Update: August 09, 2006 «©NCSX» The first two volumes of Kamaitachi no Yoru sold a total of 1.7 million copies in Japan. With such impressive numbers, Sega and Chun Soft release a third game in the series which takes place one year after the events of Kamaitachi no Yoru 2 where Toru and Mari had to find a way off Mikazuki Island. In the new Kamaitachi game, Toru Yajima and Mari Kobayashi reprise their roles and return to Mikazuki Island. The pair stay at the cursed "prison" mansion once again and are joined by a cast of characters including Yosuke Mikimoto, Toshio Kubota, Seiichi Kayama, Keiko Kitano and a woman named Haruko. A murder mystery is afoot where gamers go through the story from the viewpoint of four characters who look at events from different perspectives (both literally and figuratively) in order to deduce the identity of the killer. Seiichi Kayama, a portly middle-aged gentleman is the initial protagonist. The visuals in the game are made up of photorealistic locations with blue silhouette characters that are modeled to look like rounded plaster constructs. Since the releases in the Kamaitachi series are sound novels, vibrant music and sound effects such as chairs grating against the floor add to the atmosphere and direct the mood of the adventure. The game is played by selecting choices during junctures in the game which affect the way the story forks towards the conclusion. Multiple endings are possible depending on how one chooses during the adventure. View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website. NCS Game Notes » In the intro to the game, waves crash and the camera pans upwards from the water to an island in the distance. Mikazuki Island. On an alleyway, a silhouetted figure named Seiichi Kayama who's carrying a briefcase appears outside an eatery while the sound of humming city may be heard along with the chirping of birds. Seiichi enters the restaurant and he sees a guy named Yosuke Mikimoto enjoying a beverage. The background noise of an eatery may be heard as the patrons murmur and talk amongst themselves. The sound of a chair moving across the floor grates the nerves as Yosuke gets up to greet Seiichi who raises his right arm in a salutation. The two men sit down and chat. A waitress plods over and walks off after getting their order. Continuing their conversation, their chat is interrupted by the sound of the door opening. The two men are joined by a lady named Kanako Watase who is carrying a manila envelope. Yosuke opens the manila envelope and takes out photos of the prison/manse on Mikazuki island. The scene shifts to silhouettes of Toru and Mari on the island before the conversation at the table resumes as the camera shifts between the three people while ominous music plays in the background. As they speak, images of the island manse are shown including one where three people are hung from the neck at the top of a tower. » In the next scene, we're in someone's apartment just as the loud racket of a train passes by outside. Once the train trails off, the sound of insects buzzing may be heard. The messy and cluttered living quarters of Toshio Kuboto is shown from overhead. He kicks over a bottle of beverage and viewers get to see a still image of a drink escaping its bottle. A flashback commences which is broken by the phone ringing. He answers it and a tragic event from his past is depicted. » Scene shift again and we're with Toru and Mari at the kitchen of a home. Mari is cooking something on the stove while Toru stands near the doorway. There's a recollection of events past before Toru takes over at the stove. They're having beautifully made omelets with a man who's wearing a high chef's hat. Later in the cellar, Toru finds a gold key. » Keiko Kitano's introduction is shown where she receives a phone call and after that, the scene shifts to Mikazuki island where Seiichi is looking at the stadium-like mansion in the distance with crows flying over it. As the game begins, players take control of Seiichi and view the game from his perspective. The date is 8/15 and the camera opens up with a view of Seiichi seated with his legs crossed as he checks out a photo. He gets up and grabs a bunch of keys when someone knocks on the door. He opens it to greet a woman named Haruko who later walks away to prepare food in neat 9-compartment bento-like boxes for the dinner. Still later, Seiichi dresses up in a ceremonial get-up with candles mounted in a ring around his head. He kneels before a makeshift altar with an image of a woman's photo who looks a lot like Haruko. A necklace made of miniature skulls may be seen around his neck. Seiichi performs a ceremony where he waves around paper rattles to scare away evil spirits. Fade out. » Next scene - everyone who's been invited to the island is seated at the dinner table and eating the food that Haruko prepared earlier. The sound of dishes and cups singing, dinging and clinking may be heard. Seven people are seated at the table and everyone has a tray of food. Seiichi regales the table with a story from the past which is told in still-image sequences with violin music and thunderous drumming. Scene shifts back to the table when something startles the entire group and they all look at Seiichi. At the table: Toru, Mari, and Yosuke are seated on the right side of the screen. Seiichi, Haruko, Toshio, and Keiko are seated on the left side of the screen. » To save your progress, press the TRIANGLE button and then highlight the fourth option on the screen. Press "O" and highlight the first option and press "O" again to save. This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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