Visual Novel Spotlight: Phenomeno
As we await the release of Steins;Gate, slated for early this year, Phenomeno – perhaps one of Nitroplus’ lesser known titles – sits patiently in the corner, waiting for those keen to devour a short horror visual novel. Released to promote a line of light novels, Phenomeno follows the story of supernatural enthusiast Yamada Nagito after he moves to Tokyo for university.
Yamada Nagito moves from his family home in rural Japan to Tokyo in order to study for a better future. Being a poor student with nobody to rely on, Nagito jumps at the chance for cheap accommodation and rents an isolated house dubbed “the house that grants wishes”. While something of a supernatural fan and regular visitor to a supernatural research forum, Nagito is scared out of his wits when the house creaks loudly at night and begins an eerie countdown. Not wanting to know what the countdown ends with, Nagito tries to rally the supernatural forum-goers into helping him, but only ends up with the not-so-helpful mystery girl called Yoishi. Together, they try to help Nagito out of the mess that is his haunted house.
While a horror title, Phenomeno is not like Corpse Party or Higurashi in that there is no gore and most of the horror aspect is atmospheric. I suppose you could call it a supernatural thriller if you’re keen on terms. The game is quick to set up the haunted house and a few mysteries, then goes into an hour long “approach and back off” situation. As Nagito approaches the house after the countdown like a child trying to approach the ocean but not the waves, the VN shows its strongest aspects: creepy character art and creepier sound effects. Unfortunately, the scariest thing Phenomeno has to offer is the occasional jump scare or sudden glowing eyes; it’s too short to build suspense to any significant level and tends to jump out of anything immediately scary. Relying on imagination only goes so far as unsettling, at least for me.
Yoshitoshi ABe (the artist behind Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiements Lain and more) lends his artistic talents to Phonomeno’s character portraits while backgrounds are filtered photographs. Characters are lovingly presented as a clear strong point of the game. Yoishi’s frequent appearances present her as the unsettling character she is, half blending into the night or her eyes lit by some strange red glow. The filtered photographs aren’t as intrusive as other games and, with more filters and effects, come off as pretty damn good when the time calls for it.
The obvious fan translation of the text is with its faults though fares better than usual, at least keeping everything consistent, even if more than a few sentences stumble around. Overall, it doesn’t hinder reading and is only mildly annoying, much like the ending giving you a false sense of indignation at such a cheap solution then quickly turning around to that thing you were thinking of all along. As far as playing through Phenomeno goes, if you’re looking for multiple bad ends or a remotely branching narrative, you’re out of luck. There are no choices to be found here.
Phenomeno is a short horror VN (or supernatural thriller) that supports ambiance above actual horror scenes. While a little too short to build the atmosphere to anything more than just unsettling, the graphics and sound effects at least maintain this air. And for a visual novel intended to sell a line of books, a complete story that leads into possibly more stories is all we can ask for. If you want some mildly scary things or to fawn over Yoshitoshi ABe’s art but don’t want to glance around your room every other moment, Phenomeno is for you.
Phenomeno is a freeware title made to promote a series of light novels of the same name. This game covers the first two novels, “The House That Grants Wishes” (Flow and Fall). You can download the game (for Windows only) from Nitroplus’ website and apply a separate English patch afterwards.
- Visual Novel Spotlight: Corpse Party: Blood Drive - November 3, 2015
- Visual Novel Spotlight: A Kiss For The Petals – Remembering How We Met (PC) - September 29, 2015
- Visual Novel Spotlight: Sakura Swim Club - September 15, 2015
