Ghost in the Shell is probably one of the most influential franchise made by the cyberpunk master mangaka Masamune Shirow.
How influential you asked? Influential enough for some Hollywood directors like Steven Spielberg and the Wachowski siblings drew inspiration from it.
Also let’s not forget that controversial 2017 live action adaptation which stars Scarlett Johansson as Major Mirra Killian/Motoko Kusanagi that sparks some accusations of “whitewashing” in Hollywood.
Before I got derailed even further today’s retrospective is about the 1997 PlayStation game Ghost In The Shell.
A little something before we move on, first the manga Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk masterpiece was first publication ran from 1989 to 1991, second is that 1995 anime movie of the same name directed by Mamoru Oshii which the start for Ghost In The Shell to be a multimedia franchise which spans from video games (the first one to be our subject matter which I will get into after this…..promise) an anime series in 2002 entitled Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex, a sequel to the 1995 anime movie entitled Ghost In The Shell 2 Innocence released in 2004 and some entries that I will not go into full details for I feel that I’m derailing myself again.
And for the feature presentation……
This game is released two years after the film wowed audiences with its amazing visuals and complex plot. Published by Sony worldwide and THQ in North America Ghost In The Shell is a fast paced 3D third person shooter that sets you control a Fuchikoma……wait what?!
For those who only watched the GITS Stand Alone Complex anime series and haven’t read the manga the Fuchikoma (above) was the mecha design Shirow used in his series and prior to preproduction anime studio Production I.G. met some copyright/trademark problem regarding the mecha they decided to alter the design thus the Tachikoma (below) was born.
Alright no more derailing I promise (again).
Now where were we, ah yes the game was developed by EXACT which is known for the Jumping Flash series, if you haven’t played I implore you to do so for it’s loads of fun.
The story, character and mecha designs were done Masamune Shirow himself making this game faithful to the source material.
The game’s narrative is told through mission briefings and anime FMVs which was directed and co-written by Hiroyuki Kitakubo whose some notable works include the anime classics Robot Carnival, Roujin Z, Golden Boy and Blood : The Last Vampire.
Speaking of FMVs there’s more than a dozen of those to be unlocked by clearing the training mission and progressing through the main story mission.
You’re too bald and fat to cosplay Heihachi Mishima, so shut you trap!
You take on the role of a Public Security Section 9 operative if you guessed that it’s Major Motoko, Batou or even Togusa you’re dead wrong. The game puts you in the shoes of their new recruit who happens to be the game’s silent protagonist.
Can’t you just go kaboom already?
My Fuchikoma is badly damaged and I’m sure the Major’s gonna pissed when she sees this!
I’m not gonna spoil the story but believe it’s fast paced with some plot twists. Instead I’ll give you a bit of a rundown of how the gameplay works. Like I said earlier you control a think tank robot called a Fuchikoma which has two machine guns one on each arm plus some homing missiles both of which has unlimited ammo. Default weapon is the machine gun while missiles act as a charged shot and there’s the grenades which you pick up alongside the health item that are scattered on each stage.
Fuchikoma: I already told a quintillion times I’m a Fuchikoma not Eugene Krabs!
There’s a total of twelve story missions and six training missions, the latter can unlocked if you meet certain conditions during story missions. I almost forgot to tell you that there’s some missions are governed by a time limit it’s that not frustrating as it sounds but enough to keep you on your toes. Enemies consist of cyborgs that armed from assault rifles to rocket launchers, some think tanks, helicopters and many more I almost forgot the level bosses which is the highlight of each stage. For a game that has a dozen stages it sure has some quite variety in it from a port warehouse to a high speed highway chase and the last couple of stage where you have to scale a skyscraper like John McClane did at Nakatomi building.
There’s a small reward waiting for if you finish the story missions without dying and that is a hidden picture of Motoko Kusanagi waiting for you!
Togusa: Isn’t Stingy Perry done with his cringe yapping?How influential you asked? Influential enough for some Hollywood directors like Steven Spielberg and the Wachowski siblings drew inspiration from it.
Also let’s not forget that controversial 2017 live action adaptation which stars Scarlett Johansson as Major Mirra Killian/Motoko Kusanagi that sparks some accusations of “whitewashing” in Hollywood.
Before I got derailed even further today’s retrospective is about the 1997 PlayStation game Ghost In The Shell.
A little something before we move on, first the manga Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk masterpiece was first publication ran from 1989 to 1991, second is that 1995 anime movie of the same name directed by Mamoru Oshii which the start for Ghost In The Shell to be a multimedia franchise which spans from video games (the first one to be our subject matter which I will get into after this…..promise) an anime series in 2002 entitled Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex, a sequel to the 1995 anime movie entitled Ghost In The Shell 2 Innocence released in 2004 and some entries that I will not go into full details for I feel that I’m derailing myself again.
And for the feature presentation……
This game is released two years after the film wowed audiences with its amazing visuals and complex plot. Published by Sony worldwide and THQ in North America Ghost In The Shell is a fast paced 3D third person shooter that sets you control a Fuchikoma……wait what?!
For those who only watched the GITS Stand Alone Complex anime series and haven’t read the manga the Fuchikoma (above) was the mecha design Shirow used in his series and prior to preproduction anime studio Production I.G. met some copyright/trademark problem regarding the mecha they decided to alter the design thus the Tachikoma (below) was born.
Alright no more derailing I promise (again).
Now where were we, ah yes the game was developed by EXACT which is known for the Jumping Flash series, if you haven’t played I implore you to do so for it’s loads of fun.
The story, character and mecha designs were done Masamune Shirow himself making this game faithful to the source material.
The game’s narrative is told through mission briefings and anime FMVs which was directed and co-written by Hiroyuki Kitakubo whose some notable works include the anime classics Robot Carnival, Roujin Z, Golden Boy and Blood : The Last Vampire.
Speaking of FMVs there’s more than a dozen of those to be unlocked by clearing the training mission and progressing through the main story mission.
You’re too bald and fat to cosplay Heihachi Mishima, so shut you trap!
You take on the role of a Public Security Section 9 operative if you guessed that it’s Major Motoko, Batou or even Togusa you’re dead wrong. The game puts you in the shoes of their new recruit who happens to be the game’s silent protagonist.
Can’t you just go kaboom already?
My Fuchikoma is badly damaged and I’m sure the Major’s gonna pissed when she sees this!
I’m not gonna spoil the story but believe it’s fast paced with some plot twists. Instead I’ll give you a bit of a rundown of how the gameplay works. Like I said earlier you control a think tank robot called a Fuchikoma which has two machine guns one on each arm plus some homing missiles both of which has unlimited ammo. Default weapon is the machine gun while missiles act as a charged shot and there’s the grenades which you pick up alongside the health item that are scattered on each stage.
Fuchikoma: I already told a quintillion times I’m a Fuchikoma not Eugene Krabs!
There’s a total of twelve story missions and six training missions, the latter can unlocked if you meet certain conditions during story missions. I almost forgot to tell you that there’s some missions are governed by a time limit it’s that not frustrating as it sounds but enough to keep you on your toes. Enemies consist of cyborgs that armed from assault rifles to rocket launchers, some think tanks, helicopters and many more I almost forgot the level bosses which is the highlight of each stage. For a game that has a dozen stages it sure has some quite variety in it from a port warehouse to a high speed highway chase and the last couple of stage where you have to scale a skyscraper like John McClane did at Nakatomi building.
There’s a small reward waiting for if you finish the story missions without dying and that is a hidden picture of Motoko Kusanagi waiting for you!
My wife’s keeps on calling on my phone asking if I’ll be coming home late.
Geez, alright I’ll be wrapping this one up already.
This game is one of those short games that you can clear 100% in less than two hours if you don’t have the skill issues like myself. It’s one of the best anime/manga based game of its time. I can’t stress enough how I really love this game the fact that I’m not really into third person shooters should state that adequately.
Again thank you very much for reading.
This is Stingy Perry signing off!
Fun Fact
Did you know that Masamune Shirow drew all his lead female protagonists using a single face model. They only differ in eyebrows,hairstyles and hair color.
Last edited:
