The first time I watched a Japanese horror movie, it was called Dark Water. It was also an exercise in controlled tension which built up to a horrible twist at the end. I had a phobia of bathrooms and apartment corridors which continued for weeks after watching that movie.
It’s safe to assume that no one does horror better than the Japanese, and having said that, here are some Japanese Nintendo DS games that might have the same effect as their horrifying movie counterparts:
- Mite Wa Ikenai
In this game, the stylus is used to wipe out ghosts. According to the description on the NCSX blog, the game is played like a visual novel with spirit encounter scenes, players read a scary story and then wax spirits from the screen. Once they’re gone, the house they inhabit will no longer be cursed and birds will sing outside once again. The game is available at Play-Asia. Click here for details.
- Twillight Syndrome: Kinjiratera Toshi Densetsu
I think I still have the trailer for this game on my DSVision and I regret downloading it. It looks really creepy. The plot is not unlike one in an Asian horror movie whereby a couple of students investigate a mysterious text messages.
Click here for purchase information.
- Nanashi no Game
Another game with a plot that wouldn’t be out of place in Asian horror cinema, the game’s description reads as the following:
Gossip has been spreading around about a mysterious portable RPG that brings death to its players. Nobody knows who the developer was, the only thing people know is that the players died within a week once they started playing it.
The game brings reality together with terror through your DS, by showing scenes in a first person perspective, it takes you to a dark, shadowy alternate universe similar to the world we live in, thus blurring the line between the game world and reality.
This game makes use of the surround sound facility of your DS to heighten the eery atmosphere, sounds like someone breathing, or footsteps behind you are so real you will spin around in the middle of a train compartment to see if someone is following you.
Brrr.. The game is available at Play-Asia. Click here for details. - Dementium: The Ward
I must confess that I’ve not played the English language version but word of mouth has it that it is really scary. The Japanese version has a different box-art compared to its English counterpart and among the 4 games featured so far, it is the only one to be rated CERO D; for ages 17 and above.
Dementium: The Ward (Jap) is available at Play-Asia. Click here for details.
If you need something less horrifying than the games listed above, here are a couple of games that feature all things spooky but at the same time I’ve enjoyed playing (if you don’t get it by now, I’m actually quite freaked out at horror movies and the games listed above):
- Gegege no Kitarou: Youkai Daigekisen
A 2D platformer based on the classic Japanese anime Gegege no Kitarou, the game stars Kitarou as the main protagonist. With abilities such as being able to shoot needles from his hair, kick his wooden sandals, and float with a magical sweater, he takes on creepy ghouls taken right out of Japanese mythology.
The game is available at Play-Asia. Click here for details.
- Zombie Shiki – Eigo Ryoku Sosei Jutsu: English of the Dead
Think of it as Typing of the Dead sans keyboard and instead you use the stylus and the touch screen to write words and alphabets to fill in the blanks or answer English questions. Each successful letter or answer translates into bullets fired at the on-screen zombies.
Come in for the learning of the English language but stay for the campy voice acting and sentences. The game is available at Play-Asia. Click here for further details.
