Forbidden Siren 2

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released (UK): Aug '06
Released (US): N/A

Luckily, Christmas was around the corner when Forbidden Siren 2 came out in Europe or I wouldn't have played this game at all. The original was so hard I thought this one would be just as bad so I got my Mum to buy me it as a Christmas present.

The game takes place on the fictional Yamijima Island, Japan. Years before the events of the game, a Tsunami occurred there killing everyone on the Island making it inhabited. However, various people have found themselves on the island for a variety or reasons (explained later) where suspicious events start to happen.

Like the previous game, Forbidden Siren 2 has a big cast of characters, playable or not. Each character is on Yamijima Island for their own reasons.

Mamoru Itsuki is the main character of the game an is also the guy we start off as. He's a Journalist for an Occult magazine and has come to the Island to find out more about the Tsunami that occurred all those years ago. He takes a boat there along with other characters in the game but the boat is capsized and he finds himself on the coast of the island where he meets Yuri Kishida.

Yuri Kishida is found locked in a small building at Yamijima Harbour. She starts off as nice as a puppy but ends up not to be as she seems. We never play as Yuri and she only appears at the start of the game before we find out who she really is.

Ikuko Kifune is a dockworker who was working on the boat that capsized with Mamoru and Co inside. She has Psychic abilities and can take control of the Shibito's/Yamibito's movements which she uses to eventually save Mamoru from Yuri. She helps Mamoru get rid of our antagonist at the end of the game.

Yorito Nagai is a Private in the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Squad. He finds himself on Yamijima Island along with his supervisors; Takeaki Misawa and Hiroshi Okita after their helicopter lost control and crashed. After finding Okita, Yorito's friend, dead on site he goes along with Misawa to get help.

Takeaki Misawa is a Major in the same force as Yorito but goes crazy throughout the course of the game. He is killed by Yorito after he is seen threatening Ichiko Yagura but comes back as a Yamibito then as a Kou Yamibito who is destroyed by Yorito near the end of the game.

Akiko Kiyota (right) is another of the passengers of the boat Mamoru took to the Island although she is cleverly disguised in a big hat and sunglasses. She's a Psychic who has been "hired" to help Soji Abe with a big problem, explained later. She later starts to receive connections from a recently deceased Shu Mikami and helps get rid of our antagonist by killing herself (explained later). She's one of my favourite characters in the game, although I don't know why.

Shu Mikami is a famous Romance Novelist who was born on Yamijima Island. His mother had died as a child and his father, Ryuhei Mikami, looked after him before he was brutally murdered. Shu was eventually adopted by a family and lived in Tokyo eventually forgetting his childhood. Shu Mikami is blind and can only see by Sight Jacking his dog Tsukasa.

Shigeru Fujita is a police officer who was born on Yamijima Island but moved to mainland Japan with his wife. He comes back to the Island to investigate the rumours that people were living there again. A possessed Ichiko Yagura eventually kills him later in the game.

Ichiko Yagura is a student at Kameishino Prefectural Middle School who had died after being thrown off the Bright Win Ferry during a storm. Her body is taken over by another of our antagonists and we find her on the ferry not knowing what has happened to her. She later goes on to kill Shigeru Fujita before turning on Yorito Nagai.

Soji Abe has been accused of murdering his room mate, Ryuko Tagawa. He goes to Akiko, Ryuko’s psychic to help prove his innocence. He goes to Yamijima Island at Akiko's suggestion, on the boat with Akiko, Mamoru and Shu. I love Soji, he's my favourite character giving a bit of comedy and goofiness to the game. Watch the actor's face...He does a really good job.

Other characters, that aren't playable include:

Kanae, who was found, washed up by a younger Shu Mikami who was out with his father looking for treasure. The Mikami family takes her in because of her resemblance to Shu's mother. The villagers turn against her, calling her a witch because she was afraid of the light and would only come out at night. One night Tsuneo Ohta, the head fisherman gathered the villagers to hunt Kanae down and kill her. His daughter Tomoe Ohta was also a part of the mob but fell onto a tall pole after running away from a Shiryo.

Pictures from the games Japanese homepage:
http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/siren2/siren2_top/index.html

The Shibito's return to Forbidden Siren 2 but they're not alone. You have the problems of three new harmful creatures:
The Shiryo are red blobs that inhabit dead humans in order to create the Shibito. These weren't in the first game and they don't cause you too much trouble. They wander dark places and are afraid of light - they will die when exposed to it. They will bite you if they have the chance but can be beaten with a weapon.
The Yamirei look like slugs wrapped in black cloth. They are also afraid of light and will melt when exposed to your torch. They avoid light so go under lamposts if available to recover from them. They head butt you and are very sneaky, always coming fast from behind.

The Yamibito (below) are the biggest addition so I'll go into further detail:
When a Yamirei comes into contact with a dead body, that body will become a Yamibito. They're like Shibito's except they talk as usual thinking they are still the people they once were E.g. Shigeru Fugita, when a Yamibito can be heard saying phrases such as "I knew there was a reason I hated stake-outs." and "How about letting me cuff you?”
They stay away from light and they will shield their eyes if you approach them from the front making for an easy hit. They take less time to gain consciousness once down but they can be knocked out quite easily. They don't follow any set route like the Shibito do so they are less predictable.

There is also another kind of Yamibito around called the Kou-Yamibito. It is never explained what makes a Yamibito turn into a Kou-Yamibito and not every Yamibito in the game turns into one. Tomoe Ohta, Tsuneo Ohta, Takeaki Misawa, Ryuhei Mikami and Hiroshi Okita all turn into one eventually. The male Kou-Yamibito look like a hand (it's not a hand - just looks like one) walking on their fingertips (like Thing from the Addams Family). In place of where the wrist would be is the body of a usual Yamibito without a head. The head is in the palm of the hand instead. They have a black mist around them that block your sight if you're near them. The female Kou-Yamibito, Tomoe Ohta is in the form of a dog and is the fastest enemy you will encounter. All Kou-Yamibito will be attracted the light so turn yours off to avoid them and they are immune from attacks to the front. You need to shoot them in their back; a couple of shots will do it.

Our major Antagonist in this game is a creature called Mother. She is trapped and needs to open the seven gates in order to be released. She sends out a variety of 'Avatars' who kidnap women in order to use their body's to open these gates. Shu's mother was one as were Kanae, Ryuko Tagawa and Yuri Kishida. All these Avatars take on the appearance of Mother which explains Kanae's resemblance to Shu's mother and Yuri's resemblance to Kanae. It was Yuri who eventually completed the opening of the seven gates by using Mamoru to do the task for her.
Once these gates were open Mother could finally escape and with her, Yamirei would try and possess everyone on the Island.
Another Antagonist in the game is Otoshigo, the leader of the Shiryo and nemesis of Mother. Otoshigo also inhabits the sea and when Ichiko Yagura is thrown overboard the Bright Win Ferry, he takes over her body. I'm not sure why he infested Ichiko's body and what he was planning to do - The plot is very confusing. I don't even think Otoshigo was worth putting in the game to be honest.

Sight Jacking is back and you can use it to find Shibito, Yamibito and sidekick characters if they've gone missing. Some missions within the game force you to use the sight jack especially those involving Shu Mikami in some way. Ikuko Kifune can control the Shibito/Yamibito she sight jacks and Akiko Kiyota can see past memories through sight jacks when she reaches a certain place.

The Archive Items are also back but they're a lot more innovative in this one. It shows videos of events relating to the plot such as the film of Yuri Kishida's body being found on the ferry. ID's belonging to the characters can be found with some extra information such as a letter addressed to Mamoru from his girlfriend and a letter from Yorito's parents regarding his promotion within the force.
Unlike the first game, your archive items will stay in the archive once you've found it. If you die at all, the item will still be there and you don't even have to complete the mission through once you have it.

The weapons are the same...Pokers, Hammers, Crowbars, Pistols, Shotguns etc are all here. Yorito and Takeaki will always have a firearm of some sort with a good supply of ammo because of their link to the Army.

I loved this game very much and it's one of my favourites, below Silent Hill 4 probably. This second instalment has improved on the original a lot and here's why:

1) Hints are given at the beginning of each mission. Some are very vague but some are very useful. You'll get fewer hints as the game goes on but it's still a very nice addition to the game.

2) As already mentioned, archive items stay put once you collect them.

3) Checkpoints are easier to come by in this game. If you die throughout the mission, you won't have to start from the beginning like you did in the first one.

4) The maps are much better also. This time you can actually see where about you are on there. It's much harder to get lost.

5) The acting is so much better in this game than on the previous one. I've already mentioned Soji Abe and the actor that plays him so well but Shigeru Fujita and Akiko Kiyota also do good jobs with their faces. The actors also have a Japanese accent unlike in the first one where the actors had more of a British flare to them.

6) The Link Navigator can be accessed from the very beginning. It looks the same as the navigator from the first game with the characters on the top and the time at the side. Missions are split in two parts like in the previous game that unlocks when certain events happen in a previous mission.

It's unfortunate that this game was never released in the U.S. because it's much better than the first. I've been on American forums who have said how much Blood Curse improved on the series but most of the improvements mentioned were on this game too.
It's never been mentioned why it wasn't released over in the States. It may have been due to poor sales of the original or it may be because of a bad reception but it may be wise of Sony to release the game now after the release of Blood Curse. Maybe they could remake it the way they remade the original but I'd rather they do a whole new instalment.

This game really made the series for me and I have to give it a perfect score:

10/10

Why do you think it was never released in the US?
Is the acting better?
If I've completely missed the plot, please comment?