XSEED Games

Ladies and gentlemen… Corpse Party: Blood Drive.

It’s really coming.

You all knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It pretty much had to! But what you probably didn’t realize was that we would actually give the game a physical release – in an LE with two discs of music and an art book, no less! This marks the first time any Corpse Party title will see an official physical release in the Western world, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.

So now that the cat’s out of the bag, you probably have some questions. And I bet I know what those questions are going to be! Let’s see how close I get…

Firstly, yes, this game will retain all the original Japanese audio, just like our previous Corpse Party releases. Every voice, every song, every interview, every piece of binaural audio – all present and accounted for.

Secondly, no, there will be no censorship here whatsoever. This game actually is a little more risque than previous Corpse Party titles in spots, and Mages definitely didn’t hold back on the violence or gore either. But barring any ESRB complications (which we’re not expecting, but if any such thing should happen, we’ll be sure to let you know right away via social media), it’s all going to be presented to you in its original, completely unaltered form.

Thirdly, no, I was not the translator this time (that honor goes to Jason, whose previous work includes large portions of SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI VERSUS and AKIBA’S TRIP: Undead & Undressed), but I was the sole editor, going over every single line with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that the tone, voice and – most importantly – all descriptions of gore and suffering were perfect matches for our previously-released PSP Corpse Party titles. I’m confident in saying that even the pickiest gamers should see no discernible difference in writing style when jumping from previous Corpse Party games to this one.

Fourthly, yes, Europe, we’re aware that you guys want this game too! We just don’t have anything to announce right now. But trust us: you haven’t been forgotten!

And finally, the LE goods! The 2-disc musical selections CDs will contain music from Corpse Party, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows and Corpse Party: Blood Drive alike. Regrettably, it will not contain any music from Corpse Party 2U, nor will it contain the full soundtrack to the original title (only BGM tracks that were specifically arranged for the PSP version), but it will contain the full original BGM soundtrack to Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, as well as the entire BGM soundtrack from Corpse Party: Blood Drive. It’s unknown at this time whether or not any of the vocal themes from these titles will be included, but… we’re trying!

As for the art book, its content has yet to be finalized, but we’re expecting to cover as much of the series’ modern history as we can. Stay tuned for updates.

We do have plans to showcase the first English build of the game at E3 this year, so if you’re going to be in attendance, feel free to drop by and give it some hands-on playtime. It’s a very different beast from previous Corpse Party games, with a greater emphasis on story, a much more over-the-top narrative, and far more complex and involved gameplay than that of its predecessors. The Darkening system makes its return, but there are now also traps that need to be disarmed, shadowy figures with surprisingly good AI that will chase you anywhere and everywhere, a stamina system that limits your ability to run, a hiding system that lets you try to outsmart your pursuers by holing up in cabinets, dynamic lighting with the right analog stick controlling your flashlight or cell phone light, and a ton more.

Heavenly Host Elementary is also a whooooole lot bigger (not to mention fully rendered in 3D), with entire new sections added and a few surprise twists that are sure to disorient and confuse you.

All in all, this is probably not the conclusion to the Heavenly Host saga that you were expecting, but… well, what fun would it be if you could see everything coming from a mile away? Corpse Party has always been about playing with and utterly defying expectations, and Blood Drive definitely does exactly that.

We’ll announce more details in the coming months (and I’m sure you’ll see lots of impressions of the game after E3), but until then, I’d urge you all to play through both the original Corpse Party and Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, because remember, this is a direct sequel to the events contained therein. In fact, the opening scenes of Corpse Party: Blood Drive’s prologue actually spoil the ending to Corpse Party: Book of Shadows chapter 8 if you haven’t already seen it – so pick up the previous titles now and get yourself well prepared for the horrors to come, because trust me… it’s gonna be one hell of a ride!

-Tom