Kineko Video, a fan group that restores lost media, has just announced that they’ve used a Doomsday Duplicator to remaster the Japanese horror film “Sweet Home“. Although not directly video game related, fans of survival horror may know that the licensed Sweet Home Famicom game is functionally the beginning of the genre, leading directly to the development of Resident Evil. Due to various rights issues, Sweet Home never received a home video release on a format more modern than Laser Disc and so it has been relatively difficult to find in high fidelity. This project apparently required splicing together three separate captures to work around the flaws in each disc, resulting in a surprisingly good looking version of the film. The subtitles have also been relocalized by LonelyChaser Fansubs, and the whole film is now available to watch online.
Watch the full film with english subtitles on Kineko Video’s YouTube Channel!
For readers interested in exploring the 1989 Famicom adaptation, there are several translations available on ROMHacking.net that will work just fine on flashcarts, emulators, or FPGA cores. Playing it is a fascinating look at the humble beginnings of what would eventually bloom in to one of the most important franchises in video game history, and it is wonderful that both the game and the film can now be properly enjoyed by modern audiences.
Learn more about the Domesday project here: