Like previous Final Fantasies, I bought Final Fantasy XII at launch. I was excited, as I always was, for a new Final Fantasy. My excitement slowly dwindled as I discovered that you did things differently than the previous games.
You had a very MMO style look and feel. You allowed enemies to hit me even as I tried running away. The license board meant I could not equip what I wanted, when I wanted. Gold came from loot instead of normal fights.
The story was overly political the language flowery. You were not my basic Final Fantasy I grew up with.
I distinctly remember the exact moment I stopped playing you. It was in the Tomb of Raithwall, shortly after the Demon Wall. Although you provided beautiful graphics and a surprisingly amount of well-spoken dialogue, you were not my Final Fantasy. You were new and different. I tried to keep an open mind but it wasn’t enough. Final Fantasy had a tried and true system and you changed that. As such, I stopped playing and had since never looked back.
Time has passed. I am now 41 years old and spending my free time live streaming old video games. Several of which being games that I had never finished during my childhood. Eventually, I came across you. Final Fantasy XII. Staring up at me from my game cabinet as if begging for another chance to show me your greatness. Although I had my reservations, I decided to do just that. I gave you a second chance.
Today I stand before you humbled. I have realized simultaneously that I was not only a stubborn child but a foolish one. What I seek from you, as I fall to me knees, is forgiveness. I was blind to the magnificence you tried to show me.
The language that I had originally thought as long winded and boring is now seen as mature and delightful to listen to.
Whereas the story, which I had once believed to be boring and political is now gripping with a sense of constant dread. There are high stakes involved in this colorful world you’ve created.
Furthermore, I no longer see our cast of characters as one irritating and dull. Instead, they are full of life and personality. Vaan, you lovable one-brain-celled fool. Ashe you stoic badass. Balthier you delightful scamp. Penelo, I hope you never lose your hope and kindness.
The combat is so detailed, the Gambit system phenomenal. I had originally thought the Gambit system to be overly complicated but now I see it is nuanced with a great deal of customization. Oh how your future brother FF7REMAKE would benefit from the Gambit system…how I wish it would return.
The dungeons surprising me with dangerous areas full of over-leveled monsters – resulting in my panic and fear. Making me feel things as I race my level 14 ass out of the level 40 enemy swarm.
The plethora of hidden weapons, items, armor, and loot. The hunts. The monster designs; it is all wonderful!
As I write this, I squeaked a win against Adrammelech, the Wroth – my characters only at level 24-26. Yet in a world where facing monsters too early means instant death, you were fair enough to allow me to alter my stratergies and find a way to win. An adrenaline rush given up to me from among high.
Forgive me, Final Fantasy XII. I was but a fool. Today I am one of your biggest fans. Thank you. Thank you for climbing the ranks to, as of right now, being my 3rd favorite FF of all time…
I hope this feeling lasts as I continue my journey!
Legend of Dragoon is a JRPG developed by Japan Studio and released on the Playstation 1 in 2000 (United States). It follows the story of a young man named Dart who is on a journey to find his family’s killer. Along the way, he meets up with a group of characters and together they end up tasked with saving the world from an ancient evil.
I bought Legend of Dragoon at launch though I didn’t actually play it until this year (2024). Why? I don’t know. This was during the height of Final Fantasy’s popularity – with Final Fantasy IX coming out the same year. It would not surprise me that I set Legend of Dragoon aside in favor of Final Fantasy IX. IX is hands down my favorite of the 3D Final Fantasy games so it makes sense that I gave it all my attention.
After that, I just never got around to Legend of Dragoon. However this year I decided to stream a butt-load of JRPGs on my twitch channel. We started with Skies of Arcadia, then Secret of Mana, and we just recently finished Legend of Dragoon.
So. How did Legend of Dragoon fair? Was it a fine glass of wine that gets better with age or did it turn into so much vinegar in our mouths?
STORY
The story of Legend of Dragoon follows a young man named Dart and his childhood friend Shana. By the time we meet Dart, he is on his way back home after a years-long journey hunting a mysterious creature called The Black Monster (Creative name no?). The Black Monster is responsible for the destruction of not only his village, but his parents as well. Having sworn revenge, Dart ventured out in hopes of finding The Black Monster.
During his return trip home, Dart discovers that the local empire has destroyed his village (He can’t get a break can he?) and kidnapped his close friend Shana. He learns all of this from mysterious armored woman named Rose. She assists him in pushing back the remaining imperial forces. It is during this battle that she reveals that she is a Dragoon – a mystical knight imbued with the powers of the legendary dragon. To Dart’s surprise, she informs him that he is a Dragoon as well!
Together Dart and Rose team up to rescue Shana from the Imperial prison. Along the way they discover a plot to overthrow the world. A plot led by Emperor Doel and his right hand Lloyd (Yes, that is his actual name).
As is tradition, we learn that there is more to this story than meets the eye. While journeying to learn the truth, we come across a wide variety of interesting characters including the 16-year old dancer Meru, the barbarian Kongol, the knight Lavitz and his king Albert, the solider sister Miranda, and the martial artist Haschel. These heroes make up the rest of the legendary Dragoon Knights. Together they must find a way to stop Lloyd before he can bring about the end of the world.
Gameplay
Legend of Dragoon uses turn-based combat with a twist. That twist being an early form of Quick Time Events – that is, pushing a specific button when prompted. These are called “Additions.”
The way this works is as follows: Whenever you attack an enemy, a blue square appears in the center of the screen. A secondary square then flies across the screen to align with the static one. You are supposed to press the X button when the two squares align. This builds your combo. Think of this like a primitive version of Guitar Hero or a Rhythm game.
Each Addition has it’s own combo length and timing. One may have three inputs whereas another has five. Some have a slower input window whereas others are a lot faster. It’s an interesting premise that felt fun at first but wore thing as the game went on. But we’ll get into that later.
Every time you perform a successful Addition, you gain Spirit Points (SP). Spirit points not only level up your Additions but they also level up your Dragoon Abilities. The more SP you accumulate, the more attacks you can do while in Dragoon form.
Dragoon Form can be activated whenever you accumulate 100 SP. Upon activation, your character will undergo a Sailor Moon style transformation in which your character dons on their Dragoon Armor. Their offense and defense increases while also gaining the ability to use Magic.
Every action while in the Dragoon State uses up 1 level of Dragoon Spirit – with a maximum of 5. So if your Dragoon level is 2, for example, you can use 2 actions before your Dragoon State runs out.
But the Dragoon State is not the only time you can use magic. You can use it in your normal state as well but, like with the Additions, there is a twist. Instead of being an ability, Magic is treated like an Item. Magic spells are purchased from shops much like you would weapons and items. To use Magic, you select it from your items list and watch as your character “throws” it at the enemy. Depending on the spell, it either activates immediately or you have to mash the X button to increase damage. Either way, magic is a limited commodity. However, even this has a downside. Again, we’ll talk about it below.
Weapons, Armor, and Accessories are treated with a more traditional flair. You equip the best ones you find to increase your chances of survival. Simple.
Review
It took us approximately 53 hours to complete Legend of Dragoon. As far as I can tell, we completely a majority of the game. We found all the stardust (a collectable required to gain access to a hidden area). I was able to defeat the optional bosses. We max leveled some (not all) of our Additions and Dragoon levels, and we were able to finish the story.
So how did it turn out?
Honestly? It was rather average. Nothing too horrible but nothing too memorable either.
First off, lets talk the cast. Although we have several interesting characters, a majority of the game revolves around Dart, Rose, and later, Meru. This isn’t a problem early on but by the end of Disc 2 and start of Disc 3, the game’s focus shifts more towards these three. We don’t really get that much development out of the others until the final disc but by then, I found myself no longer interested. They were just side stories that felt more like padding than actual character development.
It didn’t help that the story felt quite generic. I will admit that this is likely my fault. Back in 2000, before I experienced other JRPGS and anime, this story may have felt fun and fresh. By playing it today, after 2 decades of anime and RPG experience under my belt, it felt predictable and tropey. We were able to guess practically every twist and turn that Legend of Dragoon threw at us. As such, I won’t blame the game for it’s story but more myself for my experience with the game’s tropes and story beats.
But what I will find fault with is the game’s combat and item system. While I appreciate Legend of Dragoon doing something different – keeping players actively engaged with its combat system – I did find myself growing tired of constantly mashing the X button for every attack. This goes double whenever I find myself backtracking. The game forces you to travel through previous dungeons which increases the chances of you running into more enemies. This meant, for the sake of progressing through the game in a timely manner, I had to either run away, or use some repeatable spells to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with the combat. Leveling up additions is easy (and not to grindy) and seeing the different attacks play out is fun. I like seeing how each character fights. It is vastly different than other JRPGs at the time which kept characters swinging their weapons in the same manner no matter what their level. So I give them points for that. It’s just frustrating to complete a string of ever growing combos when you’re trying to get from point A to B as quickly as possible.
What did bother me, however, was the unusual inclusion of an Inventory Limit. Weapons and armor are capped off around (I think) 99 items. Fair enough. Even by the end of the game, I don’t think I got close to that limit. Items on the other hand had a hard cap of 32. So there were several moments throughout the game where I couldn’t open treasure chests because I had met my item limit. This also meant that I was constantly juggling Healing, Resurrection, Magical, and Ailment Items. Eventually, I just gave up on carrying Ailment Items and limited my Magical items to the tiniest handful. Most of my inventory was reserved for healing/resurrection potions and reusable magical items.
Yet again, I must give credit where credit is due. The aforementioned Reusable Magical Items was a fantastic addition to the game. With the limited inventory space, the inclusion of specific items that could be used over and over again (with a limit of 1x per battle) really helped balance the game. These items would either boost our characters’ speed, defense, and power, or act as a magical spell to damage enemies. So points for that!
My final frustration comes from the experience points and gold gained after every battle. Admittedly this comes from someone who loves grinding and making myself as over-leveled as possible but it did irritate me that the game provided you with the tiniest amount of Experience Points and Gold after every battle. Now I know why they did this. They wanted the game’s bosses to provide the majority of the gold and experience. That’s fine. But when you are low on funds and having to grind a bit to earn enough for a new weapon or piece of armor, that tiny amount of gold earned ends up being rather annoying.
This rings especially true if you want some of the game’s most powerful armor and accessories. At 10k a pop, these items are practically unobtainable unless you grind what the game calls Unique Monsters. These monsters have very low health but very high defense and agility. This means you’ll miss a majority of the time. But this is balanced by the aforementioned low health. You just need to score between 3 to 5 hits to take down one of these Unique Monsters. The reward for defeating them? Either a ton of gold (lowest being 300, highest being 1000) or experience. So, while frustrating that I cannot grind the normal way, there is a system in place to help players like me gain that armor.
This is the developers saying “Hey, if you WANT to get this hardcore armor, you can. You just have to work for it.” A bit irritating, sure, but doable. Once again – a frustration is balanced.
And that’s pretty much how I’d describe the entire Dragoon experience – Frustrating but Balanced. For everything that irritated me about the game, there was something that I found quite enjoyable about it. It was never too hard nor was it too difficult. Game Overs did occur throughout my playthrough which came as a welcome surprise. I don’t usually experience classic old-school Game Overs as much as I used too as a kid so whenever I fail in such a manner, it comes as a shock. I go “Oh, that just happened. Let’s change up our strategy and try from a different angle!” It was fun.
All that said – I will be remiss if I didn’t talk about the two things that had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The first being a part of the game’s design, the second being a glitch that drove me insnae.
On the design front there is something that Legend of Dragoon does that I’ve not seen in any JRPG. That is the game’s requirement of changing discs when backtracking.
Back in the day, games, especially Jrpgs, came on multiple discs. When you completed a specific area in Disc 1, it would save your progress and ask you to insert the 2nd disc to continue the game’s story. If, at any time, you decide to return to a town or location from Disc 1, you may do so without interruption. Sometimes there is a story element that prevents you from going back but usually by the final disc, you can go anywhere in the world without problem.
Legend of Dragoon doesn’t do this. Some towns are locked behind specific discs. There was one moment where I went back to one town while on Disc 4 and had to swap out to Disc 2. When I finished up in the town, I started a side quest that required me to switch to Disc 3. Now while this is a minor inconvenience, it is still an inconvenience that shouldn’t exist. As far my experience goes, this is the only JRPG that I’ve played with this problem. It’s odd and quite frustrating.
Lastly comes the “Fade to Black” glitch that I encountered three times during my playthrough. So from what I understand, the Fade to Black glitch occurs when gamers are playing Legend of Dragoon on anything other than the original hardware. This means if you are playing on a Playstation 2 or 3, or in my case, emulating the ripped discs on a computer, there is a chance the game will freeze after a boss battle.
The way the glitch works is as follows: During specific boss battles, if you transform into your Dragoon state while playing on anything other than the original Playstation 1, there is a chance that, after the battle, the game will fade to black and free. We didn’t encounter this glitch until the end of Disc 2 when we fought the Kraken boss. After discovering the glitch, a quick Google search resulted in evidence that this is a well-documented problem. That was rather disappointing to find out because now I had to do some extra research to find out which bosses I could and couldn’t use my Dragoon State on.
But you know what the kicker was? It was during the final boss of the game. After spending an absurd amount of time defeating him, I was treated to Legend of Dragoon’s final cinematic. Once the cinematic ended, however, I was not given the end-game credits but instead…
ANOTHER BLACK SCREEN CRASH!
Luckily, I had already seen the game’s final cut scene (unless there is one after the credits – I have not looked yet) so I just turned off the game and left it at that.
Conclusion
Legend of Dragoon isn’t a bad game nor is it a phenomenal game. I would describe this game as “one that exists.”
Of course I’m joking.
It’s fine for what it is. It has an interesting premise, an experimental combat system, some seriously catchy music, and – despite being a bit forgettable – a decent cast of characters. While it is true I was frustrated with a lot of the game’s backtracking and high levels of enemy encounters; none of these were enough to sour my experience altogether.
There are no regrets when it comes to Legend of Dragoon. For what it was, I enjoyed it. I am happy that I was finally able to remove it from my backlog and I am glad I was able to share my experience with those on my live stream.
Overall, I would give it a solid 7/10. A good, but flawed game, that was daring enough to try new things even if those new things weren’t always successful.
One of my fondest memories as a kid was sneaking through the Horror section at my local Blockbuster Video. It was here that I was introduced to the stunning VHS box-art designed to titillate as well as horrify. But there was one movie’s cover that stood out from all the others and that movie was DOLLS.
You see; in the days before streaming, before blu-ray, before even DVDS, we had VHS. Bulky tapes that required rewinding. That needed Vertical Hold adjustments to get a clear picture. Tapes that your VHS player could randomly eat and destroy. These wonderful relics dominated home entertainment as early as the late 70s and stayed popular until the early 2000s when DVD finally took their place. And while I do miss taping my favorite television shows as they aired live, I don’t miss the hassle that came with owning VHS. They took up a ton of space. Rewinding them was a pain in the ass and you never knew when your favorite tape would finally degrade to the point of being unwatchable.
That said, there is something that I do miss about the VHS tapes of yore. That being the box art. They grabbed your attention with their heavily stylized and usually hand-drawn artwork.
What made these so memorable, however, was that some art did not even depict a scene from the actual movie. Instead it exercised creative liberties with the movie’s overall concept. One example would be the box art for the horror-comedy HOUSE. It showed an overly detailed rotting hand ringing a doorbell. I remember it terrifying me whenever I saw it at my local Blockbuster Video. The brown flesh, the cracked fingernails, the visible muscle and bone; how could this movie NOT be scary?
Chopping Mall is another one that stands out. The robotic hand carrying a blood red shopping bag with body parts poking out of it. I learned later that the art had nothing to do with the movie but still! It looked awesome!
You have Fright Night with the clouds forming a vampire’s face above a house, Critters with a Crite standing center stage with that creepy, hungry smile upon it’s face. WaxWork with the butler opening a door to a wall of twisted monstrous faces. And who could forget ALIEN with its minimalist style of a single Xeno egg floating in the darkness of space.
Beautiful. All of them.
But then you had movies that were a mix of live action and hand drawn art. One of my personal favorites was the cover for Dead Alive (Brain Dead). It had a woman pulling her lips apart while a screaming skull peaked out from the inside of her mouth. Or what about THEY LIVE with a closeup of Roddy Piper’s face with an alien reflection in his sunglasses?
You have Tremors with the live action cast standing in the desert with a hand-drawn Graboid tentacle coming up from beneath them and Nancy’s frightened face with Freddy’s claws over her face in the original Nightmare on Elm Street VHS Cover.
The fact is, these covers were a work of art and although every movie had their own style, it was the horror genre that took box art to a different level.
Which leads me to today’s Retrospective.
Dolls (1986): A Visceral Treat for the Eyes.
As I mentioned earlier, there was one movie that stood out among all the others and that movie was Dolls. Dolls had some of the creepiest box art that I had ever seen. It was of a dolly in a red dress and black curly hair. The left side of her face was flawless. Shadows, however, bathed the right side of her face. Through these shadows you could make out the hint of a human skull. Contained within both of her hands, risen for the audience to see, were a pair of human eyes.
It had its desired effect. It scared the living hell out of me. This box art was one of those images that I would see whenever I was alone in the dark. I would imagine that little doll in my closet; staring at me with those empty eye sockets. I hadn’t even seen the movie and already I was afraid of it! But what about the movie itself?
The original release of Dolls came during the 1985 Italian MILFED Film Festival. It’s story revolves around several people who become stranded in a gigantic mansion during a horrible thunderstorm. As it turns out, the mansion is home to former toymakers Gabriel and Hilary Hartwicke; both of whom welcome the strangers to stay the night.
The group includes a young girl named Judy and her despicable father David and equally foul stepmother Rosemary; businessman Ralph, and hitchhikers Isabel and Enid. The kind-hearted Hartwickes are more than happy to let them stay the night as long as they all behave themselves.
Judy, ever the curious one, discovers that the mansion is chalk full of wonderful toys. This includes stuffed animals, marionettes, and beautifully detailed dolls. Gabriel tells Judy that he and his wife were toy makers and these were their toys. The collection enthralls not only Judy but also the businessman Ralph. As it turns out, Ralph has never outgrown his fondness for toys and is very excited to see such a collection. It does not take long for Judy and Ralph to become friends; having bonded over their mutual love for the Hartwickes’ work.
But the fun doesn’t last long. As the guests turn in for the night, one of the hitchhikers sneak out of their room with the intent of robbing the mansion. What they find instead is a pack of pissed off dolls who brutally attack the hitchhiker. Judy witnesses this event and tries to warn her parents who promptly ignore then punish her for “making up stories”. Upset, she turns to Ralph who, having seen some of the dolls move himself, believes her. Now they must team up to survive the rest of the evening while also figuring out the mystery behind the killer toys and their creators.
Right off the bat I want to talk about the movie’s special effects. They are absolutely fantastic. The crew used a mixture of marionettes, stop motion, and animatronics to bring the dolls to life and it works wonderfully. Because of the different styles of movement, it gives each toy their own distinct aura of creepiness. The jittery, twitchy stop-motion just gives a sense of wrongness to some of the dolls’ movements. Compare this to the dolls controlled by animatronics – with their eyes moving slowly in their eye sockets, their limbs moving smoothly, almost as if they were actually alive – all of which add a sense of danger to these particular toys.
Then you have the bounciness of the marionettes that somehow provide a weird sense of silliness, yet realness, of the situation. There is a scene, for example, in which a marionette gets set on fire. Its body begins bouncing and jerking about as if someone is yanking on its strings. I don’t know why but it just makes the doll feel that much more real. Like it’s actually reacting to the fire. I mean, we know there is a stagehand off camera pulling on the strings to make it move but because we never see the strings or the person pulling it, it just makes the doll feel alive.
On top of that we have the fact that the dolls are not just hollow shells but actual living, breathing creatures complete with a skeleton, muscles, and functional organs. Whenever they take damage, chunks of ceramic break off exposing their ooey gooey insides. It is a wonderful little detail that piles onto that sense of wrongness that I mentioned earlier. It makes us question the toys’ origins. Where did they really come from? How did Hartwickes manufacture them? Are they truly alive or are they possessed by something out of this world? I absolutely love it.
The same cannot be said for some of the characters. While there is nothing wrong with our victims, they do amount to nothing more than a bunch of walking cliches. You have the neglectful father, the cruel stepmother, and the greedy punk rockers. They don’t really have any development outside of their one personality trait but you know what? That’s okay. We are not supposed to root for these people. They are all despicable one way or another which makes watching them get what is coming to them that much more enjoyable.
That said, we do get some great development between Judy and Ralph. As the only characters with good intentions and kind hearts, we cannot help but worry for Judy and Ralph’s safety. I could not help but love the bond that forms between them.
I also enjoyed the toymakers Gabriel and Hilary. They are not just mindless psychopaths, luring people into their home to die for their own sick pleasure. There is a method to their madness and it makes them that much more interesting to watch. In fact, they remind me a lot of John Kramer from the SAW franchise with their philosophy on appreciating the little things in life. I don’t want to go into too much detail but there is a lot more to the Hartwickes than meets the eye.
Then we come to the gore. We get some pretty wicked kills – from someone having their eyes gouged out and replaced with doll eyes, body parts being sliced and chopped with little knives and saw blades, and even a firing squad! But the highlight comes from the doll’s themselves.
Like I said before, the dolls all contain these slimy, almost mummified bodies beneath their ceramic shells. So, seeing their true forms come out whenever they are damaged is a real treat. And they are not created equal either. Some are look as if they had been dead for decades whereas others look as if they were recently deceased. Some have pumping organs, some have red and white muscles, and some even have their eyes intact. I love the variety as it keeps each reveal fresh and unique. Honestly, I love this movie. The story is simple yet solid enough to keep you engaged, the kills are fun, the special effects top notch, and the victims despicable enough for us to root against. And honestly? I really do believe that this movie helped pave the way for other movies such as Child’s Play and Puppet Master. It contains many elements that both franchises would explore in greater detail and I feel like the effects for Dolls helped inspire the way Chuckie and the Puppets would be animated in the future.
I will always recommend Dolls to anyone who’d listen. It’s fun. It’s unique. And it is one of the few movies that lived up to its terrifying VHS cover.
Please give it a go when you have the chance. I do not think you will be disappointed.
I distinctly remember the exact moment in which I became interested in Silent Hill. I was in high-school and reading a game magazine (either Game Informer or Electronic Gaming Monthly) and there was an interview with one of the creators behind Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately, I cannot remember if it was with writer Hiroyuki Owaku or director Marashi Tsuboyama but what I do remember is how they described the game.
You see, before Silent Hill, horror games were all about the interaction. You interacted with the monsters in some degree. Whether engaging them in combat (Resident Evil) or running away and hiding (Clock Tower), you were constantly interacting. Thus, the design of these games followed the idea of “Showing” instead of “Telling.”
Games like Clock Tower, Resident Evil, and Dino Crisis wanted you to see the enemy. They wanted you to see the zombies, the Scissor Man, the dinosaurs and while these games relied on jump-scares; they also focused on Survival. So much so that Resident Evil often referred to as the father of “Survival-Horror”. That is having players manage their limited resources to make it to the end of the game. And sure, there can be an argument towards the Clock Tower franchise being the first – I mean it is literally about surviving an unstoppable enemy – it is Resident Evil’s mix of action and horror made it the go to example of the Survival Horror genre.
That all changed with the introduction of Silent Hill
Silent Hill was released on the Sony Playstation in 1999. At first, it was seen as nothing more than a Resident Evil clone but for those who sat down to play it; they discovered it was so much more.
Where Resident Evil focused more on jump-scares and inventory management, Silent Hill focused on atmosphere and the fear of what you can’t see.
Silent Hill takes place in a small town that is as foggy as it is barren. This fog acts as a visual barrier – keeping the players guessing at what horrors could be just beyond the curtain. It was common for players to be walking towards their destination only to have a monster appear in the distance. Shrouded by fog and emitting terrible, inhuman sounds; the glimpses of these creatures proved scarier than Resident Evil’s infamous jump-scares.
Silent Hill 2 took this idea and ran with it. As I said, I was reading an interview with the game’s developer. They explained that it was scarier knowing that something terrible exists than being surprised by its existence. The example they gave was something along the lines of: “Imagine you enter a hallway. In the distance you see something waiting for you. But instead of it coming for you, it turns around and leaves.”
So now you know there is something in the hallway. You know it’s there and that is the direction you need to go. Now you must make the conscious decision to trek down the dark, scary corridor with the knowledge that something is waiting for you. You don’t know where it is nor if there are others waiting with it. Only that it’s there.
Building upon this mechanic was the addition of making your character “combat inefficient”. James, the protagonist in Silent Hill 2, is not a cop, nor a soldier. He is a regular guy. He has troubles swinging heavy weapons and is not the best marksman with a firearm. This forced players to adapt to a new playstyle. That of “fight or flight”. Do you take the time (and the risk) to fight every monster you come across? Or is it better to just avoid them altogether, juking and dodging around them?
That is not to say that other games didn’t use this mechanic. Resident Evil, again, encouraged players to conserve their ammo by avoiding enemies whenever possible. However, this was not always the best (or easiest) option. Resident Evil’s infamous tank-controls made avoiding enemies rather difficult. On top of that, Resident Evil heavily relied upon backtracking – that is, returning to previous locations. By ignoring the monsters you leave yourself open to dealing with them upon returning.
Silent Hill 2 avoids this by sticking to a more linear format. Yes, you do have to backtrack throughout interior locations, the overall experience is still linear. This means you have a lot more freedom in avoiding your enemies, thus making most combat optional.
Which brings me to the point of today’s post. Team Blooper, the developers for the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake just dropped a gameplay trailer titled “Combat Reveal Trailer”.
Now, I pride myself on keeping an open mind when it comes to remakes of classic games. I understand that things must change in order to fit in with modern sensibilities, but usually involve quality of life changes. Better controls, updated graphics, ability to save more often – things of that nature. What worries me is when a remake alters the fundamental nature of the game.
In the case of Silent Hill 2 – putting a higher emphasis on combat and mobility.
Do not get me wrong. The trailer starts off well enough. The return of classic puzzles, the beautifully updated graphics, the music, and environments; these all look wonderfully done. Then the trailer cuts to the combat.
It is here where my worry begins to sit in. Let’s go down the list.
My first concern revolves around the use of an over-the-shoulder camera. The original game used a somewhat isometric style (for the most part) with the camera high in the air at a sharp angle. This means you had a good idea of what’s directly in front of you and a little bit behind. Even in dark environments you can tell when something is sneaking up from behind.
Left – original
Right – Remake. Can you see what’s happening at all?
With this new over-the-shoulder camera, it feels a lot more constrained. During the trailer there are moments that seem so claustrophobic and so dark that I cannot even tell what’s going on except that we are being attacked. While this may be intense for a while, if not done properly it will be more irritating than it is scary. Hopefully this is just an early beta example with the camera and lighting being tightened up before launch. As of now, however, it feels a bit TOO close to the action to where everything seems cluttered and frustrating to deal with.
Secondly, I am disappointed with the introduction of Quick Time Events. We watch our main character tussle with one of the monsters – and the player needs to mash the X button to escape the monster’s grasp. Silent Hill 2 should be above such things. It should not be about button mashing but instead about losing yourself to the sights and sounds of the world around you. This works in more action-orientated games like Resident Evil 4 but just feels out of place with a slower-paced game like Silent Hill 3.
Finally, let’s talk about the mobility of the enemies. Specifically, at the 01:14 mark where we see one of the Nurses hopping, somewhat comically, over a barrier to reach your character.
Now I am not saying that we cannot update the movement and speed of our enemies but there is something disappointing about seeing one of these horrific monsters hopping around the environment as if it were a tactical shooter. In the original games, the Nurses were enemies that could equip weapons. They moved with creepy, unnatural movements (usually dragging seemingly broken limbs behind them) while carrying a variety of weapons. Weapons that include pipes, knives, and even handguns! They would limp towards you, their weapons glinting in the light of your flashlight; every movement bringing a sense of terror to the player.
And, like I said, the terror came not from the fact that they were agile and quick but because they were durable and moved in unnatural ways. So, seeing them becoming these quick, agile things in the remake just feels wrong. Maybe it’s the nostalgia in me, but I still believe that seeing something move in an unnatural state is a lot creepier than something rushing me like a normal person could; regardless with how they look.
So where do I stand? As of right now, I am cautious. Not cautiously optimistic, not cautiously pessimistic; just cautious. Silent Hill 2 is hands done one of my favorite games of all time. It’s no exaggeration either. I still stream this game every year for Halloween. I love this game so it makes sense that I would be worried with how this remake will turn out but as of now, I cannot form a more definite opinion without seeing actual gameplay. What I need is a full minute or two of actual gameplay. Let me see how our character moves, how the lighting looks, how the combat handles from start to finish. Once I get that, then I can make a more informed opinion.
I have hopes that Team Blooper is able to handle the complexity and psychological aspects that makes Silent Hill 2 such a timeless game. Just as I hope they remember that combat is not a necessity to the original Silent Hill games. Only time will tell.
Let’s see what the next trailer brings us. When it drops, you can be sure we’ll be revisiting this topic but until then, I am not holding my breath.
Tell us, readers: what are your hopes for the Silent Hill 2 remake? Are you excited or are you in the same camp as me, worried with a dash of caution? Let me know in the comments below!
Horror has the tendency of popping up when you least expect it. Case in point: Rugrat’s Season 03 episode “In the Dreamtime.”
In the Dreamtime revolves around our favorite ginger-haired scaredy cat Chuckie Finster. He has been having a hard time telling the difference between his dreams and reality. What transpires next are several short dream sequences that keeps audiences guessing on what is real and what is a dream.
For example, there is a moment in the episode where Chuckie is explaining the dream world to the other Rugrats. Tommy takes inspiration from Chuckie’s dreams and decides to lead the gang of ankle-biters upstairs into Grandpa Pickles’ bedroom. The adventure starts off normal enough, but it doesn’t take long for the world to warp. The staircase grows longer and longer and the babies soon find themselves in outer space. Chuckie’s attempt to join the fun leaves him falling into nothingness. He wakes up with a scream and realizes that it was just another dream.
In the end, Chuckie realizes that dreams are just that – dreams. They cannot hurt him. His father Chas ends up comforting Chuckie before putting him down for the night. However, in a surprise twist, we follow Chas into the kitchen where he encounters a deformed, clown-faced Stu. He wakes up with a shout as the episode ends. This leaves audiences wondering whether it was really Chuckie’s dreams we’ve been watching or Chas’s. Either way, it ends on a creepy note.
The episode obviously takes a lot of its inspiration from horror. The idea of being unable to tell the difference between the Real World and the Dream World is probably one of the oldest tropes of the genre. We’ve seen it in such movies as Phantasm, Donnie Darko, episodes of the Twilight Zone, and the granddaddy of them all: Nightmare on Elm Street.
To add to the horror, we then have the scene where Chuckie decides to talk to the neighbor’s bulldog. Now this is not a sweet pupper like Tommy’s dog Spike. No. This is an angry, frothing at the mouth, raging bulldog that wants nothing more than to tear Chuckie apart. Luckily, Tommy is able to distract the dog with a stick before Chuckie gets hurt. Still, that does not negate the fact that we just watched a baby nearly get mauled by the neighbor’s dog!
Then you have the sudden, and rather horrific transformations of Tommy and Stu’s faces. These transformations, being so quick and random, reminds me a lot of Large Marge from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. For those of you who don’t know – Large Marge was a truck driver that Pee Wee Herman hitches a ride with while looking for his stolen bike. She tells Pee Wee about a terrible accident of which she was a witness too. When she describes the dead person’s face, her own suddenly twists and contorts; much to the shock of Pee Wee and the audience.
Clown-Face Stu and Clown-Face Tommy follow the same idea. Both keeping their faces normal, or hidden, before the big reveal. Combine that with their suddenly squeaky and high-pitched voices (‘When I Talked. Like. THIS!”) and you got yourself one memorable episode.
And memorable it is. In the Dreamtime is one of the most talked about and referenced episodes of the Rugrats. People, to this day, still consider In the Dreamtime to be one of their earliest experiences of ‘nightmare fuel’ with many fans still considering it to be one of the creepiest episodes of this long-running franchise.
And I agree.
At the time of this post, In the Dreamtime is currently available to stream on Paramount +.
What is “Unexpected Horror”? To me, it is when a piece of non-horror media suddenly introduces something scary or unsettling. Examples of this could include a frightening image, an intense moment, or a complete tonal shift.
When I think of unexpected horror, I think of 80s classic Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. There are two scenes where the tone shifts from comedic to terrifying.
The first is when Pee-Wee loses his bike. While unconscious, Pee-Wee has a terrible nightmare about his stolen bike. In this nightmare Pee-Wee sees a trio of creepy clown doctors wheeling his bike into a hospital operating room. He watches in horror as the lead surgeon begins to “operate” on his bike (by operate I mean dismantle). The surgeon removes his mask to reveal that his face has been painted with a wide, devilish smile. The makeup may not be as detailed as the other clowns’ but I think that was the point. Before removing the mask, he looked normal. After removing it, we see he is just as fiendish as the other clowns in the room.
The other is a scene is probably the most infamous. Pee-Wee is hitch-hiking along a desert road when he is picked up by a strange woman named Large Marge (played by Alice Nunn). She tells him the story of a car accident that she had witnessed on night. In the middle of the story, she says:
“And when they finally pulled the driver’s body from the twisted, burning wreck. It looked like THIS!”
She then turns towards Pee-Wee, her face twisting and contorting into this claymated mass of nightmare fuel. Her cheeks sink in, her eyes bulge out of her skull, and her mouth stretches out to inhuman proportions. It lasts just under three seconds, but it left a lasting impact in my mind.
Another example of Unexpected Horror would be the tunnel scene from Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. A scene that does not exist in the source material; added for the sole purpose of disturbing the audience. And it works. To this day, decades later, the tunnel scene is still talked about as one of the scariest scenes in a kid’s movie.
I always found it funny that the primary source for Unexpected Horror seems to come from children’s animated movies. And what better example of than the 1981 animated film “The Fantastic Adventures of Unico”.
The Story of a Unicorn and his Devil
Unico was a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was about a cute little baby unicorn aptly named Unico who is banished from his homeland by pantheon of jealous gods. They order the loving and gentle West Wind to take Unico to the Hill of Oblivion where he will live the rest of his life alone. However, the West Wind finds that she cannot comply with the gods’ orders. She instead secrets Unico away to a desolate island in hopes that he will be able to find friends and live a happy life.
The island is nothing more than a series of jagged cliffs, dark caves, and desolate wastelands. He soon comes across a crumbling castle where he discovers a giant demonic statue. The statue claims to be the Demon of Solitude and threatens to destroy Unico least he leaves the castle. Unico, desperate for a friend, refuses. The resulting chaos causes a pillar to crumble and collapse upon the statue, destroying it. From the rubble we discover a much smaller demon – Beezle – who is upset with Unico for destroying his father.
There was just something unsettling about this scene that I did not understand as a kid. They never really go into detail about whether the statue was alive or not. On one hand it makes sense for Beezle to use the statue as a way of scaring people but on the other hand, he seemed legitimately upset at the statue’s destruction.
However, as I watched the movie in preparation for this blog, I realized that the statue had to be alive. For you see, there is a scene where Beezle tries to shoot lightning at Unico only for his magic to fizzle out. Furthermore, the voice of the statue and Beezle’s voice don’t match. What I think happened is that Beezle was born the moment the statue was destroyed. Him coming out of the statue is the demon equivalent of being hatched from an egg. That could be the reason I found this scene so eerie. Our hero accidentally killed someone! How insane is that?
Afterwards, Unico convinces Beezle to be his friend. Beezle concedes but on one condition. He wants Unico’s horn. Unico reluctantly agrees under the condition that Beezle returns the horn after 24 hours. Beezle accepts the terms and yanks the horn off Unico’s head before attaching it to his own. He then goes on a rampage – using his new horn to tear the castle apary. During this, he ends up knocking Unico off a cliff and into the stormy seas below.
What follows next is probably the first example of unexpected horror. We watch as Unico begs for Beezle to help him. But Beezle does not know what help means and admits that even if he did, he would not bother rescuing Unico because that is “Not what Devil’s do.” He then proceeds to go back into the castle leaving our protagonist to drown.
We watch in horror as Unico struggles to stay above the water. Meanwhile, Beezle contemplates if he should bother rescuing the baby unicorn. The seconds tick by as Beezle argues with himself – bouncing back and forth between acting like a proper demon and “keeping his promise” by returning Unico’s horn. He finally decides to do the right thing and rescues Unico. He gives Unico back his horn, allowing Unico to use his powers to bring them both ashore. Unico then rewards Beezle’s kindness by giving Beezle a horn of his very own.
Unfortunately, Beezle’s happiness gets the attention of the gods who send the Night Wind after Unico. The West Wind manages to get to Unico in time and takes him away before he has a chance to tell Beezle goodbye. We then get a rather heart-wrenching scene as Beezle expresses genuine sorrow at losing his only friend. I always liked this scene as it shows Beezle’s growth from selfish little brat to someone who truly values Unico’s friendship.
The first act is cute. Beezle is a fun little gremlin, and his chaotic energy is a wonderful foil to Unico’s constant upbeat attitude. There are a few dark moments sprinkled in. Unico nearly drowning and the destruction of Beezle’s father can be disturbing to younger audiences. That said, the rest of the first act is rather light-hearted.
For you see, it is just a trick to lure you into a false sense of security. It is all downhill from here.
A cat, a witch, and a Demon Prince.
After leaving Beezle’s Island, the West Wind drops Unico off in a beautiful forest. It is here where he meets Katy, a black and white kitten with a red bow. She explains to Unico that she wants nothing more than to become a witch and will do anything in order to achieve her dream.
They soon discover a lonely old woman who lives in the woods whom Katy immediately thinks is a witch. To help Katy out, Unico uses his magic to transform her into a young human girl. Of course Katy thinks that the transformation came from the old woman thus cementing her opinion that she is, in fact, a witch.
When Unico tries to explain the situation, Katy’s stubbornness and selfishness takes over. As a result, Unico reverses the spell, turning Katy back into a kitten. This results in Katy finally accepting that the old woman is just that; an old woman. Despite being heartbroken, Katy decides to stick it out and stay with the old woman. She even goes as far as to help her with her laundry. But when the woman slips and ends up falling into the river, Katy does not even hesitate in jumping in after her.
Moved by this act of selflessness, Unico quickly transforms Katy back into a human girl. Katy then manages to save the old woman by dragging her out of the river. Proud of Katy’s development, Unico decides that she can remain in her human form.
Did you enjoy that little heart-felt, wholesome story about a baby unicorn, a cat, and an old woman? Well I hope you did because this is where the movie takes a turn for the dark and twisted.
Shortly after rescuing the old woman, Katy comes across the Prince of the Forest. He is a sinister looking man who immediately notices her naivety. He invites Katy to a party at his castle and makes it very clear that he won’t be taking no for an answer. Completely smitten by the Prince, Katy agrees.
That night the prince gallops through the forest, using his magic to corrupt the woodland critters. This causes them to turn against one another – biting and clawing any animal unlucky enough to avoid the curse.
The next evening Katy sneaks into the woods and finds some delicious berries on a nearby bush. By eating the berries (which had been corrupted by the prince’s magic), Katy falls into a drunken stupor. The trees and vines maneuver Katy through the woods, bringing her to the prince’s castle. Immediately upon seeing her, the prince begins to seduce and manipulate the young Katy into being his slave.
Unico, sensing something is wrong, ventures into the woods to find Katy. Along the way, he discovers the extent of the Prince’s corruption. The forest has been transformed into a death trap; filled with slithering thorny vines and possessed trees equipped with sharp, jagged branches meant to rip Unico apart. Luckily, he is able to escape and find his way into the castle.
Meanwhile, the prince continues to manipulate Katy – providing her with wine and drugs until she passes out. He brings her to a bedchamber with the intentions of keeping her for all eternity. Luckily, Unico finds and rescues Kary by digging a tunnel through the castle’s walls.
The escape attempt does not go unnoticed. When Unico exits his tunnel, he discovers that the prince is there waiting for him. He attacks but soon realizes that there is more to Unico than he had originally thought. As such, the prince resorts to using his dark magic to render Unico unconscious. He then takes Katy back to his castle where he chains her up on one of the castle’s many spiked towers.
So, at this point in the movie we’ve seen:
The destruction of a father figure
The near-drowning of a baby Unicorn and baby Devil
A demonic prince using his magic to corrupt the innocent animals of a nearby forest
The use of drugs and alcohol on an young girl
The kidnapping, seduction, and manipulation of a young girl by an older character
It couldn’t possibly get any worse, could it?
Yes. Yes it can.
Unico decides to go on the offensive. He grows a pair of little baby unicorn wings and lunges at the prince, slicing completely through the prince’s shoulder. Taken by surprise, the prince falls off the roof of his castle. Now if this were a Disney movie, that would be the end of the prince. He would fall off the roof much like Gaston did in Beauty and the Beast and that would be that. But this is Unico. This movie wants to traumatize you.
He doesn’t just fall off the roof. He ends up getting impaled by one of the many spires upon the castle’s roof. And if that was not enough; the movie zooms in upon his corpse. The prince looks into the camera as his body begins to rot and mutate. The landscape begins to shake, the castle begins to collapse. The ground explodes as lava erupts from the earth. The trees transform into monsterous wooden dragons and blood-red bats erupt from darkness.
As for the prince? He transforms into a gigantic demon that all but reminds me of Disney’s Chernabog. Using his unholy power, he confronts Unico and his friends, sending all sorts of horrible minions after them.
But Unico is no slouch! Using his baby wings and his little horn, he begins impaling himself upon the creatures summoned by the prince. After reaching the safety of a cliffside, Unico realizes that he must put an end to the prince once and for all.
Now what I am about to write is in no way an exaggeration. This is exactly what happens in this children’s movie.
Unico attacks the prince. He flies as fast as his little wings can carry him but the prince is just too powerful. With a swing of his mighty axe, the prince lops off Unico’s horn; smashing the little critter into the earth. Katy and Beezle (of whom the West Wind had brought) rush over to Unico’s side. Tears flowing from their eyes, they both proclaim their love and friendship upon the dying unicorn.
The power of love resurrects Unico, transforming him into a full-grown Alicorn.
Unico then flies up to meet not-Chernabog. He avoids the prince’s attacks before PLUNGING HIMSELF INTO THE PRINCE’S BODY.
I need you to read that again. In this movie made for kids, our main character literally stabs the villain in the chest then GALLOPS AT FULL SPEED THROUGH THE PRINCE’S BODY. He erupts out of the prince’s back; killing him instantly.
With the prince dead, the forest returns to normal, as does Unico – reverting back to his original young self. Unfortunately, his actions have not gone unnoticed. As Beezle and Katy check up on the old woman, the West Wind returns to take Unico away before the Night Wind shows up.
And that is how the movie ends. Unico soaring off into the distance; forced to leave his friends behind one more. There is no happy ending for our little protagonist. No post-credits scene showing Katy and Beezle looking for Unico or a hopeful little stinger that promises the audience that Unico will come back.
Nothing.
What is it about old children’s movies and sad endings?
But I digress.
The Fantastic Adventures of Unico was my introduction to genre-changing kids movies. It starts off as a light-hearted adventure movie only to transform into a scary dark fantasy film. The prince, his minions, the methods in which he manipulates and seduces Katy; these are all scenes that have been etched within my mind. Like Large Marge, like Willy Wonka’s Tunnel; the second half of this movie is a sudden and unexpected dive into the horror genre. Our bright and colorful world transforms into something dark and terrible. But never too dark to the point where kids cannot enjoy the movie. Just dark enough to keep audiences on the edge of the seat.
You can find The Fantastic Adventures of Unico on Youtube. It is also out on DVD if you know where to look and occasionally up on streaming sites like Tubitv.com. If you have a chance to watch this movie, I recommend it. I highly doubt that this entertaining albeit creepy movie will disappoint you. Thank you very much for joining us today. If you have seen The Fantastic Adventures of Unico or its sequel, Unico and the Island of Magic, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I don’t mean to come across as the crotchety old man waving his cane while proclaiming how much better things were back in his day. But there were some things that were objectively better when I was younger. The most obvious being the beauty of VHS cover art.
I cannot tell you how many times a movie, especially a horror movie, caught my eye because of its cover art. Hell. I distinctly remember sneaking over to the horror section of my BlockBuster Video just so I could check out all the creepy imagery on display. It was fun. As a kid, I was not allowed to watch scary movies. So looking at VHS covers was the closest thing I could get to watching the movie.
Now you see, there were 2 kinds of cover art. You had ones that used live-action photographs of the main characters. And you had ones that had hand-painted artwork. The live-action ones were still pretty cool. I remember Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child’s VHS cover. It was simple but effective.
This VHS cover had a blue background with Freddy Kruger kneeling over a gothic, bone-like stroller. He was holding one claw up to his lips to hush the audience. And while his expression wasn’t scary, the stroller sure as hell was! It looked to be a combination of bone and blackened flesh. It always stood out to me.
The other movie that stood out was Hellraiser. Again, a simple design but I found it to be quite menacing nevertheless. Pinhead was standing in the center of the image. He was holding a partially solved Puzzle box and it looked like he was offering it to you.
But what struck me as scary about this VHS cover was his expression. Freddy usually had some kind of smart-ass expression on his face whereas Chucky would be laughing maniacally. Pinhead, on the other hand, looked PISSED. His lips curling back in a quiet snarl. His eyes narrowed and filled with rage. The hooked chains in the background dangling with deadly intent; this was a VHS cover that stuck with me all throughout my childhood.
On the other side of the coin you had the artistic cover art. These were painted images meant to capture the spirit of the movie.
The movie that springs to my mind every time I talk about cover art is the 1985 horror comedy HOUSE. The VHS cover was absolutely terrifying for a young me. It showed a severed hand ringing a house’s doorbell. It was super detailed – with the veins and muscles showing. You could see the bones in between the rotted out sections of flesh and beneath it were the words “DING DONG, YOU’RE DEAD.”
Another cover that I enjoyed was Chopping Mall. A simple design but so much fun to look at. It shows a robotic claw clutching hold of a red shopping bag. Through the several rips and tears of the bag we can see various body parts sticking out. Eyes, fingers, an ear; even a screaming face. Like the Dream Child VHS cover, this was simple and effective. It you everything you needed to know about the movie. It was a horror film that takes place in a shopping mall.
What was fun about these artistic designs, however, was that they rarely involved a scene from the movie itself. There is no shopping bag full of body parts in Chopping Mall. In fact, the robots that movie don’t have hands to begin with. House, also, does not include a floating severed hand that rings the doorbell.
Dead Alive does not have a woman peeling off her face to expose a skull beneath. Wax Works does not have a little person opening a door to a melted mass of horrible faces. And Evil Dead does not have a woman being dragged underground by a zombie hand.
But you know what? It didn’t matter if the art matched a scene from the movie. It was still very eye-catching and fun to look at.
Unfortunately, as time went on, VHS and subsequently DVD cover art began to change. They focused less on the showing the concept of the movie and more on the actors who star in the movie. You can see this a lot in the late 90s to early 2000s. Cover art changed thanks to the reemergence of the slasher genre. Live action photos of the main cast posing in front of the killer became the norm. This style would, sadly, replace the hand-drawn or stylized live-action posters of the 90s.
Scream, I Know what you Did Last Summer, Soul Survivors, The Faculty, Final Destination, The Curve – the list goes on and on. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. We still have some fantastic stylized cover art but it’s not like it used to be.
I understand that it costs more money to produce something unique and special for your DVD cover but there was just something special about the way cover art used to be. Luckily there exist websites that work to preserve this art. Websites like Critical Condition that provide an extensive list of obscure movies (and not just from the horror genre). They include reviews, cover art and variants, and brief histories on the movies. The Internet Archive has their own archive of cover art – again not just limited to horror movies. I highly recommend checking them both out if you are a fan.
So tell me. What is your favorite horror cover art? Which movies stood out for you the most? Let us know in the comments!
