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Sweet Home (video game)
Encyclopedia
is a survival horror role-playing video game
that was released for the Famicom
in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed
and published
by Capcom
and the game was never released outside Japan. The game is related to the Japanese horror
film of the same name
.
Throughout the game, Sweet Home follows a team of five people who venture into the deserted mansion
of the deceased Ichirō Mamiya to photograph and restore his fresco
es. Upon entering the house, the door locks behind them and the group discovers that the mansion is haunted by Lady Mamiya, among other creatures. The player guides the five characters, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses, around the mansion, trying to escape.
The game features randomly encountered battles
which the controlled character or party of characters must fight or run away from. If a character dies in battle, he or she cannot be revived throughout the course of the game. The five characters have a specific skill that is necessary to complete the game, although items that serve the same purpose can be found if one of the characters dies. For example, should Akiko (the team's nurse) die, the team may find Pill Bottles which can be used to heal ailments. Depending on how the player ends the game, there are a total of five different endings the player may receive.
and katakana
. Within the video game the names are in hiragana
.
released in 1989. It was produced by Itami Productions and distributed by Toho
. In an interview, with Capcom game designer Shinji Mikami
, it was stated that the game was licensed from the movie. The game and the film were released simultaneously on the same year. Sweet Homes trailer is both an advertisement for the movie, and a sales pitch for the game, as it includes footage from both.
The film and video game versions both contain duplicate copies of very specific images and things, such as the fresco, the skull statue, and the tool, which look exactly the same in both the film and the game. The facial appearance of the character portraits in the game mirrors the look of the actors in the movie.
According to the game credits, the producer for the game is Juzo Itami
, who acted in the film.
Though it was an RPG, Sweet Home served as the main inspiration for the seminal survival horror game Resident Evil, which was originally intended to be a remake of Sweet Home. The first Resident Evil
borrowed many elements from Sweet Home, including the mansion setting, the puzzles, the item inventory management, the emphasis on survival, and even the "door" loading screen. Other influences include solving a variety of puzzles using items stored in a limited inventory, while battling or escaping from horrifying creatures, which could lead to permanent death for any of the characters, thus creating tension and an emphasis on survival.
It was also the first attempt at creating a "scary" and frightening atmosphere within a game, through its "gruesome" story, ambient and tense orchestration, gory presentation, and "creepy" cut scenes. The game's creators attempted at creating a scary and frightening storyline within a video game, mainly told through diary entries left behind fifty years before the events of the game. Resident Evil also borrowed various other elements from the game, including the use of scattered notes as storytelling mechanics, multiple endings
depending on how many characters survive, backtracking to previous locations in order to solve puzzles later on, the use of save rooms to store items when the player's inventory is full, the use of death animations, dual character paths, limited item management, individual character items such as a lockpick or lighter, story told through diary entries and frescos, emphasis on atmosphere, and brutal horrific imagery. The latter prevented its release in the Western world, though its influence would be felt through Resident Evil. Some thus consider Sweet Home the "first survival horror game."
ranked Sweet Home as one of the eleven best survival horror games.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
that was released for the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Capcom
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...
and the game was never released outside Japan. The game is related to the Japanese horror
J-Horror
Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...
film of the same name
Sweet Home (film)
is a 1989 J-Horror film that was directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa and produced by: Jūzō Itami.-Video game:There was also a video game released in 1989. It was made by Capcom and it was released in the same year as the film. The actor, Juzo Itami who acted out in the film, was also the producer of this...
.
Gameplay
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
of the deceased Ichirō Mamiya to photograph and restore his fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es. Upon entering the house, the door locks behind them and the group discovers that the mansion is haunted by Lady Mamiya, among other creatures. The player guides the five characters, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses, around the mansion, trying to escape.
The game features randomly encountered battles
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
which the controlled character or party of characters must fight or run away from. If a character dies in battle, he or she cannot be revived throughout the course of the game. The five characters have a specific skill that is necessary to complete the game, although items that serve the same purpose can be found if one of the characters dies. For example, should Akiko (the team's nurse) die, the team may find Pill Bottles which can be used to heal ailments. Depending on how the player ends the game, there are a total of five different endings the player may receive.
Characters
The characters have names in kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
and katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
. Within the video game the names are in hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
.
- Kazuo is the team leader, and producer of the documentary. He wields the lighterLighterA lighter is a portable device used to generate a flame. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable fluid or pressurized liquid gas, a means of ignition, and some provision for extinguishing the flame.- History :...
, a very important item which can be used to burn down ropes and attack enemies. He has the highest HP. In the movie, his wife died prior to his exploration of the mansion. He is played by Shingo YamashiroShingo Yamashirowas a Japanese television and film actor.Yamashiro, who was originally from Kyoto, Japan, was born , but used Shingo Yamashiro as his stage name. He made his film acting debut in 1957....
in the film.
- Taguchi is a camera man. He takes photographs of the frescoes with his cameraCameraA camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
, which can also decode hidden messages within the frescoes. The camera can also be used to inflict damage to some enemies. In addition to having the second highest HP, he has the highest defense.
- Akiko is love interest of Kazuo in the movie and can heal team members with her first aid kitFirst aid kitA first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment for use in giving first aid, and can put together for the purpose , or purchased complete...
. She is the weakest member of the team. She is played by Nobuko MiyamotoNobuko Miyamotois a Japanese actress. She was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, and raised in Nagoya. She was married to director Jūzō Itami from 1969 until his death in 1997, and regularly starred in his films....
in the film.
- An art restorer in the movie. Using her vacuum cleanerVacuum cleanerA vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
, Asuka can clean dirty frescoes and remove broken glass. She is the second strongest female character.
- She is Kazuo's daughter. In the game, her character uses a key which can open locked doors in the mansion. She is the strongest female character, as well as the lightest of the team. She is played by NokkoNOKKONokko is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She is the lead singer of the band "Rebecca" which had a string of hits in Japan in the 1980s. She was born in Urawa, Saitama, as...
in the film.
- The wife of Ichirō and the main antagonist of the game. After her child fell into the mansion's furnace and burned to death, Mamiya went insane, and kidnapped other children and threw them in the furnace so her child would have "playmates" in the next life before committing suicide. She came back as a ghost to haunt the mansion. She has two forms in the game.
- Mamiya's husband, as well as a famous artist/painter. He has left clues scattered around the house in addition to his diaryDiaryA diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
.
- A mysterious old man who operates a gas station in the movie. He gives the team aid in the later parts of the game. In-game hints suggest that Yamamura and Ichirō are the same person. He is played by Tsutomu Yamazaki in the film.
Film
There was also a filmSweet Home (film)
is a 1989 J-Horror film that was directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa and produced by: Jūzō Itami.-Video game:There was also a video game released in 1989. It was made by Capcom and it was released in the same year as the film. The actor, Juzo Itami who acted out in the film, was also the producer of this...
released in 1989. It was produced by Itami Productions and distributed by Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
. In an interview, with Capcom game designer Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
, it was stated that the game was licensed from the movie. The game and the film were released simultaneously on the same year. Sweet Homes trailer is both an advertisement for the movie, and a sales pitch for the game, as it includes footage from both.
The film and video game versions both contain duplicate copies of very specific images and things, such as the fresco, the skull statue, and the tool, which look exactly the same in both the film and the game. The facial appearance of the character portraits in the game mirrors the look of the actors in the movie.
According to the game credits, the producer for the game is Juzo Itami
Juzo Itami
, born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture....
, who acted in the film.
Legacy
Resident Evil (video game)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom. The first installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo...
borrowed many elements from Sweet Home, including the mansion setting, the puzzles, the item inventory management, the emphasis on survival, and even the "door" loading screen. Other influences include solving a variety of puzzles using items stored in a limited inventory, while battling or escaping from horrifying creatures, which could lead to permanent death for any of the characters, thus creating tension and an emphasis on survival.
It was also the first attempt at creating a "scary" and frightening atmosphere within a game, through its "gruesome" story, ambient and tense orchestration, gory presentation, and "creepy" cut scenes. The game's creators attempted at creating a scary and frightening storyline within a video game, mainly told through diary entries left behind fifty years before the events of the game. Resident Evil also borrowed various other elements from the game, including the use of scattered notes as storytelling mechanics, multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
depending on how many characters survive, backtracking to previous locations in order to solve puzzles later on, the use of save rooms to store items when the player's inventory is full, the use of death animations, dual character paths, limited item management, individual character items such as a lockpick or lighter, story told through diary entries and frescos, emphasis on atmosphere, and brutal horrific imagery. The latter prevented its release in the Western world, though its influence would be felt through Resident Evil. Some thus consider Sweet Home the "first survival horror game."
Reception
In 2010 K. Thor Jensen of UGOUGO
UGO Entertainment, Inc. is a website providing coverage of online media in entertainment targeting males age 18–34. The company is currently based in New York, New York, United States. On July 24, 2007 it was announced that Hearst Corporation would acquire UGO Entertainment...
ranked Sweet Home as one of the eleven best survival horror games.