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Illbleed

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Illbleed
Developer(s)Crazy Games
Publisher(s)
  • JP:Crazy Games
  • NA:AIA
Director(s)Tetsuro Sugimori
Producer(s)Shinya Nishigaki
Programmer(s)Kazuaki Yokozawa
Artist(s)
  • Ryosuke Murakami
  • Masaki Segawa
Writer(s)Shinya Nishigaki
Composer(s)Yukinori Kikuchi
Platform(s)Dreamcast
Release
  • JP:March 29, 2001
  • NA:April 16, 2001
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Illbleed[a]is asurvival horrorgame developed byCrazy Gamesand released for theDreamcastin 2001. It was published by Crazy Games in Japan and Amusement Interface Associate (AIA) in North America. The game follows Eriko Christy, a high school student who explores a horror-themed amusement park to find her missing friends. The player explores sixhaunted house attractionsbased on fictionalhorror films,detecting and neutralizing hidden traps and enemies which can harm or frighten Eriko and her friends.

Crazy Games was known as Climax Graphics until a month beforeIllbleed's release. As Climax Graphics, they developed and publishedBlue Stinger(1999), an action-adventure game for the Dreamcast. The team wanted to explore horror themes in their next game, and so drew inspiration from haunted house attractions and horror films to create an original scenario that would differentiate it from other horror games.

Illbleedwas released in the months followingSega's discontinuation of the Dreamcast. It received mixed reviews, with praise for its original concept, dark humor,campstyle, and horrorB moviequalities, but criticism for its game design, controls, and playability. It was a commercial failure, only selling a tenth ofBlue Stinger's figures; aportfor theXboxwas planned, but canceled.

Gameplay

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Eriko stands in front of a stage entrance

Illbleedis asurvival horrorgame.[1]The player explores sixstages,each an amusement park attraction themed after a different fictionalhorror film,and complete objectives unique to each one.[2]The player begins by controlling the protagonist, Eriko Christy, but as they progress they rescue and recruit more playable characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.[3]Items can be found throughout levels or purchased at the park's grandstand, which serves as ahub world.[2]Items include text that tells the story, event items needed to complete a stage objective, or recovery items that can heal the player character. The player can purchase recovery items and character upgrades from the "Emergency Room" in each stage and the hub world.[3]

In contrast to contemporary survival horror games,Illbleedprioritizes locating and neutralizing traps over combat;[2]a level's trap locations, enemies, and items are randomized.[3]Different types of traps and enemies can affect the player character's stamina, heart rate, or bleeding rate.[2]Physical damage reduces stamina and increases bleeding, while frightening moments increase heart rate. High bleeding rates cause stamina and heart rate to fall. If the bleeding reaches a certain threshold or they lose all their stamina, the character dies. If their heart rate increases too much, they die of a heart attack, or faint if it drops too low.[2]If the player fails to keep the character alive, they must continue with another available character. Dead characters can be revived outside the level. If there are no remaining characters, thegame endsand must be restarted from a previous save point.[3]

To avoid hazards, the player must watch a sensory feedback monitor which indicates the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and a sixth sense.[4]When the player approaches an item or potential hazard, different senses can react on the sensory monitor.[2]The player uses the Horror Monitor, which is found near the beginning of each stage, to dismantle traps.[3]The Horror Monitor allows the player to mark areas for potential traps and enemies at the cost of adrenaline. The player can survey any spot marked; if a trap was there, it is disabled and the spent adrenaline returns to the character.[1]Marking enemies grants the player a first strike advantage when entering battle.[3]Engaging enemies places the game into a combat mode with unique controls, in which the player must neutralize the enemy or escape by calling for a helicopter from a helipad. Winning a battle grants the character adrenaline.[3]

Plot

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Eriko Christy is a high school student and horror aficionado. As a child, her family ran a "horror caravan", a traveling horror-themed amusement attraction; her father tested horror gimmicks on her, traumatizing her as a result. When she was six years old, her mother divorced her father and took Eriko, estranging the two. In the present, Eriko's friends Kevin, Randy, and Michel invite her to Illbleed, a new horror amusement park. Its creator, the horror film producer Michael Reynolds, offers a reward of $100 million to anyone who can successfully reach the end of the park. Eriko declines the invitation, assuming it is a cheap publicity stunt, and her friends set out for the park, leaving her behind with her ticket. After not hearing from them for several days, Eriko goes to the park to investigate.

In the park, Eriko explores haunted house attractions themed after horror films, having the opportunity to save each of her friends along the way. If she saves all three and a reporter, Jorg,[b]she and her friends win the prize money, but she states that she is returning to Illbleed and tells them not to follow. This initiates anew game plusmode, wherein Eriko meets Michael Reynolds, discovers he is her father, and defeats him in a final battle.[5]

Development

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Illbleedwas developed for theDreamcastby Tokyo-based game developerCrazy Gamesunder the leadership of its founder and producer Shinya Nishigaki.[6]The company was known as Climax Graphics until one month before the game's release. The team began working onIllbleedafter completing their first Dreamcast game,Blue Stinger(1999),[6]which was published bySegain Japan.[7]They considered making a sequel toBlue Stinger,which Sega had requested after its commercial success in the West. However, they elected to make an original horror game instead.[6]Illbleed'sproduction took place inShinjuku,Tokyo and lasted a year and a half. At its peak, Crazy Games had 23 staff working on the game. Programmer Kazuaki Yokozawa designed a newgame enginein an effort to alleviate many of the issues inBlue Stinger,such as the camera.[6]This also allowed for higherframe ratesand the ability to show more effects and objects on screen.[8]

Haunted house attractions,like this haunted hospital atFuji-Q Highland,were key inspirations forIllbleed.

The team had avoided horror elements inBlue Stingerto distinguish it from horror adventure games on the market likeResident Evil,but they decided to wholly embrace horror forIllbleed.[9][10]At the time, horror media was undergoing a renaissance as a result of the success of films such asRing(1998) andSpiral(1998) in Japan, andScream(1996) in the United States.[9]Wanting a game withjump scares,the team decided to create an elaborate haunted house game that simulated thehaunted house attractionsseen in amusement parks.[9]They visited haunted house attractions atFuji-Q HighlandinYamanashifor inspiration, and studied how attractions are designed to play with attendees' expectations.[9]They also drew influence from 1980s American horror films andB movies.[6][9]Nishigaki, a film aficionado, cited the directorial styles ofJames Cameron,Steven Spielberg,George Lucas,Hayao Miyazaki,andAkira Kurosawaas influences.[6]

Release

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Illbleedwas announced in April 2000 atTokyo Game Show.[11][12]A playable demo was demonstrated atE3that year[13]and at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2000.[6][14]Although Crazy Games originally expected Sega to localize the game due toBlue Stinger'ssuccess, Sega of America droppedIllbleedfrom its localization lineup in mid-2000, citing a crowdedfirst-partyrelease schedule.[6][15]Despite this, Sega felt it was a strong game that would get picked up by a third-party publisher,[15]and soon Crazy Games had offers from five different publishers to localize it.[6]Jalecoobtained the rights to the game,[6]but was struggling financially and was bought out byPCCW.[6]Former Jaleco executives founded Amusement Interface Associate (AIA) and its subsidiary AIA USA in early 2001, which ultimately localized the game.[6]

Crazy Games self-publishedIllbleedin Japan on March 29, 2001 for theDreamcast,[16]two months after Sega announced it was discontinuing the platform.[6]It was released in North America by AIA USA one month later.[6]A Chinese-language edition was released in January 2002.[6][17]Crazy Games also released an action figure of Eriko Christy, which was limited to 1,000 figures.[18]Illbleedwas a commercial failure, only selling 50,000 copies worldwide, a tenth ofBlue Stinger'ssales.[6]

Ports ofIllbleedandBlue Stingerwere under development for theXboxby the Japanese developer Coolnet Entertainment. Despite the port ofIllbleedreportedly being 90% complete, the ports were canceled due to Nishigaki's death in 2004 and the Xbox's poor performance in Japan.[6]

Reception

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Illbleedreceived "mixed or average reviews", according to the video gamereview aggregatorMetacritic.[19]Many critics praised its willingness to stray from the typical survival horror gameplay of the time,[1][22][30][27]by forgoing combat and puzzle-solving segments in favor of trap detection and avoidance.[1][31]Electronic Gaming Monthly(EGM) wrote thatIllbleed"picks up the dying survival horror torch, douses it in gasoline, and throws it into your treehouse, laughing all the while".[22]Next Generationdescribed the survival horror genre as becoming "almost as ubiquitous asfirst-person shooters",and feltIllbleedsuccessfully set itself apart.[27]GameSpyagreed, saying the genre needed some kind of innovation, and felt thatIllbleed's new gameplay elements and unique humor made it original.[1]GameProsaid that the game "scores major points for twisted originality, even if unfocused and clunky execution keeps it from turning horror on its gory, severed ear."[30][d]

The most-praised elements included thecampyB movie style, twisted dark humor, and gratuitous use of blood.[1][2][22][29]GameSpotcalled the offbeat presentationIllbleed's most redeeming quality, writing that "gratuitous use of luscious, spurting blood sets its B movie tone perfectly".[2]EGMdescribed the game as "psychotically gorgeous" and "freaking bizarre".[22]Dreamcast Magazine(UK) summarized the game in one word, "excess", explaining that everything in the game was "insane" and "over-the-top".[29]GameSpyandGameSpotobserved that the game was self-aware of its camp qualities and fully embraced it.[1][2]While the voice acting was panned byEGMandGameSpy,[22][1]Dreamcast Magazinefelt it contributed to its campy quality.[29]BothEGMandNext Generationwrote that the game had a low budget feel which made it feel in the same vein as the B movies that inspired it.[22][27]

Illbleed's game design and controls were criticized. Critics said the stiff jump mechanics, the stark difference between walking and running, and the camera system all contributed to frustration.[1][4][27]IGNwrote that it could be difficult to enjoy the game while these problems interrupted the experience.[4]Edgedescribed the room-to-room exploration as a repetitive "minesweeping"exercise of tagging traps, but felt it worked generally well except for a lack of checkpoints.[21]GameSpotandGameSpycriticized what they called "stop and go" pacing: needing to stop and scan rooms for traps upon entering them, before being able to proceed.[1][2]

Critics recommendedIllbleedto players who can appreciate schlock horror and ignore technical flaws.[2][4][29]GameSpotwrote that whether players enjoy the game depends on their "affinity for slapstick horror" and "tolerance for tedium."[2]Producer Shinya Nishigaki said of the reception: "Illbleedrequires a high degree of intelligence to play [...] It was just an entire mix of entertainment that many people couldn't understand. To me, the negative reviews of the game did not affect me at all. "[6]The game has amassed acult following.[6]

Notes

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  1. ^Japanese:イルブリード,Hepburn:Iruburīdo
  2. ^Jorg is named after the real-life journalist Jorg S. Tittel, who did publicity work for the game.[5]
  3. ^Three critics ofElectronic Gaming Monthlygave the game each a score of 7.5/10, 6/10, and 7/10.
  4. ^GameProgave the game two 3.5/5 scores for graphics and fun factor, 4/5 for sound, and 2.5/5 for control.

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijkdigitaltaco (May 1, 2001)."Illbleed".PlanetDreamcast.IGN Entertainment. Archived fromthe originalon May 3, 2001.RetrievedOctober 13,2015.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmLopez, Miguel (April 18, 2001)."Illbleed Review".GameSpot.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on April 29, 2001.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  3. ^abcdefgIllbleed manual.AIA USA, Ltd. September 1, 2005.RetrievedSeptember 6,2019.
  4. ^abcdeChau, Anthony (April 18, 2001)."Illbleed".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on July 11, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  5. ^abDerboo, Sam (October 19, 2012)."Illbleed".Hardcore Gaming 101.Archivedfrom the original on November 30, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 18,2024.
  6. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsAndersen, John (February 13, 2015)."Remembering Shinya Nishigaki and his" Crazy Games "Blue Stinger and Illbleed".Game Developer.Informa.Archivedfrom the original on November 28, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 18,2024.
  7. ^ドリームキャスト chuyên dụng GD-ROM ( セガ phát mại ).Sega(in Japanese).Archivedfrom the original on October 23, 2020.RetrievedNovember 21,2022.
  8. ^Tittel, Jorg S. (July–August 2000)."Coming Soon: Illbleed".Official Dreamcast Magazine (US).No. 6.Imagine Media.pp. 62–63.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  9. ^abcde"ホラーの phục 権".Dreamcast Magazine(in Japanese). Vol. 15. April 28, 2000. pp. 64–66.(Translation)
  10. ^Tittel, Jorg S. (November 2000)."Ticket to Hell".Official Dreamcast Magazine (US).No. 8. Imagine Media. pp. 34–37.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  11. ^Justice, Brandon (April 13, 2000)."Illbleed Introduced at E3 by Stateside Publisher".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on March 12, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  12. ^Sato, Yukiyoshi Ike (March 24, 2000)."Climax Graphics Announces Illbleed".GameSpot.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on September 16, 2000.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  13. ^Dunham, Jeremy (May 13, 2000)."E32000: [sic] Hands On With Illbleed".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on March 12, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  14. ^"クライマックス・グラフィックス".Tokyo Game Show(in Japanese). 2000.Archivedfrom the original on November 22, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  15. ^abAhmed, Shahed (August 9, 2000)."Sega Drops Two".GameSpot.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on May 4, 2001.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  16. ^"イルブリード".SegaJapan(in Japanese). Archived fromthe originalon May 20, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  17. ^"DC đệ nhất khoản trung văn nhuyễn thể quỷ ốc lịch kiếp tương phát thụ".Mộng huyễn chi tinh(in Chinese). Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  18. ^"フィギュアつき hạn định bản, D-Directで đăng tràng!".Crazy Games(in Japanese). Archived fromthe originalon June 8, 2001.
  19. ^ab"Illbleed".Metacritic.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on February 18, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 18,2024.
  20. ^Toxic (June 2001)."Illbleed".Consoles +(in French). No. 113. p. 88.Archivedfrom the original on February 19, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  21. ^abEdge staff (June 2001)."Illbleed"(PDF).Edge.No. 98.Future Publishing.p. 72.Archived(PDF)from the original on August 21, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  22. ^abcdefgDudlak, Jonathan; Chou, Che; MacDonald, Mark (June 2001)."Illbleed"(PDF).Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 143.Ziff Davis.p. 103.Archived(PDF)from the original on April 15, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  23. ^Hudak, Chris (May 29, 2001)."Illbleed".The Electric Playground.Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived fromthe originalon March 23, 2002.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  24. ^"イルブリード".Famitsu(in Japanese).Enterbrain.Archivedfrom the original on July 11, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  25. ^"Illbleed".Game Informer.No. 98.FuncoLand.June 2001.
  26. ^Daguinot, Jean-Charles (May 30, 2001)."Test: Illbleed: le monstre de foire".Gamekult(in French).TF1 Group.Archivedfrom the original on June 16, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  27. ^abcdeLundrigan, Jeff (July 2001)."Illbleed".Next Generation.No. 79. Imagine Media. p. 84.RetrievedOctober 24,2021.
  28. ^"Dreamcast SOFT REVIEW - ILLBLEED (イルブリード)"(PDF).Dreamcast Magazine Japan.Softbank Publishing. April 6, 2001. p. 23.Archived(PDF)from the original on November 17, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  29. ^abcdeMathers, Martin (2001)."Import review: Illbleed"(PDF).Dreamcast Magazine.No. 23.Paragon Publishing.pp. 56–58.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  30. ^abStar Dingo (May 2001)."Illbleed"(PDF).GamePro.No. 152.IDG.p. 78.Archivedfrom the original on October 29, 2004.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
  31. ^EGM staff (February 2001)."Preview: Illbleed"(PDF).Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 139. Ziff Davis. p. 64.Archived(PDF)from the original on July 16, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 19,2024.
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