IT'S ALMOST WIKTOBER, EVERYBODY

This game is actually insane.

I didn't really enjoy it that much, but I can't help but feel like it innovated so hard, that no game fully compares to it to this day. I feel like the most apt comparison to this game is Siren on the PS2, but infinitely less clunky and difficult. The game started out on the N64, using a special 64MB cartridge. Nintendo literally did not comprehend how their hardware was being used so effectively. John Nintendo liked what he saw, and wanted this on the cube, BAD!

Immediately, the games baits you into thinking it is a RE1 clone. The game makes fun of you for thinking this, and immediately turns you into a Roman soldier. Controlling different characters at different points in time with different weapons and stat lines. This is absolutely huge.
The Cambodian foot princess? She's weak. The melvin? He's scared. That fat guy? He has no stamina. Have fun! I won't, but it's pretty cool, not gonna lie....

Additionally, this game features sanity effects. I found myself intentionally throwing in order to have jacked sanity, but it was incredibly worth it, permanent Dutch angle included. One effect genuinely got me, as I was menuing and my save file started deleting. I genuinely believed I did something wrong. There was also a cool moment in the monastery, where all of a sudden bombs were going off and there were medical tents everywhere. Later in the game, it turns out this effect was basically showing me the same level but at a future point in time. I would reckon the game is 20% worse if you never experience the majority of them. This is the most talked about concept for this game, and for good reason. This system needs to be stolen and utilized more (no - not amnesia).

The magic is a bit...suspicious.. I don't like the rune gathering system, nor the spell creating system which needs done 3 times per run per spell, nor the use of spells for certain puzzles. At some point very early on, you have near infinite access to health, sanity, and magic - along with every melee weapon being powerful and more ammo than I could ever use. This eliminates many aspects that I enjoy about survival horror, making this game more an exercise of puzzle solving and story telling than surviving. This also effectively leads me to say that I don't really enjoy this game as a horror game, despite how horrific the beats in the story can be.

Also, fuck you for making me do the tower thing twice. I did not like these.

I don't think it lived up to any hype I had for it, and yet I still feel like this is a huge feat for the time and possibly to this day.


Reviewed on Sep 28, 2023


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