Play Gakkou no Kaidan - Hyakuyobako no Fuuin (J)(Caravan) Online

Gakkou no Kaidan - Hyakuyobako no Fuuin came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2004, developed by Caravan. It was part of that wave of Japanese horror games that really leaned into the handheld's small screen and sound capabilities to build tension. The game draws from the School Ghost Stories anime, but it stands on its own as a slow, methodical adventure.

You control a student exploring a haunted school, room by room, searching for the hundred mystery boxes and breaking their curses. The gameplay involves careful examination of environments, solving light puzzles, and avoiding or confronting spirits. You don't have combat in a traditional sense; instead, you use items and quick decisions to deal with threats. The pacing is deliberate, almost cautious, and the difficulty comes from unpredictable scares and the need to pay close attention to subtle details. It feels like you're actually walking through a dark, empty building where anything might be waiting just out of sight.