The Onryō Of Osaka IF

Hiya! I'm Leinco, and this is the blog page for my Work In Progress Interactive Fiction Novel, The Onryō Of Osaka. Join a ragtag group of vigilantes as they work to take down the Busujima Family Yakuza Clan. Unfortunately, you are dead. But death, is only the beginning...

[osakaonryoif]

The Synopsis!

Demo: 164K words, updated February 11th 2025.

"All aboard the train"

"The next station is Yomi"

"Death is aboard"

As a vigilante in Japan, you work with your Guy-In-The-Chair, Kage to take down the Yakuza family which you have sworn vengeance upon - The Busujima Family. You board the Shinkansen going from Tokyo to Osaka in an effort to assassinate Kaito Busujima, the son of the Family's Kumicho. All goes wrong, however, when you are sadly killed.

Disembarking the train of life, you board the train of death, and intent on reaching the end of the line, you become an Onryō, a spirit with a single purpose - Vengeance.

In Yomi, the land of the dead, Izanami-no-mikoto takes pity on you, and allows you the use of a special power - the power to rewind time upon your own death. Using this power, you form a group of enigmatic and ragtag vigilantes, in a race against the clock to take down the Busujima family once and for all, and save Osaka from a mounting threat.

ROS:

Other Characters:

Play the demo here:

[osakaonryoif]

really enjoyed onryo of osaka, definitely captures the spirit of roguelites/likes in interactive fiction form!! the multiple approaches to a situation and little details/situations that come back like kokona etc does lots to make the world and game feel layered 🔥🔥 i enjoy that the game does test you in small ways about what you're reading HAHA also i love the infodumps like makoto's nerding out abt trains/history and you as the author's own notes on kitsune mythology :] little things about the dialogue especially with continuity across deaths or even order of asking things is wonderful as well!! not to mention the whole cast and ragtag group we form is so fun as well, and as far as ROs go i thought i would go for ryuko but i fear the kitsune has captured my heart (as in thom baylay's kitsune as well... seems it's a running theme that kitsune ROs will always win out for me)

Thanks for the lovely review <3

I always love hearing people excited about my nerdy ramblings, (and I'm including Makoto's in this, because I am 100% using Makoto as a proxy for this). As they're often my favourite parts to write, but I love weaving them into the narrative so they feel natural.

Also always glad to hear that people like the roguelike elements in the rewind parts, the code itself often gives me headaches while writing, but learning the end result is worth it is the best motivation!

Thank you again <3

[osakaonryoif]

Quick "I'm not dead" progress update

I know there has not been much progress over the last few months, and I partly blame my increased shifts at my workplace for that, I must admit it’s mostly because I have been hyperfixating on the code for implementing the blackjack minigame, as it has turned out to be more complex than I initially anticipated. If you don't know, I ran a poll on the CoG forum asking if people wanted me to implement a blackjack minigame in the casino rewind section, and it was almost 75% yes.

So, I have decided to cut it initially. But I also don’t want to lose all the code I wrote for it, so when the update is eventually finished, I will release the code for the blackjack in a separate file, so I can keep working on it in my spare time, and will eventually implement it in the main game whenever it is finished.

So while this is mostly an “I’m not dead, still working on it” post, it’s also me saying that I’m cutting out the part that has been frustrating me the most, so I anticipate an eventual update much sooner than if I were to keep trying to work out the blackjack code.

[osakaonryoif]

Hi there! Recently found you and wanted to try the demo but it seems I can't? It says it can't find your story and I wanted to check to see if you took it down or if it's just my internet :/

Hi, I'm so sorry there was something wrong with the link. I'm not sure what was wrong but repasting it seems to have fixed it? If there's any other issues do let me know! and here's the demo link here just in case the synopsis link is still broken

[osakaonryoif]

Hello, I've decided to play your IF game after a long time and noticed some mentions about modes from one of the characters, once my MC passed away again. I decided to test it out of curiosity, but it seems like it doesn't work properly, and my MC still ends up passing away over and over again. I'm slightly confused, is this how those modes are supposed to work?

Hello, I presume you are talking about the difficulty levels that are implemented after your first death (or at the start of chapter 2 if you make through the Shinkansen section without dying) In all honesty, success is decided by pure stats. If the stat that is being tested is not higher than the defined number, you will fail. The threshold for failure/success varies depending on chosen difficulty, but the premise is the exact same. For example, on easy difficulty a choice may take 14 dexterity points to succeed, while on hard it will take 24.

It all comes back to why I made the mechanics for the rewind system work the way it does. I always enjoy failure in stories, despite how weird that may sound, and death is the ultimate failure. But, as you might expect, death is the end in 99% of stories. The dead are dead, and that’s that. Full stop. This is my motivation behind allowing you to experience death but still continue the story. That is why the rewind mechanic works the way it does.

You are not punished for dying, but rewarded. It is incentivised to die repeatedly in each section, because even if you die, the stat that was being tested will increase. I fully encourage abusing the rewind system to boost your stats, as that is the point behind it’s existence.

If you fail, keep dying until you succeed. That is the main mechanic.

[osakaonryoif]

how old is the mc?

Well, the answer depends on what backstory you've chosen. I try not to concretely describe the mc, to allow the reader to imagine their own mc, but the possible age will vary depending on the chosen backstory.

For the murdered family backstory, the mc is 2 years older than Makoto, so in the present, the mc is 21.

And for the ex-yakuza, and ex-police routes, I haven't got a set age. But I would imagine the mc be at least 25 or older.

Hope this answer is sufficient X.

[osakaonryoif]

I ignored children in favor of your work today. Probably got alot of shit to fix at work tomorrow but who caressssss i got to play the update and i was on cloud 9 the entire fucking day.

I played it at work, commuting home, while cooking, then while eating 🤣

MADE MY DAY!!! ❤️

I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but please don't neglect children in favour of my crappy ramblings.

As always though, I'm glad you enjoyed <3

Your comments are always at least 50% of the reason I keep writing.

[osakaonryoif]

Released a small update today with the following features:

Improved the wording in several locations for Japanese contextual accuracy.

Added a scene I realised I completely forgot about in act 3 (Midori choosing her codename)

Tweaked around with the numbers during the rewind section in act 2, to hopefully improve balance.

Added another metaphor being said by Izanami-no-mikoto

[osakaonryoif]

Im stuck at the concert chapter and can't pick the search for irumota's note. I've been in loop for like 10 minutes 😓

It's hard to know what the issue is with such little information, due to the sheer amount of variables in each rewind section, but I shall attempt to break it down for you.

Firstly, at the concert, in order to acquire the password, you need to have either picked the sixth sense or possess ability. If you picked sixth sense, there is a separate choice for acquiring the password. But based on your wording I will assume you mean this specific choice.

You are only able to pick up the note if you are aware that the Yakuza member that you have possessed has dropped said note.

To achieve this, you need to:

Have possessed Irumota to begin with, you can do this in the toilet area if you picked Possess as an ability.

Approach the man guarding the hole backstage as Irumota, which will trigger a prompt for probing his mind further.

Probe his mind further, which will unlock the choice to search for the note.

I hope this explanation is sufficient. X

[osakaonryoif]

Hi all, I’m happy to announce the new port to the new site, as well as the release of Act 3 Part one!

Features included in this update:

A port to the new site, since Dash is being discontinued.

Act 3 part one.

I moved the side stories into the actual game, since the old links were on dashingdon, and I like them too much to not make them part of the actual game anyway. The Kit and Makoto one contains some important plot points anyway, so I’ve made that a part of the actual story, but Watanabe’s is optional.

I had an extensive rewrite of much of the earlier chapters.

Made it possible for Masa and Sasaki to be your ex.

And on the murdered parents backstory, you can choose whether your mc is oblivious to Makoto’s crush or not.

And please for the love of god someone stop me adding more metaphors whenever Izanami-no-mikoto speaks, I swear this is like an addiction at this point.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Sorry again that it took so long.

[osakaonryoif]

Currently regretting having the time between leaving Ryoji/Ryuko in the ex-yakuza backstory being only five years, because I cannot make a "ten years in the joint" reference.

I may be crying. In other news, I should be ready to drop the update within 24 hours of this post, bar anything emergency-wise happening.

[osakaonryoif]

Dashingdon situation

Hi all, thought i'd make a post rather than replying to the five different asks saying the same thing.

I'm aware that Dashingdon is shutting down at the end of the month. I have been aware for a while that it would end service eventually, but I was hoping to upload the port when I had completely finished Act 3. As it stands, only the first part of Act 3 is in a playable state right now. So i'll spend some time refining it, and doing a polish of the main game, and hopefully have a port ready to go by the end of January, because as I understand it, Dashingdon will remain up until the 31st.

So the new port will have the first part of Act 3 readable, and while I had wanted to upload Act 3 all at once, It'd be a lot more hassle trying to just upload the first two bits now that I've added all these new variables.

The rest of Act 3 will all be uploaded when it is finished, as originally planned.

If any of my understanding is incorrect, though, feel free to let me know, as I know I'm not as active on the CoG forum as I used to be.

[osakaonryoif]

Bit of an embarrassing progress update.

Hi it's your "I'm not dead" update that I do every few months.

As you know, I'm slowly but steadily working on Act 3, the casino job. I'd estimate it's about 40% done right now, and part of me wants to just drop the first third of it because I know you've all been waiting months, but then I remind myself that you all voted for a full chapter release rather than smaller updates. Anyway this is more than a simple "I'm not dead" post, because I have something slightly embarrassing to admit.

A few days ago, I discovered the blog page @redo-rewind-if, and IF which has nearly the exact same premise as mine, and loved reading through it. After doing so, I found that I've been writing more every day, and my ADD has been kept in check.

So the lesson is kids, spite is a great motivator!

P.S: to the author of Redo: This isn't a hate post, I love your IF. I just had to get this off my chest X X

[osakaonryoif]

Hi, not to be rude or anything, but why's everyone so short?

As an Asian myself who's 5'2ft, it's just a bit weird cause for example, in everyday life, only 20% of strangers I meet are shorter than me, and most of my Japanese coworkers are actually taller than me.

No pressure tho, just curious. If you're not comfortable answering, just ignore this ask ^^

Hi, it's not rude, all questions are welcome! I have actually been asked something similar before, but I'll elaborate a bit more. So the heights for the ROs all came from me looking up the average heights for men and women in Japan. With Makoto, the small height is intentional, as they are intended to come across as a small gremlin-like character. With Midori, after a bit of research into the Japanese Idol scene whilst I was writing act 2, I found a lot of comments saying that they preferred the girls to look cute and innocent, so I thought that a slightly smaller than average height would go well for her (Of course if I have misunderstood anything with my research, I welcome any criticisms).

Although with the other 3 RO's, (not including red string), I will admit I just chose a random height somewhere between the average for men and women. 5'3 for women, and 5'7 for men in Japan if google is to be believed.

Personally, I have never really placed that big of an importance on the heights of the characters. Although if it really does cause any issues, I'm happy to change them.

[osakaonryoif]

Ooh, brazilian yakuza! Here are some tips:

1. In Brazil, full names usually go like [first name] [mom's maiden name] [dad's last name]. So, for example, Igor Busujima Santos indicates his mom is the Busujima and his dad is the Santos.

2. Your mileage may vary, but a lot of nipo-brazilians have a brazilian first name and a japanese last name. Examples include Daniele Suzuki, Luiz Gushiken, Sabrina Sato, Hugo Hoyama, Daniel Matsunaga, and Fernanda Takai (all real people with wikipedia pages).

3. Your brazilian yakuza will probably be a nisei or sansei (look it up) who moved to Japan later on, which can help determine his looks and how the others treat him.

4. Brazil is HUGE, so if he has brazilian mannerisms or uses portuguese words/phrases, pick a state for him. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are popular choices.

5. Brazil has a high crime rate and we get used to it pretty young. Odds are your brazilian yakuza will outright expect corruption within the ranks and be harder to trick into leaving something undefended.

Thank you for the pointers, I'll keep them in mind whilst writing. X

[osakaonryoif]

So, fun fact: Brazil (official language: portuguese) has the second highest japanese population outside Japan.

So it is entirely possible that my MC speaks portuguese due to either being the child of nipo-brazilians who moved to Japan, having family there, or some combination of both.

Second fun fact: in portuguese the term for soulmate is "alma gêmea", which literally translates as twin soul.

Therefore, my MC is enforcing the red string romance. No hesitation. They are soulmates in portuguese now.

That's very fun to know, thank you!

The only canon set thing for the MC outside of the chosen background is that they are born in Japan, so let your headcanons go wild!

And I must say, you've just given me a brainstorm. During the casino mission, the MC can meet a member from another crime family, who is there for diplomacy with the Busujimas. I originally had this as just another Yakuza clan, but I think A Brazillian crime family member would be more interesting now, and adequately show just how dominant the Busujima Family is, as the largest Yakuza clan outside of Tokyo.

And I'm glad that people are looking forward to the red string romance. Their identity will be revealed in the Casino mission, so you'll be eating good then. And then we can let the angst flow, ehe. I just need to write the damn thing...

[osakaonryoif]

Hey! I’ve wanted to send an ask for a while sooo

I really like this IF and wanted to say thanks for making it. I know mental health things can be tough (an understatement) :( so I hope you will be alright.

To mean anons: the author is an actual person with a life so things will take time. Stop being mean anonymously on the internet (you wouldn’t dare irl).

Author, I will be there whenever the next chapter comes out. If it takes a while it’s okay you’re doing the best you can.

Okay byeee

Hey, I love you anon.<3

It's people like you, which is why I love the IF community. Of course, we have our bad apples, but doesn't every community? But this community is genuinely so wholesome and sweet, and I love everyone in it, and simply being part of this community gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

But like I've said many times, I am struggling mentally at the moment. But I have been going to therapy for a few months now, and my therapist is amazing, and she helps me manage all the panic attacks.

But in case I haven't said it enough already, it's people like you that I keep going for, and why I haven't given up writing despite all the roadblocks.