Line #54 YMMV/HouseOfTheDead


1	For ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'' examples, see [[YMMV/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill here]].
2	----
3	!!The games:
4	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[spoiler:At the end of the fourth game, James sets his PDA to self destruct and blows himself and The World up to stop it for good. Considering that he could have simply chucked the thing at him from the distance and achieved the same outcome, it can be speculated if James was really desperate to take the foe down or he didn't want to weight Kate down. Or, alternatively, was he somehow infected by the wound The Star inflicted on him earlier and tried to avoid becoming a zombie himself?]]
5	* AntiClimaxBoss:
6	** The fight with the Moon, the FinalBoss of ''House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn'', is a scripted affair involving easy-to-avoid attacks, a boss life gauge that cannot be fully depleted, and Ryan Taylor killing the boss in a cutscene even if the player fails the final quick time event. Even better, because the battle ends when a time runs out rather than the Moon's health decreasing, it is entirely possible to beat him without parrying any of his attacks, assuming you have enough credits. That's right, you can beat the final boss of the game by ''throwing money at him''.
7	** Magician in ''The House of the Dead: Remake''. Unlike his original incarnation, he moves slower and shooting his weak points stops his fireballs. Thus, it's easy to get a bead on him, and as long as you don't stop shooting fast, Magician will barely attack you.
8	** Mother from ''Typing OVERKILL's'' mechanic has you type anything, as long as you "type like a motherfucker". Now, you ''could'' type in words relevant to the displayed topic for increased damage, orrrr.... you could also [[ButtonMashing mash the everliving fuck out of your keyboard]] to defeat Mother in ''almost less than a minute.''
9	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: For a [[RailShooter Rail Shooter]] series, House of the Dead has some surprisingly catchy soundtracks:
10	** All of the FinalBoss themes: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FcWnFi_ezcI The Magician]] (which gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z-2GqFVii4 a remix]] in ''The House of the Dead 4 Special''), [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iB40NccvzDw The Emperor]], [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-RfQKfg_fe4 The Wheel of Fate]] (which is itself a remix of Emperor's theme), [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NKPTrINUPz0 The World]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OwGcjKkZRs The Moon]].
11	** ''4'' had a tremendous soundtrack, with these songs being just some of the highlights:
12	*** For starters, there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgP-DP2yv8o regular boss theme,]] and the special one reserved for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er9Poj-xrHU The Star.]]
13	*** ''4'' also has two remixes from the second game: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx1iETsp2jM "Dawn"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4B_-pSK798 "Original Sin"]].
14	*** However, ''4'' has some great original music of its own, including [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ravd1rCXkeA "Bullet of Death"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_UlcbEVXcA "Katharsis']], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9gGG-XBQGU&t=215s "Hope With Doubt".]][[note]]Which got [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yNNWzMF94o its own remix]] in ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sega All-Stars Racing.]]''[[/note]]
15	*** Finally, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrU27fSvAGE "Requiem"]] is a short, but beautifully tragic credits theme to follow the game's BittersweetEnding.
16	** ''Scarlet Dawn'' follows in the footsteps of ''Overkill'' by having each boss has a unique theme. A sample: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBac-o0tUA The High Priestess]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg9Cm89jqX4 The Hangedman]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4QohuSVlwo The Chariot]], and see above for The Moon's battle theme.
17	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: In ''4'', as you infiltrate Goldman's headquarters via the same path traveled in ''2'', you see one room that's since been inexplicably decked out in Japanese decor, something just so contrary not just to the rest of the building, but to anything else in the mainline games. It's never mentioned why the room is decorated this way and it's never brought up again after you leave it. Furthering matters is that this takes place so close to the end of the game (right before the FinalBoss, in fact), so having this room at such a dramatic part of the game [[MoodWhiplash just comes right out of nowhere]].[[note]][[RealityIsUnrealistic Some American corporate headquarters did have rooms like this in the 1980's and early 1990's]] in order to help butter up [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld Japanese partners and/or investors]], but why it looks that way at the time of game's setting when it ''didn't'' in a chronologically earlier game is unclear.[[/note]]
18	* CommonKnowledge:
19	** It is often falsely believed that Dr. Curien's first name is "Roy", despite the games and official guidebooks never mentioning it. This fallacy has been so firmly ingrained that the "Roy" name has appeared on the series' Wikipedia pages, official ''House of the Dead'' merchandise pages on the Sega Shop, and materials related to the mobile game ''VideoGame/SegaHeroes'', where Curien appears as a playable character.
20	** Dan Taylor in ''The House of the Dead III'' is popularly believed to be the cousin of James and Ryan Taylor, but this has never been confirmed. A character diagram found in the game's Japanese guidebook does not link James and Dan.
21	** From the same game, the glasses-wearing commando who gets graphically killed in the opening was believed to be named Casey by pretty much the whole fanbase, even though his official name was discovered to be Yukio.
22	* CompleteMonster: The wicked [[EvilCripple Thornheart]] is a former associate of Dr. Curien and Caleb Goldman who intends to go even farther than they. Kicking off a new plague at a party, Thornheart condemns countless people to becoming zombies and unleashes them upon innocent humans, with intentions of sending the plague global. Deciding that [[MisanthropeSupreme humanity is beyond hope]], Thornheart intends on exterminating them without any of the good intentions that drove [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Curien]] or [[WellIntentionedExtremist Goldman]], intending on killing everything in his way, even as he hides behind his "selective words".
23	* ContestedSequel:
24	** ''The House of the Dead III''. Some enjoy Dr. Curien's character development, the boss designs, and gore. Others find the arcade version's shotgun controller to be physically tiring, the industrial setting and the fact that the game is largely spent indoors more boring, and the lack of branching paths (apart from freely select the second, third, and fourth mission from three selections) disappointing.
25	** ''House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn'' is either an exciting and strategic return to the series with welcome {{Call Back}}s to the original ''House of the Dead'', or a less-polished sequel to ''4'' with a weaker storyline and boss battles.
26	** ''The House of the Dead Remake'' is either a good remake, or a messy attempt at being SoBadItsGood.
27	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Temperance's GroundPound attack. Part {{Squick}} at being squished by a morbidly obese zombie, part hilarity over a boss ''sitting on you'' as an attack.
28	* DemonicSpiders: There's bound to be at least one or two per game. Below are some that people were probably forced to spend more credits on.
29	** The original game has Harris, creatures that swing and throw chained spiked balls. If your timing is off, the ball can keep you from landing the instakill headshot. Spend too much time trying to take them out and this allows them to hit you or allow other enemies to get close.
30	** There's also Moody, the cyborg creatures that shoot claws at you, take several hits to kill, and always fight in pairs. The real problem is when you fight them in narrow corridors, as they like using the walls to attack you while the other moves in. But if they shoot at you when they're close to you, there's a chance they'll position themselves off-screen (or the very corner at least), almost guaranteeing a hit as you can't shoot them or their claw.
31	** ''2'' has the short crouching, wall grabbing creatures with claws named Randy. They require a headshot to finish off quickly unlike the standard creatures. Not helped that most of the time they show up in groups. The tough and fat creatures also count as such because not only do they naturally take more hits to down, their movements make it hard to shoot their head. They also like showing up with a bunch of standard creatures too.
32	** ''III'' has the zombified/reanimated Rogan commandos, which unlike the rest of the creatures in the game, randomly roll from side to side, making them hard to take out. [[spoiler: [[RedShirt Yukio, the commando]] who was [[RRatedOpening killed at the start of the game]] even serves as a miniboss version of this enemy in the final level]].
33	** ''4'' probably has the most creatures that qualify as demonic spiders in a ''House of The Dead'' game so far.
34	*** Any tough/fat creatures like Mackey or Charles are a pain once more, because in addition to their traits from ''2'', there are versions of both can throw heavy projectiles at you if you don't kill them quick enough. Thankfully, destroying them does stun them back as they recoil (though it makes their heads harder to hit despite being vulnerable). In any case though, either creature is especially a problem if they're about to attack the moment they come on screen, which a Kevin is also notorious for doing in chapter 3 with a shovel. As for the standard enemies, it's not helped that both Mackey and Charles have deceptively quick attack animations in particular.
35	*** [[OverlyLongTongue Damians]], frog-like creatures. They attack with their tongues, which means they're notorious for beginning their attacks further away than one would expect, with them stopping and rearing their heads as their only warning. It'd be best to take them out first if they show up in a horde.
36	*** Berns. Like Damians, they don't have to be right up against you to deal damage if [[PlayingWithFire their weapon]] doesn't already indicate that. What's not helped is that they don't immediately die to headshots due to their welding masks. However, they become a complete joke once you find out that shooting the propane tanks they hold instantly kills them and any creatures they are near. [[GuideDangIt Though, the game never points this out,]] so a lot of first-time players have a hard time with them anyway.
37	*** Of all the returning creatures, Kageos are especially threatening in this game. If one gets close, its swipe attack is deceptively quick, which gives you almost no time for you to react (which can make farming points off a grab from them really risky). What doesn't help is that them being hunched over makes it easy for them to blend in with a horde and get close, so it might be best to take them out as soon as possible.
38	*** Victors, which dual-wield knives. Unlike Picos, their predecessors in ''III''[[note]]Both of which are also inspired by Mickey from ''2''[[/note]], they move much quicker than them and [[NoSell their daggers can actually block your bullets.]] When they jump to attack, there is no delay to get a quick headshot to pick them off unlike Roses, the clawed creatures in this game. So if you don't shoot them down beforehand, kiss your life goodbye.
39	*** The zombified/reanimated AMS Agents, which are arguably worse than the Rogan commandos from ''III''. Just like their predecessors, they randomly move from side to side in a blur while inching closer. This time, they do it more quickly than the Rogan commandos, which can catch many people off guard, and can be a huge problem if they show up with multiple creatures given the design of this game.
40	*** In the second to last level (and ''4 Special'') you run into Bains, which look like zombified cops. They will behave one of two ways: Either grab you and shake you which isn't too hard to escape from, or they start a charging shoulder tackle from where they're standing, usually in a sea of creatures, causing you to shoot the more harmless creatures before shooting the Bain down.
41	** ''Scarlet Dawn'' has Mac. They can quickly run on walls and do flips, effortlessly blocking gunfire with their swords. First-time players are likely to take damage because of the little time provided to kill them.
42	* EnsembleDarkHorse:
43	** The Magician is very popular among fans, due to his distinctive looks, general badassery, an ''amazing'' boss theme, having a surprising amount of personality for a zombie, and having one of the few voices in the early games that wasn't completely narmy. It's quite telling that he's the most recurring boss in the series.
44	** Gary Stewart from ''The House of the Dead 2'', who's noted for having considerably less cringeworthy voice acting than the rest of the characters in the game. The fact that [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse he has not appeared ever since]] also has had fans come forward to ask when he may ever come back.
45	** For a character that lasted only one chapter (which is prologue), Dan Taylor gained quite a following.
46	* EpilepticTrees: A relatively common fan theory posits that Goldman, with his AmbiguouslyJewish name, comes from a family of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Holocaust survivors]], and by looking into the atrocities of the Nazi party and how disorganized the world became due to their influence, it inspired him to "[[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans protect the life cycle]]" and create the Emperor as humanity's savior.
47	* EvenBetterSequel:
48	** ''The House of the Dead 2'', for better or [[{{Narm}} for worse]], is the most popular and memorable of the games. Although quite a few would say that from a gameplay standpoint and boss design, that it is genuinely better than the first game.
49	** ''4'' is likewise seen as a return to form after the perceived letdown of ''III''. Vastly improved music, improved boss designs, Goldman actually being a legitimate threat, and actual decent voice acting led to it being much more popular than its predecessor.
50	* FandomRivalry:
51	** A small one exists with ''Anime/HighschoolOfTheDead'' due to [[AcronymConfusion both series sharing the same acronym]] ("highschool" is represented by one letter rather than two). Both of them involving zombies doesn't help.
52	** Fans also compare both with ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' since the [[DuelingWorks first two games were released the same year]] as ''The House of the Dead'' and ''The House of the Dead 2'', in 1996 and 1998 respectively. To top of that, both games contain similar plot lines such as a mansion full of zombies, a laboratory beneath the masion, a mad scientist killed by his creation, a city overrun with zombies, and the mad scientist's son. You can see the comparisons [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbOsiRaoN8 here]]. However, since ''Resident Evil'' is more popular compared to ''The House of the Dead'', others have given this game the status of TheMockbuster instead.
53	* FanNickname: "The Mystery Man" for the man with the limp appearing in the third and fourth games... that is, until ''Scarlet Dawn'' revealed his name as Thornheart.
54	* FountainOfMemes: Of all the characters sullied by ''2''[='=]s voice acting, Caleb "loyfe cycle" Goldman is best known for it. Practially every line he speaks is a meme unto itself, from "Dogs of the AMS..." to "[[ThisIsTheFinalBattle This is da FOINUL BADDLE!]]"
55	* FranchiseOriginalSin: The final bosses' weak points were always labeled as "unknown", leaving a small guessing game at where exactly should the player shoot. Introduced back in the very first game, it worked quite well (and perhaps ''too'' well) considering the Magician was very fast and dangerous, leaving little room for error and giving only small windows every time he attacks. In addition, his true weak spots were not only just barely distinguishable from the rest of his body, but also pretty hard to hit due to the above movement speed. With the subsequent sequels however, not only do the bosses telegraph their attacks slower, but the weak spot becomes brighter to notice - and yet the "unknown" label on the boss analysis still remains, as if to do anything more than throw the newbie players off guard when they encounter the boss for the first time.
56	* FriendlyFandoms:
57	** More or less with ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', particularly ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'' due to both of them making significant uses of TarotMotifs. The similarities between the Stands and the bosses of the same name really helps, especially in ''4'' where you have The World which is a FinalBoss that freezes with ice (A composite of Part 1 and Part 3 Dio), The Star taking up the post of being the most powerful of their respective groups (barring the FinalBoss), Magician with their affinity for fire, Chariot for being a knight able to fight with or without its armor, and Temperance being gluttonous and unstoppable by conventional means, among other reasons.
58	** A lot of people who play these games also play ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'', another long-running light-gun game series.
59	* GameBreaker:
60	** ''4's'' Grenades. While useful against a large horde of regular enemies, [[GuideDangIt the game doesn't tell you that]] they work on bosses if you aim for their weak points. While only one boss directly responds to grenades, they can turn [[ThatOneAttack even their most maddening phases]] into a cakewalk if you're skilled enough. Below are reasons you should try and hold onto as many grenades as possible during a chapter; secrets that eluded countless arcade players for many years:
61	*** After you hold the grenade button for a bit, throwing a grenade into Justice's mouth instantly depletes the cancel bar needed to stop his attacks, making the fight almost a complete joke. Though it's still tricky to successfully send a grenade into him when he's covering his face, so if you're skilled enough, save your grenades for those parts of the fight. Unlike other bosses, the latter is more well-known among arcade players.
62	*** The Lovers' second phase where they spawn some Tarans can be drastically cut down with a well-timed grenade, which is handy. What's even better is that another well-timed grenade right before their final phase[[note]](quickly throw towards the top of the screen)[[/note]] can deplete a chunk of the cancel bar for that phase, which reduces the stress from how the male tarantula's talons can block gunfire.
63	*** It's best you save your grenades for Empress' final phase where she swings her chainsaws, as a quickly thrown grenade towards the top of the screen right as the phase starts will instantly end the phase (at least on singleplayer) if thrown right and as long as you keep shooting afterwards. Can be a form of CatharsisFactor given she's one of the harder bosses in the game.
64	*** Temperance's cancel bar when he's rolling backwards can be quickly stopped by throwing a grenade at his ''ass'' as the attack starts. Grenades even work on his phases within the clock tower windows, though it's tricky because of the windowsills, so it's best that you only throw one per phase and keep shooting regardless if it hits or misses.
65	*** While grenades do work on The Star, [[https://youtu.be/eYUETzdhayY?si=S30pQ7zNaGCh6E1i&t=497 if this video is saying anything]], [[InvertedTrope for once it's somewhat unwise to do so]], as they're all likely to miss except for certain attacks, which isn't helped by how they're randomized.
66	*** The World is susceptible to them. That's right, the ''FinalBoss'' can be damaged with them if you throw [[https://youtu.be/eYUETzdhayY?si=XJ5qHtH2XixYw3vN&t=847 one at the chest, taking away a good chunk of his health]]. It's generally best to try and throw them while aiming for his head after a phase ends and the camera turns, during which it gets pretty close to him.
67	** In the Remake, there are a lot that earn their place here:
68	*** The unlockable weapons after saving every Scientist, granting you access to the Armory, allowing you to unlock hidden weapons on another playthrough like a Pitter to send Zombies flying (and it's a OneHitKill on any non-boss creatures!), a Crossbow that deals very high damage to bosses, a Machine Gun akin to ''4/Scarlet Dawn'' (no more tapping! Still, watch your aim), and a '''FREAKING GRENADE LAUNCHER''' (which basically skips any regular zombie encounter, careful you don’t get scientists caught in the radius, though). Once unlocked these weapons can be used immediately, and are especially useful in [[ZergRush Horde Mode]]. Have fun!
69	*** The Modern Scoring system, multiplying points based on consecutive kills, continuous hits and efficient reloads, will make your score shoot up substantially, making getting the good ending threshold of 62,000+ points a complete cakewalk.
70	*** The aforementioned Horde Mode is HarderThanHard with many times the zombies in Original Mode, but it allows for much higher scores to be reached, even in Classic Scoring.
71	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This series is very popular in Mexico, ''The House of the Dead III'' which is a ContestedSequel everywhere else, is much better received in the country, the fact that the first console port of ''III'' is on the [[Platform/{{Xbox}} Original Xbox]], a system that's[[note]]and the Xbox brand in general,[[/note]] extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.
72	* GoddamnedBats: Every. Single. Game. In addition, ''2'' manages to add the even-more-annoying kamikaze zombie owls alongside energetic, knife-handed midgets.
73	** If you're trying to max out your score in ''4'', some common enemies like Stones end up becoming this. This is because the strategy often involves seeing if an enemy will grab and getting points off of them when they're far enough into the grab animation so that shooting won't kill them. While Davids and Costellos have really telegraphed attack animations, Stones in comparison, attack rather quickly and in a way that can make it hard to pick them off with a headshot. Johnnys with no axes to throw follow the same principle. Even more dangerously, however, is that in the penultimate stage, some Costellos will have the same attack as a Stones, which is sure to throw you off if you don't pay attention.
74	* GoodBadBugs:
75	** In ''Scarlet Dawn'', you can get Cyril (the axe-wielding creature) stuck in his idle animation by repeatedly stunning him just before he attacks. Because shooting enemy weapons in the game scores points, this bug allows players to rack up big scores by going ham on Cyril's axes for as long as he remains stuck.
76	** You can effectively have infinite bonus items (weapons, costumes, capacity upgrades, etc.) in the Dreamcast port of ''2'' by simply starting a NewGamePlus in Original mode and then pulling the VMU out of your controller. Whatever goodies you select won't be permanently deducted from your inventory because the game can't save your status without a VMU inserted, which is quite a boon considering how hard some bonus items are to farm in the first place (on the flipside, this also means you won't get to keep whatever new items you pick up).
77	* HilariousInHindsight:
78	** The ending of ''4'' involves a PDA self-destructing in order to destroy the FinalBoss for sure. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_7 Now you can get your own exploding PDA]] (albeit one that doubles as a cellphone).
79	** G [[QuestionableCasting sounds like a young amateur]] in ''4: Special'', which is even more hilarious when ''Overkill'' reveals that he's been with the AMS since at most 1991 and he sounds gruffer and older in that game.
80	* JustHereForGodzilla: Let's face it, the bosses and their TarotMotifs are what everyone looks forward to when they play these games.
81	* MagnificentBastard: [[WellIntentionedExtremist Caleb Goldman]], the BigBad of ''The House of the Dead 2'' and ''4'', is the founder of the DBR Corporation and [[TheManBehindTheMan secretly funded]] Dr. Curien's research into creating zombies and monsters. Goldman, himself an expert in the Genome Theory, carried on the late Curien's work to create a being to rule over humanity and [[GaiasVengeance revert it to its natural state]]. Unleashing the zombie hordes on Venice and inviting his AMS "[[FauxAffablyEvil friends]]" to his office, Goldman explained that [[KnightTemplar humans had upset the Life Cycle and needed to be culled]]. After [[HumanoidAbomination The Emperor]] is defeated, Goldman chooses death over being apprehended, promising a "successor" will come. Three years later, Goldman's backup plan came into effect. Zombies were unleashed once more and messages left by the deceased Goldman reveal to James Taylor and Kate Green a countdown for a nuclear launch — which turns out to be a hoax. Goldman leads the duo to his office while providing tests of strength to destroy [[EldritchAbomination The World]], a monster he made that had become too powerful. Goldman also promises that he did not intend to destroy humanity and specifically made sure that people could live in the North, remarking that "hope is such a splendid thing."
82	* MemeticMutation:
83	** Sega and Namco shooter translations seem to feature a running joke of having hostages shout "Don't come!" They've been doing it for years, bless them.
84	** The infamous "Suffer like G did?" line in ''2''. It would have been imposing if the creature hadn't presented it as a question. And didn't have such a high voice.
85	** On that note, just about every other line of dialogue in ''2'' for its infamous {{Narm}}.
86	* {{Narm}}: There's enough examples throughout the series (especially ''2''[='=]s incorrectly emoted voice acting), we couldn't list them all. How could anyone '''do''' that? ''My'' God.
87	* NarmCharm: Many fans come to these games ''because'' of the bad voice acting. It helps that it doesn't stop the games from being relatively good from a gameplay standpoint, if [[NintendoHard very difficult]]. And at the end of the day, the games are still about fighting your way through buildings infested by mutants, not knowing what lurks behind the next door; the cheesy voice acting may not be able to serve as effective NightmareRetardant here.
88	* NauseaFuel: Fail to stun [[FatBastard Temperance]] during his first phase and he jumps up and ''butt-stomps you.'' Eww...
89	* NeverLiveItDown: The first two games will forever be remembered for the infamous voice acting, even though they are very playable, if NintendoHard, run-of-the-mill zombie gun games.
90	* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:James [[TakingYouWithMe getting hit by one of The Star's finishing attacks]]]] at the end of ''4''[='=]s fifth chapter. [[spoiler:He is seen in several cutscenes in the next chapter limping and having to be physically assisted by Kate before sacrificing himself to kill The World.]]
91	* PolishedPort: The PC version of ''The House of the Dead: Remake'' is often considered the best due to its improved framerate and lighting, smoother mouse aiming, and support for mods that restore the original soundtrack and add functionality for Sinden and [=GUN4IR=] light guns.
92	* QuestionableCasting: With voice acting so legendarily awful, this is a given. To be fair, not that many arcade light gun games really have good voice actors in the fold; it's just not the focus, for obvious reasons. That said, ''House of the Dead'' has some seriously poor examples of this, going beyond even ''2''.
93	** Even though ''4 Special'' was made around the same time ''4'' was released in the US, Kate and [[spoiler:Thornheart]] sound nothing like they did in ''4'', while G sounds (and looks) ''nothing'' like he did in previous games. What really doesn't help is that despite ''4'''s improved voice acting, ''4 Special'' took a dip in voice acting quality as noted above.
94	** ''Scarlet Dawn'' isn't much better; in fact, it's arguably ''even worse''. Granted, it's been so long since the last game, Kate once again does not sound like how she did in the previous game she appeared in. The dead ringer for that is her DullSurprise moments, [[spoiler:especially near Ryan's averted HeroicSacrifice]]. Even her voice actress in ''4 Special'' had more energy.
95	* ScrappyMechanic:
96	** On the gun controllers on ''4'', there's a button for grenades on the left side of the barrel, but ''not'' on the right, biasing the controller in favor of right-handed players. While it doesn't make the game entirely unplayable for lefties, it does mean that left-handed players will have to twist their right hand into a bit of an awkward position to use grenades. This is a bit of an odd choice given that ''VideoGame/GhostSquad2004'' was released a few years prior and its assault rifle controller has the weapon toggle button on both sides of the controller (to be fair, both games were developed by different divisions of SEGA).
97	** From ''Scarlet Dawn'':
98	*** [[BadExportForYou There is no difficulty select in the English version.]]
99	*** The air blasts from the cab ceiling can be a nuisance for some players, and unlike the "Xtreme Audio" bass shaker, it cannot be turned off by player input.
100	*** The weapon-changing system forces you to draw your attention away from the action to make sure you're using the correct weapon before you attempt to fire it.
101	* SequelDifficultyDrop:
102	** Remake difficulty drop, as ''The House of the Dead Remake'' makes the easy difficulty truly easy, and for new players, it's all but guaranteed to get the true good ending in the easy difficulty due to the lax scoring requirements, including the "Modern" scoring mode that add multi-kill combos. It gets better once all the scientists in one playthrough is rescued (and in case of failure, one can restart the stage instead of the whole game) as you will unlock secret alternate weapons for you to use in the next playthrough and once unlocked, it can be permanently used, also, you need two hits instead of one hit to lose one life (unless the difficulty is set to "Arcade").
103	** Proper Sequel Difficulty Drop, While ''III'' is still harder and longer than the first game, it somewhat dialed back some of the frustrating things that made ''2'' very difficult, such as the boss cancel bar (which was carried from Vampire Night), and an even easier way to reload (at least with the Shotgun controller (despite of claims of the shotgun controller being physically tiring), although at the cost of having a delay on reloading), and also, you don't gain any punishment for accidentally shooting your partner in the segments were they are in danger. [[spoiler:Did we forget to mention that you can have up to 9 lives starting with this game? (atleast the home releases that is), as opposed to a maximum of five in the first two games? (Not counting Original mode in ''2'' and the first game's remake, where in the latter, you need two hits to lose a life in lower difficulty modes as mentioned above)]]
104	* SequelDifficultySpike:
105	** Compared to the original game, ''2'' is faster, longer, and much more difficult. The zombies and bosses are more resilient and aggressive, and thus the window of opportunity to rescue hostages is smaller. There is also no auto-reload function, unlike the prior entry. According to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D05HsIpVNoE this video]], it turns out that the primary difficulty tester that wound up setting the bar was the '''first game's top player''', who wound up cheesing the beta and state that it was ''too easy'', resulting in such a spike, ''III'' became a difficulty drop either intentionally or accidentally.
106	** ''4'' manages to be a bit harder than the first two (as well as being a direct difficulty spike from ''III''. Since you have a submachine gun, a ''lot'' more zombies appear on-screen at once. The bosses now require their weak points to be shot enough to empty a "Cancel" meter; being successful interrupts their attacks and avoids damage. Additionally, more of the bosses fit ThatOneBoss category.
107	** ''Scarlet Dawn'' has even larger zombie hordes that will easily overwhelm the player if they're not careful. Bonus lives are scarce, with the player required to earn a rank of A+ or higher after a stage for an extra life [[note]](previously, ''4'' gave bonus lives for as low as B ranks, and an S rank awarded ''two'' bonus lives)[[/note]]. The special weapon ammunition is also limited, thus the player must save it for the enemies and boss phases that they have trouble taking down with the default machine gun, some even say that this game rivals the difficulty from ''2''.
108	** A minor example due to being offset by the difficulty drop above, but the Remake's lighting making rescuing scientists more of a challenge than the original, which have static lighting and thus, in the original, scientists wearing white coat and looking human stands out among the other creatures.
109	** Another minor example for the same reason, but III's reloading time is a bit stricter compared to the first two games.
110	* SignatureScene:
111	** Because of its {{Narm}} and the shrill voice of Zeal, meeting Judgement and later fighting the duo at the end of the first chapter in ''The House of the Dead 2'' is probably the most memorable and referenced cutscenes in the franchise.
112	** The final confrontation with Goldman and the Emperor in the same game is just as well-known, if not more so. Many consider this scene to be where the voice acting reaches its climax in terms of {{Narm}}, with classic lines such as "to protect the loyfe cycle" and "this is da final baddwl".
113	* SignatureSong: The Magician's battle theme, used in no less than three games for his boss fights.
114	* SoBadItsGood:
115	** The voice acting and translation, particularly in the the second game. "[[MemeticMutation Don't come! Don't come!]]" "[[{{Narm}} Suffer like G did]]?"
116	** "G's bloodstains!"
117	** Done [[NarmCharm intentionally for such purposes]] in ''Overkill''.
118	** And, of course... "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftc_Pbhb3IE#t=00m17s HM HM HM HM HM. PEE-PLE-OFF-ZE-AY-EM-ASS. AI-EMM GOLDMEN!]]"
119	* {{Squick}}: Fat zombies that can have holes punched in them, incest in ''Overkill'', open beating hearts... there's frequently stuff one shouldn't dwell upon.
120	** The Ebitans seen throughout the series look like they could be [[Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead Tarman's]] clone, and Tarman is rather Squicky to a lot of people.
121	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel:
122	** While all of the games in the series are generally good, ''III'' is notable in that the voice-acting took a serious level in competency. By ''4'', it's easy to forget the earlier games' {{Narm}}y goodness. Sadly, ''4 Special'' and ''Scarlet Dawn'' both take a dip in quality with the voice acting.
123	** Then there's ''Overkill'', regarded to be the best of the games (at least on console).
124	* ThatOneAttack:
125	** For its final attack, the Fool jumps at you for a claw swipe. You have a very narrow window of time in which to plug an entire clip of shells (6 shots) into its claw, or else you lose one life. [[MultiplayerDifficultySpike It gets worse in a 2-player game]], as the attack now requires ''12'' hits to disable, meaning that if your partner is not reacting fast enough or is just plain goofing off, you'll lose a life along with your partner even though it's not your fault.
126	** The Wheel of Fate:
127	*** In the first phase, one of its three attacks has it charging around the arena for a few laps before turning to face and ram into you. This is the hardest of the three because it moves quickly and its weak point on its chest is not always visible.
128	*** In its final phase, it releases a large number of lightning orbs at the wall behind you, forcing you to turn away from it to destroy those orbs before you continue your attack. The orbs flicker rapidly and it's so hard to see which orbs are the closest to damaging you. It doesn't help that if you're playing on the arcade cabinet, or at home with a similar controller, your arms are likely tired at this point.
129	** Justice, the very first boss of ''4'', has his infamous dropkick, which is preceded by how he covers his face with his hands to obscure his weak point. It's so hard to shoot that you're more than likely going to get hit at least once whenever he uses it, which will always be at least once per battle. While it's averted if you save your grenades for this part of the battle, [[GuideDangIt it'd be really nice if the game told new players they can outright stop the attack with them...]]
130	** The Lovers' final phase has a similar attack where the top spider shuffles his legs in front of himself before rising them to slash at the player(s) with both legs. A first time player is very unlikely to figure out that the best strategy is to continuously shoot at the weak point and reload when you're out of bullets, which can make this phase frustrating. Unsurprisingly, this phase has been a run ender for newer players as well.
131	** The Empress has ''THREE'' rather maddening attacks, one of which only happens once per battle. The attack in question is when she tries driving her chainsaw into the players from atop the subway car they're in. The kicker is you ''must'' be prepared to shoot her weak point just about when the camera pans up to show her, or else you will most likely be unable to stop her attack. Needless to say, this is also something newer players wouldn't be able to figure out, and likely have their runs ended then and there. The other attack is when she's driving her chainsaw from the side of the train car, which only has slightly more room for error. The last one is her final phase, where she wildly swings her chainsaws before dual slashing. This one is notoriously hard for how it's hard to keep up with her weak point, especially when you have to reload to keep the damage coming.
132	** The Star has two attacks that could prove troublesome — a BeamSpam attack where he fires a volley of about 8 to 16 (''20+'' if playing 2-player) energy rays at you, and his [[TurnsRed critical-health]] attack where he rapidly spins around like a tornado as he approaches you. For the former, you must either shoot down the barrage of rays while ignoring The Star, or concentrate fire on The Star to get him to prematurely stop the barrage while risking taking damage from one of the rays. For the latter, simply pray you can hit him in the head fast enough as he wildly moves around you — sometimes even off-screen — before swiftly slicing you up.
133	* ThatOneBoss:
134	** Strength in ''2'' was ''quite'' a coin-muncher for many. It's an EliteMook… but it's based off of one of the most ''annoying'' types: The Chainsaw wielders. Its weak point is in its head, which is unfortunately often covered by the chainsaw, meaning that unless you're ''really'' fast, it'll move the chainsaw in the way and block everything you throw at it.
135	** It should be noted that in ''III'', each bullet a boss takes will empty more of its yellow BreakMeter every time it succeeds in attacking you; a boss has its maximum "stamina" level at the start of the fight. [[FakeDifficulty The Fool's stamina is initially just BARELY low enough to where it is possible to halt it the first time if every shot is accurate, done as fast as possible, and you begin with a fully-loaded shotgun.]] As such, the Fool ends more games (or causes more continues/coins to be fed) than even the final boss. Fixed in the console versions, though.
136	** The Magician in ''The Typing of the Dead''. His gimmick is simple: type phrases out like usual. Except, if you miss, he automatically hits you.
137	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The changes in ''The House of the Dead: Remake'' have been a topic of contention within the fanbase since the game's release.
138	** The lighting effects are DarkerAndEdgier to a certain degree (while also adding a bunch of bloom and LensFlare effects). Some find these choices unappealing, resembling more of a Halloween party than the original's dreary aesthetic.
139	** The bosses were "nerfed" compared to their original versions. For example, Magician is much slower, which disappointed fans who were expecting a fast, frantic fight like the original game.
140	** Enemies now have random health, and can survive with their heads missing. Some players have argued that this makes the remake feel inconsistent and unfair.
141	** The game lacks the original soundtrack due to licensing issues. The new soundtrack -- and in particular Magician's remixed theme -- has been deemed inferior-sounding by some fans.
142	** The Nintendo Switch is only capable of mimicking light guns via gyro controls, making aiming more frustrating than it should be.
143	* UnderusedGameMechanic: For whatever reason, you have to turn on the score display through a cheat code.
144	* UnexpectedCharacter: The return of the Chariot in ''Scarlet Dawn'' came straight out of left field, especially since he last appeared as an unremarkable WarmUpBoss in the ''first'' game roughly two decades ago.
145	* WatchItForTheMeme: Play ''2'' for the infamously low-effort voice acting.
146	* WTHCostumingDepartment: James' infamously lame outfit in ''4'' trades his stylish silver suit from ''2'' for a baby-blue military jacket with loud, black-and-white chalk stripe trousers, making him look less like a professional agent and more like a line cook on his way home from work.
147
148	!!The films
149	* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Castillo Sermano]] was a Spanish [[SinisterMinister priest]] who delved into [[PlayingWithSyringes ghastly experiments]] on human beings. Upon being exiled to Isla del Mort off the coast of Seattle, Castillo murdered the entire ship's crew and continued his experiments on the island, enslaving the native population. Killing anyone who got close to the island and experimenting on them well into the modern day, Castillo proceeded to create more zombies while preserving his own life and wipes out a large gathering of teenagers before trying to kill the survivors, intending to [[ImmortalityImmorality become immortal]] for one reason: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment to live forever]].
150	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Captain Kirk seems to be the one character people like from this thing. Being played by Creator/JurgenProchnow helps too.
151	* HilariousInHindsight: One of the survivors, highlighted during the 360 camera section of the action montage, resembles [[Videogame/Left4Dead Bill]].
152	* SpecialEffectFailure:
153	** Some shots of the protagonists shooting at zombies in the film were from ''the original game, with an "Insert Coin" message blinking on the screen!''
154	** At the start of the shootout sequence, you can clearly see the camera's {{dolly}} track on the bottom of the screen.
155	* SignatureScene: The war sequence is pretty much the most memorable thing people remember about this film.
156	* StockFootageFailure: The film infamously uses stock footage from the first three games during the action sequences. When the film plays the footage of the first three video games (especially during the intro), every display elements from the game exist in the film from the HUD to the hit marker, showing a poorer effort to try to hide these elements. Not to mention, it was recorded using a camcorder instead of a direct capture and it also does not blend in with the setting of the film.
157	* TooCoolToLive: Liberty, the SoleSurvivor of the initial zombie rampage who manages to hold her own and even beats zombies with hand-to-hand combat, all while [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead wearing an American flag jumpsuit]], ends up being killed by a zombie swarm during the big cemetary shootout.
158	* VideoGameMoviesSuck: With a plot involving teenagers going to a rave, in-game footage used as part of the movie, and only a brief cameo of the games' characters at the end, let's just say that this movie left a lot to be desired. The sequel is viewed marginally better for leaning towards the SoBadItsGood territory.

Context YMMV / HouseOfTheDead