| “ | The nightmares... won't stop... / Fears repeating without end / Is trying to stand against fate a fool's errand? / ...Despair is relentless... | ” |
—Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (Tagline) | ||
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Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (コープスパーティー Book of Shadows Kōpusu Pātī Bukku obu Shadōzu) is the sequel of Corpse Party survival horror adventure game series created by Team GrisGris for the PlayStation Portable and iOS. The game was published by 5pb. and was released in Japan on September 1, 2011. It was localized by XSEED Games and released on January 15, 2013 in America and on January 23, 2013 in Europe. It is known under the abbreviation BS in Japan and as BoS overseas. This game has inspired a manga adaptation, drama CDs, a light novel, a fan book, web radios, and an amusement attraction.
This game is the sequel to Corpse Party for PC, PlayStation Portable and iOS, and Nintendo 3DS.
Plot
Template:Spoiler BoS
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows adds new twists and backgrounds for the characters who were barely touched upon in Corpse Party (such as Mayu Suzumoto), plus a few details that may be important for eventual sequels.
The game mostly plays as a prequel, continuing from Wrong END 6 ★8 in Corpse Party, where Sachiko Shinozaki sends the Kisaragi Academy students back in time, erasing their memories except for Satoshi Mochida. He tries, in vain, to dissuade his classmates from performing the magic ritual, but he joins them, since he doesn't want to let them go alone. The game is divided into eight lengthy vignettes:
Episode #1; 『Seal』
The first episode, 『Seal』 (『刻印』 『Kokuin』, lit. "『Carved Seal』"), features Naomi Nakashima, and it repeats the events that happened in the first chapter of Corpse Party. However, there is a twist: this time, Naomi knows how it will end and she will do everything she can to stop it.
Episode #2; 『Demise』
The second episode, 『Demise』 (『夭逝』 『Yōsei』, lit. "『Premature Death』"), features Mayu as she tries to survive in the school and find the others.
Episode #3; 『Encounter』
In the third episode, 『Encounter』 (『邂逅』 『Kaigō』, lit. "『Chance Meeting』"), Yui Shishido is sick, so Satoshi goes to visit her. While he is at her house, Yui has a dream about her time as a student at Kisaragi Academy.
Episode #4; 『Purgatory』
The fourth episode, 『Purgatory』 (『煉獄』 『Rengoku』), features Sayaka Ooue who is looking for her best friend, Naho Saenoki, inside Heavenly Host.
Episode #5; 『Shangri-La』
The fifth episode, 『Shangri-La』 (『理想郷』 『Risōkyō』), features Sakutaro Morishige who is looking for Mayu.
Episode #6; 『Mire』
The sixth episode, 『Mire』 (『泥濘』 『Deinei』), features Yuka Mochida, just after being caught by Yuuya Kizami. It takes place during the event of Wrong End 2 ★4 of Corpse Party, where it shows how she tries to escape the school, while helping out an elementary school girl she finds along the way.
Episode #7; 『Tooth』
The seventh episode, 『Tooth』 (『歯』 『Ha』), features Tohko Kirisaki who is looking for an exit, so she and her friends from Byakudan Senior High School can escape.
Prologue; 『BloodDrive』
The prologue, BloodDrive, takes place after True End ★1 of Corpse Party. In this episode, Naomi and Ayumi Shinozaki decide to go to the Shinozaki Estate. They are going to try and bring back the memories of the ones who died in Heavenly Host Elementary School, since nobody seems to be able to remember them (although there are still photos of them, but with faces covered); or, if they can, to bring them back to life. This extra chapter also anticipates a future game, tentatively titled Corpse Party: BloodDrive.
Gameplay
Corpse Party Book of Shadows - Opening - PSP
The opening to Book of Shadows.
Book of Shadows abandons the bird's-eye view adventure style used in the previous games in favor of a point-and-click visual novel-styled adventure. Book of Shadows also implemented a darkening meter, which slowly makes the main character lose their sanity when they view corpses or endanger themselves, to the point where they will start suffering from hallucinations and paranoia. This game also has the the ability to save wherever they want and can also fast forward through dialogue.
This game also now allow players to view CG images, listen to the characters' voices and screams, and listen to the music which you unlock throughout the game. Players also can save the CG images to their PlayStation Portable. If the player has a previous save from Corpse Party (BloodCovered ...Repeated Fear), they are able to view the CG images from that game, in addition to unlocking the final extra chapter without the need to obtain every wrong end.
Characters
The majority of the cast of characters are a group of students from Kisaragi Academy, Byakudan Senior High School, and Paulownia Academy High School. The main characters include:
- Naomi Nakashima: The main protagonist of the first episode and prologue.
- Seiko Shinohara: Naomi's classmate and best friend.
- Mayu Suzumoto: The main protagonist of the second episode.
- Yoshiki Kishinuma: A fellow classmate who helps out Mayu.
- Ayumi Shinozaki: The class representative of classroom 2-9.
- Yui Shishido: The main protagonist of the third episode.
- Satoshi Mochida: Yui's student.
- Sayaka Ooue: The main protagonist of the fourth episode.
- Naho Saenoki: Sayaka's classmate and best friend.
- Sakutaro Morishige: The main protagonist of the fifth episode.
- Yuka Mochida: The main protagonist of the sixth episode.
- Yuuya Kizami: A student from another school who also wounded up in Heavenly Host.
- Tohko Kirisaki: The main protagonist of the seventh episode.
- Sachiko Shinozaki: A mysterious girl in a red dress that appears before Naomi and the others.
Trivia
- The name "Book of Shadows" is a reference to ENDING RANK: D-2 in the original CORPSE-PARTY where Ayumi produces a black book in order to use the black magic inside to revive her dead friends.