Forbidden Siren 2

Forbidden Siren 2 Release Date: 2006 Developer: Japan Studio Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Series: Siren Platforms: PlayStation 2 Genre: Stealth Horror

Forbidden Siren 2 is a Japanese 2006 stealth-survival horror game and the follow-up to the original Siren. The game was designed to address multiple issues with the first game's gameplay, namely, having more hints, difficulty settings, and other features to reduce frustration. However, due to the original game's poor performance in America, Siren 2 was only released in English as "Forbidden Siren 2" in PAL regions and its lack of any digital re-release means it has fallen into relative obscurity compared to the rest of the series. The later-released Siren: Blood Curse would only have a digital release in America.

Set on Yamijima Island, it follows a new cast of characters as they struggle to survive against this game's version of the Shibito (who behave relatively more "zombie-like" in their animations in this installment) and the Yamibito, who are stronger, smarter, and faster compared to the Shibito but can be stunned by light sources.

Unlike Siren 1, Shibito (and Yamibito) drop their weapons when they are "killed". However, the player can hold only two weapons and if the player leaves a firearm at the feet of an enemy, they will pick it up upon reviving, reload it if it's empty, and promptly be ready to use it on the player the next time they meet. While this can be exploited as a way to reload a firearm, it does leave the player with the task of actually taking said loaded firearm back from that enemy.

In another change from Siren 1, companions can now be armed and fight back against Shibito. If a companion is unarmed (outside of a specific handful), they will grab the first available weapon and hold onto it; it is impossible to manually trade/give weapons to companions, which can be an issue if they pick up either a weapon the player wanted or a weak weapon if the player wishes to give them something better. If that weapon happens to be a firearm, the companion will always have infinite ammunition, though this is somewhat balanced out by the fact most companions are passive and leave the fighting to the player if possible, only occasionally attacking.

The game features expanded gunplay, as all firearms can be used for weak melee strikes in an emergency (though their damage is inferior to dedicated melee weapons), and shot placement has an effect: characters take more damage if shot in the head or back, and an undocumented mechanic exists where attacks that hit a character's right arm give a tiny chance of the character dropping their weapon when hit. The "Sneak Attack" damage bonus that was previously exclusive to handguns applies to all firearms which can be used in the third person "lock-on" aiming instead of only first person manual aiming, though pistols and the submachine gun are still stuck to lock-on that aims for center mass, only capable of being awkwardly "free-aimed" if the player cannot lock-on to an enemy due to being too far away, with the gun snapping back down to center when the player stops moving the stick and isn't currently firing.

There are two odd quirks, one being that female characters (players and enemies) are completely incapable of using any of the rifles; the game never explicitly states a reason for this so this may be just be an oversight, as any levels with Rifle Shibito and a female player character are usually designed around avoiding them entirely instead of taking them out, requiring a dangerous detour to take out rifle-using Shibito. Secondly, recoil pushes the crosshair downwards when using the scoped view instead of upwards.

The following weapons appear in the video game Forbidden Siren 2:

Pistols

Minebea P9

The Minebea P9 appears as the "9mm Handgun" and is the most common firearm, being used by most of the playable cast at one point. It is the first firearm used by the player in SDF Private Yorito Nagai's first stage as it is handed to him by his superior, Major Takeaki Misawa, to eliminate the transformed Sergeant Hiroshi Okita. While most other characters also have a chance to acquire a pistol from a Shibito mid-stage, Mamoru Itsuki starts most of his levels after the first half of the game carrying a pistol, including a pistol with infinite reserve ammo for a boss fight.

Minebea P9 (Right Side) - 9x19mm

"Adopted by Self-Defense Forces in 1982. Carried by officers, gunners and tank crew".

Takeaki hands his P9 to Yorito.

Yorito attacks the transformed Okita with his P9.

Holding the pistol in first person.

A Minebea P9 dropped on the ground. As one of the ways Siren 2 tries to make things easier, any item/weapon the player can interact with will have increased brightness, including dropped weapons.

Sightjacked view of a Shibito reloading his P9.

Revolvers

Nambu Model 60

The Nambu Model 60 returns from the original Siren in a reduced role, though it is now the New Nambu Model 60 model as opposed to the original Nambu Model 60, Police Officer Shigeru Fujita carries one as his starting weapon in his missions.

Snub Nose New Nambu Model 60.

"A revolver carried by police officers. Adopted officially in 1960."

Shigeru aims his Nambu at a P9 wielding Military Shibito.

Shigeru aims his Nambu in first person.

Shigeru reloads his Nambu.

The Nambu dropped on the ground.

Type 26 Revolver

The Type 26 Revolver is exclusively found in Shigeru's second level, being used by the recently transformed Tsuneo Ohta. After he is initially dispatched, he rises again and draws the revolver, implying it was his personal weapon though he is never seen with it at any other point in the game and the Type 26 cannot be reloaded as Shigeru has no 9mm ammunition. Due to the way AI companions work, Ichiko Yagura will in fact have infinite ammo if she picks it up, though her meek AI behavior means she'll mostly only use the weapon to free Shigeru if he is grabbed.

Type 26 Revolver - 9x22mmR Japanese Revolver

"9mm calibre, 6 rounds
An old war revolver".

Ohta draws his Type 26.

In a rare display of companion bravery, Ichiko shoots at a military Shibito with Ohta's Type 26.

Ichiko reloads the Type 26.

Shigeru holds the Type 26 in first person.

The Type 26 on the ground.

Submachine Gun

Minebea M-9

The Minebea M-9 appears as the "9mm Machine Pistol", it holds 25 bullets and does less damage than the P9. This is especially absurd on Hard mode, where it takes nearly the full 25 bullet magazine to kill a single Yambito without a sneak attack damage bonus. The M-9 re-uses the animations for the handguns, meaning the foregrip is never used and enemies alternate between firing it single shot like the P-9 or spraying the entire magazine.

The SMG overall appears to be the original Minebea M-9 model, but with synthetic parts from the new model instead of wood.

Minebea M-9 (Original Model) - 9x19mm

Minebea M-9 (Current Model) - 9x19mm

"Adopted by the Self-Defense Forces in 1999. Carried by paratroopers for self-Defense".

A military Shibito fires his Mineabea M-9 at Shigeru.

After losing sight of Shigeru, the Shibito reloads his Machine Pistol, his hand clips through the magazine due to the animation being designed for the Minebea P-9.

After dealing with the Shibito, Shigeru holds the Minebea M-9; his flashlight clips into the gun's magazine.

Soji Abe pistol whips a Shiryo with the Minebea M-9, the handguns/M-9 are swung in a wide swing for melee.

Shigeru holds a Minebea M-9 in first person.

Misawa aims Minebea M-9 at a light to destroy it, even without a flashlight, human characters still have their hand clip into the magazine.

A Minebea M-9 on the ground.

Yorito with the Minebea M-9 in a cutscene; these cutscenes are the only time the foregrip is used.

Sniper Rifles

Remington Model 700

The Remington Model 700 from the original Siren returns, referred to as the "Hunter's Sniper Rifle", and is used by Shibito Snipers. They are much rarer than the original Siren, only appearing in roughly three stages and only one of the stages has a male player character that can use the gun. It cannot be reloaded when obtained as Yorito doesn't have any 7.62mm ammunition in his inventory, though Soji Abe can use and reload the rifle, but it only appears for him in a level where he is a companion and very likely to have picked up a melee weapon first. The weapon, like the Siren 1 rifles, is fired semi-automatically despite the presence of a bolt and it clearly uses an animation set for the assault rifles, (meaning characters hold it by an invisible pistol grip not on the weapon) though it does have a unique reload animation/sound.

Remington Model 700 - .308 Winchester

"7.62mm calibre, 5 rounds
A hunting rifle for civilian use".

A Shibito Sniper holds the Hunter's Sniper Rifle in a cutscene.

Sightjacked view of a Shibito aiming his rifle.

A sightjacked Shibito reloads his rifle after shooting at Akiko.

After rushing him down, Ichiko stands over a defeated Sniper Shibito but is unable to take his rifle.

The Hunting Rifle on the ground.

Yorito holds his captured "Hunter's Sniper Rifle" in first person.

After taking a Sniper Shibito's Rifle, Yorito faces him again with his own gun.

Soji reloads the rifle as an NPC, like in Siren 1, the rifle is reloaded one bullet at a time.

Soji aims the rifle at an off-screen enemy, a nice, hard-to-see normally detail is that the player characters will actually close one eye to aim when using a firearm.

Arisaka Type 38

The Arisaka Type 38 appears as an unusable weapon, along with the first game version of Remington Model 700 on Kyoya Suda's back during his bonus mission unlocked after clearing the game on Normal or Hard difficulty.

Arisaka Type 38 rifle - 6.5x50mm Arisaka

The Arisaka Type 38 and Remington Model 700 on Kyoya's back.

Assault Rifles

Howa Type 89

The Howa Type 89 appears as the most common assault rifle, being carried by Yorito Nagai as his starting weapon for almost all of his missions as well as being used by plenty of Military Shibito/Yambito. Enemies fire both rifles either semi-auto with a brief delay between shots or in full-auto bursts of around 7 shots depending on both the stage and how close the player is to the enemy. On the Hard difficulty, the player is killed in only 4 shots and enemies near-exclusively fire in full-auto, making assault rifle-equipped Shibito one of the deadliest enemies in the game, made worse with military enemies' enhanced aim. Bayonets for both Howa rifles can be obtained, however they can only be used as independent melee weapons, with their inventory descriptions stating that "the lock fixture is missing so it can't be attached to a gun".

Howa Type 89 with integral bipod - 5.56x45mm

"5.56mm calibre, 30 rounds
Successor to the Type 64 rifle.
Can also be used as a sniper rifle".

Using the Type 89 in first person, the crosshair over the Shibito's head is due to sightjacking into an alerted enemy and not a lock-on indicator.

The "sniper view" with the Howa 89, this view is shared with all rifles except for Misawa's sniper Type 64.

Yorito reloads the Type 89 in first person.

A Type 89 on the ground.

Howa Type 64

The Howa Type 64 appears, being used by by Takeaki Misawa and Military Shibito/Yambito. Takeaki has a unique version equipped with a sniper scope referred to as the "Type 64 Rifle (with sniper specifications)", which is a DMR version.

Howa Type 64 - 7.62x51mm

"7.62mm calibre, 20 rounds
Automatic rifle adopted by the SDF in 1964. Still actively used and mass produced".

Misawa ambushes a Shibito with a normal Howa Type 64.

Misawa reloads the normal Howa Type 64.

The regular Howa Type 64 on the ground.

Howa Type 64 Designated Marksman Rifle - 7.62x51mm

"7.62mm calibre, 20 rounds
Automatic rifle adopted by the SDF in 1964. Equipped with sniper tools such as a scope".

Thanks to disarming shenanigans, Yorito steals Misawa's scoped Type 64 and aims it at a Military Shibito that Misawa is currently trying to fist-fight unarmed, which Yorito and Misawa can do in contrast to the non-damaging shove the other player characters have.

As an NPC, Misawa shoots at a Shibito with his rifle.

NPC Misawa holds his Type 64.

Misawa reloads his Type 64 in first person.

Misawa buttstrokes a Shibito in the back, this animation is used for all rifle melee attacks.

The scope view of of Misawa's Type 64.

Light Machine Guns

Sumitomo Minimi

The Sumitomo Minimi appears in Yorito's final stage as the "MINIMI 5.56mm Machine Gun", it is initially used by the boss of Mission 1 with Yorito taking it and using it against the second and final boss. While it has a defined capacity in the inventory, during gameplay it actually has infinite ammunition, never needing to be reloaded.

Sumitomo Minimi - 5.56x45mm

"5.56mm calibre, 200 rounds
Also used by the US Armed Forces. Bullets can be fed by either a box or belt magazine."

The Kou Yamibito collapses as he's defeated in a cutscene, spraying its Minimi as it dies.

Mowing down Shiryo with the Minimi in first person.

The Minimi has unique animations, being fired from the hip.

Performing a melee attack with the LMG; it has a unique animation.

Others

"Smoke Candle"

The "Smoke Candle" is an item that appears in one of both Yorito Nagai and Takeaki Misawa's stages, it releases a large cloud of smoke and can be used to blind enemies. If a Yamibito (Shibitio are not present in stages with the Smoke Candle) is caught in the smoke, it will panic and start blindly shooting, allowing the player to ambush them. It is used via the List Menu and the player can select to either place it down at their feet or throw it.

Type 94 Smoke Candle for comparison

The Smoke Candle in the inventory menu.

A spent Smoke Candle on the ground.

An active Smoke Candle on the ground, this candle is just far enough to count as outdoors, indoors the smoke effect spreads around the area.

Type 53 signal pistol

The Type 53 signal pistol appears as an inventory item. It cannot be freely used as a weapon.

Type 53 signal pistol - 21.5mm/10 gauge

"Rescue tool held on by Hiroshi Okita. It can be used to fire 21.5mm flares".

Yorito about to fire the Type 53 signal pistol.

The Type 53 signal pistol on the ground.

TNT

TNT is brought to Yamijima Island by the SDF. Yorito and Misawa first recover the detonation device for the TNT but the actual TNT is missing, Misawa eventually uses the detonation device to detonate a gas leak and Yorito later acquires the TNT, using it to finish off a Yamibito.

"TNT left inside the vehicle Hiroshi Okita was riding. It cannot be used without a detonator".
The TNT in the inventory menu. Despite the description, Yorito uses it automatically in a cutscene without the player having to find a fuse.

Yorito discovers the TNT on the passenger seat of a car.

The TNT stuffed in the mouth of a Yamibito shortly before it explodes.

Type 99 Hand grenade

Still unusable, the Type 99 hand grenade appears strapped to Kyoya's chest in his bonus mission.

Type 99 hand grenade

Kyoya with the Type 99 Grenades.

The Type 99 grenades during gameplay.