On June 29th, the Japanese Escape Room company SCRAP, announced a collaboration with the Shaman King franchise to create a new game for fans to play at home. The title of the game is “Escape From Hao’s Locked Labyrinth” (閉ざされたハオ迷宮からの脱出). A website has opened for the new game as well as released a promotional trailer.
The game can be played by yourself or with friends. As it’s a game that you can play at home, there is no time limit for completion. Some elements of the game, including new videos created for the game, will require access to the internet. Each game comes with a unique URL code that allows you access to the online components.
Story
Note that this game’s story takes place after the end of the Shaman King series and will contain spoilers.
A new world has been created by the Shaman King, Hao. He has trapped Yoh and his friends in a mysterious labyrinth and asks of them “Can you conquer this labyrinth and defeat me?” In order to escape and defeat him, they will need the power of inspiration. Anna then summons you, the Spirit of Inspired Genius, to challenge him. The story unfolds in this other world as you and Yoh race towards Hao. Will you and your friends be able to break through this mysterious labyrinth and return home safely?
Characters
The game will feature the following characters:
- Yoh
- Hao
- Anna
- Ren
- Horohoro
- Ryu
- Faust
- Chocolove
- Silva
- Jeanne
- Big Guy Bill
- Blocken
- Opacho
Requirements to Play
You will need the following in order to play:
- Mystery Solving Kit
- Smartphone, PC, Tablet (to access game website)
- Writing utensil
- Tape
- Scissors
The game is only available in Japanese. You will need to be able to read and write in Japanese at an elementary school level. Recommended age for playing is junior high school and higher.
The game’s website to track your progress can be accessed via a URL code that comes with the game. This code should not be shared with others as it can only be used once. If you lose the code you will need to purchase a new Mystery Solving Kit in order to get a new URL.
A hints feature is available on the game’s website for each of the mazes. To help prevent spoilers for the game, they request that people do not post hints or answers online.
The game can only be completed once. However there will be a “look back” feature on the website to allow you to replay certain videos.
All of the videos on the game’s website will be in Japanese and be fully voiced by the Japanese anime cast.
The game’s website will open starting on Thursday July 13th, 2023 at 12:00 once you have the Mystery Solving Kit in hand. There is currently no announced end-date for the web service for the game.
Mystery Solving Kit
In order to play the game, you will need to purchase a Mystery Solving Kit which will contain the game board and various aspects of the puzzles. The kit will come in two versions, the Normal version and the Funbari version.
The Normal kit will be 348 x 258 mm in size and will contain various cards and gameboards. It will cost 3300 yen.
The Funbari version will contain everything in the Normal kit plus some additional items and will cost 6300 yen.
- Mystery Solving Kit
- 5 water omikujis (water-revealing fortune cards)
- Oracle Bell Name Holder
- Mini Slipper Keychain
- Ikupasui Bookmark
- Postcard Set
The Water Omikujis are sized 64 x 148 mm. They can be floated on top of water to help reveal a special message.
The Funbari version of the game is not required in order to complete the game. The extras, with the exception of the Water Omikujis, can be purchased separately.
The game kit can be purchased through various methods:
June 29 – 30: Members of the “Shonen Detective SCRAP Team” have an early access to the pre-orders and a guarantee that it will arrive by the start date for the game.
July 1 – 6: General Pre-Orders via the SCRAP Goods Shop are available. Shipping for the game is only available in Japan. The game will ship about 3 to 5 days after you place your order.
If you pre-order the game by July 6th from either method above you will also receive an exclusive bookmark.
Starting on July 7th at 12:00, the Mystery Solving Kit will be available at the Tokyo Mystery Circus and Real Escape Game Stores across Japan. Additionally the kit will be available on Amazon for purchase. If you purchase the kit after July 7th, there is a chance it may not arrive by the time the game starts.
Gameplay
As the game has not been officially released, the following is an estimate on how it will be played.
The game is broken up into 5 mazes. After an introduction video, you will be placed into the first maze at the starting point. Your goal will be to navigate to the exit by moving in straight lines in the maze. As you move you will come across Japanese characters/letters. You will need to collect these in order to create a special passphrase needed to exit the maze. By entering the passphrase on the game’s website you will get a new video and progress to the next maze.
Within these mazes there will be additional puzzle elements. You will need to cut out and apply pieces to the game board in order to change the layout. Each maze is also focused around different characters. By completing all of the mazes in order, it will give you the answers to a final passphrase needed to complete the game.
The game is expected to take about 210 to 240 minutes to complete. The game box incorrectly lists the time to complete as 150 minutes.
