Billy the Hero has a very dubious take on what a hero is and a very pragmatic reason to be greedy. The dark fantasy turn-based RPG from JOJOJOJOsoft sees a notorious criminal waking up with no memories in the body of a huge bear. His plan is to go to Hell Island and take it over from the Seven Lords of Sin. Rehabilitation doesn’t appear to be on the agenda at all.
The combat system gives that selfishness a raison d’être. There are four gem types (Blood, Soul, Tear and Void) which power your skills and every gem you hold onto at the end of a battle gives you 10% bonus experience via the Greed system.
You can use your gems to help you survive a fight, or you can just keep them and make your victory more rewarding. Practically, getting extra experience out of a fight means you’re taking the risk of getting mugged in the process whilst sitting on resources that could have helped.
There’s another aspect to Trigger Hit. Skills add a numerical value to the total, with nine trigger bonuses in play (including doubled drops). A bad calculation can completely nullify the attack. The decision as to what action to take therefore involves both the numerical value of the action and its damage/resource cost.
The dev’s combat breakdown also mentions a Ghost Number interface which will show you the resultant total prior to you committing to the action. Bosses can of course also take your resources. That in itself is a useful twist on the hoarding strategy in that it makes it less appealing to leave your valuables in your pocket when the enemy are going to be quite happy to just take them.
Away from battle the abandoned mall becomes Billy’s base. The Zobiimon residents are recruited to generate income according to their energy level, the income ceasing when that energy hits zero. They are kept fed and busy through farming and cooking. Apparently even a would-be ruler of Hell has to have his lunch breaks.
Companion relationships feed into combat via improved Synergy Attacks with Billy. The potential recruits include a nurse, a vampire, a chef and a zombie each with their own set of demands to deal with. Getting on with the party has a direct bearing on how things go when the fighting starts.
Under the horrific premise is a mystery about Billy and the island itself. The developer presents it as a choice between staying in a comfortable dream and facing a much darker reality. For a bear so keen to make himself comfortable, that seems like an awfully inconvenient revelation.
Billy the Hero is aiming for Q4 2026 on PC via Steam. A free demo (covering Episode 0: The Vile Rebirth) is planned as a 30-minute prologue. Below is the trailer.
