Haunting Ground
Encyclopedia
Haunting Ground, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom
for the PlayStation 2
console in 2005. The game shares many similarities with Clock Tower 3
.
, must be guided through Belli Castle, its grounds and outbuildings until she can find a way to escape. Along the way, players must solve puzzles, unlock doors and evade, hide or attempt to fight back against the castle's inhabitants. Fiona is accompanied by Hewie, a white German Shepherd dog. The two must work as a team to solve certain puzzles and outwit their pursuers.
During the game, the castle's inhabitants chase and attack Fiona, and if evaded long enough will cease for a set interval. While it is possible to retaliate with kicks, Hewie's bites, or alchemically created weapons, the game's focus is on the player evading enemies long enough to find a hiding spot. The castle's staff chase Fiona individually until defeated in a boss battle, after which a different enemy will pursue Fiona. Two enemies exist in addition to the castle's keepers, neither are dangerous to Fiona but can alert Fiona's pursuers to her location and cause panic. The first are small floating orbs of blue light known as Luminescents, which follow Fiona and emit a loud noise if they come into contact with her. The other enemy type are small grotesque, fetus resembling homunculi
, who attach themselves to Fiona's legs while letting out a piercing yell.
Hewie joins Fiona early in the game, following different player-issued commands to perform actions like barking or growling when he detects a trap or threat. He can be commanded to stay, follow, attack, fetch and to shake hands. In order to maintain a good relationship with her new companion, Fiona must issue commands to Hewie, praising or scolding him depending on whether or not he obeys. Praising or healing him when he becomes injured also maintains his interest. Hewie will ignore Fiona's commands and wander off if not given enough attention, and if he is repeatedly mistreated he may even attack her. On the normal difficulty setting, Hewie can be knocked unconscious from sustaining too many injuries but can be revived. On the hard difficulty setting, he is slain after receiving the same level of injuries, causing the game to end
.
When faced with certain scripted events or prolonged enemy attacks and chases, Fiona becomes fearful. If allowed to remain fearful for too long she will enter panic mode and run. Panic mode causes blurriness of the screen, saturation of the surroundings and a freeze-frame effect, and the control pad vibrates in time with Fiona's heartbeat. The player is unable to stop Fiona running and must try to prevent her from running into walls and objects. Running into scenery causes her to collapse and crawl away; at this point further damage will kill her. Hewie can only be called for help during panic mode, encouraging him to attack any pursuer and prevent Fiona from being killed. If enemies are avoided long enough panic mode ends.
unable to taste, feel pain or pleasure who cooks and does the household work around the castle; Riccardo, the castle's groundskeeper; and Lorenzo Aureolus Belli, who does everything in his power to help Fiona.
Fiona Belli awakes in a cage in the butcher's room of a castle. She has just been involved in a car accident with her parents, but her memories of this accident are vague. Noting that the cage that keeps her prisoner was left unlocked, she steps out but is startled by a large, fierce animal snarling and then running past her. She quickly begins searching for answers and a way out of the castle. Along the way, she befriends the animal that initially frightened her, who is a white German Shepherd named Hewie, and who turns out to be a valuable ally. As Fiona's predicament gets more and more disturbing, she learns that she is the carrier of the Azoth
, which is what the castle's residents are after.
The first enemy is Debilitas, a large, mentally disabled man. Debilitas chases Fiona around the castle and is stopped by Riccardo. Fiona meets Riccardo and Daniella and finds letters and memos given to her by a man named Lorenzo who wants her to escape the castle. Fiona and Hewie are chased by Debilitas to the chapel. The way in which the player ultimately deals with Debilitas influences the outcome of the endings.
Soon after Fiona has rid herself of Debilitas, her new enemy, Daniella, is reintroduced to the game after her short appearance in the game's early scenes. Daniella becomes jealous that Fiona can smell, taste, touch or "experience pleasure". This foreshadows her later intimation, immediately before her boss battle, that she cannot engage in sexual intercourse. Daniella wields a large shard of broken glass (unless the player approaches Daniella while she is kneeling near a fire place which then replaces the glass with a hot poker; this deals twice as much damage).
After Daniella is killed when she is impaled with a large shard of broken glass from the ceiling, the third villain is reintroduced, Riccardo, who wields a flintlock pistol
. For a majority of the game Riccardo keeps his face hidden under a hood. Riccardo reveals his face and his plot to Fiona after cornering her in the woods. He has the same face as Fiona's father, Ugo, and reveals that they are clones and that he is now the original. Riccardo murdered Ugo after attempting to kill him in the car crash as revenge for leaving the castle and marrying Ayla, Fiona's mother. He plans to use Fiona (by means of her womb and use of her Azoth) to help him be reborn so that he may live forever. Hewie rescues Fiona and assists in their escape from the tower in which Riccardo is killed.
The final boss of the game is Lorenzo, who menaces Fiona in several different forms. The player first meets Lorenzo as an old, crippled man. He tells Fiona how Riccardo was always the problem child, and that he created both Riccardo and Ugo in attempts to find a body with Azoth he could use. Ugo had the Azoth but left the castle to marry Ayla. Now that he knows Fiona is finally his, he can take the Azoth she inherited from Ugo. He rids himself of his wheelchair and crawls on the floor in order to chase Fiona. After crushing the elder Lorenzo in a machine, Fiona encounters a resurrected, youthful Lorenzo; the Azoth (that he acquired from Riccardo's body after his fall from the water tower, a scene you can witness in hard mode) allows him mastery over his own aging process, as well as the ability to teleport. Fiona eventually, with the help of Hewie, causes Lorenzo to fall into a pit of lava. Immediately after defeating young Lorenzo, the castle begins to shake and collapse, and Lorenzo returns a final time as a flaming skeletal version of his former self. He chases Fiona, but in the midst of the chase, a statue falls on Fiona and nearly kills her. Lorenzo finally dies as she and Hewie escape the castle.
after launching a teaser page on the Capcom website two days prior. While the text was in Japanese only, the English translation of the teaser page read: "One person awakes / Continuation of a nightmare / An unknown place / Fraught with insanity." Capcom released Haunting Ground in Japan on April 21, 2005, in Europe on April 29, 2005, and in North America on May 10, 2005.
giving a score of 67 out of 100.
IGN
wrote "Haunting Ground's combination of high-end presentation, disturbing sexuality, and psychological mindjobbing makes it one of the most interesting games of the last couple of months" and selected it as the "Game of the Month" for May 2005.
The graphics, character models and environments were praised as detailed. 1UP.com
called the mansion areas "some of the most detailed, lavish 3D environments Capcom has ever produced" and GamePro described the visuals as "stark but appealing". Critics enjoyed the addition of Hewie. Just Adventure called him "adorable" and "an asset of the utmost value", and 1Up named him "one of the best-implemented efforts" of including a dog in a video game. GameSpot
noted that Hewie, despite being well-trained, occasionally did not obey orders.
GamePro
stated: "Despite a few fresh ideas, Haunting Ground is no classic. The thin story relies too often on cliché and titillation, the villains aren't terribly frightening, and the gameplay becomes too predictable too quickly. Ultimately, this is Resident Evil Lite with a dog."
Fiona and Hewie would later appear in Joe the Condor's
ending in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
console in 2005. The game shares many similarities with Clock Tower 3
Clock Tower 3
is a survival horror video game co-developed by Capcom Production Studio 3 and Sunsoft. The fourth installment in the Clock Tower series, it was released in Japan on December 12, 2002, in North America on March 18, 2003 and in Europe on June 25, 2003...
.
Gameplay
Fiona, the player-characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
, must be guided through Belli Castle, its grounds and outbuildings until she can find a way to escape. Along the way, players must solve puzzles, unlock doors and evade, hide or attempt to fight back against the castle's inhabitants. Fiona is accompanied by Hewie, a white German Shepherd dog. The two must work as a team to solve certain puzzles and outwit their pursuers.
During the game, the castle's inhabitants chase and attack Fiona, and if evaded long enough will cease for a set interval. While it is possible to retaliate with kicks, Hewie's bites, or alchemically created weapons, the game's focus is on the player evading enemies long enough to find a hiding spot. The castle's staff chase Fiona individually until defeated in a boss battle, after which a different enemy will pursue Fiona. Two enemies exist in addition to the castle's keepers, neither are dangerous to Fiona but can alert Fiona's pursuers to her location and cause panic. The first are small floating orbs of blue light known as Luminescents, which follow Fiona and emit a loud noise if they come into contact with her. The other enemy type are small grotesque, fetus resembling homunculi
Homunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
, who attach themselves to Fiona's legs while letting out a piercing yell.
Hewie joins Fiona early in the game, following different player-issued commands to perform actions like barking or growling when he detects a trap or threat. He can be commanded to stay, follow, attack, fetch and to shake hands. In order to maintain a good relationship with her new companion, Fiona must issue commands to Hewie, praising or scolding him depending on whether or not he obeys. Praising or healing him when he becomes injured also maintains his interest. Hewie will ignore Fiona's commands and wander off if not given enough attention, and if he is repeatedly mistreated he may even attack her. On the normal difficulty setting, Hewie can be knocked unconscious from sustaining too many injuries but can be revived. On the hard difficulty setting, he is slain after receiving the same level of injuries, causing the game to end
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
.
When faced with certain scripted events or prolonged enemy attacks and chases, Fiona becomes fearful. If allowed to remain fearful for too long she will enter panic mode and run. Panic mode causes blurriness of the screen, saturation of the surroundings and a freeze-frame effect, and the control pad vibrates in time with Fiona's heartbeat. The player is unable to stop Fiona running and must try to prevent her from running into walls and objects. Running into scenery causes her to collapse and crawl away; at this point further damage will kill her. Hewie can only be called for help during panic mode, encouraging him to attack any pursuer and prevent Fiona from being killed. If enemies are avoided long enough panic mode ends.
Characters
The player-character and protagonist of Haunting Ground is eighteen-year-old Fiona Belli, who before the start of the game was involved in a car accident that killed her parents. Although Fiona is not very athletic, she makes up for this with her quick mind. She rescues and befriends a white German Shepherd named Hewie. Throughout her exploration of the castle, she encounters several characters: Debilitas, a large, mentally disabled man who works as the gardener for the castle; Daniella, a homunculusHomunculus
Homunculus is a term used, generally, in various fields of study to refer to any representation of a human being. Historically, it referred specifically to the concept of a miniature though fully formed human body, for example, in the studies of alchemy and preformationism...
unable to taste, feel pain or pleasure who cooks and does the household work around the castle; Riccardo, the castle's groundskeeper; and Lorenzo Aureolus Belli, who does everything in his power to help Fiona.
Plot
Azoth
Azoth was considered to be a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy...
, which is what the castle's residents are after.
The first enemy is Debilitas, a large, mentally disabled man. Debilitas chases Fiona around the castle and is stopped by Riccardo. Fiona meets Riccardo and Daniella and finds letters and memos given to her by a man named Lorenzo who wants her to escape the castle. Fiona and Hewie are chased by Debilitas to the chapel. The way in which the player ultimately deals with Debilitas influences the outcome of the endings.
Soon after Fiona has rid herself of Debilitas, her new enemy, Daniella, is reintroduced to the game after her short appearance in the game's early scenes. Daniella becomes jealous that Fiona can smell, taste, touch or "experience pleasure". This foreshadows her later intimation, immediately before her boss battle, that she cannot engage in sexual intercourse. Daniella wields a large shard of broken glass (unless the player approaches Daniella while she is kneeling near a fire place which then replaces the glass with a hot poker; this deals twice as much damage).
After Daniella is killed when she is impaled with a large shard of broken glass from the ceiling, the third villain is reintroduced, Riccardo, who wields a flintlock pistol
Flintlock
Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
. For a majority of the game Riccardo keeps his face hidden under a hood. Riccardo reveals his face and his plot to Fiona after cornering her in the woods. He has the same face as Fiona's father, Ugo, and reveals that they are clones and that he is now the original. Riccardo murdered Ugo after attempting to kill him in the car crash as revenge for leaving the castle and marrying Ayla, Fiona's mother. He plans to use Fiona (by means of her womb and use of her Azoth) to help him be reborn so that he may live forever. Hewie rescues Fiona and assists in their escape from the tower in which Riccardo is killed.
The final boss of the game is Lorenzo, who menaces Fiona in several different forms. The player first meets Lorenzo as an old, crippled man. He tells Fiona how Riccardo was always the problem child, and that he created both Riccardo and Ugo in attempts to find a body with Azoth he could use. Ugo had the Azoth but left the castle to marry Ayla. Now that he knows Fiona is finally his, he can take the Azoth she inherited from Ugo. He rids himself of his wheelchair and crawls on the floor in order to chase Fiona. After crushing the elder Lorenzo in a machine, Fiona encounters a resurrected, youthful Lorenzo; the Azoth (that he acquired from Riccardo's body after his fall from the water tower, a scene you can witness in hard mode) allows him mastery over his own aging process, as well as the ability to teleport. Fiona eventually, with the help of Hewie, causes Lorenzo to fall into a pit of lava. Immediately after defeating young Lorenzo, the castle begins to shake and collapse, and Lorenzo returns a final time as a flaming skeletal version of his former self. He chases Fiona, but in the midst of the chase, a statue falls on Fiona and nearly kills her. Lorenzo finally dies as she and Hewie escape the castle.
Development
On September 24, 2004, developers debuted Haunting Ground under its Japanese name Demento at the Tokyo Game ShowTokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
after launching a teaser page on the Capcom website two days prior. While the text was in Japanese only, the English translation of the teaser page read: "One person awakes / Continuation of a nightmare / An unknown place / Fraught with insanity." Capcom released Haunting Ground in Japan on April 21, 2005, in Europe on April 29, 2005, and in North America on May 10, 2005.
Reception
The game received mixed to positive reviews, with a GameRankings aggregate of 73%, and MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
giving a score of 67 out of 100.
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote "Haunting Ground's combination of high-end presentation, disturbing sexuality, and psychological mindjobbing makes it one of the most interesting games of the last couple of months" and selected it as the "Game of the Month" for May 2005.
The graphics, character models and environments were praised as detailed. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
called the mansion areas "some of the most detailed, lavish 3D environments Capcom has ever produced" and GamePro described the visuals as "stark but appealing". Critics enjoyed the addition of Hewie. Just Adventure called him "adorable" and "an asset of the utmost value", and 1Up named him "one of the best-implemented efforts" of including a dog in a video game. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
noted that Hewie, despite being well-trained, occasionally did not obey orders.
GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
stated: "Despite a few fresh ideas, Haunting Ground is no classic. The thin story relies too often on cliché and titillation, the villains aren't terribly frightening, and the gameplay becomes too predictable too quickly. Ultimately, this is Resident Evil Lite with a dog."
Fiona and Hewie would later appear in Joe the Condor's
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
is a 5-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several Japanese anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions...
ending in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.