Initially, I choose Kiyo-hime to be the boss of the onsen level. It was an almost random choice, really. I later found out a bit more about her and decided I wanted to switch her with a mermaid of sorts. The thing is… Japanese mermaids aren’t that interesting as far as characters go, so I finally stuck with Kiyo-hime.

Kiyo-hime is in, and of herself, quite a character. She is basically the main ghost in the tale of the Dojoji Temple mythos. I had the fortune of analyzing the Nohgaku play featuring this ghost with the help of Prof. Richard Emmert a few months ago. I still have to watch the kabuki play, but I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. You see, the play is a famously complex and colorful mise en scène.

Basically, she was an onsen maid who jealously pursued a young itinerant priest, transformed herself into a fire-breathing snake and baked him alive inside the bell where he was hiding from her.

Now that I chose to stick with her as the boss, I will either have to switch a few enemies in the onsen, or change the entire dynamic altogether. I’m thinking of making her breathe steam instead of fire and switching the sea minions for a puzzle maze of steam and running water.

…

Oh, I also just noticed that Michizane doesn’t feature any plate in his character portrait. I guess I was too absorbed in his character to care about his place in the story. That’s a particular flaw of mine as a designer — and human being — which I’m pretty sure will come to bite me in the ass further down the line.