turbulence☆Her Party) by STARMARIE.