Koukai Sarena Katta Shuki: The Note

Also known as: The Note Platforms: PSX Release Date: 1997-01-17 Regions: Japan Europe Another ultra-obscure Japanese horror game that never made it to America. Gameplay is first person, but the game apparently revolves around real-time lighting effects. The player can open blinds, draw curtains, and light candles to illuminate rooms, and lit rooms apparently keep […]

Kuon

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2004-03-31 Regions: USA Japan Chris’s Rating: ★☆☆☆ Historical Japanese trappings can’t save this short-and-painful knockoff. Official Japanese site: http://www.ku-o-n.net/top/ Official English site: http://kuon.agetec.com/ There’s one thing I can say for certain about Kuon: it has style. The graphics are nice, the game has chosen a non-traditional setting (Heian-era Japan), and the […]

Echo Night: Beyond

Also known as: Nebula – Echo Night Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2004-01-22 Regions: USA Japan Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ A space-horror adventure game that succeeds in creating an extremely convincing–not to mention creepy–environment, Echo Night: Beyond’s only major flaw is that it is really slow. Echo Night: Beyond is the third Echo Night game in the […]

Kyoufu Shimbun Heiseiban Kaiki! Shinrei File

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-08-07 Regions: Japan Translated by IGN as “Kyoufu Shimbun (Heisei Version): Mystery! Spirit File.” This game sounds like a blend of Kamaitachi No Yoru and Fatal Frame. The game is based on a manga series about a mysterious newspaper that reports on deaths and calamities that will occur in the future. […]

Koudelka

Platforms: PSX Release Date: 1999-10-30 Regions: USA Japan Europe A sort of survival horror RPG.

Resident Evil: Dead Aim

Also known as: BioHazard – Heroes Never Die Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-06-17 Regions: USA Japan Europe Technically a gun game, but since it has a strong 3rd person mode I’ll include it here.

Resident Evil 4

Also known as: Biohazard 4 Platforms: GameCube, PS2, Wii Release Date: 2005-01-11 Regions: USA Japan Europe Chris’s Rating: ★★★★ This fantastic transformation of the Resident Evil franchise manages to revitalize the series without losing its thematic core. While the roots of the survival horror genre can be traced back to early game systems, it was […]

Hungry Ghosts

Platforms: PS2 Release Date: 2003-07-21 Regions: Japan From 1Up.com: It’s hard to imagine a darker adventure game than Hungry Ghosts. As the game begins, you are dead, and what’s worse, you were such a bastard in life that although you’re currently tooling around in the land of the dead, your ultimate destination is Hell. There’s […]

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Also known as: Rei: Beni Chou Platforms: PS2, Xbox Release Date: 2003-12-10 Regions: USA Japan Chris’s Rating: ★★★☆ This sequel perfects the format defined by the first Fatal Frame, and its unique game mechanics are complemented by fantastic art and atmosphere. If you liked the first Fatal Frame, you’ll enjoy Fatal Frame 2. The mechanics […]