Trapt (video game)
A princess frames traps to survive a deadly conspiracy.
Trapt, a 2005 PlayStation 2 title blending action and strategy, is the sole spin-off in Tecmo's Deception series. Players control Princess Allura, framed for killing her father, King Olaf, by her stepmother Catalina. After escaping into a forest with her friend Rachel, she gains the ability to set traps, her only defense against assassins. A PlayStation 3 emulated version launched as a PlayStation 2 Classic in North America on February 4, 2014.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Tecmo
- Designer
- Masaru Ueda; Hiroki Watanabe
- Director
- Akihiro Arahori; Makoto Shibata
- Producer
- Keisuke Kikuchi
- Composer
- Takashi Kouga
- Series
- Deception
- Released
- June 30, 2005 (JP)
- November 1, 2005 (NA)
- February 24, 2006 (EU)
- Genre
- Action-Strategy
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Players equip and create traps for Allura to bring into each mission. A mission begins in a specific room where traps are positioned to defeat enemies. Traps are classified by placement: wall, ceiling, or floor. Up to three traps of each type can be taken into a stage, and additional traps become available by completing the game. Enemy life bars appear at the top of the screen; Allura's life bar and active traps are shown at the bottom left and right respectively. Defeating enemies rewards the player with "warl", the in-game currency used to purchase new traps between missions. Room keys can also be bought to access other rooms. Besides main story missions, optional "side stories" offer different perspectives on the plot. The game has three official endings and a fourth that is not registered when saved. "Dark Illusions" are pre-existing traps found throughout the mansion, each located in a different room with a unique effect. Each Dark Illusion requires specific criteria to activate and can be used only once per level.
Plot
For most of the game, the player controls Allura, princess of Fronenberg, who is framed for her father's murder by her stepmother Catalina. With help from her maid Rachel, Allura escapes into a forest and enters a mansion where the Fiend Malphas grants her trap-controlling powers. Allura is later revealed to be Rachel's half-sister; her father used Allura as a pawn to awaken Malphas for a resurrection ritual. In the evil ending, Allura becomes Malphas's servant; in the possessed ending, her corpse is taken over if Malphas kills her; in the good ending, she presumably kills Malphas and becomes queen. Rachel, Allura's maid and close friend, is actually her older half-sister who sought to summon Malphas to complete her dead mother's revenge against King Olaf for abandoning Rachel's mother. Rachel learned about Malphas from her mother and became Allura's maid to gain Olaf's trust. In the evil ending, Rachel is murdered by Allura; in the possessed and good endings, if Allura refuses to fight her, Rachel is crushed under falling debris. She successfully summons Malphas after injuring Allura with a knife and using her blood. Rachel fights with a dagger and can use Allura's traps against her, but lacks an arm accessory when using powers. Catalina, King Olaf's second wife and secondary antagonist, resented Allura due to Olaf's longing for his first wife. She staged a coup and is killed by Allura after failing to negate Allura's trap-summoning ability.
Development
Producer Keisuke Kikuchi renamed the game Trapt from its original title Deception 4, considering it the start of a new series. The development team based traps on existing torture devices and historical items, collecting books and photographs for reference, then modifying them for a video game. Most traps came from staff ideas; some were inspired by comic books and films. Two weeks were spent generating an initial pool of 720 trap ideas, which after deliberation was narrowed to 45 through further screening. Hitoshi Hasegawa, the game's Director of Development and Promotion, stated that the "killer clock" Dark Illusion was inspired by a specific anime but did not name it. The more advanced PlayStation 2 graphics, compared to the original PlayStation, led to some traps being toned down for being too grotesque. Creating enemy artificial intelligence was difficult because each enemy behaves differently based on personality; some characters remember trap locations and avoid them or make comical evasive moves. The team enjoyed tailoring the AI for these humorous moments. All characters, including minor ones, have background stories, a feature Hasegawa noted the Deception series is known for in Japan. The team wanted players to feel guilt about defeating enemies.
Reception
Trapt received mixed reviews according to Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu scored it 31 out of 40 (one nine, one eight, two sevens). Reviewers generally found the overall content acceptable, but technical stability issues and a poor translation from Japanese reduced its quality. The slowdown in frame rate when traps activated drew criticism; Greg Mueller of GameSpot noted the frame rate grinds to a halt during trap activation. Louis Bedigian of GameZone suggested the slow pace made it a "wait and see RTS". Kristan Reed of Eurogamer cited a rubbish camera system and technical impoverishment. Tom Orry of VideoGamer.com called the in-game camera awful and the biggest problem. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer compared the game to a demonic version of Home Alone, criticizing repetition and limited scope, stating it had not advanced from the PSone Deception series. Despite technical issues, Trapt was praised for its uniqueness on the PlayStation 2 and its premise of killing pursuers, though most reviewers found faults that detracted from lasting impressions. Chris Roper of IGN commented that death and destruction is fun, and if that is all one expects, they will enjoy it. Benjamin Turner of GameSpy called it a decent execution of an original concept, except when bombarding players with questionable movie scenes. Richard Li of 1UP.com said the game encourages inventive killing but its flaws prevent a spectacular experience.
More in Tecmo Games
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced