So much time and energy went into making this and nobody played it, the company went bankrupt, and dreams were dashed. Thank you for bringing this gem, apparently ahead of its time, to our attention.
I feel pretty bad for Tokuro Fujiwara because the same thing happened when he made Tomba 1 and 2. I hope his future endeavors work out better for him and he gets the recognition he deserves.
Me too. It hits that part of my brain that must know all the things. I'm like, "no, I don't know what that is...but now I want to and I'll burn anyone to the FUCKING ground if they try to get in my way..."
This is a prime example of why the ps2 is my favorite console it has a seemingly endless amount of interesting and inventive titles just brimming with creativity
@@GundamGokuTV also Dreamcast, Gamecube and Xbox, (and PC of course until 2005, games like Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of The Earth and Condemned were mindblowing, still are)
it nails the aesthetics with the hologram designs and it looks actually immersive and not cartoony and slow movement helps a lot and i like the fact that it explore the demons and ghosts not only from an '' enemy type '' form but also in a psychological way and also way of puzzling out the plot
I think your suggestion for a video on Japan's reactions to violence in video games and age ratings would be a really interesting rabbit hole to go down! I enjoy hearing about those kinds of cultural differences.
I distinctly remember, in a bizarre twist of fate, the Japanese version of No More Heroes was the worst one for censorship. Not only was the blood just black splatters, but all decapitations were totally gone. The big finishing swings where you just sliced enemies heads clean off were just a black splatter with no actual severed anything, it was insane lol.
@@TheDsRequiemwell, you're currently being out voted because I find this topic really interesting too. It would be fascinating to learn why Japan is so adverse to violence in media when a place like the US could care less...but my people freak out if you even DARE show a little bit of a BOOBIE! A penis? We collectively gouge our eyes out... Australia in particular is extremely, and I mean extremely, draconian for showing basically anything. Is it a thing? The Australian government doesn't want that thing in the media. Period. Grass? CENSORED. An umbrella? CENSORED. A face? TOTALLY FUCKING CENSORED! I wonder if Japan and Australia have some sort of cultural connection to their views on "problematic" content, and if so where it comes from. It'd be neat to see how Japan's censorship compares and contrasts to the other major markets. We can only benefit by learning about the medium we all love. Otherwise we're zombie consumers ripe for soulless companies to churn out low quality garbage art. We're already concerningly deep into that territory...
The "true" ending of this game reminds me of the "true" ending of The Stanley Parable. Sure, priorly pessimistic game, here's your dream ending youve always wanted where everything works out ok. The irony, of course, is the "best" ending of Ghosts is the hardest one while the "best" ending of The Stanley Parable is the easiest one.
Needless to say, this is a very interesting introduction to your subseries on Japan-only release games. I always found Buddhism (and its cultural diversity) to be so interesting as a Westerner. I just love learning about world religions overall, so hearing about this game was very exciting to me. Looking forward to what comes next! Thanks for bringing these older games back from the dead (pun only half-intended).
Man this game looks gorgous for a ps2 game. The character animations are great. It's a real shame this didn't get more attention and I hope a fan translation someday happens.
I absolutely ADORE the art in this game, especially the facial animations. They're so fluid and the style is just cartoony enough that they don't look like Gmod animations. Linda talking, the little girl, the grim reaper/shinigami character arching their brows?? The ghosts' jaws shaking back and forth? SO freaking cool. I'm already enamored by the low-poly chunks of the early PS2 but god these look so good I almost felt like they were made today and purposefully made retro, like a ton of the retro indie projects going on right now. Thank you so much for showing them off! ALSO TRANS RIGHTS WOO
Thank you for sharing this game. I love Fujiwara-san's philosophy of structuring the game so there is no "True" ending. I like that it's what you make of it and enjoying your own journey and experiences.
Very welcoming and intriguing first entry into your Japanese retspec subseries. Love the concept of a first person hellscape sim especially so early in the 2000s. The fact that its so tough to get a “good ending” that’s fairly anticlimactic makes this game that much more unique and cool to see how fujiwara and the team stayed true to their antithesis of what most other games lay out for gamers regarding handholding and endings. Overall very cool video tango and I can’t wait till the next in the your new niche subseries.
yoo thanks for covering this hidden gem! It's right up there with Baroque with setting in a very particular feeling and story through gameplay and art presentation that fits right in with stuff like Shin Megami Tensei, Silent Hill and even a few From Software titles. Thanks for your perspective and experiences with this piece, it was a real joy to see it being talked about in today's time!
tangomushi you are literally a god among youtubers. i'm a freshman majoring in art and i think i would've gone braindead if it weren't for your videos keeping me grounded. i genuinely adore the way you go through your analysis, explaining the story and then everything you enjoy about it in a very thoughtful and detailed way. i'm also VERY neurodivergent, so the fact that my attention has been kept for hours on end because of your videos is insane. i just finished watching your video on haunting ground and i'll probably check out your remothered video next. i hope you're having an amazing day
In the space of half an hour, I've gone from never having heard of this game to desperately needing to play it. This is so much up my alley, thank you for shining a light on it! Best of luck to the translation patch crew!
TW: mentions of suicidal ideation As a practicing Buddhist for over 4 years (I go to temple service every week and volunteer for my temple regularly), I can say, imo, that this game does seem to do a great job introducing Buddhist concepts to non-Buddhists in an accessible manner, especially when it comes to karma/free will, since, as you've mentioned, that's pretty much baked into the very fabric of the game. The whole "there is no one path to the best ending, it all depends on you" is very Buddhist, as well. People may not be aware of this, but there are many, MANY different schools of Buddhism, and they each practice a path to Nirvana in their own way. The Buddha himself said that there are 84,000 different ways to achieve Enlightenment. Oh, and the ever presence of death is a very common Buddhist thing, as well. Just this month one of our minister's Dharma talks (they're basically the equivalent of sermons in Christianity) talked about how we live with death constantly on our shoulder. I actually came to Buddhism in 2019 because I was struggling with things like depression, death, loneliness, and lack of meaning. I was constantly in and out of the hospital for suicidal ideation, something I'd been dealing with for four years at that point. The Buddhist concepts of impermanence and interdependence (basically "everything is impermanent and depends on everything else") really helped me deal a lot better with my struggles. Volunteering to usher at funerals also really showed me the importance and constant presence of death in our lives. So I'm glad this game made you more aware of a religion I hold so dear. Great video, as always. Love your stuff. Keep up the good work! ❤
Wow, this was beautifully written. I'm glad you found a space, as it were, that brings you comfort with the chaos that is human life. This is probably a dumb question, and I'm sure I could look it up, but are the "84,000 ways to Nirvana" supposed to be taken literally or figuratively? Is it basically saying there's essentially countless ways, or did the Buddha mean there are exactly eighty-four thousand ways?
I remember seeing a trailer for this game on a dvd that came with an issue of PSM2 probably over 20 years ago. I Remember it freak my probably 10 year old self out at the time but the trailer always stuck with me. Sometime in probably the mid 2010s I was reminded of the game and tried to find videos about it but there was very little, pretty much just that trailer and some gameplay videos which I couldn’t understand. Anyways I just want to thank you for your excellent dive into this game and helping shed light onto something I have been curious about for nearly 20 years.
So, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put together all of the awesome content on your channel. I’ve been binge-watching your stuff all day and the depth and granularity with which you examine and dissect all of these titles is absolutely captivating. Between highlighting lesser known titles like Haunting Ground and exploring the more philosophical or psychosocial aspects of more popular games, I really admire what you’re doing here. You’ve got my subscription and my admiration as a writer and content creator, absolutely. Keep em coming!
31:01 My perspective really changed when I watched a show called Dead Like Me. It was silly, but still had some serious moments that had a very interesting perspective/spin into a Grim Reaper’s life and work. Also Jenny-Jinya’s Loving Reaper webcomics. Those get me every time. 😭❤️
There are so many weird little Japanese games that I wish got localized in the states. They are often janky and require a dozen play throughs, but their uniqueness is just something else.
This looks awesome! Thanks for the upload and all your hardwork! I've been going through your catalog and you've got loads of great stuff. Always happy to see a new vid.
I'm so excited for this series, there are so many games that never left Japan that I have tried to find information on and struggled due to lack of archiving. This was a fantastic video.
The male character looks so much like Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings, lol. But I really appreciate these videos about games that never got translations or wide releases. It's so cool to see what we missed and what kinds of stories were out there. It does make me a little sad that we never got some of these super creative gems, especially right now as we're drowning in nostalgia-makes in so many forms of media (which is not an inherently bad thing, but it is exhausting after a certain point). Thanks for this!
another banger video! very excited to see more from this series, I'm so interested in seeing some more obscure games that never got localized, I'm glad you're covering them to expose people like me to work that would otherwise remain behind a language barrier. wonderful analysis, loved hearing you talk about the philosophy behind the game and how it approaches death from a place of respect, reverence, and fluidity, as well as hearing your take on the unique game design. in particular loved the way the endings function and how you discussed them from both a design and philosophical standpoint. thank you for introducing this game, will definitely be checking out the progress of the translation as it goes!
I always loved those Japanese guide books for games of that era. I have all of them for the Shenmue games and it's amazing how much extra stuff is in there that helps build the world or to see how much detail they thought about that doesn't necessarily even end up in the game. Also, nice Shenmue background music in the video. :)
Wishing you the best bud, get well soon. Btw if I might recommend a channel I personally find very cozy and comforting, I fully recommend Scruffy. If you're really into sound design stuff you'll get a lot out of his videos
This is one of those weird obscure horror games barely anyone knows about. Reminds me of Echo Night and The Void, which I could recommend for you to cover as well.
Great work as always Mango! Hungry Ghosts looks lovely and surreal, right up my alley! I'm seeing elements of Fatal Frame with the Spirit and Vitality system, Clock Tower 3 with the spirit interactions (the necklace) and Baroque with the combat and minimal story. Definitely one I'm going to check out once the fan translation is ready! Looking forward to the next Japanese release only video! Also the Shenmue track at 17:50 🔥
great vid like always!! i was sitting here thinking the whole time the fp perspective in the game was very kingsfield. definitely going to watch out for the fan translation tho! Also cannot WAIT for you to talk about boku no natsuyasumi i love that game!
The best gaming content is multiple hours long and about a game you’ve never heard of, literally ASMR to me. 36 minutes is okay because the game is extra never heard of and obscure.
Wonderful as usual. As someone who’s been learning Japanese for the last ten years and struggled, I’d love to have more insights, like those you offered at the end, during the series. Can’t wait to watch the next video!
This was genuinely fascinating, and I indeed had no idea that this game existed (and I'm a fan of specifically weird Japanese games about the afterlife, i.e. Cosmology of Kyoto &c.). Your content is wonderful to see!
Wow! This is such a fascinating game that I probably never would have known about if not for your video! Fantastic and and thorough work! Thank you for sharing!!
Absolutely loved your video, thanks for digging this up! Very interesting game! It would be great to see more Japan exclusive games in the future from you. By the way, the realm of hungry ghosts is one of the lower realms (below "karmically neutral" human realm) but not exactly hell yet, actual hells would be much worse! So it's even more interesting that the game explores that particular place.
As a person who mostly listens to video essays - you do a good job articulating your points. After watching some of your videos though, I think you go above and beyond on getting the appropriate visuals for the point you're trying to make. 10/10. Bravo.
People don't realize how much doesn't actually exist on the internet. or existed on the internet in some small capacity that doesn't exist anymore. We've all been so conditioned to the idea that everything is on the internet and that it's there forever. thank you for finding one of those things and bringing us some information about it and this game to us.
So cool you chose to cover this game. I somehow came across it in my esoteric explorations of Japanese curios beyond my grasp and saw small clamorings for it to get a translation patch, people on msg boards pointing towards a vet fan translator who described the game succinctly as "a very beautiful game" when suggested he translate it (tho he seemed busy enough as was) so it's so cool to hear you're a part of that effort in some way!
Год назад+17
This was brilliant! Thank you so much for doing this. More of these obscure Japanese horror games, please!
This is like one of those nonexistent creepy pasta games. It seems to have some really cool ideas and looks really unique and great. Props to you for going through all that to fully explore the game.
this was such a well put together video! i typically find myself panning through longer videos, but i couldnt bring myself to skip even a second. The delivery of the lore and gameplay aspects was perfectly paced. Thanks for makin' it, can't wait for the next ones :)
I bought this game back in like 2014 when i was searching for every 1st person dungeon crawler/ Adventure FMV games or obscure horror games that resembled my favorites like From Soft's King's Field series (PS1/PS2), Shadow Tower (PS1/PS2), Eternal Ring (Ps2), Echonight 1/2/ E.N. Beyond (PS1/PS2), Baroque (SS/PS2/WII), Lunacy (SS), The Mansion of Hidden Souls (Sega CD/SS), D (PS1/SS), Enemy Zero (SS), Shadow of Destiny (PS2), The No Name Game 1/2 (DS), Juggernaut (PS1), etc. I got it not knowing any Japanese and not yet having a Japanese PS2 to play it, but the little I saw from my research made me know I needed it! I was saddened to see the extreme lack of coverage or walk-throughs or English translation, especially back then. I'm soooo happy to see you cover it, and I'm super glad to hear people are working on a translation!!! I still need to play Shadow Tower Abyss cuz I absolutely loved the OG! Have you played or heard of an obscure FMV game for the Saturn called Lunacy? It's a spiritual successor to The Mansion of Hidden Souls series on Sega CD and Saturn and has some excellent atmosphere and music, and deserves more attention! Also, Juggernaut for PS1 is a most curious trip into hell! Peace.
I’d love to try my hand at this game tbh. I think something I (and I’m sure tons of others) are sick of in the current video game industry is it’s all boring rehashes of other games just in different flavors. It’s all becoming very stagnant and when a game breaks the mound and becomes popular people talk about it forever. There might not have been a market for Hungry Ghosts in the past but I’m set sure there’s one for it nowadays
So I'm not the only one who feels this way. Phew! I started to think I was maybe just getting old and slightly crabby. Games don't really excite me anymore. The last one that did was Horizon: Zero Dawn, and even that game wasn't exactly genre defining. The robot dinosaurs were cool though and beautifully designed, but the story was simply okay. Aloy as a character I really dug, however if you were paying attention you could see the "twist" coming a mile away. Guess it goes to show that the kids getting into gaming don't care about the story very much, which to me is the entire point. I think too many are being conditioned to look at games as only "live service" pointlessness because they're easy to churn out, even though most bean counters don't understand they're extremely expensive to maintain. Everyone dreams of making that Fortnite money, I guess...
I stumbled on this game in the early days of PS2 emulation, in a forum conversation about Kingsfield. There was truly zero information on the internet, so after struggling and failing to get very far, I kinda forgot it existed till a few years ago. Really excited for the fan translation, cool to hear you're helping out!
This sounds like such an interesting game! It definitely sounds like something that would've at least gotten more attention in the current day. I can't wait to see how that english patch comes along, it's certainly one I'd like to try! And thanks for covering it!
You got yourself a new subscriber. Your videos are really well done. Also this video is awesome, been waiting for someone to finally translate this game!♥
Wow. Thank you for bringing this game and video to us. This game is so unique and I was so glad to hear at the end that there is fan translation in the way 💙. Just met you channel today and loved it
I'm so excited for this new "series"!! There are so many games that come out of Japan each year, I'm so curious what we in the west are missing out on 🥺 Unrelated, the game design for Hungry Ghosts makes me think of a carnival fun house. That may just be because it's been 20 years and game design has changed a lot, but I think it adds to the charm and encourages players to explore that I think a darker design would deter from.
aaah this is so sick, it's honestly amazing what dev teams can do only in the medium of games. this was such a treat to learn about thank you for sharing
Stumbled on your video game while browsing the internet for old games I might remember. I didn't expect to watch a video this recent. A pleasant discovery.
This was awesome. I am so excited for that patch. Excellent work on this video. I came across this game awhile ago and was so curious about it and was shocked how little info there was out there and kind of gave up. Thanks for this.
Just love that this was posted during Hungry Ghost Month here in Singapore, hehe. :) Your videos are always so informative (as in adding on on top of the game you're talking about) and well made, thank you for your hard work tangomushi! Can't wait for the next one!
This was absolutely wonderful. This game sounds amazing. I appreciate all the aspects of interaction and I'm not a fan of first person titles but I love the idea of the combat controls and reaching for items. This was so well covered. I thank you for what brought you to creating this channel. You are an absolute delight.
Stumbled upon this in my suggested videos category. Great game concept that I’ve previously been unaware of. The narration was superb and made the topics discussed in the vid all that more enticing to learn about. You have earned yourself a faithful subscriber!
Amazing video, Tango! I don't think I've ever seen a game quite like this one, I'm excited to give it a try when the translation patch comes out! I love how in-depth you go with the videos, always feels like I learned something. Great job and have a much deserved rest!
I've only heard of Boku no Natsuyasumi through Action Button. Amazingly in depth review and video essay.Japan truly makes insanely creative games. Love your channel. Glad I subbed!
What a great video. I live in Japan and just picked the game up for myself, but I don't think my Japanese is quite good enough to be able to fully enjoy the game on my own. So I'm really glad you gave it such an in-depth look. Awesome work, now I think I'll give it a spin and see where it takes me.
No idea what sort of RUclips creator I was getting myself into, but I’m glad I stuck around always happy to come across a new narrator on games lost to time.
Little bit of an Echo Night vibe, especially with the all of the stories coming from the individual experiences of these ghosts who have all found themselves in a situation. Worth a look if you haven't already!
Amazing video Tango, thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this game, never heard of it and I must say, "Hungry Ghosts" sounded like a weird title but it makes perfect sense after learning about it in your video! Incredible work as always and I can't wait to see more of this subseries of Japanese exclusive games you'll be covering in the future!
I've been a gamer for more than three decades now and by now hearing about these basically unknown games, whether they are great, flawed or horrible, has become one of my favourite topics on RUclips. So thank you for this game, of which I had not heard a single word about.
So much time and energy went into making this and nobody played it, the company went bankrupt, and dreams were dashed. Thank you for bringing this gem, apparently ahead of its time, to our attention.
I feel pretty bad for Tokuro Fujiwara because the same thing happened when he made Tomba 1 and 2.
I hope his future endeavors work out better for him and he gets the recognition he deserves.
Love it when something titled Something You've Never Heard Of is something I haven't heard of! Love the videos.
It's a message🤘
I hate these click bait titles, especially for media that are known cult classics, but she's probably 99% right on the money here.
Me too. It hits that part of my brain that must know all the things. I'm like, "no, I don't know what that is...but now I want to and I'll burn anyone to the FUCKING ground if they try to get in my way..."
@@ChristopherSadlowski🤣
This is a prime example of why the ps2 is my favorite console it has a seemingly endless amount of interesting and inventive titles just brimming with creativity
@jamesdeer3129graephix baed
PS1 and PS2 both had crazy innovation or older concepts that were polished to their full potential.
wtf the graphics are great @jamesdeer3129
@@GundamGokuTV also Dreamcast, Gamecube and Xbox, (and PC of course until 2005, games like Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of The Earth and Condemned were mindblowing, still are)
@@agamazofficial Nah, no console or PC rivaled PS2s library at the time.
it nails the aesthetics with the hologram designs and it looks actually immersive and not cartoony and slow movement helps a lot and i like the fact that it explore the demons and ghosts not only from an '' enemy type '' form but also in a psychological way and also way of puzzling out the plot
I think your suggestion for a video on Japan's reactions to violence in video games and age ratings would be a really interesting rabbit hole to go down! I enjoy hearing about those kinds of cultural differences.
I distinctly remember, in a bizarre twist of fate, the Japanese version of No More Heroes was the worst one for censorship. Not only was the blood just black splatters, but all decapitations were totally gone. The big finishing swings where you just sliced enemies heads clean off were just a black splatter with no actual severed anything, it was insane lol.
I'd love to see a video on this too
Nah
@@TheDsRequiemwell, you're currently being out voted because I find this topic really interesting too. It would be fascinating to learn why Japan is so adverse to violence in media when a place like the US could care less...but my people freak out if you even DARE show a little bit of a BOOBIE! A penis? We collectively gouge our eyes out...
Australia in particular is extremely, and I mean extremely, draconian for showing basically anything. Is it a thing? The Australian government doesn't want that thing in the media. Period. Grass? CENSORED. An umbrella? CENSORED. A face? TOTALLY FUCKING CENSORED! I wonder if Japan and Australia have some sort of cultural connection to their views on "problematic" content, and if so where it comes from. It'd be neat to see how Japan's censorship compares and contrasts to the other major markets.
We can only benefit by learning about the medium we all love. Otherwise we're zombie consumers ripe for soulless companies to churn out low quality garbage art. We're already concerningly deep into that territory...
i saw the "z version" on the re8 she showed and im so, so curious now. are there censored versions of major releases like re8 in japan??
The "true" ending of this game reminds me of the "true" ending of The Stanley Parable. Sure, priorly pessimistic game, here's your dream ending youve always wanted where everything works out ok. The irony, of course, is the "best" ending of Ghosts is the hardest one while the "best" ending of The Stanley Parable is the easiest one.
I'm so glad the warrior has a *spear* instead of a sword.
Spears or polearms in general don't get enough spotlight in fantasy.
Hungry Ghost was Fujiwara game?!
This man is insanely talented!
Needless to say, this is a very interesting introduction to your subseries on Japan-only release games. I always found Buddhism (and its cultural diversity) to be so interesting as a Westerner. I just love learning about world religions overall, so hearing about this game was very exciting to me. Looking forward to what comes next! Thanks for bringing these older games back from the dead (pun only half-intended).
Man this game looks gorgous for a ps2 game. The character animations are great. It's a real shame this didn't get more attention and I hope a fan translation someday happens.
I absolutely ADORE the art in this game, especially the facial animations. They're so fluid and the style is just cartoony enough that they don't look like Gmod animations. Linda talking, the little girl, the grim reaper/shinigami character arching their brows?? The ghosts' jaws shaking back and forth? SO freaking cool. I'm already enamored by the low-poly chunks of the early PS2 but god these look so good I almost felt like they were made today and purposefully made retro, like a ton of the retro indie projects going on right now. Thank you so much for showing them off! ALSO TRANS RIGHTS WOO
@@warehousedave7937get a life
Thank you for sharing this game. I love Fujiwara-san's philosophy of structuring the game so there is no "True" ending. I like that it's what you make of it and enjoying your own journey and experiences.
Very welcoming and intriguing first entry into your Japanese retspec subseries. Love the concept of a first person hellscape sim especially so early in the 2000s. The fact that its so tough to get a “good ending” that’s fairly anticlimactic makes this game that much more unique and cool to see how fujiwara and the team stayed true to their antithesis of what most other games lay out for gamers regarding handholding and endings. Overall very cool video tango and I can’t wait till the next in the your new niche subseries.
yoo thanks for covering this hidden gem! It's right up there with Baroque with setting in a very particular feeling and story through gameplay and art presentation that fits right in with stuff like Shin Megami Tensei, Silent Hill and even a few From Software titles. Thanks for your perspective and experiences with this piece, it was a real joy to see it being talked about in today's time!
tangomushi you are literally a god among youtubers. i'm a freshman majoring in art and i think i would've gone braindead if it weren't for your videos keeping me grounded. i genuinely adore the way you go through your analysis, explaining the story and then everything you enjoy about it in a very thoughtful and detailed way. i'm also VERY neurodivergent, so the fact that my attention has been kept for hours on end because of your videos is insane. i just finished watching your video on haunting ground and i'll probably check out your remothered video next. i hope you're having an amazing day
In the space of half an hour, I've gone from never having heard of this game to desperately needing to play it. This is so much up my alley, thank you for shining a light on it! Best of luck to the translation patch crew!
TW: mentions of suicidal ideation
As a practicing Buddhist for over 4 years (I go to temple service every week and volunteer for my temple regularly), I can say, imo, that this game does seem to do a great job introducing Buddhist concepts to non-Buddhists in an accessible manner, especially when it comes to karma/free will, since, as you've mentioned, that's pretty much baked into the very fabric of the game. The whole "there is no one path to the best ending, it all depends on you" is very Buddhist, as well. People may not be aware of this, but there are many, MANY different schools of Buddhism, and they each practice a path to Nirvana in their own way. The Buddha himself said that there are 84,000 different ways to achieve Enlightenment. Oh, and the ever presence of death is a very common Buddhist thing, as well. Just this month one of our minister's Dharma talks (they're basically the equivalent of sermons in Christianity) talked about how we live with death constantly on our shoulder. I actually came to Buddhism in 2019 because I was struggling with things like depression, death, loneliness, and lack of meaning. I was constantly in and out of the hospital for suicidal ideation, something I'd been dealing with for four years at that point. The Buddhist concepts of impermanence and interdependence (basically "everything is impermanent and depends on everything else") really helped me deal a lot better with my struggles. Volunteering to usher at funerals also really showed me the importance and constant presence of death in our lives. So I'm glad this game made you more aware of a religion I hold so dear. Great video, as always. Love your stuff. Keep up the good work! ❤
Wow, this was beautifully written. I'm glad you found a space, as it were, that brings you comfort with the chaos that is human life. This is probably a dumb question, and I'm sure I could look it up, but are the "84,000 ways to Nirvana" supposed to be taken literally or figuratively? Is it basically saying there's essentially countless ways, or did the Buddha mean there are exactly eighty-four thousand ways?
I remember seeing a trailer for this game on a dvd that came with an issue of PSM2 probably over 20 years ago. I Remember it freak my probably 10 year old self out at the time but the trailer always stuck with me. Sometime in probably the mid 2010s I was reminded of the game and tried to find videos about it but there was very little, pretty much just that trailer and some gameplay videos which I couldn’t understand. Anyways I just want to thank you for your excellent dive into this game and helping shed light onto something I have been curious about for nearly 20 years.
The most elaborate buzzfeed personality test fr
Love this channel so much. I've watched your videos so many times, I missed this one. Super excited to watch it. I'm already creeped out.
Found this after listening to Something Rotten. Can't wait to check out more of your stuff as well as what this new series will bring 🤩
So, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put together all of the awesome content on your channel. I’ve been binge-watching your stuff all day and the depth and granularity with which you examine and dissect all of these titles is absolutely captivating. Between highlighting lesser known titles like Haunting Ground and exploring the more philosophical or psychosocial aspects of more popular games, I really admire what you’re doing here. You’ve got my subscription and my admiration as a writer and content creator, absolutely. Keep em coming!
31:01 My perspective really changed when I watched a show called Dead Like Me. It was silly, but still had some serious moments that had a very interesting perspective/spin into a Grim Reaper’s life and work. Also Jenny-Jinya’s Loving Reaper webcomics. Those get me every time. 😭❤️
5 seconds in and you hit me with the best track from FFX??? Damn I'm starting to love this channel
There are so many weird little Japanese games that I wish got localized in the states. They are often janky and require a dozen play throughs, but their uniqueness is just something else.
This looks awesome! Thanks for the upload and all your hardwork! I've been going through your catalog and you've got loads of great stuff. Always happy to see a new vid.
Thanks for this. I've been interested in this game for years but there's been almost no videos covering it in this fashion. Great video as always
I'm so excited for this series, there are so many games that never left Japan that I have tried to find information on and struggled due to lack of archiving. This was a fantastic video.
The male character looks so much like Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings, lol.
But I really appreciate these videos about games that never got translations or wide releases. It's so cool to see what we missed and what kinds of stories were out there. It does make me a little sad that we never got some of these super creative gems, especially right now as we're drowning in nostalgia-makes in so many forms of media (which is not an inherently bad thing, but it is exhausting after a certain point).
Thanks for this!
I absolutely love how you cover this kind of stuff. This is like my specific niche.
Such a pleasure when I see new content released from you! I play your past videos endlessly in the background when I’m doing art!
another banger video! very excited to see more from this series, I'm so interested in seeing some more obscure games that never got localized, I'm glad you're covering them to expose people like me to work that would otherwise remain behind a language barrier. wonderful analysis, loved hearing you talk about the philosophy behind the game and how it approaches death from a place of respect, reverence, and fluidity, as well as hearing your take on the unique game design. in particular loved the way the endings function and how you discussed them from both a design and philosophical standpoint. thank you for introducing this game, will definitely be checking out the progress of the translation as it goes!
I always loved those Japanese guide books for games of that era. I have all of them for the Shenmue games and it's amazing how much extra stuff is in there that helps build the world or to see how much detail they thought about that doesn't necessarily even end up in the game.
Also, nice Shenmue background music in the video. :)
I'm sick and stuck in bed, you wouldn't believe how happy I was to see a new video. Your videos are really comforting to me. Time to get comfy ❤
Wishing you the best bud, get well soon.
Btw if I might recommend a channel I personally find very cozy and comforting, I fully recommend Scruffy. If you're really into sound design stuff you'll get a lot out of his videos
Hungry Ghosts has been on my radar for so long, and this is just another reason to try it.
It's always a good day when there's a Tangomushi video! Can't wait to watch, not familiar with Hungry Ghosts - definitely intrigued.
This is one of those weird obscure horror games barely anyone knows about. Reminds me of Echo Night and The Void, which I could recommend for you to cover as well.
Ending A, the "I did everything right, and they shinigami'd me" ending
Absolutely fascinating, definitely looking forward to hearing the translation patch is done!
you're truly one of my favourite creators when it comes to videogame essays. thank you for creating the content you do!!!!
I've been on RUclips since 2007 and I've been missing this type of content. Thank u.
This was honestly so interesting!
I'd love to see more obscure horror titles
YAAAY obscure PS2 game coverage
Great work as always Mango! Hungry Ghosts looks lovely and surreal, right up my alley! I'm seeing elements of Fatal Frame with the Spirit and Vitality system, Clock Tower 3 with the spirit interactions (the necklace) and Baroque with the combat and minimal story. Definitely one I'm going to check out once the fan translation is ready! Looking forward to the next Japanese release only video!
Also the Shenmue track at 17:50 🔥
great vid like always!! i was sitting here thinking the whole time the fp perspective in the game was very kingsfield. definitely going to watch out for the fan translation tho!
Also cannot WAIT for you to talk about boku no natsuyasumi i love that game!
Oh let's gooOOO !! So hyped to see you cover Hungry Ghosts, such a unique experience that so many folks missed on due to language barrier ! ; A ;
This video is an absolute masterpiece , I’m for sure gonna love this series about obscure games ❤️
The best gaming content is multiple hours long and about a game you’ve never heard of, literally ASMR to me. 36 minutes is okay because the game is extra never heard of and obscure.
Wonderful as usual. As someone who’s been learning Japanese for the last ten years and struggled, I’d love to have more insights, like those you offered at the end, during the series. Can’t wait to watch the next video!
I like the style of your videos! These reviews give me a cozy-horror vibe that's hard to explain and yet I love every second of it. Subscribed.
Wow. Stumbled upon this. Good job! Never knew about this game and I appreciate the effort you put into this video
What a neat idea for a game. I imagine if this released today as some indie title, it would find a niche but passionate audience.
I'm so excited to listen to this at work!! Great work as always 👌👌
This was genuinely fascinating, and I indeed had no idea that this game existed (and I'm a fan of specifically weird Japanese games about the afterlife, i.e. Cosmology of Kyoto &c.). Your content is wonderful to see!
Wow! This is such a fascinating game that I probably never would have known about if not for your video! Fantastic and and thorough work! Thank you for sharing!!
On the edge of my seat waiting for your next video after binging all the ones you have made until now! Hope to see you return soon!
Haha good timing - if all goes according to plan the new vid should be out tomorrow! Thank you so much for the support ❤️
Absolutely loved your video, thanks for digging this up! Very interesting game! It would be great to see more Japan exclusive games in the future from you.
By the way, the realm of hungry ghosts is one of the lower realms (below "karmically neutral" human realm) but not exactly hell yet, actual hells would be much worse! So it's even more interesting that the game explores that particular place.
As a person who mostly listens to video essays - you do a good job articulating your points. After watching some of your videos though, I think you go above and beyond on getting the appropriate visuals for the point you're trying to make. 10/10. Bravo.
The perfect video to watch before going to sleep! What a cool little gem... I'll have to keep an eye out for that english patch one day
People don't realize how much doesn't actually exist on the internet. or existed on the internet in some small capacity that doesn't exist anymore. We've all been so conditioned to the idea that everything is on the internet and that it's there forever.
thank you for finding one of those things and bringing us some information about it and this game to us.
So cool you chose to cover this game. I somehow came across it in my esoteric explorations of Japanese curios beyond my grasp and saw small clamorings for it to get a translation patch, people on msg boards pointing towards a vet fan translator who described the game succinctly as "a very beautiful game" when suggested he translate it (tho he seemed busy enough as was) so it's so cool to hear you're a part of that effort in some way!
This was brilliant! Thank you so much for doing this. More of these obscure Japanese horror games, please!
This is like one of those nonexistent creepy pasta games. It seems to have some really cool ideas and looks really unique and great.
Props to you for going through all that to fully explore the game.
Great video! Definitely up my alley with it being like Kings Field but more psychological horror. Very excited for the English Patch!
This game seems crazy good and way ahead of its time, thanks for showcasing it 😃
this was such a well put together video! i typically find myself panning through longer videos, but i couldnt bring myself to skip even a second. The delivery of the lore and gameplay aspects was perfectly paced. Thanks for makin' it, can't wait for the next ones :)
I bought this game back in like 2014 when i was searching for every 1st person dungeon crawler/ Adventure FMV games or obscure horror games that resembled my favorites like From Soft's King's Field series (PS1/PS2), Shadow Tower (PS1/PS2), Eternal Ring (Ps2), Echonight 1/2/ E.N. Beyond (PS1/PS2), Baroque (SS/PS2/WII), Lunacy (SS), The Mansion of Hidden Souls (Sega CD/SS), D (PS1/SS), Enemy Zero (SS), Shadow of Destiny (PS2), The No Name Game 1/2 (DS), Juggernaut (PS1), etc. I got it not knowing any Japanese and not yet having a Japanese PS2 to play it, but the little I saw from my research made me know I needed it! I was saddened to see the extreme lack of coverage or walk-throughs or English translation, especially back then. I'm soooo happy to see you cover it, and I'm super glad to hear people are working on a translation!!! I still need to play Shadow Tower Abyss cuz I absolutely loved the OG! Have you played or heard of an obscure FMV game for the Saturn called Lunacy? It's a spiritual successor to The Mansion of Hidden Souls series on Sega CD and Saturn and has some excellent atmosphere and music, and deserves more attention! Also, Juggernaut for PS1 is a most curious trip into hell! Peace.
NEW TANGOMUSHI VIDEO LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO
I’d love to try my hand at this game tbh. I think something I (and I’m sure tons of others) are sick of in the current video game industry is it’s all boring rehashes of other games just in different flavors. It’s all becoming very stagnant and when a game breaks the mound and becomes popular people talk about it forever. There might not have been a market for Hungry Ghosts in the past but I’m set sure there’s one for it nowadays
So I'm not the only one who feels this way. Phew! I started to think I was maybe just getting old and slightly crabby. Games don't really excite me anymore. The last one that did was Horizon: Zero Dawn, and even that game wasn't exactly genre defining. The robot dinosaurs were cool though and beautifully designed, but the story was simply okay. Aloy as a character I really dug, however if you were paying attention you could see the "twist" coming a mile away. Guess it goes to show that the kids getting into gaming don't care about the story very much, which to me is the entire point. I think too many are being conditioned to look at games as only "live service" pointlessness because they're easy to churn out, even though most bean counters don't understand they're extremely expensive to maintain. Everyone dreams of making that Fortnite money, I guess...
BABE WAKE UP NEW TANGOMUSHI VID DROPPED
No, but seriously super excited to finally see a new one! Been waitin' for it!
So funny that earlier today I was looking to rewatch your videos and here's a new one! Ahhhh so excited, ty ty 😊
Great video, really looking forward to your japan only gem game series
I was just thinking about how much I enjoy your videos the other day and woke up to a new one! Very excited to watch this on my break.
I stumbled on this game in the early days of PS2 emulation, in a forum conversation about Kingsfield. There was truly zero information on the internet, so after struggling and failing to get very far, I kinda forgot it existed till a few years ago. Really excited for the fan translation, cool to hear you're helping out!
This sounds like such an interesting game! It definitely sounds like something that would've at least gotten more attention in the current day. I can't wait to see how that english patch comes along, it's certainly one I'd like to try! And thanks for covering it!
You got yourself a new subscriber. Your videos are really well done. Also this video is awesome, been waiting for someone to finally translate this game!♥
Wow. Thank you for bringing this game and video to us. This game is so unique and I was so glad to hear at the end that there is fan translation in the way 💙. Just met you channel today and loved it
I'm so excited for this new "series"!! There are so many games that come out of Japan each year, I'm so curious what we in the west are missing out on 🥺
Unrelated, the game design for Hungry Ghosts makes me think of a carnival fun house. That may just be because it's been 20 years and game design has changed a lot, but I think it adds to the charm and encourages players to explore that I think a darker design would deter from.
TOMBA MENTIONED Great video as always Tango!
Really looking forward to this series. Great video, thanks for making it!
aaah this is so sick, it's honestly amazing what dev teams can do only in the medium of games. this was such a treat to learn about thank you for sharing
wow this game concept and setting looks so cool and unique, thanks for showing us this!
Stumbled on your video game while browsing the internet for old games I might remember.
I didn't expect to watch a video this recent. A pleasant discovery.
This was awesome. I am so excited for that patch. Excellent work on this video. I came across this game awhile ago and was so curious about it and was shocked how little info there was out there and kind of gave up. Thanks for this.
So great you did a video on this one! I've wanted to play it for years but the lack of an English patch has been too big of a hurdle. Well done!
Hey Tango.
I really like your videos. Thank you for putting so much work and effort into them.
You're doing a great job. Wish you all the best. 🍀
I'm so glad I followed you, I'm so excited to see you touch on a ton more obscure Horror games.
Just love that this was posted during Hungry Ghost Month here in Singapore, hehe. :) Your videos are always so informative (as in adding on on top of the game you're talking about) and well made, thank you for your hard work tangomushi! Can't wait for the next one!
Awesome video and great start to a series! Instant subscribe!
This was absolutely wonderful. This game sounds amazing. I appreciate all the aspects of interaction and I'm not a fan of first person titles but I love the idea of the combat controls and reaching for items. This was so well covered. I thank you for what brought you to creating this channel. You are an absolute delight.
Stumbled upon this in my suggested videos category. Great game concept that I’ve previously been unaware of. The narration was superb and made the topics discussed in the vid all that more enticing to learn about. You have earned yourself a faithful subscriber!
Here and so ready for your amazing content!
Amazing video, Tango! I don't think I've ever seen a game quite like this one, I'm excited to give it a try when the translation patch comes out! I love how in-depth you go with the videos, always feels like I learned something. Great job and have a much deserved rest!
I've only heard of Boku no Natsuyasumi through Action Button. Amazingly in depth review and video essay.Japan truly makes insanely creative games. Love your channel. Glad I subbed!
What a great video. I live in Japan and just picked the game up for myself, but I don't think my Japanese is quite good enough to be able to fully enjoy the game on my own. So I'm really glad you gave it such an in-depth look. Awesome work, now I think I'll give it a spin and see where it takes me.
No idea what sort of RUclips creator I was getting myself into, but I’m glad I stuck around always happy to come across a new narrator on games lost to time.
Little bit of an Echo Night vibe, especially with the all of the stories coming from the individual experiences of these ghosts who have all found themselves in a situation. Worth a look if you haven't already!
This might be the first obscure game video about a game I’ve genuinely never heard of before. Instant sub, cant wait for your next vid.
Amazing video Tango, thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this game, never heard of it and I must say, "Hungry Ghosts" sounded like a weird title but it makes perfect sense after learning about it in your video! Incredible work as always and I can't wait to see more of this subseries of Japanese exclusive games you'll be covering in the future!
I've been a gamer for more than three decades now and by now hearing about these basically unknown games, whether they are great, flawed or horrible, has become one of my favourite topics on RUclips.
So thank you for this game, of which I had not heard a single word about.