Originally posted on 6 October 2012
Source: Shinku no Chou guidebook, page 60-61

Deep Crimson Butterfly: Difficulty Differences / Clear Bonuses

Differences between difficulties

Though difficulty is selectable from the game's start, when you first play the only options are Easy and Hard; Hard is unlocked by clearing the game once, and Nightmare is selectable once you clear Hard. The differences between difficulties are as summarised below. As the difficulty level rises, the player must play at a disadvantage. Furthermore, you do not recover health when clearing chapters on Hard or Nightmare, so recovery items such as Herbal Medicine are extremely important. In order not to get stuck in an impossible situation, you should naturally avoid normal battles and ghost hands. Once you have begun the game you cannot change the difficulty level, so be sure of your choice when you make it.

Item Easy Normal Hard Nightmare
Mio's max health value 10000 7000 4000 2500
Mayu's max health value 10000 7000 5000 3000
Restoration by Herbal Medicine (%) 155 155 100 100
HP restored at chapter clear Yes Yes No No
Player's attack amplification 1.20 0.80 0.50 0.30
Damage amp from ghost hands/grabs by ghosts 0.50 1.00 1.25 1.60
Appearance rate of ghost hands/ghosts 0.50 1.00 1.50 1.75
Time limit for Chapter 4 doll puzzle (secs) 60 50 40 30
No. of Mourners in basement in Chapter 5 1 2 2 2
"Rope Man"'s natural HP regen No Yes Yes Yes

Clear Bonuses

When you clear the game, you will get a rank based on the time it took you to clear the game as shown in the chart below, and unlock content according to the chart below that. Unlocked accessories and costumes, etc. all appear in the Night Shop, but must be exchanged for points to obtain them. Earn plenty of points and enjoy changing your image.

Clear rank list
Rank Clear time
SS Inside 2h 15m
S Inside 2h 30m
A Inside 3h 30m
B Inside 5h
C Inside 7h
D Inside 8h
E Over 8h
List of contents unlocked upon clear
Clear pattern Category Name of Contents
Clear with Crimson Butterfly ending Costume Summer Uniform
Costume Crimson Glasses
Accessory Titanium Glasses
Accessory Blue Glasses
Clear with Shadow Festival ending Costume Crimson Yukata
Costume Sakura Yukata
Accessory White Fox Mask
Accessory Crimson Fox Mask
Clear with Frozen Butterfly ending Costume Crimson Bikini
Costume Blue Bikini
Accessory Lily Hair Ornament
Accessory Plumeria Hair Ornament
Clear with Hellish Abyss ending Costume Crimson Bikini & Skirt
Costume Blue Bikini & Skirt
Accessory Eye Bandage
Clear with Promise ending Costume Mario (Mio only)
Costume Luigi (Mayu only)
Clear once Lens-related Special Function "Sense"
Lens-related Red Lens "Crush"
Lens-related Blue Lens "Fatal"
System Difficulty "Hard" added
System Night Shop Mode added
Clear Hard difficulty Accessory Bunny Ears
System Difficulty "Nightmare" added
Clear Nightmare difficulty Lens-related Special Function "None"