Part 58: Chapter 5, PC Version, by tooooooo bad
OK, so the first four chapters in the PSP port are all pretty similar to their PC counterparts. Some art differences, some minor changes to events, nothing major. Then you get to Chapter 5 and things start to diverge a bit. Much of it is the same but some changes do stand out.Remember Naho's notes? You're required to find all of them and then confront Naho in the Reference Room in order to reach the True Ending. DarkHamsterlord didn't really bring this up during the LP but they're kind of a pain to find. The game never tells you where they are, or even lets you know that you need to search for them at all. I remember back around when this game came out in English there were people in the PSP Games thread on this forum having fits about finding those notes. They fixed this in the PC version. First you see Naho walking into the Entranceway, leading you to where her notebook is found.
After reading her notebook the game cuts away to actually show the next note appearing in the world. It repeats this for all the rest, then you actually see Naho walk into the Reference Room. I suppose it sort of trivializes the entire process but some people found it really frustrating so it's probably for the best.
DarkHamsterlord posted:
We head back down to the first floor.
And we head up the looooooong hallway to the immediate north.
It leads us to the custodian's closet.
That long, perfectly-straight hallway always seemed odd to me. Apparently it did to the developers too, because they completely changed it. That's not all though. They also added a whole new uh...swimming pool-esque "timed survival event" to it, complete with accompanying Wrong End. It occurs as you're walking Satoshi and co. away from their meeting with Ayumi and Yoshiki on the third floor. Once you climb the ladder inside the girl's bathroom back down to the second floor you need to head south down the hallway in question, but as you do so a narrow bridge suddenly collapses and sends the group into the pit below. Satoshi and Yuka land safely, Naomi isn't so lucky.
Apparently the pool is filled with bugs and they're attempting to drag Naomi under the water to her death. What follows is basically a timed crawl through a small invisible maze. You have one minute to navigate the maze and escape from the pool. I've uploaded video showing a successful run of this event here. If you fail, you get to see Wrong Ending #8. It's nothing particularly fancy, though it does go on for a while. Naomi is pulled under the water and either drowns or is torn apart by whatever is in the water or both. The game then boots you back to the title screen. Here's a video showing off that: Wrong Ending #8, and here's the music that plays during this event: Pool Insect.
By the way, if you've been paying attention "Wrong Ending #8" should've seemed odd. The PSP Chapter 5 has eight endings total. That number includes the true ending and the alternate ending.
The PC version of Chapter 5 has ten endings, represented by the stars at the bottom of the screen. We've covered one of those new stars, what about the other one? Well...it's a little more complicated. Remember the Science Lab? Where the anatomical model chases Ayumi and Yoshiki around the room? If you're caught, Yoshiki ends up dead, you get Wrong Ending #1, and the game sends you back to the title screen.
Right, right. When you're caught in the PC version everything looks the same at first. Ayumi is trapped and Yoshiki can't get past the anatomical model to save her. Then the game gives you control of Yoshiki as the model chases him around the room. This part is new. He can either A.) use a lighter and a Bunsen burner to torch the anatomical model, allowing Ayumi to escape at the cost of his own life (see above); or B.) take the cowardly option and just run out the door, leaving Ayumi to her fate. Neither choice immediately ends the game. Instead things just keep on moving. In both cases you're automatically switched to Satoshi's party and the pentagrams disappear, preventing you from switching back to the lone surviving member of Team Awesome until you meet them again on the third floor, where they break the bad news to Satoshi and co. with all of the grief and guilt that you would expect them to.
Things continue on from there in about as normal a fashion as they could, though you get to listen to Light to Despair instead of the typical upbeat music. It's no longer possible to confront Naho in the Reference Room so you can never get the Baby Statue and use it to meet Yoshie in the Infirmary. You don't see the scene of the Principal murdering Yoshie and Sachiko. The insect pool event does occur as you lead Satoshi and co. back to the Annex and to the Principal's office to recover Sachiko's tongue and find the secret passage leading to the bomb shelter.
The secret passage is actually secret in the PC version. You need to press a button hidden in or on the space heater near the bottom of the screen to open it.
At this point the only thing Ayumi or Yoshiki can do is travel toward the incinerator in order to reach the bomb shelter through their own typical method. You do have the option to reenter the Science Room along the way.
The character you're playing as understandably freaks out and runs out of the room, which locks behind them, before you can pick up the note in the corner. Near the incinerator things diverge a bit.
Ayumi meets Ms. Yui in the ??? room as you'd expect. Yoshiki isn't around to bash open the door from outside and save Ayumi but hey it's OK because the door just opens on its own to let her escape. As she approaches the incinerator entrance the game switches back to Satoshi. As for Yoshiki, uhhhh...
She's already dead! Sure OK.
Again the game automatically switches to Satoshi before Yoshiki can actually enter the incinerator. Your trip through the bomb shelter is largely identical, though the music is different: Eternal Prayer. Ayumi or Yoshiki meet up with Satoshi and Yuka outside of the burial site. Remember they never learned how to appease Sachiko in this route so their only choice is to perform the ritual again and return to the normal world. Conveniently Naomi rejoins them before they do so, just as she did in Wrong End #6.
Back in their own world, the survivors go their separate ways.
If Yoshiki is the survivor he turns and leaves without saying a word. It's at this point that the routes split into their respective endings. It's all voice-acted white text on a black background so there aren't any pictures to post. Instead I'll quote the Wiki's descriptions of each.
If Ayumi is the survivor:
quote:
The next day, Ayumi goes to the bathroom to wash her face, but she freezes when, looking into the mirror, she sees a hand-shaped bruise on her neck. She tries to scrub it, but the more she does the more the bruise spreads and darkens, until it becomes so black that it looks as if it's strangling her. Screaming, Ayumi scrubs more intensely, peeling her skin until blood begins gushing, but the bruise is still there. The towel she is using to scrub her neck, mixed with soap and blood, becomes the same color as her ragged neck, until it is impossible to know its true color. Ayumi goes on until the unbearable pain coming from her neck causes her to lose consciousness. Her final thoughts are, "Whose voice is calling me...?"
If Yoshiki is the survivor:
quote:
Back home, Satoshi hears someone calling out to him. Looking out the window he sees Yoshiki, however his eyes are vacant and he has an unnatural grin spread wide across his face with saliva dripping out of the corner of his mouth.
As Satoshi heads outside to meet with his friend, he questions if Yoshiki is alright. Yoshiki accosts Satoshi for Ayumi's death and as he's doing so Satoshi notices that he is holding a knife. At this point the player has to choose to either dodge left or right as Yoshiki tries to stab him. No matter the answer, Yoshiki suddenly stops, drops the knife he was holding, and begins to cry.
Yoshiki explains that the knife was meant to take his own life and Satoshi reminds Yoshiki that he promised to stay alive for Ayumi's sake. Yoshiki admits that he is a coward; unable to forgive himself for leaving Ayumi alone when she needed his help. Satoshi explains him that his death wouldn't change a thing and that there's no way to bring Ayumi back. Hearing these harsh but painfully true words Yoshiki crouches down and hugs his knees repeating Ayumi's surname.
Some minor things: In the true ending route, the scene in which Naomi is seen hanging Seiko is very slightly different. See if you can spot the difference!
I mentioned this before, but in the failed appeasement ending (Wrong End #3) rather than inexplicably collapsing Yoshiki lurches toward Yuka alongside Ayumi before the scene fades out.
In the PSP version you don't get to see Naomi's sprite during Wrong End #4.
Apropos of nothing, Yoshie looks way more horrifying in the PC version.
Jesus Christ.
Cool fun trivia: the three main themes in Chapter 5 are pretty straightforward remixes of specific tracks from the PC98 game.
DarkHamsterlord posted:
Music: Chapter 5's Theme
DarkHamsterlord posted:
Music: Chapter 5 Annex
DarkHamsterlord posted:
Music: Chapter 5's Second Theme
)Finally, here's the credits theme from the true ending of the PC version: Crimson Sign, and the very last bit of text in the game:
e: crap crap it's late and I forgot. If you want to play the PC version of Corpse Party yourself it's easier for a Westerner to buy it now than it's ever been before. Playism is selling it for download on their Japanese site. All you need is an account on their English site and a Paypal account to buy it, no expensive importing CDs from Japan required. You can also find the first chapter of Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient there, though I should caution that it's maybe sort-of front-loaded with spoilers for Corpse Party: Blood Drive, the forthcoming Vita sequel to Book of Shadows.