Daikatana
| John Romero's Daikatana | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Director(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | John Romero |
| Programmer(s) | Shawn C. Green |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Jorge Gonzalez |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Engine | Quake II engine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color |
| Release date(s) |
Microsoft Windows Nintendo 64 Game Boy Color
|
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Aggregate score | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | (GBC) 79.38% (PC) 54.08% (N64) 42.34% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Edge | 4/10 |
| EGM | 3.87/10 |
| Eurogamer | 5/10 |
| GameFan | 77% |
| GamePro |   |
| Game Revolution | C |
| GameSpot | (GBC) 7/10 (PC) 4.6/10 (N64) 3.7/10 |
| GameSpy | 74% |
| GameZone | 7/10 |
| IGN | (PC) 5.8/10 (N64) 4/10 |
| Nintendo Power | 5.6/10 |
| PC Gamer (US) | 53% |
| Entertainment Weekly | D |
John Romero's Daikatana is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ion Storm for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color, and released in 2000. A PlayStation version had been planned but was cancelled during development. The game is known as one of the major commercial failures of the video game industry.
Daikatana is composed of 24 levels (18 in the console versions) divided into 4 episodes, with a varying number of levels per episode. Each episode represents a different location and time period: 25th century Japan in the year 2455 AD, ancient Greece in the year 1200 BC, the Dark Ages in Norway in the year 560 AD, and near-future San Francisco in the year 2030 AD.
One element that Daikatana stressed was the important role of Hiro Miyamoto's two sidekicks, Mikiko Ebihara and Superfly Johnson. The death of either sidekick resulted in failing the level, and their assistance was required to complete certain puzzles. Due to poor AI implementation, the sidekicks, who were one of the game's selling points, became a focus of criticism.
In feudal Japan, two rival clans, the Ebihara and the Mishima, are at war. The Mishima go to the swordmaster Usagi Miyamoto to craft a weapon to end the conflict: the Daikatana. However, Usagi realizes the Mishimas' dark desires and gives the Daikatana to the Ebihara; Inshiro Ebihara throws the sword into a volcano at the end of the war.
In the year 2455 AD, swordmaster Hiro Miyamoto is visited by a man named Dr. Toshiro Ebihara, a descendant of Inshiro who is suffering from a plague and about to die. Toshiro tells Hiro that Kage Mishima, the ruler of the planet, took over the world by stealing the Daikatana and using it to alter history. He stole the cure to a viral plague in the year 2030 and uses the cure to control the world's population. Mikiko Ebihara, Toshiro's daughter, has been captured when trying to steal back the Daikatana, and Hiro must rescue her and fix history.
...
Wikipedia