History VideoGame / AkujiTheHeartless

-->--Akuji, in the game's opening

'''Akuji the Heartless''' is an action-adventure video game developed by Creator/CrystalDynamics and published by Creator/EidosInteractive.

Notably one of the last video game released by Creator/EidosInteractive at the tail-end of the 1990s. It was released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation on December 31, 1998, in North America and February 1999 in Europe. The game received mixed reviews from critics upon its release.

The voodoo priest and warrior, Akuji (voiced by Creator/RichardRoundtree) was murdered during his wedding. Having his heart forcefully ripped out by his brother, Akuji is doomed to wander the gates of hell, until an encounter with Baron Samedi (yes, ''that'' [[UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} Baron Samedi]]) grants Akuji a chance to resurrect himself; by travelling the underworld, collecting the souls of his ancestors, Akuji can redeem a second life and return to the plane of living. And thus begins Akuji's mission of revenge, although things aren't what they seemed...

* MixAndMatchCritters: The second boss, Okal, a GiantSpider with a ''dragon's'' head. Who can spit fire.

* WarriorMonk: Akuji is a priest by default, but that doesn't mean he couldn't kick plenty of ass.

* WingedHumanoid: Harpies, winged women capable of launching fireballs, shows up in later levels.

* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: Akuji dies before the story even starts, with the rest of the game revolving around his attempts to return to the land og living. Lampshaded by Akuji himself in the game's opening.

!!Akuji the Heartless Contains Examples of:

* MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: Akuji dies before the story even starts, with the rest of the game revolving around his attempts to return to the land og living.

->''"From my childhood, I'd been told that only the strong survive. That the strong will rule. That power is the reward of a virtuous life. I led a virtuous life. I'd mastered the art of life. My weapons were an extension of my will. For spiritual power, I studied the ways of voodoo. The rituals of blood sacrifice. To channel the gods and unleash their wrath upon my enemies. I was to wed Kesho, the eldest daughter of the Tanko tribe. The marriage of our tribes would have secured my family's control over the ruling class of Mamora. The wedding rites were interrupted by my sudden murder. Though my life was taken by bitter treachery, my struggles did not end. Sometimes death is just the beginning..."''

* PowerFloats: Messngers of Hell are horned EliteMook enemies who tends to float around Akuji while throwing energy bolts at him. They're among the tougher enemies Akuji can encounter in the game.

* HollywoodVoodoo: Just like so many misrepresentations, this game's representation of Voodoo uses elements of Obia.

->'''Akuji:''' From my childhood, I'd been told that only the strong survive. That the strong will rule. That power is the reward of a virtuous life. I led a virtuous life. I'd mastered the art of life. My weapons were an extension of my will. For spiritual power, I studied the ways of voodoo. The rituals of blood sacrifice. To channel the gods and unleash their wrath upon my enemies. I was to wed Kesho, the eldest daughter of the Tanko tribe. The marriage of our tribes would have secured my family's control over the ruling class of Mamora. The wedding rites were interrupted by my sudden murder. Though my life was taken by bitter treachery, my struggles did not end. Sometimes death is just the beginning...

* MixAndMatchCritters: The second boss, a GiantSpider with a ''dragon's'' head. Who can spit fire.

* TheGrimReaper: Baron Samedi fulfills this purpose in the game [[spoiler: until in the later levels he turns out to be the true villain]].

TheOneWith... A voodoo warrior prince fighting his way through the underworld to get back to the land of the living.

** The most you'll see of the sandworms are their heads, which sticks out of the soil and extending themselves to chew at Akuji. Once defeated, the head detaches, the bodies shrinks back to the soil, and the rest of the monster remains unseen.

* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: One of the last levels, which is set on a floating ship sailing forever in the abyss, which is constantly tilting.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Akuji's main weapon is his bone shiv, which is attached to his wrist and can slice up enemies in hell.

* FeatheredFiend: Giant ostriches are among the animal-based enemies which shows up in the starting levels, and later on in the jungles.
* GiantMook: The half-Minotaur enemies and zombie rhinos, which are much larger than Akuji and absorb plenty of hits before dying.

** One of the numerous enemies Akuji will encounter are half-zombies, whose body ends at their lower torso. They move by crawling around with their hands, lashes out with their exposed spine which functions like a scorpion's tail, and are surprisingly agile despite their predicament.

* MixAndMatchCritters: The second boss, a GiantSpider with a ''dragon's'' head. Which can spit fire.

* RhinoRampage: Among the animal-based enemies, Akuji will also face ''zombie'' rhinos, which serves as GiantMook-varieties of foes.

* SuperMode: One of the rarer power-ups, which can transform Akuji into a panther-like BeastMan. In this form, Akuji's weapons are his talons instead of shivs, and can even kill GiantMook enemies in just a handful of hits.

* WaddlingHead: Late in the game's second half, another recurring enemy type comes in the form of giant skulls on spider-legs, which attacks by crawling towards Akuji and biting.

* Tall zombies will split into half by the waist after they're killed.

* CainAndAbel: The main villain responsible for Akuji's predicament is Orad, his evil brother, who arranged for Akuji's murder and is instigating a clan war with Akuji's abscence.

* BigCreepyCrawlies: The shores of hell are filled with giant beetles, which are easy to defeat and serves as a warm-up for players in the earlier levels.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Akuji himself, as well as his bride Kesho, befitting the game's Carribean-themed setting.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: One of the numerous enemies Akuji will encounter are half-zombies, whose body ends at their lower torso. They move by crawling around with their hands, lashes out with their exposed spine which functions like a scorpion's tail, and are surprisingly agile despite their predicament.

* HiddenVillain: [[spoiler: Baron Samedi, initially appearing to be Akuji's benefactor, turns out to be [[spoiler: behind Akuji's murder and is manipulating Akuji into collecting his ancestor's souls for him so that he may escape the Underworld and enter the land of mortals]].

'''Akuji the Heartless''' is an action-adventure video game developed by Creator/CrystalDynamics and published by Creator/EidosInteractive. It was released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation on December 31, 1998, in North America and February 1999 in Europe. The game received mixed reviews from critics upon its release.