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MONSTERS OF THE WEEK: Hellnight/Dark Messiah
#Hellnight #HellnightReview #SurvivalHorror #MonstersOfTheWeek
When Survival Horror was on the rise after Resident Evil’s meteoric rise, a ton of (especially Japanese) game companies came up with their own take on the emerging horror sub-genre, with many trying to impart their own twist and flavor on the formula.
Atlus (yes, the SMT/Persona guys) also tried their hand at it with the wonderfully experimental subterranean horror-adventure Hellnight (known as Dark Messiah in Japan).
It came out in 1998 in Japan for the PS1 and was only released in a few European countries in a translated version in December 1999, with few copies and fewer game journalists grasping what this game attempted to do – resulting in abysmal review scores and Atlus ultimately dropping Survival Horror for good. Which is a damn shame, because Hellnight was highly inventive, pioneering many mechanics that have become tried and true staples in survival horror gaming.
A prime example for a game that was far ahead of its time… or rather pearls before swine.
**Support the Channel**
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:18 Part 1: Pearls Before Swine
07:06 Sponsor
08:58 Part 2: Welcome to The Mesh
16:33 Part 3: TOP 5 REASONS HELLNIGHT WAS TOTALLY AHEAD OF ITS TIME
23:06 Epilogue: Atlus was onto something here
28:43 Thank you & Credits
__
Thanks for additional Footage Recording:
Mira Cox
@Snaping Snapper
Only White One Out On Flatbush. BK
12.09.2022So basically ill never be able to play this , or imma have to spend a couple hundred for a copy cause im not finding any online
Only White One Out On Flatbush. BK
07.09.2022So basically ill never be able to play this , or imma have to spend a couple hundred for a copy cause im not finding any online
joesko219
07.09.2022I’m so happy you covered this game. This is by far one of the most unsettling experiences of gaming I’ve ever played. The environments, the stalking terror, the echoing horror of the soundtrack. There are flaws but one can see how this game really influenced so many things
deep mind
07.09.2022I love it when a non horror games have horror elements or at least elements that are very creepy. One example is Zelda ocarina of time, in which, there was a dungeon that had blood, torture themes, and Silent Hill like monsters. It was so creepy that Nintendo later censored the blood. But the funny thing is that Zelda majora's mask ended up being very creepy and depressing the entire game, with its themes of end of the world, suicide, grief, and agony. To my knowledge, majora's mask was never censored by Nintendo other than maybe altering a section that had a religious theme.
Neil M
07.09.2022@ragnarrox, if you put your paypal into the video descriptions instead of Patreon, I and myself might be inclined to throw some bucks your way
Will
07.09.2022This game was really good back then, now not so much. I remember it having one the most bizarre endings of all time lol.
Grandmaster Kush
07.09.2022Theres something about PS1 and PS2 games especially first person dungeon crawlers and horror games that just makes me so nostalgic, the ultimate comfy feel for me.
WarturtleGames
07.09.2022great vid hope more see it
John S
07.09.2022I'm not entirely certain about Hellnight not getting a UK release. Whilst games certainly crossed borders within the PAL region, this was something that mostly happened long after the PS1 was off the shelves with the rise of Amazon, Ebay and various online sellers. My copy of Hellnight was bought in the UK in the early 2000s so there were enough copies around for somebody who doesn't scour the Country from end to end to buy one from a regular shop which would indicate some sort of local release.
Jaime Garcia
07.09.2022Yo whats the game at 0:42–0:43??????? I played it in 99 or 2000 and ive been tryna figure out what it is 😭😭😭
Iyasenu
07.09.2022The gameplay reminds me of Enemy Zero.
Though the pursuer isn't invisible in this one.
Νικήτας Χάγιος
04.09.2022Ragny you have the inner talent to showcase and explain in great detail obscure (horror) videogames in the best possible way.Also I admire the fact that you defend underappreciated (horror) videogames in an unbiased way that few Youtubers can , like in your previous video about Castlevania 64.It goes without saying that you convinced me to give Hellnight a try.I can't wait for your next video 😁
Dariyan Valentine
04.09.2022ah yes atlus saw what from software did with shadow tower and was like how can we turn that into survival horror
Agroed
04.09.2022Horror games and JRPGs that aren't Final Fantasy are more often than not panned by reviewers that don't understand them or hate the entire premise. It's unfortunate but, I've learned to just completely disregard any metacritic scores from those genres.
niwm
04.09.2022Lol!
Gets brutally slain by creature
"Naomi will remember that."
Great work as always RagnarRox! I have felt for years now that Hellnight is an underrated gem, so it's great to see some recognition. The extremely minimalistic 3-4 note repeating songs in the soundtrack is a stroke of genius in my opinion. It just sets this incredibly eerie tone with barely any actual music in the traditional sense.
MrDrCthulhu
04.09.2022I can understand not releasing it in the US if the projected sales numbers were very low, but damn, I would have loved to see this game get a state-side release. I never even heard of it at all until this video, which is a total shame, as it really does seem like a fascinating title.
Titan
04.09.2022The combo of the annoying whiny voice and the game journalist complaints made this video pretty off-putting.
auger 007
04.09.2022I always wanted to play this game!
Max Kusari
04.09.2022it's sooo expensive… maybe one day. 😅 superb video, as always! ❤️
helio1055
04.09.2022Its crazy this game doesnt get talked about enough, ive loved it for years
Nick Dixon
04.09.2022Gonna be that guy but the Persona series predates this game by two years
Owlbearman
31.08.2022Dog puffs up when it does inclines in front of human
SMT and Earthbound Suck
31.08.2022Another rough gem gutted by Fatlus’ incompetence. Love to see it.
IRONMASK
31.08.2022I'm having a moment right now because i totally had convinced myself this game wasn't real! I loved this when I played it omg
Brad Malone
31.08.2022I wish I had a computer, this game looks like a good time.
killer bee
31.08.2022When I hear hell knight I think something different
MoeJuggler
31.08.2022How are there so many gaming channels with 100k+ subscribers that I've never heard of?! I've been here since the beginning of fckin AVGN!
KosmDidact
31.08.2022I'd look away and forget what I'm watching and thought you were talking about Hollow Knight at times
Wolf Hreda
31.08.20228:20 my man pulled the Boris Maneuver
Cute Mental Mathematics
31.08.2022"this is not like the other games in the genre, you know, the ones that all my friends like, and the ones that I understaaand." Literally what people tell me all the time.
Steph
31.08.2022Damn, in another timeline Atlus could've been a household name for survival horror games. This is pretty cool, thanks for sharing this.
DrewBias_95
28.08.2022I actually love the idea of adaptive difficulty; I do no damage professional runs of RE4 all the time with a friend, and we always joke and call it “big brother mode.” (Because it would be suited for the big brother you hand the controller to as a child.) I usually don’t feel it’s executed very well, but I love the idea. However I don’t believe in scaling difficulty *back, (unless you manually choose easier modes that are an option like in dmc3, for instance.) harder gameplay is actually a reward for people who really enjoy and/or are more adept at a certain game. I wish there were official modes that were harder for Resident Evil titles specifically. The Evil Within and Resident Evil 1+7 had some super awesome extra hard content for people who love difficult survival horror. Ethan Must Die is very difficult, and madhouse was difficult my first few play throughs. Now I wouldn’t play 7 any other way. That’s probably why those two are my favorites in the series besides 4. (Closely followed by 2r and 2.)
Krystal Myth
28.08.2022The uniqueness of this era of gaming is just, breathtaking.
video_ouija
28.08.2022How crazy. I just played this recently on my hacked ps1 mini
Henrietta Lore
28.08.2022ATLUS: the original fumbler of the bag 😔
TheDoctorWhoLurks
28.08.2022hellnight reminds me a lot of amnesia..
PBJ AND A HIGHFIVE
28.08.2022If you have any interest in a TRULY unknown, ultra-rare PSX horror mega-gem you should take a look at "Germs – Narawareta Machi". It's basically forgotten by the modern world, but it's one of the most interesting and captivatingly bizarre PSX games ever made and is also, oddly, one of the most technologically advanced games to ever come out of the PSX library. It's insane how good-yet-completely-unknown it is, although that probably has a lot to do with it never getting a Western localization and only being available in Japanese.
TimeSplitter Tales
28.08.2022Will definitely be copying your homework. I've always wanted to play this game after reading about it on Chris's Survival Horror Quest many many years ago.
Joly
28.08.2022This wasn't developed by Atlus but was just published by them in a collaboration with Konami.
The developers were Dennou Eizo Ltd.
Not much is known about them other than they made an RPG on the NeoGeo color and a what I believe is a cyberpunk horror rpg called DeSpiria for the Dreamcast using the same engine as Hellnight.
Kelpo
28.08.2022this genuinely looks scary, I hate how low the draw distance is so you can never see the enemy coming
Pumpkin
28.08.2022Great video, but damn does your ASMR bother my ears
I Was A Girl In Eldia Doing Alright
27.08.2022Damn!
McFinnaPants
27.08.2022Forgotten?
Sad Nitro Rad noises
Base Bass Forte
27.08.2022@7:15 allright.! Pissing time. (Takes a piss) uwu
Ando Commando
27.08.2022It's weird seeing an Atlus first person game where you're not hitting random encounters with turn based combat every two steps
BardoJoe
27.08.2022Does anyone know what game is the character at 0:15 from?
Solanum Tuberosa
27.08.2022I'm hearing some Gintama soundtracks and dialogues and I like it.
Jill Sandwich
27.08.2022I find it very funny that for the sake of economy, Atlus cut out the voice acting in the European version of the game.
Cj
27.08.2022Open about emulators?
You sir have balls!
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supertaoman12
27.08.2022Holy shit I remember playing this game with my brothers and freaking the fuck out and not being able to get past the first part. We played the japanese version too which made it worse because we understood none of it.