Asian Horror Games

Anything that is gaming related that doesn't fit well anywhere else
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BrokenGeode
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Asian Horror Games

Post by BrokenGeode »

This probably seems like a bizzarely specific thread but I've noticed a lot of asian media, be it japanese, korean or chinese seems to nail that specific kind of creepy as opposed to a lot of western horror, with a lot of it seeming to have mastered the method of show don't tell, not that gory, over the top schlock isn't fun, it's just not scary. So I've decided to dedicate this thread to various hidden gems that nail that specific type of asian creepy.

The first game I'm gonna bring up is the infamous White Day:
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This game features the kind of cliche setting of a haunted school, however the fact that it's set the day before white day, which is a similar holiday to valentine's day and is celebrated in both Japan and South Korea. On white day men who have recieved chocolate gifts from women on valentines day are expected to return the favor, which acts as the rather flimsy notification for your character to return to his creepy ass school in the dead of night and hide some chocolate in the desk of a girl.

Perhaps the most notable thing about White Day is that it was actually too scary for many gamers to complete, which resulted in a patch allowing you to adjust both the level of scares as well as the difficulty of the game's puzzles. Although playing the game on a lower scariness setting isnt really experiencing the game the way it was supposed to be and will leave you forever branded a wimp.

The game was unfortunately never officially released in any english speaking countries due to the game's dev team Sonnori Co. closing their doors in 2004 due to poor sales. However this has made the game abandon-ware and copyright-free, meaning it is entirely legal to download and modify, resulting in a multitude of fan patches, fixing various bugs and featuring much better english translation.

Download Link for the latest fan-updated version: http://www.indiedb.com/games/white-day/ ... -installer

Feel free to discuss and suggest any other titles you believe belong in this thread and I'm going to attempt to update you guys weekly with an interesting title that falls within this niche.
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J T
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by J T »

Atlus released a game for PS2 called Rule of Rose that I love for its unsettling creepiness. The horror isn't in the gore, it is in the humiliation and weird vaguely sexual experiences. Your character is overly helpless, which is kind of annoying, but also makes it feel more like a nightmare where you have lost your power and agility.

Here's a good scene that personifies what I like about the unusual horror in this hidden gem:

Rule of Rose -
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Exhuminator
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by Exhuminator »

Square Enix published a pretty original DS horror game not that long ago.

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Nanashi no Game (ナナシ ノ ゲエム Nanashi no Geemu?, lit. "Nameless Game" or "The Game with No Name") is a first-person survival horror video game developed by Epics and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. The game follows a university student who becomes cursed by the titular role-playing game, which causes people to die in seven days upon starting.

It got a fan translation:

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1654/

Unfortunately the sequel has not been translated yet that I know of.
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BrokenGeode
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by BrokenGeode »

J T wrote:Atlus released a game for PS2 called Rule of Rose that I love for its unsettling creepiness. The horror isn't in the gore, it is in the humiliation and weird vaguely sexual experiences. Your character is overly helpless, which is kind of annoying, but also makes it feel more like a nightmare where you have lost your power and agility.
Whilst I haven't played this game, the main issue it seems to have is it's rather lacklustre gameplay, the setting and bizzare storyline is definitely unique and would make me want to try and cop this, however footage I've seen of numerous players giving up when they reach a certain mermaid boss kind of puts me off. Also you can always count on Atlus to bring you something bizzare and very Japanese.
Exhuminator wrote:Square Enix published a pretty original DS horror game not that long ago.

Nanashi no Game (ナナシ ノ ゲエム Nanashi no Geemu?, lit. "Nameless Game" or "The Game with No Name") is a first-person survival horror video game developed by Epics and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. The game follows a university student who becomes cursed by the titular role-playing game, which causes people to die in seven days upon starting.

It got a fan translation:

http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1654/

Unfortunately the sequel has not been translated yet that I know of.
I've been meaning to play this for a long time but unfortunately my DS Lite is without a charger at the moment, making my flashcart kinda useless. Despite it kinda being run into the ground lately with numerous lacklustre creepypastas and the like, the trope of haunted games/technology is something I absolutely love when it's done well.
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Re: Asian Horror Games

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BrokenGeode wrote:but unfortunately my DS Lite is without a charger at the moment, making my flashcart kinda useless
Come now, where there's a will, there's a way (or two).

If you know about that, I have to assume you already know about the Corpse Party series.

A slightly less known Japanese horror game that is fairly original:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellnight
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by Key-Glyph »

What a great thread! I happen to love scary games but hate the gore that generally goes along with them, so having a list of these sorts of titles is fantastic.

Guess who's got two thumbs and will be watching lots of White Day let's plays later.
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J T
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by J T »

I also like Capcom's Haunting Ground. It has some weird sexual stuff and oodles of creepiness too. It also has a unique game mechanic where you use psychological principles of operant conditioning to train your pet dog to better defend you, but the dog doesn't always help you out, especially if not enough training has taken place.

My favorite character in the game is Danielle, a brilliantly haunted and bizarre inhabitant of the mansion.

Haunting Ground:
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by noiseredux »

Haunting Ground is awesome, and was (supposedly) intended to be the next Clock Tower game when it started.
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BrokenGeode
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by BrokenGeode »

Exhuminator wrote: If you know about that, I have to assume you already know about the Corpse Party series.
The first Corpse Party was great. I've yet to play book of shadows however, although I think part of why Corpse Party was so creepy is there's sort of a weird fetishistic element to the whole thing. I sincerely hope that's there purely to add to the creepy factor.
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Re: Asian Horror Games

Post by Exhuminator »

BrokenGeode wrote:sort of a weird fetishistic element
Ecchi sells amirite

Here is a site you might enjoy OP:

http://www.dreamdawn.com/sh/list.php

If you haven't been there already.
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