Daikatana (GBC video game)

Did You Know?

• Daikatana features a top-down perspective and super-deformed character designs.
• The game stars Hiro Miyamoto, whose enemy Kage Mishima steals the Daikatana and kidnaps his friend Mikiko.
• Gameplay includes dungeons with puzzles and bosses, similar to early The Legend of Zelda titles.

Development

Daikatana was directed by Takeo Mogi, a freelance designer working for publisher Kemco. Mogi stated that a previous game, erroneously called a Game Boy Color Quake sidescroller, had sold and reviewed poorly, leading John Romero to want a different direction for this title. At Romero's request, and because a Kemco staffer wanted to make an action RPG in the vein of The Legend of Zelda, the game was designed to resemble The Legend of Zelda for the NES and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Mogi played the PC version of Daikatana and read the script provided by Romero to gather ideas. He initially planned to draw kanji incorrectly, reflecting how Western depictions of Japan often mix up Chinese and Japanese, but dropped this to avoid embarrassment if Nintendo's quality assurance pointed it out. Kemco announced it would publish the game in the United States, with a release date of December 17, 1999, though it could be pushed to January or February 2000. When IGN joked that the Game Boy Color version might release before the delayed PC version, other media outlets picked up the story, prompting Kemco to issue a press release denying this. Kemco later cancelled the North American release due to the brand's negative reception, while the Japanese version was distributed as a Nintendo Power download. An unreleased version was later made available by Romero on his website.

Reception

Before its release, Daikatana for the Game Boy Color generated positive buzz. IGN staff liked what they saw at E3, believing the game’s differences from the troubled PC version were actually an advantage. They praised the demo’s visuals and gameplay, especially its Japanese-inspired style. It came in second place for IGN’s best handheld adventure award at that E3. GameSpot’s Yukiyoshi Ike Sato compared it to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Secret of Mana, and while he thought the demo was easy, he saw potential.

After launch, the game was generally well-received and is considered a high-quality title, especially compared to the poor reviews of other versions. It holds a 79.38% score on GameRankings. Reviewer Frank Provo enjoyed the game, complimenting its puzzles and instant save feature, but disliked the lack of an overworld and the stiff controls. He liked the visuals, noting that while character models lacked color variety, the world was colorful and the animations were strong. However, he criticized the sound for having too few effects and poor use of the GBC’s two-channel MIDI. Lucas Sullivan called it a “little GBC gem for those who bothered to give it a chance.” Scott Sharkey was disappointed it was canceled in America, as he felt it was a better game than the PC and N64 versions. He found the translation “wonky” and the characters mechanically similar, but considered these minor flaws.