Discussion: "Survival Horror"? (Part I)

This is a question that's been bugging me for quite a while now.  Now, so long as you haven't been hiding under a rock since the insurgence of 3D gaming, then you've probably heard of the survival horror genre.  It's a genre that, to put it simply, sticks to the name it's been given.  The name is apt, it's purposeful, it means exactly what it says.  Survival implies that you, the protagonist, or several protagonists (but preferably one, for reasons I'll touch on later) must survive some sort of impossible situation.  Horror, of course, means that whatever difficult situation the protagonist(s) are in is going to be horrific, vile, and filled with some element of disturbing or gory memorabilia.  'Attempt to survive the horror' would be a great subtitle for just about any horror title that sticks to its roots.

Ugh, but attempting to survive is so hard!

Why can't we just add in a limb-severing gun?

Now, of course, when I say "stick to the roots", this implies that there are two types of survival horror games out on the market right now: some of which stick to the aforementioned plan, and others that have deviated in ways that could either be great, or downright awful.  For those of you who are accomplished video gamers, this argument is probably one you've already heard before.  For those of you who are afficionados of these types of games, this is an argument that you've not only taken a stance on, but probably wouldn't even care to discuss.  Let me, for a moment, open up this can of worms with my 50-foot pole.  And by 50-foot pole, I mean a bit of the ol' diversification of examples that I'm about to throw down all up in this entry.

Diversity:

A concept that the Horror genre has *never* understood.

Phew... Here goes.

Survival Horror: The Prototypes
Now, it may come as a shock, but every type of genre has its roots, and every single genre tends to have popular roots (y'know, games that define a genre tend to give the name, as well).  In this case, the survival horror "prototypes" were games that began the genre, and managed to create it quite well.  These games will go down in history as the games that not only set the bar for Survival Horror, but set it pretty damn high (perhaps too damn high?).

Alone in the Dark
Prototype: "Alone, and maybe some Afraid"
Now, honestly, I'm not really capable of talking extensively about this gem, because I've never played it, nor do I have a single friend who has.  This game seems to be that one title that everyone has heard about, yet no one has ever had the chance to play.  In a lot of ways, Alone in the Dark did a lot for the Survival Horror genre, in that it pitted you against the superstitious and the supernatural (ghosts, in layman's terms).  In a lot of senses, Alone in the Dark ventured out beyond what games were capable of and brought back an entire world of gameplay and story that could be explored.  And, as we'll see, got explored.

Resident Evil
Prototype: "Not enough bullets..."
Now, it's hard to talk about the first Resident Evil game, because it may have been frightening, but it's also dated.  Anyone who tells you that RE1 is a classic probably hasn't ever played it themselves.  It added gun-play mechanics as well as more gory creatures (zombies, zombie dogs, hunters, etc.) to the mix that jumped out an frightened you.  But the cool thing about RE1 was that they didn't just jump out, scare you, and then get killed by your huge arsenal of infinite rocket launchers and gatling guns.  No, you didn't have that kind of firepower; this is something that the Survival Horror genre feeds off of.  The inability to kill your darkest fears permeates these games, and in these moments of inaction and sheer terror, the game will elongate every moment of fear and suspense for as long as it can without letting the player die too much or get too frustrated.  The formula is genius, and one that works for just about every early survival horror game.

Going back to the original point, though, the game isn't what I'd call a classic.  Feel free to disagree, though, as this is what discussion is all about!  But at least hear me out: I think that because of RE1's shoddy mechanics and overall less than stellar storyline, as well as a lack of robust backplot, the game doesn't have much to offer other than what you see on the cover. Now, these are problems that are, admittedly, hard to fix at its time, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE!  As I'll point out, many of the other 'prototypes' managed complex characters and literary plots, as well as a more robust customization system to streamline the experience around the same time as RE1.  And what better way to introduce the rest of the crew by starting with the grand-daddy of all Survival Horror templates: Silent Hill?

Silent Hill
Prototype: "It's all about You"
Holy shit is this game scary.  The Silent Hill games aren't just prototypes of the genre they made, they are a testament to what Survival Horror games ought to be.  The enemy should be mysterious, hard to kill, but not impossible; your character ought to be just as confused as the person who's playing it.  And to top it all off, everyone in your environment is utterly shrouded in mystery.  Even though there are others in Silent Hill, there is an encumbering feeling in that you are alone in this town.  And because you are alone, and you have little to no protection against these horrors, you start to feel like you can't even trust people.

Oh, and did I mention?  The Silent Hill games, aside from the fact that the voice acting talent is on par with Resident Evil's, have a sublimely disturbing ambiance, something that newer Survival Horror games just don't have.  The radio white noise mixed in with the hauntingly effervescent soundtrack certainly sucks you in and puts you in just the mood not to be scared, but terrified and disturbed at your core.  Not because a dog that's missing its skin just jumped out of a corner and spooked you; but because that dog is an occult creation of the town, and you have no idea whose flesh is in its mouth, but you're pretty sure it's someone you know.

"Oh, y'know, I think that's my niece over there, Shelly!

With all that plastic surgery, I can barely tell who she is anymore."

All-in-all, it's scary, it's disturbing, it's off-kilter, and it's amazing.  It has it's flaws, however.  The game tends more often than not to explain exactly what's going on, when it just didn't have to!  Things ought to be unexplained, they ought to be scary because you just have no idea why things are happening the way they are.  This, of course, gets reimagined in the second game in a very self-reflexive way, which is something that  Survival Horror games ought to have a lot more of if developers want to stick us in someone else's shoes.

Resident Evil 2
Prototype: "Apocalypse Now"
Now, take a minute to remember what I've said about Resident Evil and Silent Hill.  Resident Evil introduced survival horror in a way that was more human.  The monsters were creatures that had evolved beyond death, yet were still very much attached to the world.  Silent Hill introduced a more horrifying perspective on what it meant to be "alone" in the world.  The atmosphere, essentially, made that game constantly disturbing, to the point where you were always on your seat.

Now, fastforward a bit in time.  Capcom decides to produce Resident Evil 2, a game that, to this day, many critics have awarded as (arguably) the best survival horror game ever made.  Now, I'm going to debunk this right away by saying this: it isn't the best.  It has flaws that are very easily seen if you take the time to play the game to its fullest extent.  However, the good news is that Resident Evil 2 took the shallow plot of Resident Evil 1, tossed it out the window, and said, "Okay, set it in the most chaotic, desolated city, and put it in the POV of several different characters". Boom.  You've just made an instant classic.

And an instant spinoff game... a couple fanfics...

...a porno...

Resident Evil 2's charm is in the way it tells the story.  You are put in the shoes of protagonists that should have been able to protect themselves, yet couldn't.  They barely made it out of the intro alive, and there's still  several hours left to kill.  Claire doesn't know the first thing about survival to start with, and Leon's working with an entire squad decimated and a near-dead Ada in tow.  You aren't alone, but dammit, you feel more alone because you aren't.  Add in a great narrative with much better voice-acting, and you've got the newest craze in the Survival Horror genre: a city filled with tangible horrors and you are trying to get everybody out alive with a handgun and 7 bullets.  Good luck.

Clock Tower
Prototype: "One Dude, 9 Lives"
What is there to say about the Clock Tower series?  Well, to start with, Clock Tower began with a rather simple concept: have a defenseless person (a schoolgirl, duh) attempt to fend off a serial killer (a guy with garden shears, duh) for as long as they can.  I'm not going to lie to you, any critic would have immediately said, "This, this right here, this will be the best survival horror game ever."  Do you know what Clock Tower actually was?  Well, not bad, but maybe a little under-par.

Regardless, the concept of having only one monstrous murderer chase you all the time made gamers wet their pants with anticipation (and maybe a little bit of fear).  Of course, along comes the sequel, Clock Tower 3, to absorb what worked with the original title and add a little bit of flair to it.  The result is...well, Japanese.  Although the atmosphere and the horror elements remain there, the actual final battle with all the murderers just feels like it was ripped out of an anime, with the cute sailor suit and the magical bow and everything.  It almost hurts my eyes to look at such a vibrant person in a sea of browns and greys.

"By the power of sugoi!

I! HAVE! THE POWER!"

So, in the end, Clock Tower didn't quite get the formula right, but hell, many agree that the concept behind Clock Tower was the most sound concept a survival horror game could have.  Being chased by a serial killer through empty streets isn't something that isn't feasible, like zombies or inside-out dogs, it's something very, very tangible.  And, although those zombie enthusiasts would like to believe otherwise, it's something that actually happens.  Put that into a video game, add a metric fuckton of suspense, and you've got Clock Tower.

Fatal Frame
Prototype: "Up close and personal"
So here's an idea: survival horror is all about feeling completely helpless as a mob of unseemly creatures comes and just about rips your face off while you (the player) get to watch, right?  Well, it didn't use to be, but Fatal Frame had a vision (pardon the pun), and they wanted that shit out on the market as soon as possible.  It's called Fatal Frame, and oh boy, is it scary.  Honestly, it's probably the most jump scary game out of all of these.  I mean, it's a game about getting really close to your scary monster of choice and taking a picture of it, letting the picture just stay on the screen long enough for you to hide under the bed and get out the baseball bat you've been hiding under there for just such an occasion.  No, but seriously, the idea for this game is genius, and it certainly worked quite well for its time.

Fatal Frame now has just about 4 installments in its series, and each game has managed to retain that same scare tactic throughout all of them.  And even though Fatal Frame hasn't been around quite as long as some of these other names, the idea remains a solid one, and one that developers should take note of.  Y'know what's scarier than seeing a zombie?  Seeing it's face so close that it could have jumped out of the screen and taken a bite out of your skull.  Oh, and you get to see exactly how each person was killed, too.  If a girl got her neck sliced open?  When her soulless eyes lock with your camera, you'd better believe that her neck is going to be hanging by a thread of skin; if that image doesn't haunt your nightmares, I don't know what will.

The concept is simple: you're a Japanese schoolgirl who is trapped in a ghost house/mansion/town/whatever, and the only way to get out is to figure out what the fuck is going on.  And your only defense is, of course, a camera that seals the souls of ghosts inside it.  Kind of like Ghostbusters, except you're a lot more squeal-y and there's less of a worry of crossing the streams.  I highly recommend this game for anyone who wants a quick scare, but isn't looking for heavy amounts of plot-driven story.  It's there, definitely, but games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil have since taken the title of most story-driven horror games out there.  Fatal Frame is great in concept, but it lacks a true purpose, a driving force that these other games have.

~VERDICT~
So, here's what's up.  There are many concepts that drive these horror games to be great, and all of these games deserve some form of recognition for what they've done.  So I'm going to nickname each and every one of these "special moves" that each of these games pulls in terms of prototyping the genre.  I'll be referring back to these in my later posts on this subject, so keep an eye out!

Also, if you guys want, please tell me about any and all horror games (whether survival, action or otherwise) and I'll attempt to add them to the list (and play them, if I have time).  Thanks for reading!

I am never playing Fatal Frame at 4 in the morning on a schoolnight again,
~CascadaKatana

P.S.- I swear to the gods if someone says that Skyward Sword is a terrible game one more time, I'm going to clock them in the face.  Pun totally intended, on both levels (points to whomever can figure that one out).

Flashback: Suikoden II

If you've never heard of the Suikoden series, then you probably didn't play video games (or, to be more accurate, have a PSX) in the 90's.  If either of those are true, and you are an RPG fan, I highly suggest you get a PSX emulator, a bunch of roms, and just take an entire month off of work.  Go to the nearest beach you can find (preferably one with an internet cafe), and just boot up that laptop.  Now relish in the classics, and if you've got enough time, go beachside with Suikoden II.  It'll be the most romantic experience you've ever had with a video game, I guarantee it.

Maybe a few glasses of wine, while you're at it.

But not too many, you're going to want to remember this gem.

Suikoden II is certainly on the list of greatest RPG's of that generation, and up against names like Final Fantasy VII, Crono Cross and Xenosaga, most RPG fans would be hard pressed to figure out how this game managed to compete.  In a few words, it managed by being a lot different than the competition.  Whereas games like Final Fantasy and Xenosaga had you running around with a maximum of 9 companions, Suikoden had upwards of 50 playable characters to choose from!  The numbers were insane, and so was the customization.  A very simple system makes for an even more fun game; party members simply bought a better version of their weapon when they visit the store, and it can be imbued with magical runes that do all sorts of fun junk.  Essentially, this was a game for those that didn't want to have to chose between Big Bruiser B and Samurai Swordsman 4. You could, theoretically, use both of them and still have a solid team endgame.

Not only that, but the amount of effort put into spriting and detailing every enemy and boss in the game must have been murderous.  The detail in the bosses was absolutely stunning, and it certainly added to the aesthetic of the game, which happened to be completely sprite driven (a method that was becoming less and less encouraged by developers at the time, due to time restrictions and new technology).  Last but not least, you could involve six party members at a time in one battle, which meant that you could literally swap out whoever you wanted in any way that you wanted in order to make the perfect team (or, y'know, if you just would rather use the cute, knife-throwing chick who's totally into you rather than the annoying squirrel creature).

"Don't mind me, guys and gals.

Just showin' off the guns."

The other cool thing about Suikoden II is that it has a universe that is topical: it's based around Feudal China and its surroundings during that time.  Mix in a little bit of the old mythology and lore of yesteryear, add in a few kobolds and birdmen, and you've got Suikoden in a nutshell.  The game centers around Riou, the speechless main character, and his Sister in their quest to reclaim their homeland from an insane general aptly named Luca Blight.  Luca, being the insane douchebag that he is, decides he wants to harness an ancient power that literally devours entire cities to...uhm...devour entire cities.  Luca's not exactly what I'd call a dynamic character, as he is portrayed to be the antagonist that everyone should have seen coming, but totally ignored despite some obvious signs.

Whaaaaaat?  General Luca Blight?  A bad guy?

...I don't see it, nope.

So, obviously, the story doesn't start out very complicated.  However, along the way, you'll meet plenty of politicians and people that you really do start caring for.  And seeing the world crumble before your very eyes as this asshole takes control of just about everything you love kinda starts to get to you in a way that most RPG's just can't.  Just as an example, this girl follows you around after she watches her entire family get murdered and her entire village burn to the ground.  She is incredibly depressing, and a constant reminder that you have something very real to fight for.

The result of all this is a very real world that seems quite cohesive and accessible for when the game was made.  I almost hate to say it, but this world just feels more real than pretty much any RPG made at the time.  Oh, and let's not forget the last thing that made me absolutely love this game: character design.

Eat your heart out, SNES.

Oh, and tell NES that he needs to start looking after himself.  He's put on...weight.

With over 100 characters to find and add to your massive army against Luca Blight, you'd better have some pretty damn interesting characters, and this is something that Konami not only got completely right (as shown above), but also really set the bar for.  So much so, well, let's just say that Square Enix started to get goosebumps after they realized that Final Fantasy VIII needed to have some very, very complicated characters to compete with that kind of roster.  Lastly, let me just add that if you can manage to flesh out a cast of about 60 distinct characters from one another and manage to make you remember most of them by the end by name, you've got some talent.

This is Clive.

You will learn to love him.

YOU. LEARN. LOVE. CLIVE.

So, in conclusion, any RPG fan out there who is most likely still playing Skyrim at this point (Skyrim fans: "Just...one...more...quest...!"), to you I say, "Make time for the classics."  They won't disappoint, I promise.

I'm actually secretly in love with that fucking squirrel thing,

~CascadaKatana

PS- Speaking of RPG's, I currently have no one to hang out with because they are either playing:

A) Skyrim

B) Mists of Panderia

C) DOTA 2

D) All of the Above (Just kidding, no one has time for that huehuehuehue)

Preview: Pokemon and...who now?

Wow, what a weekend!  Sorry I hadn't posted, but I was a tad busy going to the Taiko Conference over at Weseleyan.  It was insane!  Got to learn all sorts of awesome craft and had a lot of fun times with friends and mentors.  Needless to say, I had only a little time to mess around with video games, but I'll try my best to talk about some things that are both upcoming and very much in the line of sight.


Preview: Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition
I've gotta say, there's just nothing more enraging than when I hear about a successful spinoff title.  Y'know, as much as I can endorse new gameplay mechanics in video games (part of the reason why I turned to Indie games in order to appease my hardcore, artsy side), it destroys any respect that I have for a company when a standalone concept that *could* have been creatively charged with something new and interesting gets the same old, boring, monotonous storyline that really plops you right back where you started.  It's annoying, infuriating, and just plain not okay when a game developer says, "Yeah, but let's not get too creative this time guys.  We can't get carried away."  In other words, I get pissed off because any spinoff title has the potential to become this:

And you just realized how much worse the DS would have been had TWEWY been...

well, really anything Square Enix related.

So yeah, when I saw this DS title, I said, "Fuck.  Why?"  And, just like the curious fucking hipster that I am, I decide to give it a shot because I'm a sucker for pokemon and strategy games have a weird hold on me and god dammit I'm such a consumer WHORE.


Well, okay.  I am, but this game is actually quite good.  Now, give me a moment to explain.  It's not, by any means, a great game.  My opinion still stands that had the creators of this game done a game in the style of the Nobunaga games, and not based it around the pokemon universe, it would have been even better.  But even still, Pokemon sells.  It has sold more than most game companies could ever hope to produce in terms of revenue.  It's a titan in the video game industry, so much so that anything with the name "Pokemon" attached to it will sell.

"Look, I don't care. I know Mewtwo is a clone and they hadn't invented clones in Feudal Japan.

But this game won't sell unless it's got some hot, Mewtwo action and you know it."

The mechanics, for all intents and purposes actually work quite well.  The concept is quite simple, especially for a strategy game: you have a leader (or bushou, for those anal, retentive Japanese majors) and a pokemon.  These two work in tandem as a single "unit"; at this point, if you've ever played a fire emblem game you already know how to play this game.  Type advantages and disadvantages are obvious to Pokemon vets, and it's pretty easy to pick up on the different skills that the leaders have.

You know, I could take the time to translate that, but I'm pretty sure I know what it says.

Somewhere along the lines of "FUCKIN' OW DUDE, STOP".

The hard part comes when you realize that this isn't Pokemon as you know it.  In the flagship titles, Pokemon are pit against each other in groups of 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3.  However, in this game, you can have a massive clusterfuck of a 6v6 (or, to be more accurate, this is what ends up happening in every single level later on in the game).  The result may, at first, seem chaotic and unfair, as you won't have much control over whether or not that Machoke is going to steamroll your Jigglypuff (WHO CAN HEAL, WHADDUP) into oblivion.  The cool thing is that it doesn't feel like you have all the cards stacked in your favor anymore.  Everything is chaotic and a mess, and you will lose some pokemon.

I never thought I'd say this, but if you kill my Scraggy, I'm gonna quit.

It's surprisingly addicting.  It's got a good bit of content, including 200 pokemon to collect, a bunch of leaders to add to your team (but most of them are from the same template, which is a MAJOR turnoff for me).  It's also got a gym leader-esque thing going, where you have to battle a bushou and a bunch of his pokemon for supremacy over a nation (which has it's own type).  If you manage to win, you get access to that nation, it's pokemon, leaders, and whatever else lies beyond it.  It's a very cool system, and since I haven't made it all the way through the game yet, I can't say for certain whether it holds up in terms of replay value.


As with any strategy game, it's going to get a bit boring, however.  Although it's fun to collect pokemon and train them until they're ready to face the next biggest bushou, it's still a hassle to get to that point.  The good news is that you won't have to grind past the necessary levels because the game gives you a handy-dandy counter that tells you how strong your team is, and how strong the enemy team is!  It's useful, to say the least.


But as much as I want to say I've got high hopes for this game, I'm still on the fence about it.  It's got a great concept to it, but I can't help but feel cheated on this one.  It's a fun title, but where's the creativity?  It's lost somewhere between Crossoverland and Spinoffland, and this game just so happens to be smack dab in the middle of both.  And, even though the art is groovy and the crossover somehow manages to work, there's still that fangirl deep down inside that's tapping my brain with a ten-foot poll whilst saying, "Hey, asshole.  Remember why you hate Square?  Because they spinoff.  You are just adding to the problem."

Fuck you, pretentious fangirl.

I'm in my happy place. :D

Hopefully the rest of the game will pan out favorably.  It's been good so far, and it's definitely got a lot going for it.  With all hope, the game might be released at some point in America, so keep an eye out for it.  Otherwise, that next trip to the convention might also involve a sharpie, some sticky notes, and a big ol' sign that says, "FEUDAL POKEMON GAME, DO NOT FORGET".


My creative side just can't stop looking at this artwork,
~CascadaKatana


PS- If you haven't gone over to newgrounds and played The Hunger Games video game yet, go ahead and do that.  It's worth the time spent.