Game:

Tomba! (1997)

Duration: 41:31

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NOTE: This is the "60 FPS" version of the video.

Hungry Ghosts...there is a lot that can be said about this "Hell Simulator". Released in Japan in 2003, it is the second of only two games developed by Deep Space, who also made the early PS2 survival horror game known as "Extermination". As my good friend AlviEao has mentioned below, Deep Space (and Whoopee Camp, known for the excellent "Tomba!" games) was established by ex-Capcom employee Tokuro Fujiwara. Much of the staff from Deep Space went on to form another studio, Access Games (responsible for such titles as "Drakengard 3", the ill-fated "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die", "Deadly Premonition" and more). It is strange how things turn out, right? Well, as strange as the aforementioned events may be, the strangeness pales in comparison to just how strange this game is.

This game is all about choices and decisions...and you will want to "do good" to have good karma flow in your general direction. I want you to know right now (at least as far as this game is concerned) that there are multiple ways to go about things and depending on how you do things and the order in which things are done, you can significantly alter the way that scenes play out and alter your fate. This sounds like it should be common knowledge, but the game was very deep and complex...even things that seem meaningless, such as leaving food items on an empty plate to feed a lost soul, impacts you. Picking up everything you find is a sign of "greed" and that negatively impacts you...both of the things I just mentioned as examples have no special "cutscene" and they do not give off any immediate indicator that you are doing things right or wrong, but unless you are keeping a constant eye on your "score", you may feel that it will make the game easier if you pick up items to help you along the way.

Things *will* be easier...but the game has MANY different (short) endings that you experience once you have received "judgment" at the game's conclusion. Unless you are VERY GOOD at this game, you won't be seeing the best ending any time soon, because part of seeing the best ending heavily relies on your ability to SURVIVE; as in, picking up only items that you need or items that are essential...and you will discover those as you play, without always knowing which ones are or aren't necessary beforehand. Wanton destruction of the environment also shows a cruel and violent side of you that can be perceived as bloodlust --- So you will want to generally know which things to destroy, what not to destroy, what events to trigger, what events NOT to trigger...so on and so forth, to get the highest moral "score" possible. While there is a general guide on GameFAQs, HG requires you to keep a notebook to document everything that you do and the effect they have on this lost soul or that lost soul. However, I CAN tell you that collecting as few items as possible WILL get a better score. The game is not for the faint of heart.

Think of it like this: the basic concept is like "Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter" --- the more you learn during your playthroughs, the better you get and you will have a better understanding of the world and how to receive good judgment, which is the only way you can return to your normal life as a human. You will essentially learn this much right in the beginning when you are talking to the Grim Reaper. I can tell you this game had an uncommon beauty back when it was made (that I still can see, even in 2015) because the game is HEAVILY atmospheric. The game is one of those games where it is even creepier to play it than it is to watch it here on YouTube...and the visuals, music, and sounds...I do not say this often (as I do not believe in it), but they are just about PERFECT for this game and really set the mood that make you feel like you are wandering around aimlessly in Hell...or one interpretation of Hell anyway.

Now, the game mechanics...Hungry Ghosts, at the core of it all, is a simple enough game. You have a few weapons (largely, a spear that gets upgraded, a crossbow with different arrows, and some items that you throw) and you have key items for events and healing items, so on and so forth. You use keys on locked boxes, use food when you are injured, etc. However, once you learn a bit about the world and ghouls and ghosts and souls...the game becomes MUCH MORE complex. To summarize, the game is something that needs to be experienced to be fully understood. One more major thing you should know is that the controls are a little odd and will take some getting used to. You can choose between a man or a woman and while I have not seen it really documented anywhere, the woman is like "hard mode", as she is weaker than the man (she needs 5 regular strikes to kill ghouls, whereas the male needs 3). You can change your sex in the options menu when you are starting the game up. HG is worth having, because there aren't a great deal of games like it.

I ran out of space to type!

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