Those who were active in the PlayStation 2 JRPG scene may recall the Nippon Ichi Software title Phantom Brave, which featured a young lead character who despite not being able to fight particularly well was able to summon spirits which did the attacking for her. I bring up this example because the idea behind Deception IV: Blood Ties follows a similar concept, having a lead character who cannot do much in terms of direct physical attacks, but can summon up a wide variety of sadistic torture devices to critically injure anyone who dares face her in combat. While many games gleefully send you screaming when an ill placed trap sends a “Game Over” screen your way, Deception puts you in the opposite position… and I won’t deny this approach managed to be very satisfying.
There isn’t really much purpose to the overarching storyline other than providing a means for you to continual torture device romp through varying areas. Deception IV pits you as Laegrinna, the daughter of a devil who thousands of years ago was sealed by twelve warriors via Holy Verses. Aided by three fellow demons: Caelea, Veruza and Lilia, she seeks out these verses that have been passed down to the descendants of these individuals. It is a simple premise that was adequately implemented, although at the very least even the inconsequential enemies receive some development via textual back-stories provided before a battle begins.
Despite the number of different torture devices Laegrinna has at her disposal, the Deception IV: Blood Ties isn’t what I would call grotesque by any means, with the animation style being more quirky than anything else. But on that note, the variety of devices is extensive and ranges from the comical such as a traditional banana peel to slip over to the more painful such as an iron maiden. Given this was the main gimmick of the title, they worked with the concept well and became a highlight of what was otherwise a fairly average game visually with simple character designs and bland environments. While the environments were bland to look at, it was easy to appreciate the effort put into constructing them with other traps to complement your own. More variety would have been welcome however.
Given Deception IV: Blood Ties would most probably have been seen as a lower-key release internationally, Tecmo Koei chose to feature only the original Japanese dub while commissioning their own. The dubbing was overall of a suitable quality, matching the less serious but still dramatic tone they were evidently aiming for in this game.
While on first impressions I thought this would be a 3D tactical RPG, Deception IV: Blood Ties allows you and your opponents free reign to move around the 3D battle arena, with a much greater emphasis on strategy instead of direct combat. The aim of any battle is, using your trap allocation, to set up a series of traps which will catch your opponent at the opportune moment and cause a chain reaction of pain, torture and convenient misdirection until they are defeated. Sometimes these are all you will need while other battles will provide an environment-based trap ready to ensnare them – but irrespective the key goal is to form a perfect series of traps to obliterate what seems to be inhumanly indestructible opponents.
Traps come in three different types which come under the control of one of the three demons allied with Laegrinna. You have the sadistic traps which are designed to deliver maximum pain and damage although don’t tend to have much other effect in a combo. There are also humiliating traps which don’t tend to cause much damage but instead lead opponents to the spot you want them to be in before unleashing another type of attack. Finally there are elaborate traps which are sort of in between the other two, providing decent damage while also incorporating other features to your combo.
Editing your trap combination doesn’t usually come with any major penalties, however all traps have a cooldown time, meaning if you miss then Laegrinna could be left in harms way with little manner to defend herself. Later in the game the enemies become bigger threats with defences against different attack types and other abilities which provides another much needed form of complexity to the game. But overall, the development team have worked really well with the concept, and while short made for a very enjoyable experience.
Given I would have only been around eight years old when its predecessor Deception III: Dark Delusion was first released on the PlayStation 1 by Tecmo Koei, I can’t say I have any form of nostalgic feelings towards or familiarity with games prior to Deception IV: Blood Ties. While the game didn’t feel like a major release from the company without all the frills other major titles and franchises receive, the implementation of the “torture devices” was a major draw and the gameplay that was associated with them was fun and challenging almost from start to finish.
Special thanks go to Mindscape Australia for providing a code of Deception IV: Blood Ties for the purpose of this review. Review was written based on the content of the PlayStation 3 edition, although differences between it and the PS Vita edition should be minimal.
