Dororo is a great samurai game that went under the radar when it was released.

Posted by Antonio on 14th Apr 2010

Unfortunately, this game went unnoticed when it was first released, which is a shame because the game deserved more attention by gamers, than it originally got.

The game is based on the Dororo story from the anime/manga of the 1960s. The story was written by Tezuka Osamu, the creator of Astro Boy, so you know the story must be good,...and it's a good one indeed.

The story is really engaging. It's about a man that, as a child, had his body parts stolen by demons, so that the demons could wreak havoc on the world by having living physical properties which empower them. 48 of his body parts, which Hyakkimaru has to retrieve to reclaim his humanity, have to obtained by defeating 48 bosses...but there are even more bosses to battle in the game than just 48. He meets up with a little brave thief named Dororo, and together they quest to rid the world of demons and reclaim Hyakkimaru's body.
By the way, if your wondering what Hyakkimaru is able to wander around the world without major portions of his body, its because when as an infant, he was found by a scientist that rebuilt his body with magic and science. He used wood, metal, gears, and glass as ingredients.

Graphics are good. Art direction is very good. The game definitely has a style to it.

Music is okay to good.

Gameplay is really good. Hyakkimaru can do many things in the game since his body is artificial. He can shoot a machine gun from his arm, a cannon in his knee, and two swords in the place of arms. He can switch to wooden type of hands and legs, which look human, but also switch back to his more deadly form easily. In his more human looking form, he uses a samurai sword as his weapon.

Early on in the game, the game is colorless, because his artificial eyes can't see color, so the game is depicted in black and white. But very early on in the game, the first body part you get to obtain is one of his stolen natural eyes, and the game will soon switch to full color. So don't worry about it.
The more body parts you get to obtain for Hyakkimaru, the more proficient he gets at battling, and the more in battle powers and moves of his, gets unlocked.
Dororo is playable, but she is mostly for puzzle solving, aiding Hyakkimaru, and platforming to get certain objectives done.

The only real complaint I have is the camera. It sometimes has a mind of its own or gets problematic.

This japanese version of Blood Will Tell, is titled Dororo, and it is better than the u.s. released version because the u.s. version does NOT have the japanese voice work. Since the game is about samurai days, english seems misplaced.