Kekkaishi : Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan

Kekkaishi: Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan for Nintendo DS is a Japanese-only side-scrolling action game released on May 24, 2007. Developed by Eighting and published by Bandai Namco Games, it adapts the world of Yellow Tanabe’s Kekkaishi manga and its television anime. The game places its supernatural battles on the grounds of Karasumori, the mysterious site that draws ayakashi, or spirits and monsters, to its power.

Players fight as Yoshimori Sumimura, a young kekkaishi charged with defending Karasumori. Rather than relying on a conventional weapon, Yoshimori uses kekkai, the barriers that define the series. The Nintendo DS touchscreen is central to this approach: stylus input creates barriers for confronting the ayakashi encountered across the scrolling stages. That gives the action a direct connection to Yoshimori’s role as a barrier master while retaining the movement and platforming demands of a side-scrolling game.

A barrier is useful for more than simply attacking. The game lets players use kekkai defensively to block enemy assaults, while barriers placed in the air can also become temporary footholds. This makes positioning important when dealing with foes or reaching elevated routes. As enemies are defeated, Yoshimori earns Tenketsu Points that raise his abilities, including his attack power and the number of barriers he can create. The growing toolkit also includes techniques such as rod barriers and multiple barriers.

Karasumori Ayakashi Kidan draws on the anime’s cast of distinctive ayakashi for its boss encounters, and it adds an original boss illustrated by Tanabe for the game. Three minigames are based on episodes from the show, giving the cartridge material beyond the main action stages. The result is firmly tied to the 2006–2008 animated adaptation while using an original game-specific challenge as part of its enemy lineup.

Although its main adventure is built around Yoshimori’s battle to protect Karasumori, the Nintendo DS release also supports several local multiplayer options. A single game card can be used for competition with up to four players, while DS Wireless Play supports two players and Download Play supports two to four. Challenge Mode has one or two players take on a succession of bosses, and Score Attack provides a separate high-score pursuit. These modes make this first Kekkaishi game adaptation a touchscreen-focused action release with both solo progression and local DS play.