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When I first learned that Silent Hill f would be set in a fictional Japanese town instead of the iconic American setting the series is known for, I felt some apprehension. However these worries about the game losing its classic Silent Hill feel disappeared as soon as I stepped into the Shadow Temple, which acts as Silent Hill f's version of the series' haunted alternate dimension. Armed only with a glowing paper light, I took my first steps and was overcome with a powerful sense of deja vu. I knew this place, but I couldn't place from where.

A Blast from the Past

It took a while for foggy recollections of a game I once rented from Blockbuster to come back to me. At first, I struggled to recall the title, wondering if I was confusing it with a Fatal Frame installment or if I had dreamt it up. But after some quick research, I finally identified it: Kuon, FromSoftware's forgotten Japanese horror classic from 2004.

The game's clunky combat holds back an otherwise deeply atmospheric game.

Striking Similarities

Taking place during Heian-period Japan, Kuon has numerous parallels with Silent Hill f. The narrative centers on two sisters (though there are multiple protagonists), and players explore the endless halls of the massive Fujiwaya estate and sneak around a mysterious nearby shrine. Each title revolve around an ancient ritual and feature a somewhat underpowered young female protagonist who is oblivious to the true evil she confronts, solving puzzles and scraping through encounters with terrifying creatures hiding in the shadows.

Notable Contrasts

The main distinction between Silent Hill f and Kuon lies in the combat system. Silent Hill f is much easier and user-friendly (perhaps even too much so), while Kuon is bound to test your patience. The combat is a genuine shame, and this is probably a key reason the game wasn't more popular in the US. This isn't the challenging-yet-rewarding FromSoft combat that's popular now. Kuon's enemy encounters are nightmarish for all the wrong reasons, and sometimes it's so irritating that you might want to quit. Hitting enemies is very hard, and although the game has some interesting mechanics (such as special combat cards and self-healing abilities), the controls are quite clunky, even for its release year.

A Haunting Legacy

Even with its issues, Kuon remains one of my favorite classic horror games, and playing Silent Hill f is like revisiting my favorite haunted house. If you're lucky enough to have access to a original copy of Kuon (launched in Japan first, but not arriving to the US and Europe in 2006), it's worth checking out. But if you're craving a solid J-horror experience that isn't overly frustrated, Silent Hill f will undoubtedly satisfy. It feels like a modern version of Kuon, that I can suggest to others without the warning about the difficult fights.

Still, it's worth watching a gameplay video of Kuon just to experience the main menu's deeply creepy blinking face, which still haunts me to this day.