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Everything you need to know about Overblood. Release DateAugust 2, 1996. For essentials, you discover that your name is Raz Karcy but that's all you know. In the sequel Overblood 2, The Hero is Arcano Brandi who traveled to East Edge in 2115 to become a 'Junk Blader' After the End as Earth is a boiling furnace, and the only reason people have survived is due to the constant cooling devices.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/Overblood
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'PIIIIIPOOOOOOOOO!!!'
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OverBlood is a Sci-FiSurvival Horror/Adventure game for the PlayStation. Developed by Riverhillsoft, it was first released in Japan in 1996 and was later localized by Electronic Arts for the west in 1997. While often seen as one of the first Resident Evilclones, it was actually in development around the same time and it's really more of a Spiritual Successor to Riverhillsoft's even lesser known 3DO Interactive Multiplayer game Dr. Hauzer (which in turn drew inspiration from Alone in the Dark, much like Resident Evil did).
The game begins as the protagonist wakes from cryostasis with amnesia. After saving himself from the life-threatening cold of the room by wearing a small vest he calls a jacket, he learns from a computer terminal that his name is Raz (Norelation) Karcy and that he was never supposed to wake up. With the aid of the robot Pipo he begins exploring the mysterious complex in which he is trapped, discovering the aftermath of an earthquake and the unfortunate results of a Super Soldier project. Things get complicated when he discovers he is infected with the mutation-causing ARNA Virus and that someone wants to make sure he never escapes...
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It is notably more puzzle oriented than other Survival Horror games, having less than ten enemy encounters over the course of the entire game, counting the boss. It was also commended for its use of companions whom you could control at will for puzzles.
While it was at the time considered rather average, it is now incredibly entertaining: the laughably illogical puzzles are just barely passable, the animations for everything from jumping to just standing still are ridiculous, and its otherwise interesting but forgettable plot is chock full of Narm.
It's sequel, OverBlood 2, was released in 1998 and had a lot of similarities to a certain game released a year earlier. The Hero is Acarno Brani, who traveled to the city of East Edge in 2115 to become a 'Junk Blader.' Since the events of the first game, the Earth has become a boiling furnace that is only habitable due to massive cooling devices. He tries to save an old man at the airport from being robbed and ends up becoming involved in a sinister conspiracy revolving around a mysterious capsule. It was released only in Japan and Europe, with certain copies containing a Game-Breaking Bug that made it impossible to finish.
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If you actually looked up this forgotten game, there's a good chance its because you watched either the Super Replay of it on Gameinformer.com, or the Wrongpurae of it by Retsupurae.
![Overblood pipo Overblood pipo](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z-l4uoJq4w0/TphSDJC18II/AAAAAAAAALw/2UEK3eBDaWQ/s1600/gr_overblood11.jpg)
These games have no relation to Blood Over, a 2D Beat 'em Up game.
OverBlood contains examples of:
- Amnesiac Hero: Raz remembers nothing.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Raz becomes one... but in an unusual fashion, he gets cured in under five minutes.
- Big Word Shout / Skyward Scream: Pipoooooooo!.
- Body Horror: The result of the Viral Transformation entry below.
- Chekhov's Gun: Pipo's chip. Seems extremely pointless to take it? Yes, but Pipo is at the very end uploaded onto Zeus (the giant computer) who lets Milly and Raz out of the base that is about to explode.
- Cloning Blues: The main character, Raz Karcy, is actually a clone of the real Raz Karcy, a Mad Scientist whose wife died. Milly, your companion for most of the game, is actually a clone of the original Milly, the original Karcy's wife. The original Raz Karcy wants clone Milly to love him, but she loves clone Raz.
- Cute Machines: Pipo.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: The good guys wear vests that are too small for them. The evil guys don't.
- Elaborate Underground Base: The first game took place entirely inside one.
- The Faceless: The mysterious man who helps the heroes along and the scientists in the discovered video.
- Genetic Memory: Milly remembers all of her original's memories because original-Raz wanted her to love him again.
- Gosh Darn It to Heck!: It feels like the script was deliberately kept rated G for whatever market appeal they were going for.'Oh for Gosh's sake, what is it?!''Move, darn you! Don't leave us trapped like this!'
- Guide Dang It!: There is nothing that indicates what objects can be interacted with. Many items are not even visible in the game, you just have to interact with one of several identical environmental objects to find the item needed. Crouching and interacting with an object has a different effect than interacting with it standing up, to the point where while standing up you will get 'There's nothing here' and while crouching you will find a crucial item. Completion requires you either check every single thing, from desks to boxes to walls, twice, or you use a guide.
- It's also entirely possible that, without a guide, you will miss the only item in the game that allows you to save your progress. Which happened in the Game Informer Super Replay.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Dear Pipo.
- Laser Blade: The laser knife.
- Mad Scientist:
- Magic Antidote: Once the Viral Transformation mention below is in full effect, Milly takes Raz to get treated and completely reverses the virus. This essentially wastes the subplot, since there was a decent amount of build up but is never mentioned again after that event.
- Replacement Goldfish: Milly (the one who joins the party) was cloned to replace the original's death and be the wife to the husband, original Raz (the villain).
- Robot Buddy: Pipo. We'll never forget you.
- Say My Name: 'Pipoooooooooo!' and later 'Milllllllllly!'
- Super Soldier: This has been Lystra's original aim, creating clone soldiers who carry the ARNA virus that gives them higher sensory perception. This is why the zombies are very strong. Obviously, it backfires until the original Raz shows how to do it... and then you have to fight him.
- Tap on the Head: Raz gets knocked out in a single punch from Original Raz compared to the other times he's been punched by zombies.
- This Cannot Be!: Raz says this upon learning that he's a clone.
- Time-Limit Boss: The final boss must be beaten in five hundred seconds and still escape.
- Unskippable Cutscene: Throughout. Particularly frustrating during the aforementioned Time-Limit Boss.
- Viral Transformation: Happens to the clone Raz. That is to say, the main character.
- You All Look Familiar: The zombies all have the exact same model. More obvious than in other games because the only thing they wear is a solid-colored jumpsuit, normally blue but later Palette Swapped to green.
The sequel provides examples of:
- Anime Hair: Acarno, lampshaded by an NPC who says it's weird and asks you to change it.
- Bare Your Midriff: Every single woman in the entire game.
- Call-Back: In the D-NA bar, there's a statue suspended in mid-air with a gravity controller, a reference to the first game where Raz takes such a device that was used to levitate a statue. Taking the gravity controller here causes the statue to fall on you and kill you.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: While Raz Karcy returns and robots modeled after Pipo are abundant, Milly Azray makes no appearances in Overblood 2 whatsoever.
- The Coats Are Off: Kondo in the first fight.
- Cool Airship: Billboard Island turns into one.
- Enemy Mine: The owners of Billboard Island force Acarno to fight with them after he tried to rob them.
- Girlish Pigtails: Acarno's younger sister, Nina, has these.
- Gosh Darn It to Heck!: Averted when Acarno says both 'shit' and 'bastard' in the first cutscenes.
- In Name Only: The two games don't really share much at all with each other, thematically or in terms of continuity. Thankfully, one of the few things they do share is a charming ineptitude.
- Jiggle Physics: Present, though subtle. Especially odd considering how simplistic the character models are.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The ITP have been doing this to certain people so they can't remember any information that could be used against them. For example, they erased Raz's memories of the first games events.
- Man in White: Zeno Razuul dresses like this.
- No Escape but Down: At the very start, Acarno jumps out a window.
- Only in It for the Money: Acarno, but only for the first job. After that, he decides to work for free.
- Or Was It a Dream?: Did Acarno see the spirit of his dead sister or was it a dream?
- Rubber Man: Kondo is this in his 'green' form.
- Seers: Acarno has visions of the future.
- Torture Always Works: Raz and the other scientists were tortured after they survived the explosions before the game started.
- Unusual Eyebrows: All the bad guys have really odd eyebrows...
Index
Contents.Gameplay The game features an introduction and seven episodes, plus a hidden bonus episode unlocked by earning 2000 Clear Points. Between most of the episodes, which are all set in different locations, the player generally has the option to explore the main city where the game begins in order to buy items, weapons, talk to non player characters and find hidden perks in the game.A free-camera view allows the player to control their view within the 3D environment.
Plot The game follows protagonist Acarno Brani, an ambitious twenty-four year old Junk Blade pilot, arriving at East Edge City Airport after relocating from Greyland. Acarno and Curtis have a brief chat in the airport terminal before Curtis leaves for the door, as Curtis is leaving Acarno has a premonition of Curtis being attacked. Curtis is then ambushed by a powerful, mutating villain called Kondo. After throwing a mysterious capsule across the floor in Acarno's direction, Curtis is taken by Kondo.
This is the first point at which the player encounters combat, armed only with a sword, and must swiftly exit the airport after avoiding people trying to shoot at him. Acarno jumps out of the airport window, falling hundreds of feet into the sea.After climbing out of the water, Acarno is given the choice to examine the capsule. Upon doing so he hears the name 'D-NA' between a lot of static, before the message being played cuts out. The game then turns into a free roam game, giving the player the ability to travel throughout East Edge City. Eventually Acarno will come across a bar named 'D-NA', and inquire with the bartender, Raz Karcy (the main character from the first OverBlood game), who begins telling him about the passenger who gave him the capsule which led him to the bar. Raz informs Acarno about a conspiracy involving the project being worked on by Hayano Industries.
With time being of the essence, Raz offers Acarno 50,000 credits towards the entrance fee to enter the local Junk Blade race in exchange for helping with his plan to uncover the secret of the project.Meanwhile, Kondo reports to his boss, Hayano, about the failure to retrieve the capsule and the interference of Acarno, who Kondo believes is a spy. Acarno travels to Billboard Island to recruit Navarro Jean, an old colleague of Raz and acquire a map of Hayano's Pagoda. Meanwhile, Raz is confronted by Chris Lanebecca. Acarno fights and solves puzzles to get through the Billboard Island Facility, eventually going up against a large security robot. Acarno destroys the robot, but is then tased by a robot of the same model as Pipo, a companion from the first game.
Navarro Jean interrogates Acarno about his motives, but the interrogation is cut short when the ITP ambushes Billboard Island on Hayano's orders. Acarno is freed in the hectic scramble, and mans a turret to fend off the attack.Acarno, Chris, and Navarro infiltrate the perimeter, check in with each other before going radio silent, then launch the attack. The Pagoda is filled with enemies, puzzles, and traps, and the trio must fight their way through the Pagoda to the three respective guardians, a crab-like robot, a frog-like robot, and a squid-like robot.
The player decides who uses which entrance, and thus who fights which guardian. The trio then break into the mainframe.
Navarro hacks the main terminal of ZEUS while Chris and Acarno keep lookout. The computer reveals that the secret government project is codenamed: Meridian. The KPACS only has approximately ten years before the energy is depleted, so Project: Meridian was designed as an immigration ship that uses KPACS energy to ferry the Earth's elite to a colony world with fresh resources, but can only hold 20,000 people. The team ponders why Raz and Veltor would be needed for the project before deciding to escape first, and figure out the details later. As they are headed for the door Acarno remembers that Nina said she was in the Pagoda. Acarno runs back into the central room and tries to knock down the door to a restricted safe-room while calling out Nina's name as Chris and Navarro try to stop him.
This triggers the alarm and Kondo is dispatched to kill the invaders.As Acarno admits defeat and leaves with the other two all three are knocked to the ground by a shockwave as Kondo appears. As the intruders recover from the blast Chris and Acarno recognize Kondo.
Acarno says he can take Kondo on his own and rushes in to fight. Acarno is badly beaten however, and just as Kondo moves in for the killing strike Kondo is paralyzed by a lightning bolt and Nina appears. Acarno is stunned to see Nina there, and Nina apologizes for making Acarno get involved, and almost getting him killed, she then mentions the search to find the Parallax Key, then disappears before Acarno can ask what she means. When Kondo wakes up Acarno demands to know where his sister is.
Kondo explains that Nina was abducted because of her supernatural powers, and was experimented on in an attempt to clone the gene that gave her those powers. The experiment lead to Nina's death which is why she appears the same age as when she was taken, and that the Nina Acarno was talking to is an A.I.
Acarno flies into a fit of rage and begins channeling a field of energy. He fights Kondo again, this time brutally beating Kondo. As Kondo calls for backup Hayano orders him to release the intruders.
Kondo begrudgingly obeys.In the elevator to the lobby the gang discuss Acarno's ability to harness Xeno-Rays, which is a power only one in five-million have. Chris says that they have to do something about the KPACS reserves running out before the ten-year deadline. Navarro explains that the Meridian launch is going to exhaust the reserves of energy keeping KPACS operational, killing all life on Earth, meaning they have only weeks to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, Hayano is alone in his office planning on how to counter the next attack by the rebels, and what to do about Acarno and his special power.Development Mark Estdale, an industry veteran, looked back on his work on the localization of the game in an interview with GameCulture.
He stated, 'I read the script. It was awful, translated to English from Japanese by Italians so I suggested rewriting the English to match the stylized Japanese, or making it into an acted comedy or to scrap the whole thing. I was told the script was perfect and couldn’t be changed and that we must do it with seriousness.
We squirmed and the actors wept. When the game finally came out we discovered amongst many painfully awful mistranslations that the hand bomb throwing device was a grenade launcher and the whorehouse key level was actually a warehouse.' The director of the game was, who previously worked as a programmer on the first game. He would later become the CEO of developer, which he founded just a few months after the release of the game.
He would later reflect back on his experience developing the series, stating, 'On Overblood 1, I was programming all by myself. On Overblood2, I was directing, planning and writing scenarios. Those were some of my most hardworking days. That’s the way I liked it, but I really couldn’t sleep then.' Reception In an import review of the game, criticized the excessively long cutscenes, along with the slow performance of the game engine.The Overblood series was the subject of the online video blog series Super Replay by the editors of magazine.
During the Super Replay, the editors criticized the lack of the ability to skip cutscenes, the convoluted storyline and the general lack of direction. They occasionally praised it for its ambition.criticized the game as a 'pale imitation of Final Fantasy VII with its heart ripped out' and gave it a score of 4 out of 10. References.
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