Video Game Review: Corpse Party

Corpse Party (Nintendo 3DS/PC Version) - Team GrisGris, XSeed, Others
****1/2

After a school festival, a class decides to do a simple charm to promise they will remember each other forever, to help a friend who is moving away the next day. The charm is called "Sachiko Ever After", which is basically a Creepypasta Ritual, only without the warnings that tend to come with those.

Created originally with an RPG maker back in 1998, Corpse Party underwent a few changed until it reached the current version I'm playing, that of the PC version, which follows similar rules to the PSP and Nintendo 3DS version. I originally played this game on 3DS, after my boyfriend offered up a choice between the third game in a trilogy I liked, or Corpse Party, stating that if I was to play it, it should be at night and with headphones in.
The game did NOT disappoint, and though I wanted to play the 3DS version again, it was on Steam so...PC version it is!

Please note that with a few exceptions, there are minimal changes to the general story, with much of it being to the artstyle added in - for the characters 'puppets' as they talk, or for any scenes. In the 3DS and some of the mobile versions, there are images that come up, while with the PC, you rely more on the descriptions and sounds. Which makes some of the changes in sound all the more jarring when you get there. If you want one good game to play with headphones in the night, and have a few hours, I suggest playing it.



So, for the purposes of not spoiling anything, this is the Sachiko Ever After Game. Play at your own risk:

This is a ritual centered around a folk legend from Tenjin, in Japan. There, a young girl named Sachiko disappeared. It is said that her spirit still wanders the Earth, having been given powers to grant wishes and ease the worries of others.

This ritual is intended to induce communion with Sachiko's spirit and, if performed correctly, Sachiko will pass through and grant the chanters her blessing, and bind everyone involved in the spell together as true friends for all eternity. 

A note of warning: do NOT perform this ritual incorrectly, no matter what your thoughts on rituals. Performing it incorrectly will only anger Sachiko, and trouble will find you quickly.

Requirements: Between two (2) to ten (10) participants

A Sachiko Paper Doll (as seen above) - printed on white paper and completely blank

Instructions: Gather everyone in a circle around the paper Sachiko doll, and everyone must grip the doll firmly, similar to as seen above. Once this is done, invoke Sachiko by chanting in your mind, "Sachiko, we beg of you" in Japanese (Sachiko-san onegaishimasu), one for each participant present. After chanting, everyone holding the doll pulls it apart, leaving each person with a paper doll scrap. Keep the paper on your person at all times, such as in your wallet, an ID holder, or similar.

Succeeding in this ritual will cause nothing to happen, save for the aforementioned linking of everyone as friends forever. However, perform the ritual incorrectly, and you will be dragged down to the cursed Heavenly Host Elementary School.

If you find yourself there, do not despair, and keep your scrap of paper with you. It is your only way out. You must appease specific ghosts within the School, and perform the ritual correctly, in order to escape the School. If you lose your piece of paper, you cannot leave, and if you perform it incorrectly in the School, you will find yourself in a far worse place than before...

An added warning: make sure you include everyone participating. Each one, and ensure the number is right. Don't forget...Sachiko is there too, waiting...