Woman in Bloody Kimono
(Sae Kurosawa)
The younger of a pair of twins born to the Kurosawa family, which presided over the village's festival. She fled the village with her sister, Yae, in an attempt to escape from the fate of twins in the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual, but fell from the mountain path and was captured by the villagers. In despair over Yae's failure to return, she was hanged by the neck with shimenawa and killed. Her corpse was thrown into the Hellish Abyss, but became a vengeful spirit with the occurring of the Repentance, and massacred the villagers.
Yae Kurosawa
The older sister of the twins born to the Kurosawa family. She planned to escape from Minakami Village with Sae with help from Itsuki, but they became separated when she didn't notice Sae falling from the mountain path. She became lost in the mountains while searching for Sae, and when she returned to the village's entrance the village had already vanished. Perhaps due to the shock of it, she lost her memory.
We recreated Yae also with the aim of an old-fashioned beauty. Yae, as the older sister, was always leading Sae, so we gave her a facial expression of strong will.
Kurosawa Family Head
(Ryokan Kurosawa)
Yae and Sae's father, and the head of the Kurosawa family. He himself once killed his younger brother in the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual, and even though for the sake of the ritual it pains him to sacrifice his daughter.
Since he is Yae and Sae's father, at first we thought about going back to the original concept which had him welcoming Mio as she returns for the ritual and not fighting him, but the result of our consideration was that he had to be fought in order to bring the game to a climax, so he was an enemy you really had to fight. The reason he looks bony is because he melted away when he took in the darkness of the Repentance.
Rope Man (Kusabi)
(Seijiro Makabe)
A folklorist who visited Minakami Village. He was researching the secret ritual, but was made into a Kusabi by Ryokan Kurosawa and the others. He brought along the Camera Obscura and Spirit Stone Radio picked up by Mio and Mayu.
Ryozo Munakata
Makabe's assistant, and Itsuki and Mutsuki Tachibana's friend since childhood. Receiving a request from Itsuki to help Yae and Sae escape from the village, he went along with Makabe to visit Minakami Village.
The request for Munakata was, "A boy who spends much of his summer holiday staying at the house of a relative's cousin in a country village falls in love with a local girl, but he returns to Tokyo without being able to tell her - that's the kind of subtle facial expression I want," but that was too specific to go for.
Itsuki Tachibana
A boy imprisoned in the storehouse. Convinced that Mio is Yae, he gives her advice to help her escape from the village. Long ago he performed the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual with his younger brother, Mutsuki, but his feelings were too strong and the ritual ended in failure; since then, his hair has been white.
In order to keep his promise with Mutsuki, he helps Yae and Sae with their escape from the village, but was captured by the villagers and locked up in the storehouse.
I wanted an image of Itsuki playing with a butterfly inside the storehouse, but there weren't any chances to show it; in this game, we somehow managed to put it in the Frozen Butterfly ending. Mutsuki didn't become a butterfly, so the butterfly isn't him, but another sacrifice who turned into a butterfly with whom he is talking. Also, Itsuki's image was taken from two tanka poems - one by Kuni Tsukamoto about "a boy and a moth shining brightly in a grey field", and another by Taeko Kuzuhara comparing a boy to a pale daffodil.
Mutsuki Tachibana
Itsuki's younger twin brother. He requested that Itsuki help Yae and Sae escape from the village after his death in the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. Perhaps he was worried about Itsuki helping out...
Girl in Crimson Kimono
(Chitose Tachibana)
Itsuki and Mutsuki's little sister. Due to her eyes being bad from birth, she kept with her a bell given to her by Itsuki so that he would know as soon as she wandered off. Since Yae and Sae's escape was the cause of Itsuki's imprisonment, she hates them. Believing Mio is Yae, she attacks saying, "Give back my brother!"
Since Mio and Mayu have matured, we planned to have Chitose re-debut as a slightly more mature scary ghost, but when we tried it out we went back to the original image. Also, we added an instant kill move where Chitose drags Mio into a closet with her, but since it was so rare to actually see it, we changed the requirements and left it in as an attack where she pulls on Mio's hand.
Lost Woman
(Miyako Sudo)
A woman who came to Minakami Village searching for her lover, Masumi Makimura, who went missing while out surveying a dam. She thought she had finally reunited with Makimura, but he had already been killed and turned into a vengeful spirit but the Kusabi, and she was killed by him. In addition, she is the first ghost encountered by the player in Minakami Village.
She was able to reunite with Makimura in Minakami Village, but taking in the strange air floating around the place gradually affected her mind, and she endured the despair and awaited Makimura's return in the Osaka house, but...
As the first ghost encountered, she was given quite an attentive brush-up. Because her being killed by Masumi has been redone, we added an attack where she knocks Mio down, gets on top of her and strangles her. We also had an attack in which she would knock the camera away from Mio, but it seemed too unfair and was cut. We planned it to be taken as a warning to Mio that being in possession of the camera was dangerous, but the idea was dropped.
Mutilated Man
(Masumi Makimura)
A surveyor who was dispatched to the Minakami Village area for the construction of Minakami Dam. He became lost in Minakami Village, and was killed by the Kusabi and turned into a vengeful ghost when he went into the Kurosawa house. Ironically, after turning into a ghost he killed the lover who had come to search for him, Miyako Sudo, with his own hands.
As his ghost name suggests, his whole body is covered in wounds inflicted by the Kusabi, and attacks as though to complain about his suffering.
This game has the motif of strangling to death the one you love, and Masumi's ghost does this to Miyako. We added an event I've wanted to put in for ages, where you peep through a gap in the floor of the altar room and witness this, which strengthened the image. He also has an attack, like Miyako, where he knocks down and strangles you. During Masumi and Miyako's tag-team fight, you may see a co-op attack where Miyako knocks you over and Masumi strangles you.
Twin Girl's Ghost
(Akane Kiryu)
Twin Girl's Doll
(Doll resembling Azami Kiryu)
The ghost of Akane Kiryu, a Remaining who performed a past Crimson Sacrifice Ritual, and a doll resembling Azami Kiryu, Akane's younger sister whom she killed in the ritual, which turned into a being called a "corpse" when a soul began to dwell inside it. The "corpse" that looked exactly like her little sister stole Akane's soul, and she lost her humanity.
Dollmaker
(Yoshitatsu Kiryu)
The head of the Kiryu family, who created the mechanisms inside the houses. He tried to break the "corpse" inside which a soul dwelled, but it manipulated his daughter Akane into killing him. After becoming a ghost he wanders the Kiryu house, using the mechanical dolls he created to aid him in battle.
When fighting Akane and Azami, you can vaguely see that only the doll grabs with open hands, but it's easier to see than in Akai Chou. When searching for the doll parts, you should be able to hear a faint voice that sounds like it is gripped by the throat. That voice was created from an impression of a ghost's voice I did, but it was buggy and was removed.
Veiled Priests
The priests who performed the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. They were caught in the Repentance that occurred when the ritual failed, and turned into evil spirits. In order to successfully complete the ritual this time, they hope for the twins' return. Their faces are covered for the ceremony and cannot be seen, but incantation-like characters are written all over their faces.
I don't think they will give the impression of having changed all that much since the original, but we did actually created underneath the cloth. They move so much that the cloth turns up easily, so there's more of a chance to see their faces during battle.
Mourners
The ghosts of people whose eyes were sewn shut in order for them to perform the ritual at the Hellish Abyss, the place that must never be seen. People who broke the ban on looking into the Abyss and sinners were made into Mourners as punishment. They can't see, but they can hear, so when they sense Mio's footsteps during battle they will attack.
For the original game there was a design for an old man Mourner that was rejected just upon hearing its design, and we couldn't put him in this time, either. We had to mostly discard that flavour of witheredness we wanted, and I think it's actually quite a shame we couldn't do it.
Man Trapped in Dark
Woman Trapped in Dark
People of Minakami Village who were taken by the miasma of the Repentance. After becoming ghosts they wander around the village. "Woman Trapped in Dark" was left with only an expression of pain on her face, but "Man Trapped in Dark" has lost all of his feelings, and rarely stands upright.
I don't think it's very noticeable, but these ghosts have been remarkably refined from the original. In their special attack, "call allies", there was a bug where they would call too many and the room would be packed to overflowing, but I think it was good for bringing out a different kind of fear.
Sunken Woman
A woman who was not a resident of Minakami Village, but became lost in the village like Mio and Mayu in the past. After throwing herself into the pond she washed up on the floating island, but was dragged down by countless arms from the underworld and became a ghost. Even now she continues to drift through the cold waters of Tomonari-Ike (Resonance Pond).
Woman Hidden in Box
The ghost of a woman who took refuge from the Repentance inside a box, but was unable to get out and was taken by the Darkness. Ironically, the reason she was able to get out of the box was because she had become a ghost.
Broken Neck Woman
A woman who threw herself from the passage while trying to escape from the Repentance. Her neck broke when she fell, and she became a ghost with it bent in an impossible direction. She wanders Minakami Village, inflicting the pain she felt on the living.
Woman Who Jumped
The ghost of a woman who committed suicide by jumping from the second floor of the Kiryu house. She became a ghost with her body deformed due to the impact of the fall, and wanders around inside the house crawling on her back. She seems to be a spirit who has appeared many times in the dreams of Mr. Shibata, the director.
This army of female ghosts had a traditional evolution. I really wanted Sunken Woman to have her hair plastered to her face, etc. Amongst them, Woman Who Jumped has become the most captivating. You have to wait until the very last moment until you can see her, so there were some risks we took that were nearly cut. Ah, we also forgot to put in a scene where you open a sliding screen, just a little, and the eyes of Mio and Broken Neck woman meet.
Villager with Sickle
Villager with Torch
Villager with Pole
The ghosts of the villagers searching for the escaped Yae and Sae. If you listen to their voices using the Spirit Stone Radio, they appear to have felt compassion towards the circumstances of Yae and Sae, who were to be sacrificed for the village.
When we were making the villagers a little more powerful, we gave the Villager with Pole a special attack of a vertical swing. When hit by it Mio falls over, and he climbs on top of her and presses the pole against her neck, but I don't think many people will have seen it...
Man Killed by Kusabi
Woman Killed by Kusabi
The villagers gathered in the Great Hall of the Kurosawa house at the time of the Repentance were mutilated by the Kusabi and became evil spirits. They wander Minakami Village, suffering from the pain of the Kusabi's injuries. When fought as a man-woman pair they are quite strong foes.
These two appear in the Kurosawa house's Bloodstained Room, but since it's quite brutal when they cooperate I asked for it to be toned down. It wouldn't be fun if they were simply weak, so we made the Bloodstained Room a little bigger - did anyone notice?
Boy Chased by Demon
Girl Playing Demon Tag
Boy Playing with Demon
The ghosts of children who continue to play innocently, lacking the self-awareness to realise that they have been taken by the Darkness from the Repentance. In this game, when the "demon" catches the "sacrifice" they become a "butterfly", so it's a little different from the games we know.
When you look at her close-up, the girl's model seems to have a sad expression and is crying, like she's inhaling, but unfortunately in the game there aren't many opportunities to get a good look.
Kureha
The Shinto priestess of Kureha Shrine who performs Minakami Village's Shadow Festival. She was born as a twin, but since the other twin was stillborn she was born as a white-haired Remaining. She has the ability to read people's minds and sixth senses, but has lost her own emotions.
Kureha's design draft. You can see that quite a lot of effort went into the design on her kimono.
They're hidden by her kimono so you can't really see them, but this is the first public concept illustration in which you can see Kureha's bare feet.
Kureha's concept is that she is a Remaining at birth, her younger twin sister having died before they were born. When Mio is the protagonist of Haunted House Mode, she says a jealous-sounding line to Mio: "I envy you, the one who will perform the ritual..." She says it in a slightly excited manner, rarely wrapping her hands around her own neck. Of course, it was cut, but... In her concept illustration she is sitting down and turning around, but she lingers there as though she has given up on living, waiting to rot - it's with that kind of ennui that she sits there looking over her shoulder. We concentrated on a slovenly sense for the air coming from her back and the way she acts when she stands and turns, but we couldn't get the hem of her kimono right and ended up cutting it. The air of Kureha having used up her heart got its image from Tadaoto Kainoshou's "Yokogushi" ("Side Comb").
Woman with Neck Broken Back to Front
Origin: Zero / 2001
A ghost who appeared in Zero ~zero~. Her neck broke when she jumped from Himuro Mansion's Moon Observatory, bending her head back hugely. During Zero ~zero~'s development, she was originally planned to wear western clothing.
A ghost who was brought in from the first Zero game, who collaborates in Haunted House Mode with "Woman with Neck Broken to the Side". She's a ghost who is often requested in this series, and is also my favourite. When we decided that ghosts in Haunted House Mode would have no connection to the story, she was the first guest ghost to be chosen.
Blind Demon
Origin: Zero / 2001
Another ghost who is a guest from Zero ~zero~. She was blinded in the "Blind Demon" ritual performed at Himuro Mansion, and wanders around moaning, "My eyes... My eyes..."
Another ghost from the first game. She was redone quite well for this game. Perhaps the impression of suffering has weakened slightly, and to some extent she gives off a pretty vibe. It's scary as she bit by bit chases after you, so we gave her toes, but unfortunately I don't think you can really tell in the game.
Ayako
Origin: Zero Tsukihami no Kamen / 2008
Appears in Zero ~Tsukihami no Kamen~. She is the ghost of a girl who was hospitalised at Rougetsu Hall. Due to Getsuyuu Syndrome, which eats away at memory, she retained her self by hurting people, and was feared by the nurses and patients.
This is a guest ghost from Zero ~Tsukihami no Kamen~. I thought it would be good to have a haunted house in which Ayako and Chitose appear simultaneously, and used this as my chance to do so. In Ayako's unique attack she climbs onto your back, but since it's in first-person view you don't realise this until you hear her whisper "Die..." next to your ear.
Director's Comment
In Akai Chou, we thought of it by way of having Sae and Mayu's facial features somewhat similar, but in this game, because Mayu's character has become stronger as she has matured, we aimed to give Sae old-fashioned looks, a beauty from a different line of ancestry. Also, though it's been mentioned several times, Sae's blood splatters were created to look like one wing of a butterfly. This "one-winged" concept was tied to a cut ending (P.103).