Venus Blood is a series of hybrid Visual Novel and Strategy RPG games, with strong H-Game content. The games are all created by Ninetail, under the Dualtail subsidiary. The series was mainly made for PC, with some entries also receiving a DVD release and/or an Anime adaptation.
The series consists of:
- Venus Blood (2007): Leonard, a young priest of the Holy Tree, secretly despises the organization he works for, and colludes with demons in order to conquer the kingdom built around the Tree and corrupt its princesses.
- Venus Blood Chimera (2008): The Demon Lord Taranis requires sacrifices from the Yupiteru Empire, and receives three princesses. However, when they trick him and seal his power, he intends to regain it through them.
- Venus Blood Desire (2009): When his clan is executed by the Holy Church for disobeying its corrupt leader, former priest Dante escapes, and has an encounter with the Goddess of Desire. Gifted a mask than can influence the feelings of others, Dante decides to start the Cult of Nemesia, with the goal of transforming the Church's Holy Goddesses into his loyal servants.
- Venus Blood Empire (2010): The Baldr Empire of demons has, for ages, been at war with the Five Kingdoms of Light, guarded by a a barrier maintained by goddesses. When a demon general named Freed manages to pierce through the barrier, his ambition leads him to try and conquer the kingdoms for himself.
- Venus Blood Abyss (2011): Demon King Zephyr has been killed in a war against the humans, and his daughter Lucina has taken the throne. Desperate to maintain power (against both the humans and the rival demon families), she calls for the skills of a male alchemist named Quilt, who is able to expedite the creation of new troops using...unconventional methods.
- Venus Blood -Frontier- (2012): To decide which of his grandchildren will be his successor, the Demon King Surt tasks them with retrieving a powerful treasure, the Heart of Yggdrasil, said to be lost in the holy land guarded by five goddesses. Loki, the last survivor of a branch family executed for supposedly betraying Surt, joins the competition in order to get revenge. An Updated Re-release, subtitled "International", was released in late 2019 (early 2020 overseas).
- Venus Blood -Gaia- (2013): The continent of Parastra used to be a utopia protected by Divine Beasts, but after centuries, its resources have all run dry. Theofrad, the half-demon Archduke of the city of Energeia, has devised a way to manipulate matter through the power of Ether, with the ultimate goal of creating new resources. However, when the Holy Dragon Empire of Granyeld declares his methods an evil art and violently opposes him, Theofrad constructs a labyrinth to ensnare invading forces and Arcane Avatar guardians infused with the DNA of his female assistants. A Kickstarter campaign for translating the Updated Re-release, subtitled "International", was launched in Summer 2022, with the game itself releasing in July 2023.
- Venus Blood -Hypno- (2014): After gaining control of the holy lands, the demonic Varganian Empire plots to conquer the nations of neighboring Dark Lords and consolidate power. However, their greatest general Leonhardt is a former slave that plots to overthrow the Empress and take charge, allying with the Empress's gentler younger sister. Assisting them is Leon's cousin Anora, who has the power to manipulate the souls of others. An Updated Re-release, renamed Venus Blood -Hollow- International, was released in late 2021.
- Venus Blood -Ragnarok- (2016): A distant sequel to -Frontier-. 500 years after Loki's unification of the demon and holy lands, his legacy has been erased, with the Holy Senate attributing all his accomplishments to the Goddesses. With demons now persecuted, Loki's descendant Vali is gifted the Heart of Yggdrasil, and tasked with reconquering the land.
- Venus Blood Anniversary Pack (2017): A compilation of the previous games (excluding -Ragnarok-), released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first Venus Blood.
- Venus Blood -Brave- (2017): The first Venus Blood game that's presented as a Turn-Based Combat Eastern RPG instead of a Strategy game. The land protected by Yilan, the Goddess of Charity, has come under attack by the rising of the red Devil Moon and revival of the Demon King. Two souls, the male researcher Hain and the female heroine Leona, are entrusted with the Goddess' power in order to fight back against the King's army. This installment subsequently received four Anime episodes, focusing on the corruption of the main heroines.
- Venus Blood: After Days (2017-Present): A series of post-Reign Route epilogues focusing on various women from multiple Venus Blood games.
- Episode 1: Starring Titie, from -Gaia-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 2: Starring Zirnitra, from -Empire-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 3: Bride of Karmic Flames: Starring Julia, from -Hollow-. Localized in 2024.
- Episode 4: The Dragon Songstress: Starring Liese, from -Hollow-. Localized in 2024.
- Episode 5: Guardian of the Hot Spring Inn: Starring Rigret, from -Frontier-. Localized in 2022.
- Episode 6: The Absolute God Consort: Starring Odin, from -Frontier-. Localized in 2022.
- Episode 7: Starring Teria, from -Gaia-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 8: Starring Carmilla and Vanilla, from -Gaia-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 9: Starring Chibi Yilan, from -Brave-. Japan-exclusive.
- Venus Blood Lagoon (2018): A war between demons and dragons has devastated the world, with only the land of Rodina remaining intact. When the dragon princess Tia Elysis is exiled by the priest Gashel on behalf of his goddess, the turmoil releases a demon named Zahak that her family had sealed, though his power is greatly reduced. Deciding to make a pact, Tia and Zahak set out to not only get revenge, but also unite the land and finally end the war.
- Venus Blood: Dark Chronicles (2019-Present): Another series of post-game epilogues similar to After Days, but taking place after the darker Conquest Routes and with more depraved situations.
- Episode 1: The Fallen Dragon Sisters: Starring Julia and Liese, from -Hollow-. Localized in 2024.
- Episode 2: Mother and Daughter's Road to Chaos: Starring Odin and Rigret, from -Frontier-. Localized in 2022.
- Episode 3: Starring Esteria, from -Gaia-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 4: Starring Carmilla and Vanilla, from -Gaia-. Japan-exclusive.
- Episode 5: Starring Chibi Yilan, from -Brave-. Japan-exclusive.
- Venus Blood: Orbit (September 2021-May 2022): A mobile phone game that celebrated the 15th anniversary of the series, which has now ended its service. Five hundred years ago, a chaotic goddess named Pandora wreaked havoc by opening rifts to other dimensions until she was sealed away. But now, a disgraced scholar plots to unseal her and use her power to conquer the world with a multiverse of attractive girls.
- Venus Blood Savior (2022): The continent of Levancia is divided, with humanity worshipping the sun goddess Hariel on the surface, and demons forced to live underground after the sealing of their darkness goddess Ishtar. Desperate to end this era of light, the demons find a way to resurrect an ancient Demon King, Regius, who will lead the fight against the human wielders of Hariel's sacred treasures and bring about a demon paradise.
Tropes common in the series:
- Arc Number: Multiple games use "5" (The Four Gods plus a Top God; an Elite Four plus their ruler, five competitors for Surt's throne in -Frontier-; five Dark Lords in -Hollow-; etc.) or "500" (years between -Frontier- and -Ragnarok-; years the Demon King was sealed away in -Brave-; years Pandora was sealed in -Orbit-, etc.)
- Battle Harem: Multiple games, such as -Frontier-, -Gaia-, and -Brave-, have the main love interests also participate in the Strategy/RPG segments, and they tend to become the strongest units when sufficiently Loyal/Corrupted.
- Compilation Re-release: The Anniversary Pack is one, consisting of the first eight Venus Blood games, with the only updates being compatibility with newer computers instead of additional content.
- Corrupt Church: In multiple installments, such as -Desire-, -Ragnarok-, and -Lagoon-, a corrupt Holy Church is directly responsible for instigating the game's main conflict.
- The Corruptor: One of the reoccurring elements in the series is the player's ability to be one. However, some games with branching story lines, such as -Frontier- and -Ragnarok-, make this completely optional.
- Crossover:
- Orbit was a "gacha"-style mobile game that involves summoning heroines from all other Venus Blood games as playable units.
- The Updated Re-release of both -Hollow- and -Gaia- includes Guest Fighters from other Venus Blood games.
- The Four Gods: Multiple entries, such as Empire, Frontier, and Gaia, have five female Goddesses to corrupt, usually presented as one Top God ruling above four others.
- Idealist vs. Pragmatist: The later games give Reign/Conquest choices, with the former collaborating with the protagonists' enemies and the latter subjugating them. There is also a Friendship/Corruption mechanic with the former bonding with targeted girls and the latter enslaving them into powerful and loyal allies.
- Marry Them All: Most games have this as one of the available Multiple Endings, though exclusive to the "Chaos" side of Order Versus Chaos.
- Mother of a Thousand Young:
- The driving element of -Abyss- is the creation of these.
- -Gaia- has Theofrad's "Arcane Avatar" guardians be produced by using sexual magic on his female subordinates to produce Whale Eggs that rapidly mature into combat-capable units.
- Multiple Endings: Multiple entries, such as -Hollow- and -Ragnarok-, factor in both your position in the Order Versus Chaos scale and your relationship with the female main characters to determine which one(s) you ultimately end up with, and what state they're in.
- Naughty Tentacles: Yes. Expect tentacles to appear in every game, usually hand-in-hand with the Corruption elements. It's to the point that the official websites have "Tentacle" as part of their genre description.
- Order Versus Chaos: Multiple games, such as -Frontier- and -Hollow-, have two main routes: Conquest, in which you embrace your nature as The Corruptor and drive women into lustful madness, and Reign, in which you act more benevolently and seek a peaceful end to war.
- Porn with Plot: Although the H-Game elements tend to be the main draw, the games often have developed stories that both develop the cast and are impacted by your decisions, as well as depth to the Strategy gameplay mechanics.
- Self-Censored Release: All of the International Updated Rereleases that censor and/or remove lewd content by default, with an official patch required to add it back in.
- Sexy Dimorphism: Commonly, women of a mystical species are depicted as Little Bit Beastly, while men are more animalistic. For example, both Julia and Liese of -Hollow- are Draconic Humanoids, while Mason, the commander of their army, is a bipedal flying lizard, but they're all considered to be dragons.
- Updated Re-release: All of the International re-releases are these, adding additional content as well as a full international translation.
- Villain Protagonist: The majority of male protagonists in the series are these, with their prime motivations being lust, vengeance, and/or dominance. However, this can be averted in games like Frontier, which allow an "Order" route in which your allies are powered up through trust and affection rather than corruption.
