Akatori News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Between the battles and platforming, even a hero needs a break. Thankfully, the merchants are always open for business![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]They pop up in the most unexpected places, always ready to sell you exactly what you need. A healing potion? They've got it. A key item for a blocked path? Of course, just pay.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Don’t let their friendly appearance trick you: they are ruthless tradesmen at heart, always eager for fortune. They have different nature, looks and story, but share one common rule. [/p][p]The prices are fixed and final. No discounts.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]How do they manage to find you in the most mysterious and dangerous corners of the world? [/p][p]They surely have their ways.[/p][p][/p][p]Join our community:[/p][p]👾 Join our Discord if you wanna chat with devs[/p][p]🤑 Subscribe to our mailing list
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In the ruins of the bamboo forest the enemies wander, ready to confront anyone. Floating isles and abandoned shrines meet Mako and Akatori with the creatures twisted by the Amber Storms. Some of them are horrifyingly familiar - forest animals, warped and twisted turned into monstrous new forms. Soldiers who forever lost their bodies and minds to the Amber curse. The higher Mako climbs, the stranger monsters become. [/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]A new threat is the monkey-like creature that uses it’s long arms to move. Very territorial one. It will let out a loud screech to attack once you step too close. Fast and flexible, it grabs the bamboo and launches itself in the air, moving fast above the abyss below.[/p][p][/p][p]
Developing the monkey was quite a task, as we tried out many silhouettes and shapes: from what looks like a familiar ape to a completely new creature that resembles monkeys, but stays unique in it’s design and anatomy. 
[/p][p]But wait! Where are the legs?! [/p][p]
Join our community:[/p][p]👾 Join our Discord if you wanna chat with devs[/p][p]🤑 Subscribe to our mailing list[/p]

[p]The Amber storms mangle the world inevitably. It knows no mercy, spreads distortion and corruption everywhere, deforming and destroying anything that stands in the way. [/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p]An unknown temple, surrounded by the Bamboo Forest, could not avoid this fate. The ground, the air, the isles, the buildings, the living creatures. The Amber storm altered it all, turning it into dangerous ruins. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The dangers are hiding over and under, lurking at every step. The strange roots are hanging down everywhere. Who knows what else is hiding in the sky?[/p][p] [/p][p]Stay tuned for more of the Akatori world.[/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p][/p][p]It’s been a while — in fact, over a year since our last update here on Steam. First off, thank you so much for your patience and continued support. We know it's been quiet, so we wanted to reach out, reconnect, and let you know what's been going on behind the scenes.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]
Since thousands of players first discovered our game, our team and our vision for the game have evolved in positive ways. And that's great news! We're still full of enthusiasm and ideas, creating new locations, mechanics, and story twists that we are really excited to show you.[/p][p]We’re now entering an exciting phase where a lot of new content, features, and polish are coming together. This means you can expect more news from us very soon! As a little preview: take a look at this concept art of a new location below.[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]This is just a small part of what's coming! We're starting a series of regular posts where we'll tell you about new enemies, gameplay improvements, and story developments. Plus, we'll soon announce the long-awaited release window for Akatori![/p][p][/p][p]Thank you again for sticking with us. We’re incredibly proud and truly excited about what’s ahead, and we can’t wait to show you more of the world we’re building.[/p][p]Stay tuned — more is coming very soon.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Join our community: [/p][p]👾 Join our Discord if you wanna chat with devs [/p][p]🤑 Subscribe to our mailing list [/p]

[h3]Greetings,

First and foremost, we’d like to thank everyone who played the prologue and left feedback, we incredibly appreciate it. Chapter One has attracted over 20k players in just 4 days, and for a small team like ours that’s a big success. Thanks again for giving us a chance - we hope we lived up to your expectations!

Don't forget to wishlist the game![/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1442520/Akatori/



Sounds like something grand, but most of you should be aware that there are only two of them in the prologue, including the miniboss (let's not count his second appearance). So, I guess it would be more appropriate to say one and a half?.. Anyway, let's start with the main and most interesting one.

[h2]Takatsugu[/h2]

“A cursed warrior, a hero of his time, my eternal warden” - in fact, that's a pretty exhaustive description of him lorewise. If you somehow managed to find and read the caption beneath Ragged Cape (the item that grants Air Dash) in the Character Menu, you should even know a bit of his backstory. I don't think many people read long lore descriptions though, so I'll just quote it here for you (no need to thank me):

Once upon a time, before the Land of the Emerald Peaks even had the Firebird Temple, a legendary warrior stood guard over it: every swing of his sword shook the earth, and beasts of prey fell at the mere sight of him. But one day the warrior vanished without a trace, leaving behind only origami paper and a ragged cape. Traveling monks claim that he was kidnapped by the Gods themselves, and is now doomed to guard something important in Kohakujō forever. Yet this is just one of the monks' tales.

Okay, that’s cool and all, but what’s up with origami? Well, he was originally conceived as an avid origami lover, but sadly nothing in the current version of the game indicates that. In earlier builds, when you had to fight him in the Ancient Prison, he even had a special animation of making a paper crane, and the arena itself was supposed to be covered with small sheets of paper. I could certainly tell you more, but bosses, just like women, should be a bit of a mystery.

Proof that I'm not making things up just to make the update more interesting, okay

As for his visual design, we almost immediately found the right look, only experimenting with the details later on. He is basically a collective image of a ronin who has been completely imbued with Chaos over the years (which is why his skin has a weird color), but has retained his sanity and perfect moves thanks to the curse.


As you can see, Takatsugu would still be Takatsugu, just with a different hat

Takatsugu was designed as the main (and for a long time the only) boss in the demo, so we wanted to make him tough enough for a satisfying challenge, but at the same time easy enough for literally the first proper boss fight in the game. Did we succeed? “That is a good question that I do not have an answer to”.

[h2]Turtle Miniboss[/h2]

Honestly, there's not much to tell about this one. I mean, it doesn’t even have a name (nor does it have an explicit gender, which is why I use "it"). All we know about this creature is that it's from the same world as the merchant frog Lulu, that it's affected by Chaos, and that it's lost its mind to the point where it uses its back shell as a shield. It's also small in number, but not unique (think of the second miniboss), and strong enough to help guard important places in Kohakujō.

The visual evolution of our buddy who may well have ended up being a wolf

We added it to the game relatively recently to a) add some action to the arena after moving the main boss to another location and b) demonstrate the difference between staff and fist combat. With fists, you need to dodge more, roll behind its back, etc., while with the staff, you can just face it head-on thanks to the stagger mechanic.


It goes without saying that there’ll be many more distinct and challenging bosses in the full game, so be sure to wishlist Akatori if you haven’t done it yet.

Thanks a ton for your time and support, see you soon! 🧡

Don't forget to wishlist the game!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1442520/Akatori/

[h3]Join our community:

👾 Join our Discord if you wanna chat with devs
🤑 Subscribe to our mailing list [/h3]