Many gamers in Tokyo started to have discussions about the video game "Metal Gear Solid I," and video game entertainment companies also began taking notes of another video game by KiShin that was gaining attention.
Like Tora-Suzuki, other video game entertainment companies were also analyzing the latest successful or previous video games of KiShin, seeking inspiration to improve their own games.
However, compared to other video game entertainment companies, Tora-Suzuki is engaging in much more complex analysis. They are not only examining game design, gameplay, challenging levels, and player preferences but also exploring the market and potential aspects that KiShin might have missed.
Tora-Suzuki is committed to analyzing KiShin's video games comprehensively, incorporating suggestions from gamers themselves to enhance the games. Initially, Tora-Suzuki analyzed KiShin's games like other companies, but influenced by Kenji Tanaka's opinion, they initiated a more intricate and careful analysis, aiming to understand gamer preferences and incorporate their suggestions.
Currently, Tora-Suzuki is scrutinizing game design, gameplay, potential improvements in missions, challenging levels, graphics, and more. They are also considering gamers' opinions in this comprehensive evaluation.
So far, the graphics of "Metal Gear Solid I" have been outstanding. Even Tora-Suzuki and other video game entertainment companies have started to wonder whether the VG Engine software is truly capable of such a feat.
The pre-rendered cut scenes were well-received as well.
Regarding gameplay, gamers have responded positively to "Metal Gear Solid I." Many feel that the difficulty is well-balanced due to the availability of difficulty options. However, some gamers have expressed complaints about the difficulty of certain bosses, such as Metal Gear Rex, which inflicts high damage while the in-game character has limited damage output.
Overall, gamers have mostly responded positively to the video game "Metal Gear Solid I."
--
On November 19, 1995, the highly anticipated horror video game by Tora-Suzuki was finally released.
Many people flocked to stores, including the emerging and rising video game store named "GameStop." This video game store was somewhat of a mystery to those in the business world.
As the video game distributor, the company "GameStop" had a CEO who was a former employee of KiShin. However, many doubted whether such an employee could establish such a company. Moreover, being a private company, businesspeople assumed KiShin's involvement, but no one had proof.
While this speculation persisted, gamers couldn't care less about whether the video game company was owned by KiShin, Tora, or Suzuki. They just wanted to play video games, and that was it.
In front of a certain "GameStop" store, a red sports car came to a stop. Pedestrians on the sidewalks couldn't help but take a second look at the beautiful and luxurious car.
A group of employees who had just finished a meal in a restaurant also noticed the sports car and started discussing.
"Wow... If I win the lottery, I'll buy that car..."
"Hahaha, the lottery? Seriously? Just work hard for it, and soon, we'll be able to afford it..."
"Work for it? Maybe..." a 30-year-old man chuckled wryly. He added, "Maybe when I've worked hard enough, overworked to the point where I won't receive any money for it, and then I'll turn 50 or 60. If I ever make it to that age from working so much, then I'll buy a mansion and that car..."
When the salarymen heard it, they fell momentarily silent, and one of them remarked, "We just finished celebrating our small success in the office, and now you're going to be so sarcastic here?"
"Hahaha, sorry."
Amidst the banter, a woman walked out of the sports car.
She was a young woman, dressed in a ganguro gal style.
"Wow! It's a gal..."
"So pretty..."
The men discreetly glanced at the young woman who emerged from the sports car, unconsciously muttering their thoughts.
"Hmph." The young woman snorted and strolled towards the video game store, "GameStop."
The people browsing in the store were a bit surprised by the presence of the stylish young woman.
Meet Kazue Miyoshi, the granddaughter of the wealthy tycoon Sazama Suzuki.
Kazue has achieved significant success in the clubs and nightlife business, even becoming a small shareholder in Suzuki Entertainment, known for Suzuki video game production. Her presence here is to support the Suzuki business and to purchase their latest release, "Religion of Nightmares."
She actively contributed suggestions during the production process of the video game and is eager to see the final results.
"Ah, miss... Is there anything I can help you?" a GameStop cashier asked shyly.
"I'm here to buy that game, yes... 'Religion of Nightmares'!" Kazue purposely exclaimed the game's name so that others could hear.
The young men browsing games perked up their ears upon hearing her announcement.
"Uh? That video game? Young miss, I don't recommend such a game at all," the GameStop cashier shook his head and continued, "I'll suggest a better horror game—"
Before the GameStop employee could finish, a young man who had just approached quietly interjected.
"Young miss, don't play that video game! Instead, try the horror video game 'Silent Hill'! It's a horror game from KiShin, a reputable company!"
"Uh, yeah, I'll recommend that video game..." The GameStop employee said with a nod, frowning at the young man who had just interrupted him.
Meanwhile, Kazue, upon hearing their opinions, had her expression notably darkened.
'It's that video game from Shinro again...' Kazue thought with a frown.
Honestly, the reason she invested and entered the video game industry was because she recognized its profitability, seeing how wealthy her cousin Shinro Suzuki had become due to video games.
She invested in the family business, Suzuki Entertainment, a video game production. However, despite her efforts, the video games from her cousin's company, KiShin, continued to dominate the market. Suzuki remained in the shadows, trailing behind KiShin, and this was a source of displeasure for Kazue.
"No. I don't like KiShin's video games, so just give me the video games from Suzuki," Kazue asserted with furrowed brows.
"But—" the GameStop employee attempted to persuade Kazue, yet her frowning expression halted his efforts.
Simultaneously, Kazue grew a bit suspicious of the "GameStop" video game store. It seemed suspicious how insistent they were on recommending KiShin's video games.
Unbeknownst to Kazue, the video game store was influenced by KiShin, but their recommendations were based on the positive responses from customers, not merely due to corporate influence.
After a few days since the release of the video game "Religion of Nightmares," most gamers' responses have been quite positive so far.
The video game is genuinely scary, with the introductory story revolving around an in-game character who, as a journalist, investigates a cult for his next topic. However, he is kidnapped by the cult shortly thereafter.
Locked in the basement and tied to a chair, the journalist manages to find sharp objects, cuts the ropes, and the gameplay begins. The in-game character embarks on a quest to discover hints for escaping the basement.
After exploring for a while and visiting a specific area, a pre-cut scene depicts a ghoul devouring a person. The in-game character can choose to ignore it or use the initially found sharp objects to kill the ghoul.
Upon escaping the basement, gamers notice that the in-game character is now in a dark and spooky forest, marking the beginning of the real game.
Various types of ghouls will attempt to eliminate the in-game character, and gradually, he will uncover clues about his location and the true nature of the cult he was entangled with. As the video game progresses, it becomes apparent that the cult is, in fact, the media company he works for.
"Religion of Nightmares" garnered positive responses from many gamers and professionals, as well as video game reviewers. However, some critics noted its brevity, with the ability to finish the game in around 3 hours.
On the downside, the game faced criticism for challenging bosses, repetitive monsters in certain areas, and a soundtrack that received only average reviews.
Despite these drawbacks, gamers appreciated the fresh ideas inspired by KiShin's "Resident Evil" in the horror genre.
Suzuki's data scientists demonstrated successful analysis of player preferences within the gaming industry, unlike Tora, whose latest game, "Gloomy: Land of Happiness," received little acclaim. Tora's attempt to make an antagonist the protagonist in their ambitious video game didn't resonate well with players.
While the idea behind Tora's concept was refreshingly innovative, even surprising Shin a bit, the execution of the video game fell short.
Magazines, including KiShin Power, responded positively to Suzuki's video game, much to the surprise of gamers. Questions arose among casual gamers about how KiShin could endorse a competitor's game.
What these casual gamers didn't realize was that KiShin didn't mind, as the success of Tora and Suzuki's games would contribute to KiShin's earnings through royalty fees. This income comes from the video game companies utilizing KiShin's beneficial software, VG Engine.
While "Religion of Nightmares" garnered a positive response from many gamers, another horror video game has outshone it in terms of received acclaim and gradual popularity over these recent days.
This standout game is another creation by KiShin, titled "Silent Hill," surpassing both Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares" and KiShin's own "Resident Evil."
--
Inside the Imperial Hotel in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in the most luxurious room, Kazue wore a frown as she scrutinized the video game CD cover of "Silent Hill."
A few days ago, Kazue played "Religion of Nightmares" for about half an hour and was quite satisfied with the outcome. She anticipated the game becoming a hit in the horror genre, given the positive feedback from gamers.
However, after a few days, while "Religion of Nightmares" did receive a good response, it didn't surpass other horror video games. In the "TopVideoGames" magazine, which compiles top 10 lists for each genre and an overall top 100 called 'AllTimeLists,' KiShin's video games dominated the highly rated games, ironically.
This season, the magazine presented its top 10 in the horror genre, featuring horror video games released thus far. In reality, horror genre video games were scarce, with only a handful released for both the 16-bit and 32-bit consoles.
Following KiShin's "Resident Evil," many entertainment companies ventured into creating horror video games. Come November, a few horror games debuted, but it was Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares" and KiShin's "Silent Hill" that garnered the most attention.
At this point, Kazue anticipated that Suzuki's horror video game, "Religion of Nightmares," would secure the top spot in the autumn season's horror video game rankings. However, to her surprise, their game only claimed the second position.
KiShin's "Silent Hill" outperformed Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares," receiving a higher rating in the rankings.
Kazue suspected that the magazine's top lists were manipulated, thinking that "TopVideoGames" might have been paid by KiShin for favorable reviews of their video games. Frustrated, Kazue sought opinions from other video game magazines on Suzuki and KiShin's horror games released in November, only to find that they echoed "TopVideoGame" magazine's publisher.
In response, Kazue decided to purchase and play "Silent Hill" herself, skeptical that the game would genuinely affect her.
"Hmph, let's see how scary this game is..." Kazue snorted as she inserted the "Silent Hill" CD into the KS1.
After Kazue inserted the video game, the logo of KS1 and KiShin intro started.
After that, the video game "Silent Hill" intro story animation started.
It was a man driving a car, and beside him was a little girl. As the car was driving along the road, a young woman seemed to be walking in the middle of the road, causing the man to try to avoid her, but his car crashed instead.
After that, the scene flashed white before the video game menu showed.
After that, Kazue skillfully selected "start," and then the options of difficulty appeared.
As Kazue has been a gamer for quite a while, she was no stranger to video games.
When Kazue saw the options of difficulty, such as "Easy, Normal, and Hard," she snorted and said, "Hmph... I bet the difficulty doesn't matter anyway..." Then she chose the "Hard" difficulty.
As Kazue also participated in the video game production of the Suzuki, she knew that with the limited capabilities of AI, the difficulty of the game and that the enemies are just following a certain pattern or something like that. She was not aware of the details, but she got the gist of it.
But what Kazue didn't know was that the AI used in "Silent Hill" is similar to the AI used in "Metal Gear Solid I," which is actually an Adaptive AI. An Adaptive AI adapts to players' strategies and enemy patrol routes. When a player repeatedly traverses an area, the enemy adjusts its approach to catch the player. In "Metal Gear Solid I," the AI includes alert phases triggered by player detection, leading to actions like calling for reinforcements, changing patrol patterns, or initiating aggressive pursuit. Boss behavior also adds difficulty for the player. Similar mechanics are employed in "Silent Hill," although its focus on psychological horror and atmosphere exploration makes the adaptive AI less overt. Nevertheless, the AI remains valuable for setting difficulty options, whether easy or hard. Although AI wasn't as advanced in this parallel world 1995, KiShin's AI for video game development, despite being developed in the same era, was commendable.
The adaptive AI used in "Metal Gear Solid I" was truly innovative for its time, specifically in 1995. KiShin stood out as an industry innovator, earning admiration from other video game entertainment companies that took notice of such AI advancements in "Metal Gear Solid I."
After Kazue selected the hard mode, the video game started, featuring the opening scene of a man stepping out of his already wrecked car. As he walked away from the car, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place.
A caption appeared with the in-game character questioning his whereabouts.
Kazue gained control of the in-game character and navigated through the foggy area.
Furrowing her brows, she had to admit that the background atmosphere was quite eerie. Simultaneously, the graphics appeared superior to those in the video game "Religion of Nightmares." However, she doubted whether "Silent Hill" would be as frightening as "Religion of Nightmares."
What puzzled her was how the KS1 hardware could handle graphics with seemingly numerous buildings in the background. She recalled Suzuki's video game developers attempting it, but the buildings and structures didn't load quickly enough.
Since she lacked extensive knowledge of video game development, she didn't dwell on it. She continued to guide the in-game character forward, and after playing for a while, Kazue unknowingly became curious about the gameplay. Then, she spotted a girl in the distance, and the in-game character's voice exclaimed, "Cheryl? Is that Cheryl!?"
The pre-rendered scene depicted the in-game character following the girl and asking, "Where are you going?"
"Cheryl, huh? Is she his daughter?" Kazue couldn't help but mutter as she observed the scene.
However, the girl named Cheryl ran away, prompting the in-game character to exclaim, "Hey, wait, stop!"
The sounds of footsteps were noticeably audible along with the soundtrack.
In the foggy area where there were no people at all, the sound of footsteps added a chilling and eerie atmosphere to the player's experience.
Kazue, holding the controller, felt a slight chill, but she quickly distracted herself, repeating, "It's just a game." These were the words she often said to herself while playing the video game "Religion of Nightmares."
Yet, the foggy setting, coupled with the soundtrack of footsteps in "Silent Hill," managed to chill Kazue even more.
Then, Kazue guided the in-game character to follow the girl's direction, leading her into a dark alley. Kazue managed to have her in-game character acquire a torch, illuminating the eerie surroundings.
The alley emanated creepy vibes, with blood on the floor and various frightening elements. The usually silent video game, accompanied only by the soundtrack of footsteps, introduced a suspenseful musical score.
Suddenly, a bloody and terrifying figure hanging appeared, prompting the in-game character to exclaim, "What is this? What's going on here!?"
After that, humanoid monsters approached the in-game character, and due to this and the chilling soundtrack, Kazue almost tossed the controller.
The monsters attacked the in-game character, prompting Kazue to guide the character to flee.
However, a fence blocked the in-game character's path, leaving Kazue with no escape.
"Damn it! Is this the end!?" Kazue exclaimed, gritting her teeth.
She witnessed the monsters embracing the in-game character, Harry Mason, accompanied by his groans.
The scene shifted, with Harry Mason waking up in bed.
Following that were pre-rendered scenes featuring Harry Mason and a police woman.
Unbeknownst to Kazue, she was gradually becoming engrossed in the video game "Silent Hill."
After playing for an hour, Kazue couldn't take it anymore and tossed the controller aside.
"Damn it! Why are those mobs so hard to kill? Besides, I remember that there are no monsters patrolling in that area?" Kazue couldn't help but complain, yet she still felt her heart throbbing in fear. "Silent Hill" is undeniably scary.
As a woman proud to believe that no video games could scare her after playing "Religion of Nightmares," Kazue found herself genuinely frightened.
Uncertain whether to continue playing "Silent Hill" or not, she admitted that she wouldn't last long, if not for the fact that it was currently morning and the maid was watching nearby with curiosity.