| Kuon review |
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The sound of girls’ singing echoes unseen as a man in Heian court attire creeps along a darkened hallway. With only a small lamp to guide him, he is understandably afraid. Ancient Japan was a place of myth where demons walked amongst humans, leaving chaos in their wake. To combat these beings, the people of the ancient capital Heiankyo (now known as Kyoto) rely on Onmyouji, the Yin-Yang Masters, who act as mediums and cast spells using paper seals.
But this man is no Onmyouji and so does not notice the spectral woman with a face as white as snow hovering behind him, long black hair flowing around her. He meets his fate quickly but not cleanly and his ghostly murderer begins to drag his bloodied corpse through the corridors and into a room where twin girls sit singing. The white-faced ghost drags the corpse into a large box and dives in after, the girls sealing the lid behind her . . .
Kuon (which means ‘nine curses’) plunges players into the world of kwaidan, or Japanese horror stories famed for vengeful female ghosts. The game is divided into three sections, each with a different playable character. Presented with a choice of sections, you can begin as either Onmyouji-apprentice Sakuya or brave Heian teenager Utsuki. Sakuya is skilled in the use of spells written on paper that can summon fireballs or a mystical lupine guardian. On the other hand, Utsuki begins with only a dagger to protect her against the roaming spirits and rotting goblin-like gaki. Playing as Sakuya is more of a challenge as once her paper spells run out she is defenceless but, on the upside, she is also much more powerful than Utsuki.
Set in a crumbling mansion and the surrounding grounds, Kuon is entrenched in Japanese legend and mysticism. New areas of the game are unlocked not by the finding of keys but by matching paper seals to break the wards that keep the doors sealed. Running around slowly drains your character’s health but this can easily be restored by herbs, healing dust or a little meditative chanting. Chanting is the most striking of the three and induces a halo around the character’s head and, depending on the depth of the regenerative trance, the game momentarily pauses whilst their surroundings bleed out. Saving also depends on location and the collection of special paper boats before performing a cleaning ritual, culminating in setting the boats afloat down a stream that encircles the mansion; a nice touch considering most games allow for automatic and unlimited saving.
Kuon does have some problems; first of which is the fixed camera angles which often prevent you from spotting items just off-screen. The second is the frequent loading screens; merely walking from one side of the screen to the other will cause the game to pause for around five seconds while the next section loads. This is a common feature in games like Kingdom Hearts but Kuon becomes much less appealing after taking thirty minutes to get from one side of the mansion to another which, without the loading, would have taken half the time.
Unlike horror games set in the modern era, the female protagonists of Kuon can only rely upon lamps rather than high-powered torches and this gives the game more of an atmosphere as the tiny flames only illuminate a few centimetres into the gloom at any one time. This effect really does ramp up the tension, especially with trails of blood and numerous corpses strewn around the mansion.
Gaki, the main enemies in the game, are not particularly hard to defeat but will come after your heroines if they make too much noise. The age of the mansion means there are lots of creaking stairs and floorboards, and it is even possible to fall through in places, which leads to panic and the need for some meditation; inner peace means living longer. The owners are also very untidy, leaving breakable items lying around in your path and it doesn't take much to prevent access to buildings; even a corpse or a fallen pole can mean a lengthy detour.
The story is conveyed by conversations with other non-playable characters, collecting letters and scrolls and via numerous cutscenes. The nice thing about the Sakuya and Utsuki's scenarios is that it doesn’t really matter which one you play first as it doesn’t impact the plot. Also, while much of the plot is fictitious, several characters and locations are based in reality, such as the famous rival Onmyouji, Doman and Abe no Seimei (who was actually male but has been turned into a woman for this game).
As well as playing as Utsuki and Sakuya, the final chapter, Kuon Phase, puts you in the shoes of Abe no Seimei and part of the appeal is not only in just the different characters but also their differing abilities. There are a range of spells available, from phantom spiders to lightning, but many of the spells only last for a short while. Paper seals used for the spider spell, for example, will slowly turn blood red; once the paper is ruined, the spell will end. For ease of use each spell can be mapped onto the face buttons so you can easily switch between several magical attacks.
One aspect of Kuon that is sure to delight purists – aside from the authentic Japanese setting – is the choice of audio in either Japanese (with subtitles, of course) or English. The Japanese dub is several years old but crystal clear and, when it comes to meditation or spellcasting, this dub sounds much more authentic than the English version. However, those unfamiliar with Japanese will not be disappointed by the quality of the English audio.
Overall, Kuon is a game that will appeal to horror fans or gamers who love exploring Japanese settings. Add in the different characters, the language options and the reliance on magic rather than weaponry; this is a chilling experience in horror gaming.
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System: Sony PlayStation 2
Genre: Survival Horror
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Nobilis
Players: 1
Version: European
Reviewed: Apr 2006
Writer: Lesley Smith
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Pros:
- Audio in English or Japanese
- Scary storyline
- Multiple playable characters
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Cons:
- Too many loading screens
- Fixed camera angles
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Kuon Video: 7.5MB
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