Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good survival horror that seems to have been missed by most....., 5 Jun 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Introduction:
When I was hunting for a new horror game, I almost gave up because I have played most of the ones I like - Silent Hill series, Project Zero series and other stand-alone games. (I am not such a big fan of Resident Evil).I then came across Kuon and I was rather dubious about buying it because the shops don't stock it and when I finally found it the cheapest price was around £25.00, but I don't regret buying it one bit!. I do like to collect games like this and for most people this would probably be a renter but there are not many games such as this, it is quite like Project Zero but still remains unique and a much needed title in this genre. I will try to give a good and balanced review without any plot spoilers but I will say it involves a blood soaked manor with lots of corpses being feasted upon by evil demons! I think fans of films such as The Grudge and Japanese horror in general will really enjoy this. It is your job to explore everywhere and discover all the manors dark and mysterious secrets. Where did your sister go? who took her? This game is one of the goriest I have played, but be warned - I played this until about midnight and I did have nightmares. I would just like to mention that you should allow at least 30 minutes to become familiar with the controls and the feel of the game. I did find the more I played the game the more I liked it.
What I liked about this game:
~Bizarre and grizzly story line with puddles of blood everywhere!
~Traditional Japanese outfits and architectural styling
~Highly atmospheric and spiritual with eerie sounds
~Unique and varied dual-combat system - choose the most suitable item depending on which type of enemy you have.
~A variety of bizarre creatures (think Silent Hill) and demons to battle
~This game has the right balance of action, exploration and adventure, although there are more puzzles to solve and exploring to do as opposed to enemies, it is NOT a high action game (and is NOT an RPG!) and some may find it slow - but I love to wander around opening doors and rummaging through cupboards and mysterious boxes whilst things go bump and scare the living daylights outta me!
~This game does feature a 'fear and vertigo' system, but unlike other games such as Clock Tower 3, it does not detract from the game and you are not constantly on the run from enemies, this feature actually enhances game play, and I say that as someone who is not a fan of the vertigo system and you do have a special ability to aid you with your fear and restore mental and physical well-being
~There are lots of items and documentation to collect and it is always worth looking everywhere
~Unlockable bonus game
~Extra menu options available after completion
~Play multiple characters. The game has separate 'phases' and these can be played independently of each other
~You can select the option for English voice over, or for a more traditional feel you can have it with Japanese voice acting and English subtitles
~The graphics are pretty good (although they won't blow you away)
~The save game feature differs in that you have to collect a special item to use a save point, but there are probably more in the game than what you will need. This does not detract from the game and I really liked the way you save your progress. (I admit to being the sort of gamer who likes to save a lot!)
~The in-game maps are excellent and user friendly (not to mention a necessity)
~3 difficulty settings (easy, normal & hard). Being a coward I played on easy but I think I could have probably handled the normal setting. If you find the first phase to easy/difficult you can alter it prior commencing another stage.
~4 different endings available (maybe by completing all the different settings you can achieve this - I am now replaying it on hard mode to see if I get a different ending)
~The game can be played using either directional buttons or analogue stick and this is great for the people out there who do not like the 'wibble stick', but I did not see any mention of this in the instruction book
~This game is full of evil 'hot spots' and heart-in-your-mouth scares
The bits I didn't like or I think were in need of improvement:
~It's a bit on the short side (maybe 10-12 hrs first play) but having said that, all the games I have played lately have been short (take the new Tomb Raider Legend, it was over in 5 mins!)
~Fixed camera - with no option to change the camera you can find yourself in a tight spot when it comes to battling enemies
~The game is meant to be dark and spooky, but sometimes it got so dark all you can see is the girls' flapping kimonos', although this can be improved upon by having the in-game brightness controls on full.
~The battle controls are not that great, your character can be slow to respond and by the time she's faffed about pulling out whatever it is I have selected her to battle with the enemy has got her in a strangle hold and is trying to bite her head off, luckily she can break free fairly easily and either run off or stand and fight
~You do have the option to run or walk but she is no Linford Christie, and running is best avoided as she is (I am) clumsy and you can actually knock furniture etc. over which does not bode well.
~Save locations are not that frequent so be prepared to play for quite long periods and if you do complete a tricky part it is always worth backtracking (if this is possible) to save so you do not have to re-do large chunks of the game. It is also a good idea to keep checking on your health. No visible health bar on screen which would have been nice, although there are plenty of signs for when your character is in need of medication.
~My biggest gripe is that during cut scenes the characters mouths don't move when they are talking and this does detract from the feeling of the game, but it is soon forgotten when playing resumes (you can always pretend they are telepathic).
~More variation between the first two phases would have made the game better
To summarise:
I think most people have overlooked this game and it is a shame. It was a low-key minor release and I don't think any magazine even reviewed it so a lot of people may not know it is out there. This game does appeal to a smaller proportion of gamers as opposed to people who like games such as Grand Theft Auto or Quake (if anybody reading this review does like games such as these I don't think Kuon is your cup of tea) so maybe it was deemed unworthy of any marketing. I have read that it is the first game of new developers (Indie Games) and I think it is an exceptionally good effort and is of a pretty high standard for a debut, even if it does have it's fair share of flaws. The reasons I gave Kuon a good rating is basically because I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was pretty scary, the story line was sadistic (this is the uncut version) and almost amusing in parts and I feel it is an asset to my ever-growing collection of horror games. If a sequel were to be brought out I would definitely buy it but I would like to see a longer game with more puzzle variation and bigger levles, but I guess this depends on whether or not I even hear about it! The downside to the low publicity is that it makes the game difficult to obtain and the prices will remain higher. A lot of people may think £25.00 is a bit much to pay but I can't help but feel it will hold it's value as it is pretty rare. If you do decide to buy this game I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, just don't try to judge it too harshly against such master pieces as Silent Hill and Project Zero, as these games are in my opinion the best horror series' available on the Playstation. If you get stuck there is a walkthrough available on the web and I have even found a forum for it! so there are other people who have this game............
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A very underrated game, 1 Mar 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This game has everthing a good Japanese horror game should have much like the fatal frame series and forbidden siren games i found myself playing this game well into the late night and loving every minute. If you love a good horror game that scares the crap of you and keeps you wanting more i say get this game>
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