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[Ahasverus]

Why doesn't he make "Silenced Mountain" or some kind of "I can't believe it's not Silent Hill"? Come on

Edit: Wait, he's the guy from Gravity Rush? Guy's versatile!

 

[dracula_x]

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but Toyama is up there with Miyazaki, Kojima, Mikami and Kamiya for me. Perhaps the single most underrated Japanese video game director.

And I just noticed he was only 20 when he created Silent Hill. Holy shit!

and only 16 years old, when he worked on Snatcher as graphic designer

 

[Ahasverus]

and only 16 years old, when he worked on Snatcher as graphic designer

What are we doing with our lives

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Hope his next game is a new IP.

Toyama is too creative to become just a sequel factory, IMO.

 

[GrayChild]

Man, now I really need to replay the whole Silent Hill and Siren series. Not to mention that together they are among the very best the survival horror genre has to offer.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but Toyama is up there with Miyazaki, Kojima, Mikami and Kamiya for me. Perhaps the single most underrated Japanese video game director.

And I just noticed he was only 20 when he created Silent Hill. Holy shit!

Yeah, imagine a studio letting a 20 year old helming a project like this these days... lol

 

[Stairouais]

Some people I worked with ten years ago made a 45mn documentary about him for a french tv channel. It was really good but it's not on Youtube apparently. I may have a DVD stored somewhere, I'll have to look for it.

The Pocket Shami one? Please, please, please, share it in some way. I've been literaly searching for this for years and I know it's in a copyright limbo...

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but Toyama is up there with Miyazaki, Kojima, Mikami and Kamiya for me. Perhaps the single most underrated Japanese video game director.

Pretty much this. I too think he's up there with Mikami, Kojima, etc as well as Kenji Eno. It's just unfortunate that Toyama didn't make as many games as the aforementioned or that he wasn't as consistent.

But ya, I think Siren 1 - 3 are around the level of Silent Hill in terms of atmosphere and the oppression feel, but the SH series still is the most distinctive horror series.

 

[sixteen-bit]

and only 16 years old, when he worked on Snatcher as graphic designer

has this guy got Sakurai beat?

 

[DriftingSpirit]

What are we doing with our lives

lol

 

[Lime]

I don't want to limit Toriyama's importance for Silent Hill *too much*, but the later two sequels clearly showed that his presence and expertise weren't integral to the aesthetic value of Silent Hill.

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Why doesn't he make "Silenced Mountain" or some kind of "I can't believe it's not Silent Hill"? Come on

Edit: Wait, he's the guy from Gravity Rush? Guy's versatile!

Siren is a much cooler and more consistent property than Silent Hill.

I don't want to limit Toriyama's importance for Silent Hill *too much*, but the later two sequels clearly showed that his presence and expertise weren't integral to the aesthetic value of Silent Hill.

Just because he didn't work on those directly doesn't mean he didn't indirectly influence future SH games.

 

[Macrotus]

I'm wondering how Siren VR would be...

 

[wild wild rice]

Directed Silent Hill at the age of 20.

WOW

He's only 38. Should have plenty more games/IPs left in him.

 

[Wollan]

Found my Siren Blood Curse review on NeoGAF from July 2008 after having immediately finished the game:

My end time was 15hours 21min, played on Normal.
Defeated 257 bad guys, got discovered 444 times.
Died 53 times, allies died 9 times. I walked 27616M.


Here's a stream of thoughts:

+ Episode intro and outro, slickly done, makes you want to play through the game in turbo time due to there being a treat around every corner
+ Love the use of all kinds of media
(Internet blogs, photos/music straight to PS3 HDD, real video footage, Episode 0 on the web, real items shown in descriptions, web browser in game..etc)
+ The navigation system governing enemies and allies is probably the cutting edge within adventure games. Enemies will track you down across larger maps navigating various difficulties (climbing, doors, check hiding spots, sound, vision..etc). The system also supports the various activities enemies do whenever you're not around. Very thoroughly done and it's also pretty convincing in sight jacking mode, hearing them speak, sing, laugh..etc
- Not all chapters are totally refined (last part of episode 5 being the main offender, very confusing imo). In all other cases I can mainly blame myself for not using sight jacking more
+ No padding to the game, every little chapter in every episode is important
+ A Japanese dev that get western voice acting right, pretty rare imo. Also, the whole game is bilingual which is awesome and realistic considering the plot
-/+ The controls are Okay. Combat is good, movement/stealth is fluid. They certainly hit a very good balance between the player feeling vulnerable and managing. I think button prompts could be detected easier though (in a worst case the main character has to stand very specifically to be able to do whatever action) and I also think we should be able to change location of the sight jacking screen (I would like it on the left, and not auto expanding, maybe a bit clearer image)
+ The music in this game is really really good
+ Stealth done right
-/+ the game can be extremely dark (doom 3 go to bed), excellent coloring & shadowing, a handful of times it can cause problems navigating (highlight paths better please), terrific mood however as I jumped at a shadow I created myself once
+ Archive is very interesting
+ Artistically a very strong game, characters and environments stand out
- Not so much technically (low res textures & lower framerate in sight jacking)
+ First person view (scarier) or third person view, all up to you how to play
+ Sight jacking is still a largely original feature today (and no one does it as well as Siren due to navigation/npc behavior system it got in hand)
+ Violent, sick imageries and hidden surprises you weren't expecting
+ The first attempt at a online distributed episodic console game and they hit it out of the park like this, thanks for setting the standard Team Siren



Siren demonstrates for me personally that atmosphere really is my most valued criteria within a game. Silent Hill 1 was probably the most engrossing game experience I ever had. I actually never played Siren 1 & 2 (I'm still shamed, though I observed the majority of 1). If I was a game critic(..) I would rate the obvious mega games like MGS4, GTA4..etc higher due to being smoother experiences with very high production values (and really, being games that scores full pot in every area really). But for me personally...
Siren Blood Curse might be my favorite game so far this generation. Pretty much everything I ever wanted from a horror game is in this game, the goal for future seasons is just that of refinement instead of additions. I finished the game half an hour ago so I'm still a bit rushed but I loved it. Oh and just for comparisons, this is the best horror game since Silent Hill 3 for me, possibly SH2.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328251

 

[Raylan]

Imagine:

A new survival horror game by Toyama-san. But this time, it's a horror game in the Sci-Fi "genre" like Dead Space/Event Horizon.

:O

 

[Big Nikus]

The Pocket Shami one? Please, please, please, share it in some way. I've been literaly searching for this for years and I know it's in a copyright limbo...

It could take some time because I'm gonna have to turn my house upside down to find it, but I've seen it a few months ago so I'll find it again. As soon as I do I'll send you a PM !

And even if I don't find it, well there's a good chance I'll meet again with the guys who made it later this year so I'll ask directly for a copy

 

[Wollan]

There's a video reviewing Forbidden Siren on YouTube made by NitroRad. It's actually pretty cool and he goes into some of the background of how both games were made. This quote from that video struck me, and goes to why I love the guy so much:

"Toyama was told that it [Siren] might have sold better if the game were easier. Toyama said that the high difficulty and confusing nature of the first game was something he planned all along. He didn't want it to be a game you could just sit and complete by playing it normally, he wanted information regarding progressing through the game to be seen spread online, being a collective effort to try and solve the game."

Yeah, it does sound like P.T in that the developers made the game so obscure, vague and cryptic on purpose so that it would spark online discussions and gain attention that way. Pretty cool stuff.

Pretty detailed review. I remember the original Siren having possibly the most horrible british voice-acting I've heard. And wow... the Siren 2 later-game enemies are quite special. Release on PSN please.

 

[Brhoom]

I don't want to limit Toriyama's importance for Silent Hill *too much*, but the later two sequels clearly showed that his presence and expertise weren't integral to the aesthetic value of Silent Hill.

But the first Silent Hill is the best one.

 

[-shadow-]

I absolutely adore the guy for creating Gravity Rush. But Silent Hill and Siren really just aren't that amazing. Yes I know that Silent Hill has its place in history and I enjoyed it, but it just isn't that amazing for me personally. And Siren (on the PS3 anyway) was just meh for most of the game. Also I understood absolutely nothing of the story.

 

[semiconscious]

There's a handful of champion game directors working at SIE including Neil Druckmann, Bruce Straley, Mathijs de Jonge, Kazunori Yamauchi & seemingly Hideo Kojima these days and Cory Barlog. Keiichiro Toyama should stand tall and proud with the rest...

well, kojima's in a zone of his own, but, yeah, i think toyama fits in well with the rest. he doesn't make massively popular games, but he's definitely made some unique, interesting, & very memorable ones ...

 

[Sumio Mondo]

One of my favourite game designers, love his work.

What are we doing with our lives

16 years old.

Toyama is a Fucking. Legend.

 

[Erigu]

It should probably be noted that Toyama worked on the Mega-CD / Sega CD port of Snatcher, more specifically.

 

[tr00per]

Agreed. He deserves to be a household name for sure.

 

[dracula_x]

cool coincidence → https://twitter.com/YasuhiroKitao/status/829689843558985728

Siren 2 release date in Japan – 9 Feb 2006
Gravity Rush (Vita) – 9 Feb 2012

 

[Risk Breaker]

Toyama has some serious talent. Always looking forward to whatever he makes.

Blood Curse is one of my favourite games, and what can we even say about Silent Hill.

 

[Wollan]

cool coincidence →

Siren 2 release date in Japan – 9 Feb 2006

Nice! Hopefully European PSN release as well to come.

EDIT: Nooo... I misread you.

 

[peronmls]

Siren Blood Curse, without the pointless episodic intros/outros, is absolute survival horror perfection. I fucking LOVED it.

I really really hope we get a Siren PS4.Does anyone know what the chances are? I know most of the team have been working on GR2 so I guess it'll be a long time if ever :/

I would actually prefer a non-VR Siren, I kinda miss 3rd person survival horror..

Same. Blood curse was the perfect survival horror. It reminded me of SH3 otherworld and the foggy town. They both made use of old dried up blood instead of always the bright red fresh blood you see in most horror games now and days.

 

[Raylan]

Love this thread. Toyama is awesome! Too bad his next game won't be a Sci-Fi Survival-Horror game.

 

[fvng]

He left those tokens around in gravity rush 2 and I managed to nab one. The asynchronous stuff in GR2 is cool


NEED A NEW SIREN GAME

 

[sotolongospeaks]

I was big on playing PS1 games on PSP as a kid, and remember stumbling across Silent Hill on PSN and being intrigued by the premise. I already enjoyed Resident Evil, I figured it would be something similar and was wonderfully surprised when it wasn't at all. It was something wholly unique that I loved even more. While Resident Evil (even on PS1) had always been more focused on more tactile "action," SH was more about enveloping you in atmosphere. It was such a fine game and stands as one of my top 3 PS1 games of all-time.

Coincidentally enough, I remember being very excited for Gravity Rush when I picked up my Vita at launch and it ended up being one of my very favorite Vita games. (Likely my favorite game designed specifically for the platform.) It wasn't until a couple years later that I realized the man behind both of these games was one in the same, and Toyama immediately became one of my favorite creators in games.

I picked up Siren as a PS2 classic in a sale some time ago, and have had Siren: Blood Curse as a PS+ game for ages. I'm looking forward to diving into that section of his career after I take the time to finish Gravity Rush 2, and I'm anticipating whatever comes next from him and his team; whatever the hell it is!

 

[dracula_x]

Yoko Taro about Keiichiro Toyama and Gravity Rush:

This game was released for Vita, but occupies a slightly weird place as it is made in Japan, with unique controls and in a toon art style, but it is not a “moe” game. I feel like recent Western titles are polarized into super AAA titles and indie games, but the Gravity Rush series is a game right around the middle of the two. By the way, I go out to drink with the director Keiichiro Toyama once in a while but the only image I have of him is him being drunk, and I can’t help but think “how can a title like this come from a person like him?”

→ https://blog.us.playstation.com/2017/07/11/discover-the-creators-yoko-taros-favorite-ps4-games/

 

[TheRazielim]

Yeah, the man is genius. Siren 1 especially is so fucking uncompromising and so unique in the horror market I am always surprised how the fuck it was even greenlit by Sony. Truly one of my favorite horror games alongside Hellnight. Of course, the first Silent Hill is superb and probably my favorite of the franchise anyway. Haven't gotten to Gravity Rush games yet, but eventually do want to, since indeed they look great.

The sightjacking mechanic with VR would be mindblowing. I think a full-blown Siren playable in VR would be a killer app for me. Probably literally killer, at that.

 

[isaacnukem]

I like Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush. Looking forward to whatever's next. Also I have to say Siren: Blood Curse is probably the only horror game where I can't wait to play more. The episodic nature really shines with this game. The first Siren is one of the hardest games I've ever played, and is truly spooky.

 

[silva1991]

There was a thread about the most underappreciated dev few days ago I think.

This is the answer to that thread.

 

[mikezilla2]

i wish him well

Lets see whats in store