It has been 20 years since the PlayStation 2 launched. It was a huge success for Sony due to its immense library that was dense with heavy hitters, and attributed to the brand’s success that it has today. It was the little console that could, and it endured much longer than anyone expected: 10 years.
The PlayStation 2 featured a wide breadth of genres and sub-genres. It is a console with the biggest selection of eclectic and esoteric experimental curiosities in an age before indie game development became a huge industry. A lot of big name developers got big during PlayStation 2 generation, and some completely vanished off the face of the earth.
Having such a massive and varied library, it was inevitable that it would become home to some of the most interesting horror-themed games. It would be easy to pick out some of the best ones like the Silent Hill games, the Fatal Frame trilogy, or obvious cult favorites like Rule of Rose.
Instead, this feature will spotlight unconventional games on PlayStation 2 that embody the spirit of Halloween.
Okage: Shadow King
Developer: Zenner Works
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4 (via PSN)
Release Date: October 1, 2001
Players: 1
Price: $9.99
Okage is a very striking turn-based JRPG. It has a visual style that takes cues from A Nightmare Before Christmas, where everything is off-kilter and twisted. Even the music sounds like its been twisted. Every character has extremely drastic designs that make every single model unique and memorable. The only real flaws with its visuals is the stiff and slow animation in dialogue scenes.
The story revolves around Ari, a completely unremarkable boy who becomes a host for an evil spirit named Stan, who might actually be the Devil. Stan would probably have been a final boss in any other generic JRPG, and him being reduced to an idiotic side-kick leads to amusing deconstruction of the genre.
Every character is written with some depth behind them. Even the intentionally boring Ari, discovers that his existence is meaningless and nobody would ever miss him if he never existed. The humor is introspective, and is not the kind of comedy that makes you laugh out loud. It borders on art-house, and constantly toys with your expectations.
The gameplay is easily the weakest aspect of Okage. Sadly, this is the most boring turn-based system designed for a JRPG. Encounters are too frequent, and battles are drawn out with slow and long animations. There is not much technique or strategy, and the most unique aspect it has is that every party member attacks at the same time.
Experience Okage for the strange imaginative world and creative story. The combat is a tiring drain, and it might even make you fall asleep. The premise and whimsical aesthetic makes it an excellent choice to boot up for Halloween, and it is easily acquired.
Okage: Shadow King is available on PlayStation 4 via emulation and it looks and runs excellently. This was an early PlayStation 2 game, so it also has many of its growing pains like unusual difficulty spikes or the spotty translation. It is not a perfect game, but it is a very interesting one.
Images: PlayStation
Siren
Developer: SCE Japan Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4 (via PSN)
Release Date: April 20, 2004
Players: 1
Price: $9.99
Siren is the scariest and most harrowing PlayStation 2 game ever made. Most people will scoff at this claim and cite one of the two Silent Hill games. Not trying to discredit Silent Hill 2 and 3‘s greatness; anyone who dismisses Siren after getting filtered by its introductory chapters is going to miss out. Siren was directed by Keiichiro Toyama, director of the first Silent Hill… So he knows what he’s doing.
Following the plot of Siren is like a game in itself. It is a complex, tangled web of mystery that is told from different POVs; and sometimes even the POV of monsters. Several people witness a human sacrifice from a Japanese death-cult, and everyone has a bad time. Between the Junji Ito-esque body-horror, and space and time collapsing in on itself, Siren is a wide-awake nightmare.
The main hook of the gameplay revolves around sight-jacking- being able to see through the eyes of the Shibito, Siren‘s take on the undead. The idea is to make stealth more manageable by seeing how well hidden your character is from the vision of the enemy. It is not realized as well as it could be, since sight-jacking leaves you unable to control your character.
The visuals of Siren are special. The faces of actors have been scanned onto the character models for photo-realism. The effect is extremely uncanny, and adds to the surreal and creepiness of the atmosphere. Compounded with a heavy film grain effect, the imagery is always in a state of obscuration, disorienting the player.
If there is one thing that will scare players away, it is the difficulty. Siren is very hard and the challenge matches its tone; you’re are not going to survive. This is from the era when survival-horror games had tank-controls, which added a lot of flavor to the tension of the horror experience. The music is also notable, in that it actually sounds like music made by a Japanese death-cult.
Siren may have been unfairly scorned in its day, but now can be given a second chance on PlayStation 4. The extra clarity and the smooth frame rate is transformative, and the technique used to render faces on characters proves extremely effective. If you want to feel thrills and chills during Halloween, give Siren a look.
Manhunt
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 (via PSN)
Release Date: November 19, 2003
Players: 1
Price: $14.99
When the Grand Theft Auto games on PlayStation 2 made Rockstar known as one of the most controversial developers in the industry, they decided to outdo themselves. Manhunt is the most daring commercial product released to the masses. Its entire premise is centered on grounded, sadistic murder.
James Cash is a death row inmate who becomes a star in a snuff film after a fake execution. For these movies, Cash will participate as both hunter and hunted, opposite a diverse group of gangs and sadists. If he survives, Cash will earn his freedom.
The stealth scenario will have players stalk all kinds of masked weirdos and sex-perverts. What matters most is how violent and cruel Cash is willing to execute complete strangers to save his soul. It is almost as if Rockstar made Manhunt as a response to the media who criticized them for making violent video games.
Manhunt is a very rugged looking game full of psychos wearing masks. Each setting feels dirty and dilapidated, bordering on post-apocalyptic. When the scenario begins, the filthy atmosphere is grounded with stages feeling realistic. As the descent continues, the ambiance gets more insane and absurd; culminating with a naked fecal freak wearing a pig’s head, waving around a chainsaw.
Brian Cox voices Cash’s director, and he delivers his lines with greasy perversion. Hearing him excitedly erupt with pride makes the experience feel so dirty since he sounds like he is constantly on the verge of a climax. With Manhunt, every night is Devil’s night, making it worthy of a play-through during Halloween.
Unlike a snuff film, Manhunt is easily acquired and is available on PSN and playable on PlayStation 4. The emulation boosts the resolution to a full 1080p, so everyone can appreciate the bits of skull and teeth that gets cracked out of a unsuspecting hoodlum. The visuals, controls, and animation still hold up nicely and stands as the best work Rockstar did on PlayStation 2.
Image: YouTube
Stretch Panic
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Conspiracy Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Release Date: August 28, 2001
Players: 1
Price: N/A
Treasure is a legendary Japanese developer known for their creative action games. Their strength has always been 2D, but once in a while the team would make something in 3D. Stretch Panic is their lone 3D game on PlayStation 2, and it is a very odd one.
Linda has 12 vain sisters who treat her like a slave, and they all go to hell. Linda lucks out when her lucky scarf gets possessed by a demon, becoming a monstrous prehensile claw. The scarf is able to pinch, tug and pull anything like taffy, and Linda will have to exorcise her now possessed sisters.
All sisters have transformed into absurd exaggerations of the contents of their character. Most of the game is boss battles with each of them, since Stretch Panic barely has any actual levels to fill the game’s extremely short run time.
Stretch Panic will raise an eyebrow in more ways than one. Obviously, the art style is totally bizarre, and the stretching mechanics take a little to get used to. Secondly, Linda’s scarf is able to stretch enormous breasts and snap them back, sending the big-boobied lady flying backwards.
The way how the entire game is built around a single gimmick and there is no ending makes Stretch Panic seem like it was somebody’s personal experiment at Treasure. There is no way something like this could get made and released on consoles today, people would riot. The lurid depiction of Hell and striking demon designs make this a very playful option for Halloween gaming.
Regretfully, Stretch Panic is still exclusive to PlayStation 2. It has never been ported and is not on PSN for either PlayStation 3 or 4. It is typically cheap used, but since it is made by Treasure, it has a tendency to get extra attention by collectors. It’s amusing, and can be beaten in a single evening.
Image: YouTube
Clock Tower 3
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Release Date: March 18, 2003
Players: 1
Price: N/A
Out of all the games in this list, Clock Tower 3 is by far the strangest, and this list has Stretch Panic in it. Clock Tower 3 seems like it is going to be a straight forward survival-horror at first, but as it goes on, you realize that this one is special. All the cinematics are directed by Kinji Fukasaku, who was an actual crazy filmmaker who had no sense of restraint (best known for Battle Royale).
Fukasaku’s panache is on full display.The mocap actors are totally unhinged, which is compounded with over the top voice acting. It’s a story about a girl who is trying to find her missing mother, that has magical girl style transformations and extensive slasher chases in it. Nothing about any of this should mix, but it does.
The strange, unhinged performances that frame the novel concept of unarmed protagonist against dangerous stalker. Core gameplay follows the survival-horror pillars: navigating environments, finding keys, solving puzzles, and scrounging for consumable items. Having to avoid psycho killers is what makes Clock Tower 3 unique from most survival-horror titles.
While Clock Tower 3 is highly entertaining, it is also extremely difficult and sometimes frustrating. The panic mechanic makes Alyssa stumble and lose control, which can lead to unfair hits or even death. Retrying is painful, since the last save might have been a long while back.
Stealth is unreliable, as most of the time the stalker will find you out. The best way to play Clock Tower 3 is to try to rush through the gameplay when there isn’t cutscenes playing. It isn’t until the boss battles when Alyssa can exact her revenge in the most Sailor Moon way possible.
Maybe it is because Clock Tower 3 is a bit rough around the edges it is fairly cheap to acquire. It is still exclusive to PlayStation 2, and has never been added to the Classics section on PSN. If you are able to get it, this one captures the slasher movie vibe that fills the air during Halloween.
Image: Youtube
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Developer: Capcom Digital Studios
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 (via PSN)
Release Date: October 14, 2020
Players: 1
Price: $9.99
Ghosts ‘n Goblins was a crushing 2D action game with very rigid platforming, and lots of fighting skeletons. You ran around in your underwear if you got hit, and you would get swarmed by zombies if you didn’t keep moving. Unsatisfied with the difficulty only being in 2D, Capcom made Maximo: Ghosts to Glory to bring the hardness to the third dimension.
The valorous Maximo has returned home to find his fiancé kidnapped by a usurper advisor. Maximo dies, and is given a second chance by making a deal with Death; having to fight an undead horde in order to save everything he holds dear. This was before the right analogue stick became standard for 3D, so Maximo’s quest is not going to be easy.
If Maximo‘s art style looks familiar, it is because the characters were designed by Susumu Matsushita; a famed illustrator who designs the covers of Famitsu. His style adds so much personality into the look and feel of the world. All the characters have an appealing roundness to them, which is perfect for an action game with lots of running and jumping.
Crossing swords with the many creatures of the night can be terrifying, but having to do very tight platforming with no camera control is definitely going to scare away the kiddies. Even saving costs money, which adds to the bleak atmosphere. With this limitation, Maximo is still beatable, and offers a healthy challenge. Sometimes a true knight must take a leap of faith.
Much of Maximo‘s appeal comes down to the fun character designs and Tommy Tallarico’s music. The compositions have a lot of energy, and inspire the player to keep going. The emphasis on undead and ghouls peppered through out make this game very fitting to play during Halloween.
Anyone interested in playing Maximo: Ghosts to Glory will have to dig out their older consoles. It is only on PlayStation 2, and is playable on PlayStation 3 as a classic on PSN for a modest price. It runs excellently, but looks best on a CRT display. Anyone intending on playing it on original hardware will be in luck, since Maximo is affordable new or used.
Image: YouTube
