Forbidden Siren 2

In the first game, the character Miyako saw and acted through the eyes of her dog. This got me thinking that it would be interesting to make that particular situation actually playable. I wasn't overly confident that the experiment would result in something that would work as a game, but we ended up with an interesting scenario that really evoked a unique feeling of helplessness and frustration.

In the second game, there are a number of other new types of sight-jacking, including one which gives you the ability to see into the past, and another which lets you control others, all of which brings a whole new dimension to the gameplay.

Having thought that the first game may have been a little too complicated, we have made it possible to choose which scenario you follow from the beginning of the sequel. Also, the events that unfold do follow a fairly straight path, so people shouldn't get confused in the beginning, and we have tried to make it so that the story broadens out as it progresses in a natural way that is easy to get used to.

It takes place in the same world, but concerns a separate incident. There are a number of points throughout the story where the events of the first game are touched upon, but the story and all the characters are new, and the story is essentially a standalone affair.

The method of using myths and folklore as allegories for the modern world is influenced heavily by Japanese horror comics - comics like those of Daijirou Moroboshi and Ryouko Yamagishi. The idea of a remote Japanese village ruled over by a strange religion was strongly influenced by Daijirou Moroboshi's "Seimei no ki" ("The Tree of Life"). "Seimei no ki" was also made into a movie last year, with the title "Kidan".

Having time jump back and forth and blend together was a technique influenced by the movie "Ju-On", which was remade in Hollywood as "The Grudge".

I admit that people's opinions of the voices in the first game were generally quite bad, and as a result of that we have worked very hard this time around to cast voice actors who really suit the characters, and to ensure that their performances are believable. In addition to this, just as you have suggested, the option to have English subtitles and Japanese voices will also be available.

As far as the characters are concerned, we have used 3D capture techniques in the sequel, which make them much more natural and human. With the backgrounds, we have worked particularly hard on improving how your surroundings are lit. The last game was shrouded in darkness from start to finish, but this time, there are subtle differences in the degree of darkness depending on whether you are underground, outdoors, etc., and darkness is generally much more delicately handled. Also, objects which affect the light levels, such as streetlights, actually have a noticeable effect and are also affected by your actions, so that if you break one, it will get dark.

The previous game was fairly poor when it came to variations in the gameplay with the various characters, so this time the differences between them are much more clearly defined. This means that there are soldier-like characters with military skills who can overpower enemies, but, just as with the previous game, there are also children who are powerless to protect themselves. Also, some of the weaker characters have the special sight-jacking abilities mentioned earlier, and it is by using these that they get themselves out of trouble.

The number of casual gamers has increased, and development costs continue to spiral, and these factors make it harder and harder to fine-tune games with more specific groups of players in mind.

But then, as someone who has a great respect for the adventure games of the past, I have devoted my efforts to keeping puzzle-solving an optional element of the gameplay in the Siren series, and making the riddles posed by the story and the setting something that players can puzzle over when they are away from the game.

Because the game has been upgraded in every respect, there are more ways of fighting in the sequel, but this is not to say that the focus has shifted more towards combat - the game's central style is still based upon the idea that the harder you think, the more fun you will have.

I think it's slightly different from those games, in that they were more about there being two sides to the same game world. With the Siren series, the same map is used in several different scenarios, but it is the way the map is looked at and the strategy required that changes dramatically, and I think this is a key part of the game's appeal.

The theme of this game is "light and dark", and the inclusion of enemies called "Yamibito" (literally "dark people") came about as a direct result of trying to find ways to exploit the much-improved lighting techniques.

The improved physics and other features of the next generation machines have given me a few good ideas that I would encourage you to keep an eye out for in the future. Also, from a purely graphical point of view, the fact that the visuals will be so much better will allow us to finally show the shadows that we have not been able to implement in the Siren series so far, and I think the ability to create much more believably dank landscapes will make the games a good deal scarier as well.

It's hard to say if the style of the game would work if translated as-is to a handheld platform, but I think if you rearranged it so that it progressed more like a story, with the puzzles you solve bringing you further into that story, or made it more of a sight-jacking-based combat game, then there would definitely be some scope for an enjoyable title there.