Dementium: The Ward and a Resident Evil port are the primary horror games for the Nintendo DS. Spike is chipping with something brand new, Twilight Syndrome: Kinjiraneta Toshi Densetsu (Twilight Syndrome: The Forbidden Urban Legend). If you’ve seen horror movies like the Grudge, Spike’s game should bring back memories. In fact they have horror filmmaker Osamu Fukutani as part of the team. I haven’t seen any of his movies and the Last Supper looks too grisly for my tastes.

The Nintendo DS game is set in modern times with two high school aged girls as the protagonists. Mobile phones play a key role since the story beings with a chain text message and vanishing friends. Naturally, they have to find them instead of calling the police, which leads to brushes with supernatural forces. Glancing at Twilight Syndrome’s menus there is an option to use cell phones with the L button and the game offers hints when you press X. Twilight Syndrome will be a host to touch screen puzzles and ghosts. Japan gets in on July 24. No US release date has been set, but many US publishers have a relationship with Spike. They have been making money localizing the FPS “niche” few publishers want to risk taking on in Japan. Who will take a risk on this? Eidos? Midway? Activision? 

Images courtesy of Dengeki Online and Spike.