A classic example of an ambitious idea executed poorly.
Here was the layout, that Ion Storm had dreamt up for their work.
-Sidekick system
-RPG elements
-Large gameworlds
-Varying architecture
-Travel through several time periods
-A central weapon with immense power
-A new arsenal for each time period
-Appropriate sidekick and AI interaction.
As you can see, it was quite a line-up, while Ion Storm succeeded in these respects, they executed them all so horribly, that despite their efforts to create these features, they forgot to add quality and polish.
Daikatana, may be a fun ride, but unfortunatly, it was all ambition, and no good gameplay.
While it certainly isn't the most horrid game around, Daikatana does fail like no other game has. In fact, it's gameplay has such hideous oversights that it was ridiculous at times.
In fact, the inane design actually made the beggining of the game even more difficult than the ending sequences, which is ridiculous. The first level is riddled with some of the most annoying enemies ever conceived, from bizarre robotic frogs to irritating dragonfly zippers, and not to mention a larger variety of poorly designed opponents.
The sidekick concept is an intriguing one, but when your so called "help" gets stuck in a corner, or crushed beneath a automatic door, you can't help but feel a massive urge to kill them. Unfortunatly, the death of your partner results in an immediate game over. The AI is horrid, Mikkiko and Superfly Johnson (cringe-inducing names) are the pyshical manisfestations of my anger and fury unleashed into some of the most annoyingly idiotic pixelated bodies you could image.
Here, imagine these scenes that I had the luck to suffer through.
-Superfly repeatedly complains about ammo, yet each time we pass a pack by, he stands around stupidly, as if the ammo didn't exist
-Mikkiko walks into an indentation in the ground, no problem right? Right!? You wish, she immediatly becomes trapped, and I'm forced to restart the entire level.
-Superfly seems intent on not using his chaingun, and instead feels the need to punch his enemies to death with his mighty useless fists.
-Mikkiko develops an attraction to my bullets, each time I fire, she seems drawn into my line of fire, several Game Over sequences follow.
Unless you have patience like that of no other human, you will find more than one situation that will cross the line of sanity. Although, when the AI actually DOES work, your sidekicks are incredibly useful at putting down swarming enemies. Sadly, it won't last very long, Superfly will be massacering spiders one moment, and falling down a black abyss the next.
It doesn't end with the sidekicks, enemies will constantly stare into nothingness while you firmly plant buckshot into their foreheads.
To add to the pain, the RPG system in this game has no benefits whatsoever. While it is quite interesting, letting you invest in things like Health, Speed, or Firepower, in the end you'll only be using your experience to power the Daikatana (A Katana blade that becomes stronger as it eats more XP) unfortunatly, the oh-so-powerful Daikatana becomes so unbalanced and powerful, that you'll hardly find a need for any of your other weapons, since you can instantly down enemies with one swing.
Daikatana does have some interesting settings at least, and the graphics do approach decency at times. Sadly, fifty percent of your game time will be spent looking at drab surroundings, with the same textures and enemies used over and over again. Models look poor, and lighting is terribly done, and the lighting used in the level design makes no sense whatsoever. Why, for example, is this underground tunnel lit by torches green, when every other single torch illuminates red? Or perhaps its just the horrible contrast between a well-textured enemy, and a big splotchy background.
While sound is exceptable at most times, it becomes unbelievable annoying when you have to listen to your sidekicks screaming obnoxious things while they stand around and do absolutly nothing.
After you've heard...
"SUCK IT DOWN!!"
You'll never want to hear it again, and despite the game-over, it will make you want to kill that bastard Superfly on the spot. Repetition in sound is five hundred times worse than repetition in graphics, and since it seems the same five phrases are used over and over again, I can't give this game any credit.
The story involves something with the Daikatana, a magic sword that travels through time, and some madman named Hiroshima, (I can't remember his name, I couldn't be bothered to) your job, as yourself, Hiro, that is, is to stop this crazy guy, with no motivation whatsoever. Yes, one day, some old man shows up at your door, offers you a blade, and all of a sudden ninjas are dropping down from the roof, and you appear in the sewer system near the evil corporate guy's base.
At this point, you'll skip all the cinematics to follow, as you wouldn't even understand how you could want to watch this inane and simplistic plot.
Daikatana, if you see it for three dollars at a nearby EB Games, go ahead, try it, but remember to patch it. But if you actually want a decent game, stay away, ambition does not always mix with good gameplay, they're two different aspects, and so many developers just can't seem to get that, Ion Storm certainly didn't.