Kamaitachi no Yoru, released in English as Banshee's Last Cry, is a visual novel game developed and published by Chunsoft. It was released for Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and was later ported to PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PC and mobile phones. An English localized version of the game was translated by Jeremy Blaustein and was released for Android and iOS by Aksys Games on January 24, 2014. The story was written by Takemaru Abiko, and directed by Kazuya Asano and Kōichi Nakamura. The game was the second sound novel developed by Chunsoft, and the popularity brought a myriad of other companies to develop similar games. The term "sound novel" was a registered trademark of Chunsoft, but is regarded as a whole genre. The game was a financial success. It sold 750,000 units for Super Nintendo Entertainment System and over 400,000 units for PlayStation. The game sold 1.25 million units with remakes and ports in April 2002.
Gameplay
The player reads the text on a gamebook, making choices and affecting the outcome.
Plot
Characters
Tōru: Mari's boyfriend. He was given the name Tōru Yajima in later installments. He was renamed Max in the iOS version.
Mari: Jirō's niece and Tōru's girlfriend. She was given the name Mari Kobayashi in later installments. She was renamed Grace in the iOS version.
Jirō Kobayashi: Mari's uncle and owner of the ski lodge Spur. He is renamed William Forrest in the iOS release.
Kyōko Kobayashi: Jirō's wife and chef. She dislikes quarrelling with others. She is renamed Colleen Forrest in the iOS version.
Seiichi Kayama: A company executive and stereotype. He is renamed Chase Buchanan in the iOS version.
Haruko Kayama: Seiichi's wife. She is renamed Amber Buchanan in the iOS version.
Toshio Kubota: A sixth-year college student who does ski often. He is renamed Bobby Trottier in the iOS version.
Midori Shinozaki: A young woman working at the lodge. She is renamed Abby McCarthy in the iOS version.
Kanako Watase: An office lady with an outspoken personality. She is renamed Tiffany Oakley in the iOS version.
Aki Kawamura: A lady with glasses. She is renamed Molly Starks in the iOS version.
Keiko Kitano: A lady with cooking influences. She is renamed Debbie Mason in the iOS version.
Yōsuke Mikimoto: A social cameraman. He is renamed Jonas Faberge in the iOS version.
Ichirō Tanaka: A mysterious man. He is renamed John Jones in the iOS version.
Jenny: A family cat. She is renamed Ruby in the iOS version.
Story
After finding a note and losing phone calls, a group of guests solve the case about the mass murder. Additional deaths occur for a bad ending if the player cannot find clues. After completing the main story with different endings, the game unlocks occult and espionage chapters. The player can unlock two self-parodical stories, after clearing three with a good ending. Having a requirement allows the player to unlock a parody of . Other stories cover a wide variety of themes and is not related. The settings differ for the game.
Development
Writing competition
The competition was announced in the official guidebook, before the game was released. It called for readers to write their storyline based on the event. Only for a very short period of time was allotted for submissions, and many readers cannot finish the storyline. Ten were published in a book titled Anata dake no Kamaitachi no Yoru for the short story and gamebook. The book was a great success, despite the fact that it only targeted readers who had played it and read the official guidebook. Prize money was awarded to the writers whose compositions made it into a book. A similar competition was started upon the release of Kamaitachi no Yoru 2. It went out of print after several years, but was re-published after releasing the sequel.
Music
Composed by Kōjirō Nakashima and Kōta Katō, the music gained significant popularity and was reused in television shows concerning Aum Shinrikyo, which was at the center of the Japanese media. The background music for accusing the murderer continues to be used in related shows in Japan. Two songs, "Sequence" and "Two People Return Alive" were orchestrated for the fourth volume for Orchestral Game Music Concerts.
Graphics
Images were used for backgrounds, including the "Knulp" lodge in Hakuba, Nagano. Exceptions are the background for bathrooms and the wine cellar with miniatures. All characters have animated silhouettes. The English localization changed the setting including the graphics to a lodge in British Columbia.
Ports
Releases
The game was ported on the PlayStation as "Kamaitachi no Yoru Tokubetsu Hen" and the Game Boy Advance as "Kamaitachi no Yoru ~Advance~". It was released on the J-PHONE as "Kamaitachi no Yoru mini", and on PC as "Kamaitachi no Yoru internet". i-mode released it on January 30, 2004. The main story was included in the PlayStation 2 sequel Kamaitachi no Yoru × 3, with minor changes made to the script. On January 24, 2014, Aksys Games released the game in English for iOS, under the title Banshee's Last Cry.
Changes
; PlayStation version
A flow chart was added, and choices were colored according to whether they were chosen in previous playthroughs. The player may replay past scenes.
Vibration added.
Two additional stories were added.
Changes in unlocking the extra storylines and parodies.
Improved graphics.
Added background information on characters.
; Game Boy Advance version
The names were changed to "Tōru Yajima" and "Mari Kobayashi", following the changes made in Kamaitachi no Yoru 2
A commercial message for the sequel can be unlocked.
No vibration.
Two extra stories added in the PlayStation version were excluded due to lack of cartridge space.
The two-hour drama series was produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System, and aired on July 3, 2002. Kamaitachi no Yoru 2 was set to be released on July 18 of the same year, and the first edition of the game contains a bonus DVD of the entire drama. Like the radio drama version, the TV drama is not a rendition of the actual game. The drama recreated the tense and mysterious atmosphere of the game.
Reception
On release, Famitsu magazine scored the Game Boy Advance version of the game a 31 out of 40, granting the Super Famicom version a 30 out of 40.
