10 Best Japanese Horror Games That Never Had An Official English Localization

10 Best Japanese Horror Games That Never Had An Official English Localization

From disarmingly cute puzzles to Twin Peaks-styled mysteries, there are plenty of horror games that sadly didn’t get an official English translation.

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Since October is a spooky season, it is the perfect time to play horror games. As one of the most popular video game genres, there are plenty of amazing titles to choose from. While great horror games can come from anywhere, many of the best horror games, such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil, originally came from Japan.

But among the large list of scary masterpieces, there are some that never were officially translated into English. Despite this potential language barrier, these games have gained international cult followings, and some even got fan translations that helped make them playable for everyone.

10 Irisu Syndrome!

While games like Doki Doki Literature Club have popularized the idea of games changing the player’s computer files to make an immersive experience, plenty of horror games have done similar things years before it became mainstream. One of these games is Irisu Syndrome!, which is an RPG Maker horror freeware puzzle game with an English fan translation released in 2008. In this game, players use small white squares to knock shapes with the same color together to earn points. If the shapes hit the bottom of the screen, then the player loses health, and the player will need to earn points to regain it.

While the game appears to be a simple cute puzzle game at first, however, it is quickly revealed that there is a sinister story lurking within. If the player’s health is depleted, they will slowly discover that the story centers around a group of four college students and the possible murders of three of those students, which is conveyed through computer files that are added and changed as the game progresses.

9 Laplace no Ma

Released in 1987 for the NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801 and later ported to Sharp X68000, MSX, SNES, and TurboGrafx-CD, Laplace no Ma is a turn-based survival horror RPG based on Lovecraftian horror themes and references. The game follows either a male or female protagonist as they explore a creepy mansion with several other party members to uncover what happened to three missing children in the fictional town of Newcam, Massachusetts.

While the turn-based combat is pretty standard with the most interesting aspects being the class system and the fact that dead party members remain in the party as a moving body bag, the game is unique because players can investigate almost everything in the game in order to find clues. If players want an intriguing horror narrative, then there is a good fan translation of the SNES port to try.

8 Yuuyami Doori Tankentai

Before Spike merged with Chunsoft and became known for developing the Danganronpa series, Spike released many games on its own including the 1999 PlayStation horror adventure game Yuuyami Doori Tankentai. Players control one of three middle school students as they freely travel around town to investigate the creepy rumors they hear about at school.

While the game is relatively unknown, the game has been retrospectively called a “masterpiece” for its realistic portrayal of the 1990s economic recession in Japan and its unique list of urban legends. There is no English patch for the game, but the YouTube channel “rabbit citrate” made their own English playthrough.

7 Kowloon’s Gate

Although this game is mostly unknown outside of Japan, the 1997 PlayStation FMV horror adventure game Kowloon’s Gate was such a big hit that a sequel, Kowloon’s Rhizome: A Day of the Fire, is releasing soon for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Microsoft Windows. The game takes place in Hong Kong after the Kowloon Walled City was demolished and follows a Super Feng Shui Practitioner as they investigate the recent reappearance of this destroyed Chinese enclave.

Kowloon’s Gate is known for its surreal visuals that reflect the real-life historical city and various spiritual ideas and references. Although the original game has never had an English translation, there is an English translation for the VR remake released years later.

6 LSD: Dream Emulator

Speaking of surreal, LSD: Dream Emulator is a 1998 exploration PlayStation game that is all about moving through surreal environments. Based on artist Osamu Sato’s dream journal, this rare game has the player explore short dream sequences filled with various environments, NPCs, structures, and textures that teleport the player to different locations. There are also some FMV cutscenes the player can unlock during the game.

While LSD: Dream Emulator is not officially a horror game, some players find the weird atmosphere and strange events to be terrifying. Also, one character in the game known as the Gray Man, who erases a player’s dream progress if interacted with, is a foreboding NPC that sometimes follows the gamer around.

5 Germs: Nerawareta Machi

Another surreal horror game is Germs: Nerawareta Machi, which is a first-person open-world mystery game released in 1999 for the PlayStation. The game follows a newspaper reporter who returns to their hometown to investigate some rumors about strange mutated creatures. As the player explores the large city, they will talk to NPCs, look for clues, and fight against the creatures.

Even though the game has a plot and rules, it is unique because it does not have an ending and there is no way to really fail. While the player can die, they simply turn into one of the mutated creatures, which can be reversed by going to the hospital.

4 Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

Released in 2008 for the Wii, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is a survival horror game that focuses on Ruka Minazuki as she explores Rougetsu Island in order to recover her memories from when she was kidnapped on the island by a serial killer. Similar to other games in the Fatal Frame series, the player must defeat ghosts using the Camera Obscura.

This game is the fourth Fatal Frame game, and the first in the series to be released on a Nintendo console. Although there is a fan translation and there were originally plans for a European release, this game has never been officially released outside of Japan. Despite this, the game is well-beloved by fans, especially since Goichi Suda, an iconic video game director, worked on it.

3 Nanashi No Game

Considered to be one of the only good horror games on the Nintendo DS, Nanashi no Game is a 2008 first-person survival horror that has a similar plot to the original Japanese 1998 film Ringu. The player controls a university student who gets cursed by an 8-bit RPG game. During seven in-game days, the student will need to explore 3D environments while also playing the old-styled RPG in order to solve the mystery surrounding the curse and avoid dying by the end of the week.

This game has a fan translation, and it is well-received by players for its immersive gameplay and intriguing plot. While the graphics are dated, the game still creates a memorably creepy atmosphere that is perfect for fans looking to be scared. After this game was released, there have been multiple sequels with the latest one in 2012.

2 Twilight Syndrome

Created by Human Entertainment, who also created the forgotten video game Clock Tower, Twilight Syndrome is a series of horror adventure games about high school girls investigating local urban legends. The first two games were released on the PlayStation in 1996 and the last one in 2008 for the Nintendo DS. Yuuyami Doori Tankentai was a spiritual sequel to the original games.

With the incredible atmosphere and sound design, the games have gained a huge following. Furthermore, Twilight Syndrome’s retro polygon graphics are expertly utilized to create the spooky setting of an economically depressed town plagued by paranormal activities. The game’s popularity was enough to spawn several live-action films in the 2000s.

1 Mizzurna Falls

While Mizzurna Falls has never had an official English translation, it is an incredibly important title in video game history because it is one of the first open-world games ever made. Released in 1998 for the PlayStation, this Twin Peaks-esqe game follows high school student Matthew Williams as he tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of his classmate, Emma Rowland.

With several endings, tons of little details, and NPCs moving around on their own, this game was extremely ahead of its time. Because of the large amount of text, the game did not even have a fan translation for years. But in March 2021, a full English patch was finally released for all players to enjoy its groundbreaking gameplay and surreal story.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-japanese-horror-games-with-no-official-english-localization/

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