Kamaitachi no Yoru
| Kamaitachi no Yoru | |
|---|---|
 The cover of the 2017 remake Kamaitachi no Yoru: Rinne Saisei. | |
| かまいたちの夜 (Kamaitachi no Yoru) | |
| Author | Takemaru Abiko |
| Publisher |
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| Genre | Mystery, horror, crime |
| Platform | Super Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PC, Mobile, iOS, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows |
| Released | November 25, 1994
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Kamaitachi no Yoru (かまいたちの夜, "The Night of the Sickle Weasel"), also known as Banshee's Last Cry, is a visual novel created by Chunsoft. It was first released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 and was later ported to other platforms. In 2017 a remake of the game, titled Kamaitachi no Yoru: Rinne Saisei, was released featuring new sprite art and bonus content, including the side story "Mari in Limbo," written by Ryukishi07.
Synopsis
Tooru and his romantic interest, Mari, spend winter vacation at a ski lodge in the Shinshu mountains called Spur. While there, Tooru, Mari, and the lodge's other guests become trapped due to a blizzard. A guest turns up dead and the group is forced to find the true identity of the culprit, or else they will be killed before the blizzard passes.
Characters
- Tooru Yajima
- A college student staying at Spur with his romantic interest, Mari.
- Mari Kobayashi
- A college student staying at Spur with her romantic interest, Tooru.
- Jirou Kobayashi
- Jirou is Mari's uncle and the owner of Spur.
- Kyouko Kobayashi
- Kyouko is Jirou's wife and an aspiring chef.
- Seiichi Kayama
- A boisterous and experienced businessman visiting Spur with his wife.
- Haruko Kayama
- Seiichi's demure wife.
- Kanako Watase
- A blonde teenage girl employed as an office worker. She visits Spur with her friends Keiko and Aki.
- Keiko Kitano
- A voracious teenage girl employed as an office worker. She visits Spur with her friends Kanako and Aki.
- Aki Kawamura
- A teenage photographer employed as an office worker. She visits Spur with her friends Kanako and Keiko.
- Toshio Kubota
- A self-proclaimed "sixth-year" college stupdent and employee at Spur.
- Midori Shinozaki
- An employee at Spur and romantic interest of Toshio's.
- Yousuke Mikimoto
- A cameraman visiting Spur.
- Ichirou Tanaka
- A mysterious visitor to the lodge, presumed by Tooru to be associated with the yakuza.
- Jenny
- The lodge's cat.
Bonus content
Mari in Limbo is a side story written by Ryukishi07. The entire cast of the original story, except for Tooru, is killed in a boiler accident at Spur. Their souls become trapped in an afterlife between Heaven and Hell; in order for any of them to move on, every member of the group has to let go of their regrets regarding the real world. As a result, the entire group remains trapped in the afterlife due to Mari's regrets over her unfulfilled love for Tooru. Mari is tempted by a supernatural demon into creating a magic circle that would capture Tooru's soul upon his death in the real world. However, Mari's circle has the unintended effect of capturing several similar souls; each time a soul is trapped by the circle and implanted into Tooru's body in the afterlife, Mari tests whether they are the "real" Tooru she is looking for. When it is revealed that they are not Tooru, the ski lodge group kills them, allowing their soul to pass on. However, the group at the ski lodge has limited time, as the hands of the damned will eventually drag them to Hell if they do not leave limbo before a certain point. The group puts their last hope in Tooru Kunita who, while not the real Tooru, is capable of successfully playing the role and potentially tricking Mari into releasing her final regrets.
Trivia
- "Mari in Limbo" contains several hallmarks of Ryukishi07's writing, including a looping story, references to miracles and certainty, and the influence of demons.