Iijima Says School Ghost Stories Scenario Could Hit CERO Z Today
The talk gives a direct measure of how far Japanese ratings and compliance standards have shifted since the original: the same text that once passed as CERO B now lands at CERO D, with Iijima saying some material could be CERO Z or shelved today.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
At a D3 Publisher creator talk at Tokyo Game Show on September 18, School Ghost Stories designer Takiya Iijima said the game's scenario has not changed but its rating moved from CERO B to CERO D under modern standards, and that some scenarios might now be rated CERO Z or shelved. He spoke alongside producer Shunsuke Fujita.
Iijima traced the rating change to compliance awareness rather than any rewrite of the scenario. He also described the conditions the game was made under, with no social media available during development and all research done on foot, and said that in an era when information is so easily obtained, the same scenario probably would not have been completed.
Asked about the title, he said it does not mean gathering the seven mysteries of school or ghost stories related to school, but the scary stories experienced at school. The six-storyteller structure drew on his own student years, when trips and camps turned into circles telling ghost stories.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.