How Haunting Ground scarred my teenage self
![ValkyrieAurora [INACTIVE]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/VEqE3LpPOnuinnFAU53mlrl_zHjtW4ofcOvi-QyGzaexL9ngkqyvxsGEgfj_J-D9wp7Njfl_TQ=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2024
- CC is available if you can’t decipher my mumbling.
Revisiting this game and making me re-live my teenage trauma took a toll on my soul. Hopefully this was worth it.
music:
▶️ Liebestraum No. 3
The facial animation is very convincing for a PS2 game
Check out Silent Hill 3. Top notch. Looks better than most game's facial animations these days.
@@GreedAndSelfishness
Someone: **Mentions modern facial animation**
Me: **Gets Mass Effect: Andromeda flashbacks**
Silent Hill is trash compared to Haunting Ground/Clock Tower- that is not true survival horror, you can stop
@@CyberSimsShows" Not true survival horror. " Pfft. Go fuck yourself, survival horror purist. All I know is that Silent Hill 1-4 style of horror is STILL to this day unrivaled. There has been so many copy cats yet none of them managed to capture the same feeling. And Silent Hill 2 remains the king of horror games.
+CyberSimsShows hahahahahahah
Sadly never had heard of this game before, excited to add it to the list of games I'll hopefully get around to. 👏
Great video as always :)
Oh... It's you.
@@kokobain ?
CDawgVA I spent 4 months on your Discord server trying to save your fans from garbage anime content. Black Butler isn't even anime. It was my duty to lead them to the righteous path. I would become their new entertainment Messiah with my content and commentary. I would usurp the mods and admins and start a new empire. Sadly, I was driven from the server. I am now Punished 2Neg, denied his Manifest Destiny.
TL;DR: lol i got banned for shitting it up too much
May you rise again.
We could still work together. I can see deep down that you despise Black Butler. Secretly, you use your voice talent to mock the cancerous fangirls while they still adore you and take everything with a smile.
You're a true artist. We can change the world.
I didn't play this game until I was at least 18, but holy crap, Riccardo gave me nightmares for weeks. The idea of having a strange man *with a gun* chase you around, demanding that you "let me into your womb..." Uuuuuugh. I can't even imagine how it would have felt playing it as a younger teen.
It's really nice to see a video commenting on how the game's sexualized and how it impacts the experience. Well done, and thanks for sharing your experiences and insights!
Alicia Jewel: think Riccardo from Haunting Ground is scary when he says "Let me into your womb!" Have you ever played the game on Hard after beating it? You get 2 disturbing extra scenes featuring Riccardo, Lorenzo & Fiona. That was unnerving... But I've always loved the game.
@@mysteryghostgamer6753
Meh the guy is rather Cartoonish
& Stupid he could of gotten Fiona
any time yet he fails to a dog.
He imo isnt scary, he is kind of 1-note & over the top, always
having a evil laugh & acting
Like a supervillain real life
Predators don't act like that.
AH so you're one of the 12 ppl on earth who actually played this game. I don't feel alone anymore, thank you
hello fellow player!
hey.. i play this too 😅😅😅
I still play it to this day! Actually, I play it every two years.
And I feel so lucky because I have an original muti-language copy of it for the PS2! (which is the limited edition silver version, so double joy)
BUT. I'm so afraid of what could happen to the CD. If it breaks, I wouldn't be able to play it again, at least in a long, long time, and not in the same way. I really love this game as it is one of my favourites of all times, and I wish Capcom really makes a remaster of it. Of course I'd prefer a remake, could you imagine it? But I guess that's way too risky.
Oh, or a sequel. But the story ends there anyway, so it would change a LOT. And it probably wouldn't star Fiona nor Hewie, so... Yeah, but it would be really nice to see what it could bring.
I would love a remake! Plus, no offense to some people, it would get under the skin of SJWs out there.
Haunting Ground NEEDS an HD Remaster/Remake. Not just because it's a quality horror game, but because finding an original copy of it is too expensive for the average person to experience. Luckily for me, I'm still living at home, so I had a few extra hundred bucks to throw at this game (Rule of Rose was much more). But not everyone is so fortunate.
They won't ever do it because god forbid we ever had scary and dirturbingly creepy horror games anymore. Try it and you will see people jump all over it because it promotes sexual abuse or something like that. I mean, yes it's horribly disturbing but that's entirely it's appeal and why it's Mature-rated to begin with.
I paid $80 for it 3 years ago and I'm glad I did cause it's now like twice the price.
Emulators
really? I found and bought a used copy for like 5 euros about a year ago.
@@Arn0n The UK version isn't rare, only the NTSC. The game didn't sell very well in the States, so not many copies were produced. It's a little more common than Rule of Rose here, but still quite expensive. Still a great game for only €5 though
Silent Hill 3 is another amazing example of horror games with female oriented themes, including being stalked, unwanted pregnancy and dehumanization
true
Also Project Zero series
Being dehumanized is
female Oriented theme?? Wut??
@@mandibiedermann2246
What's that about??
Those things aren't only to the female experience though
& These things usually are
Done in such a caricature
Like way it becomes predictable.
*But whatre your thoughts on the Dog in the game though?*
I would die for Hewie at any given moment.
@@ValkyrieAurora Some say hes the descendent of the RE4 "Hey, its that dog."
I remember a trailer for this game making me believe that you would play as a tasty little morsel that could not fight and you had to use your dog to protect your purity from the creepies.
Hewie is best doggo.
It's funny how the game's ending is directly related to how you treat Hewie.
OH SNAP BB HAUNTING GROUND VIDEO!
Y’all need to collaborate ASAP
@@Kullen64 whens indeimaus collab
Adrian Solås Huh?? Lol
hi sue ily
Oi, your turn for a vid on Haunting Ground.
I so admire how you talk about the significance of playing this game at a young age, as a girl. Being able to relate to the main character in both her gender & her afflictions was one of the reasons playing this gem at age 13 was so memorable. Being that young ensured I had an intense experience playing it, and now in hindsight, I was obviously not ready mentally to fully understand it’s mature themes...regardless, the impression it left on me was one I would not trade for anything. My cousin & I were obsessed with this game when we bought it; we’d stay up at night drawing blueprints of the castle floor by floor, trying to figure where the rooms connected so we’d be able to memorize an escape route quicker, & wrote down all the answers to the puzzles, etc. Being trapped in a room with one of the enemies was something we wanted to avoid at all costs.
The grotesque horror of being sexually objectified by those that stalked Fiona only served to amplify the terror one felt. I honestly think those who aren’t girls can also, through playing this game, experience to some degree how truly horrific it is to be sexually pursued without consent, or to be repeatedly scared & intimidated by those who want to strip you of your bodily autonomy for their own gain, with no regard for your physical, mental, or emotional wellness. It’s a scary reminder that navigating as a girl in society is often its own real life survival horror game.
Demento’s third person perspective also gave a sort of eerie “dollhouse” effect, where we saw Fiona hide & flee without ever actually being able to escape the mansion or its grounds. That kind of claustrophobia & sense of entrapment also heightened the panic a player felt, as you’d watch her waiting for footsteps or hoping her hiding spot was a solid one.
I also appreciate that you mention Fiona likely having an anxiety disorder- I have always thought her state of panic & how it effected her motor abilities, vision, & heart rate were all smart additions from a developer perspective. They also end up being relatable qualities to those who experience panic or anxiety attacks that completely incapacitate the body, oftentimes after being triggered by a fearful or traumatizing situation. The sensation of not having full control over one’s body in times of stress, especially as a woman surrounded by the male gaze & those who hold insidious intent toward oneself, were integrated into the game so well, making it all the more suffocating & unique.
Haunting Ground’s content matter is obviously targeted to older & more mature players, but i would wholeheartedly agree with you that a younger female audience, or persons who have experienced/understand what it feels like to be objectified, stalked, etc, will absolutely find this game more terrifying than say the average male gamer in their 20’s or above. Thank you for such an incredible analysis! I hope to one day be able to share my love & appreciation for the experience this game left me with to a wider audience, since it deserves all the love & exposure it can get! To this day it’s one of the best & (terrifyingly) nostalgic games I own.
Is it safe to say I'd like a male version of this type of game?
@@AshXXMayftw no
@@AshXXMayftw I'd like to see that! I wanna know if I'll be scared or depressed out of playing the game.
@@AshXXMayftw
I'd want that where a male
Character is chased by a female
Character.
@@gijsbertuslaurensvandevooren
Yes of course you would say that
You only want that to only be
with female characters I dunno
aren't you taking part of the
Patriarchy saying men can't
Be victims??
I kind of like the idea of looking at the antagonists as a certain progression in life and pressures. For example, the first antagonist is about preserving her youth. Kind of the whole 'my daughter will always be my little girl' mentality, with him referring to her as a doll. Then that leads to an eventual acceptance that she will age and grow up. The second antagonist is with the whole pressures of puberty. She will be developing and have the physical capabilities of procreation, and therefore must take advantage of that because it would be considered selfish of her to abstain from having kids.
The third antagonist is going further down the timeline with her needing to present herself as a good example of the family line and carry on values. If this is an older time(well I guess this can apply to current events) there was an emphasis of having the parents having a say on who their daughter would marry. They could be stuck with someone great or terrible, while that choice would enable the family's prestige. Then the fourth antagonist is a little hyperbolic with this point but the idea that children need to take care of the parents in their old age.
The fact that she is in a mansion and a prison seems pretty intentional. I also think the word 'vessel' rather important. The main character as an individual, as you have said, is not considered. So the game shows allegorically these pressures and views are put onto women, specifically daughters, with the protagonist trying to escape. Each antagonist represents a different prison to break out of. The striking thing between the antagonists is the acceptance of the first one and the deaths of the other three(assuming from the video). I could rationalize that the other three antagonists represent ideas that do not go away over time or something else fatalistic.
Just a correction, the first antagonist is Debilitas, the notre-dame who thinks that Fiona is literally a giant doll and wants to play with her.
Meh it was so blatant with its
Message, with the villain Ricardo
Saying "let me into you're womb".
I didn't play Haunting Grounds myself, but I did watch a full playthrough by Cryoatic. Out of curiosity, I checked out a video on what would happen if you died to each of your chasers, and by far, the most disturbing thing I took from this game were the sounds that played when Debilitas kills you. Extremely detailed heavy breathing and sounds of squishing flesh, all off-camera. It legitimately sounded like Debilitas was raping her dead body.
It turns out that Debilitas was just peeling/ripping her apart while making noises, but it still sounds like rape whenever I hear it, and it still shakes me to this day.
UnKnown_Drive The sounds when Daniella kills you is a tad worse if you know Daniella's motivations
Now das spooky
Yeah... Daniella's is waaay worse...
Unknown Driver: Daniella's sounds at killing Fiona sounds like she's having an orgasm. Which she might be if she succeed in getting the Azoth by either out right killing Fiona or having sex with Fiona like Riccardo & Lorenzo want to do for her Azoth. It's one of the many reasons fans theorize that Daniella is actually a lesbian who lusts for Fiona and give other clues in Daniella's behavior and speech to support that theory. I personally don't care but I would find it interesting if that were the case since I love Daniella as a stalker - she's easily the creepiest and invasive and is even the one that seems to nearly kiss Fiona at one point and shortly after is seen to almost 'admire' (for lack of a better word lol) Fiona's body, including her breasts. Haunting Ground's Wiki page explains various theories about Daniella if you read her page.
UnKnown_Drive -
Actually Debilitas eats Fiona rather than raping her if you get a game over by him, the 'detailed breathing' you heard was him munching on Fiona; their was a video I've seen on here where Debilitas knocks Fiona on the ground and he knelt down on her and started munching on her in full view. Since he's too innocent to think of Fiona as a sexual object but as doll he can play with and chew on when over-excited.
Ricardo is the one that sexually molest Fiona's dead body, if you listened close enough in his game over sequence it's quite sexually disturbing and is constant demands to Fiona to 'let him in her womb' throughout his stalker stage.
Daniella may seem like she wants to bang Fiona as well but it's simply not the case with her, she's after Fiona's Azoth in order to feel 'complete' so she can feel more desirable and fertile for her Master. Daniella is jealous of Fiona rather than in 'lust' with her as some people love to think but Daniella has eyes for Lorenzo only as he created her for his sexual needs as well as being his maid.
Whoa! I didn't mean to right a long ass comment, sorry my bad. ;^^
Haunting Ground/Demento will always be one of my favourite games for this very reason. It's one of the only survival horror games that really filled me with a true feeling of isolation and dread that I feel in the pit of my stomach every time I play it; as well as being one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played in my life. As a woman, the sense of violation you feel when you play it absolutely maximizes its horror factor and I'll always love it for being so effective. Even though you have Hewie, he's only a thin veil of protection in the game and even then you have to be so careful that he doesn't get too harmed... it's just such an amazing game argh. Thanks for summing up exactly how I feel about it, it'll always be a diamond in the horror game genre for me
I still have my ps2 copy of this, this game was such a great play through. This needs a HD remake :p
3:33 "due to his inability to communicate"
Me
4:41 "although she's not normal at any point"
Me
6:06 "has no emotion"
*M E*
Someone one the development team is dead inside
He is the goodest boy
This is a 2005 game? Looks pretty damn good for its time, would even pass as good for this day and age.
The game didnt look like that, she is probably using an emulator with the resolution cranked at max and Anti-alliasing.
I think the only thing really needed to make this title look modern would be a texture upgrade. The environmental textures are the only place this game really shows its age.
Paphvul a full on remake in the RE engine would be incredible.
This, with Clock Tower 3, and Gregory Horror Show as a hd remaster pack called "Capcom horror classics that are not resident evil" for xbox and ps4. Do it capcom, LETS GO!
Man, I would LOVE to see the Gregory Horror Show game get an American release.
damn, it's not even october and now i feel like doing my annual rewatch of that series
Capcom doesn't like money.
Hey we got an onimusha remaster incoming and that series has been MIA since 2006. Anything is possible.
resident evil is not a horror game in comparison to these monsters
rule of rose...???
I personally think that its important for kids and teens to consume scary content, negative emotions such as fear and sadness (in healthy doses of course) build character and teach you about the complexity of life and open you up to a wider range of feelings as an adult. For example when i was a kid i saw the movie signs, now maybe its not the best movie but it scared the shit out of me and in hindsight it taught me that there is genuine artistry in crafting fear.
And depressing stuff like Ang Lee’s Hulk.
_Haunting Grounds_ is one of a select few games that has always left me feeling uncomfortable. Even as a teenage boy I found the different ways the antagonists objectified Fiona to be pretty disgusting, but nonetheless enjoyed(?) the game for its constant, oppressive atmosphere. It is an underrated gem in my eyes and I am happy that Capcom gave Cammy Fiona's outfit as an alt in Street Fighter V, so I can help increase exposure to this game while I pretend Fiona learned how to fight post escape.
I'll finish off by saying that Hewie is best boy forever in my heart. I will fight anyone who says otherwise and/or mistreats him.
You know what? This game has that insta death hiding spot if you careless, I still remember hiding in the iron maiden
@@impalacrush2439
Yeah… I have a confession to make about that; I hid inside the iron maiden out of morbid curiosity. Honestly I don't know what I was expecting the alternative would be, but I got a laugh out of the game punishing me for it.
There are some pretty grotesque ways ways for Fiona to die (god forbid you die to one of the creeps stalking her). Another one that stood out to me was the scarabs instant death. That was horrifying.
*You're a beta male
Fixed that for you, you illiterate troglodyte 😘.
@Redux lol, that was savage
@@WandererRedux 🤔 ................ Let me guess. Some douchebag started annoying you, you replied back and now that asshole simply deleted his own comment. Pffft! And he called _you_ *"beta male"?* Like, seriously? Does that even work as an insult nowadays? Maybe to dinosaurs, I suppose. 🤣
I really love how in depth your videos are when analyzing different aspects of a video game. You're so amazing!!
I played this when I was 13 relatively at the time of its release. I couldn't finish it alone and had my mom play it through with me from start to finish. This game is just horrifyingly fantastic. The atmosphere and the soundtrack was great and just had that feeling of uncanny comfort and dread at the same time.
I remember being so happy unlocking that cowgirl uniform that replaced Fiona's weak melee kick with a gun that could temporarily knock out the stalkers in a few hits. Also I loved the playable Hewie mode and just going to town against them, a nice catharsis after the initial horror.
This game's good ending also was one of the most satisfying for me because and actually gave me tons of relief being able to see Fiona make it out safe and sound.
Also we named our first dog Hewie. If Capcom ever plans a remaster or remake of this, I'd totally be onboard.
Damn, you have one cool mum :D
Ah, Haunting Ground, or as I like to call it, the ACTUAL Clock Tower 3(or 4, whatevs), unless I'm being forgetful, then I call it Rule of Rose. Fun fact about Daniella, her voice actress, Moira Quirk, was Moira from "Nickelodeon Guts," among other things.
Also, another in a long line of games that Capcom put out in the mid-2000s that holds up surprisingly well visually, pre-rendered cutscenes not withstanding.
Still, I wonder what was up with developers putting big friendly dogs in their horror games around that time. Huey in this, "that dog" in RE4, Brown in Rule of Rose, are all in games that came out in damn near the same year.
I always had issues with characters like Daniela. Can't feel anything, except anger and jealousy... I get that writing a character with no real emotions is hard but it's weird that no emotions is usually just anger in media.
The Battle Royale book has a character that has no emotions and is probably the best example on how to avoid anger as an equal to no emotions
Yeah it really doesn't make any sense because they shouldn't feel those emotions either.
*SPOILERS*
Sophie messed up a teeny bit on that one, all of the servants in the castle are very obedient to their master, she appears emotionless because she is ordered to do so, before you are chased by Daniella, you are given a very subtle hint in the game that she only mantains her obedient facade in front of her masters, although Daniella looks cold and speaks in a very monotone manner, she does have emotions and feels them ( otherwise why would she keeps switching emotions and smiles once in a while? ), what she doesn't feel is physical pain, it is quite noticeable because of how much she tries ro injure herself with the bloodied nails and how she licks the edges of the broken window glass, implying she has done this way before Fiona arrives
Her death is great because you don't know why she smiles when she gets stabbed, you can assume maybe she has always wanted to die or maybe she finally feels pain thus feels complete
I think i know one character that can't feel anything except feeling joy of helping others.
SparkDOOD: To my knowledge no one/nothing ever said Daniella could not feel anything emotionally/mentally. When Daniella says she cannot feel pain, pleasure, taste anything she was solely talking about on a physical level. It's a bit of a mystery if Daniella is even human at all and wasn't simply 'created' by Lorenzo or kidnapped and brainwashed/abused by him severely. She also calls Lorenzo 'master/creator' and said "My creator said he made me the perfect woman." Who knows except Capcom?
@@mysteryghostgamer6753
I would of like her to be the
Main antagonist instead
Of 1-note Lorenzo/Ricardo.
Not gonna lie, I had never heard of this game before but so far I'm really interested. NEED TO PLAY
Thanks for the vid, Sophie :D
Fabio F. 180 dollars
I didn't play Haunting Ground until I was a guy in my mid 20s. I won't say that it's nearly as bad as playing it as a teenage girl for sure, the degree of association there is too similar to compare, but it absolutely impacted me in its own way. Base sympathies for Fiona aside, the game does such a phenomenal job of selling Fiona's plight that honestly it feels pretty bad to see her in even a remotely sexual light afterwards. Yes, there's the eye candy element to her character but it's like I'd feel no better than the antagonists for doing so BECAUSE they do so in such horrific and perverse ways. Not a lot of games subvert expectations and get under the skin so gracefully, and as a result seeing Fiona to safety and avoiding the antagonists at all costs effortlessly overrode whatever surface sexual appeal this game might've had. I've played my share of horror games but none have evoked sympathy the way this one has. It ain't pretty but its methods work.
To that end, I'd also recommend Rule of Rose to anyone who resonated with this game. It's far less explicit in its sexual exploitation, not to mention the absurd prices for its rarity and infamously bad combat, but the themes of physical and psychological abuse amongst young women runs just as strongly through it in its own way. It's not the easiest game to acquire but I enjoyed it as much as Haunting Ground and can certainly recommend it for many of the same reasons that game is recommendable. At the very least, it's worth looking into.
I honestly wish they did games like
This with men, men have stuff
Happen to them as well & it
Would be interesting to explore
That with a male protagonist.
Really great game. It WAS scary for all the reasons you state, but the fact that characters can come out and chase you at certain areas was scary as hell. You never knew when some "Resident Evil Nemesis" is gonna come out and you need to hide.
This is uncanny. I was 13 when I got my hands on this game. As terrifying as it was to a young girl I don't think I could have played it at a better time (impact wise). It really was this sense of dread and hopelessness that felt suffocating at times. But being 26 (wow...13 years...) I don't regret playing it a single bit. Sure , it gave me nightmares and sleepless nights, but there was something that drew me back in every time. I saw a lot of myself (what I assume anyone would feel like stuck in this situation) in Fiona and I was overwhelmed with this need to see her succeed. I'm glad to know you went through this too! Haunting Ground, along with Rule of Rose, Fatal Frame and Silent hill 3 really hit home because they really had this ability to make you feel powerless, and that is the most terrifying thing of all.
I also played this game when I was 13, though I'm a guy.I always thought that Daniella wanted to tear Fiona's uterus out.
I remember when I first watched a walkthrough of haunting ground in my junior year of highschool and thought I could fear nothing but everything about haunting ground from your only way of defending yourself is a dog to you slowly losing your sanity and to the fact of hiding somewhere drove fear deep in me that I had nightmare of being chased by someone trying to kill me for two years and that all my dreams would ever be. Sophie explain this game so amazingly that I somewhat felt the memories of every character chase again.
Shoutouts to that one ending where you just leave and completely fuck over all the bad guys' plans
Good video, opinions were articulated very well. Never even heard of the game before but I appreciate the take on the age and gender of the player being an important factor into the effectiveness of the scares.
I been obsessed with this game since I was 4. I'm 15 now and I have pictures of haunting ground all over my walls, I have haunting ground shirts, my own notebook I made of every single facts, puzzle, item and usage, ect. I have a white German Shepard that I named hewie which I was begging my mom for since I was little. And my own life size stands I made of debilitas, daniella, and fiona. I'm in the middle of making riccardo. This is what I call a intense obsession
did you ever play rule of rose, i wonder?
I did! I'd love to talk about it eventually because BOY do I have a lot to say about it.
ValkyrieAurora perfect, because like this game my memory of it is pretty hazy... mostly because of the mental trauma these kinds of games leave me with. guess when that vid comes up, the mental blocks come off eh?
I second interest in a Rule of Rose video. Love your coverage of niche titles!
ValkyrieAurora please do rule of rose
I want to play Rule of Rose so badly but it's way too expensive
who would've thought the seemingly responsible valkyrie from back then would be BREAKING THE LAW ON M-RATED GAMES
I honestly got a little annoyed at that, I just don't think it's that big a deal in most cases (I realize your response was a joke but hey I decided to air my dirty laundry here anyway)
It's not against the law for someone younger to play it, merely they are unable to purchase it.
It's also not against the law to purchase or sell it. It's just something that most game stores all decided to do to avoid laws actually getting made.
Seeing Capcom remastered Onimusha, I''m pretty sure Capcom is looking at this game too. 2018's been a good year for classics
Fun bit of trivia - in Tatsunoko vs Capcom, whenever you get the ending for Joe the Condor, he rescues Fiona Belli from the castle and blasts that place sky-high with action-missiles. I have NO IDEA how old-school saturday morning superheroes found their way into a psychological nightmare like this, but it was just so absurd that I rolled with it, lol.
your voice is literally one of the most beautiful things ever i've ever heard. you could be a voice actress
I loved that dog. Such a wonderful companion.
I would love for a good update, remix or whatever of this game. It needs more love. One of the best horror games I have played. With its creepy atmosphere, unsettling villains and the feeling of Claustrophobia makes this game so memorable.
I love this game! I really liked our analysis and how your perspective affected your experience.
would definitely replay this.
Huey is best dog don't at me
Why is everyone writing it as "Huey"? :'D Its Hewie - But totally agree with u bud, got myself a white shepherd because of him
Sam It was a long time since I played Haunting Ground. I forgot Hewie was spelled as such and thought it was spelled as Huey like Huey Freeman from The Boondocks. My mistake.
Agreed! Hewie is best dog!
My 5th grade self LOVED this game (even though in hindsight I probably shouldn't have been playing it so young). I'm honestly so glad you made a video on it because not too many people know about it/remember it anymore so thank you!
"LET ME INTO YOUR WOMB!!!"
I loved this game when I was a kid.
It's nice to hear from it again.
That line is kinda cringe &
Dumb.
@@elongatedmanforever1252 It made me laugh really loud, lol.
I really appreciate how in-depth and well constructed your videos are.
I played this game in my late teens, and I do remember that horror aspect of it completely escaped me. When later I was describing it to my friends I was refereeing to it as an adventure game. I also missed sexual messages until the moment when intention to impregnate heroine was brought up, and even then I was just surprised why plot writers decided to put it like that. In the end I just that game was weird.
On the other hand, mentioned scene from whistleblower actually managed to get under my skin. It got me to the point that I was satisfied to see Eddie die a painful death even though I haven't had any particular animosity towards other antagonists from Outlast series. Only thing maybe worth noting that I personally wasn't actually unnerved by threat of genital mutilation rather then by 'I'll make you my bride' thing.
I honestly felt bad for Eddie
I abhored his actions but I feel
Sorry for him, what his dad
& Uncle did to him was beyond
Disturbing & I wonder if he
Would of came out differently
If that didn't happen to him.
I played Haunting Ground when I was 16, and it was the time of my life that I most played horror games. I'm a huge fan of many many horror games, but truly, Haunting Ground was something that impressed me (and still impresses), because of that mystery. When Fiona is killed, we hear only strange noises, and we don't know what the antagonist is doing with her! That game over scene is the most powerfull of all games I ever played. And I loved it.
It's a game that deserves a Remaster or a Remake!! (#*o*#)
Is it me or she looks a lot like RE5 JIll... Maybe it's that Capcom design!
Lol i thought this was a resident evil game i just never played but its just an entirely different game.
If i had a say, i would make her juggly jiggies just a size smaller. I recently did that to my Guild Wars character (and gave her more muscles wile at it), and i really love that change.
In Resident Evil 4 its same dog that protects Fiona that protects Leon in 4 and in 5 I think they wanted to do The same thing but make Jill hair blonde instead!
Looks more like Ashley to me. And with ballistics, too
They definitely had the same artists and early graphics engine when they made Haunting Ground, seeing it's just a year after RE4
I played that game when I was like 12 or 13 I don't remember for 100%
But
This game stuck with me forever because how vulnerable Fiona was and how Hewie was her protector and whenever they hurt Hewie I was like "oh no you don't" and use all the small ball thingies I had lol
It didn't traumatized me because I didn't understand half of what they said since back then my English was not as good
But replaying it recently really blew my mind when I understood wtf is going on there
And replaying it again with Hewies point of view was best thing ever!!!
Have you played Silent Hill 3? A lot of similar themes are present in that game too
I watched my mom and my aunt play this when I was very little. About 2 years after it came out. Afterwards I became very interested in it. I been playing this game since I was 5 and I am inlove with it. 5 years old. I played this game very underage😂 it got to me as well but I still love it so much. One of the best horror games in my opinion.
My God this game was something, that first part with that creepy music whenever that thing found you.. i had to call my bother to keep company me hahaha.
I can’t thank you enough for this. Haunting Ground is so underrated and I wish it had a remix.
HOLY SHIT VALKYRIE IS COVERING HAUNTING GROUND!?
Is it cause of the cammy haunting ground costume?
MrInuhanyou123 it's specifically because of that I'm sure
ur profile pic fits amazing with the comment.
I was 14-15 when I first played both Clock Tower 3 and Haunting Ground. I feel as if being around the same age as the protagonist (or the exact age, in Alyssa’s case) enhanced the experience for me. The panic meter in both games also helped me relate to them. Of course, I didn’t know I had anxiety at the time...
Excellent video! I’m always happy to see HG in the recommendations. Can’t get enough of that game.
Ok no this game really messed me up when I was little, I played and enjoyed resident evil but this, hell no!
I've always heard of and saw this game and I always wanted to play it. Thank you for revoking this interest in me in a decade plus later !!
Hey, it's that dog!
Literally, it's the same dog from RE4.
Kinda, spiritually they are but the 'Dog' in RE4 is a wolf and Huey is a white German shepherd.
Huey for Capcom mascot
Master Thief Veppo Huey is good but no one mess with the blu bomber
It's Hewie
That's MR. Hewie to you.
I remember watching a lets play of this game when I was a teenager and I can say for a fact that it really hits home. Being a teenage girl is scary and daunting and experiencing this game made it all the more real to me.
I love how you cover these kind of games even if I never played them before. (also is it a coincidence that Lady Zero released her Fiona Cosplay so close to the release of this video? I love both of your works!)
This game needs a remaster now more than ever. You'd think that humanity would have learned a thing or two in the time since this game's release, but we've only gone backward. The twisted motivations of the game's antagonists are a legitimized political movement in the United States, just without the alchemy. Fiona's existence as a human being is denied, reducing her to her vagina and physical birthing functions. That she should have any right to what she does with her own body is genuinely offensive to Riccardo and Lorenzo.
As much as I can understand the 'life begins at conception' mindset - with some effort, mind you - the people who rage over abortions have never once thought about even the most extreme of the horrors that denying a woman an abortion can lead to. What does it mean to be forced to have your rapist's child? I saw that scene with a pregnant Fiona when I was twenty-one, and I'm a man, and that still still left me with mental scars.
Capcom sent this game to die by releasing it around the same month as Resident Evil 4
Holy shit this game. When I was a kid I used to buy random game magazines and one of them came with a full guide/walkthrough of this game. I used to read it over and over again because the game seemed so interesting (my kid self really liked the idea of controlling a dog named Hewie) but I was never able to find the game on stores back then, probably for the better since I was like 8 lol.
Fast forward to now more than 10 years later and you made me remember that it exists! I'll be tracking down a copy as soon as I can.
Also, videos on Nier, Yakuza, Bloodborne and MGR? This is a top tier taste channel, instantly subscribed.
does anyone else really want her to replay this game and record it
I vote for that! So Capcom would notice this game, along with Clock Tower series. These games deserve a remaster collection!
First saw this game forever ago in a Game Informer magazine and was obsessed. Glad someone shared the harrowing experience, thanks for making this!
Haunting Ground is so damn underrated
I've only ever heard of this game in passing, but seeing how much depth it has is really cool! :D
This gane made me so cautious and pensive...😨
valkyrie everytime you put out a new video that reminds me of something i watched in the past i always run to it asap- Your voice is so soothing and i could honestly listen to it 24/7
You always explain these amazing games in such a good way that just makes me want to replay them
I love these kind of videos so much and hope i can enjoy many more!!
Just thought I would let you know that interestingly enough Capcom just released a Fiona costume for Cammy in Street Fighter 5. Capcom still remembers Haunting Ground so maybe there is still hope for a remaster.
Well, a single developer remembered it.
A very underrated game, one of my favs. You have good taste Sophie!
I remember watching Cry's LP of this game and being scared shitless once I found out what the 'bad' endings of this game were.
I was also 12. lol
Haunting Ground! Wah so glad you're doing a video on this!! It's my absolute favourite game of all time. I don't talk about it as much anymore, but any time I see someone I like cover it I have a little freak out.
Funny enough, your experience with the game was so similar to mine and that's actually WHY I love it so much, I think.
Ding dong ? That's what you went with ??
Honestly feel like ding dong is a very suitable way to describe a dong ding
You mean like a doorbell?
Not many options when you're trying not to get demonetized, really...
Ding dong is an acceptable alternative to something like piddlywink
Weewee? Jimmy? Diddle, dingle, dingus, flapadoodle, joystick, womb, broom, hobgoblin, flapper-floodle, wing wang, quimsteak, yard-arm, pocket pickle, tentpole, ham bone, Long John Silver, or adult swim pool noodle?
There were many options! Not necessarily good ones, but options.
Beautiful analysis (as always with your style and approach).
I had never heard of this game until this video. Upon researching and learning more I am utterly struck by its layered terrifying brilliance. It gets in your head like the very best horror stories do. (For myself that had been the Silent Hill series). There is another part of me that is like "How does Haunting Ground even exist!?" It's so nuanced whilst being so incredibly explicit. How did it make it past the censors? The trauma meditated on is so uncomfortably visceral, yet so very well realized. Powerful engrossing stuff they'd be hard pressed to conceive of today.
I'm a guy, and this game made me nervous when I was 13.
I wrote a small article for a class I took earlier this year that studied how video games, narratology and ludology, how we interact with video games, etc. Anyway the article I wrote was about this game and the parallels it had with Gothic literature. Suffice to say, I hit upon some of the points you mentioned, but being that I was assigned male at birth, and I played it at just 22 years of age, I definitely didn't relate to the game in the exact same way you did.
That being said, it was the very first horror game I have ever beaten, and I do believe Haunting Ground to be a masterpiece in its own right. Fiona is certainly made out to be an over-sexualised character, and a vulnerable one at that, but it's intentional. Gothic fiction is a rather sexual medium, but in this case, I think the developers made Fiona in such a way so that the audience would see her in the way her stalkers so often did. This has the result of leaving one feeling disgusted with themselves as they're made to partake in the experience (not only hers, but in some ways, her stalkers as well) from start to finish.
Aside from being with Fiona every step of the way, the player feels every sense of urgency that she does, especially when hiding from a given stalker can only do so much or when Hewie, your only real bit of protection gets weaker and weaker. I don't think this game was as scary as a game like Silent Hill (of which I have yet to complete), but the impact that it made was significant. Even though I can't relate to the game in the same manner you did, I definitely got something out of it.
It could just be my inability to handle horrifying content very well, but there were times when I felt anxious or tense or unsettled. There were times where I got so paranoid I literally had to play the game with the lights on or only in the daylight, and sometimes only playing it for 15-20 minutes at a time before shutting the game off for a week or so. As a horror game, Haunting Ground definitely succeeds. As a game that taps into your subconscious, your psyche? It goes above and beyond in very effective ways. I do wish the game had more puzzle elements, but it's still a fantastic game. Oh, and it took me like an entire year or thereabouts to beat it (but again, that's probably because I really don't do horror very well).
I was 19 years old, when this came out. While - as a guy - I did not cower in fear about imagining my imminent impregnation, it still left an impression. I replayed it like 5 times, hard mode costumes, all endings, easter eggs, showed it off to friends, etc.. Glad the game gets some more awareness spread. Hearing the Liebestraum song makes me immediately think about Pandora's Tower though, another great game I'm sure matches your taste. :3
I thought Ricardo was kind of
a crappy villain, I mean he died
To a dog jumping at him lame.
I remember this game so well and how it affected me too, I was either 18 or 19 when I played it and its the only horror game I played and fully completed. The way it affects you as the player is what makes it so great and nlt only do you have to be cautious about an enemy that might spawn in yojr face as you exit a door but also the many death-traps that could be triggered in the rooms!
The room that gave me the most chills was the one with the mammoth, Huey got scared when I entered and I thought it was of the giant beast looking at us, and when you go over its trunk the camera angle changed and you could see that the mammoth's eyes had changed its focus, still staring at you. Such a great game I think it got less attention than deserved, possibly bc Resident Evil 4 was released the same year if I remember correctly. Lets hope they make a remake of it indeed! :)
Thanks for the nice video it made me very nostalgic!
Yo we getting a Fiona outfit for Cammy on SFV...
As a girl who is a year older than Fiona, I was deeply unsettled by the story and lore of the game. I’m not fortunate enough to get a copy but I’m learning about the game the themes stuck. We live in a world that preys on women and their body. This is a not just a game it’s reality
several minutes of have been reduced from this because of repeated points.
that aside, this was an interesting game. we don't often get company games like this. most companies after the ps2/xbox generation are more "safe" with what they make.
thankfully there is the indie community which are free to make what ever is in their capability that interests them
I mean, with the prices on development scaling more and more "Medium games" just died. You can only make a TRIPLE A experience or with a really really small team
This game is so underrated!!! It still gives me nightmares today! It’s absolutely terrifying especially when you play!! Sadly, there’s rarely any copies being sent out but this game is truly the fruit of horror
I loved this game!
Very perceptive and in depth. It definitely invokes some internal/ social dialogue
Right when we got the Fiona Cammy costume
Convenient
No joke I loved this game and Daniella was literally the best. I wished they remaster this gem.
I love your videos. Every time you drop a new one, I look forward to seeing what you put out, partially because of how unpredictable your format will be, but primarily because of your thoughtfulness and intentionality in your exposé style. This video was...different. I found you to repeat yourself multiple times and try to convince the viewer of something they already well understood for the entire second half of the video. Ordinarily, I'm taken aback by your videos and their quality. I believe your point would have been more effectively conveyed if you kept the video shorter, and if you didn't try to tip-toe around recommending this game for late-teen girls for the lasting effect you experienced. It's perfectly acceptable for you to be bold in your recommendations without overtly endorsing minors getting into Rated M games. This critique is in no way meant to discourage or belittle your talent. Hopefully it's received as well as it's intended. I'm excited to see what you put out next!
The music was very eerie as well. I hoarded hidden gem horror games as a kid. So I was lucky enough to pick up Haunting Ground, Rule of Rose, Fatal Frame, Kuon and a few others. These games need remasters. They don't deserve to be lost with time.
still waiting on ur response to play beyblades with me
Sophie, I will not rest until you acknowledge his request to play beyblades together.
strongest under the godtier you’ve done the lord a service
Fulfill his wish to play beyblades already
Pleaseeeee
Haunting Ground... such a classic... I have to say you have amazing taste in games and I found your video to be quite insightful! ^.^
Hey what happened to the NieR Automata Story Summary video? It was really good
I was also 17-19 when I first played Haunting Ground and I loved every second as much now as I did then. Haunting Ground is actually a spiritual successor to the Clock Tower games - both are by Capcom and share a page on Wiki. Another game that got to me around the same time as Haunting Ground was Rule of Rose which I love also - it's disturbing, dark yet innocent, misleading (both on purpose by developers & unintentionally by the lead character) and has a way of luring you into a false sense of 'calm' or 'safe' though still has a hint of something you can't shake off, like your intuition telling you DANGER! It was the first time I was creeped out & disturbed by children. It has it's layers and is more complex than the surface shows if you look closer and was even banned in several countries (I think including the USA) for it's content. Back to Haunting Ground, I loved how it's a classic horror survival game (unlike many today, if it gives you a gun then it isn't 'classic') in that you have to play a normal, vulnerable woman, not offended at all and I can see why playing a female would make people care about her more and her being a normal woman makes the player feel vulnerable to the dangers in the game. Only bothered a tad by the strange design & jiggle of Fiona's breasts which the player can make more... prominent. After beating it at least once I think. It's been a long time since I played. A lot of Haunting Ground fans like to theorize about Daniella - especially in that she's a lesbian lusting for Fiona. Anyone can read all about what's known about Haunting Ground and characters by visiting 'Haunting Ground Wiki' (which may come up as Clock Tower Wiki as well since they are technically the same franchise spiritually according to Capcom. The wiki page for Daniella alone is surprisingly long but this is partly/mostly because Wiki is a site anyone can join to edit and add on to it though what's written has to be approved by the site I think to make sure there's is no mis-information about the canon. And if anything is a theory or a spoiler, it will say so before you scroll down to read it. The Daniella theories are fairly well explained and I can see why fans think Daniella is a lesbian. She is definitely the most mysterious, disturbing and memorable stalker of the game. I WILL BE PRAYING TO CAPCOM FOR A REMASTERED VERSION OF HAUNTING GROUND TO BE RELEASED FOR A MORE RECENT PLAYSTATION OR AT LEAST BE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD IT FROM THE PS STORE.
I see a Sophie video, I like before I even watch
It's the worst thing you can do for the author or you as a recipient.
Haunting Ground is one of my favorite horror games that I never got to play during its original release.
I bought it many years later for a very high price. This game is popular enough that people don't want to let go of their copies, and I understand why now.
For me personally it was the best love story ever told.
Literally every game you make a video on it convinces me to play
Silent hill 2, Fetal Frame 1,2&3 ( project Zero) and hunting ground was of my top scary games on the PS2 that really made you scare and give you hard time to finish the game, very good choice on picking this game, you just made my day on remembering many scary memory playing these type of games.
So this game is clearly not gonna be remastered with these themes XD
Nope. All hell would break loose if that happened
TheEmoShow It still has a lot more chances to be remastered than Rule of Rose (the other game people are talking about in the comments) In that one, children are involved in the story, which turned out to be the cause of some countries banning the game (despite it being very subtle with the story themes), so it's pretty much impossible P.S: Damn, I'd LOVE both games to be remastered but that's not gonna happen for sure *sigh*
@@mindlessdrawing3336 I feel your pain bro. Damn sjws and political correctness ruining everything.
@@Artwolf007... You know that's the right who always wants to censor this kind of discourse right?
And exploration and descontruction of trauma and heavy themes is basically all the left scholars do, right?
There's way more than LOL BOOBIE BAD! XD
But there's a LOT of male gazing and framing in the game who don't add nothing to it, and sometimes even works against it, like the alternate costumes
Gbless you for bringing this game into the light, people need to know about it more >:3
I wonder if a side objective for the devs would be to show that kind of perspective. While girls can definitely relate more, putting boys into an abused girls shoes could have had a somewhat valuable experience for them. A big reason I consume fiction is to see perspectives different from my own and to be put into situations I can't actually immediately relate to, so I hecking hope this gets a rerelease too cuz it sounds like a wonderful punch in the head.
Thank you so much for making this video. Now I finally understand why Silent Hill 3 hit home for my best friend so much, because it hits a lot of the same notes and she must have felt very much the same as you did with Haunting Ground.
Hm, so Traditional Asian Values: The Horror Game