Haunted landor memory loss in Japan, is a survival horror game released in 2005 to mixed reviews. Criticism has leveled in repetitive gameplay, but many people praise it disturbed atmosphere which Capcom created through the reluctant opposition of the game’s main character Fiona. This is a game that would be interesting to look at through a more modern lens, considering the strides we’ve made in the realm of equality and feminism since the game’s launch. Except… well, it’s pretty hard for modern players to get their hands on this.
Editor’s note: There will be spoilers Haunted land below.
Haunted land follows Fiona, a college-aged woman who is in the backseat of her parents’ car when they get into an accident and crash. While Fiona’s parents passed away, she survived. When she next woke up, she found herself in an unlocked cage in the dungeon of a mysterious castle. She manages to escape and befriends a dog named Hewie, but the rest of the people in the castle are not as friendly. Throughout the game, Fiona is followed, chased, harassed, and violated by a group of people pursuing her for unknown reasons. Her only forms of defense are Hewie, her boots (made for kicking), and alchemical mines.
What immediately stood out to me with Haunted land and the reason I was curious about it in the first place is because your relationship with Hewie is a very important part of the game. I love dogs and have always had a passion for horror. So I want to give it Haunted land one try. My friend rented the game and we played it together. Since my scary feline friend is the one in control, we don’t really get through much. But its unique gameplay and atmosphere, as well as its intriguing plot setup, interested me, and I bought my own copy to play on my own time.
Back then, my exposure to horror games was like Demons reside. Yes, it’s scary, but you have a reliable weapon to protect yourself and you can permanently destroy enemies in the game. IN Haunted landYou don’t have to deal with random zombies or things that you can eliminate. Instead, you have to deal with stalkers in each level that are chasing you around. Since you can only eliminate them during their respective boss battles, the rest of the time involves you evading them or using designated pieces to temporarily put them out of action. They also seem to wander off-screen so their appearances are unscripted, adding to the tension. If that sounds like it Clock tower game for you then you are right! Fans often consider this game a spiritual successor to that series.
In addition to focusing more on survival horror and the fact that you have a cute little dog that retrieves items and fights enemies for you, Haunted land is really interesting to me because of its theme and what it does to scare the player. If you look at Fiona, you’ll probably notice something about her design. She’s almost ridiculously hot and the developers know it. At one point in the game, Fiona walks around wearing nothing but a bed sheet. I vaguely remember there were sway physics for her as well. The outfits you can unlock throughout the game are only meant to highlight her various assets.
Female characters have always had a special place in the horror genre. Stories usually take place from one person’s perspective and have several aspects of sexualized in their torture or death. the final girl is a complete horror story in which the most “moral” person of the group is the one who survives the horror that befalls the main characters. Meanwhile, the more promiscuous “bad girl” is the regular one die first. Some moral twisting going on behind the scenes? Likely. The relationship between the various subgenres of horror and gender is a really interesting topic with a lot of history to learn, but that’s a topic for another day and another outlet. Today, let’s focus specifically on the topic Haunted land is there in the story and its general atmosphere.
The driving force behind the plot is that Fiona contains Azoth—a popular alchemical remedy and something similar to the Philosopher’s Stone—inside her body. The people in the castle kidnapped and pursued her specifically to use or obtain that Azoth. For example, if Daniella catches you and you end the game, Daniella will probably rip out Fiona’s uterus to get the game. One of Fiona’s followers impregnated her to a bad end so that he could be reincarnated as her child and achieve immortality through Azoth. Even at the beginning of the game, before anything actually happens, there are numerous scenes of someone staring at Fiona through observation holes throughout the castle. It reminds us of curiosity, especially when it comes to Fiona very vulnerable during these sequences.
Now, voyeurism and stalking are both fears that anyone can have. They are scary and violating in a different way than someone mugging you downtown. Same with rape. But forced pregnancy is the endemic fear of those capable of bearing children, and it’s the real horror that dominates the game’s second half. Debilitas aside, there is an underlying tendency towards violence and sexual violation in all the villains. Daniella drugged Fiona and then moved her hands suggestively down her unconscious body before she pressed down firmly on her lower abdomen. I’ll do Daniella a favor here; perhaps her cooking is so disgusting that it looks like she drugged Fiona.
Women-centric horror is not new, just like women’s sexual orientation is not new. Maybe having female characters rely on their wits and resourcefulness to escape would be more interesting than watching male characters try to use force. Or perhaps it’s easier and more believable to write vulnerable female characters, which makes the villain more threatening and the stakes higher. Whatever the case, Capcom didn’t invent the concept of placing women in scary situations and forcing audiences to experience the horror through their eyes. However, from my experience, Haunted land is the game that focuses the most on women’s unique fears and anxieties while still being a game for a general audience.
I can’t say for sure because I’m not someone who is attracted to women, but I’ve never been. Haunted land it feels like it’s playing any of the above scenes—groping, voyeurism, impregnation—for some titillating reason. It plays horror very clearly, even if Fiona looks like the dictionary definition of Little Miss Fanservice the entire time. So to me, it’s quite interesting that the game turns these gender-specific anxieties into something that even scares players who might not have to worry about them in real life.
While I don’t believe the game is feminist by any definition, I like that Fiona’s kindness is her greatest asset. There’s something to be said about her relying so heavily on a dog in a game that is decidedly against her. But the reality is that she even is Have a dog because she took the time to help Hewie despite her terrible condition. You will get the best ending by choosing to extend mercy to Debilitas, the only “innocent” stalker in that he did not try to kill Fiona out of malice. Heck, even the title of his chase theme (“Innocent Freak”) alludes to this. Kindness, a “feminine” trait, is not Fiona’s weakness. If she hadn’t been kind to those around her she wouldn’t have survived and it’s satisfying to see the subtle character development she goes through after all her trials.
It would certainly be interesting if Capcom chose to do a remake Haunted land and “update” the plot to suit modern sensibilities, but considering how few people get to experience the original story these days, that probably wouldn’t go over well. In 2024, there’s really no way to officially play this game unless you have a PS3. The game itself is also notoriously difficult to find. Because of its rarity, I have seen used copies sell for anywhere from $178 to $899.95 Canadian. That’s really crazy, especially when you consider the fact that we’re talking about a used copy. No one in their right mind would pay that price for one new game, let alone one from 2005.
Okay, so physical copies will no longer exist unless someone can invent a time machine. Let’s take a look at the digital storefront. PS3? Nada. However it To be available if you have one Japanese account. PS4? No, although I have seen that Tokyo Forest is clearly an option for those with PS Plus. Damn, September 2024 Stephanie should have done that look at that. But the real Holy Grail I was looking for—Haunted land—can’t be found anywhere. My princess is in another castle and I don’t believe I’ll find her in the shops anytime soon.
Game preservation is an issue that has been around for a while, especially as copies of classic titles become increasingly scarce. Another PS2 game that may share fandom with Haunted land What is psychological horror and dog companionship Commission rules. That game is like Haunted landThere has never been a remake or remaster. There’s also no gate. So you must have a physical PS2 copy to officially play. IN September 2024Unsealed and unsold Italian copies of the game were discovered, which severely reduced the price of the game online. But before that, some sellers offered to sell at exorbitant prices. A Redditor in 2023 shows that you can get Commission rules at a healthy and reasonable price of 1,001 USD.
Used to be Commission rules Good? It’s unique and has a good story but is quite boring to play. Used to be Haunted land Good? I mean, yeah, I think so, but some people don’t. But the subjective quality of art should not influence whether it is preserved or not. Considering that games and movies can be lost despite existing in cyberspace, I understand that even digital media cannot avoid mistakes. But companies Maybe conserve Really old game if they want to, and I absolutely believe that the files are for Haunted land exists somewhere in Capcom’s vault. Even if it doesn’t, keep going. They re-released it for Japan’s PSN. Is it really too much to ask that regions outside of Japan also get it?
In the years since then Haunted land At launch, there really hadn’t been a horror game where you had to rely almost entirely on an AI-controlled animal to progress. Things like The Last Guardian exist, but they are not horror games. Maybe it’s because of how demanding and annoying the mechanics can be. I remember losing Hewie on the field stopped me from continuing the game at one point. However, between the unique gameplay mechanics and disturbing story, I really hope that one day, Haunted land will be available to the public again.
Haunted land available on PS3, as well as on PSN if you’re in Japan.
