Nanashi no Game

Nanashi no Game
Japanese box art
Developer(s)	Epics
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Director(s)	Nobuhiko Tenkawa
Producer(s)	Seiichiro Tsuno Yosuke Tomita
Artist(s)	Arata Sakai
Composer(s)	Masayoshi Soken
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	JP July 3, 2008
Genre(s)	Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: C

Nanashi no Game (ナナシ ノ ゲエム, Nanashi no Geemu^?, lit. "Nameless Game" or "The Game with No Name") is a first person survival horror video game developed by Epics and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. It was released on July 3, 2008 in Japan.^[1]

Plot

Rumors have been circulating about a cursed role-playing game; anyone who plays it and does not complete it dies seven days after starting. You are one of the victims playing the game; having started playing it several days after your friend recommended it to you. You visit your friend’s apartment to discover he is already dead. Starting that day strange things happens to you; everything you experience in the game resembles something in real life, and so-on.

Gameplay

The game provides two separate modes of play. Most of the game is spent in the exploration mode, in which the player moves around real-time 3D environments using the D-Pad and touch screen. During the exploration mode the player must also solve puzzles and avoid zombie-like spirits that roam the area. Periodically the exploration mode is interrupted by the RPG mode, which makes use of the top DS screen only. In RPG mode, the player plays a 2D 8-bit RPG (the "cursed" game) that provides clues to the current exploration mode puzzles and advances the plot.^[2]

Audio

The game's soundtrack was composed by Masayoshi Soken under the pseudonym "Luis Noma" (ルイーズ 野間, Ruīzu Noma^?), a name which in the game refers to the composer for the cursed game's soundtrack. On 7 July 2008, Square Enix released a five-track EP of music from Nanashi no Game titled Nanashi no Game Sound (ナナシ ノ ゲエム 音, Nanashi no Geemu On^?) priced at ¥150 through the Japanese iTunes Store.

Nanashi no Game Sound -EP-
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nanashi no Theme (ナナシ ノ テエマ, Nanashi no Teema?)" ("Nameless Theme")	4:43
2.	"Nana&# no T•エme (ナナ&# ノ テ・eマ, Nana&# no T・ema?)"	2:29
3.	"Nanashi no Theme [Requiem] (ナナシ ノ テエマ [レクイエム], Nanashi no Teema [Rekuiemu]?)"	3:20
4.	"Ending…? (エンディング…?, Endingu…??)"	2:57
5.	"To Father: 'Please Listen to This When You Come Home' (おとうさんへ 『かえってきたらきいてね』, Otō-san e "Kaette Kitara Kiite ne"?)"	1:49

Reception

As of September 30, 2008, Nanashi no Game has sold 60,000 copies in Japan.^[3] It was scored 30 out of 40 by Famitsu magazine.^[4]

Sequels

A sequel titled Nanashi no Game Me (ナナシ ノ ゲエム 目, Nanashi no Geemu Me^?, lit. "Nameless Game: The Eye") was released on August 27, 2009 in Japan. The story follows a college anthropology student as he discovers the cursed RPG, as well as a cursed platformer. The game's title refers to the protagonist's left eye, represented by the left screen of the DS when held sideways, which can see supernatural events.^[5] It sold 15,000 copies the week of its release.^[6]

Two DSiWare versions of the cursed game, titled Noroi no Game Chi (ノロイ ノ ゲエム 血, Noroi no Geemu Chi^?, lit. "Cursed Game: Blood") and Noroi no Game Goku (ノロイ ノ ゲエム 獄, Noroi no Geemu Goku^?, lit. "Cursed Game: Prison") respectively, have also been released.

References

1. ^ IGN: Square Enix Tries Survival Horror
2. ^ Spencer (2008-06-26). "Surviving Nanashi no Game’s cursed game". http://www.siliconera.com/2008/06/26/surviving-nanashi-no-games-cursed-game/. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
3. ^ "Results Briefing Session: The First-Half of the Fiscal Year ending March 31, 2009". Square-Enix.com. http://www.square-enix.com/eng/pdf/news/20081107_02en.pdf#page7. Retrieved 2008-12-26. 
4. ^ Dir_en_grey (July 6, 2008). "Famitsu Japanese Game Sales Ranking 6/30 - 7/6". n4g.com. http://www.n4g.com/gaming/news-167220.aspx. Retrieved 2008-12-26. 
5. ^ Spencer (May 29, 2009). "New Nanashi no Game Has A Cursed Platformer". Siliconera.com. http://www.siliconera.com/2009/05/29/new-nanashi-no-game-has-a-cursed-platformer/. Retrieved 2009-06-28. 
6. ^ http://www.famitsu.com/game/rank/top30/1227609_1134.html

External links

• Nanashi no Game official website (Japanese)
• Product page at Epics (Japanese)
• 9/10 Review from Cubed3.com (English)