Ever played Daikatana?

[Waffles]

Like, REALLY played it?

I know that tearing it apart has been a gaming tradition before the game even released (no doubt because of all the huge claims and insulting marketing the final product couldn't back up or make good on) but... it's not that bad? It's certainly no masterpiece or anything, but I enjoyed my time with it once that horrendous first episode was over and they finally patched out the need to have your lemming-like AI companions getting themselves killed every five seconds. I'd even argue that it is a pretty cool game once you get past those --glaring-- issues.

Strangely, the shortness of the N64 version (it was shaved down to about a quarter of its size) and the completely reimagining of the GBC version make them much more enjoyable than the PC version ever was.

If anyone has like an hour to kill, this video goes over a lot of what went wrong with the game and its troubled development. Definitely recommend giving it a watch if you had never heard of it:

 

[DunkeyKong]

Never heard of it but damn the video is hilarious

 

[Don Patch]

No, I've not.
I love Romero tho! I always thought it'd be cool if he went back and fixed the thing; kinda patched it up to be more like what he/they had planned for it to be.
Who knows? Maybe some day?

On paper, it seems like it would be a rad game.

 

[Strategist]

Haven't played Daikatana but I love John Romero. His youtube channel is great and he interviews a lot of legends of game development. It is clear to me that he is very passionate about his craft. The narrative around Daikatana never sat well with me. I know the ad campaign was unfortunate but many in the gaming media were attacking him personally for the flop. It is kind of silly when game development is such a complicated process with so many moving parts and people involved.

 

[Waffles]

Haven't played Daikatana but I love John Romero. His youtube channel is great and he interviews a lot of legends of game development. It is clear to me that he is very passionate about his craft. The narrative around Daikatana never sat well with me. I know the ad campaign was unfortunate but many in the gaming media were attacking him personally for the flop. It is kind of silly when game development is such a complicated process with so many moving parts and people involved.


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I agree, man.

Some sick arses in the press were even saying that he had killed himself over the flop, which would never, ever fly today.

Besides, the ad campaign wasn't even his doing.

That said... he was responsible for the engine change that led to this whole debacle in the first place, and also for hiring tons of hobbists without any actual experience and putting them through crunch time immediately after starting their professional lives.

There is a very telling incident when he went to oversee the art department and found an ex-Marvel artist working on a beautifully detailed arrow spanning the whole screen, but no-one had bothered to inform him that the arrow would be just a few pixels wide in-game.

At least we got Deus Ex outta this. And Anachronox.

 

[Strategist]

I agree, man.

Some sick arses in the press were even saying that he had killed himself over the flop, which would never, ever fly today.

Besides, the ad campaign wasn't even his doing.

That said... he was responsible for the engine change that led to this whole debacle in the first place, and also for hiring tons of hobbists without any actual experience and putting them through crunch time immediately after starting their professional lives.

There is a very telling incident when he went to oversee the art department and found an ex-Marvel artist working on a beautifully detailed arrow spanning the whole screen, but no-one had bothered to inform him that the arrow would be just a few pixels wide in-game.

At least we got Deus Ex outta this. And Anachronox.

I'm not saying he was great in the studio lead role. But like you pointed out, the personal attacks were extremely vindictive for some reason. For someone who before this position had only worked on creating some of the best video games in history. Maybe there was some rivalry between him and the media I wasn't aware of, maybe he had a big ego in real life or maybe it was plain jealousy. Not sure.

 

[Mopeybloke]

I've never played it, but my impression is this game would probably be well liked if it weren't for the mandatory companions. The companions could very well be there for coop only and story sequences, and people would probably appreciate the level design, weapons, and player controls more. I have a hard time thinking it isn't inherently playable based on the engine it's made on.

 

[Waffles]

I've never played it, but my impression is this game would probably be well liked if it weren't for the mandatory companions. The companions could very well be there for coop only and story sequences, and people would probably appreciate the level design, weapons, and player controls more. I have a hard time thinking it isn't inherently playable based on the engine it's made on.

Great point.

The N64 version kept the companions on the cutscenes only and that resulted on a much more playable game.

The game seems to have a healthy multiplayer community, too.

 

[eroguro]

Only in my teenage days. And if I remeber well, I used to like a lot this game.

 

[BinaryMessiah]

I rented this for N64 as a kid and had no idea what the hell I was even playing. I returned it the same day. It was a confusing mess. I remember the level design being terrible and impossible to navigate.

 

[Adrastia]

Haven't played Daikatana but I love John Romero. His youtube channel is great and he interviews a lot of legends of game development. It is clear to me that he is very passionate about his craft. The narrative around Daikatana never sat well with me. I know the ad campaign was unfortunate but many in the gaming media were attacking him personally for the flop. It is kind of silly when game development is such a complicated process with so many moving parts and people involved.


View attachment 1828

I've never played it. In fact, this ad and the jokes it generated after the game didn't live up to hype, are the only things I know about it. It is available on Steam. I might buy it at a deep discount just to see what it's like.

I've never played it, but my impression is this game would probably be well liked if it weren't for the mandatory companions. The companions could very well be there for coop only and story sequences, and people would probably appreciate the level design, weapons, and player controls more. I have a hard time thinking it isn't inherently playable based on the engine it's made on.

What's the deal with them? Are they very annoying and never shut up? Do they get in your way? I'm wondering if it's something like RE: Outbreak where the AI characters seem hellbent on getting themselves killed.

 

[Strategist]

I've never played it. In fact, this ad and the jokes it generated after the game didn't live up to hype, are the only things I know about it. It is available on Steam. I might buy it at a deep discount just to see what it's like.

Don't get me wrong, from what I've seen it is an objectively bad game. Some people enjoy bad games, but it isn't something one should spend money on.

What's the deal with them? Are they very annoying and never shut up? Do they get in your way? I'm wondering if it's something like RE: Outbreak where the AI characters seem hellbent on getting themselves killed.

From what I remember of the reviews, the AI companions were braindead stupid and had no sense of preservation. If they died, the player would get a game over. That was the main issue.

 

[Waffles]

What's the deal with them? Are they very annoying and never shut up? Do they get in your way? I'm wondering if it's something like RE: Outbreak where the AI characters seem hellbent on getting themselves killed.

They are very passionate about getting themselves killed. They can't do any pathfinding. They yell random stuff all the time. They hoard resources the player needs. They don't have much of an instinct for fighting back... and they are kinda racist stereotypes (or so it is said).

 

[Mopeybloke]

You also must have the companions with you to finish a map. If they get stuck on the way, you must kite them around the map, and they don't like lifts much.

 

[VampireLord1024]

I haven't played it but I know of that game thanks to an old JonTron video.

 

[Waffles]

You also must have the companions with you to finish a map. If they get stuck on the way, you must kite them around the map, and they don't like lifts much.

Hearing Hiro say "I can't leave without my buddy Superfly / I can't leave without Mikiko" almost gave me PTSD the first time around.

 

[Adrastia]

They are very passionate about getting themselves killed. They can't do any pathfinding. They yell random stuff all the time. They hoard resources the player needs. They don't have much of an instinct for fighting back... and they are kinda racist stereotypes (or so it is said).

That does sound really annoying. I hate games where you get a game over when other characters die. Especially when said characters seem to have no desire to survive in the first place.

 

[BananaJane]

It's a good game that everybody pretends to hate but they've never played it

Post automatically merged: Dec 1, 2024

Haven't played Daikatana but I love John Romero. His youtube channel is great and he interviews a lot of legends of game development. It is clear to me that he is very passionate about his craft. The narrative around Daikatana never sat well with me. I know the ad campaign was unfortunate but many in the gaming media were attacking him personally for the flop. It is kind of silly when game development is such a complicated process with so many moving parts and people involved.


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The story of the ad is that the guy kept bugging john romero to have it be the ad and and John thought it was stupid and just said okay just out of exhaustion

 

[Michael Frank]

The patch that comes with the GOG version removes the companions, the first section in the future is a slog but the rest are smooth sailing, some good i might add, its a very fun game in coop and funny altogether, i recommend it but be aware of the first levels in the future.

 

[draken0605]

Why AvGn didnt review Daikatana yet?

 

[Waffles]

Why AvGn didnt review Daikatana yet?

He never learned how to duck past that first obstacle XD

 

[Parasite_Steve]

I played it once in the early 2000s when I found it in the bargain bin. Emphasis on once is very intentional. I'm curious to try a patched modern version but the original one was really as bad as everyone is saying. Compared to other first person shooters of the turn of the millenium it was just laughable.

 

[BigTony]

Daikatana is pretty good especially now with fan patches. The first few levels kinda suck but once you get out of the swamps it really picks up.

 

[Cu-Neo]

John Romero is going to make you his bitch!
And
I love how the GBC version is a genuine good zelda clone made by kemco the guys who release like one trillions of rpg maker games on android. (and they also did Batman Dark Tomorrow)

 

[RageBurner]

I played the GBC one actually and quite liked it.

The other versions I stayed well and far away from, I don't think I'd want to suffer through them. The game seemed quite advanced for its time, pretty forward thinking, but just having good moving parts a good machine does not make - they have to work together in harmony. It wasn't the case with Daikatana.