Game:

Black Bird (2018)

Duration: 1:35:45

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"Black Bird" is, unsurprisingly, a hentai eroge by the little-known developer, "ViVian", released for the PC-98 in 1995. The game is a dungeon-crawling RPG featuring lewd enemies that is somewhat reminiscent to a contemporary version of Elf's earlier "Dragon Knight" titles. Taking place in the near "future" (from the game's standpoint, 20 years ahead of its release), the world is run from the shadows by terrorists and cyberpunk hackers with a smidge of the occult.

A covert criminal organization known as "DiGiBe" (short for "Digital Beasts") has concocted a powerful mind-control ability with a combination of computer know-how and magic that has turned unsuspecting people into their pawns at a moments notice. While this condition affects all people, DiGiBe is primarily targeting women due to their higher affinity to manifest magical abilities and psychic powers. In an effort to track the syndicate down, the government has drafted a small team of elite counter-terrorism specialists, code-named "Black Bird", a Tokyo Metropolitan Police sub-division (Private Police Corps. Supervision Bureau) to take charge of the investigation.

Leading the group is the bounty hunter, Lightning Inase (commonly called "Light" for short), who possesses keen intellect, strong psychic abilities and an overall BB rank of A. He has been a member for over two years and is one of two original survivors (the other being Osman). He gets a hint about a possible lead on the Digital Beasts from Amy Parton (A quasi-commander that is kind and level-headed who secures jobs and supplies) at the New Planning Office near Kudanshita Station, but this is the start to more than meets the eye as you rally the rest of the Black Bird crew to do mostly "Mystery of the Week" missions.

The graphics are serviceable with psuedo-3D dungeons and decent artwork and the gameplay is actually pretty solid, but the real standout here is the soundtrack. Most PC-98 games have absolute bangers for soundtracks and Black Bird is no different, but it's kind of a pity that a soundtrack this fantastic is lost on such an obscure adult PC game... I can't even imagine sometimes how some artists are approached when it comes time to work. It's like the devs just said "We have almost no budget and we've got this lewd game full of kinks that is nonsensical but takes itself more seriously than it should and I need you to make music that will convey the intensity of the situation. We need to release this thing before the holiday season; how quickly can you create a few throwaway tracks?" and the composer was just like "yes". In all actuality though, the game doesn't just have "any" composer but the underground legend, "Takeaki Watanabe", AKA Watson & NAVA.

Most of TW's older works are fairly unknown although he has also worked on "Mahou Shoujo Fancy Coco" and "Star Trap", but he is most famous these days for his work in the Doujin sector, renowned for his work on the "Murasaki" titles, "Muse Dash" and the cult phenomenon, "Irisu Syndrome". You won't be able to fully enjoy the soundtrack through the normal course of the game without making a conscious effort as the tracks will loop often between opening treasure chests, triggering events and engaging in battles, but the game is worth, at the very least, a listen. Most of the tracks have been uploaded to YT separately but very little is said of the actual game.

Exploration is done in your typical dungeon crawling fashion with grid-based movement, but the game is quite accessible due to a handy auto-map, the ability to save just about anywhere, a bevy of useful items (that are offered in generous abundance) and a good battle system that is not too grind-dependent. Combat is a deconstruction of mahjong and is relatively fast paced, where Chii, Pon, Kan and Tsumo allows you to attack or defend based on the types of tiles you draw. Dark Bullets attack, Light Bullets heal, Kevlar vests help you defend (by raising defense for a few rounds), and several special tiles run the gamut of stunning a foe (Piyori), magnifying your attacks (Fire/Earth/Wind, with the first two, adjusting your attack animation), deflecting damage, etc.

Items differ between the field and battle (with battle items letting you draw multiple tile sets of your choosing, replacing tiles, etc.) and there is a substitution doll that protects you from death (in the rare event of a Tsumo, which you CAN survive, but won't for a while). Battles occur often, but the player can auto-battle to speed things up or run with high success (and failure won't cost a turn). Bosses are generally weaker than the stronger enemies in an area and enemies have individual (often nice) item drops. At several points, you can choose the order of your missions which has a minor effect on difficulty and chat with allies. There is also game-clear content. Overall, BB is a decent entry-level DC if you get past the adult content. This is a video of about the first 90 minutes of the game. Enjoy.