[Review] Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade for Nintendo Switch

Alright, so here’s the thing: Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is sorta this weird but cool mishmash of Japanese fantasy and roguelite RPG stuff—set in the Edo period, no less. So, I stumbled upon this game, and you know me, I got curious right away. Picture this: once upon a time, humans and demons were like, living together, not tearing each other apart, but—surprise, surprise—everything went downhill. This Nine-Tailed Fox, the big baddie, decided peace was overrated and just waged war. Why? Honestly, who knows. Now, imagine three brave souls—Shigure the Immortal Ninja (yep, immortal), Sara the Oni Emissary, and Taketora the Demon Samurai—are on this mission to kick some demon tail.

So there I was, diving into its Kickstarter backstory. 7Quark said, “Hey, let’s gather up HK$400,000 to wrap up development,” and more than 700 fans went, “Heck yes!” They ended up raking in HK$609,000. First, they told us players would be slaying demons come April 24, but then—somewhere along the winding development road—they said, “Nah, let’s take till May 14.” More tweaks, more buffs, you get it.

Okay, so Shigure’s the serious one with twin blades like she’s in a samurai movie, slicing demons like pizza—that dual-wielding flair, you know? Sara’s faster, darting here and there, dual weapons flashing because why not? Taketora, though, he’s like this walking tank. Seriously, a tiger demon swinging sabers and shooting a bow feels kinda epic. Trust me, it’s a whole vibe.

Play-wise, it’s a bit of a dance: left stick to groove around, smash light and heavy attack buttons, dash dash dash, switch weapons, and—oh yeah—don’t forget the Mystic Artes. Nothing like rolling the perfect counter-attack, huh? Anyway, these aren’t your grandpa’s mindless hack-n-slash enemies. Spot those oranges (circles, not fruit) and bam! Execute a charged attack. Seems simple? Wait till you meet the bosses.

What’s this game without upgrades, right? Collecting Soul Orbs is your jam. These little shiny things let you boost attack damage or get cool advantages like—you guessed it—dishing extra damage when life’s failing you. Temporary, yes, but mix it up with permanent boosts and you’ve got strategy bedtime stories for generations.

Now, deep breaths—find your Zen in the village… look, it’s a bustling hub where healing tea and world-saving ramen await. Not game-breaking, but the little ramen dude? MVP for providing those statistically delicious buffs. Oh, and trials with Hideaway Daruma? Fun until you botch it and lose half your HP. Oops!

Anyway—tangent alert—Demon Blades are your secret weapons. Craft them, smash with them, whatever. Think elemental styles with shields or fire rings. There’s this one time I mixed up Red Crane and Undying Cuckoo… the chaos!

So, wrapping this mess up. Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is like if Edo-period met roguelite in a crazy dream. The villains? Timelessly nasty. The good guys? Relatable in a way you root for them despite the odds. You up for it? The game’s dropping on Nintendo Switch, priced like a casual Friday night dinner. Give it a whirl, yeah?

Disclaimer: Got a copy of this demon-hunting madness thanks to the folks at Game Source Entertainment.