The four-person team making A Credible Tale of Yokai, Robots, and the Lunar Tourists says that, due to having strong family ties to Japan, they want to make a game that pays homage to old Japanese folktales and classic RPGs from the country.
As such, in A Credible Tale, you play as an unlikely hero who is chosen by Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, to protect a town that houses a mysterious and precious package. You don’t know why this package is so important, but you very quickly understand that the Yokai are after it, and so it’s up to you to keep them out of the town. It’s a story that takes parts from classic stories including the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and the Peach Boy. The characters, locations, and quests are all inspired directly to and may even make reference to these Japanese folktales.
In keeping with this town protecting narrative, there are some tower defense elements in A Credible Tale: during the day you’re able to build defenses, traps, and command villagers. But as the night falls the Yokai will invade and your tactical planning will be put to the test. You’ll be able to get stuck in too, with your party of three, using classic melee weapons from the period.
As this is also an adventure-RPG there’s more to the game than that. During the day, you can also venture out into cursed grounds to cleanse them if you wish which, in turn, could also help you find resources to upgrade your defenses. It’s also possible to fight you way through to the dens where the Yokai come from in hopes of shutting them down completely.
You won’t be able to pull off feats like this straight away though. You’ll have to build up the strength of your character, gaining experience and new abilities with it, eventually becoming very powerful. Other parts of the game’s narrative haven’t been made clear, such as who the Lunar Tourists might be and exactly what role the robot mentioned in the game’s title plays – though, it seems it’s on your side, at least.
You can follow the development of A Credible Tale of Yokai, Robots, and the Lunar Tourists on TIGSource and on its website.
