History VideoGame / Daikatana

* SuperDrowningSkills: The GBC version, where jumping into water causes sinking, but similar to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' only causes minor damage. In Greece, there's shallow water that safe to pass while deep water causes drowning. In the final stage, any water causes drowning even when some enemies are able to run right across it.

Produced by Creator/IonStorm and running on a modified version of the ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' engine, ''Daikatana'' is Creator/JohnRomero's infamous FirstPersonShooter, released for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and PC in 2000. It is notable for being released [[ScheduleSlip several years later than planned]]; looking very outdated when it ''was'' released; several people publicly quitting the development team (some of which [[StartMyOwn formed together and]] [[VideoGame/KissPsychoCircusTheNightmareChild made games of their own]]); the ill-advised advertisement; and laughably poor AI on your required companions.

A UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of the game was also released in Europe in 2000 and Japan in 2001, though for obvious reasons it is more of a ReformulatedGame than a port or remake (featuring ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''-like isomeric gameplay and having heavier emphasis on roleplaying elements as a result). Said version doesn't share its bigger brother's rather infamous reputation, and is actually considered a classic on the system. The Japanese release was one of a number of games exclusive to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Power_(cartridge) Nintendo Power]] flash cartridge service (no relation to [[Magazine/NintendoPower the magazine]] of the same name).

There's also a famous Let's Play from 2007 for this game; you can see it [[https://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ here]]. The game was [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/242980/ released]] on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and [[https://www.gog.com/game/daikatana GOG.com,]] if you have $6.99 ($5.99 at [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]]).

* CharacterSelectForcing: In the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version, the story sometimes requires the player to play as Superfly and Mikiko for no good reason (for example, there is a door that only Mikiko can open, but why play ''as'' her when [[PartyInMyPocket she's in the party at all times?]]). The problem is that they can't use many of the available weapons.

* PartyInMyPocket: In the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version, resolving the EscortMission problem, yet adding CharacterSelectForcing at times. The companions have a limited weapon selection, including some of the ranged weapons.

* SequentialBoss: Kage Mishima in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version.

* EscortMission: The game ends if either of your TooDumbToLive AI partners dies, and you can't finish a level if they are trapped elsewhere in it - probably because of the cutscenes they are in later. You will be shouting "[[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper Stop Helping Me!]]" far more often than you'd like. Made more bearable by the AI commands, allowing you to simply order them to hang back while you clear the place out.

* FakeDifficulty: The game was claimed to be an "expert FPS", more difficult than what shooter players were familiar with up to that point, but the simple fact is that a lot of the difficulty comes from unfair sources: the game is riddled with bugs and minor errors, the AI sidekicks are a chore even at the best of times, there are several points where you need to make use of {{speedrun}}ning techniques to avoid damage from unfairly-placed enemies (and that's ignoring other points where you're simply forced to drop from high places and take damage to proceed), and even those who can get past any of that have to deal with the game front-loading [[ScrappyWeapon terrible guns with obnoxious mechanics]] that waste time and ammo (the automatic shotgun with a sticky trigger, the melee upgrade that takes several seconds to switch between while it's active) or damage you at least as much as your target (the ion blaster with shots that always seem to home in on you after two bounces, two different explosive weapons with huge blast radii and [[HitboxDissonance terrible hit detection]] to make them detonate in your face).

* GameplayAllyImmortality: Oh so painfully absent. Notable because a [[GoodBadBugs glitched]] cheat allows the player to enable it, which actually circumvents a lot of what makes the game hard to enjoy.

* ImAHumanitarian: Guess what's in the back room of the Mishima Burgers factory. Go on, ''guess.''

* MisbegottenMultiplayerMode: See ObviousBeta below. The designers didn't think of ensuring that scripting still works properly in co-op.

* ObviousBeta:
** The game is riddled with bugs, ''especially'' the co-op mode - early highlights in the LetsPlay by [[https://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ Proteus4994 and Suspicious]] involve their needing to abandon the original plan of playing the game completely unpatched because they would invariably crash at the first map transition in the opening level, and then having to noclip through a door in the second level that was supposed to open in the starting cutscene, but didn't because cutscenes are disabled in co-op. Again, [[EpicFail these are the first two levels in the game.]]
** The game's official demo was even worse -- not least because the installer's self-extractor was broken, requiring you to use [=WinRAR=] or a similar program to manually extract the installation files. Moreover, the first level transition quite often caused a bug that would corrupt your save file and prevent the game from starting until you deleted the file.

[[LetsPlay/{{Daikatana}} There's also a famous Let's Play from 2007 for this game]]; you can see it [[https://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ here]]. The game was [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/242980/ released]] on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and [[https://www.gog.com/game/daikatana GOG.com,]] if you have $6.99 ($5.99 at [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]]).

A UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of the game was also released in Europe in 2000 and Japan in 2001, though for obvious reasons it is more of a ReformulatedGame than a port or remake (featuring ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''-like isomeric gameplay and having heavier emphasis on roleplaying elements as a result). Said version doesn't share its bigger brother's rather infamous reputation[[note]]the GBC version is far more polished[[/note]], and is actually considered a classic on the system. The Japanese release was one of a number of games exclusive to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Power_(cartridge) Nintendo Power]] flash cartridge service (no relation to [[Magazine/NintendoPower the magazine]] of the same name).

* {{BFS}}: The titular Daikatana takes up a third of the screen when you wield it and doesn't kill what you hit; a lethal blow reduces your target to 1 hit point, so you get to finish it off with an extra blow. Its name even literally translates to "big sword", sort of. In the N64 version, the sheath alone is almost as long as Hiro is tall.

** The Nintendo 64 version of the game has a bizarre glitch. If you quit a level and go back to the main menu then try to continue your game, you will spawn with no weapons except the Disruptor Glove (the absolutely useless melee weapon you're given at the start of the game). You have to select "load game" again before continuing the game to circumvent the glitch.

* BadassInANiceSuit: In the N64 version, Kage Mishima sports this look instead of the elaborate samurai armor from the PC version.

* BigBad: Kage Mishima.
* BigNo: Done by Hiro when he's first sent back in time with the Daikatana.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Although he's not the first victim in general, Superfly is the first one of the trio (Hiro, Mikiko and him) to die in the final level. Averted in the GBC version, where he's simply knocked out first and instead dies right after Mikiko.]]

* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Mikiko]] falls in a pit of lava at the end of the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version as Hiro [[DeadlyDodging dodges]] her attack. Superfly also falls trying to save her.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:After wrestling with Inshiro Ebihara, Hiro's ancestor Usagi was mortally wounded and then, he threw himself along with the Daikatana in the Fujiyama's volcano.]]

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Mikiko Ebihara. Also, she tries to seize the Daikatana for herself at the end of the game.]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Subverted. After killing Superfly, Mikiko reveals that the Ebiharas were a bunch of bandits and cutthroats who wanted the Daikatana for their own selfish ends, just like the Mishimas.]]

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: J. Paul Slavens voices Hiro Miyamoto with an American accent.

* PostFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Mikiko, who tries stealing the Daikatana at the last minute.]]

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Toshiro Ebihara. He doesn't survive the intro, but is the one who gets the whole game rolling by convincing Hiro to search for his daughter Mikiko and the Daikatana.

* SoulBrotha: Superfly Johnson. Just the fact that his name was taken straight from a {{Blaxploitation}} [[Film/SuperFly movie]] should already make him qualify. According to [[https://www.salon.com/2002/01/02/ion_storm/ this article]] by one of the game's original writers, the character's "name" was Superfly Williams - a tribute to the blaxploitation series and Jim Kelly's character from ''Film/EnterTheDragon''. Initially conceived as a French character named after the few surviving cultural documents existing in the post-apocalyptic future, the end of the game would have seen him learn his true identity. After that writer left, the laziest possible route was taken.

* TakenForGranite: Superfly gets turned to stone by the medusa after the trio gets separated in 1200 BC. He gets better [[NoOntologicalInertia after you kill it.]]

* VillainHasAPoint: Kage Mishima warns Hiro to not trust one of his companions. [[spoiler:He was right and Mikiko lampshades it]].

A UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of the game was also released in Europe in 2000 and Japan in 2001, though for obvious reasons it is more of a ReformulatedGame than a port (featuring ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''-like isomeric gameplay and having heavier emphasis on roleplaying elements as a result). Said version doesn't share its bigger brother's rather infamous reputation[[note]]the GBC version is far more polished[[/note]], and is actually considered a classic on the system. The Japanese release was one of a number of games exclusive to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Power_(cartridge) Nintendo Power]] flash cartridge service (no relation to [[Magazine/NintendoPower the magazine]] of the same name).

* BlockPuzzle: The GBC port requires moving crates need to form a jumping staircase. The conventional pushing blocks to form a path appears in the medieval period to reach the priest. Leaving the screen resets these puzzles.

* {{Engrish}}: The GBC port was made by Tecmo rather than Ion Storm, and it shows.

** The Nintendo 64 port of the game has a bizarre glitch. If you quit a level and go back to the main menu then try to continue your game, you will spawn with no weapons except the Disruptor Glove (the absolutely useless melee weapon you're given at the start of the game). You have to select "load game" again before continuing the game to circumvent the glitch.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The story claims that if two Daikatanas touch, it could destroy all of existence. During the boss fight with Mishima, you can smack your sword against his with an audible clank, and nothing happens. Averted in the GBC port, which prevents the player from using the Daikatana during the final battle (although there's still a mid-game cutscene where the manifesting dragons collide).

* {{Medusa}}: Humanoid with a snake head, who petrifies the player if looked at. To defeat her, you need to look away and use one of the superweapons. The GBC port doesn't have a superweapon, but the trident provides a ricochet shot.

* SuperDrowningSkills: GBC port, where jumping into water causes sinking, but similar to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' only causes minor damage. In Greece, there's shallow water that safe to pass while deep water causes drowning. In the final stage, any water causes drowning even when some enemies are able to run right across it.

* FakeDifficulty:
** Three major points of contention. The game is riddled with bugs and minor errors, the AI sidekicks are a chore at best and an active hindrance most of the time, and almost every weapon has some [[ScrappyWeapon obnoxious mechanic]] that's liable to waste time (the automatic shotgun with a sticky trigger) or damage you (everything else).
** One particular example in the very first level: Hard difficulty adds a turret that can chew you up in seconds at a specific junction, which is only just ''barely'' passable without taking damage by bunny-hopping at top speed - otherwise, say goodbye to half your health.[[note]]That sort of thing would lend some credence to the "expert FPS" argument, except that the game also has multiple ''required'' drops that sap a lot of your health - and only a handful of them give you a Goldensoul or other healing items to make it less painful.[[/note]]

* ForeignLanguageTitle: Mind you, not ''[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign correct]]'' foreign language. The developers [[GratuitousJapanese are not alone in using the word]], of course. The characters on the box are okay, and can be pronounced "dai" and "katana" individually, but when characters are combined together, they can have different pronunciations. In this case, the overall word would be pronounced "daitō". Besides, katana has no distinct large version; the term actually used to describe large swords in Japan is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cdachi "Odachi" or "Nodachi"]] - as in, "great tachi", referring to the sword that was predecessor of the katana.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:After killing Mishima the various timelines created by his time meddling start collapsing and Hiro and co rush to recharge the Daikatana so they can make it back to their own time. Then suddenly Mikiko steals the sword, kills Superfly and reveals that the Ebiharas wanted to use the power of the sword for their own selfish ends just like the Mishimas did. After killing Mikiko, Hiro uses the Daikatana to rewrite history so that Mikiko and Superfly (with no memory of Hiro) are alive again and for some reason living in 2030 AD working with Tatsuo (with no comment as to Mikiko being Tatsuo's great-great-etc descendant) as he searches for the Daikatana in vain, and Hiro becomes a hermit in the same time period keeping the Daikatana in hiding, as well as what looks like Art/TheMonaLisa.]]

* GameplayAllyImmortality: Oh so painfully absent. Notable because a [[GoodBadBugs glitched]] cheat allows the player to enable it. At which point the game starts being kinda ''fun''...

* HyperactiveMetabolism: One of the healing items in the first time period are fruits growing from small bushes a la the Nali healing fruit from ''VideoGame/{{Unreal|I}}''.

* IMeantToDoThat: John Romero claimed after the fact that the game was an "expert FPS" that was intentionally designed to super difficult, and while there is some evidence that bears this out[[labelnote:Example:]]the hardest difficulty places an auto-turret around one corner, which will shred you to pieces if you just try to run through, but bunnyhopping past usually nets enough speed to avoid damage entirely[[/labelnote]], for the most part his explanation sounds more like this trope.

** The game is riddled with bugs, ''especially'' the co-op mode - early highlights in the LetsPlay by [[https://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ Proteus4994 and Suspicious]] involve their needing to abandon the original plan of playing the game completely unpatched because they would invariably crash at a spot halfway through the first level, and then having to noclip through a door in the second level that was supposed to open in the starting cutscene, but didn't because cutscenes are disabled in co-op. Again, [[EpicFail these are the first two levels in the game.]]

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Toshiro Ebihara. He's the one who convinces Hiro to search for his daughter Mikiko and the Daikatana. Also, he's killed by Mishima's hitmen-ninjas right here in the intro.

Produced by Creator/IonStorm and running on a modified version of the ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' engine, ''Daikatana'' is Creator/JohnRomero's infamous FirstPersonShooter, released for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and PC in 2000. It is notable for being released [[ScheduleSlip several years later than planned]]; looking very outdated when it ''was'' released; several people publicly quitting the development team (some of which [[StartMyOwn formed together and]] [[VideoGame/KissPsychoCircusTheNightmareChild made games of their own]]); [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch the ill-advised advertisement]]; and laughably poor AI on your required companions.

* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: The infamous "John Romero's About To Make You His Bitch" ad.

* BookEnds: The GBC version ends with Hiro being asked to fight against a dictatorship. [[spoiler:It's character and name swapped.]]

* GuideDangIt: As noted by ''WebVideo/JonTron'' in his [[https://youtu.be/8hdxuRCMh0I?t=535 review]] for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 [[PortingDisaster version]], the game doesn't contain any control tutorial in the menus, nor is there any pop-up in the game itself that shows what controls would be necessary to perform certain actions. When he comes up to a place where he needs to crouch to continue, he's left completely stumped until he goes online and finds out the controls is "R+A"...when the "L" button is left completely unused.
-->'''[=JonTron=]''': Now, may I remind you THIS IS THE FIRST THREE MINUTES OF THE GAME!

A UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor version of the game was also released in Europe in 2000 and Japan in 2001, though for obvious reasons it is more of a ReformulatedGame than a port (featuring ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''-like isomeric gameplay and having heavier emphasis on roleplaying elements as a result). Said version doesn't share its bigger brother's rather infamous reputation[[note]]the GBC version is far more polished[[/note]], and is actually considered a classic on the system. The Japanese release was one of number of games exclusive to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Power_(cartridge) Nintendo Power]] flash cartridge service (no relation to [[Magazine/NintendoPower the magazine]] of the same name).

[[LetsPlay/{{Daikatana}} There's also a famous Let's Play from 2007 for this game]]; you can see it [[http://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ here]]. The game was [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/242980/ released]] on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and [[https://www.gog.com/game/daikatana GOG.com,]] if you have $6.99 ($5.99 at [[Website/GOGDotCom GOG.com]]).

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: In real history the Medieval bubonic plague pandemic didn't reach the Nordic countries until the 14th century; there was a plague epidemic in Europe in the 6th century but it didn't spread beyond the Mediterranean.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Although he's not the first victim in general, Superfly is the first one of the trio (Hiro, Mikiko and him) to die in the final level. Averted in the GBC version, where he's simply knocked out first and instead dies right after Mikiko.]]
* BlockPuzzle: The GBC port requires moving crates need to form a jumping staircase. The conventional pushing blocks to form a path appears in the medieval period to reach the priest. Leaving the screen resets these puzzles.
* BodybagTrick: The intended method of entering the fortress in the prologue, but the coffin falls out because of a large bump in the road.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: After wrestling with Inshiro Ebihara, Hiro's ancestor Usagi was mortally wounded and then, he throwed himself along with the Daikatana in the Fujiyama's volcano.]]

** Your untimely death can be brought about by (among other things) cyborg frogs, crocodiles and dragonflies, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplites Hoplites]], sharks, dwarves, rats and ''[[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace your own weapons]]''. Not even by accident, either; much of your arsenal seems tailored to be just as dangerous to you as it is to everything else.

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: Mikiko Ebihara. Also, she tries to seize the Daikatana for herself at the end of the game.]]

* ForeignLanguageTitle: Mind you, not ''[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign correct]]'' foreign language. The developers [[GratuitousJapanese are not alone in using the word]], of course. The characters on the box are okay, and can be pronounced "dai" and "katana" individually, but when characters are combined together, they can have different pronunciations. In this case, the overall word would be pronounced "daitō". Besides, katana has no distinct large version; the term actually used to describe large swords in Japan is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodachi "Odachi" or "Nodachi"]] - as in, "great tachi", referring to the sword that was predecessor of the katana.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler: After killing Mishima the various timelines created by his time meddling start collapsing and Hiro and co rush to recharge the Daikatana so they can make it back to their own time. Then suddenly Mikiko steals the sword, kills Superfly and reveals that the Ebiharas wanted to use the power of the sword for their own selfish ends just like the Mishimas did. After killing Mikiko, Hiro uses the Daikatana to rewrite history so that Mikiko and Superfly (with no memory of Hiro) are alive again and for some reason living in 2030 AD working with Tatsuo (with no comment as to Mikiko being Tatsuo's great-great-etc descendant) as he searches for the Daikatana in vain, and Hiro becomes a hermit in the same time period keeping the Daikatana in hiding.]]

** The game is riddled with bugs, ''especially'' the co-op mode - early highlights in the LetsPlay by [[http://lparchive.org/Daikatana/ Proteus4994 and Suspicious]] involve their needing to abandon the original plan of playing the game completely unpatched because they would invariably crash at a spot halfway through the first level, and then having to noclip through a door in the second level that was supposed to open in the starting cutscene, but didn't because cutscenes are disabled in co-op. Again, [[EpicFail these are the first two levels in the game.]]

** Each era has a weapon that is designed for rocket-jumping, and it (at least in theory) propels you enough that you don't get hurt by splash damage: the Sidewinder in Kyoto, Poseidon's Trident in Greece, the Ballista in Norway, and the Kineticore in San Fransisco. As above, though, some other weapons also work for this purpose, like the aforementioned Shotcycler in Kyoto or the Slugger's secondary fire in San Francisco.

** In the 2nd part of the Plague Village level, you can find under the bridge a secret underwater area containing the [[Videogame/CommanderKeen Dopefish]].

* TrailersAlwaysLie: The finished game looks '''nothing''' like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECDQ0ykwus&feature=related this trailer]].

* VillainHasAPoint: Kage Mishima warns Hiro to not trust one of his companions, [[spoiler: He was right and Mikiko lampshades it]].

* GratuitousJapanese: In addition to the game's title, the name of every main character who isn't Superfly Johnson. It seems that Romero simply picked whatever cliched Japanese name or word came to his mind for his characters. At least the main character's family name is a tribute to Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto, as well as UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi (which is fitting for a swordmaster).

* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: Not only within the individual weapon sets, but even ''with'' the sets themselves: you start out with a weak melee attack and "upgrade" to ion blasters, auto-shotguns, and various explosive devices that are just as dangerous to you as they are to your enemies. After you get the Daikatana, you're sent to other time periods for the next three episodes, where you start getting weapons that are skewed ''much'' closer towards killing the target and not the user.