Blood Will Tell: Tezuka's Dororo has an enrapturing story on par with Final Fantasy VII.
This one is not short for substance. There are literally dozens of swords to collect with various powers, a number of magic scrolls grant room clearing prowess, and once you defeat the MAIN story you unlock a whole new 'Dororo' mode where you play exclusively as her collecting treasure from enemy-filled locales.
BWT is also a 2 player co-op game where one player can literally take control of Dororo and assist Hyakkimaru in his quest.
Difficulty was just about right, easy for the most part but punishingly hard in the POST quest and Dororo mode. The absolute final boss, available after the credits, is Ruby Weapon hard. Not impossible but a definate challenge that will require ALL of your skills built up during the 20 hour + main quest.
Control: 10 - The controls come pretty easy with a smooth combo system that can be easily mastered in a short amount of time. It makes cutting apart demons a sheer joy despite the repetitive number of enemies.
Camera: 7 - BWT's only need for improvement was the flawed camera system. It was only flawed for short sequences though, locking onto the character's head for short bursts leaving you running blind into enemies and pitfalls. Otherwise its a completely free camera.
Music: 8 - Appropriate scoring means there's excitement when there needs to be. It's not going to win any awards but it was never a burden or overly repetitive.
Graphics: 8.5 - Phenominal for 2004, BWT's graphics hold up even by 2009 standards.
Story: 11 - Yes, on a scale of 1-10 Dororo scores an 11. An incredible story that ramps up significantly in the end.
Near the end of the game there's an amazing 'Samurai Fiction' moment where the action stylishly moved behind a set of Shoji screens and played out via silhouettes. It was one of the single coolest video game moments I've ever experienced.
I've reviewed this score several times, originally giving it a 7 after my first short jaunt with it where I only played for about 10 minutes. I rescored it an 8.5 after I gave it a serious attempt and then moved it up to 9.5; taking off .5 for the stubborn camera... up until the last chapter. Then the total awesomeness of Dororo is revealed and I was literally FORCED to give this game a perfect 10. The camera is forgiven. All is forgiven. Blood Will Tell: Osamu Tezuka's Dororo is flat out one of the best gaming experiences EVER. You OWE it to yourself to play this game start to finish. You will NOT regret it.