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You... You must stop Curien, or else... something terrible will happen.

Sophie Richards[src]

Sophie Richards (ソフィー・リチャーズ, Sofī Richāzu?) is a former researcher of the DBR Corporation. She is a supporting character in The House of the Dead and its 2021 remake.

Sophie served under genetic engineer Dr. Curien, who sought to control the veil between life and death through science. The project drove him mad, and he released hostile biologically-engineered creatures in his mansion to slaughter team members; Sophie survived the incident, married AMS agent Thomas Rogan, and became the mother of Lisa.[3][4][excerpt 1]

Biography

Early life and career

RoganGSophiePhoto

Sophie (center) pictured with her future husband AMS agent Thomas Rogan (left), and his partner G (right).

Sophie Richards was born on July 21st, 1969.[1] At age 28, she was employed by the DBR Corporation as a researcher, joining a team led by genetic engineer Dr. Curien to work on his top-secret BioReactor project.[1] The DBR laboratory was built inside Curien's mansion.

Sometime in 1998, Sophie engaged to be married with AMS agent Thomas Rogan, who had met Curien several times in the past.[1][5]

1998 Curien Mansion incident

Main article: The House of the Dead (1996 video game)

Although respected by Sophie and his research team,[6] Curien's sanity deteriorated when his son Daniel contracted a terminal illness. Disillusioned from staff walkouts[7] and seeking to destroy humanity and civilization,[8][9] he produced hostile biologically-engineered creatures to unleash upon his own research team.

As her fellow researchers were murdered, Sophie left Rogan an urgent phone message.[10] He and his partner G arrived at the Curien Mansion to find Sophie feigning death in the creature-infested front yard. She was kidnapped by Hangedman, a bat-like creature, and flown back inside the mansion. The agents heard Sophie's cries for help from inside one room and reunited with her. Chariot, an armored creature, ambushed and mortally wounded her. Before passing out, she urged Rogan and G to defeat Curien and prevent a disaster.[11][12]

After dispatching all of Curien's remaining creations, the agents later found Sophie alive and well in the mansion.

Marriage and later life

Main article: The House of the Dead III

Following the Curien Mansion incident, Sophie married Rogan and gave birth to their daughter Lisa.[3][4][excerpt 1] Their relationship with Rogan was strained; he prioritized work over family, and he often worried them.

In October 2019, after other worldwide bio-engineering incidents, Rogan investigated the potential cause within the EFI Research Facility. When contact with him was lost, a now-teenage Lisa vowed to her mother that she would find him. Ultimately, Lisa and G rescued Rogan and stopped a ressurrected Curien from endangering the world.

Fate in multiple endings

Although she canonically survives, Sophie's fate in The House of the Dead differs depending on the player's performance (specifically, their score and the number of continues used):

  • The Neutral Ending simply has the player look back at the mansion, leaving players to assume that Sophie had died.
  • The Bad Ending takes the player back inside the mansion, where Sophie is shown as a creature.
  • In the canonical Good Ending, Sophie is instead shown miraculously alive and well, running toward the screen exclaiming "Thank you!"

Development

Carole

Carole, the first iteration of Sophie in The House of the Dead.

According to game designer Hiroyuki Taguchi, Sophie was originally a more "intellectual" playable character named Carole.[13] Developer Sega AM1 wanted players to feel as if Sophie was their real fiancé, thus encouraging them to keep playing in order to avenge her.[14] In regards to her survival, AM1 claimed that Sophie is the "strongest" character and merely "fainted from the shock".[14]

One scrapped idea had Sophie being a boss. After finding her dropped handbag and pendent, players encountered Sophie as a creature and were forced to kill her.[15][excerpt 2] The idea was revisited early in The House of the Dead 2's planning phase, but was scrapped again.[3]

Trivia

  • Cheat codes and bonus features on all versions of the game make her an alternate skin for either Rogan or his partner G.[16] Although she recycles most of Rogan and G's animations, she has a unique animation where she covers her skirt when jumping down from ledges.
  • Sophie's creature appearance in the bad ending is slightly altered in the Sega Saturn console port. In the original arcade version, she has a tint of paleness to her complexion, her eyes are completely white, and a fluid (presumably blood) drips down her mouth. In the console port, she has green-tinted skin and bags under her eyes.
  • She shares her name with Sophie Richards, a saveable character from Dead Rising. The two don't seem to have much in common, aside from short hairstyles, and being characters in zombie games.

Gallery

Concept artwork

Official artwork

Screenshots

Other media

Sources

Excerpts
  1. 1.0 1.1 Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.69:
    "初代グッドエンディングの続きシリーズを初代から知っている人なら、「ローガンの娘」にピンときたのではないだろうか?そう、リサの母親は、「HOD」でローガンの婚約者として登場したソフィーなのだ 。"
  2. Excerpt from The House of the Dead Dennou Shinan: Dr. Curien no Houkoku Sho, p.157:
    "三本木:ボスがソフィという案もあった。
    小田:ハンドバックが落ちてたり、ペンダン トが落ちてたりして。それを追っていくとソ フィがいる。再会を喜ぼうとした瞬間、ゾン ビの姿になったソフィが出現。再会を喜ぶは ずが撃たない と逆に襲われてしまう。でも女 は撃っちゃまずいだろうということでボツに なった。 "
References
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 The House of the Dead Sega Saturn manual, p 16
  2. https://twitter.com/ChrisOCowUh/status/1382896612004012034
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kori (September 7, 2012). "Website of the Dead’s Exclusive Interview with Takashi Oda". The Website of the Dead. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. “Sophie did survive, and she is the mother of Lisa Rogan in The House of the Dead 3... There was an idea to make Sophie a boss in the sequel [to The House of the Dead], but that plot was deleted early in the planning phase.”
  4. 4.0 4.1 The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, pg. 69
  5. The House of the Dead Sega Saturn manual, p 14
  6. The House of the Dead Sega Saturn manual, p 17
  7. Sega Wow Inc. (17 September 2013). The House of the Dead III. Arcade, Xbox, PC, and Playstation 3. Sega. Level/area: Sensory Chaos. Dr. Curien: Daniel...Have I stepped outside the bounds of human morality? Most of my researchers have left me...
  8. The House of the Dead 2 Sega Dreamcast manual, pg 3
  9. The House of the Dead III Xbox manual, pg 8
  10. Sega AM1 (4 March 1997). The House of the Dead. Arcade, Sega Saturn, PC. Level/area: Attract mode. Sophie Richards: Help... Everyone's getting killed...
  11. The House of the Dead
  12. Sega AM1 (4 March 1997). The House of the Dead. Arcade, Sega Saturn, PC. Level/area: Tragedy. Sophie Richards: You... You must stop Curien, or else... something terrible will happen.
  13. Kori (September 7, 2012). "Development of The House of the Dead Part 1: Characters". The Website of the Dead. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. “What bothers me is the existence of Sophie, who was originally named Carol [sic]. In fact, she was able to choose as a player character [sic]. Due to various circumstances, the plan came in [sic], but it is interesting to see what kind of story it [sic] developed with her... [Carole] emphasizes an intellectual atmosphere that is different from Sophie’s.”
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Interview: The House of the Dead", Sega Saturn Magazine, issue 23, September 1997, page 59
  15. The House of the Dead Dennou Shinan: Dr. Curien no Houkoku Sho, pg. 157
  16. Kori (March 12, 2012). "Play as Sophie and G #2 in the arcade version of The House of the Dead". The Website of the Dead. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020.
veHouse of the dead 1content
Characters
Thomas RoganGDr. CurienSophie RichardsDBR researchers
Creatures
SamNeilCyrilKageoBourbonEbitanRobertSimonGilmoreHarrisSamsonBentleyBurnerRubinDrakeMoodyParlorKenfisSaruzouDevilonBouereMurrerNameTaranKage
Bosses
ChariotHangedmanHermitMagician
Chapters
TragedyRevengeTruthThe house of the dead
Other pages
Lore (AMSBioReactorCurien MansionDBR CorporationThe House of the Dead Sub-Story)
Game modes (Boss ModeSaturn Mode)
Prototypes (The House of DeadSega Saturn prototype)
Guidebooks (The House of the Dead Dennou Shinan: Dr. Curien no Houkoku ShoThe House of the Dead Official Guide)
Action figuresThe House of the Dead: RemakeThe House of the Dead 1 & 2 Music CollectionUnused content
veHotDRoverlaycontent
Characters
Thomas RoganGDr. CurienSophie RichardsDBR researchers
Creatures
SamNeilCyrilKageoBourbonEbitanRobertSimonGilmoreHarrisSamsonBentleyBurnerRubinDrakeMoodyParlorKenfisSaruzouDevilonBouereMurrerNameTaranKage
Bosses
ChariotHangedmanHermitMagician
Chapters
TragedyRevengeTruthThe house of the dead
Other pages
Lore (AMSBioReactorCurien MansionDBR Corporation)
Game modes (Horde Mode)
Developers (Forever EntertainmentMegaPixel StudioTA Publishing)
Staff (Benjamin AnseaumeChris OkawaNatalie RoersCharlie Weirauch III)
The House of the Dead (1996 video game)Unused content
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