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We're in the homestretch of House of Leaves Week, so today's post is gonna bring it on back and old school with a classically sleeper hit of a game.
Sweet Home kicks off Capcom's suvival horror genre before it was even called survival horror, back in the sweet simple days of the NES/Famicom, circa 1989. Yes, we're talking THAT old school, baby. Sweet Home, however, is not just any survival horror game; its the first (and probably only) survival horror RPG. With turn based battles, and dungeons galore, Sweet Home is every bit as unique and challenging RPG as you can find emulated for the NES (next to, of course, Mother 1).
In addition, you'll find this game has also another unsung honor, which is the most faithful movie adaptation of a video game. HERESY, you may cry, yet its true! It also helps that the movie and the game were in almost simultaneous sync in development, side by side. Nonetheless, with the closest faithful movie adaptation being the excellent if sometimes slightly deviated Silent Hill, Sweet Home's honors are well-earned.
And seriously, if you like vintage horror, it doesn't get much more fun than vintage J-horror, I always say.
SWEET HOME. 8D The game was never released in America for prolly obvious reasons. Just cuz the game's on 8-bits of Famicom goodness doesn't mean you can't get some unsettling visuals. How unsettling?
Preeeeeety unsettling for those of you who grew up with happy clouds, candy-colored blocks, and plump plumbers hopping off goombas to rescue 8-bit princesses. Admittedly, its not that bad, when you compare them to Pyramid Head or Alma, but you gotta remember: its 1989. Its an NES. Color pixels shouldn't be depiecting blood, zombies and mutated ghost freaks.
Unless you're playing Monster Party, that is >D
So what IS Sweet Home about? In a remote mansion in the middle of bumflip nowhere, the reclusive painter Ichirou Mamiya painted some frescos on the walls of his home. A team of reporters comes to the house to film a story on said paintings. You're not given too much info on each of your characters (especially if you've emulated the game and have no manual), only that they've all of course fallen head first into a trip through hell, courtesy of the Mamiya family, in particular Lady Mamiya, whom is assumedly keeping you all hostage inside her house of horrors.
Lady Mamiya, the premier spirit of the household, is a powerful and frightening apparition. According to notes you'll find in the mansion, she accidently dropped her baby into the home's furnace, and in her shock and grief, she not only sustained horrific burns all over herself trying to save the child, but it drove her into madness, eventually causing her to take her remaining children and toss them into the furnace so that her first child would not be lonely. She's more like a proactive and uber-scary version of La Llorona, only instead of stalking waterways or train tracks, she's trying to kill YOU. And already we're knee deep into the horror that is Sweet Home.
The Good, the Bad, and the Permanently Dead
This is where Sweet Home really shows off its uniqueness as both a survival horror AND an RPG. In an RPG, if a character dies, well, its not the complete end of the world (unless that was the point; I'm looking at YOU, General Leo, Aerith, the rest of you); you grab your item for reviving the dead and you're back in action, right?
Not in Sweet Home. See, if one of your 5 companions dies while in the mansion, that's it. Its not a game over, since that would make this game stupid redonkulous hard, but you're not getting them back. In a weird sort of way, its a lot like Animal Crossing: what happens, happens for good, just as it does in real life. Sure, you can go back to your last save point, but the fact remains that if you let Emi die, you're not gonna see her back among the living when you continue. This feature of permanent death in an RPG is unprecidented, and has not been repeated if at all nowadays.
Permanent death does in fact figure into the game later, where your ending will vary slightly depending on how many people have died. Its best for all 5 to make it, but the game is less than forgiving, and unless you are careful, you may end up struggling at the end of the game if you've let Mamiya's mansion pick off your teammates (beating the game isn't impossible single-handedly, but its definenetly NOT recommended).
Tool Time!
Bearing in mind the permanent death feature, the game does also add on another surprisingly unique and unusual game mechanic: the Tools. Each character is armed with a specific tool that allows them to perform certain required functions to move through the house and solve the mystery. These tools are utterly necessary for progressing through the mansion, and without them, you would be hopelessly lost and eventually DED.
For example, Kazuo, your leader character of sorts and the head of the documentary, has a Lighter. This lighter is used for burning down rope obstructions that block your way. Emi, the youngest and lightest, carries a Key, which unlocks pretty much every door excepting special ones or broken ones. Taro (Taguchi in the film and officially; the name system in the game is sadly very limited and short), the cameraman, carries the Camera, which is required for photographing Ichiro's frescos for clues. Asuka carries a vacuum, which is required to clean the frescos before they can be photographed, and Akiko, probably one of the most important characters in the game, is a nurse who carries a First Aid Kit, that heals ailments from battle.
Each of these Tools can additionally be of service during battle; Kazuo and Taro can both harm enemies using their Tools, and Akiko can heal with her Kit. But, if you recal the danger in the game, what happens when someone ends up dying, such as Emi or Asuka? In the unfortunate event that someone bites it hard, your progress can be aided by items that fulfill the same skill your late teammate used to perform. Kzauo's replacement item would be Matches; Taro's, another Camera; Akiko's First Aid Kit, Pills; Emi's Key, Wire (presumably of the lock picking variety); and Asuka's Vacuum, the Broom (which also cleans broken glass blocking your way, like her vacuum does). As such, while your progress may become impeded through the loss of a character, it will never be fully prevented, since you can find ways of getting around it by finding replacement items.
It's a no brainer to say that keeping your characters from dying is a far better tactic to getting out of the mansion alive.
This system is not unlike other games where your characters would have innate skillsets that allow for progress, or are handy skillsets for battle (think of Final Fantasy's job class system for example). In Sweet Home's case, however, they bear much more weight to staying alive and completing the game, adding a sort of unique believability to what would otherwise be another RPG.
The House of Residing Evil
Another unusual fact about this title is its legacy. A Capcom game itself, Sweet Home is often mentioned as the Great-Grandaddy of Capcom's genre definition of Survival Horror. Besides the Atari game Haunted House on the Artari 2600, Sweet Home takes home an extra distinction of being one of the firsts, especially for Capcom, who would later bring us the quintessential survival horror Resident Evil. Its been credited for lending the name to Biohazard's western name (the Mamiya mansion is stated as being "the house of residing evil"), as well as introducing familiar aspects that RE fans might remember, such as severely limited item storage space, puzzle rooms that often must be returned to later in the game, and the infamous loading door animation, albiet in 8-bit glory:
It is no stretch to say that without Sweet Home, there would be a different Resident Evil out there (though some may argue that by now, there already IS).
I'm Ready for My Close Up
As mentioned, Sweet Home's movie tie in was startlingly accurate to the game, right down to the contention of the Chick/Egg theory: which came first. Their side-by-side development along with the similar if not accurate actor to sprite designs seems to suggest simultaneous production (the commercial, according to Wiki, features both scenes from the movie and clips of the game, becoming an advert for both).
The movie inserts character development you don't exactly get in the game, and while its not totally required that one view the film (its almost sadly impossible to find now) to enjoy the game, but being familiar with both adds to the experience and an extra layer of concern for each character (now would be the time to start the fanfics for Kazuo x Akiko). Asuka is an art restorer in the film, which makes the fact that she carries a vacuum a little more believable. Emi is Kazuo's daughter, who seems to be slowly taken possession of by Mamiya's influence through the film, a common j-horror trope of children and yurei.
If you're REALLY itching to get a taste of the film, however, and can't seem to find it, File Cabinet did a scene by scene review and recap of it, fortified by a unique brand of humor (though he leaves out and/or misses certain facts; for instance, the painter head of the family is referred to as Ichiro Mamiya, but the wife is only referred to as Lady Mamiya, because opresumably she would have been referred to as Mamiya-sama/san). In any case, the recap is highly recommended, especially for those of us who can't locate the film. ;.;
Additionally, the actors look startlingly like their game sprite counterparts:
...excepting Lady Mamiya, which is understandably difficult. Also of note that when i did the illustrations for the post, I stuck with the in-game sprites (but gave Kazuo back his glasses as he has in the film).
Then again, I was working mostly with THESE sprites:
I do great work, don't I? 8D
All in all, Sweet Home, while difficult, is still a rewarding, if challenging, and sometimes creepy, experience. It presents unique and obscure features, as well as a classic take on j-horror. Its the predecessor to many games that will come after it, from Resident Evil, to Silent Hill, to even other wildcard hybrids like Parasite Eve. If I had to recommend a horror game that will keep you busy for awhile, Sweet Home would be it. HIGHLY recommended.
And so ends House of Leaves Week. I hope you all had an entertaining romp through different houses and rooms, all with no commercial interruption! 8D I'll see you guys at the end of the 5 1/2 Minute Hallway.
--Dio (10/17/10)
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