Game Review: ...Iru!

...Iru!                         

           

Game System: PSX

Release Date (Jap): 26/03/1998 

Developer: Takara                                                                                                               

Publisher: Takara              

           ...Iru! , which could be translated by  ...Here!  or   ...Thing! , is a first person survival horror game developed and published by TAKARA and released  for the PSX only in Japan.

It seems to have been  rather popular as it was re-released under the «The Best Takaramono» label later on, which I believe is the Japanese equivalent of «Platinum». Shamefully, it remained obscure in the rest of the world...

You play the role of a young man locked up into your school at night with some other students, teachers and attendants. As they are getting killed one by one, your goal is to get out alive,  to try to save others and to find out what could be hidden behind all those mysterious and horrible deaths.

The game is only available in Japanese but even without understanding a single word of it myself, it was a problem only for one puzzle throughout the entire game. Otherwise, the gameplay was very instinctive and the main aspects of the storyline were understandable.  
          You can check MrFaithful's translation as you're playing as a help to understand the game's dialogues : Check it by clicking here

 

You progress through ...Iru! in two manners.

The first way is by talking from person to person, in order to trigger new dialogues, new scenes with other people. For example talking to person A will trigger a scene between A and B and so on.

The other way is  by solving item puzzles, the typical kind of ones you would expect in an adventure game of this kind. For example you find an item, which you have to use somewhere else to get another one, or to open a new area, and so on.

New areas are often blocked by monsters, and you need to find the right item to «kill» those monsters in order to proceed further. If you get too close to them, they will kill you (and  ...Iru! , like Alone In The Dark or Overblood, is full of original deaths, which are always a kind of a perverted pleasure to witness).

Overall, those item puzzles are rather simple and easy to figure out. They are never too fancy like the kind of things you would find in some hardcore adventure games. A problem with this kind of Puzzles in Survival Horror games is that they often don't make sense and feel out of place. For the most part, this is not really the case in ...Iru!

On the other hand; the dialogue process can easily get tedious. You often find yourself with no clue on who you need to talk to next, or if the last dialogue triggered a scene somewhere in the game or not. However,this is probably less of a problem if you do understand Japanese, and it is also rather obvious when a character is saying something new even though you can not understand what it is about, and that is always a sign that some progress has been made.

 

Different monsters or enemies chase you throughout the game. When that happens, you have limited time to find a good hiding place in a given room. If a monster catches you before you achieve that it’s Game Over.

The intensity of being chased by a monster which can kill you in one hit and against which you have little time is emphasized by a few well thought gameplay elements. A bar at the top of the screen shows the distance between the monster and you. There are some small scripted sequences, for example if you're hiding in a locker the first person camera will perform small movements as if the protagonist was looking through the holes of the locker to check on the monster's location. Also, during those chases the music is faster and more intense.

But to be fair, this whole running and hiding thing could have been done a lot better. It always feels like a quick hit or miss situation with little freedom (there are few hiding places to choose from, and the rooms in which those sequences take place are always rather small). The game would have been more interesting and intense if those sequences were not always so short and didn't take place in single rooms. For example the monsters could have re-appeared a bit later on and would chase the player into another room, or the player could actually get caught a first time but somehow got away and had to find another hiding place right after that, etc.

But that's not saying that those moments are bad: the intensity of the scenes and the fear of being caught are real.

All of these elements are examples of what contributes to make the player feel like a rat trapped in a cage which is the real strength of ...Iru!

From the main music, heavy with its simple keyboard chords looping constantly yet disturbing at the same time with its slow and quiet ring bells, to the sight of each of your comrades often shaking with fear in their respective corners before they end up devoured or killed under your very own eyes, without forgetting the way the entire school is either locked up or blocked by creatures: the atmosphere alone in ...Iru!  makes the game worth playing.

It is not just scary or creepy, it is heavy, disturbing, while being more and more mystic and oppressive as the game goes on.

 ...Iru!  is far from being a perfect game. Some gameplay elements could have been made more complicated or difficult and it could have used some more polishing (for example textures are repetitive at the beginning of the game, and some of them misaligned at the end).

However, half way between Echo Night and Clock Tower, it offers a classic gameplay and a strong atmosphere covered by a mystic storyline with multiple endings.

Unless you are not able to be moved by PSX quality graphics anymore,  ...Iru! , while being an obscure title, is something you will enjoy to play at least for its atmosphere. If you are a fan of Echo Night or Clock Tower, you should like it even more.

Score : 3/5

          A fan translation is in the works by MrFaithful, but we need help from anyone who would happen to know how to put it into the game. If you're willing to help please let us know by leaving a comment.
          You can check MrFaithful's translation by clicking here

Reviewed by Ness 19/11/12