Corpse Party

Corpse Party
Promotional artwork for Corpse Party Blood Covered: ...Repeated Fear. Characters featured (clockwise from the top left): Sachiko Shinozaki, Satoshi Mochida, Yuka Mochida, Naomi Nakashima, and Seiko Shinohara.
Genres Survival horror, adventure
Developer(s)
  • Team GrisGris (1996–present)
  • 5pb. (2010–present)
  • MAGES. (2011–2012)
  • GrindHouse (2013–present)
Publisher(s)
  • Kenix Soft (1996)
  • Team GrisGris (2008)
  • 5pb. (2010–present)
  • Marvelous USA (2011–present)
  • GrindHouse (2013–present)
Platforms
Platform of origin NEC PC-9801
First release CORPSE-PARTY
April 22, 1996 (Japan only)
Latest release Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient neues;
October 5, 2017

Corpse Party (コープスパーティー, Kōpusu Pātī) is a survival horror, adventure, and dōjin soft video game series originally created by Makoto Kedōin[1][2] and developed by Team GrisGris.[3] The first game in the series was developed using the RPG Maker software and released in 1996 for the PC-9801. It was followed by two remakes: Corpse Party Blood Covered,[lower-alpha 1] which was released for Microsoft Windows on March 8, 2008; and Corpse Party Blood Covered: ...Repeated Fear,[lower-alpha 2] which was released for the PlayStation Portable on August 12, 2010, and iOS on February 9, 2012. The game was released in North America and Europe by Marvelous USA under the title Corpse Party.[4] Marvelous USA planned to release a localized version Corpse Party Blood Covered for PC in North America in 2015,[5] but the title was delayed until 2016. A 3DS version of the game, titled Corpse Party Blood Covered: ...Repeated Fear was released in Japan on July 30, 2015, and contains a new extra chapter not present in the PSP and iOS version.[6]

The PSP game was followed by a sequel, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows,[lower-alpha 3] which was released for the PSP on September 1, 2011 in Japan, and on January 15, 2013 in North America.[7] A spin-off game, Corpse Party: Hysteric Birthday 2U,[lower-alpha 4] was released for the PSP in Japan on August 2, 2012.[8] A direct sequel of Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, called Corpse Party: Blood Drive,[lower-alpha 5] was released in Japan on July 24, 2014 on PlayStation Vita,[9][10] and was released in North America by XSeed Games on October 13, 2015, and on October 20, 2015 in Europe.[11]

Another sequel titled Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient[lower-alpha 6] was created for the PC by GrindHouse, a dōjin circle founded by members affiliated with Team GrisGris.[12] It is released episodically, with the first chapter released on May 29, 2013.

The series has spawned several manga works, an anime OVA series, drama CDs, theme park attractions, and two live action films.

Gameplay

Corpse Party is a linear horror monster adventure game with some role-playing elements. It is played in a third-person view, top-down perspective. Players are tasked with exploring the haunted school grounds for a means of escape. To fulfill this task, characters must interact with the environment and surroundings such as picking up objects, talking to other characters, and inspecting documents while avoiding enemy-like entities.

The game's story is split into five chapters, each focusing on different characters and featuring multiple endings that are achieved based on the player's in-game decisions: a "True Ending" required for the game's progression; and several "Wrong Endings" that are unlocked when the player performs events irrelevant to the main storyline. Characters also possess hit points (HP), which measure how much damage they can take before dying, in some instances leading to a wrong ending. As players progress through the game, they will unlock ten optional "Extra Chapters", vignettes that focus on the game's side characters and expand the storyline.

Setting and plot

The plot of the Corpse Party series concerns a group of Japanese high school students who, after celebrating their school's culture festival, are telling ghost stories when a sudden earthquake transports them to a dilapidated schoolhouse in an alternative dimension that is haunted by the ghosts of people who have been trapped there. The main playable character is Satoshi Mochida, a kindhearted high school student who is teased by his classmates for his cowardly nature. Three of the other characters are students from Satoshi's class: Naomi Nakashima, Satoshi's childhood friend; Yoshiki Kishinuma, an intimidating yet good-natured student; and Ayumi Shinozaki, the class representative. Rounding out the group is Yuka Mochida, Satoshi's younger sister. The game's antagonist is the red ghost of a teenage girl who seeks vengeance for her wrongful death.

Blood Covered and Repeated Fear

Blood Covered, released in 2008, is an enhanced remake and port of the 1996 Corpse Party. It includes more characters, larger maps, updated graphics, and professional voice actors. It was later followed by another enhanced remake, Blood Covered: Repeated Fear, which was released internationally as Corpse Party.

The remake thoroughly expands the plot and setting of the original game. Here, the haunted schoolhouse is named Heavenly Host Elementary School (天神小学校, Tenjin Shōgakkō), a fictional Fujisawa elementary school that was torn down following the murders and disappearances of several of its staff and students. In modern-day Japan, the main characters' high school, Kisaragi Academy (如月学園, Kisaragi Gakuen), has been built over the elementary school site. The students are transported to Heavenly Host after performing a charm called Sachiko Ever After (幸せのサチコさん, Shiawase no Sachiko-san), which would supposedly allow them to remain friends for eternity.

In addition to the five protagonists of the original game, Blood Covered introduces four characters to the playable cast: Seiko Shinohara, Naomi's best friend; Mayu Suzumoto, a popular student due to transfer out of Kisaragi; Sakutaro Morishige, Mayu's best friend; and Yui Shishido, the class's homeroom teacher. Blood Covered also includes several characters from other schools who are also trapped inside Heavenly Host and affect the story. Two notable characters are Naho Saenoki, a selfish but helpful paranormalist from Paulownia Academy (桐章学園, Kirishō Gakuen) who discovered the Sachiko Ever After charm and came to investigate Heavenly Host; and Yuuya Kizami, a sadistic student from Byakudan Senior High School (白壇高等学校, Byakudan Kōtōgakkō) who accompanies Yuka as she is separated from her brother. The red ghost is re-envisioned as a young child named Sachiko Shinozaki who kills the students of Heavenly Hosts in anger over her and her mother's murder.

Book of Shadows

A sequel to Blood Covered, Book of Shadows features a series of nonlinear chapters that add new twists and backgrounds for various characters and details important to the storyline. The game mostly takes place during the same time the first game did, continuing from one of the "wrong ends" in Corpse Party, where Sachiko sends the Kisaragi Academy students back in time. For this purpose, she erases their memories except for Satoshi's. He tries in a desperate attempt to dissuade his classmates from performing the charm, but he joins them, not wanting to let them go alone, sending them on alternative course of actions and encountering several supporting victims in Heavenly Host.

The game's prologue, Blood Drive, serves as the set up to the eponymous sequel. Two weeks after escaping Heavenly Host, Ayumi and Naomi go to investigate the Shinozaki estate, Sachiko's birthplace, believing there is hope in reviving their dead friends since Naho and Kou Kibiki's existences were not erased like the other victims. At the estate, Ayumi discovers that she is of the same lineage as Sachiko. Hearing an eerie voice, Ayumi uncovers a magical tome known as the Book of Shadows. Ayumi and Naomi perform a resurrection spell for Mayu, but fail. As compensation for using black magic, the book unleashes its rage upon Ayumi until her older sister Hinoe Shinozaki rushes in and saves Ayumi, at the cost of her own life.

Hysteric Birthday 2U

On the day of Sachiko's birth and death, the curse on her weakens and she gets 24 hours to celebrate her birthday as someone closer to the girl she was before her death. She uses the timeloops as established in Corpse Party: Book of Shadows to force all survivors at that point to participate in activities she has set up. Given it's either that or die horribly again, something all are aware that they've already experienced but can't remember in full, they go along with her demands. The game features almost all characters from the previous games and some new ones. While a pseudo-horror spin-off at best, it is part of the storyline, setting up a few details to prepare for Corpse Party: Blood Drive.

As with Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, there is only one extra chapter. This extra chapter takes place during the previous game and is more conventional horror. It tells of Yoshiki's and Ayumi's encounter with four students from Sugatani Senior High School, notably Azusa Takai.

Blood Drive

Corpse Party: Blood Drive is the direct sequel to Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, and is the first game featuring settings and characters rendered in 3D. The game was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan in July 2014 by 5pb. The characters are depicted in 3D chibi style, however traditional CG artwork appears during cutscenes, illustrated by Sakuya Kamishiro.[13]

Continuing from the prologue, Naomi manages to save Ayumi and takes her to a hospital. The Shinozaki estate and tome subsequently vanish without a trace. Ayumi had been severely ill for her misuse of the Book of Shadows' black magic. In the hospital, a woman claiming to be a spiritual associate of Hinoe's visits Ayumi. This woman belongs to the Wiccan Institute, an organization that worships spirits. She tells her Hinoe's last wish, which is to regain the Book of Shadows or the world will fall into the abyss. This is partially a lie, as the woman is under threat of other organizations to get Ayumi to find the book, which they wish to use for their own gain.

After being discharged from the hospital two months later, Ayumi returns to Kisaragi Academy where Satoshi and friends give her a warm welcome. However, the absence of their dead friends is a constant reminder of their inevitable reality. A new teacher's assistant, Kuon Niwa, supervises their homeroom. Later, on her way home, a black hooded boy approaches Ayumi and tells her, "If you reclaim the Book of Shadows and use it at Heavenly Host, those who have died there will be revived." Ayumi pledges that she will once more take back the Book of Shadows. The trail leads into the previous residence of Makina Shinozaki. To make matters worse, Heavenly Host's curse is expanded by the "new Sachiko", later named Sachi.[13]

In January 2017, the game was ported to Android and iOS. The port contained various improvements to the balance of the game and improved loading times. In addition to that, the game also supports a cloud saving feature.[14]

Development

Dummy head mics were utilized for Blood Covered, Book of Shadows, and Blood Drive to provide perceived three dimensional sound.[15]

Media listing

List of Corpse Party video games
Title Developer Publisher Platform Release date
Japan (JP) North America (NA) Europe (EU)
CORPSE-PARTY[lower-alpha 7] Team GrisGris JP: Kenix Soft NEC PC-9801 April 22, 1996 N/A N/A
Corpse Party: Blood Covered[lower-alpha 1] Team GrisGris JP: Team GrisGris
NA: Marvelous USA
EU: Marvelous USA		 Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8 March 8, 2008 April 25, 2016 April 25, 2016
Corpse Party: Blood Covered ...Repeated Fear[lower-alpha 2] Team GrisGris, 5pb. JP: 5pb.
NA: Marvelous USA
EU: Marvelous USA		 PlayStation Portable August 12, 2010 November 22, 2011 December 14, 2011
iOS February 9, 2012 August 14, 2012 August 14, 2012
Nintendo 3DS July 30, 2015 October 25, 2016 October 26, 2016
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows[lower-alpha 3] Team GrisGris, 5pb. JP: 5pb.
NA: Marvelous USA
EU: Marvelous USA		 PlayStation Portable September 1, 2011 January 15, 2013 January 23, 2013
iOS December 17, 2013 N/A N/A
Corpse Party: Hysteric Birthday 2U[lower-alpha 4] Team GrisGris, 5pb. JP: 5pb. PlayStation Portable August 2, 2012 N/A N/A
Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient[lower-alpha 6] GrindHouse JP: GrindHouse PC May 29, 2013 N/A N/A
Corpse Party: Blood Drive[lower-alpha 5] Team GrisGris, 5pb. JP: 5pb.
NA: Marvelous USA
EU: Marvelous USA		 PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS July 24, 2014[16] October 13, 2015[17] October 20, 2015[18]
Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient neues[lower-alpha 8] GrindHouse JP: GrindHouse PC October 5, 2017 Fall 2018 N/A
List of Corpse Party manga series
Title Author Illustrator Publisher Magazine(s) Volumes Original run
Corpse Party: Blood Covered[lower-alpha 1] Makoto Kedōin Toshimi Shinomiya Square Enix Gangan Powered, Gangan Joker 10 (47 chapters) August 22, 2008 – October 22, 2012
Corpse Party: Musume[lower-alpha 9] Makoto Kedōin Mika Orii Media Factory Monthly Comic Alive 3 (20 chapters) August 27, 2010 – July 27, 2012
Corpse Party: Another Child[lower-alpha 10] Makoto Kedōin Shunsuke Ogata Mag Garden Monthly Comic Blade 3 (17 chapters) August 30, 2011 – February 28, 2013
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows[lower-alpha 3] Makoto Kedōin Mika Orii Media Factory Monthly Comic Alive 3 (24 chapters) August 23, 2012 – March 24, 2014
Corpse Party: Hysteric Birthday 2U[lower-alpha 11] Makoto Kedōin Tsubakurou Shibata Enterbrain Famitsu Comic Clear 2 (12 chapters) June 22, 2013 – January 15, 2015
Corpse Party Cemetery 0: Kaibyaku no Ars Moriendi[lower-alpha 12] Makoto Kedōin Ichihaya Takeshobo Manga Life Win 2 (19 chapters) June 22, 2013 – April 17, 2014
List of Corpse Party anime and film media
Title Director Producer Run time Release date
Corpse Party: Missing Footage[lower-alpha 13] Akira Iwanaga Asread 11 minutes August 2, 2012
Corpse Party: Tortured Souls[lower-alpha 14] Akira Iwanaga Asread 117 minutes (4 episodes) July 24, 2013
Corpse Party (film)[lower-alpha 7] Masafumi Yamada Kadokawa Daiei 93 minutes August 1, 2015
Corpse Party Book of Shadows[lower-alpha 3] Masafumi Yamada Kadokawa Daiei 93 minutes July 30, 2016

Corpse Party: Another Child

A spin-off manga that takes place during the events of Corpse Party. With their school, Satsukiyama Academy (皐月山学園, Satsukiyama Gakuen), shutting down for good, the students of a small town were heading for different directions in life, not until they decide to perform the "Sachiko Ever After" charm swallowing the entire class to Heavenly Host Elementary, along with a mysterious girl's spirit. In order to get out, they must track and get rid of the spirit.

Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient

The game takes place five years after the events of Corpse Party Heavenly Host Arc, implied to be the consequences of the Book of Shadows' powers starting to bring about the end of the world by allowing the spirit realm and real world to start to converge together. The setting takes place at Amare Patriarcha Crucis Hospital (文月大付属・慈愛十字 (パトリアーカル)病院, Fumizuki Daifuzoku Patoriākaru Byōin, "July University Patriarchal Hospital") fallen into a dark abyss. Patient records and clinical charts are scattered all over the hospital, with zombies and a bizarre SWAT team roaming through the hallways. An amnesiac girl, Ayame Itou, wakes up on an operating table and encounters the dark happenings around her.

Music

The opening for Corpse Party Blood Covered: ...Repeated Fear is "Shangri-La" by Asami Imai, and the ending for Blood Covered is "Confutatis no Inori" by Artery Vein (Imai & Eri Kitamura). An insert song, "Yami ni Nureta Catastrophe", also sung by Artery Vein, plays at the end of the game.

The opening theme for Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is "Hana no Saku Basho" by Imai, and the ending is "Pandora no Yoru", by Artery Vein.

The opening theme for Corpse Party: 2U is called "Limited Love" by Imai, and the ending theme is "Tsukigen" by ARTERY VEIN. An insert song, "Hanabi", sung by Yumi Hara, plays at the final scene where Sachiko's birthday has ended and she seemed to have only a brief memory of it, before screaming in agony and reverting to her malicious self.

In Corpse Party: BloodDrive, there are two openings; the first one being "In the Rain", by Hara, and the second being "Keshin" by Imai, which plays at Chapter 7 after Ayumi's retrieval of the Book of Shadows. The ending is "Translucent Days" by ARTERY VEIN.

Critical reception

Aggregate review scores
As of November 27, 2015.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Corpse Party (PSP) 72.95%[19]
(iOS) 66.67%[20]		 (PSP) 71[21]
(3DS) 77[22]
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (PSP) 67.94%[23] (PSP) 67[24]
Corpse Party: Blood Drive (Vita) 63.00%[25] (Vita) 63[26]

Although the series has received mixed to positive reviews as a whole, it is regarded as a "cult favorite" in Japan with a dedicated fan following.[26][27] Famitsu gave Corpse Party: Blood Drive a score of 29/40.[28]

Adaptations

The video game has been adapted into four manga series: Corpse Party: Blood Covered, published by Square Enix; Corpse Party: Musume and Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, published by Media Factory; and Corpse Party: Another Child, published by Mag Garden. One original video animation (OVA), Corpse Party: Missing Footage, was released on August 2, 2012.[8] Another OVA consisting of four episodes titled Corpse Party: Tortured Souls, was released on July 24, 2013,[29] and later licensed by Section23 Films. A movie adaptation was also made, which was released on August 1, 2015,[30] while a film adaptation of Corpse Party: Book of Shadows was released on June 30, 2016.[31]

China ban

On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture listed Corpse Party among 38 anime and manga titles banned in China.[32]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Kōpusu Pātī BuraddoKabā (コープスパーティー ブラッドカバー)
  2. 1 2 Kōpusu Pātī: Buraddo Kabā – Ripītiddo Fiā (コープスパーティーブラッドカバー リピーティッドフィアー)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kōpusu Pātī Book of Shadows (コープスパーティー Book of Shadows)
  4. 1 2 Kōpusu Pātī the Anthology: Sachiko no Ren'ai Yūgi – Hysteric Birthday 2U (コープスパーティー -The Anthology- サチコの恋愛遊戯♥ヒステリックバースデートゥーユー, lit. "Corpse Party the Anthology: Sachiko's Game of Love – Hysteric Birthday 2U")
  5. 1 2 Kōpusu Pātī Buraddo Doraibu (コープスパーティー ブラッドドライブ)
  6. 1 2 Kōpusu Pātī Tsū Dead Patient (コープスパーティー2 DEAD PATIENT)
  7. 1 2 Kōpusu Pātī (コープスパーティー)
  8. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī Tsū Dead Patient Neues (コープスパーティー2 DEAD PATIENT NEUES)
  9. ↑ Kōpusupātī; Musume (コープスパーティー;娘, lit. "Corpseparty; The Girl")
  10. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī: Another Child (コープスパーティー Another Child)
  11. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī: Sachiko no Ren'ai Yūgi – Hysteric Birthday 2U (コープスパーティー サチコの恋愛遊戯♥Hysteric Birthday 2U, lit. "Corpse Party: Sachiko's Game of Love – Hysteric Birthday 2U")
  12. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī Cemetery 0: Kaibyaku no Arusu Moriendi (コープスパーティーCEMETERY0 〜開闢のアルス・モリエンディ〜, lit. "Corpse Party Cemetery 0: The Genesis of Ars Moriendi")
  13. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī Misshingu Futtiji (コープスパーティー Missing Footage)
  14. ↑ Kōpusu Pātī Tortured Souls – Bōgyakusareta Tamashī no Jukyō (コープスパーティー Tortured Souls ―暴虐された魂の呪叫―, lit. "Corpse Party: Tortured Souls – The Curse of Tortured Souls-")

References

  1. ↑ "Memories of Fear...CORPSE PARTY -REBUILT-". memoriesoffear.com.
  2. ↑ ja:祁答院慎
  3. ↑ "Team GrisGris Official Website - Products". Team GrisGris. Retrieved 24 October 2015. (in Japanese)
  4. ↑ "Marvelous USA Licenses Corpse Party Horror PSP Game". Anime News Network. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  5. ↑ Ishaan (5 June 2014). "Xseed Bringing Corpse Party To PC In 2014". Siliconera.
  6. ↑ Romano, Sal (9 April 2015). "Corpse Party 3DS dated in Japan - Gematsu". Gematsu. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Corpse Party: Book of Shadows 2nd N. American Trailer Posted". Anime News Network. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  8. 1 2 "Corpse Party Anthology PSP Game to Bundle Video Anime". Anime News Network. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Ishaan (22 April 2013). "Corpse Party Continues On PS Vita With Corpse Party: Blood Drive". Siliconera. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Romano, Sal (4 October 2013). "Corpse Party: Blood Drive pushed to 2014 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Orselli, Brandon (1 January 2015). "XSEED is Localizing Corpse Party: Blood Drive - Niche Gamer". nichegamer.net. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient PC Game Announced". Anime News Network. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  13. 1 2 "More Details On Corpse Party: Blood Drive's Story And New Characters". Siliconera. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  14. ↑ https://www.dualshockers.com/corpse-party-blood-drive-launches-ios-android-new-screenshots/
  15. ↑ James, Thomas (28 March 2014). "Corpse Party: Blood Drive dated in Japan, new details". Gematsu. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  16. ↑ Sato (19 March 2014). "Corpse Party: Blood Drive Will Be Released This July For PlayStation Vita". Siliconera. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Corpse Party: Blood Drive launches October 13 in North America". Gematsu. September 24, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Corpse Party: Blood Drive". Marvelous USA. October 2015. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Corpse Party Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Corpse Party Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Corpse Party for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Corpse Party for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Corpse Party: Book of Shadows Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Corpse Party: Book of Shadows for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Corpse Party: Blood Drive Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  26. 1 2 "Corpse Party: Blood Drive for PSP Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Corpse Party Review". IGN. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  28. ↑ Romano, Sal (15 July 2014). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1336". Gematsu. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Corpse Party Games Get New Tortured Souls Video Anime". Anime News Network. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  30. ↑ "Live-Action Corpse Party Film Gets Uncut, 'Unlimited Edition'". Anime News Network. August 3, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Live-Action Corpse Party: Book of Shadows Film's Trailer Reveals Theme Song, July Premiere". Anime News Network. June 3, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  32. ↑ "China bans 38 anime & manga titles incuding Attack on Titan". Special Broadcasting Service. 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
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