Frescoes & Other Sources of Information
Although this section is titled "Frescoes", I will use it to enlighten you on all the various ways the game gives you helpful hints. Beware, this section is heavy on spoilers, so if you want to piece the puzzle together yourself, don't read any further. Also, the "meanings" on each of the clues aren't in the game, they are what I believe the clue is trying to say. Many of this stuff (especially the plot-related stuff) is open to interpretation, and this is how I interpreted it.
*If you see a word (like LOOK or TALK) in all caps, that means perform that action on your menu.
**Also, if you click on any of the locations listed, you'll magically be transported to that room. Such is the power of the internet.
The importance of Frescoes in Sweet Home is that if you use your Camera on them, you will gain a helpful clue or a piece of history about Mamiya. They were painted by Ichirou, and they are grouped in groups of three (not near each other necessarily, but near the same point in the game), based on the "date" they were completed. They can be dirty or clean. If you're unsure, look at these examples of a dirty and a clean fresco:
In order to gain a hint when you use your camera, the fresco must be clean. If it's not clean already you must clean it. To do this, use Asuka's Vacuum (or a Broom)...Anyway, here are the locations, dates, cleanliness (whether they have dust), and clues associated with all the frescoes:
* As for locations, if you're not sure of what I mean, look in my Locations Section.
DATE | LOCATION | DUST? | CLUE | MEANING |
1-6 | 1st Floor | No | My 3 frescos will solve a puzzle. | Frescoes are grouped by date, in groups of 3. |
1-15 | 1st Floor | Yes | One needs a mallet to remove a boulder. | You need a mallet to destroy boulders. |
1-23 | 2nd Floor | No | The mallet is under the desk in the room with a small beast. | The mallet is invisible, on the desk in the room on the 2nd Floor (the room with the mouse). It's in the upper right portion of the desk. |
2-3 | East Wing | No | Our 10th Anniversary and our first child is born. | Ichirou and Mamiya's baby was born on this date. |
2-11 | East Wing | Yes | Where there is lightning... | The entrance to the Garden is found in a room with lightning. |
2-28 | East Wing | No | A knight needs a spear. | You must take the spear from the knight in the left room, and give it to the knight in the room on the right to open a path to the Garden. |
3-8 | Northern Region (Diary Room) | Yes | My wife... killed... our child... by... by accident... | Ichirou and Mamiya's baby was accidentally killed. |
3-13 | Courtyard | Yes | The statue...back to a lake... | Refers to the fact that you must push a statue into the fountain after gaining access to the Northern Courtyard (I think). |
3-25 | Courtyard | No | Blood will melt aged bronze. | You must drink the fountain's water, then fill up the pail, and use it on the green statue to gain access to the Lake. |
4-4 | Northern Courtyard | No | My wife... killed a child... for a playmate... | Mamiya, enraged that her own child is dead, has started killing other children to keep her child company in the afterlife. |
4-14 | Northern Courtyard | No | Melt the blue statue for a sign to the basement. | You need to push the statue into the fountain to get the Tool. |
4-22 | Northern Courtyard | Yes | Use at the site with 4 stones. | Use the Tool near the area in the Courtyard with the four stones (near the ladder) to open a path to the basement. |
5-5 | Basement | Yes | I thought it was over after the suicide. | Not positive, but I think it means Mamiya killed herself, and consequently, Ichirou thought the killings would stop. |
5-10 | Basement | Yes | The Gem is guarded by a statue. | The Gem is in a room behind a statue. To move the statue, you have to give the man at the northern end of the basement your shovel. |
5-24 | Basement | Yes | The blue fire... Pray with the Gem in hand. | You need the Gem to destroy the blue flame blocking your path to the eastern area of the basement. |
6-7 | Inner Sanctuary | No | The tomb was broken... She's possessed the house... | Somebody dug up the baby from its grave, and Mamiya possessed the house because of this. |
6-17 | Inner Sanctuary | No | A man awaits his master's rings. | You must find the Jade and Ruby Rings in order to get past Ichirou's guard. |
6-25 | Inner Sanctuary | No | When the two meet... FLASH! It's yours... | I dunno...but it may mean that your lead character must have both the Ruby and Jade Rings in his/her inventory to get past Ichirou's guard. |
7-7 | Inner Sanctuary | Yes | I need the Tool, Diary, Photo, and Coffin. | You must find these four items and have them in your inventory to defeat Mamiya. |
7-13 | East Wing | Yes | The projector shows the way. | If you use the three slides in the projector (on the 1st Floor) and pray, a passage will open up. |
7-24 | 1st Floor | Yes | Three memories open the way. | You need to find all three slides and use them in the projector to open a secret passage. |
8-2 | Courtyard | No | Use the 4 items at signs of change. | When fighting Mamiya, you must use the Tool, Photo, Diary, and Coffin (in that order) when Mamiya begins saying something new (for complete instructions, visit the Enemy Page. |
8-14 | Dungeon | Yes | Three stand in your way... unmoving. | You must get past the three statues in the Inner Sanctuary in order to reach Mamiya. |
8-22 | Dungeon/2nd Floor (Coffin Room) | Yes | Blue Flames in hand... | To get past the three statues, you must place all three of the blue candles, light them (with the Lighter or Matches), and pray. |
Notes are found throughout the mansion. LOOK at them to read them. Most have an author (you'll know this because the note will go Takashi-"blah, blah, blah", Takashi is the author in this example). In addition, many notes have you characters respond by saying something. Just remember the actual note is anything in the quotation marks.
LOCATION | NOTE | MEANING |
1st Floor | "Welcome to my home. Photograph my fresco, for therein lies a clue to the way out!" It's from Ichirou! And that must be the fresco. | Using a Camera on a fresco will give you a clue. |
1st Floor | Kenji-"The frescos contain clues. I think they're grouped by date." | Frescoes give you clues if you photograph them, and they're in groups of three, based on the date they were painted. |
1st Floor/East Wing | "One fell down, but was pulled to safety." What does that mean? | If somebody falls while crossing a gap on a piece of Wood, you can use TEAM to pull him/her to safety. |
1st Floor | Takashi-"The next fresco is across and on the left. Be careful..." So, there were others like us. Frightening! | The next fresco is across the chasm, in the room to the left. |
1st Floor | Takashi-"The third fresco...Upstairs..." | The third fresco is on the 2nd Floor. |
1st Floor | Takashi-"If one is caught, pray!" | If you are STUNNED by a Zombie or other creature, use PRAY and they will be cured. |
1st Floor | Etsuko-"You can find a spare camera and key in other rooms. Find them!" | There are spare Cameras and Keys (Wire) to be found in the mansion, in case Emi or Taro dies. |
2nd Floor | Shogo-"To go beyond, turn on the generator first." Oh! There must be a generator nearby! | You need to find and turn on the generator in able to move past the 2nd Floor. |
2nd Floor | Shogo-"The generator is east..." | The generator is east of the East Wing, in the Garden. |
East Wing | Etsuko-"The Flashlight... Shadow..." | You can use the F Light to eliminate the mysterious "shadows" that block your way. |
East Wing | Takashi-"Head north for the east garden" | The path leading to the Garden is north of this note. |
Northern Region | Takashi-"I discovered something terrible! Lock the diary and hide the key i-" Oh no! The most important part is tore! | Something terrible is written about in the Diary, but it is locked, and the key is hidden away. |
Northern Region | Takashi-"Courtyard... Reach with... Hung on 2 pegs..." | An item (Ladder) needs to be hung on the 2 pegs in order to reach the Courtyard. |
Northern Region (Veranda) | A note with fresh ink! "To those who follow, the Diary key is hidden. A clue is in the basement. You must escape this house of residing evil!" This is meant for us! | The Diary key is hidden in the Basement. The author of this note (presumably Yamamura) wrote this note specifically for your party. |
Northern Region | "The hole...Ladder...No...Rope ladder..." Interesting... | The ladder must be used to reach the Courtyard. This note is possibly part of the note written by Takashi, 3 up from here. |
Northern Region | Shogo-"Enter the basement by the courtyard...Bring medicine..." Look!! Blood trails over to that door!" | The entrance to the Basement is in the Courtyard. Bringing medicine refers to the fact that the Basement enemies are strong, and there are no Tonics to be found. |
Basement | Takashi-"The Diary key is in the coffin. I'm badly wounded..." Is this person still alive? Amazing! | Pretty self-explanatory. In addition, Takashi found it necessary to whine that he got a boo-boo. |
Basement | Kenji-"I found this diary page: The child fell into the incinerator. Insane, Lady Mamiya did the same to other kids." | Kenji found a diary page illustrating the fact that Mamiya's baby fell into the incinerator, and Mamiya then threw other kids into the incinerator. |
Basement | Shogo-"Takashi is very injured. You must find Lady Mamiya's room. Check the 2nd floor." Just like us! We have to end this. | Lady Mamiya's room is in the Inner Sanctuary, which is found by going to the Veranda (which is in the Northern Region, but geographically, it's still on the 2nd Floor). |
Basement | Takashi-"My job is done...Head to the veranda...You must get more power...to push the statues...I wish I could go with you..." Unfortunately, the rest is illegible... | Takashi's dying note. To get to the Inner Sanctuary, read the diary, and you can then push the statues on the veranda to reach the Inner Sanctuary. |
Bulletins are just notes attached to the wall. Anything that applies for notes applies for bulletins.
LOCATION | NOTE | MEANING |
Northern Region | Takashi-"You can walk on sticky floors with boots. Pull out stuck friends." | If you have the Boots, you can walk on sticky floors without fear of getting stuck. If somebody does get stuck, use TEAM to pull them out (like how you rescue people from gaps). |
Courtyard | "The basement entrance is close. The Low Key is under the memorial tower." | The entrance to the Basement is in the Courtyard. The Low key is buried under the memorial tower on the Lake. |
Northern Courtyard | Takashi-"Need the tool to go below..." | You need the Tool to reach the Basement. |
1st Floor (Projector Room) | "Etsuko! Don't come! I will follow Takashi!" | Beats me. I guess whoever wrote this didn't want Etsuko to follow Takashi... |
Dungeon | "I leave you a rope. If you enter leave one out." | If somebody enters a room with a Sand Trap, make sure somebody is standing on the plank with a rope, because they'll need to be saved with a rope. |
These happy little messages are written on the wall in blood. Often times found near a skeleton (usually a skeleton found near blood won't give you a hint), these messages can be invaluable.
LOCATION | CLUE | MEANING |
1st Floor | "Power of the heart... Overcomes evil..." | I dunno. Maybe he's just telling you to be brave or something... Or maybe he's just telling you that Ma-Ti is his favorite Planeteer... |
1st Floor | "Avoid the shadows!" | Don't get hit by the floating shadows, or you'll be carried to a different room in the mansion. |
East Wing | "Can't enter... without prayer..." Huh!? Prayer? | You need to pray at the knight in order to reach the Garden. |
Garden | "Gas..." | You must put the Gas in the generator in order to turn it on. |
Courtyard | "Behind a mirror... A hidden room..." | You must smash all the mirrors with mallets, and one of them will lead you to a hidden room. |
Basement | "Takashi... Kenji... Etsuko... Never give up!!" | Probably written to inspire Takashi, Kenji, and Etsuko... |
Basement | It's illegible. | You can't read its sloppy handwriting. |
Dungeon | "Coffin... Wall..." | I dunno...maybe it's saying that the Coffin is near a wall? |
Dungeon | "Gold Key... 4 doors..." | There are four doors to be opened with the Gold key. |
I THINK these are corpses of some sort, but who can tell with these 8-bit graphics? Oh well. Just go up the them and TALK and they'll give you useful information
LOCATION | CLUE | MEANING |
East Wing | Tread not on the patterned floor... | You can't walk on the floor with the square pattern on it (as if it wasn't obvious). |
East Wing | Rune weapons prevent fear and curses. | I guess supposedly Rune Spear and Rune Ax are supposed to prevent Fear and Curses, but I haven't found this to be true. Maybe they reduce the chance you'll get scared or cursed, but I wouldn't bet on it... |
Northern Region | Beware! Four steps and you will be trapped... | Taking four consecutive steps on a sticky floor will cause you to get stuck. |
Northern Region | Pick... Wouldn't have been washed away... | If you use the Pick, you won't get washed away in the water. |
Courtyard | The lake... lies to the west... Ugh... | The lake is west of the Courtyard. |
Courtyard | South fountain... Near the lake. | I guess it means that the fountain is near the Lake... |
Inner Sanctuary | The room is close... Must find the Two Keys. | "The room" probably refers to Mamiya's room, which you need the Two Keys to gain access to. |
Inner Sanctuary | Don't need... The Low Key... uh... | There are no more doors to unlock with the Low Key. |
Many types of skeletons (or at least many different assorted bone arrangements ^_^) can be found in Sweet Home. Only the ones that look like the picture above can give you clues. Even then, many of them don't give you clues. Generally, a skeleton near a Blood Message won't leave a clue. Only skeletons with clues are listed here. To get the clue...LOOK at the skeleton.
LOCATION | CLUE | MEANING |
1st Floor | The light fell... I... I was too slow... Beware... | Warning you that the light will fall on you at a certain point (apparently the guy that this skeleton belonged to had less than 3 HP...). |
2nd Floor | Why did you abandon me?! Uh... | I guess somebody abandoned this guy and he died. Just a quick reminder to stick together at all times! |
East Wing | Ugh... Takashi! Go quickly! The generator is... East garden... Argh... | Another reminder that the generator is in the Garden. |
Northern Region | A skeleton with a note: "Coffin in the basement..." Is this from the diary? | Tells you that the coffin is in the basement. (Remember the note you found near the diary? The one said that said to hide the key, but didn't tell where? This skeleton's note is probably the end of that note, not part of the diary). |
Courtyard | Help! The water!! | Reminding you that the water can hurt you. |
Basement | A child's skeleton... | Found in a room with other skeletons that the same thing is said about. One of the skeletons of the children Mamiya threw into the incinerator. |
Basement | The cruelty... | Found in a room with other skeletons that the same thing is said about. One of the skeletons of the children Mamiya threw into the incinerator. |
Basement | A skeleton...He must've written the notes...How sad... | The skeleton of one of the earlier explorers of the mansion, possibly Takashi. |
Inner Sanctuary | A trap! Drawn to your death! | The ice slides you into bodies that hurt you. If you're not careful, you could be killed. |
Zombies are much like Skeletons, but you must TALK to them to get their message. In addition, it seems that all of them give you a clue
LOCATION | CLUE | MEANING |
1st Floor | Your tools... weapons... Fire... bugs... Light... bats... | USE your lighter to harm Worms (among other enemies), and USE your Camera to harm bats (among other enemies). |
East Wing (behind Gold Key door) | Takashi... Push the bronze statue... | Tells you that you can push the statues near the water in the 1st Floor now. |
Courtyard | No body in... memorial... Must've been dug up... so foolish... | Mamiya's baby was dug up, which is the reason she began to haunt the house. |
Courtyard (behind Two Keys door) | Etsuko... | Pretty meaningless really. Just remember that Etsuko was one of the mansion's earlier explorers. Or maybe this IS Etsuko?!?! *ominous chord* |
Courtyard (behind Two Keys door) | Takashi went on his own... Stop him... Argh... | Takashi went off on his own, all by himself (which is probably why he got killed). |
Lake | Don't break it... | Maybe a friendly reminder that it's not nice to break stuff? Or not to break the earth that covers Mamiya's baby's grave? |
Lake | F-Lite... Jinbi... | WTF!? I have no clue about this one. Not even the foggiest... |
Inner Sanctuary | You need two possessions to confront Lady Mamiya. | To make it to Mamiya's room, you must have the Jade and Ruby Rings. |
2nd Floor/Dungeon (Coffin Room) | Yamamura... I failed... Tool... Photo... Diary... Coffin... In that order... Pray... Your timing... important... | Directions on how to defeat Mamiya. For complete instructions, head over to my Enemy Page. |
Dolls are pretty much worthless. They are rare, and of the ones you do find, very little of them say anything, and the ones who do say something usually say something stupid. Again, LOOK at them to get the clue (if there is one), and only the ones with clues are listed.
LOCATION | CLUE | MEANING |
Dining Room | Welcome... | None...Why would the game bother programming in such a worthless message??? |
East Wing | You will all die!! Hehe! | It's good to know that the doll is confident in your party's abilities... |
Basement (Incinerator Room) | The incinerator... The children... Burned... | Finally a fairly worthwhile clue. Just reminding you that this is the incinerator where the children were killed. |
There is a room in the Inner Sanctuary where there are survivors to talk to (Mamiya and Ichirou's servants, most likely). They will also give you helpful hints.
M/F? | CLUE | MEANING |
Male | Madame awoke after her baby was dug up. She no longer recognizes us. I'm scared. | Mamiya came back from the dead when her baby was dug up, and she is so mad with rage, she doesn't even recognize her loyal servants. |
Female | This is the servant's quarters. It's relatively safe...I hope. | Tells of your location, and that enemies won't attack when you're here. |
Female | Madame was badly burned trying to save the child. | When her baby fell in the incinerator, Mamiya burned herself while frantically trying to save the child. |
Female | Two keys are in the back passage. | The Two Keys are in the room down the stairs from the servant's quarters. |
When you are in the end area, Yamamura will shout out some final instructions to you
CLUE | PARTY'S RESPONSE | MEANING |
[Lead character's name] if she shouts use the tool! | Who was that? | In the final battle with Mamiya, use the Tool when she threatens to kill you. |
The Photo recalls reality! | That voice is familiar | The Photo is the second item that should be used in the battle. |
The diary reveals the heart! | It's Yamamura!! | The diary is the third item that should be used. |
Fight with courage!! | - | I've spoon-fed you all the answers to this point...I think you can figure this one out for yourselves. |
In addition, the Diary can be read after obtaining the Diary Key, and it also gives helpful tidbits that occur after Mamiya's death...anyway, here is what the diary says:
9-23
"She's shut herself up in her room"
10-4
"The door is locked. I have to enter through the veranda. I must stop her!"
This is Ichirou's diary!
"Her spirit has become possessed with rage! The innocent deaths must stop...Even if it means losing my own life."
Did Ichirou fall victim as well?!