Paranormal Syndrome (æĒį°įåįž¤ Kaii Shoukogun) is a trilogy of RPG Explorer Horror games made with RPG Maker 2000 created by Yuuyami no Kisetsu.
The first game was released on 2011, following the story of 18-year-old high school student Mikoto Himeno, who one day finds herself having to solve a series of paranormal events after her friend Yuka Kajiro tried to do a ritual to summon a spirit out of curiosity. Along the way she teams up with Hitoshi Himuro, a paranormal investigator, in order to put a stop to the hauntings that are happening around the town. The game was translated into English by Tosiaki7
, although it suffers from "Blind Idiot" Translation.
Paranormal Syndrome contains examples of:
Paranormal Syndrome 1
- Accidental Murder: Satomi Hosoka accidentally murdered her own child several years prior to the events of the game. Her guilt didn't stop her from hiding her crime by disposing of the body. This led to the child coming back as a vengeful spirit, the Kunekune. Then again,
Word of God reveals she was lying and the true reason she killed her child is because he was born deformed. - All There in the Manual: The author's blog gives many facts that weren't mentioned in the game:
- Mikoto is rather withdrawn and only opens up to Yuka (and later Himuro, whom she develops a Precocious Crush for). She also likes reading books.
- Yuka's parents are named Hajime and Natsuko, who are killed by the possessed teddy bear. Her older brother is named Kazuya, who hid in the bathroom when the massacre started. Unfortunately he was found and killed.
- The spirit possessing the teddy bear from Chapter 1 is none than the founder of the Kajiro Clan, the Big Bad. He wants to kill Mikoto because she's from the feuding Himeno Clan. In order to do so, he briefly possesses the corpses of Hajime and Kazuya (because as Kajiros, they're compatible). He couldn't possess Natsuko because she wasn't a Kajiro.
- Haruko's spiritual powers are rather strong, which was how she was able to protect herself from the massacre.
- Himuro, Kirisaki and Kaga have known each other since high school.
- The true reason Satomi Hosoka killed her baby is because he was born severely deformed.
- Even though Junji Satou appeared in the cursed television as one of the kunekune casualties, in truth he survived. Unfortunately his mind was broken by the kunekune and he will never go back to normal.
- The dream world from Chapter 3 was created as Mikoto's increasing spiritual powers go out of control.
- The spirit possessing the Noh Mask is the founder of the Kajiro Clan.
- Big Bad: The founder of the Kajiro Clan who's spirit inhabits the teddy bear and Noh Mask is the one haunting Mikoto and the source of the paranormal incidents around town.
- Evil Mask: The Noh Mask is possessed by the Big Bad haunting Mikoto and causes all sorts of supernatural incidents around her.
- Feuding Families: The Himenos and the Kajiros were two feuding sorcery clans. The Kajiros were rather oppressive and hired the Himenos to take care of their dirty business, only for them to use their sealing powers to help the oppressed. The Himenos eventually fought back and stole the Kajiros sorcery powers, imprisoning them for years until a tense peace treaty allowed the Kajiros to be free, but with their powers sealed. Unfortunately, with the seal weakening over the years and Yuka not knowing about her family background, hell was bound to happen after she did a spiritual internet challenge out of curiosity.
- Four Is Death: There are four chapters in the game, with a different monster dedicated to each one.
- Killer Teddy Bear: The first Arc Villain is a spirit possessing a teddy bear that Yuka accidentally summoned, and it stalks Mikoto throughout the house.
- Lady in Red: In the finale, Mikoto puts on a bright red kimono as one of the steps to exorcise the curse.
- Not Me This Time: According to Word of God, even though the Big Bad, the founder of the Kajiro Clan, was the one behind the incidents with the possessed teddy bear, the kunekune and the Noh Mask, he wasn't responsible for the dream world from Chapter 3. It is a mental world Mikoto accidentally created due to her growing spiritual powers going out of control.
- Punny Name: Mikoto is a possibly unintentional example. She winds up having to live up to her shamanic heritage and become a "miko" in order to end the curse.
- Unnaturally Looping Location: In Chapter 2, Mikoto tries to walk home from Kikugawa station. She walks down the same road several times before realizing she's trapped there. This is the result of the Kunekune spirit cursing the area, which returns to normal once the spirit is dealt with.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Yuka. She performs a demonic ritual out of curiosity.....too bad she comes from an ancient line of sorcerers and summons an evil ghost that indirectly gets her family killed, and forces a terrible curse unto her friend Mikoto.
- You Wouldn't Believe Me If I Told You: Defied. Mikoto says a variant of this to inspector Hitoshi, only for him to point out that the Kajiro's deaths were so bizarre, and so out of her ability to commit, that supernatural involvement is the only logical conclusion. However, he also points out that the matter should be kept quiet, as the public would never accept such an explanation.
Paranormal Syndrome 2
- Chekhov's Gun: Mikoto's talisman.
- Demoted to Extra:
- Mikoto doesn't appear, since she seemingly lost her powers after sealing the Big Bad from the previous game. It's only after realizing Himuro is weakened due to fighting too many spirits and finding out from Takagi that her powers aren't gone that she decides to assist Himuro from the shadows.
- In the first game, Kirisaki and Kaga are major characters as they give exposition about the supernatural to Mikoto. Here they don't appear as much, due to the Special Ops Division ordering them not to get involved.
- Good Is Not Nice: Kogure is this, with some of his tactics being less than favorable and his grudge on spirits. He also stabs Himuro to steal his gun....and because he's worried he's pushing himself to the limit after dealing with too much paranormal incidents.
- Protective Charm: Because of her heritage, Mikoto has developed the ability to repel and exorcise spirits.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Kogure wants to get rid of all spirits, which is why he clashes with the Special Ops Division, who merely want to keep the spirits in check.
Paranormal Syndrome 3
- Love Confession: The trilogy ends with Mikoto confessing her love to Himuro.
- You Killed My Father: The true reason Kogure hates spirits is one killed his little sister Maiko when he was young.