When I first started playing for 30 minutes or so, I felt this was an incredible title. ( and it arguably still is. )

However, the difficulty is insane and I would actually like to finish a stage. Just a single stage. And it isn't just the "get good" factor. You are consistently knocked into pits ect.

1. I cleared the game as Ayane. Not sure if I can do it with Shintaro. His blade curves in a weird way. I did not bother finishing trial mode.
2. Finishing this game requires patience. I wonder if the pacing is perhaps too fast, considering the amount of traps that can kill you if you move too fast
3. You can select which area you want to start with, but it's actually not a megaman game. You don't gain abilities from defeating bosses.
4. You can collect bottles that can refill your health. You can hold up to 2 of them. This persists through death and can make your fights easier.
5. I recommend starting with the Frog Yokai and work your way through the lower row bosses.
6. Overall this is an okay game for its price. Maybe this is a start of a much better sequel.

Note to dev: Thank you for listening to my earlier complaint about this game not having analog stick support.

Castlevania IV meets Mega Man X!!! But old timey Japan themed!!!

Pro:
-Great soundtrack
-Tight controls
-Fun character design (both playable and enemy)
-'Just right' difficulty
-Lots of secrets to find
-Fairly unique levels
-Retro fun
-Lots of great enemies

Con
-Your movepool is limited and doesn't expand much
-No achievements (yet?)
-Some jumps can be a bit cruel

👺 Disappointed. Looks & sounds SO GOOD, but the gameplay is bad (not hard, just unfair.) Constant memorization and repetition (falling onto enemies, small & fast yokais / projectiles, pits and instant deaths.) The checkpoints placement is simply the worst. The chars' hitboxes are huge. The samurai has a useless immobile combo attack and it's easier to play as a ninja. Only two new moves (for each) in the store and nothing else (available only after completing any level). The skill animation takes time and during it you're motionless and vulnerable! Dash is strange, there is no place to use it. The heal items drop is so unbalanced and random. There are small "secrets" in the levels with potions, magic beasts and HP upgrades, but this doesn't help in the whole situation. An EASY mode has been added, but it's TOO EASY! (if you want to enjoy the game, play on it, since achievements ?not planned?) It was also funny when in the extra mode (unlocked after completing), you're asked to touch the screen. What a complete madness. Please, explain to the devs that there is nowhere to put coins and if you want to play something old-school unfairly difficult, there are plenty of games from the past, as well as free projects.

I had a lot of fun with this game, particularly once Easy mode was added in. The standard game is pretty tough, which is great for people who enjoy a challenge -- but I'm definitely not one of those people. I like to play through games for the experience and the thrill of completion.

The character designs and environments in this game are really creative and polished. The story is pretty barebones, but that's my preference these days. Just flash a few words and some images on the screen and let me start playing -- thankfully that's this game's style. The gameplay is simple but fun, although if I had a complaint about the game it's that the special skills you purchase are a little clunky and you risk getting hit each time you attempt to use them. I'm not sure if they'd be more effective in the standard difficulty, but at least in Easy mode I was perfectly content with ignoring the special skills and blasting everything with my basic weapon instead. I think I would have preferred the ability to purchase armor or additional health/mana boosts in the shop in place of (or alongside) the special skills.

One final critique (which is very minor) is related to Easy mode's removal of bottomless pits -- I personally would have preferred if they were left in since I'm slightly better at platforming than I am at dodging/not being murdered by enemies, but I understand that this is a personal preference and that others may appreciate the extra lenience.

Overall, this was a neat little game that I was able to finish in about an hour (again, on easy mode -- the normal game would take a bit longer). I'm looking forward to any future games this developer releases. On that note, I wanted to point out the dev's responsiveness in quickly rolling out a patch for an issue I reported. Thanks again!

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[Kawaii/Action] A 2D platformer that has 2 protagonists, one is a nice ninja girl and you wanna control. Retro taste gameplay and pixel artworks, superior for old arcade players. Hope we would have keyboard key re-bindings.
[カワイイ/2DACT] くノ一とシンタロウによる妖怪討伐、面クリア型横スクロールアクション。アカネちゃんはじめとしたドット絵の可愛い女の子が多い。イチオシはショップの鬼っ娘ちゃん！

Looked great in the screenshots, but it's mediocre.
Only works with a controller, which is a sign of the devs being lazy, and the gameplay is just janky with dozens of enemies rushing at you throwing you into pits, or just standing there.
Combo animation soft locks you while it plays.
The music becomes annoying very fast.
Here is the keyboard layout in case you're looking for it:
Jump=Space
Summon=Return(!)
Slash=TAB (!!)
Dash=PageDown(!!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG9bEEF8nH4 - visually gorgeous games THE CONTROLS are the only frustrating part (I guess true to retro style gameplay) I just didn't enjoy that part to much but for anyone else craving an arcade style game dive in!

If you find this review to be helpful, my curators page is here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/The_dull_games_reviewer

'Yokai Hunter Shintaro' is a flawed gem, at least for the price. It's a somewhat old-skool action platformer, with some of the frustrations that entails alongside bouts of it being an enjoyably tricky challenge.

Like it's inspiration (early Castlevania titles, or Ghouls N' Ghosts) it can be unforgiving, such as instant death drops, but this is tempered by having a couple of lives, checkpoints in levels, and a relatively forgiving amount of damage before you die. There are also permanent upgrades for your health to be found, and enemies can sometimes drop items that replenish your health.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2836061603
Levels have varied environments, and the enemies found within combine differing attacks: some have ranged attacks, some have melee, some have basic movement, some can be a bit more erratic. It's nothing that revolutionary, and there are certainly more sweat-inducing titles within this genre, such as the Ori games, but it all comes together quite nicely for what it is.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2836060341
Some of the challenge is from occasionally woolly controls, some of it is from slightly cheap enemy placements, yet generally it is fairly judged, with systems that aid you just enough so it's not unfair. Unless you are extremely impatient, since it does take learning a level to some degree, as well as the attack patterns of the reflex-driven boss-battles.

Charming sprite-work and distinctive, well-realised designs make it visually quite appealing. It runs smoothly, and has a pleasant enough soundtrack. There's not a whole lot in the way of story, though it's reasonably told and animated when there are short cut-scenes.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2836061035
Levels can be approached in any order, and of the 8 the game includes, all are of a high standard. After my 2 hour refund period I have beaten 2 of those 8 levels, and for £4 I'm pretty sure I'll get my moneys worth. Since I know what the remaining content is, it's possible to comment on it even though I haven't beaten it yet.

Overall there is some slightly masochistic fun to be had here, nothing too teeth-grindingly hard, yet the genuine challenge is also undone by occasionally fluffy controls. If you want to compare it to much more expensive games, well....I could easily name humongous amounts that are far more sophisticated, but for the price this is a pretty polished, albeit also slightly basic, enjoyable effort.

If you found this review to be helpful, and would like to find similar games, my curators page is here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/The_dull_games_reviewer

Nice action & graphics.
Quite shoret and somewhat rough around the edges, but still very good for the price.