Daikatana (GBC video game)
{{Short description|2000 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Daikatana
| image = Daikatana GBC box.jpg
| caption =
| developer = Will
| publisher = Kemco
| director = Takeo Mogi
| producer = {{Unbulleted list|Seijiro Okuhara|Mitsuo Shinjo}}
| designer = Takumi Takahashi
Tatsuo Masuda
| programmer = Kazuyuki Makishima
Tomokazu Yoshida
| artist = Masayuki Tsuboi
Noboru Matsumura
Hideki Ujiie
| writer = Noriyuki Saeki
Kazuhiro Takada
Norihiro Onodera
| composer = Hideki Sakamoto
| engine =
| platforms = Game Boy Color
| released = {{vgrelease|EU|September 29, 2000|JP|May 1, 2001}}
| genre = Action-adventure
| modes = Single-player
}}
Daikatana is a 2000 action-adventure game developed by Will and published by Kemco for the Game Boy Color. It is based on the first-person shooter of the same name, which was released earlier in 2000. Players control a swordsmaster who travels through various time periods in an effort to obtain the eponymous Daikatana, a powerful sword tied to the fate of the world.
Developed separately from the original game, the Game Boy Color version of Daikatana was designed as an adventure game at the request of creator John Romero. It was released in Europe in September 2000 and in Japan as a download for the Nintendo Power peripheral in May 2001; a planned North American release was cancelled due to the original version's negative reputation. The game received generally positive reviews, with critics regarding it as superior to the original Daikatana.
Gameplay
Daikatana features gameplay similar to early entries in The Legend of Zelda series. It has a top-down perspective as opposed to the first-person perspective of its PC and console counterparts. It features dungeons, which have puzzles to solve and bosses to defeat. It features super-deformed character designs.
Plot
Daikatana stars Hiro Miyamoto, who is told that an enemy of his family, Kage Mishima, had stolen the Daikatana with the intention of using its time-warping abilities to change history. Mishima then kidnaps his friend Mikiko and attacks the family dojo.
Development
Daikatana was directed by Takeo Mogi, a freelance designer, and developed and published by Kemco. According to Mogi, a previous game, erroneously identified as a Game Boy Color Quake sidescroller, sold and reviewed poorly, leading to John Romero being dissatisfied and wanting a different direction going into this game.{{cite web |url=https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-john-romeros-daikatana-the-game-boy-color-zelda-clone-that-outscored-its-big-brother |title=The Making Of John Romero's Daikatana, The Game Boy Color Zelda Clone That Outscored Its Big Brother |work=Time Extension |last=Szczepaniak |first=John |date=March 28, 2023 |accessdate=May 12, 2023 |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523021335/https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-making-of-john-romeros-daikatana-the-game-boy-color-zelda-clone-that-outscored-its-big-brother |url-status=live }} It was designed to resemble The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening at Romero's request, as well as due to a Kemco staffer wanting to make an action RPG in the same vein as The Legend of Zelda.{{cite web |url=https://rome.ro/games_daikatana.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041210180700/https://rome.ro/games_daikatana.htm |archivedate=December 10, 2004 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |title=Ion Storm And Daikatana |last=Romero |first=John |work=Planet Rome.ro |date=December 10, 2004}} Mogi played the PC version of Daikatana in order to get ideas for what to include in this game as well as reading the script of the game provided by Romero. Initially, Mogi was planning to draw the kanji incorrectly due to how western depictions of Japan are "often strange to Japanese people," such as mixing up Chinese and Japanese. However, this was dropped, as they sought to avoid being embarrassed if it was pointed out in Nintendo's quality assurance.
It was announced that Kemco would be responsible for publishing the game in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/daikatana-for-the-n64-and-gbc/1100-2565984/ |title=Daikatana for the N64 and GBC |work=GameSpot |last=Gerstmann |first=Jeff |date=May 9, 2000 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183829/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/daikatana-for-the-n64-and-gbc/1100-2565984/ |url-status=live }} It had a set release date of December 17, 1999, but Kemco said it could be pushed back to January or February 2000.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/09/22/daikatana-still-on-the-board |title=Daikatana Still on the Board |work=IGN |date=September 21, 1999 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183828/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/09/22/daikatana-still-on-the-board |url-status=live }} When informed of the planned release of Daikatana for the Game Boy Color in 2000, IGN staff joked that it would end up coming out before the PC version, which was infamous for delays. Other media outlets picked up on this as a story, and Kemco did a press release to clarify that this was not the case.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/27/daikatana-4 |title=Daikatana |work=IGN |date=May 26, 2000 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183828/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/27/daikatana-4 |url-status=live }} Kemco cancelled its North American release due to the negative reception the brand had received,{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/legendary-pc-games-you-completely-forgot-were-on-console/ |title=Legendary PC games you completely forgot were on console |work=GamesRadar |last=Sullivan |first=Lucas |date=March 23, 2017 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183828/https://www.gamesradar.com/legendary-pc-games-you-completely-forgot-were-on-console/ |url-status=live }} while the Japanese version was distributed as a download for the Nintendo Power peripheral.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} An unreleased version of Daikatana was released by Romero on his website.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/09/the-history-of-daikatana |title=The History Of Daikatana |work=IGN |last=Burnes |first=Andrew |date=December 9, 2004 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183828/https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/12/09/the-history-of-daikatana |url-status=live }}
Reception
The pre-release reception for Daikatana was positive. E3 footage of the game seemed promising to IGN staff, noting that its differences from the PC version were a good thing due to the PC version's issues. They praised the E3 demo's visuals and gameplay, specifically noting that its Japanese-inspired design benefits it. It was the runner-up for IGN's "best handheld adventure" award at E3.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} GameSpot writer Yukiyoshi Ike Sato compared it to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Secret of Mana, noting that the game's demo seemed easy but showed promise.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hands-ondaikatana-for-game-boy-color/1100-2620409/ |title=Hands OnDaikatana for Game Boy Color |work=GameSpot |last=Sato |first=Yukiyoshi Ike |date=May 17, 2006 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183827/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hands-ondaikatana-for-game-boy-color/1100-2620409/ |url-status=live }}
Daikatana has received generally positive reception and is noted for its high quality, despite the poor critical reception of other versions. It holds a 79.38% on GameRankings.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/256402-daikatana/index.html |title=Daikatana |work=Game Rankings |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183830/https://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/256402-daikatana/index.html |url-status=live }} Writer Frank Provo found the game fun, praising the game's puzzles and instant save feature but criticizing its lack of overworld and stiff control. He found the visuals appealing, noting that while the character models lacked color diversity, the world was rich with color and the characters with strong animation. He was more negative towards the sound quality, owing to a limited selection of sound effects and poor use of the GBC's two-channel MIDI.{{cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/daikatana-review/1900-2642310/ |title=Daikatana Review |work=GameSpot |last=Provo |first=Frank |date=May 17, 2006 |accessdate=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820183830/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/daikatana-review/1900-2642310/ |url-status=live }} Writer Lucas Sullivan called it a "little GBC gem for those who bothered to give it a chance." Writer Scott Sharkey expressed disappointment in its American cancellation due to it being a better game than its PC/N64 release. He felt that the translation was "wonky" and that the characters were not very different from one another mechanically, but noted that these were ultimately minor issues.{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/features/freeloader-daikatana |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604024304/http://www.1up.com/features/freeloader-daikatana |archivedate=June 4, 2015 |title= A brief history of Daikatana |work=1up.com |last=Sharkey |first=Scott |date=December 13, 2004 |accessdate=August 20, 2019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{moby game|id=/gameboy-color/john-romeros-daikatana_|name=Daikatana}}
{{Ion Storm}}
Category:Action-adventure games
Category:Game Boy Color-only games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games based on Greek mythology
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games scored by Hideki Sakamoto
Category:Video games set in 2030
Category:Video games set in ancient Greece
Category:Video games set in feudal Japan
Category:Video games set in Norway