If you want to have the experience of playing an obscure PS2 game you never heard of and found as a rental in the back of a Blockbuster and spent an awesome weekend playing it and wondering why more people don't know about it, this is it.

The setting is gorgeous and inspired, the characters seldom speak but are charming none the less, and the tower defense with villagers is a solid game play loop reinforced by rebuilding villages and finding new equipment for your character, unlocking new classes for your villagers, and permanent upgrades for those classes.

When people say they wish they made good games anymore this is what they're talking about. This is the antithesis of modern video game slop.

We seldom get gems like this anymore. Niche games not made for the lowest common denominator by chasing trends, but little IPs with their own identity and feel. A must-buy for everybody complaining about 'modern gaming'. This one feels like going back in time - to a better time.

~ zen, esoteric, majestic, haunting, surprisingly comforting and most of all satisfying & fun ~

Have to give it a thumbs up just because it defies modern yapfest storytelling. The game tells you what's going on in a simple but very well made cutscene, says "okay now go do it", and you're off. Cutscenes are just to introduce new concepts and nothing more. There's barely even any words said, and they don't need to be said.

Gameplay is solid, doesn't hold your hand any more than it needs to, and the art direction is top-notch. Capcom really cooked with this gem, I hope it gains traction. Tired of AAA moviegames. Other reviewers are saying this feels like a PS2 game and I have to agree, and that's probably the highest praise I could give a game.

Just leave the thump up for a very chill, unique and fun game.

And btw in the review, there is an idiot complains about
1. A simple and casual game that makes you wait and be lazy in one spot but... Isn't that his own choice of strategy and tactic?
2. Insane downtime that only takes you... a total 1 minutes to go here then go there, pet the dog and complete what you want in a tiny map...
3. There is no restart for attempting time trial bosses but there is... Main Menu > Load with an autosave just right after you and your premade party enter the arena boss, which is why, i called that person an idiot.

Hope anybody else enjoy and have a relaxing time if you're interested in the game.

Theres a poison swamp and the maiden is barefoot.


Who let Miyazaki in Capcom

A huge creative swing for Capcom. And it hits. More big studios need to take risks on offbeat ideas like this.

Capcom it's crazy that you just forgot to publish this PS2 game for like 20 years, but whatever I'll take it. Always down for big publishers doing weird things.

Shin Sekai: Into the Depths when? Don't let that game die on Apple Arcade, please.

Capcom forgot they had this lying on their shelves and just decided to release it 20 years later

And it's so good.

Early review but this game is an absolute gem in all aspects that hopefully won't get overlooked to turn into just an unknown cult hit and instead has the deserved attention right from the release with a slow build up as time passes so that we can get more games in this vein.
The game really feels as something out of the "PS1/2 gaming Era", where game companies still tried to innovate and bring something new with each game release - if you are even just middling interested in the game, give the demo a try since as many other people, with myself included, it might change your mind on it for the better or further reinforce your interest in it.

Great visual art style with some innovative character and world design based on Japanese Folklore with graphics and effects that although are nothing to write home about they are well executed enough to do justice to the game accompanied with a perfect sound design and traditional music, plus containing also small cut-scenes between levels that tell this simple but still compelling story.

The gameplay which is the key aspect of the game, has the perfect mix of tactical phases by doing some planning on where to position your units with which roles while juggling resources and then moving around fighting with Soh (your samurai character) when suddenly all hell breaks loose and you are trying to save all your fronts and need to act quickly.

The breakdown of genres is as it follows:
■ Tower Defense game: where you have a selected few units that you can position around and choose their roles depending on the layout of the land and enemies that you will face (at a surface level can be similar to games such as Orcs Must Die/Sanctum/Dungeon Defenders but think more on Warhammer 40K Dawn of War II or something like the campaign missions in Age of Mythology where you have just a few heroes that you need to position them in some key position with some moving around to be able to win the levels rather than brute forcing with a huge number of units or have static Towers doing all the work);

■ Light-Character Action game (e.g. Onimusha, Devil May Cry) or Musou (e.g. Dynasty Warriors) or even Beat Em Up game: where you are just going around attacking the enemies in a empty front that you need to hold or to run to catch the ones that have escaped your troops with some simple but visually and satisfying combos;

■ Light-Sim Base Management: as you progress through the game you will liberate bases and in between the levels you will be able to revisit them to use as a base camp to manage the upgrades for your units, equip new talismans for Soh (your character) and also have some choices of which areas you wish your villagers to repair to get some specific resources back when they finish it (in the end you get all of them done so it's just a matter of getting a specific thing sooner rather than later).

Soh good.