[No.044] Atlantis First Edition
This is the first edition of Atlantis, a magazine about the paranormal, the occult, UFOs and civilisations from the distant past... and basically anything themed around mystery. It is, of course, modelled after "MU", perhaps the ultimate in occult magazines (published by Gakushu Kenkyusha). MU's catchphrase is "the super mystery magazine that challenges the world's mysteries and oddities," whereas Atlantis' is "the mystery-solving magazine leaping the border between reality and unreality!" Even the rhythm of the words mostly matches up, showing how much thought was put in by the Siren team. This first issue of Atlantis is found inside a house in Hirunotsuka - had the person living there reading Atlantis realised that Hanuda, the very village they lived in, was the ultimate mystery spot? The copy of Atlantis in-game was published in 1976, though MU first hit stands in 1979. Perhaps you could say, then, that Atlantis was its predecessor...?
[No.045] Mizuhiruko Shrine Fortune
If you check out the fortune you pick up at Mizuhiruko Shrine in the level "Takeuchi, Day 1, 20:00", you will be given, at random, one of the following four kinds: very lucky, lucky, unlucky, very unlucky. Here are the contents of all four:
Very lucky:
A warm stream of sunlight on a spring day, resounding with God's thoughts.
Wishes: go as planned
The person for whom you wait: will soon come
Lost items: will turn up soon
Travel: treasure awaits far away
Trade: profit and good sales
Academics: study at ease
Conflict: will be won as you expect
Love: the sky's the limit
Illness: will soon recover
Marriage: will be blessed by children
Lucky:
There are ups and downs; there is both joy and struggles.
Wishes: will pass you by if not taken seriously
The person for whom you wait: is hindered and will not come
Lost items: are in a high place Travel: nearby is good
Trade: sell early
Academics: should be done in private
Conflict: you must not give in
Love: will soon come
Illness: is severe, find a doctor
Marriage: will be opposed by your parents
Unlucky:
You proceed down a dark path lit only by the dim light of the moon.
Wishes: you must be patient
The person for whom you wait: don't hold your breath
Lost items: will not be found
Travel: a hole opens beneath your feet
Trade: unimaginable catastrophe
Academics: are hindered
Conflict: choose your opponent
Love: a good person, but dangerous
Illness: is severe, call your relatives
Marriage: no chance
Very unlucky:
Plants wither and rot in the winter without seeing the spring.
Wishes: are futile
The person for whom you wait: will not come when called
Lost items: a woman knows something
Travel: you are blocked in on all sides
Trade: will only decrease
Academics: you will remember nothing
Conflict: cry and apologise
Love: changes into war
Illness: leads to death
Marriage: will never happen
[No.046] Tamon Takeuchi's Research Notes
A notebook containing Tamon's take on Hanuda Village's unique legends and faith. He appears to have taken an interest in the origins of Mizuhiruko Shrine in Hirunotsuka. He writes of his questions as to why Hanuda, a landlocked village in the mountains nowhere near the sea, would worship Hiruko, so strongly identified with being the god who drifted ashore. In any case, Takeuchi lives up to his reputation as a mystery hunter, not losing his thirst for knowledge even after becoming trapped in the Other World Hanuda.
[No.047] Tomoko Maeda's Note
Hanuda Village is sucked into the Other World along with the sound of the siren; at the point of the first siren, Tomoko Maeda has run away from home. When she is first featured in the game's story, Tomoko is already accompanying Makino, making it a little difficult to tell, but you can see what's going on by obtaining this note. Tomoko's parents, Takanobu and Mayumi, are worried by her falling grades and secretly look at her diary; Tomoko, shocked by this, tells her parents with the directness of a teenager that she hates them and runs out of the house. You can feel her true anger from the fact that her note left when she runs away is on cute strawberry-print stationery, something she would have been saving, but when she notices the strange things going on as she aimlessly wanders around the village Tomoko quickly becomes frightened, eventually trying to return to her parents. Tomoko's long-awaited reunion with the parents she said she hated, then ran through the whole village in a panic searching for, is the famous "Open up!" scene.
English Translation by Chelsea
