Game Spotlight: killer7

E3 2010 is on the way and we’ll be seeing lots of media regarding many new games on the way… which means it’s a good time to take a little look into the past at a game that very few people played but is very much appreciated by most of those who did.

“Look. I’m a cleaner. I can feel no remorse from seeing a dead body. To me, it’s merely cold, rotting flesh.”
— Garcian Smith

I have previously mentioned killer7 in my entry for No More Heroes so it seemed only natural to talk more about the game since NMH has gained Suda51 a lot more fans than he used to have. Of course, as I said in that previous entry, killer7 is a different kind of game than killer7 and although it contains Suda51’s unique styles, it is in many ways alien to No More Heroes…

“Shit! There’s more than 14. Those bastards are breeding…”
— Dan Smith

killer7 was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and is one of Suda51’s most complex works, however to ensure that this game was even made required the backing of Shinji Mikami and Capcom. The game itself takes some getting used to as you enter it not knowing exactly what to expect… at least that’s the way I felt when I first played the game. I didn’t know who Suda51 was at the time and I can’t remember exactly what persuaded me to buy the game, but whatever it was, I’m glad I did.

“I’m not a monster, it’s only a mask.”
— Mask de Smith

Cel-shading seems to have been all the rage with the sixth-generation of home consoles. Jet Set Radio, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joe, XIII and killer7 are only a handful of games that bear their own forms of cel-shaded visuals from that generation. Developers quickly realised the potential for the style and we’ve enjoyed the benefits of it over the years. Of course, the cel-shading is only one of the elements that make up what is a very strange game.

Let me explain just how strange it is…

The controls of killer7 will seem strange to most, going by the GameCube version, you press A to go forward, B to turn around and R to go into first person view so you can shoot. The whole game is set on rails, however you have the ability of reaching junctions where you use the control stick to determine which path you want to follow. However, despite the inclusion of these intersections, the game is strictly linear with the only true decision left up to the player at the end of the game.

“I’ve changed my makeup, did you notice? Ah, men. They never notice, these kinda things.”
— Kaede Smith

While there is a PlayStation 2 version of the game, it had many limitations compared to its GameCube counterpart including slower load times, lower frame-rates and the lack of a big A button… I know, it seems like a trivial thing to not have a big A button, but if and when you play killer7, you’ll understand exactly why it’s so important. The game was made specifically with the GameCube controller in mind with the PlayStation 2 version being a port.

“Wow, it’s the handsome men! Awesome!”
— Con Smith

Without going into spoilers, the group known as “killer7” is made up of seven of the worlds most powerful professional assassin’s under the command of a mysterious man named Harman Smith. Garcian Smith leads the group in the field and has the ability to revive his fallen comrades; Dan Smith is the resident badass of the group and an instant favourite of many; Mask de Smith is a former wrestler of the Lucha libre who still uses his powerful wrestling moves to great effect; Kaede Smith is the only female of the group and has the ability to defeat barriers by slitting her wrist and spraying her blood everywhere; Coyote Smith is the South American thief that can get his way past any padlock; Con Smith is the youngest of the group and also happens to be blind; finally, Kevin Smith is an albino who doesn’t speak, uses throwing knives and is able to turn invisible…

All of what I have told you so far is only what the game wants you to know at the beginning. Just as every other game created by Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, there’s a lot more to it… and most of it will just weird you out in different ways.

“Pfff… You’re fucked.”
— Coyote Smith

The story takes place in “the future” in an era where world peace has been declared and there are no nuclear weapons. Despite this era of supposed peace, a terrorist organisation known as the Heaven Smiles wreaks havoc on the world and threatens to destroy this peace. The group known as killer7 are the only ones who have the ability to oppose the Heaven Smiles and their leader Kun Lan. As you discover early on in the game, there is a mysterious connection between Harman Smith and Kun Lan that spans beyond any human concepts… trying to explain any more than that will be pointless since most of it will just fuck your mind up anyway.

“…”
— Kevin Smith

There are a lot of people who passed up the chance to play killer7, but I feel that if it weren’t for the small measure of success that this game had achieved then I don’t think that No More Heroes would have been made such as it is. Also, Suda51 has expressed some interest in returning in some way to killer7… whether it will be a port of the game for Wii or a kind of sequel, who knows… the possibility is unfortunately very slim, but I’d like to see it happen so that more people can experience just what a fuck up game this really is… (laughs)

“Good night, child. It’s past your bedtime.”
— Harman Smith