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Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

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Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Developer(s)Xeen
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)
  • Takanari Ishiyama
  • Yoshihito Okuno
Producer(s)
  • Kazuhiro Kawakami
  • Kazuma Oushu
Programmer(s)Naoki Takishita
Artist(s)
  • Gen Kobayashi
  • Junko Sumimizu
Writer(s)Takanari Ishiyama
Composer(s)Hidenori Iwasaki[1]
Platform(s)
Release
  • iOS, Windows
  • March 8, 2023
  • Android, Switch
  • March 9, 2023
Genre(s)Visual novel
Mode(s)Single-player

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Japanese: パラノマサイト FILE23 本所七不思議, Hepburn: Paranormasight FILE23 Honjo Nanafushigi) is a 2023 visual novel video game developed by Xeen and published by Square Enix for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.

The game received positive reviews from critics. A manga sequel is set to be released in 2025.[2]

Gameplay

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An exploration section in the game. In first-person, the player can explore in a 360-degree panoramic view.[3]

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a visual novel. The player must work through each story in order to uncover the mystery behind the curses taking over the district. The gameplay mostly focuses on the plot with brief sections for investigations and quizzes based on what the player has learned.[4] A flow chart allows the player to go between the storylines and perspectives of the main characters.[3] Certain story branches and choices can bring a character to their death leading the player to revert to an earlier scene to deduce how to alter the events and trigger an alternative story path.[5]

Plot

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Set in the 1980s, in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan.[4] The plot centers on supernatural urban legends named The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. One night, several different people are afflicted with deadly curses, including a teenage girl named Yakko Sakazaki, Tetsuo Tsutsumi, Harue Shigima, and others.[3] Other characters, including Richter Kai and Mio Kurosuzu, assist certain characters, including Harue and Yakko respectively.[citation needed]

Development

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Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was developed by Xeen for Square Enix.[4][6] The game was directed and written by Takanari Ishiyama.[1] Ishiyama has several visual novel game credits previously, as well as working on Metal Gear Solid as a sound engineer and on Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.[7]

Release

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Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was revealed during the Japanese Nintendo Direct in February 2023.[5] It was released for iOS and Windows via Steam on March 8, 2023.[8] The Android and Nintendo Switch versions followed the next day.[9]

Reception

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The Windows and Nintendo Switch versions of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10][11]

Joe DeVader of Nintendo World Report praised the game mechanics and art style, but opined that the horror gets in the way of the story occasionally, and deemed the Switch controls to be poor, noting awkward d-pad navigation.[13] Ollie Reynolds declared the game to be "one of the most intriguing and engaging narratives we’ve experienced in a good while", and praised the game's visuals, characters, and horror scenes.[5] Handley, while describing the game as having "few bells and whistles", said that it manages to be stylish, specifically with the wide panoramic backgrounds to search through.[4] Abraham Kobylanski of RPGFan admired the characters, but found the narrative too straightforward and felt that it relied too heavily on comedy over horror.[14]

The game was one of eleven titles to receive the "Award of Excellence" at the Japan Game Awards in 2023.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Orpheus Joshua (February 28, 2023). "Square Enix Upcoming Mystery Game 'Paranormasight' Features Notable Developers, Including The World Ends With You Character Designer". Noisy Pixel. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Cryer, Hirun (March 24, 2024). "After it was left to die with no marketing, Square Enix's best game of 2023 is getting a sequel - but only in manga form". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Lee, Jess (April 3, 2023). "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is One of the Year's Best Surprises so Far". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Handley, Zoey. "Review: Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo". Destructoid. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Reynolds, Ollie (March 11, 2023). "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo". Gematsu. February 9, 2023. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  7. ^ Cryer, Hirun (March 10, 2023). "This Supernatural Visual Novel is the Latest Square Enix Gem Flying Under the Radar". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (March 8, 2023). "Horror Mystery-Adventure 'Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo' Is Out Now on iOS". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (February 8, 2023). "Square Enix announces horror mystery adventure game Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo for Switch, PC, iOS, and Android". Gematsu. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Edge staff (June 2023). "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo". Edge. No. 384.
  13. ^ a b DeVader, Joe (March 8, 2023). "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Kobylanski, Abraham (March 8, 2023). "Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo". RPGFan. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (March 10, 2023). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Give me toilet paper!', Plus Today's Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Robinson, Andy (September 21, 2023). "Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak named 2023's best game at Japan Game Awards". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
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