History YMMV / HouseOfTheDead

*** 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.

** 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.

** More or less with ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders particularly 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.

** In the first boss fight against Justice in ''4'', [[GuideDangIt the game doesn't tell you that]] 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. This tactic also works against the ''FinalBoss'' if you throw [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYUETzdhayY&t=830s one at the chest that takes away a good chunk of his health]], a secret that eluded countless arcade players for many years.

*** 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 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). Even worse if they're about to attack the moment they come on screen, which a Kevin is especially notorious for doing in chapter 3.

** The original game has Harris, zombies 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 zombies to get close.
** There's also Moody, the cyborg zombies 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.
** ''2'' has the short crouching, wall grabbing zombies with claws named Mickey. They require a headshot to finish off quickly unlike the standard zombies. Not helped that most of the time they show up in groups. The tough and fat zombies 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 normal zombies too.
** ''III'' has the zombified Rogan commandos, which unlike the rest of the zombies in the game, randomly roll, making them hard to take out. [[spoiler: [[RedShirt 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.]]
** ''4'' probably has the most zombies that qualify as demonic spiders in a ''House of The Dead'' game so far.
*** Any tough/fat zombies are a pain once more because in addition to their traits from ''2'', if they're holding something and you destroy it, their recoil makes their heads harder to hit despite being vulnerable. Even worse if they're about to attack the moment they come on screen.
*** Berns. 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 zombies 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.
*** The dual dagger zombies from ''III'' become this in ''4'', because unlike their original counterparts in ''III'', they move much quicker 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 the claw zombies in this game. So if you don't shoot them down beforehand, kiss your life goodbye.
*** The zombified AMS agents, which are arguably worse than the Rogan commandos from ''III''. Just like their predecessors, they randomly move from side to side, only 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 zombies.
*** In the second to last level you run into zombified cops. There are two varieties: The ones with their officer caps 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 zombies, causing you to shoot the more harmless zombies before shooting down the cop. The ones without caps (The EMS agents) shift from side to side in a blur while inching closer to you. Did we mention they'll also randomly grab the car you're driving around in to stop you?

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

* EvenBetterSequel:

* 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 [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} Original Xbox]], a system,[[note]]and the Xbox brand in general,[[/note]] that's extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.

* 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 console port ''III'' is on the [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} Original Xbox]], a system, [[note]]and the Xbox brand in general,[[/note]] that's extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This series is very popular in Mexico, ''The House of the Dead III'' which is a ContestedSequel, is much better received in the country, the fact that the console port ''III'' is on the [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} Original Xbox]], a system, [[note]]and the Xbox brand in general,[[/note]] that's extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This series is very popular in Mexico, ''The House of the Dead III'' which is a ContestedSequel, is much better received in the country, the fact that the console port ''III'' is on the [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} Original Xbox]], a system, and the Xbox brand in general is extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This series is very popular in Mexico, ''The House of the Dead III'' which is a ContestedSequel, is much better received in the country, the fact that the console port ''III'' is on the [[UsefulNotes/Xbox Original Xbox]], a system, and the Xbox brand in general is extremely ''HUGE'' in Mexico, this also helped.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: [[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?]]

** G [[WTHCastingAgency 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.

* WTHCastingAgency: 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''.
** 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.
** ''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.

** 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. [[spoiler:Did we forget to mention that you can have up to 9 lives starting with this game?, 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)]]
** 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), and also, you don't gain any punishment for accidentally shooting your partner in the segments were they are in danger.

** 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.

* 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]].

* 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 previous game is unclear.[[/note]]

* 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's still left that way at the time of game's setting is unclear.[[/note]]

* 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]].

** The voice acting and translation, particularly in the the second game. "[[MemeticMutation Don't come! Don't come!]]" "[[{{Narm}} Suffer like G did]]?")

* {{Narm}}: There's enough examples throughout the series (especially ''2''[='=]s incorrectly emoted voice acting), we couldn't list them all ([[Narm/HouseOfTheDead not here, anyway). How could anyone '''do''' that? ''My'' God.

* {{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.

*** 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!), 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!

*** 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!), and a '''FREAKING GRENADE LAUNCHER''' (which basically skips any regular zombie encounter). Once unlocked these weapons can be used immediately, and are especially useful in [[ZergRush Horde Mode]]. Have fun!

** ''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 disappointing follow-up to ''4'' with unpolished gameplay and presentation, a lackluster story, underwhelming boss battles, and [[BadExportForYou missing features in non-Japanese versions of the game]].

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: 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.