Siren (video game)

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This article is about the video game. For other uses, see Siren (disambiguation).

Siren

Developer(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Keiichiro Toyama, Naoko Sato BHZ - Junya Ohkura, Kohei Nanri
Series	Siren
Release date(s)	November 6, 2003 (JP) March 12, 2004 (EU) April 20, 2004 (NA)
Genre(s)	Survival horror, Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M (Mature) CERO: 15+ PEGI: 16+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	1 DVD

Siren (titled Forbidden Siren in Europe and Australia) is a stealth-based survival horror video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 console in 2003. The game details the story of several characters (most of whom are playable) trapped in an old Japanese village over the course of three days.

It was followed by Siren 2.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Characters
4 Shibito
- 4.1 Half-Shibito
- 4.2 True Shibito
5 Visuals
6 The Silent Hill connection
7 Movie adaptation
8 Trivia
9 External links

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Siren is set in a remote, rural Japanese mountain village named Hanuda, which is characterized as being very traditional and particularly xenophobic. Following a ritual ceremony, the village teeters wildly between time and space, with an infinite sea of red water in place of the usual surrounding mountains. The crux of the story focuses on the efforts of Hisako Yao, the leader of a strange local religion, to resurrect or re-awaken an extraterrestrial being known as Datatsushi through an occult ceremony. While Datatsushi is indisputably alien, the methods used to resurrect it and the effects of its presence seem to be supernatural in nature. The siren of the title is the call of Datatsushi, summoning the residents of Hanuda to immerse themselves in the red water, thus creating an army of subordinates called shibito (死人, shibito^?) (literally, "corpse" or "dead person"). The shibito then go about building a nest to house the corporal form of Datatsushi once it is summoned, as well as killing and converting any living humans left in Hanuda. The story is told through the perspectives of the ten survivors, some of whom are natives of Hanuda, and is presented out of chronological order over the three days in which the mystery takes place.

[edit] Gameplay

Unlike most survival horror games, the core of Siren's gameplay is in the eschewal of direct engagement with enemies (in this case, the Shibito guarding each stage). The player can walk silently, avoid the use of flashlights, or crouch behind objects to elude detection. Certain mission objectives involve the use of items and the environment to create distractions that will displace Shibito from their usual positions (the player can also shout at any time in order to call the attention of nearby Shibito). Depending on the stage, the player either begins with a weapon, obtains one during the course of the stage, or lacks it throughout. Weapons can be either blunt objects (pokers, crowbars, wrenches) or firearms (pistols, rifles). While Shibito can be defeated in combat, they cannot be killed and will reanimate after a period of time, briefly remaining on alert. Similarly, if the player is injured, he/she can also recover after a period of time.

The game's defining feature is the characters' collective ability to sightjack, or see and hear from the perspectives of nearby shibito, humans and animals. The process is similar to tuning into a radio or television frequency, with the left analog stick serving as the dial. The clarity and location on the dial of each target depend on the distance from and orientation to the player. Once a signal is discovered, it can be assigned to one of the controller's four face buttons to easily switch between multiple signals. Via sightjacking, players can discover a shibito's position, patrol route, locations and items of interest, etc. Visual cues inform the player when he or an escort is near a Shibito's line of sight. While sightjacking, the player cannot move and is thus vulnerable.

When a shibito is alerted to the presence of either the player or an escort, its sight is tinted red and a visual cue informs the player when the alerted Shibito is near his line of sight. If the shibito does not wield a firearm, it will yell to alert others nearby and pursue the target as long as he remains in the Shibito's line of sight. Once the target has remained out of sight for a period of time, the Shibito will give up and resume its usual habits.

[edit] Characters

Kyoya Suda

An inquisitive teenager, who is fascinated by urban legends. Kyoya travels to the area in search of an unnamed village where a massacre occurred many years ago. On arrival, his bike gets a flat tire, and while trying to fix it, he stumbles upon a strange ceremony taking place in the woods at night. Moments later, a huge earthquake strikes the area and the siren begins to sound. After being shot by an apparently Shibito policeman, Kyoya awakens on the banks of the river, which is now running red, to find his injury is completely healed. Soon afterwards, he meets Hisako Yao, who teaches him to use the sightjacking ability. His relationship with Miyako Kajiro forms the central storyline of the game - the two meet early on when Kyoya helps her escape from her brother Jun and Kyoya spends most of the game trying to escort Miyako out of Hanuda. In return, Miyako gives Kyoya a small amount of her blood, enough to prevent him from becoming a Shibito. After Miyako's death, Kyoya enters the Inferno, kills Jun Kajiro and decapitates Datasushi, before entering the Shibito village and wiping out the remaining Shibito using the Uryen artifact, several guns and Jun's sword, the Homuranagi, in a manner exactly like the legend of The 'Bloody Village Massacre' which originally drew him to the area. Due to the distorted flow of time in Hanuda, where pockets of The Nest have apparently gone back to 1976, it is theorised that Kyoya himself was in fact the young man in the legend that brought him to Hanuda.

Tamon Takeuchi

Tamon is a professor in folklore and legends at a Tokyo university, and was born in Hanuda. He lost his parents as a child during the first attempt at the occult ceremony and the landslide that followed. He has returned to Hanuda, ostensibly to study local folklore, but to search for the truth behind what happened to his parents is his true goal. He is accompanied by Yoriko Anno and he spends the first half of the game escorting her, and the second half trying to locate her after they are separated. Tamon shows signs of beginning to turn into a Shibito during the last part of the game, but he eventually finds his parents alive and well at their family home, deep in The Nest. They are in fact reanimated corpses, but Tamon sees them as they were in his youth. Sobbing, he is comforted by his mother and father (without realising that they are naked, rotting bodies), and stays with them until Yoriko Anno bursts in, takes them down and drags a bewildered Tamon to relative safety. It is hard to say whether Tamon returns to the Real World, or stays in the Netherworld with Yoriko, although the latter seems more probable as he is engulfed in the red water near the end of the game.

Yoriko Anno

Yoriko is a university student from Tokyo, and a pupil in Tamon Takeuchi's. She insists on accompanying him to Hanuda, and is caught up in the events that transpire. Yoriko has a huge crush on Tamon, and is quite abrasive and hysterical at times. However, she has a good heart, and has a surprising reserve of courage when called upon to fight. Later on in the game, Yoriko begins to turn into a Shibito, but manages to resist transforming completely thanks to the minute amount of Kajiro blood she receives via Kyoya, when the pair suffer gunshot wounds and are rescued by Shiro Miyata, who gives Yoriko a transfusion of Kyoya's blood. In the true ending of the game, she is reunited with Tamon, having been separated from him, and breaks into the Takeuchi house, beats Tamon's undead parents with a baseball bat and pulls him away. Unfortunately, since her system was compromised by an amount of Red Water, she is unable to return to the Real World.

Kei Makino

A priest in the local religion, Kei Makino spends the early part of the game searching for Hisako Yao, whom he follows without question. The twin brother of Shiro Miyata, he abhors Miyata's lifestyle and actions during the game. After rejecting Hisako, Makino is killed by his brother inside The Nest. This is a matter of some confusion amongst players of the game, since the death of Kei Makino is never explicitly shown on-screen In fact, before the scene in which his death takes place fades to black, Shiro Miyata has the gun to his own head, so the sound of the resulting shot gives the impression that he has committed suicide. Also, there are further levels playable as 'Kei Makino' following this scene. In fact, Miyata takes Makino's place on these levels, dressed in Makino's robes, made apparent by Miyata's signature deadpan speaking tone and the fact that he carries items collected by Miyata earlier in the game. This is explicitly revealed when Risa and Mina welcome 'Kei' to the afterlife at the end of his final stage with calls of "Shiro!"

Shiro Miyata

The player is first introduced to Dr. Miyata when he awakens in the forest next to a shallow grave. Miyata was having a relationship with a nurse named Mina Onda and for reasons which are never fully explained, he strangled and buried her in the woods. However, the ceremony reanimated her, and she clawed her way out of the grave. Miyata later runs into Mina's twin sister Risa, and the pair set off for the hospital, ostensibly to find Mina. Shiro Miyata is Kei Makino's twin brother; but separated at birth, they were raised in very different environments and have a somewhat frosty relationship. Late in the game, following a tense confrontation, Miyata kills his twin brother and takes his clothes, assuming his identity as Kei Makino. He then sets out to find the Onda sisters; Risa having transformed into a Shibito. Eventually he gives his life to end the suffering of long dead corpses, the villagers who would not bend to the will of Datatsushi, inadvertently reanimated by the ceremony. He is welcomed into the afterlife by Risa and Mina.

Unlike the other characters, Shiro's motivations during the game are never revealed and, as such, his character is mostly left open to interpretation. While he is capable of benevolent acts (Rescuing Yoriko and Kyoya, or his final sacrifice), he also murders his lover and estranged twin brother, with neither act seeming to have any real purpose. Why Miyata kills Mina is never even hinted at during the game: some theorise that Mina fell pregnant with Miyata's child and this was his motivation, but an equally likely reason is that Mina had fallen pregnant by someone else, and a spurned Miyata killed her out of jealousy. (In either case, the reanimated fetus is destroyed by Miyata when he captures and dissects the Shibito Onda sisters). The murder of Kei Makino appears equally senseless, with the only theory being that Shiro was obsessed with Makino, and his social standing in the village, to the extent of wanting to 'take his place' in society. This, along with his erratic actions and somewhat detached personality, would suggest a degree of mental illness.

Risa Onda

A young woman, born in Hanuda, who has returned from Tokyo to visit her twin sister Mina. Caught up in the aftermath of the ceremony, Risa meets up with Shiro Miyata, and they head to the hospital to search for Mina. Risa finally meets up with her sister, but unfortunately she has by then become one of the Shibito. Risa is killed by Miyata while under her sister's control, and becomes a Shibito herself. Much of Miyata's later stages are centred around subduing and destroying Risa and Mina.

Mina Onda

While Mina Onda is not a playable character and is never seen as a human, she plays a large part in the game. Reanimated by the ceremony, she claws her way out of the hole Shiro Miyata has buried her in and flees the forest. She then turns up at the hospital, dressed in her nurse uniform and calls out to Risa, possibly in an attempt to warn her twin of Miyata's treachery. Later, Mina is seen heading out to sea to take part in the Umi-Okuri. By the time she returns, Mina has become a Shibito Brain, who stalks the hallways of the hospital looking for Risa and Miyata, leading a platoon of Kumo Shibito to surround the clinic and prevent them escaping. The shovel she carries as a weapon is very likely the same one that Miyata used to bury her in the first place. It is generally considered canon that Mina was pregnant at the time of her death, with the father of her child likely to be Shiro Miyata, although this is never explicated during the game. Several levels in the game revolve around defeating or subduing Mina Onda, and she is arguably the most powerful Shibito in the game.

Hisako Yao

Hisako is the woman behind the myth of Yaobikuni, a nun granted immortality because she "ate the flesh of a merman". Although she appears to be in her early twenties, she is actually well over 1000 years old. When the God Datasushi crash-landed in Hanuda in 684 A.D. during a great famine, Hisako was one of the villagers who ate his flesh as he lay dying. As a result, she was cursed by Datasushi to live forever, until such time as she could resurrect him. Hisako initiates the ceremony that triggers the events of the game, however judging by her reaction to the horrific consequences it is possible that she had no real idea of what would happen once the ceremony was completed. Hisako's advanced age has caused her to forget much of her real purpose, which explains her benevolent actions in the early part of the game.

Miyako Kajiro

Said to be the descendant of the god Ninigi, whose offspring were cursed to be "sealed in darkness" (blind). Miyako is the latest in a line of 'special' girls born to the Kajiro family whose sacrifice is needed to resurrect Datatsushi. Her blood holds the power to resist becoming one of the Shibito, which she shares with Kyoya (unbeknownst to him) to prevent him from being turned into a Shibito by the Red Water he absorbs at the beginning of the game. It is thanks to this mixing of blood that Kyoya and even Yoriko survive when later they would have surely died. Miyako is eventually killed by Hisako Yao as part of the ceremony to awaken the God, but her spirit continues to assist Kyoya as he attempts to defeat Datasushi.

Ayako and Jun Kajiro

Ayako Kajiro is Miyako's elder sister. Although Jun has been raised as one of the Kajiro family, he is actually adopted. He was brought into the family to provide a suitable husband for Ayako, in the event that the ceremony failed and a further generation of Kajiro children were required to attempt it again. However, when Miyako is sacrificed, there is no further need for Ayako, and Hisako Yao mercilessly immolates her. Like Miyako, Ayako cannot become a Shibito, due to the cursed Kajiro blood flowing in her veins, but Jun is not a blood relative and he later becomes a Shibito bodyguard to Datasushi.

Reiko Takato

A school teacher from the local elementary school, Reiko is conducting an outing with several pupils when the earthquake hits, but only she and Harumi Yomoda remain unscathed. Reiko lost her own child in a terrible accident several years ago, and she sees Harumi as a surrogate daughter that she must protect at all costs. Reiko eventually gives her life to save Harumi, but returns to life as a Shibito. Even in death however, her protective instincts win out and once freed from the control of Datatsushi, Shibito Reiko saves Harumi once again from the undead school principal, Eiji Nagoshi.

Harumi Yomoda

A local schoolgirl gifted with "The Sight", a form of ESP related to sightjacking. Her journals, written before the events of the game, contain crudely rendered drawings of the Shibito, insinuating that she foresaw the events of the game before they occurred. She is getting ready to go on a school outing to study star constellations when the earthquake hits, and becomes trapped in the school along with her teacher Reiko Takato. They set out together to escape Hanuda, but Harumi is left alone when Reiko Takato gives her life to save the young girl. Harumi eventually escapes The Nest and ends the game as Tamon began it: wandering alone and orphaned through the aftermath of a natural disaster. Because Harumi never imbibes any of the Red Water, she is the only character who can return from the Netherworld to the Real World. It is stated in the Siren 2 that Harumi was found, stranded in Hanuda following the landslide.

Akira Shimura

Akira Shimura is an old man who has lived in Hanuda for his entire life. He lost his wife and son in the earthquake in 1976, and carries the pain of this loss, and his own failure to prevent the ceremony which caused it, even in his advanced years. A dedicated game hunter, Shimura carries a rifle with him at all times during the game. He knows much about the ceremony and his dislike of the local Mana religion has made him a veritable hermit. He is quite gruff and cantankerous, but would go to any lengths to avoid becoming a monster. Faced with the endless red sea filled with Shibito, and realising there is no way out of Hanuda, Shimura shoots himself to escape the horror of transforming into one of the undead. Unfortunately it doesn't work for him, and he is last seen flying around the village as a Hane Shibito, taking pot shots at any human who passes too close.

Naoko Mihama

A former model and current B-list celebrity, who is in Hanuda filming cable TV show 'Occult JAPAN' ('Darkness Japan' in the Japanese version of the game). Naoko is very vain and self-centred, and due to the fierce competition in her profession, will go to any lengths to preserve her youthful looks. She worries that the happenings in Hanuda will lead to grey hairs. Driven mad by events, Naoko submerges herself in the Red Water, in a misguided bid to stay forever young. And she does - becoming an Inu Shibito that Tamon must subdue on his way into the depths of the Nest.

Tomoko Maeda

A middle school student who has run away from home following an argument with her parents. Now, lost in the underworld of Hanuda, the disagreement is forgotten and Tomoko tries to find her way home to her family. Discovering that they are at the Mana church, having searched for her, Tomoko makes her way there (but not without difficulties). She finally reaches the church, but by then she has already become a Shibito, and the sight of her rapping at the window with tears of blood running down her face terrifies her parents. They later join her as Shibito, and the three take over the Tabori abandoned house to live 'happily ever after' - going about their daily routines as the living dead in a hideous twist.

Takanobu and Mayumi Maeda

The Maeda parents are introduced early in the game, when they burst into the church, looking for Tomoko. They had been snooping through their daughter's personal belongings (most notably her diary), looking for clues as to explain her slipping grades. When Tomoko realises what they have done, she throws a typical teenage tantrum and runs away. After the earthquake hits, they are desperate to find Tomoko, but are convinced by Hisako Yao to take refuge in the church and wait for Tomoko. They get a horrible surprise when Tomoko does arrive at the church, but later decide to go out looking for her again. Although never stated by the game, Mr. and Mrs. Maeda are attacked and killed, transforming into Shibito themselves. They are later reunited with the Shibito Tomoko and vow to stay 'together forever'.

Kereb

Kereb is Miyako's dog. He is also her only means of seeing, as she uses The Sight to see through the dog's eyes (making him literally a seeing-eye dog). This is how she discovered that Kyoya was watching her in the woods at the start of the game. However, Kereb is killed when he and Miyako are attacked by Shibito, but Miyako escapes without injury. This is where the Kyoya and Miyako sub-plot begins.

[edit] Shibito

[edit] Half-Shibito

Peasant Shibito

The common or garden Shibito. They carry knives, hammers and kama, since many of these Shibito are former farmers who continue to practise agriculture, albeit in their own twisted way. They can be found cutting grass, digging holes, or occasionally hammering plywood. They do not usually actively search for humans and will only pursue if the player attracts their attention.

Patrol Shibito

These Shibito patrol a set route hunting for any humans. They will only leave their patrol if they spot a human or if something unusual attracts their attention (such as a newly opened door). They usually carry melee weapons such as crowbars, but some carry Nambu Model 60 revolvers. Most patrolling Shibito carry flashlights to help them hunt humans more efficiently.

Sniper Shibito

As the name suggests, Sniper Shibito carry Type 22 Murata rifles and are usually located on the tops of buildings or other high structures, where they will take long range shots at the player. They can spot the player from much further away than other Shibito, and are deadly accurate. Most Sniper Shibito will not leave their position and pursue the player, preferring to stand and take shots as the player flees.

[edit] True Shibito

Inu Shibito

These Shibito run around on all fours, with long hair covering their faces, and are exclusively female. They somewhat resemble Kayako Saeki, the spirit from Ju-on/The Grudge. Whilst their name (Inu, Japanese for 'Dog') suggests a canine aspect, the insect-like antennae protruding from their heads make them somewhat resemble an ant or beetle. They are the fastest of all Shibito, and attack by swiping at the player with their claw like hands. They can jump high, but cannot open doors.

Kumo Shibito

These Shibito are male humans who crawl around on all fours like Spiders. Their heads have been rotated 180 degrees and extra eyes have grown on the top of their craniums. They can crawl across any surface, even straight up walls (although ironically enough, they cannot climb ladders) and attack by head butting the player, however like the Inu Shibito, they cannot open doors, or use tools or weapons. The Kumo Shibito have the quickest recovery time of any standard enemy, and will regain consciousness approximately 10 seconds following a knockout, compared with several minutes for a standard walking Shibito. Also, because they sense vibrations through their limbs like spiders, these Shibito can hear a player's footsteps from much farther away - even through solid walls.

Hane Shibito

Shibito with insectile wings like those of a dragonfly. They can hover above ground and are thus not bound by the geographical contours of the level in the same way as the player, making them very dangerous. All Hane Shibito carry firearms, and behave in a similar way as sniper Shibito.

Brain Shibito

These Shibito act as broadcasters for the Shibito hive-mind. Some Brain Shibito will run away from the players, and can move at high speed, whilst others are very aggressive, and can withstand greater punishment than a normal Shibito. Rendering them unconscious will also knock out all the other Shibito in the level, until the Shibito Brain revives.

[edit] Visuals

Rather than employ traditional facial animation methods with polygons, images of real human faces in motion were captured and superimposed on the character models. This eerie effect is similar to projecting film onto the blank face of a mannequin, a technique long used to animate a severed head in Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction.

[edit] The Silent Hill connection

The most notable aspect of Siren's development is that it was co-conceived and directed by Keiichiro Toyama, who had previously directed the original Silent Hill for PlayStation. Other members of the original Team Silent, Naoko Sato and Isao Takahashi, also had critical roles in Siren's creation. This connection is reflected in major aesthetic and gameplay features, including a remote countryside town with a mysterious history, a local religious cult seeking to summon a supreme deity through ritual ceremony, a gradual shift of the environment from normalcy to darkness and vice versa, a pervading oppressive fog, strategic gameplay considerations in running or using a flashlight, and the distant sirens that are heard from time to time.

[edit] Movie adaptation

The film rights to Siren have been acquired by Ghost House Pictures, a production company founded by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert in 2002. Michael Gordon has been hired as the screenwriter and reportedly will work closely with Keiichiro Toyama. The story focuses on an American med school student searching for her missing sister in Hanuda. [1]

[edit] Trivia

The legend of the Yaobikuni is in fact a real-life Japanese folk tale about a nun who ate the flesh of a merman and was cursed to live forever. [2] The name Yaobikuni literally means "Nun of Eight Hundred Years," and Yaobikuni characters can be found in other contemporary Japanese media, such as the manga series Blade of the Immortal.

The tsuchinoko is a mythical Japanese animal, and the Japanese government actually offers hefty rewards for the live capture of one. In the game, Tomoko Maeda spots a tsuchinoko entering a sewage pipe and finds a tsuchinoko reward poster. Also, Kyoya Suda discovers a live tsuchinoko in the bathtub of the abandoned Tabori house. Shiro Miyata also finds papers dropped by Naoko Mihama regarding episode #8 of "Occult JAPAN," which details the discovery of a tsuchinoko at the site of a mass-murder spree.

The skyfish found at Gojaku Peak is a common japanese folklore used in many anime, most notably in Eureka Seven. It is believed, by some, that skyfish are also known as a rod in cryptozoology.

Issues with censorship caused several minor changes in the game for its American release. Kyoya Suda, Miyako Kajiro and Tomoko Maeda were issued with new dates of birth in the documents found in the game that regard them; Miyako and Tomoko's ages changed from 14 to 17, and Kyoya's from 16 to 18.