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Daikatana
DeveloperIon Storm
Publishers
ProducerKelly Hoerner
DesignerJohn Romero
ProgrammerShawn C. Green
Artists
  • Jeremiah O'Flaherty
  • Eric Smith
WriterJorge Gonzalez
Composers
EngineQuake II engine
Platforms
ReleaseNintendo 64
Windows
GenreFirst-person shooter
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

John Romero's Daikatana, better known as simply Daikatana, is a 2000 first-person shooter action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive for Windows. A port to the Nintendo 64 was released the same year by Kemco. Players control a swordsmaster who travels through various time periods using the eponymous Daikatana, a powerful sword tied to the fate of the world.

Daikatana was directed by Ion Storm co-founder John Romero, a co-developer of the influential first-person shooters Wolfenstein 3D (1992), Doom (1993), and Quake (1996). Announced in 1997 as Romero's first game after leaving id Software, it underwent a troubled development that saw a change in its engine, release date delays, and the departure of several staff members. The protracted development, combined with promotion that focused on Romero's involvement over the game itself, resulted in negative publicity for Daikatana prior to its release.

Released in May 2000, Daikatana received generally negative reviews for its outdated graphics, gameplay, repetitive sound effects, and poor artificial intelligence. It also sold only 40,351 copies, becoming one of the biggest major commercial failures of the video game industry. Due to the negative response, a separate version for the Game Boy Color did not receive a North American release; it was released in Europe and Japan to a more positive reception.

Gameplay

[edit]
Gameplay of Daikatana

Daikatana is composed of 24 levels (18 in the console versions) divided into four episodes, with a varying number of levels per episode. Each episode represents a different location and time period: Japan in 2455 AD, ancient Greece in 1200 BC, the Dark Ages in Norway in 560 AD, and near-future San Francisco in 2030 AD.

One element that Daikatana stressed was the important role of Hiro Miyamoto's two sidekicks, Mikiko Ebihara and Superfly Johnson. The death of either sidekick resulted in failing the level, and their assistance was required to complete certain puzzles. Due to poor AI implementation, the sidekicks, who were one of the game's selling points, became a focus of criticism.[7] Tabs displaying the status of each sidekick are displayed on either side of the player's screen. When a sidekick moves too far away from the player their tab disappears. The player is also able to give the sidekicks commands such as Stay and Follow. [8]

As the player progresses through the game they are able to level various attributes to improve their skills. These attributes are Power, Attack, Speed, Acao and Vitality. [8]

Daikatana has a multiplayer mode which consists of two types of gameplay. Players can fight in a deathmatch style mode or race to collect treasure. In-game text chat is available in multiplayer mode[8]

Plot

[edit]

In feudal Japan, two rival clans, Ebihara and Mishima, are at war. Mishima goes to swordmaster Usagi Miyamoto to craft a weapon to end the conflict: the Daikatana. However, Usagi realizes Mishima's dark desires and gives the Daikatana to Ebihara; Inshiro Ebihara throws the sword into a volcano at the end of the war.

In 2455 AD, swordmaster Hiro Miyamoto is visited by a man named Dr. Toshiro Ebihara, a descendant of Inshiro who is suffering from a plague and about to die. Toshiro tells Hiro that Kage Mishima, the ruler of the planet, took over the world by stealing the Daikatana and using it to alter history. In 2030, he stole the cure to a viral plague and uses the cure to control the world's population. Mikiko Ebihara (Toshiro's daughter) has been captured while trying to steal back the Daikatana, and Hiro must rescue her and fix history.

Hiro storms Mishima's headquarters where he rescues Mikiko as well as Superfly Johnson (Mishima's head of security) who rebelled when he grew sick of Mishima's brutal totalitarian practices. Mikiko and Superfly join Hiro in his quest and steal the Daikatana. Mishima encounters the trio as they steal the sword, wielding a second Daikatana. Mishima sends the trio back in time to Ancient Greece. Hiro and Mikiko defeat Medusa, recharging the Daikatana as it absorbs Medusa's power. The three time jump once more, only to encounter Mishima again and be sent through time to the Dark Ages, stranded as the Daikatana has run out of energy.

The group finds a sorcerer named Musilde who offers to recharge the Daikatana if Hiro, Superfly, and Mikiko can save his village from the black plague. To do this, the group must defeat the necromancer Nharre, reassemble a holy sword called the Purifier, and use it to restore King Gharroth's sanity so that he may use the sword to end the plague. When King Gharroth recharges the Daikatana, Hiro and his allies time jump again to the year 2030. San Francisco has fallen to gangs and martial law has been declared by the military and Mishima.

The trio fights their way through a naval base where the Mishima is working on weapons. The ghost of Usagi enters Hiro's body and gives him full control over the Daikatana. With Usagi's knowledge and sword skills, Hiro slays Mishima. One of the Daikatana disappears, as its timeline no longer exists.

Mikiko steals the remaining Daikatana and kills Superfly, revealing that the feudal Ebihara clan was just as evil as the Mishima clan. She announces her intentions to use the Daikatana to restore the honor of her ancient clan and take over the world. Hiro defeats and kills Mikiko, then uses the Daikatana to fix history once and for all. The altered timeline concludes: the Daikatana is never found in 2455, the viral plague is cured in 2030, the Mishima clan never takes over the world, and Hiro exiles himself to a forgotten corner of the space-time continuum, safeguarding the Daikatana to ensure that it never falls into evil hands.

Development

[edit]
Ion Storm co-founder and Daikatana creator John Romero

Daikatana was conceptualized by John Romero, an influential developer whose résumé included founding titles in the first-person shooter genre (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake) when he worked at id Software. The game was developed by Ion Storm,[9] a company founded by Romero, Tom Hall, Bob Wright, Mike Wilson, Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty. Wilson, the CEO, was removed in November 1997, after using $30,000 in company funds to buy a BMW. Wright was removed by Porter and O'Flaherty in May 1998. Over 50 Ion Storm employees left after Wright's removal. Porter and O'Flaherty were fired in 1999, with rumors being that Romero was angry at Porter's interference in Daikatana.[10][11]

The aim was for the company to create games that catered to their creative tastes without excessive publisher interference, which had constrained both Romero and Hall too much in the past.[12] Daikatana was part of an initial three-game contract made between Ion Storm and expanding publisher Eidos Interactive; and the third title to be conceived at Ion Storm after Anachronox and what would become Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3.[12][13] Ion Storm received a $13 million advance from Eidos.[14] The game had a rumored budget of $30 million.[15]

Two main influences for Daikatana were Chrono Trigger and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,[16] of which Romero was a fan. He implemented the sidekick feature from the former and the mighty sword from the latter.[17] For the sidekicks, Romero wanted Mikiko and Superfly to do everything the player does in the game. Using 2001's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon as another reference, he wanted the sidekicks to do more than what the AI squads could do, like jumping, running, fighting and solving puzzles (the AI squads are locked to the ground and cannot jump). Romero later regretted this decision, as he found out that programming this feature was very difficult because the sidekicks ended up being buggy and unresponsive.[18]

In 1997, Romero compared Quake's seven weapons and 10 monsters across the game with 150 polygons to Daikatana's 35 weapons and 16 monsters per episode with 500 polygons. John Carmack stated that a game of that size could not be completed by its December release date.[19][14] Romero's design document for the game was 400 pages long.[20] Kee Kimbrell, the co-creator of DWANGO, was the lead programmer.[21]

The core concept was to do something different with shooter mechanics several times within the same game.[22] Romero created the basic storyline, and named its protagonist Hiro Miyamoto in honour of Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.[23] The title is written in Japanese kanji, translating roughly to "big sword". The name comes from an item in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign played by the original members of id Software, which Romero co-founded.[24] During this early period, the team consisted of fifteen people.[25] The music was composed by a team which included Will Loconto.[26] Christian Divine created the character Superfly Johnson, originally named Super Williams in honor of Super Fly and Jim Kelly's character from Enter the Dragon. He was originally of French descent with "his name taken from the few cultural documents left in the apocalyptic future" and his "character arc would be finding out his real identity at the end".[23]

The game was built using the original Quake engine and had a planned release date of December 1997. Romero saw the Quake II demo at E3 1997 and decided to switch to the Quake II engine, but did not receive it until February 1998.[27] A version of Daikatana on the Quake engine was shown at that year's E3 alongside Tomb Raider II "to a muted reception" according to Edge.[28][29] It was listed at 50% completed by August 1997.[30] This change resulted in many delays when finalizing the engine. The problems with programming the new engine contributed to the game being delayed from its projected 1998 release date.[13] Romero stated prior to release that he would have chosen the Quake II engine to develop the game from the start if given the chance.[31] Romero later ascribed some problems triggered in using the technology as being due to the rivalry manufactured by the company's marketing between them and id Software.[13] Due to the delays, development of the game ran parallel to Anachronox, Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3, and eventually Deus Ex.[13][32] Both Quake II and Quake III Arena came out before Daikatana.[33]

Something that further impacted production was the departure of around twenty staff members from the team, who either left Ion Storm or transferred to the Austin studio.[22][23] In 1998, lead artist Bryan Pritchard left the company and was replaced by Eric Smith.[34] According to Divine, the growing negative press surrounding the company had a further detrimental effect on development. Some of the backlash eventually led to his own departure for Ion Storm's Austin studio to work on Deus Ex.[23] Almost the entire team working on Daikatana left to join Gathering of Developers by 1999.[11] The most notorious incident was the public resignation of nine core team members at once, something Romero understood given the low team morale but felt as a betrayal of trust.[13][23] The departures led to the hiring of Stevie Case as level designer and Chris Perna to polish and add to character models.[35][36] 17 people, one-fifth of Ion Storm's employees, left in early 1999, and Corrinne Yu, director of technology, left for 3D Realms.[37] Only two staff members remained on the game for the entirety of its production.[22]

Problems reached the point that Eidos publishing director John Kavanagh was sent down to sort out problems surrounding its production.[38] In a later interview, Romero admitted there were many faults with the game at release, blaming the development culture and management clashes at Ion Storm, in addition to staff departures causing much of the work to be scrapped and begun over again.[13][22] Divine attributed the problems to a combination of overly carefree atmosphere, and corporate struggles about company ownership interfering with game production.[23] In a 1999 interview, Romero attributed the slowing of development during that period to the staff departures, but said that most of the level design and the entire score had been completed before that.[31] Wired listed the game 5th on the list of vaporware for 1999.[39] A sequel, using the Unreal Engine 1, was considered.[40][41]

Promotion and release

[edit]
The controversial advertisement for Daikatana

Daikatana was revealed in 1997, forming part of the opening publicity for Ion Storm.[12] In subsequent years, the press material focused almost entirely on pushing the company name and its lead developers, something later regretted by several of its staff. This was particularly true of Romero. This consequently drew Romero away from production, leading to further difficulties.[13][23][31] Public, journalistic and commercial confidence in the project was weakened by the repeated delays to its release date.[23][32] The situation was worsened when the Dallas Observer printed a story about the internal struggles of the Austin office, which cited both undercover interviews and leaked emails. The article prompted widespread publicity surrounding the staff departures and the company's financial status.[13][32] Romero responded by calling the claims of the article "both biased and inaccurate".[32] Later, Romero felt that their marketing's attempts to push the game only made Ion Storm and its core members come off as egotistical.[13]

Daikatana was advertised with a 1997 print ad with the phrase "John Romero's about to make you his bitch", which became notorious.[13][23] According to Mike Wilson, the ad was created by the same artist who designed the game's box art, under order of their chosen advertising agency. Both Wilson and Romero thought it was funny and approved it. Romero had second thoughts soon after but was persuaded by Wilson to let it pass.[13] Speaking ten years later, Romero said he went along with it as he had a reputation for similar crass phrases. He said that the reactions to the poster tarnished the game's image long before release and continued to affect his public image and career.[42] In a 2008 blog post, Romero attributed the marketing tactic to Wilson, prompting a hostile exchange of public messages between the two.[13][42][43] Romero told Retro Gamer that Sasha Shor designed the game's packaging and the ad.[44]

Daikatana was demoed at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The demo ran at a very low 12 frames per second,[20] which further damaged the game's public image. Staff member Jake Hughes remembered that Romero wanted changes made which crippled the demo tech and caused the issues, while Romero states that he had already departed for E3 and the upper management insisted on the changes when he was gone.[13] On April 21, 2000, Daikatana was completed and reached gold status.[45] A tie-in comic book was drawn by Marc Silvestri[46] and released by Top Cow for Prima Games' Daikatana: Prima's Official Strategy Guide.[47] The Nintendo 64 version was first released as a Blockbuster rental exclusive by Kemco in August 2000.[48] It was later released for retail on November 26, 2000.[49]

Daikatana received a 44 megabyte patch[50] and its final patch, version 1.2, was released on September 29, 2000.[51] Following the release of Daikatana and Anachronox, Ion Storm Austin decided to close the Dallas branch office in July 2001.[13][23] In the absence of any further official support after this closure, Romero gave the source code to community members, allowing them to develop additional platform ports (most notably Linux, macOS and other Unix-like systems) and bug fixes.[52]

Reception

[edit]

Sales

[edit]

Ion Storm's 1996 business plan projected that Daikatana would sell around 175,000 copies.[11] Before Daikatana's release, reports indicated that Ion Storm forecast sales of 2.5 million units, a number that GameDaily called necessary for the game "to become profitable".[20][53] According to American market research company PC Data, a week after its release, the game ranked number ten on their charts from the week of May 28 to June 3.[54] The computer version of Daikatana sold 8,190 copies in the United States by July 21, which drew revenues of $271,982. Mark Asher of CNET Gamecenter called this performance "a disaster".[55] According to PC Data, the game's domestic sales reached 40,351 units through September 2000.[56]

Reviews

[edit]

Jeff Lundrigan reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "This isn't the worst game you'll ever play, but there's precious little fun either. Two years out of its time, Daikatana is notable mostly for its mediocrity."[77] Entertainment Weekly gave it a "D", calling the game a "disaster" on the scale of the box-office bomb Waterworld.[82] PC Zone's review criticized the first episode as the worst part of the game and that "Romero's reputation is based on the fact that he is the daddy of game design. Daikatana must be his illegitimate child".[83] The second level in Greece was praised by Robert Coffey in Computer Gaming World as the game's best level.[84]

Computer Gaming World named it the worst game of 2000.[85] It was listed as the worst game of the year by Maximum PC's technical editor Will Smith and associate editor Geoff Visgilio.[86]

The Nintendo 64 version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[58][57] Nintendo Power's gave the Nintendo 64 version a score of 5.6 out of 10 stating that Doom on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was superior.[78] David Toole's review in GameSpot criticized the low amount of enemies in this version and the simplistic music, but praised the smooth in-game framerate despite the cutscene framerate being low.[87]

Retrospective analysis

[edit]

Since its release, the game has been called one of the worst video games of all time.[88][89][90] GameTrailers ranked the game as the second-biggest gaming disappointment of the 2000s, citing the game's terrible AI, pushed-back release dates, controversial magazine ad, and internal drama as "the embodiment of game's industry hubris."[91]

The game critic Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, on a retrospective episode of Zero Punctuation, also citing the development delays and the magazine ad, named Daikatana "one of the most notorious disappointments in the entire history of first-person shooters", comparing the game to Duke Nukem Forever.[92]

In 2010, Romero said that despite its shaky development and being considered one of the worst games of all time, Daikatana was "more fun to make than Quake" due to the lack of creative interference.[18]

Unofficial patch

[edit]
Daikatana v1.3
DevelopersFrank Sapone and others
Initial releaseJune 2, 2014; 11 years ago (2014-06-02)[93]
Stable release
08-17-2023 / August 17, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-08-17)
EngineQuake II engine
PlatformMicrosoft Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD
TypeUnofficial patch
Websitegithub.com/maraakate/daikatana/

Daikatana v1.3 (also referred to as the "1.3 patch"[94][95]) is an unofficial patch project started by modder and IT professional Frank Sapone and other modders.[95]

Upon request, Romero sent the complete source code for version 1.2 of the game to Sapone. However, the hard drive that was sent corrupted. After shelving it for five years, Sapone successfully compiled the source code. After this, Sapone enlisted the help of other modders to help work on the patch. Reportedly, by playing multiplayer matches of the game, it has helped Sapone find bugs and test the code's stability.[96] In 2014, the first version of the patch was released.[93] It is currently under active development.[97]

The project aims to fix various issues the game was criticized for and make general improvements:

  • Bug fixes
  • Faster loading times with an option to disable the sound effect[98]
  • Graphical fidelity[94]
  • Improved AI for the sidekick characters (including the options to make them invincible on the easy difficulty, increased health on other modes, or to play without them)
  • Fixed online multiplayer utilizing the QTracker service[95]
  • Support for widescreen (including 4K and 5K resolutions)[99]
  • HD textures
  • Glowmaps[100]
  • Ability to play the game on macOS (including systems with Apple silicon chipsets[101]), Linux,[96][102] and FreeBSD[103]

Jack Pooley of WhatCulture called it a "tectonic improvement" over the vanilla game.[94] Matteo Lupetti of Eurogamer said, "Thanks to these modders, Daikatana is a totally playable game now."[95] Speaking about the modders behind the project, Schnapple of Shacknews said, "they've delivered a version of the game that's improved the original considerably."[101] Rashko Temelkovski of GloriousGaming.com said, "thanks to these people, Daikatana is actually much better than you might remember it."[100] John Walker of Rock Paper Shotgun said, "while boosting it ... via the improbable existence of still-maintained Daikatana 1.3 fan project, nothing can fix what a leaden lump of clumsy unfun [Daikatana] truly is."[97]

Romero has praised and endorsed the project on his Twitter account.[104][105]

Game Boy Color version

[edit]
Main article: Daikatana (Game Boy Color video game)

The Game Boy Color version of Daikatana was released in Europe and Japan; publisher Kemco decided against the North American release due to the poor reputation of the Daikatana brand. The Japanese version was also only made available as a download for the Nintendo Power peripheral.[106] This version's gameplay differs greatly from the N64 and PC versions: at Romero's request, the title was adapted to the platform as a top-down dungeon crawler, in the style of early Zelda games such as the NES original and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.[106][107] In 2004, Romero released the ROM images for the Game Boy Color game on his website, for use with emulators.[106][108] Frank Provo for GameSpot gave the game a seven out of ten.[107]

See also

[edit]

References

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Works cited

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Daikatana

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from Grokipedia
Daikatana is a developed by and published by for Windows on May 23, 2000, with a port released on July 31, 2000. Directed by , a co-creator of influential titles like Doom and Quake, the game centers on Hiro Miyamoto, a skilled warrior who travels through time—from and medieval to near-future and a dystopian 2455 —to defeat the tyrant Kage Mishima, who has used the mythical Daikatana sword to conquer the world. Players control Hiro, accompanied by AI sidekicks Superfly Johnson and Mikiko Ebihara, utilizing over 24 weapons including an evolving Daikatana blade, in a mix of action, light role-playing elements, and multiplayer modes like deathmatch. The game's development, spanning from 1996 to 2000, was marked by significant challenges that contributed to its notoriety in the industry. , founded by and others in November 1996, initially aimed to complete Daikatana in six months using a modified but switched to the in 1997, leading to prolonged integration issues from November 1997 to March 1999. High staff turnover plagued the project, including eight key employees departing in November 1998 to join , and the team cycling through five lead programmers by launch. Ambitious features like AI companions and time-travel mechanics were hyped early, but a disastrous 1999 demo running at just 5 frames per second damaged expectations. Controversial further amplified the game's , with a 1997 advertisement boldly proclaiming "John Romero's about to make you his bitch," which alienated gamers and press alike. Upon release, Daikatana received mixed to negative reviews, criticized for repetitive level design, frustrating AI sidekicks that often hindered progress, technical issues, and failure to live up to the hype surrounding Romero's post-id Software debut. Despite its flaws, the title has garnered a for its unique setting and has seen modern enhancements through community patches improving compatibility and playability on current systems.

Gameplay and Story

Gameplay Mechanics

Daikatana is structured as a comprising 24 levels divided into four episodes, each set in a distinct historical or futuristic era that influences the environmental design and available weaponry. The episodes progress through , in 2455 AD; in 1200 BC; medieval in 560 AD; and , USA in 2030 AD. Players control Hiro Miyamoto, navigating linear yet expansive levels that incorporate enemy combat, environmental puzzles, and platforming sequences, all built on a modified supporting dynamic lighting and particle effects for immersive visuals. The weapon system emphasizes a mix of and ranged options, with era-specific tools enhancing variety. The titular Daikatana sword serves as the core melee weapon, starting basic but upgrading through five power levels gained via experience points from enemy kills, eventually delivering high damage and like bisecting the screen with energy. Firearms include the Blaster for long-range ricocheting shots and the Shotcycler-6 for close-quarters bursts, while episode-unique weapons such as the Trident in or the Kineticore rifle in futuristic settings provide freezing or piercing capabilities. Ammunition is scarce for powerful weapons like , encouraging strategic switching between tools. Light role-playing elements integrate into combat progression, where players earn experience points from kills to upgrade five character stats—speed, attack rate, vitality, power, and jump height—each up to level five, offering incremental improvements like faster movement or higher leaps. Health and armor are managed through pickups like life vases or protective gear, with temporary power-ups boosting specific stats during challenging sections. These upgrades provide conceptual depth to the shooter formula without overwhelming complexity. A companion AI system features Mikiko Ebihara and Superfly Johnson, who join the player in Episode 1 and accompany them across episodes, engaging enemies but following scripted paths; they can be commanded via options like "attack," "stay," or "fetch items." If a companion dies, the game ends, requiring protection, though their AI often leads to pathfinding issues or obstruction. Level progression blends shooting with interactive elements, featuring puzzles resolved through switches, key collections, or environmental manipulation—such as operating valves or breaking walls—and platforming via jumps, ladders, or weapon-assisted boosts like the Shotcycler's for added height. Controls support keyboard and for precise aiming and movement, including jumping and crouching, or alternatives, with mana-like power resources tied to stat upgrades enabling enhanced attacks. The time-travel theme manifests in mechanically diverse levels, from corridors to medieval castles, demanding adaptation to shifting threats and tools.

Plot and Setting

Daikatana features a time-travel narrative centered on Hiro Miyamoto, a master swordsman and descendant of the sword's original creator Usagi Miyamoto, living in the cyberpunk dystopia of 2455 Japan. Approached by the elderly Dr. Toshiro Ebihara, Hiro learns that the villainous Kage Mishima has stolen the mystical Daikatana—a powerful katana capable of slicing through time—and used it to alter history by assassinating key figures, including Ebihara himself in the past, thereby unleashing a global plague and establishing Mishima's tyrannical rule over a diseased world. Hiro inherits a second Daikatana from Ebihara and embarks on a quest to pursue Mishima across eras, restoring the original timeline through revenge and temporal intervention. Accompanying Hiro are two key allies who join him early in the adventure and provide support throughout the episodes. Mikiko Ebihara, Toshiro's daughter and Hiro's love interest, is a skilled whose reconnaissance and combat abilities prove essential in navigating hostile environments and confronting enemies in later time periods. Superfly Johnson, Mishima's former head of security who rebels against his tyranny, offers brute force and witty banter as Hiro's companion, particularly aiding in urban and high-tech confrontations within specific episodes. The story unfolds across four episodes, each representing a distinct era warped by Mishima's meddling, emphasizing themes of technological versus ancient traditions and the chaotic anachronisms resulting from timeline disruptions. Episode 1 is set in the neon-drenched, corporate-dominated streets of 2455 , where Hiro infiltrates Mishima's fortresses amid hovering drones and cybernetic foes. Episode 2 transports the group to circa 1200 BC, a realm of mythological beasts, warring lords, and epic architecture infused with supernatural elements. Episode 3 takes place in medieval around 560 AD, a plague-ravaged landscape of feudal knights, crumbling castles, and dark sorcery. Episode 4 culminates in a dystopian in an alternate 2030 AD, featuring high-tech research facilities and orbital threats in a bid to confront Mishima's empire. Cutscenes and in-game dialogue propel the narrative, highlighting the personal stakes of Hiro's revenge against Mishima while exploring the broader consequences of time manipulation, such as divergent histories blending modern weaponry with historical figures and creatures. The sidekicks' dynamic integration into encounters adds layers to the story's progression, though their mechanics are explored in gameplay sections. The Game Boy Color port adapts the plot to a simpler structure, reflecting earlier development concepts with condensed time jumps.

Development

Conception and Pre-production

was founded in November 1996 by , , and Mike Wilson in , , following Romero's departure from due to creative differences with . Romero, known for his design work on , Doom, and Quake, positioned Daikatana as his debut directorial project at the new studio, envisioning it as a groundbreaking that blended fast-paced action with RPG elements such as and companion AI characters. The game's concept centered on a narrative-driven adventure featuring the protagonist Hiro Miyamoto wielding a mystical daikatana—a "big sword" in Japanese—across eras including 1200 B.C. , medieval , 2030 , and a dystopian 2455 , aiming to surpass Quake's technological focus with deeper storytelling. Eidos Interactive signed on as publisher, providing Ion Storm with a $13 million advance to fund the project, which employed over 50 staff—three times id Software's size at the time—and supported three autonomous design teams under Romero's leadership as lead designer. Initial team members included Hall, who handled RPG aspects, and Todd Porter for strategic elements, with the studio emphasizing content and design over pure technology. Daikatana was publicly announced at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Atlanta, where Ion Storm showcased a demo highlighting cyberpunk levels on a modified Quake engine, featuring 35 weapons, 64 monsters, and interactive allies to build hype for a planned Christmas 1997 release. The event marked a key pre-production milestone, though the demo was rushed, with unfinished monsters and dialogue completed just days prior. Early development began with id Software's , licensed for its proven capabilities in rendering dynamic action, but in November 1997, acquired the source code to enhance efficiency and visual fidelity amid evolving industry standards. The switch, intended as a brief update, extended into 1998 and contributed to scope adjustments, with the source code received in February 1998 and full integration not completing until January 1999. Initial budget estimates projected around $30 million for the full , reflecting ambitious plans for episodic and multi-platform support, with total costs rumored to approach $30 million, including additional funding that reached about $25 million by 1999 due to retooling needs.

Production Challenges

Development of Daikatana officially began in March at , with an initial target release for 1997, but scope creep and engine-related problems led to multiple delays, pushing the final launch to May 2000. The project started with a modified before switching to a modified after 1997, a decision that required extensive rewriting and contributed significantly to the timeline extension, as the conversion proved far more complex than anticipated. By late 1999, an announced December release was further postponed to spring 2000, following beta testing that uncovered around 500 bugs and persistent performance issues. John Romero's leadership style, characterized by a strong emphasis on his personal vision and a "design is law" approach, resulted in micromanagement that fostered internal conflicts and staff burnout. This contributed to exceptionally high employee turnover, with more than half of Ion Storm's approximately 85 staff members from a year earlier having left by early 1999, leading to over 50 people cycling through the project overall, including five lead programmers. Key departures included the core "Ion Eight" team in November 1998, who cited unworkable conditions and formed their own studio, Third Law Interactive. The integration of companion AI for characters like Superfly Johnson and Mikiko proved particularly technically challenging, as the ambitious pathfinding and behavior systems often failed, causing companions to get stuck or malfunction during testing. Adapting the to incorporate RPG elements, such as inventory management and narrative depth, introduced severe performance problems, including slow rendering and optimization hurdles that plagued builds throughout development. Level design revisions for the game's four distinct time periods—ranging from to a futuristic —exacerbated these issues, extending periods of intense crunch time as teams reworked overly complex environments to fit technical constraints. In the final push, developers cut back on planned features and reduced the overall scope to meet the deadline, including simplifying some multiplayer elements that had been demoed earlier. The project's escalating costs strained Ion Storm's finances and its relationship with publisher , approaching $30 million in total investment by 1999, including an initial $13 million advance and additional funding to cover overruns from office expansions and monthly operating expenses exceeding $1 million. In April 1999, Eidos acquired a 51% stake in Ion Storm in exchange for additional advances to stabilize the company amid these budgetary pressures.

Promotion and Release

Marketing and Hype

The marketing campaign for Daikatana was spearheaded by publisher , which provided a $3 million advance per game as part of its investment in Ion Storm's initial projects including Daikatana. This budget supported a high-profile strategy that heavily emphasized John Romero's celebrity status from his work on Doom and Quake, positioning him as the "star director" to capitalize on his rockstar image in the gaming press. Campaigns included full-page magazine advertisements created by the Richards Group, which ran in major publications starting in spring 1997. A cornerstone of the early hype was the provocative 1997 print ad featuring the slogan "John Romero's about to make you his bitch," intended to evoke the edgy intensity of Romero's previous successes but instead drawing widespread criticism for its sexist undertones. The ad, approved reluctantly by Romero and spearheaded by CEO Mike Wilson, appeared across outlets like and Computer Gaming World, but backlash from gamers and media led to its swift removal from future campaigns. Following complaints, discontinued the slogan, with Romero later expressing regret over its inclusion in a 2010 interview, calling it a "terrible decision." Public events played a key role in building anticipation, including a 1997 press tour where Romero showcased early prototypes to journalists, fostering glowing previews such as Time magazine's coverage that hailed him as a whose work "turns to gore and gold." and Eidos presented demos at the from 1997 to 1999, with trailers highlighting the game's time-travel mechanics across eras like ancient and futuristic worlds. Partnerships with gaming media outlets resulted in numerous previews emphasizing promised innovations, such as advanced AI companions and a narrative-driven structure, framing Daikatana as "the future of the FPS genre." Tie-in merchandise and co-marketing efforts further amplified visibility, including ads that paired Daikatana's protagonist Hiro Miyamoto with characters from other Eidos titles like . However, announcements of development delays in 1998 and 1999—pushing the release from a targeted 1997 holiday window—began to erode public trust, compounded by a poorly performing 1999 demo that ran at just 5 frames per second. These setbacks shifted perceptions from excitement to skepticism, despite the campaign's initial success in generating massive pre-launch buzz.

Platform Releases

Daikatana was initially released for Microsoft Windows in on May 23, 2000, by publisher . The European release followed on June 9, 2000, also handled by Eidos. The Japanese release followed on June 30, 2000. These dates came after significant development delays that pushed the title from its originally planned 1997 launch. The game was distributed in a boxed retail edition, which included a printed manual and a CD featuring the original soundtrack with 18 MP3 audio tracks composed by Damjan Mravunac and . managed global distribution following Ion Storm's completion of development, leveraging their established network for PC titles. Upon launch, the press embargo was lifted on the release day, allowing immediate reviews and coverage, with the game available primarily through retail channels in and . Early previews had been distributed digitally to select outlets prior to launch, but full availability remained physical retail-focused given the era's distribution norms. The minimum system requirements for the Windows version were Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/2000, a Pentium 233 MHz processor or equivalent, 32 MB of RAM, and a DirectX-compatible 3D graphics accelerator card with at least 4 MB of video RAM (64 MB RAM and Pentium II 300 MHz recommended). The game supported DirectX for rendering and audio. Post-launch support included official patches released in 2000 to address stability issues. Version 1.1, issued on July 20, fixed crashes and added features like unlimited saves but could corrupt existing save files. The subsequent 1.2 patch, released on September 22 for the UK version and September 29 internationally, targeted remaining bugs such as texture loading errors, though its scope was limited and did not fully resolve all reported problems.

Versions and Ports

Nintendo 64 Version

The port of Daikatana was developed by and initially launched as a rental-exclusive title in on August 24, 2000, with full retail availability following in November 2000; a European release occurred on May 26, 2000, while a Japanese version had debuted earlier on April 7, 2000. To accommodate the 's hardware limitations, particularly the 16 MB (128 Mbit) cartridge capacity and the need for the Expansion Pak, the port condensed the original PC edition's 24 levels across four episodes into 18 levels by merging segments and streamlining content. Graphics were simplified with lower-resolution textures and models compared to the PC version, while enemy AI was adjusted for reduced complexity to fit memory constraints; certain puzzles and RPG-like elements, including interactive AI companions required for progression in the original, were omitted entirely. Controls were adapted to the N64 controller, utilizing the for player movement and camera panning, but the absence of a precise mouse-look system—common in PC first-person shooters—resulted in imprecise and clunky aiming mechanics. Technical adjustments included scaled-down resolutions (typically 320x240) to maintain performance, alongside compressed audio streams that preserved core sound effects and music but at lower fidelity than the PC release. Load times were minimized through cartridge-based streaming, supplemented by in-game HUD mini-maps to guide navigation without frequent interruptions. Released alongside the PC version, the N64 port drew criticism for exacerbating the original's shortcomings, such as outdated visuals and sluggish responsiveness, while introducing console-specific issues like further degraded graphics and unresponsive controls. It earned an ESRB Mature (M) rating due to animated and gore, as well as animated involving intense combat sequences.

Game Boy Color Version

The Game Boy Color version of Daikatana was developed by Will Co., Ltd. and published by , serving as a handheld adaptation of the original . It launched in on September 29, 2000, and in on May 1, 2001, but received no North American release owing to the PC version's negative reception and unfavorable market conditions at the time. Shifting from the PC original's genre, this iteration adopts a top-down action-adventure format reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, emphasizing exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat across multiple levels divided into four time periods. The core time-travel narrative—where protagonist Hiro Miyamoto journeys through eras to reclaim the powerful Daikatana sword from the villain Kage Mishima—is retained but significantly simplified, drawing from an earlier 1999 storyline that predates the final PC plot revisions. Controls rely on the Game Boy Color's standard for movement and buttons for actions, enabling fluid navigation in 2D overhead views. Hiro is joined by companions Mikiko and Superfly Johnson, who assist in puzzles and combat, though the emphasis remains on Hiro's solo swordplay and ranged attacks using weapons like the titular Daikatana (which can fire short-range projectiles when charged) and era-specific guns. The game features colorful 8-bit-style sprites themed to each historical period, such as futuristic cyberpunk or ancient ruins, contributing to a visually distinct handheld experience. Compared to the PC release, the Game Boy Color edition is notably shorter, completable in approximately 4 hours of playtime, and tuned to a lower difficulty level with forgiving and puzzle mechanics suited to portable sessions. It supports battery-backed saves for progress retention across playthroughs.

Reception and Legacy

Commercial Performance

Daikatana's PC version achieved limited commercial success, with 40,351 units shipped in the United States by September 2000 according to firm PC Data. The game's sales were insufficient to recoup the $13 million advance provided by publisher . This shortfall was exacerbated by the game's release during a period of market saturation in the genre, where established titles such as Half-Life and Quake III dominated sales charts. The port, delayed until November 2000 in , saw limited commercial success, undermined by its late arrival amid competition from superior contemporaries like and the waning popularity of the console. Meanwhile, the Game Boy Color adaptation received a limited release exclusively in and , bypassing the market entirely; available data indicate modest performance. Financially, Daikatana's underperformance contributed significantly to financial strains on , prompting Eidos to substantial development costs and further straining the ongoing partnership between developer and publisher. The excessive pre-release hype surrounding the title led to high initial return rates from retailers and rapid discounting within months of launch, compounding the commercial disappointment.

Critical Reception

Upon its release in May 2000, the PC version of Daikatana received mixed to negative reviews, with an aggregate score of 56% on based on 50 ratings. Critics frequently criticized the game's use of the aging , resulting in outdated graphics that failed to compete with contemporaries like Quake III Arena or [Unreal Tournament](/page/Unreal Tournament). Repetitive level designs and intrusive companion AI, particularly the sidekicks Superfly Johnson and , were common points of contention, as the companions often obstructed gameplay and delivered grating dialogue. awarded the PC version 5.8 out of 10, describing it as mediocre due to graphic glitches, odd crashes, and uninspired single-player content. Sound design also drew complaints for repetitive effects that felt half-baked, detracting from immersion. The port, released in November 2000, fared worse, earning an aggregate score of around 49% across contemporary reviews, including IGN's 4 out of 10. Reviewers highlighted additional technical shortcomings, such as sloppy controls—exacerbated by awkward ducking mechanics requiring simultaneous button presses—and severe texture pop-in that made navigation disorienting. The port's muddy, anti-aliased visuals amplified the PC version's graphical flaws, rendering environments blurry and unappealing. Boring level design and dumb enemy behaviors further compounded the issues, leading critics to call it an average shooter at best. In contrast, the Game Boy Color version, released in December 2000, was better received for its adaptation as a top-down dungeon crawler rather than a direct FPS port, earning a 7 out of 10 from . It was praised for its portability and competent execution on handheld hardware, featuring an intricate plot across 32 levels with clever puzzles and unique bosses in a superdeformed . However, reviewers noted its shallowness compared to the PC original, citing stiff controls, limited color palette, and subpar audio with few sound effects and repetitious tracks. Overall, Daikatana garnered no positive awards and was frequently cited in end-of-year polls as one of 2000's worst games, with Computer Gaming World naming it the year's lowest-rated title due to its unmet hype and technical deficiencies.

Retrospective Views

In the early 2000s, Daikatana solidified its status as a cautionary tale in the gaming industry, exemplifying the perils of excessive hype overshadowing actual delivery and severely impacting the reputation of its director, John Romero. The game's troubled launch and critical backlash contributed to Romero's departure from Ion Storm in 2001, alongside co-founder Tom Hall, as the studio grappled with the fallout from prolonged development delays and unmet expectations. This period marked a shift in perceptions of Romero, transitioning him from a celebrated id Software pioneer to a figure emblematic of overambition in the burgeoning FPS genre. By the 2010s, reassessments in gaming media began to acknowledge Daikatana's underlying ambition, particularly its innovative time-travel narrative spanning eras from to a future, even as execution flaws like outdated graphics and buggy AI were reiterated as key failures. Articles such as Kotaku's 2010 piece on Romero's public apology for the game's provocative marketing highlighted how the project's scale—envisioned as a 24-level epic—reflected bold creative risks that ultimately faltered under technical constraints. It frequently appeared in lists of gaming's biggest flops, underscoring lessons in mismanaged development cycles. Daikatana's cultural legacy endures as a symbol of dot-com excess in the , where lavish funding and celebrity developer egos clashed with unrealistic timelines, fueling broader discussions on crunch and studio sustainability. Historians like David Kushner in Masters of Doom (2003) portrayed it as one of the most hyped failures in video-game history, a echoed in later analyses of Ion Storm's hubris-driven collapse. Romero himself later reflected on it as a "tremendous learning experience," emphasizing perseverance amid the 's high-stakes environment. In modern playthroughs and retrospectives, enthusiasts have spotlighted quirky level elements, such as the humorous "Hosportal" vending machines and varied environmental themes, with some defending the core level design's creativity despite persistent AI shortcomings in companion mechanics. Romero's 2023 memoir Doom Guy: Life in First Person offers a personal reevaluation, framing Daikatana within his broader career without major revisions to its legacy. While no significant updates emerged in 2024 or 2025, the game continues to receive mentions in FPS history as a pivotal, if flawed, experiment in genre evolution.

Community Efforts and Mods

The Daikatana 1.3 patch, developed primarily by Maraakate and a team of contributors including Knightmare, caedes, htr, and Yamagi, was first released in June 2014 and has received ongoing updates, with the latest build dated December 24, 2024. As of November 2025, no further updates have been released. This unofficial patch addresses many of the game's original technical shortcomings by fixing thousands of bugs, enhancing behaviors, and adding modern compatibility features. Key improvements in the 1.3 patch include refined AI node paths for better enemy and companion navigation, options to disable or make sidekicks invincible to mitigate frustrating escort mechanics, and extensive crash fixes for stability on contemporary hardware. It also introduces native support, , anisotropic filtering, stencil shadows, and HD texture compatibility with glowmaps, alongside faster loading times and V-Sync corrections. For cross-platform play, the patch provides 64-bit executables for Windows (including legacy 9x support via ), , , and macOS, broadening accessibility beyond the original PC release. Multiplayer functionality has been revived through netcode optimizations like compressed packets and corrected bounding boxes, enabling connections via community servers such as DKMPA on . Beyond the 1.3 patch, the Daikatana modding community has produced smaller-scale additions, primarily hosted on ModDB since around 2010. These include the User Map Pack with eight multiplayer maps by various authors, a single-player level called dkbase, a custom CTF duel map (CTF-1on1-8AudiBuster) with unique textures and sounds, and texture enhancements like BrightMaps and some TrueColor Textures for improved visuals. Due to the engine's limitations and the lack of official modding tools or release, no large-scale overhauls or total conversions have emerged, keeping efforts focused on incremental fixes and content tweaks. The 1.3 patch and related mods have significantly revived interest in Daikatana among retro gaming enthusiasts, making the title more playable on modern systems and fostering ongoing discussions in communities like forums. The project's repository remains active, with a public bug tracker inviting contributions and issue reports to refine the patch further. As an unofficial endeavor, the 1.3 patch and associated mods operate without endorsement from current rights holder , which acquired publisher in 2009, yet they have faced no reported takedowns and are freely distributed via reputable sites. As of November 2025, has announced no official remaster or enhanced edition of Daikatana.

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