If you are a fan of horror games, Ao Oni is certainly a game you have to check out. Ao Oni actually was first released around 10 years ago, but the game is still pretty popular to this day. Dumb Teenagers! One of the things that is pretty amusing about Ao Oni is the plot.

Ao Oni (青鬼, lit. 'Blue Demon') is a freewarerole-playinghorror video game.^[2] The game features puzzle and RPG elements, and revolves around a boy named Hiroshi, who is trapped with his friends in a haunted mansion, and is stalked by a monster.

Plot[edit]

The player assumes the role of 'Hiroshi', a young teenager who enters a haunted mansion with his friends, Takuro, Takeshi, and Mika (Along with Kazuya and Ryota in the original). Shortly after entering the mansion, the doors lock behind them. Hiroshi doubts that the mansion is haunted, but soon finds himself being pursued by an enigmatic blue Oni. Hiroshi must now find a way to save as many of his friends as possible and escape the mansion alive.

Super mario bros 3. The latter would make sense why they are disconnected from the source.

The Oni[edit]

Very little information is explained in the game about the Oni and his reasons for inhabiting the mansion, but it is assumed that he may have been one of the mansion's old residents. The Oni is a muscular, tall humanoid with a large head and blue skin who is roughly twice the size of an average human. When he appears in the game, a characteristic 'shrieking' string chord plays until the player outruns him. Normally, his mouth is kept closed in an amused smirk, but in a secret ending he is shown to have a set of sharp, knifelike teeth. If the Oni captures and kills one of Hiroshi's friends, they too turn into an Oni, distinguishable by their hairstyles, which they kept when transformed by the Oni. In addition to the standard Oni, the player can enter an 'Oni Room' containing numerous deformed, mutated and completely original Onis, including a rectangular oni called 'Blockman', who resembles the popular Japanese character Domo-kun, and a gigantic, muscle-bound Oni who humorously appears to be hefting invisible weights when encountered for the first time. Both of these Onis can chase the player more than once if the player enters their names when creating a new game.

In general, the Oni will chase the player at random after he has first been seen, but several of the chases are necessary to advance the storyline.

Gameplay[edit]

During the game, the player explores various rooms of the mansion, gathering items and solving puzzles to help them progress. At seemingly random points, the Oni will appear in the room, with the shrieking string chord accompanying them, forcing the player to evade the Oni, either by outrunning or hiding from them. Most of these chases can be avoided by carrying out tasks correctly or in the right order, but there are several chases which must be carried out to advance the game's story.

Media[edit]

Novelisation[edit]

In 2013, a series of novels were released which were based on the game.^[2] Slight differences to the storyline, mostly based on characterisation are present, but the books are otherwise faithful to the game's plot. The title was licensed for digital distribution in the English language by J-Novel Club.^[3]Mom hid my game reviews.

Live-action film[edit]

Ao Oni was adapted into a live action film of the same name, that was released in Japan on 5 July 2014.^[4]

Anime[edit]

An anime television short series adaptation premiered on 3 October 2016.^[5] The series is produced by Studio Deen, and directed by Toshirō Hamamura and Chisei Maeda, with Kanekoke handling series composition, Kichi designing the characters and Shiyu Yanagida composing the music.^[6] An anime film, also produced by Studio Deen, released in 2017.^[7]

Reception[edit]

The independently developed freeware game gained a cult status online in Japan, gaining notoriety on websites such as Niconico and YouTube where Ao Oni-related videos exceeded 50 million views in 2013. The popularity of the game revolves around the effectiveness of its horror aspects despite being a simple game, with the background music often being cited as a key contributor to the chilling atmosphere used to incite fear.^[2]

References[edit]

1. ^'青鬼 - noprops原作 黒田研二著 鈴羅木かりん挿画 - 書籍 - PHP研究所'. php.co.jp. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
2. ^ ^abc'Horāgēmu 'Ao Oni' Kōshiki Noberu no PV ga YouTube to Niconico Dōga de Kōkai ni' ホラーゲーム「青鬼」公式ノベルのPVがYouTubeとニコニコ動画で公開に [Horror Game 'Ao Oni' Official Novel PV Released on YouTube and Niconico]. 4Gamer (in Japanese). Aetas. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
3. ^Ferreira, Samantha (1 November 2017). 'J-Novel Club Acquires Yume Nikki, Ao Oni Light Novels'. Anime Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
4. ^Nelkin, Sarah (23 April 2014). 'AKB48 Idol Anna Iriyama Stars in Film of Ao Oni Horror Game'. Anime News Network. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
5. ^Hodgkins, Crystalyn (9 September 2016). 'Ao Oni: The Animation TV Anime Reveals Promo Video, Cast, October 2 Premiere'. Anime News Network. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
6. ^Loo, Egan (10 August 2016). 'Ao Oni Horror Game Gets Fall TV Anime Shorts, 2017 Anime Film'. Anime News Network. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
7. ^Hodgkins, Crystalyn (30 August 2016). 'Ao Oni The Animation Anime Film's 1st Promo Video Reveals Main Staff'. Anime News Network. Retrieved 28 April 2019.

External links[edit]

• Game official website at noprops (in Japanese)
• Light novel official website(in Japanese)
• Anime official website(in Japanese)