Comments on: Siren: Blood Curse! Or, how to make your game appeal to an American audience

By: librarian

librarian — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:53:19 +0000

I… OK!

I’d thought Siren 2 was a Japan-only sequel (and, uh, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any ‘articles’ here), but apparently it was an “only not North America” sequel.

edit: Sorry to close down the comments, but this entry was inexplicably the one that had started getting hit by tons of spambot attempts. If you’d like to continue the conversation, hit one of the more recent survival horror links under “see also.”

By: stevie

stevie — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:08:10 +0000

Whoever wrote this article didn’t they do the research properly? Siren 2 was released in the UK under the name of Forbidden Siren 2.

By: arne

arne — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:36:21 +0000

I don’t think it makes a difference. Based on the gaf thread is seems that both the Japanese and Asia versions have full localization in either language (Eng and JP)—all the way up to the menu/instruction text.

By: librarian

librarian — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:45:12 +0000

See, that’s the thing. I don’t quite understand what the difference between the Japan and Asia versions is. I’d settled on the Japanese version, but I can’t remember just what my logic was, exactly.

By: arne

arne — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:54:07 +0000

Totally makes sense. I agree it would be nice if iTunes had a PDF (or their interactive booklet) for every album. I just picked up the free version of the new NIN album and he even threw in a PDF in there of the booklet—no reason why others can’t follow suit.

So, Siren: New Translation Asia or JP ver?

By: librarian

librarian — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:08:43 +0000

Arne – That’s about the size of it. I am all in favor of digital distribution, but don’t tell on me: I always like to pay a little extra to also get the game on disc whenever possible.

Sharkey has boxed copies of all the Introversion games. I am so jealous. And Darren Gladstone has a hilarious DEFCON “what to do during war” pamphlet, I think. My point is, I think iTunes should always provide a .pdf with liner notes.

By: arne

arne — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:52:20 +0000

Excellent write-up. The demo actually sold me on it, both from the type of gameplay, my lack of prior knowledge of the Siren series on PS2 and from the detail such as the film grain to further the feel of a J-horror experience.

One question though—what is the impetus behind considering the JP import over the US version? On disc vs. a digital copy?

By: Kevin Bunch

Kevin Bunch — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:43:07 +0000

Hmm, I have never heard of this game! It sounds fascinating, though. I know many folk who’ve had those sorts of nightmares, myself included, where you’re trapped, trying to escape some otherworldly mass like demons, goblins, zombies, or robots that are hunting you. Would I be correct in assuming that’s what the gameplay is like?

I’ll have to try it out whenever I shell out for a PS3.

If you have a fascination with Japanese mythological demons and evil spirits, I recommend checking out the anime series Mononoke. Adding in the three episodes of its preceding story arc from the show Ayakashi, it’s barely 15 episodes long, but it focuses on a Medicine Seller hunting Mononoke in Edo era Japan. But he can’t just destroy them outright – first he must know what they are, why they exist, and what they want. Incredible show with incredible art direction.

By: whyphilosophy

whyphilosophy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:03:05 +0000

From playing the demo, the controls are definitely a lot easier. However, the camera is a bit weird, in that most of the time it’s hard to see around your character. You can rotate the camera view slightly with the right analog stick, but once you let go of it, it snaps back to the center. It bothers me, but I wonder if this is something they implemented in order to make you feel claustrophobic, and thus heightening the frighten factor. In any case, the demo already feels a lot more accessible than it’s older PS2 sibling. Can’t wait to get the actual episodes!!