The Haunted Hoard: Corpse Party (3DS)
Never have I agonized more over which version of a game to get than I did with Corpse Party. With most games that have multiple versions, you can usually go for one of two approaches: buy the original release to see the way the game was first introduced, or buy the most recent release that will have any enhancements or additional content added in any other special editions released before it. Corpse Party complicated this approach though by having mutually exclusive extra content spread across its many console releases, so since I could never see it all through one game, I eventually bit the bullet and picked the 3DS release. After finally seeing the small amount of console-specific additional content and finding it not all that impactful, it did make the worries seem silly in retrospect, but at least I was able to finally experience this cult horror hit.
Known simply as Corpse Party in English but carrying the longer title Corpse Party Blood Covered: …Repeated Fear in Japan to indicate its remake status, this game tells the tale of a group of students who meet after school to say farewell to a moving friend. Joined by their teacher and the younger sister of the game’s male lead Satoshi Mochida, they perform a friendship ritual they found online meant to keep their bonds strong… only for the group to be plunged into an otherworldly dark counterpart to their school known as Heavenly Host. Split apart by the unusual dimensional anomalies of the school, the cast of nine characters all must contend with the school’s corruptive influence, strange ghostly children, a harrowing man wandering the halls, and other unknown threats as they explore this place that has claimed countless victims before whose bodies still litter the dingy, blood-soaked halls.
Corpse Party’s strength definitely comes from the horror story at its core. Details about Heavenly Host and its awful history unravel as you explore it and find the awful reminders of its past, and while the game mostly relies on an RPGMaker inspired visual style with character sprites and environments that can’t show much detail, there is plenty of more detailed art that will appear when the game wants to hit you hard with a gruesome image or grisly bit of gore. Most victims both dead and undead are children or teenagers who sell their terror well both in expression and in the Japanese-only voice acting, but sound effects are also given special attention so their awful fates are made even more unsettling with plenty of crunchiness and wetness when appropriate. It could be said the overall simplified look of the game allows the moments the game whips out its details more impactful, and the game strengthens these moments by making almost anyone seem like they’re at risk of dying. The thinning of the main cast follows story beats rather than being in your direct control, but when you do encounter some of what the game calls Wrong Ends where a character dies when they shouldn’t, it can be hard to tell initially if their fate will stick.
Tense moments and strong atmosphere make Heavenly Host a truly fearful place fitting for a story that travels some dark routes without feeling gratuitous… it’s just a shame the game can’t maintain it throughout. The horror elements are all there to make for a strong plot, but it’s one that interrupts itself with strange comedy, odd directions, and structural issues as well. While none completely destroy the overall tone, the story does divert to some strange places, especially with the game’s odd interest in the bathroom. It begins first with a request to find one that becomes downright comedic with its abrupt plainly spoken details and the bathroom continues to feature constantly throughout the plot for odd reasons. In fact, one chapter is entirely based around Satoshi’s quest to help find a restroom for his younger sister who refuses to go elsewhere, her childish insistence on finding one jeopardizing multiple lives. While the restrooms sometimes have effective horror imagery that can justify the visit, otherwise the game seems to have an odd fascination with bathroom matters that is too prevalent to ignore. These can be pushed past to try and enjoy the story in spite of it, but there are still little issues with the story itself like spending time on odd diversions like exploring a character more after their death despite their story role being minimal after exiting it. Some aspects can be a little tedious instead, such as the different groups of characters all learning the same bits of information in the same way and reacting in a similar manner. While technically realistic since the game cordons them off into pairs mostly and then needs to catch them up to speed, it does get a bit old having to retread it.
Despite its quirks, the plot of Corpse Party mostly wins out thanks to its commitment to the horror elements. It would be nice to get to know the characters better and spend more time on them to make the deaths more impactful, but they do have a few interpersonal connections and usually one strong character trait so they aren’t just faceless lambs being sent to the slaughter. The extra content exclusive to the different editions of the game actually goes into more detail about certain individuals both from the core cast, the strange apparitions, and previous victims of Heavenly Host, but they don’t expand the story too much save for some details that should probably have been built into the plot to start with. A bit weirder though is some actually rely on details found only in the other version exclusive extra stories of Corpse Party, but these patchwork plot details are thankfully mostly tied to minor details or characters instead of anything vital. These coupled with the main plot oddities though give off an air of a plot the developers were struggling to tell, comedy and structure sloppy in something that could have been done as a more solid and focused horror plot that right now has to push past the strange decisions to be appreciated.
The gameplay side of Corpse Party is mostly devoted to exploring Heavenly Host as a means of learning more about it and triggering the next story event. There are mild puzzles to make the task less straightforward and most are repeated almost as if to avoid adding anything too complex that it could keep you from the plot, but exploring the ethereal school can be a bit confusing at times, especially at moments where it is unclear where you’re meant to go. The options are usually restricted to push you towards the right way and Heavenly Host itself isn’t too large, but exploration isn’t very enjoyable on its own because of it swinging mostly between aimless or utilitarian navigation. Learning the details about the school and seeing the characters interact with it as they struggle to stay sane makes it mostly worth the trouble, but there is one more detail that unfortunately takes the game buoyed mostly by its strong horror plot and tips the scales to a more even mix of good and bad. While participating in the navigation and puzzle-solving that could have just been a means to an end, there are moments where a character’s life is at risk. Some of these are more fair than others, such as being the direct result of taking an obviously dangerous action, and others involve needing to outmaneuver a deadly entity, but the game’s Wrong Ends can sometimes be the result of taking an action or going somewhere you had no clue would doom your character. The Wrong Ends are often the more intricate deaths for the main characters and force you to restart from a save point that usually won’t be too far off, and while seeing the unique fates for these can reward morbid curiosity, cases where it can crop up unexpectedly or be tied to a tight timing requirement in a game not conducive to fast moment can make the appeal of these wear thin.
THE VERDICT: Corpse Party is a good horror story struggling to be told. An air of dread, mystery, and intensity makes exploring the haunted halls of Heavenly Host appropriately atmospheric, and when it maintains its focus, it can create some truly effective moments that it further emphasizes with careful application of detailed art and crisp sound effects. However, the game deviates from its plot to explore unusual subjects and its sometimes directionless gameplay can lead to dull moments or disproportionate punishments for just trying to find the next story beat. There is still enough of a focus on the plot and its strong elements to keep it from growing frustrating, but Corpse Party’s 3DS version would probably be better served with a major systems and editing overhaul rather than just tacking on small extras.
And so, I give Corpse Party for 3DS…
An OKAY rating. I’ve sometimes said before that a game might be better off as an anime or told in some form besides a video game, but Corpse Party might actually be one of the few cases where it’s already happened. There is an anime based on the game as well as some manga tied to it, and while I can’t speak for their quality or if they had better luck conveying the story, they do feel like they have an advantage over the video game. Corpse Party’s five chapters will meander and integrate weak moments of play rather than maintain focus on the story that has the capacity to be a compelling horror tale. Some justified effort was put into aspects like excellent vocal performances, the effective gruesome art, and the well-picked sound effects, but then you need to solve the same puzzle you’ve done three times before with no major alteration to its design or you suddenly have the tone briefly broken by the game’s preoccupation with the restroom. A good editor and removing the need to incorporate gameplay outside of ferrying you to the next destination would do wonders for helping the plot come across as terrifying as it should be, Corpse Party perhaps better served as something more akin to a narrative exploration game if not outright focusing on the other mediums instead like print or television. The potential is certainly here and there are quality elements, but the less thought out ideas unfortunately make it difficult for the better stuff to shine.
Ultimately it seems to be of little importance whether or not I had picked the PSP, 3DS, iOS, or Steam release, as their differences tie mostly to extra content whose impact is too small to really be concerned about. There are other changes between them like graphical quality of course and the 3DS’s bottom screen giving you quick access to menus, but if there was to be extra time spent on the different versions, it should have gone to tidying the game up. Corpse Party’s story is good but obfuscated by bad gameplay designs and odd plot diversions, leaving it in a spot where enjoyment can swing either way based on what is embraced or overlooked by a player. While another remake that streamlines and strengthens the experience is tempting to suggest, I think I’ve spent enough time thinking about different versions of Corpse Party, and while finally attending this macabre party didn’t go wonderfully, it at least wasn’t an awful time.