Siren Blood Curse was the first game that ever gave me nightmares, the Japanese really know how to get under your skin with their own flavour of horror
This game scared the FUCK out of me as a kid. It was so nightmarish to process this stuff as a, like, 7 year old. My mom loved games like this, Silent Hill and Eternal Darkness. So I quickly learned to adapt to seeing this type of horror. And came to appreciate the more profound elements as an adult.
Your mom is so cool! I was forbidden from playing horror games so I could only play them at night while being in constant fear of being caught. I guess it enhanced the experience :D
@@TheKitMurkit you would think so but from what I can tell it's only made me more interested in fiction and the nuances of it. I've developed into a much more creative person, as far as storytelling is concerned, and have been drawn more to works that have what I interpret to have more "layers" for lack of a better term. (Such as the works of Stanley Kubrick and the like. As well as other works of fiction that I find it much easier to read much more meaningful messages out of when I find the time in my days to digest such things.) I attribute a good bit of that to the media that my mother wasn't afraid to let me digest during my formative years (it wasn't all just horror, mind you) Idk man, maybe I was just one of the lucky ones to be more wired for this type of stuff but I'm not convinced that I'm that special. Maybe kids around that age are more capable of processing this type of stuff, considering it's just stories, than we realize as adults (even I would feel hesitant to show something like this game to a 7 year old, despite knowing I witnessed it at that age) I'm not sure. But it seems worth thinking about.
There is also in Japanese mythology, a story about a girl named Yao Bikuni who became immortal by eating a fish-like creature known as Ningyo. This story certainly must have been the inspiration of the story of Yao who ate the body of her deity and became immortal that we find in the game.
Was going to mention this, there are many other works that also reference this myth/folktale. One of these I wanted to note is Sekiro, where the Corrupted Monk's true name is Priestess Yao. Strikingly similar to Siren are the flowing waters sourced by a diety that heal and grant immortality, but at the cost of your humanity if you partake too much. I know that Max touched on the more Western inspirations for this concept, but is this also rooted in Japanese mythology/folklore?
Another religious aspect of the game's story I noticed involving the cult group's name. The village is suffering a famine at the time of the 333 year cycle of a comet passing through the sky. At that time, for reasons still unclear, the godlike alien being falls from the sky and crashes near the village. The starving villagers out of desperation begin to eat the flesh of the alien, treating it as a blessing from the heavens. Food delivered to starving people directly from heaven. Mana/manna/mannah. The Religion of Mana.
I haven't played the games, so I don't know story in details, but I've just seen the movie called Forbidden Siren, which is said to be based on this game, alto I would say very loosely. In the movie there's a scene where main character reads some legend her father was researching, which said that in 1500s I think there was a plague on the island and people were dying, so in desperation they captured, dismembered and ate siren, but as she was dying she screamed to put a curse on them. However movie is ambiguous at what actually happen, while in the game it clearly seems to be supernatural stuff.
The thing about Siren's puzzles is that they were made with the purpose of being so cryptic that players would be "forced" to investigate and make this a joint effort, a concept that Kojima also appreciates. Basically the game wasn't made to be solved by one person alone. Nowadays there are much better tools to realize this idea, sure, but it's arguably still an interesting concept that ties back to the game's progression, in the sense that the multiple characters we control all play a *necessary* part to end the story, even if this was just a tiny contribution.
This was the game that got me into online forums back in the day. The game was so niche that there was really only me and two other people on the board swapping tips and theories about it.
@@marlondaniels7912 That's awesome! This is exactly the type of interaction the creator had intended. Of course, he had the Japanese gamer culture in mind, and as much as it still was a niche thing, they did that quite a lot more often than us here in the West. I've also had only a few people in my circle of friends going over the game, unfortunately.
Very good horror games. Newcomers would probably enjoy "Blood Curse" for getting into the series, which is a way more use friendly experience and a re-imagining of the first game. The first 2 games are awesome, but insanely difficult and obscure about unlocking alternate objectives for alternate characters and progressing.
For a newcomer yeah i agree on playing Bloodcurse first just to have a taste of the series. My favorite will always be the first, even though imo the seconds one improves on gameplay mechanics and puzzles in terms of being user friendly.
@@SSEBBlue Siren 2 has alittle refinement over Siren 1. But if you're going into complete both games from start to finish (and collecting all archive items) They're pretty much neck and neck in terms of bat sh*t insane difficulty levels by the end of each game. Siren 2 might initially lure you into a false sense of being easier than the first, but quickly reveals its just as much a headfcuk lol
I still need to play siren 2 as it wasn’t available here back in the day, and every attempt to emulate it didn’t work. My laptop I have now may finally do it justice without breaking it
Yooo love your playthroughs man! I have no way of playing the Siren games and, even if i did, id be too scared to even play em. So i watched your playthroughs instead and really enjoyed them hahaha Thanks for doing what you do!
There's also this one part in Driver San Francisco where you're being chased but the camera actually shows the POV of the person chasing you as you drive the car in front of him. Pretty cool and underused concept.
From what I heard in Nitrorad's videos about this games, the deevlopers made the first game purposefully obtuse and hard to guess, so that people would unite online and discuss about it. I wish more games did this, it's such a cool idea that you would never see in a AAA game
@@michaelelmes2135 that or the 4 treasures that you DON'T take in ffXII if you want the most poweful weapon in the game, except if you want to find it in a treasure in a secret dungeon that have 20% of probability to spawn and you must open it with an item equiped and then you have the 10 % of probabilty to obtain the weapon.. only if the rng decided that the treasure isn't money like in the 60% of cases
Yeah, I remember being a teen when this game was coming out, and scrounging the internet for info on it. They had made a whole set of marketing materials in the guise of found footage, newspaper articles and online rumours, alongside a bunch of countdowns and secrets to find. It was pretty cool and engaging, and stuck with me. I then tried the demo, shat myself in the first 10 minutes, and decided to not get a heart attack with the full game.
Yeah, I wanted to know more. There is an uncanny similarity to Silent Hill though, like they were trying to do Siren first, but just didn't meet the same success. I could be wrong, but I think they were developing the Siren series first, and then a lot of ideas bleed over into Silent Hill. Anyway, the caterpillar baby monster was terrifying.
@@nickcurrant2254 As far as I know, that isn't true at all. I think the similarities begin and end with the fact that they're simply Toyama's stories. The same could be said about similar themes being prevalent in the works of Stephen King.
@@mondoprime Yeah, you're right. I confused it a bit. I remember playing the game because my friend said it was made by people from Team Silent, but I got the history crossed.
This game and it's sequel need a re-release so freaking bad. Criminally underrated. Great video man. I could listen to you talk about horror all year round
Siren is forever burned into my memory. When me and my buddy Paul were about 10, we played a PS2 demo disk that had Siren on it (as well as Serious Sam & The Red Star which were super fun). I remember the demo placing us in a schoolhouse that was dead quiet and pitch black. The opening cutscene implied that you (a teacher) and a student were the only people in the building, and that the two of you just had to get out. But then you hear footsteps... and then you sightjack into "something" walking down the adjacent hall... it's breathing heavily, and walking directly towards the room you're hiding in... We did not finish that demo lol. We were both way too scared to play through it. Now that I'm older and have a better appreciation for horror titles, I'm greatly impressed at the sense of dread you can still feel with this game even today (just like the original Silent Hill games).
Siren is one of those games that has fascinated me for years. I truly love the concept of these games (even the remake, it's okay). And I'm so happy that there was a teaser of a modern Siren game. Because I think it has potential. Excited to see this video play out.
@@SamuelSamuel-zx9mu I think they’re talking about the new game that’s in production by from Bokeh Game Studio, which is led by the Creator of the original Silent Hill and the Siren games. Pretty sure it’s not a Siren title, though it does look interesting
I have to say that the massive world-building that they did with each discoverable Archive Item gave the game so much depth. There was even an ARG element where you could find a real website link that takes you to the internet forum that Kyoya posts on about going to check out the lost village by biking there, which of course sets up the beginning events of the game. What else was on that website? Ad banners for the playable character Naoko who is a popular TV personality in-universe that eventually gets dragged into the otherworld Hanuda Village as well. It's little details like these that made the whole experience so memorable and fascinatiing, and it really deserves more praise.
I would VERY much like for you to continue Siren. One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. I walked into it entirely blind, no guide, and still remember plotting pathways and trying, then trying again, then a third time, and suddenly it's 4am
The Siren series is somewhat enigmatic but sad to me. 😔 I feel compelled to understand more from it, and your insight on theologies has expanded what the game was trying to show. I would love to see more of your observations on the Siren games.
The original Siren! Such fond memories of this beautiful game. As I was playing it, it felt like the only thing that mattered. It was one of my last comforts at a time when my life was falling apart in a way I couldn't even fathom just yet.
I never understood why people took issue with the garbage chute puzzle. -you see as you come in the appartments that there is a disposal place and where it is. -you pick up the pack and its description says its expired, ergo it isn't for consumption. -you see something stuck in the garbage chute if you check -you presumably played one so you know for those kindsa puzzles you need something to unstuck them -the chute has the square shape of the pack -the pack has no other reasonable use other than its weight So when I ran into that puzzle, I knew precisely what to do. And even then, I might be overlooking that james literally comments he could dislodge it with something heavy enough. I don't remember precisely if he does or not which is why I didn't use it as an argument. I can't help but feel its notoriety is a symptom of people not being handheld to know there even is a puzzle. Hell, even without all those details, if you were in james' shoes wouldn't you yeet that pack down the chute? Cuz it's heavy, it's expired and it's not gonna be of any use otherwise.
This game traumatized the hell out of me when I was a kid. I regard it as one of the pillars of survival horror on a par with Resident Evil or Silent Hill. The atmosphere of Siren is by far the most memorable and terrifying of all horror games...
Great job again Max, you definitely need to expand on the rest of the series. You should check out the Suffering, it's not as elaborate as other survival horror games but goes for that "tormented history of a place" and what it does to people
I would love to see you analyze the other 2 games, specially Siren 2!! Most people (including me) think it is the best game in the series, because it managed to become a tad more refined by making the puzzles less non-sensical and adding more hints to aid the player, while still keeping the complexity, uniqueness and difficulty that made the original game so distinctive (unlike Siren Blood Curse).
I love, and respect, this game so, so much. Thank you for talking about it. Yes, I would absolutely love to hear you delve deeper into Siren, for those who have played it. Finishing the game, unlocking the freedom to use the... calendar?, lol... and then fully completing this game is still to this day, approaching 2 decades after playing it, one of the most meaningful and satisfying experiences I have ever had with a game. And I'm the kind of person who asks people who mention Final Fantasy Tactics if they know what the ending to Act 1 of Tactics Ogre entails.
Oh wow. I just looked up Siren vs Silent Hill. Didn't know they were from the same dev. I was introduced to Siren from Playstation Home featuring a horror maze. Scared the shit out of me!
One of my favorite games of all time. To this day I haven't met another person who has played it besides my roommate from the time I discovered this game.
Small correction about the Hades and Persephone myth: 1. In some versions she is tricked and in other versions she takes the seed willingly. It depends on the version and translation so it's inconclusive which it is. 2. Winter exists because Persephone is in the Underworld. It did not exist before then. It is Demeter mourning her daughter not being by her side that causes Winter.
Please, do make a series analysing Siren's lore. It's a fascinating game series with a lot of symbolism and thoughtful analogies. I remember having to get a bootleg copy of Siren 2 (European version) and playing it black-and-white/monochromatic on my chipped PS2 because the 60 Hz setting made it look like that-or, at least that's what I thought was happening. Ah, the memories.
Would love to see the more of the mythology of this game series if you haven't already. That fruit of life, red water, and Cherub bits is fantastic. I know it's been two years but I binge watch your silent hill reviews and now I am here.
I think my favorite thing about Siren 1 and 2, something that I grew to really love in other survival horror games, is how the gameplay, setting, and enviornment can show you just how bad the shibito threat is getting in each game. If you pay close attention to the timeline in the first game, you can see exactly how the shibito evolve over the course of the three days; every day at noon, a bunch of shibito head out to bathe in the red sea, and several hours later, they come back with their newly mutated forms. Additionally, with the exception of Tomoko, who we never see again after the house level, every shibito-turned playable character eventually gains a mutated form of their own since by that point in the timeline, each of them heard the siren go off at noon after becoming a shibito and were compelled to bathe in the red water. Seeing how the game's story and environment justifies and explains the presence of the monsters quickly became one of my favorite details in a survival horror game. I love it when there's a proper explanation for the monsters' presence and why they take on more horrific forms.
You cannot imagine how long I've been waiting to see a video like this. I had lost almost and thought that Siren just vanished from the minds of everyone on earth
I’ve been morbidly obsessed with this series since time immemorial, alongside games that fall in a similar category such as Bloodborne. I would be thrilled to watch more videos on the subject.
3:08 About that Its a direct result of the team trying to make a, for lack of a better Word, PT experience where players had to band togheter and discuss stuff online to figure the game outro.
Great overview, I've been meaning to play this game for awhile since I saw it on PSN. Gonna take the plunge soon. You rock Max, keep up the great content
I love you Max. My kids’ hamster died today, I think we did well with the arrangements and helping them mourn so all is well. It’s very heavy for me though. I would need somebody to help me get theough that. The reason I don’t get pets is to a large extent because we always become bff’s, have a great time and they die and I break down as soon as I find some alone-time. I don’t know why I’m writing this but it feels like the appropriate place. Thank you for what you do and who you are. All the best /JonRa
I think is safe to say that the Siren series is one of the scareist if not the scareist games and series of all. What else do you expect from the creator of SH. The series has one of the creepiest atmospheres I've ever seen. Nothing is more scary then sight jacking to the shiboto's view, hearing their breathing, talking and laugh while it's coming towards where you're hiding, stopping inches from you and going away after a few seconds. J horror is something else. Good video but it was short. You should do more lengthy ones about the series and the other 2 games
I just beat Siren 1 and I can say that the puzzles aren't as hard as people tend to say. If you keep an eye on your Link Navigator and pay attention to the files in your Archive it's very doable. Also, puzzles like the frozen rag are shown to you through inspecting the environment. If those things don't work, sightjacking reveals the rest (like with the Shibito who is attracted to the broken radio or the order of laterns). Go into it with the right mind and pay attention and you can do it! The game took me around 10 hours without a guide, so it's definitely a journey. I loved the game!
Yes please make more of these videos!! I am not a big SH fan but I am really into Siren and the lore is really fun to watch and only really available to people who 100% all the games.
New sub! My god.. I played this back in 2003 and still get the chills just thinking about it. Super eerie, ultra confusing universe and game/story mechanics but a truly hidden gem! Thank you for this ! 💙
Great analysis! Siren is totally unique, and a must-play for survival horror fans. If you can get past the obtuse puzzles and unforgiving gameplay, it's scary as hell and the story that unfolds will haunt you forever. Don't be ashamed to use a walkthrough.
Siren was one of the most difficult games I've ever played and finished, the sheer amount of tactic and logic you have to apply to escape the Shibitos. Learn their patterns, have precision, be fast, and avoid conflicts are absurdly difficult, but rewarding in the end. Such an unique game.
Please cover more of Siren! I watched my mom play silent hill when I was little, and wandered across this game and thought it was AMAZING. I was a bit too young to play it successfully, but I thought the sightjacking was amazing, and I loved that you have little to no fighting ability against the enemies. I've always thought games where you can just....... shoot them..... are not nearly as scary :D
Back in the day Pewdiepie had a essay type of video showcasing Siren: blood curse after his walkthrough of it. They were some of his best videos although underrated. I have not been able to find the showcasing video anymore.
I'm proud to say that I already knew about Siren, but I'm so glad that my favorite youtuber has finally made a video on it! You'd better let us see that Minecraft SH city when it's finished. I don't wanna miss out on that.
Glad to see "Forbidden Siren" is getting some love - it is one of the scariest games I ever played, even though it can be frustrating as hell at times. The atmosphere is simply amazing. Too bad neither the sequel or the remake managed to recapture it. And let's not talk about the disastrous movie adaptation.
I first learned about Siren from one of Nitro Rad's Review of the game. It's cool to see another talking about it too, cause Siren is very interesting.
Keiichiro toyama always delivers. I have heard that he wants to go back to his horror roots. He even founded his own studio. So, he doesn't have to deal with the Koonami bullshit. Now, he will have complete freedom over his work. Hopefully he can create something truly original and scary. The horror genre desperately needs him.
Siren legitimately creeped me out when I was younger. I prefer Silent Hill but Siren was great. I wish I had played the PS3 version but I do think I have it digitally.
One correction: The Tree of life in Christianity doesn’t grant immortality-it grants knowledge. Adam and Eve were already immortal. Death only became a thing because of the original sin-eating from the tree (disobedience).
untrue. adam and eve were not yet welcomed to the tree of eternal life because they failed the test of not eating of the tree of forbidden knowledge . they were in training for Godhood
Great analysis, and I'd just like to add one little factoid; in some versions of Christian mythology, the centurion who pierced Jesus's side was supposedly cursed with immortality when he got his blood and water on him. Just like the red river.
Siren Blood Curse (a sort of remake of this one) I think handles it better than this first Siren, since it reduces the number of characters, and explains better the plot. Cool trivia: the team that developed Silent Hill 1-4 was Team Silent, which in japanese would sound like "Team Sirento". The Team that developed the Siren games was composed mostly by people from the original Team Silent, and hence they called themselves Team Siren. Which, in japanese, is almost pronounced equally.
I remember playing Forbidden Siren. This game was really hard. I played it in the early 2000's when the net wasn't all to accessible which eventually meant no walkthroughs. Hats off to those who finished this game and the sequel!
I love the soundtrack/score. It’s eerie and haunting but also calming. If you listen to some of the tracks themselves, without scary gameplay, They can be almost soothing.
Siren is a game unlike any other, truly a once in a lifetime experience! It can be quite difficult as there's often a very specific way to complete the level but you'll not know without some trial and error. The mercy is the levels are surprisingly short. If anyone is curious about playing Siren but frightened of the difficulty curve. I would highly recommend watching Supergreatfriend's playthrough on YT. It's one of the most comprehensive and the only entertaining guides to Siren I've ever seen. He made it so much easier for me to play even the hardest of levels. Once you know what you're meant to be doing, the challenge of actually completing the level becomes addictively fun! I would love more Siren content, die-hard fan but so little available outside of the odd review on YT!
Siren is too scary for me to play, but I really love that there's a lot of characters, realistically when things like thing goes down there would be several people in the same situation as you have
Siren was so goddamn scary dude. It was hard, required outside the box thinking, and provided perspectives on characters other titles failed to do. Damn good game. Love it.
Silent Hill: Traditional survival horror focus on small western town in US. Forbidden Siren: Stealth survivor horror with classic Japanese horror in rural village of Japan. I can definitely see why Silent Hill remains as the attraction of horror due to the large western followers but Forbidden Siren is on another different level of horror and it's deserves the top spot.
I did a double take at hearing "mythical serpent" and "tsuchinoko" in the same sentence because it's far too grand a term to describe a rotund noodle that has a penchant for alcohol and lies.
It's easily the scariest game I've ever played. It's an absolute masterpiece and I urge everyone who enjoys horror games to play it. Ideally with a walkthrough to hand when you need it.
Yeah! Was curious about this game's lore for a while now. Glad you covered it! Would love to see what you can dig up about their alien god or those freaky creatures!
thank you for covering this game! i love Siren series so much and it totally deserves more recognition! i’d love to hear your thoughts about Siren 2 and Blood Curse c:
I would love to see you talk about Siren 2, but because the game wasn't released in America, you're either gonna have to emulate it or get a region free PS2
Excited to hear your thoughts on the game! I do a search every few months to see if anyone is talking about this obscure gem, so thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! Excited to hear it
Siren Blood Curse was the first game that ever gave me nightmares, the Japanese really know how to get under your skin with their own flavour of horror
Just the track that plays at the main menu is creepy and scary enough.
And then there is heater of silent hill 3 who jump a god and lives to tell that lol
I'm only just now discovering that Siren Blood Curse wasn't a standalone...
For me it was THE ONLY game to give nightmares. It was really good.
Bruh that shit was terrifying. I couldn't even get through the demo 😂
This game scared the FUCK out of me as a kid. It was so nightmarish to process this stuff as a, like, 7 year old. My mom loved games like this, Silent Hill and Eternal Darkness. So I quickly learned to adapt to seeing this type of horror. And came to appreciate the more profound elements as an adult.
Yes; it was also difficult to process as a thirty-something lol. I only played 2 and 3 both scared me just as much as the movie Jacob's Ladder (1990).
Your mom is so cool! I was forbidden from playing horror games so I could only play them at night while being in constant fear of being caught. I guess it enhanced the experience :D
@@vonschweringen8321 My favourite 'horror movie' by far, although I categorize it more as a 'psychological thriller', if I'm being honest.
Sounds bad to introduce a young kid to a games like this
@@TheKitMurkit you would think so but from what I can tell it's only made me more interested in fiction and the nuances of it. I've developed into a much more creative person, as far as storytelling is concerned, and have been drawn more to works that have what I interpret to have more "layers" for lack of a better term. (Such as the works of Stanley Kubrick and the like. As well as other works of fiction that I find it much easier to read much more meaningful messages out of when I find the time in my days to digest such things.) I attribute a good bit of that to the media that my mother wasn't afraid to let me digest during my formative years (it wasn't all just horror, mind you)
Idk man, maybe I was just one of the lucky ones to be more wired for this type of stuff but I'm not convinced that I'm that special. Maybe kids around that age are more capable of processing this type of stuff, considering it's just stories, than we realize as adults (even I would feel hesitant to show something like this game to a 7 year old, despite knowing I witnessed it at that age)
I'm not sure. But it seems worth thinking about.
There is also in Japanese mythology, a story about a girl named Yao Bikuni who became immortal by eating a fish-like creature known as Ningyo. This story certainly must have been the inspiration of the story of Yao who ate the body of her deity and became immortal that we find in the game.
Was going to mention this, there are many other works that also reference this myth/folktale.
One of these I wanted to note is Sekiro, where the Corrupted Monk's true name is Priestess Yao. Strikingly similar to Siren are the flowing waters sourced by a diety that heal and grant immortality, but at the cost of your humanity if you partake too much. I know that Max touched on the more Western inspirations for this concept, but is this also rooted in Japanese mythology/folklore?
Another religious aspect of the game's story I noticed involving the cult group's name.
The village is suffering a famine at the time of the 333 year cycle of a comet passing through the sky. At that time, for reasons still unclear, the godlike alien being falls from the sky and crashes near the village. The starving villagers out of desperation begin to eat the flesh of the alien, treating it as a blessing from the heavens. Food delivered to starving people directly from heaven. Mana/manna/mannah.
The Religion of Mana.
I haven't played the games, so I don't know story in details, but I've just seen the movie called Forbidden Siren, which is said to be based on this game, alto I would say very loosely. In the movie there's a scene where main character reads some legend her father was researching, which said that in 1500s I think there was a plague on the island and people were dying, so in desperation they captured, dismembered and ate siren, but as she was dying she screamed to put a curse on them. However movie is ambiguous at what actually happen, while in the game it clearly seems to be supernatural stuff.
The thing about Siren's puzzles is that they were made with the purpose of being so cryptic that players would be "forced" to investigate and make this a joint effort, a concept that Kojima also appreciates. Basically the game wasn't made to be solved by one person alone. Nowadays there are much better tools to realize this idea, sure, but it's arguably still an interesting concept that ties back to the game's progression, in the sense that the multiple characters we control all play a *necessary* part to end the story, even if this was just a tiny contribution.
This was the game that got me into online forums back in the day. The game was so niche that there was really only me and two other people on the board swapping tips and theories about it.
@@marlondaniels7912 That's awesome! This is exactly the type of interaction the creator had intended. Of course, he had the Japanese gamer culture in mind, and as much as it still was a niche thing, they did that quite a lot more often than us here in the West. I've also had only a few people in my circle of friends going over the game, unfortunately.
Before it's time then.
Very good horror games. Newcomers would probably enjoy "Blood Curse" for getting into the series, which is a way more use friendly experience and a re-imagining of the first game. The first 2 games are awesome, but insanely difficult and obscure about unlocking alternate objectives for alternate characters and progressing.
For a newcomer yeah i agree on playing Bloodcurse first just to have a taste of the series. My favorite will always be the first, even though imo the seconds one improves on gameplay mechanics and puzzles in terms of being user friendly.
@@SSEBBlue Siren 2 has alittle refinement over Siren 1. But if you're going into complete both games from start to finish (and collecting all archive items) They're pretty much neck and neck in terms of bat sh*t insane difficulty levels by the end of each game. Siren 2 might initially lure you into a false sense of being easier than the first, but quickly reveals its just as much a headfcuk lol
I still need to play siren 2 as it wasn’t available here back in the day, and every attempt to emulate it didn’t work. My laptop I have now may finally do it justice without breaking it
There is no blood course on ps store. Why?
Yooo love your playthroughs man! I have no way of playing the Siren games and, even if i did, id be too scared to even play em. So i watched your playthroughs instead and really enjoyed them hahaha
Thanks for doing what you do!
I would absolutely love a game and lore breakdown of this series, like you've done over the years, with Silent Hill.
The lore kinda spoilers, but basically a bunch of people from 300 BC ate an alien, and since then whacky shit been going on
i cant believe how good the facial textures look in this game for its era like its not even uncanny just straight up realistic
They used a somewhat primitive form of facial capture.
I remember people praising this game as being the only one to have a second person perspective as a gameplay mechanic
ruclips.net/video/mC8QoRa8y_Q/видео.html
Your comment make sense to me and reminded me of this video
Wow...never thought of it that way. Very cool!!
There's also this one part in Driver San Francisco where you're being chased but the camera actually shows the POV of the person chasing you as you drive the car in front of him. Pretty cool and underused concept.
@@alejorag I never played Driver SF, but damn that sounds fun
Driver San Francisco was really good, the story was surprisingly well done.
From what I heard in Nitrorad's videos about this games, the deevlopers made the first game purposefully obtuse and hard to guess, so that people would unite online and discuss about it. I wish more games did this, it's such a cool idea that you would never see in a AAA game
So likeeee souls game? One of the biggest franchises of all time?
@@michaelelmes2135 that or the 4 treasures that you DON'T take in ffXII if you want the most poweful weapon in the game, except if you want to find it in a treasure in a secret dungeon that have 20% of probability to spawn and you must open it with an item equiped and then you have the 10 % of probabilty to obtain the weapon.. only if the rng decided that the treasure isn't money like in the 60% of cases
That’s also the idea behind Silent Hills
I personally hate games that don't respect a gamers time. Obtuse puzzles are ridiculous. Make them hard sure but make them make sense.
Yeah, I remember being a teen when this game was coming out, and scrounging the internet for info on it. They had made a whole set of marketing materials in the guise of found footage, newspaper articles and online rumours, alongside a bunch of countdowns and secrets to find. It was pretty cool and engaging, and stuck with me.
I then tried the demo, shat myself in the first 10 minutes, and decided to not get a heart attack with the full game.
The lore of this game seems truly fascinating, and the way you presented it was just fantastic, would love to see more
Yeah, I wanted to know more. There is an uncanny similarity to Silent Hill though, like they were trying to do Siren first, but just didn't meet the same success. I could be wrong, but I think they were developing the Siren series first, and then a lot of ideas bleed over into Silent Hill.
Anyway, the caterpillar baby monster was terrifying.
@@nickcurrant2254 As far as I know, that isn't true at all. I think the similarities begin and end with the fact that they're simply Toyama's stories. The same could be said about similar themes being prevalent in the works of Stephen King.
@@mondoprime Yeah, you're right. I confused it a bit. I remember playing the game because my friend said it was made by people from Team Silent, but I got the history crossed.
Check out the channel supergreatfriend he did an lp of both games and the final part of the first games lp is a run down of the story
I thought it was trash and the graphics are cat piss
This game and it's sequel need a re-release so freaking bad. Criminally underrated. Great video man. I could listen to you talk about horror all year round
You can buy it as a ps2 classic on ps4 and had a ps3 westernized remake
Siren is forever burned into my memory.
When me and my buddy Paul were about 10, we played a PS2 demo disk that had Siren on it (as well as Serious Sam & The Red Star which were super fun). I remember the demo placing us in a schoolhouse that was dead quiet and pitch black. The opening cutscene implied that you (a teacher) and a student were the only people in the building, and that the two of you just had to get out. But then you hear footsteps... and then you sightjack into "something" walking down the adjacent hall... it's breathing heavily, and walking directly towards the room you're hiding in...
We did not finish that demo lol. We were both way too scared to play through it.
Now that I'm older and have a better appreciation for horror titles, I'm greatly impressed at the sense of dread you can still feel with this game even today (just like the original Silent Hill games).
Long live the PlayStation mag demo discs! Kept me entertained for hooooours
SAME STORY. That game was super scary, you describing that, wow .. Nostalgia and fear enter.
Is your buddy paul still there ?
i also played the siren demo, couldn't finish it either, i was scared shitless as a kid.
Siren is one of those games that has fascinated me for years. I truly love the concept of these games (even the remake, it's okay). And I'm so happy that there was a teaser of a modern Siren game. Because I think it has potential.
Excited to see this video play out.
Wait there was a teaser for a modern siren game ??? Cool, I might check the game out when it’s released
@@SamuelSamuel-zx9mu I think they’re talking about the new game that’s in production by from Bokeh Game Studio, which is led by the Creator of the original Silent Hill and the Siren games. Pretty sure it’s not a Siren title, though it does look interesting
You're a legend for even covering this game. Good on yah.
“I am your mother!”
- baby faced abomination shaped like a overgrown grub before sacrificing herself to Thor.
I have to say that the massive world-building that they did with each discoverable Archive Item gave the game so much depth. There was even an ARG element where you could find a real website link that takes you to the internet forum that Kyoya posts on about going to check out the lost village by biking there, which of course sets up the beginning events of the game. What else was on that website? Ad banners for the playable character Naoko who is a popular TV personality in-universe that eventually gets dragged into the otherworld Hanuda Village as well. It's little details like these that made the whole experience so memorable and fascinatiing, and it really deserves more praise.
I would VERY much like for you to continue Siren. One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. I walked into it entirely blind, no guide, and still remember plotting pathways and trying, then trying again, then a third time, and suddenly it's 4am
Did the same thing last night but with Returnal
@@youlittlerocket Oooooo, hope it's nearly as much fun!
The school area is iconic. Especially using sounds to distract enemies so the kid can move around without getting caught.
The Siren series is somewhat enigmatic but sad to me. 😔 I feel compelled to understand more from it, and your insight on theologies has expanded what the game was trying to show. I would love to see more of your observations on the Siren games.
I'd love to see you analyse the rest of the series and do a deep dive into its lore. Great work as always man, love your content
The PS2 was graced with so many amazing horror games.
I've started this game multiple times but gave up half way through out of sheer fear. I really need to just finish this game!
Yup. I gave up too and that's extremely rare as I hate not finishing games but I just couldn't face this game anymore 🤣
I appreciate how you navigate around spoilers. Wish more RUclipsrs had that respect
The original Siren! Such fond memories of this beautiful game. As I was playing it, it felt like the only thing that mattered. It was one of my last comforts at a time when my life was falling apart in a way I couldn't even fathom just yet.
Kind of want to know more.
I never understood why people took issue with the garbage chute puzzle.
-you see as you come in the appartments that there is a disposal place and where it is.
-you pick up the pack and its description says its expired, ergo it isn't for consumption.
-you see something stuck in the garbage chute if you check
-you presumably played one so you know for those kindsa puzzles you need something to unstuck them
-the chute has the square shape of the pack
-the pack has no other reasonable use other than its weight
So when I ran into that puzzle, I knew precisely what to do. And even then, I might be overlooking that james literally comments he could dislodge it with something heavy enough. I don't remember precisely if he does or not which is why I didn't use it as an argument. I can't help but feel its notoriety is a symptom of people not being handheld to know there even is a puzzle.
Hell, even without all those details, if you were in james' shoes wouldn't you yeet that pack down the chute? Cuz it's heavy, it's expired and it's not gonna be of any use otherwise.
This game traumatized the hell out of me when I was a kid. I regard it as one of the pillars of survival horror on a par with Resident Evil or Silent Hill.
The atmosphere of Siren is by far the most memorable and terrifying of all horror games...
Great job again Max, you definitely need to expand on the rest of the series. You should check out the Suffering, it's not as elaborate as other survival horror games but goes for that "tormented history of a place" and what it does to people
safe to say, i think that vids like these should be done a lot more.
I would love to see you analyze the other 2 games, specially Siren 2!! Most people (including me) think it is the best game in the series, because it managed to become a tad more refined by making the puzzles less non-sensical and adding more hints to aid the player, while still keeping the complexity, uniqueness and difficulty that made the original game so distinctive (unlike Siren Blood Curse).
I love, and respect, this game so, so much. Thank you for talking about it.
Yes, I would absolutely love to hear you delve deeper into Siren, for those who have played it. Finishing the game, unlocking the freedom to use the... calendar?, lol... and then fully completing this game is still to this day, approaching 2 decades after playing it, one of the most meaningful and satisfying experiences I have ever had with a game. And I'm the kind of person who asks people who mention Final Fantasy Tactics if they know what the ending to Act 1 of Tactics Ogre entails.
Oh wow. I just looked up Siren vs Silent Hill. Didn't know they were from the same dev. I was introduced to Siren from Playstation Home featuring a horror maze. Scared the shit out of me!
One of my favorite games of all time. To this day I haven't met another person who has played it besides my roommate from the time I discovered this game.
It's legit so good.
An underrated gem.
Yes! More of it all please. Really want more of the story in this one..it seems great!
Small correction about the Hades and Persephone myth: 1. In some versions she is tricked and in other versions she takes the seed willingly. It depends on the version and translation so it's inconclusive which it is. 2. Winter exists because Persephone is in the Underworld. It did not exist before then. It is Demeter mourning her daughter not being by her side that causes Winter.
Thank you for covering this gem. I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU DO MORE ON SIREN!
Please, do make a series analysing Siren's lore. It's a fascinating game series with a lot of symbolism and thoughtful analogies.
I remember having to get a bootleg copy of Siren 2 (European version) and playing it black-and-white/monochromatic on my chipped PS2 because the 60 Hz setting made it look like that-or, at least that's what I thought was happening. Ah, the memories.
Amazing vid once again, keep up the good work 👍
Would love to see the more of the mythology of this game series if you haven't already. That fruit of life, red water, and Cherub bits is fantastic. I know it's been two years but I binge watch your silent hill reviews and now I am here.
Oddly enough, purely (mostly) mele is the best and most engaging way to attack enemies in my first playthrough of SH2
I think my favorite thing about Siren 1 and 2, something that I grew to really love in other survival horror games, is how the gameplay, setting, and enviornment can show you just how bad the shibito threat is getting in each game. If you pay close attention to the timeline in the first game, you can see exactly how the shibito evolve over the course of the three days; every day at noon, a bunch of shibito head out to bathe in the red sea, and several hours later, they come back with their newly mutated forms. Additionally, with the exception of Tomoko, who we never see again after the house level, every shibito-turned playable character eventually gains a mutated form of their own since by that point in the timeline, each of them heard the siren go off at noon after becoming a shibito and were compelled to bathe in the red water.
Seeing how the game's story and environment justifies and explains the presence of the monsters quickly became one of my favorite details in a survival horror game. I love it when there's a proper explanation for the monsters' presence and why they take on more horrific forms.
The facial animations still giving me nightmares to this day lol
Gotta say, man. That Delorian/Silent Hill analogy was pretty great.
Good stuff 👌🏼
The siren sound has been my alarm ringtone for years. :D
This game was really terrifying and hard. The time zone thing also gives a whole new gameplay experience.
I aboslutely love this game, the atmosphere was so good and the gameplay, I mean to me its a 9 on every level
You cannot imagine how long I've been waiting to see a video like this. I had lost almost and thought that Siren just vanished from the minds of everyone on earth
I’ve been morbidly obsessed with this series since time immemorial, alongside games that fall in a similar category such as Bloodborne. I would be thrilled to watch more videos on the subject.
3:08 About that
Its a direct result of the team trying to make a, for lack of a better Word, PT experience where players had to band togheter and discuss stuff online to figure the game outro.
one of those games you wish you completely forgot about so you can go through it again blind
Great overview, I've been meaning to play this game for awhile since I saw it on PSN. Gonna take the plunge soon. You rock Max, keep up the great content
I love you Max.
My kids’ hamster died today, I think we did well with the arrangements and helping them mourn so all is well.
It’s very heavy for me though. I would need somebody to help me get theough that.
The reason I don’t get pets is to a large extent because we always become bff’s, have a great time and they die and I break down as soon as I find some alone-time.
I don’t know why I’m writing this but it feels like the appropriate place.
Thank you for what you do and who you are.
All the best /JonRa
Stay safe and surrounded by people you love during this time. Love you dude!
I really got that spooktober feeling. Nice vid
this video triggered so many memories of this game. wow I complete had forgotten of it's existence
This is the only game that has ever truly scared me. Played a demo of it when I was younger, haven't finished it though.
I tried looking up some analysis of this game like a week ago and was surprised at how few there were, underrated game imo
I think is safe to say that the Siren series is one of the scareist if not the scareist games and series of all. What else do you expect from the creator of SH. The series has one of the creepiest atmospheres I've ever seen. Nothing is more scary then sight jacking to the shiboto's view, hearing their breathing, talking and laugh while it's coming towards where you're hiding, stopping inches from you and going away after a few seconds. J horror is something else. Good video but it was short. You should do more lengthy ones about the series and the other 2 games
I would love to see you do a deep dive on this and all of this series! I loved this game and agree it's criminally overlooked.
I just beat Siren 1 and I can say that the puzzles aren't as hard as people tend to say. If you keep an eye on your Link Navigator and pay attention to the files in your Archive it's very doable. Also, puzzles like the frozen rag are shown to you through inspecting the environment. If those things don't work, sightjacking reveals the rest (like with the Shibito who is attracted to the broken radio or the order of laterns).
Go into it with the right mind and pay attention and you can do it! The game took me around 10 hours without a guide, so it's definitely a journey. I loved the game!
Yes please make more of these videos!! I am not a big SH fan but I am really into Siren and the lore is really fun to watch and only really available to people who 100% all the games.
New sub! My god.. I played this back in 2003 and still get the chills just thinking about it. Super eerie, ultra confusing universe and game/story mechanics but a truly hidden gem!
Thank you for this ! 💙
I really like the way they digitize the actors faces. It gives this otherworldly, uncanny feeling being stuck between two realities.
Seeing the flashes when one of the demons spotted you still caused me to feel panic, and I haven't even played the game in over 15 years.
Great analysis! Siren is totally unique, and a must-play for survival horror fans. If you can get past the obtuse puzzles and unforgiving gameplay, it's scary as hell and the story that unfolds will haunt you forever. Don't be ashamed to use a walkthrough.
Would love more Siren videos, including analysis + video essays on the other games in the series
Currently playing it for the first time and it’s perfect. No shame in using a walkthrough either 💪💪
Siren was one of the most difficult games I've ever played and finished, the sheer amount of tactic and logic you have to apply to escape the Shibitos. Learn their patterns, have precision, be fast, and avoid conflicts are absurdly difficult, but rewarding in the end. Such an unique game.
Please cover more of Siren! I watched my mom play silent hill when I was little, and wandered across this game and thought it was AMAZING. I was a bit too young to play it successfully, but I thought the sightjacking was amazing, and I loved that you have little to no fighting ability against the enemies. I've always thought games where you can just....... shoot them..... are not nearly as scary :D
Back in the day Pewdiepie had a essay type of video showcasing Siren: blood curse after his walkthrough of it. They were some of his best videos although underrated. I have not been able to find the showcasing video anymore.
I'm proud to say that I already knew about Siren, but I'm so glad that my favorite youtuber has finally made a video on it!
You'd better let us see that Minecraft SH city when it's finished.
I don't wanna miss out on that.
Glad to see "Forbidden Siren" is getting some love - it is one of the scariest games I ever played, even though it can be frustrating as hell at times. The atmosphere is simply amazing. Too bad neither the sequel or the remake managed to recapture it. And let's not talk about the disastrous movie adaptation.
I so love the work you do, so appreciated! Thank you so much for the effort you put into these analyses.
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my videos.
I first learned about Siren from one of Nitro Rad's Review of the game.
It's cool to see another talking about it too, cause Siren is very interesting.
you should do The Suffering! omg that’s a favorite an feels like a masterpiece imo.
Keiichiro toyama always delivers. I have heard that he wants to go back to his horror roots. He even founded his own studio. So, he doesn't have to deal with the Koonami bullshit. Now, he will have complete freedom over his work. Hopefully he can create something truly original and scary. The horror genre desperately needs him.
His newest production, Slitterhead, will have Akira Yamaoka in charge of sound design :)
Loved the video. Although I'm just happy that "The Mist" from Frank Darabont was referenced in the beginning of it
Siren legitimately creeped me out when I was younger. I prefer Silent Hill but Siren was great. I wish I had played the PS3 version but I do think I have it digitally.
I’d love to see a video on siren 2 and the other games that came after!:)
One correction: The Tree of life in Christianity doesn’t grant immortality-it grants knowledge. Adam and Eve were already immortal. Death only became a thing because of the original sin-eating from the tree (disobedience).
You meant to say the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, yeah?
There were 2 trees the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life
untrue. adam and eve were not yet welcomed to the tree of eternal life because they failed the test of not eating of the tree of forbidden knowledge . they were in training for Godhood
@@hisradiancelordnasty Check out Reformed Forum's videos on "The Covenant of Works". Great stuff.
Great analysis, and I'd just like to add one little factoid; in some versions of Christian mythology, the centurion who pierced Jesus's side was supposedly cursed with immortality when he got his blood and water on him. Just like the red river.
Would love to see more about this game!
Siren Blood Curse (a sort of remake of this one) I think handles it better than this first Siren, since it reduces the number of characters, and explains better the plot.
Cool trivia: the team that developed Silent Hill 1-4 was Team Silent, which in japanese would sound like "Team Sirento". The Team that developed the Siren games was composed mostly by people from the original Team Silent, and hence they called themselves Team Siren. Which, in japanese, is almost pronounced equally.
I remember playing Forbidden Siren. This game was really hard. I played it in the early 2000's when the net wasn't all to accessible which eventually meant no walkthroughs. Hats off to those who finished this game and the sequel!
I love the soundtrack/score. It’s eerie and haunting but also calming. If you listen to some of the tracks themselves, without scary gameplay, They can be almost soothing.
this game definitely seems like a series you should keep analyzing!
I knew it as “Forbidden siren”
Siren is a game unlike any other, truly a once in a lifetime experience! It can be quite difficult as there's often a very specific way to complete the level but you'll not know without some trial and error. The mercy is the levels are surprisingly short.
If anyone is curious about playing Siren but frightened of the difficulty curve. I would highly recommend watching Supergreatfriend's playthrough on YT. It's one of the most comprehensive and the only entertaining guides to Siren I've ever seen. He made it so much easier for me to play even the hardest of levels. Once you know what you're meant to be doing, the challenge of actually completing the level becomes addictively fun!
I would love more Siren content, die-hard fan but so little available outside of the odd review on YT!
For a PlayStation 2 game, the animation is absolutely amazing. The developers must have worked to the bone for this game.
Siren is too scary for me to play, but I really love that there's a lot of characters, realistically when things like thing goes down there would be several people in the same situation as you have
Siren was so goddamn scary dude. It was hard, required outside the box thinking, and provided perspectives on characters other titles failed to do. Damn good game. Love it.
The character faces look really good
Silent Hill: Traditional survival horror focus on small western town in US.
Forbidden Siren: Stealth survivor horror with classic Japanese horror in rural village of Japan.
I can definitely see why Silent Hill remains as the attraction of horror due to the large western followers but Forbidden Siren is on another different level of horror and it's deserves the top spot.
I did a double take at hearing "mythical serpent" and "tsuchinoko" in the same sentence because it's far too grand a term to describe a rotund noodle that has a penchant for alcohol and lies.
It's easily the scariest game I've ever played. It's an absolute masterpiece and I urge everyone who enjoys horror games to play it. Ideally with a walkthrough to hand when you need it.
Yeah! Was curious about this game's lore for a while now. Glad you covered it! Would love to see what you can dig up about their alien god or those freaky creatures!
I saw your poll the other day and thought, damn shame Siren isn't on there.
What a great surprise
thank you for covering this game! i love Siren series so much and it totally deserves more recognition! i’d love to hear your thoughts about Siren 2 and Blood Curse c:
I would love to see you talk about Siren 2, but because the game wasn't released in America, you're either gonna have to emulate it or get a region free PS2
Excited to hear your thoughts on the game! I do a search every few months to see if anyone is talking about this obscure gem, so thanks for sharing your thoughts on it! Excited to hear it
Kudos, I played this in college and loved how weird it was, but it was inventive along side with the idea of sight jacking.
Great video, I forgot all about this game, never played it but I do remember when it was released.