Black Souls I

Warning!  *This article contains **spoilers**! Proceed at your own risk!*

***Black Souls I*** — the first game in the main **Black Souls series** and the second game in **Black Souls Universe**. It is a dark fantasy and souls-like Role-Playing game developed by Eeny Meeny Miny Moe, inspired by the Great European children's writers: Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and of course Lewis Carroll and some others, also very carefully by the mythology of Lovecraft.

## Synopsis

You are an undead who awakened somewhere in the imprisonment of the Lost Empire. You are freed by Jeanne D'Arc, but then both of you are killed by the dragon. Now you have one goal - to get into the belly of the Lost Empire to defeat Cinderella, who spreads the fog that drives everyone crazy, but to get there you need to defeat or enter into a covenant with the Demonic Princesses.

## Official description

*Once, in the age long past…*

*there was a country shrouded in dense fog, Lost Empire.*

*The fog that turned humans into dreadful beasts, plunging the world into the abyss of despair.*

*Ceaseless vortex of war.*

*Warriors seeking fame and fortune.*

*Harlots dreaming of castle balls.*

*Treasure hidden in the secret garden.*

*Everyone gathered. And then there were none.*

*You awaken there, just another insignificant undead.*

*As the protagonist of this most cruel tale, what will you witness and what will you manage to obtain?*

**I'll pray for you to avoid the worst end.**

**Cruel and tragic world of dark fairy tales**

*Alice, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel,*

*as well as many other characters of famous tales*

*will appear on the stage of tragedy.*

*Some as your allies and some as enemies.*

**Five Demonic Princesses**
 *Insane princesses, each ruling her own land full of demon beasts.*
 *Their souls are black with faint. Beautiful in appearance,*
 *in truth they are abhorrent monsters. Yet with negotiations*
 *you may be able to bound yourself with them with a covenant…*

## Official Product Summary

### **Introduction**

Adult-oriented RPG. This work contains brutality and despair, so be warned. 21 heroine in total. Most are characters of famous tales.

* Alice of Wonderland
* Jeanne d'Arc
* Snow White
* Little Mermaid
* Rapunzel
* Princess Frog
* Great Wizard of Oz
* Little Match Girl
* Red Riding Hood

### **Mechanics**

* Open world with a high degree of freedom.
* Symbol encounter system.
* Tense ATB battles.
* Collect souls to raise your level and explore this cruel world.
* Many sub-events and bonus challenges.
* Death isn't the end, as you'll revive at the last visited bonfire.
* Many endings(14 in total)
* Special ending for each companion heroine.
* New Game+ and 9 degrees of difficulty, changeable on the fly.
* Display of erotic content can be turned ON/OFF.
* In this world, it'll be hard to save everyone. Depending on your actions heroines may die or even turn into demonbeasts and attack you.

### **Difficulty**

May break your will. Though there's hidden equipment prepared, in case you wish to glide through the game.

## Plot

### **Beginning**

When you start the game, you find yourself in the library, being a kind of blue light. A girl with a big bow on her head is sitting opposite you - her name is Alice. After the greeting you are asked to fill in your name. Next you choose your background: Knight, Thief and Sorcerer - and a bonus item: Master Key, Life Ring, Candy, Divine Blessing. And at the end they ask us about carnal acts and of course you answer **no**. She wishes you not to lose heart and... she explodes, leaving behind bloody stains.

#### **Prologue**

**Now the choice:** Skip the prologue or not?

You find yourself imprisoned in some kind of dungeon. Through the bars you can see either an orc or a goblin walking back and forth. Suddenly you hear a strange sound, and the humanoid turns in the other direction. A certain white-haired girl came here. With a quick dash, she kills the creature and starts talking to you. She is surprised that you're undead who still have fire in your eyes and he calls you to bring light to the world if you hear the voice of God and she leaves. Now we take the keys from the corpse and get out. Along the way you encounter a sleeping guard and this is where your first battle may begin. But without any problems, you can skip this battle by carefully walking along the right wall. At the exit there are many unmarked red coffins with a small cross. Having risen, you hear a strong wind and notice the same girl who is stunned by your actions. She is finally welcomed - her name is Joan of Arc. She begins to talk about the fog coming from the Lost Empire, which turns people into demonic beasts. It turns out that she came here to find out what happened in this rich and peaceful country. She also says that at the moment her priority is your protection and she offers to take us to the land of fairies.

     Now we just have to leave Fort Ivern. On the way to the exit, guards will be waiting for you everywhere, but you can skip battles with them. If you try to go north, Jeanne will forbid you, saying that this is her fateful territory and it is too early to enter it. At the exit, Jeanne talks about her duty to people, and then you can make her a promise that you will become a hero, then she will thank us and say that God is looking after you too, but you can keep silent, then she apologizes and asks to leave this conversation for later. And as soon as you started walking, a Dragon suddenly attacked you! He immediately turned Jeanne into charred ashes, forcing her to die in flames. Now you're left alone against Drake Helkaiser. Obviously this is an auto-loose fight, but you can still win if you use parrying, if you win, you will receive 8 thousand souls and Drake sword. After dying, you wake up in a small area, receiving a black soul...

### **Main Story**

You wake up in the Holy Forest, the habitat of the fairies that Jeanne spoke about. Black Rabbit-Prayer Master is next to you. He is surprised that you were also transported here and asks you not to worry, because you have found yourself in a place of wanderers, where they can start a new life. He offers his help. Now you can exchange souls with him for experience or valuables nda he warns that there are demonic beasts nearby. And at the end he asks us to find Leaf.

## Gameplay

In the initial menu you are greeted, as in many games on RPG Maker, with three choices:

-**New Game**

-**Continue**

-**Quit Game**

The game does not limit you in saving, so you have 16 free cells, which you can fill and change at almost any second

### Mechanics

The game has both basic RPG Maker mechanics and individual ones.

#### Backgrounds

The Knight - High Attack and Defense. Knows techniques for lowering enemy Attack and Defense.

The Thief - High Speed. Knows a technique for slaying foes in a single blow. Begins with 1000 bonus Souls.

The Sorcerer - High Magic and Resistance. Knows Soul Arrow from the start.

## References

1. ↑ dlsite.com