History VideoGame / SakunaOfRiceAndRuin

''Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin'' is a side-scrolling [[ActionGame action]]-[[PlatformGame platformer]] developed by Japanese independent game studio Creator/{{Edelweiss}}, and published by Creator/{{Marvelous}} in Japan and Europe and Creator/XSEEDGames in North America. The game has deep crafting and rice cultivation in a tale about finding one's place in the world. Its scheduled release date was on November 10, 2020 for PC via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, and November 20, 2020 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

** On the combat side, the game has a parry system akin to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' where players parry by tapping the stick in the direction of an incoming attack at just the right moment. It's as tricky (quite) and as effective (very) as can be expected.[[note]]You can also parry by pressing the rainment button as the enemy lets go with the attack; this doesn't really change its difficulty or its usefulness all that much.[[/note]]

** On the combat side, the game has a parry system akin to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' where players parry by tapping the stick in the direction of an incoming attack at just the right moment. It's as tricky (quite) and as effective (very) as can be expected.

** [[spoiler:Later on Sakuna and Kokorowa begin suspecting that some malevolent schemer might exist in the Lofty Realm, as both goddesses noticed that the dispute between them over the tainted rice had to be someone else's hand, not the demons they had originally thought. Sakuna and Kokorowa also noticed how the demons and Ishimaru were well equipped with armor and weapons far beyond their understanding - both came to similar conclusions that not even IshimaruÂ’s interference could have advanced the demons that much. Omizuchi's awakening was the result of their actions and not the planner - the demon dragon had only powered up Ishimaru.]]

** [[spoiler:Later on Sakuna and Kokorowa begin suspecting that some malevolent schemer might exist in the Lofty Realm, as both goddesses noticed that the dispute between them over the tainted rice had to be someone else's hand, not the demons they had originally thought. Sakuna and Kokorowa also noticed how the demons and Ishimaru were well equipped with armor and weapons far beyond their understanding - both came to similar conclusions that not even Ishimaru’s interference could have advanced the demons that much. Omizuchi's awakening was the result of their actions and not the planner - the demon dragon had only powered up Ishimaru.]]

!!General Tropes

* ThatsNoMoon: At the end of the forest region, Sakuna marvels at some flowering trees. Then they move, revealing them to be growing on [[AmphibianAtLarge a giant frog demon]] and the forest's master.

* {{Keigo}}: Sakuna, Tama, Kokorowa, Tauemon, and Kamuhitsuki's Japanese lines are spoken quite formally. Sakuna and Kokorowa are part of Kamuhitsuki's court (although Sakuna does still speak in a rude manner despite using polite forms of address), Tama's the OldRetainer who serves Sakuna, and Tauemon's the son of a samurai. The difference of speech patterns comes up during a dinner conversation in Hinoe where Sakuna and Tauemon comments about Kinta and Yui's more rougher sentences and use of short forms, given that they're from the countryside.

* OurGodsAreDifferent: Myrthe is a Western missionary who believes in a monotheistic religion [[CrystalDragonJesus similar to Christianity]]. To her, there's one capital-G god, and the "gods" of Yanato[[note]]based on Japan[[/note]] are more akin to "angels" to her.

** [[spoiler:Yui eventually grows into becoming a goddess of the loom, while Tauemon also becomes a harvest god]].

* StealthSequel: [[spoiler:Sakuna may be part of the ''VideoGame/FairyBloom'' series, as Lady Kamuhitsuki is secretly revealed (by a mere little item description) to be Freesia from ''VideoGame/FairyBloomFreesia'' all grown up and ascended to godhood. Adding to this implication is the fact that the minigame that gives the item, "Sakuna the Efflorescent," involves protecting a giant plant from waves of invaders (and the premise of the first ''Fairy Bloom'' involved a fairy protecting a flower from invaders). In addition to this, Myrthe explicitly mentions meeting King Listine "and a beautiful fairy" during her travels in a dinner cutscene.]]

* AbusurdlyHighLevelCap: Sakuna's level maxes out at 50, but the game can quite easily be beaten when her level is in the low 40s.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Tama remarks that real demons are always evil, they simply cannot comprehend nor feel gratitude or any form of goodwill, as they are pure manifestations of evil born from all the chaos in the Lowly Realm. [[spoiler:This comes to play when the humans saves a wounded rabbit demon, Sakuna and Tama are flabbergasted that they would even try to aid such a being, but the group manages to convince Sakuna to spare it. Unfortunately, this decision comes back to bite them hard, [[TheFarmerAndTheViper as the demon rabbit pays back by revealing the location of their home]] to the other demons, who completely razed down their land on bypassing the disorientation spell Takeribi had cast to protect the pass. While the same rabbit demon who had revealed the pass was later thrown out by its peers, Tama hypothesizing due to its associating with the humans, Sakuna stays her hand and leaves a meal packet. Apparently it seems that demons can be purified, as the demon rabbit transformed back into a normal rabbit after eating the rice that Sakuna had left behind.]]

* LethalJokeItem: Normally the Bamboo Broom is a pathetic two-hand weapon that although deals 50% more damage to enemies sent flying, it has a base damage of ''one''. Give it the Broomstick Awakening Spirit Bough, and it now gains damage scaled to your Magic stat, quickly turning it into one of the more powerful Magic damage weapons.

** Once you grow a high yield of rice, the extra rice can be used to trade for items from the capital that can't be found on Hinoe. Before Japan used coin-based currency, rice was the form of money where a daimyo's worth was how much ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koku koku]]'' of rice their lands could produce.

* {{Keigo}}: In the Japanese dub, Sakuna, Tama, Kokorowa, Tauemon, and Kamuhitsuki lines are spoken quite formally. Sakuna and Kokorowa are part of Kamuhitsuki's court (although Sakuna does still speak in a rude manner despite using polite forms of address), Tama's the OldRetainer who serves Sakuna, and Tauemon's the son of a samurai. The difference of speech patterns comes up during a dinner conversation in Hinoe where Sakuna and Tauemon comments about Kinta and Yui's more rougher sentences and use of short forms, given that they're from the countryside.

* {{Keigo}}: If the Japanese audio track is selected, Sakuna, Tama, Kokorowa, Tauemon, and Kamuhitsuki lines are spoken quite formally. Sakuna and Kokorowa are part of Kamuhitsuki's court (although Sakuna does still speak in a rude manner despite using polite forms of address), Tama's the OldRetainer who serves Sakuna, and Tauemon's the son of a samurai. The difference of speech patterns comes up during a dinner conversation in Hinoe where Sakuna and Tauemon comments about Kinta and Yui's more rougher sentences and use of short forms, given that they're from the countryside.