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Killer is Dead Import Impressions

H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Didn't see this thread.
This is a thread for everyone who wants to share/read impressions from the Japanese version of KiD released this Thursday.

Bought it for 7k yen (sold today for 5,1k). Clearing the Normal mode took me 7 hours 20 minutes according to the in-game statistics:
aqkZFId.jpg
Click to expand...
I've ignored most of the optional content (few gigolo missions aside), so if someone wants to do find all the secrets/do the challenges etc., it will probably take more than that.

Quick summary of the good/bad points of the game (PS3 version):
+ Gameplay is fun most of the time. Plowing through enemies gives a lot of satisfaction.
+ Graphic style is really good. It gives the game an unique feeling.
+ Most boss fights.
+ Most of the characters
+ Some of the dialogues.
+ Story for most of the missions. It was really crazy in a good way.

- The amount of cutscenes and loadings. Some were funny/interesting, but I was usually waiting for the action to start. It was the worst in the first few missions and got a bit better later.
- Screen tearing.
- Camera. Uh, it went crazy during the first fight with normal enemies in a small room. Not too terrible in larger areas.
- Mika. So loud and annoying.
- Low difficulty of normal missions. Even if you die, you have a lot of continues that revive you on the spot.
- Japanese voices and lip sync. Had to switch to the English voices because it was so annoying.
- Length. It's way too short.
- Gigolo mode gets old REALLY fast.

All in all, I don't think that KiD is a bad game, but it sure as hell isn't worth the full price, especially given its length.

About the infamous Gigolo mode:
I think there was a lot of misunderstanding because of the video that surfaced last week (?).
These missions basically boil down to:
1. Look at the girl's body. This gives "guts".
2. You need guts to give her a present.
3. Give her a present, which fills a heart bar. Once it's full, you win.

If she notices you staring, health goes down, once it reaches 0, you get hit in the face.
The X-ray glasses, which allow you to see girl's lingerie are completely optional and are a preorder bonus.

As for the gigolo missions being 'optional', out of the 3 that I've done, the first 2 gave me sub-weapons. So yeah, it's better to do them.

All in all, the mode isn't as terrible as some say, but the worst part is that it gets boring extremely fast.

Impressions from other Gaffers:
RS4- said:
I've been posting my impressions on gamefaqs as I've already finished it; picked up the game on Wednesday from local import shop.

Took 9 hrs to finish 95% of the game. Then another 4 hours on very hard.

I did not enjoy NMH because of the controls (on wii then ps3/360). I never got around to playing Killer 7 or Lollipop.

But average game, really like the graphics, which are typical Suda 51. I did have some shitty screen tearing, but that was very early on in the game.

The hardest part about the combat mechanics is getting timing down for the counter/dodging. It isn't as lenient as Bayonetta or MGR. Some bosses will put you in some really annoying stun lock, which require you to mash your left stick. Don't expect to do a lot of weapon switching or anything. I only used one of the sub weapons for 90% of the game when required. Really useful for, I think two of the bosses as it does huge chunks, also for stunning bigger enemies and groups of enemies.

Gigolo missions are just a waste of time. I do suggest you go through it at least twice just to get the sub weapons; do it successfully three times if you want to get the trophies. The cat glasses (that let you see through their clothes and what gifts they like) is just a grind to get if you haven't unlocked the trial missions; since redoing them successfully only gets you 50 points...and you need 1000 to get the cat glasses.

About the cat glasses and Scarlett
the cat glasses will break if you ruin your date with the other two girls; so you'll have to grind those 1000 points again to get new glasses!

I don't know what to say about the game, I enjoyed Bayonetta more. Probably a shit comparison anyway.

I'll post more impressions when I get the game back from a friend. I just don't have any desire or reason to continue playing it as the rest of the trophies/achievements I need are just stuff I don't want to bother with (AAA everything, etc)
Click to expand...
Sou said:
Been playing this game, and it is a technical mess. Constant screen tearing and it can become disorienting even just moving the camera around.

Very interesting design and theme throughout the game for those who likes pop culture, grindhouse related things.

Combat is what I would call godhand lite. The system is dependent on get up close to the enemy/boss and from there you can execute different combinations/skills while dodging or guarding incoming attacks. Doing this well allows you to unleash more stylish attacks or execution moves. It's not a bad system, but nothing extraordinary.

If a patch comes and fixes the technical issues with this game, it is a solid purchase for Suda fans.
Click to expand...
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Screen tearing, huh?

Wonder if the 360 version will be better in that regard.


In any case, I'm still in. Thanks for the detailed impressions.
 
V

Visualante2

Member
How does the combat compare to say No More Heroes? Regarding the difficulty, are you saying it's too easy or too hard? Same RE: Length, too long or too short?
 
S

Silky

Banned
Hasemo said:
Quick summary of the good/bad points of the game (PS3 version):
+ Gameplay is fun most of the time. Plowing through enemies gives a lot of satisfaction.
+ Graphic style is really good. It gives the game an unique feeling.
+ Most boss fights.
+ Most of the characters
+ Some of the dialogues.
+ Story for most of the missions. It was really crazy in a good way.

- The amount of cutscenes and loadings. Some were funny/interesting, but I was usually waiting for the action to start. It was the worst in the first few missions and got a bit better later.
- Screen tearing.
- Camera. Uh, it went crazy during the first fight with normal enemies in a small room. Not too terrible in larger areas.
- Mika. So loud and annoying.
- Difficulty level of normal missions. Even if you die, you have a lot of continues that revive you on the spot.
- Japanese voices and lip sync. Had to switch to the English voices because it was so annoying.
- Length.
- Gigolo mode gets old REALLY fast.
Click to expand...

The ones I bolded sounded like the negatives boiled down to your preference. I love difficulty in an action game, as well as length. So the only thing I have to worry about are the camera and screen tearing?

Very interested in playing the game now!

How deep is the combat? Are there unlockable difficulties? New Game+?!
 
M

Mileena

Banned
Good OP, gonna wait for the $10-20 used price like I did with Lollipop given some of those complaints. This sure as hell isn't gonna sell so that should only be a few months wait.
 
L

LonelyGreyWolf

Banned
Silky said:
The ones I bolded sounded like the negatives boiled down to your preference. I love difficulty in an action game, as well as length. So the only thing I have to worry about are the camera and screen tearing?

Very interested in playing the game now!
Click to expand...

He's saying that it's too easy, not too hard, and he's saying that it's too short, not too long.
 
C

Courage

Member
I might not get it anymore after your impressions. The trailers look really good, but that's for every Suda game.
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Silky said:
The ones I bolded sounded like the negatives boiled down to your preference. I love difficulty in an action game, as well as length. So the only thing I have to worry about are the camera and screen tearing?
Click to expand...

He's saying not only is the game short, but it's also pretty easy on Normal...
 
H

Holmes

Member
There are difficulty levels, right? And if so, can it be changed in game or one time only at the beginning?
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
Thanks for the impressions. Can you give some in depth/more detailed impressions about the combat? How does it compare to the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Bayo, etc.
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
ViewtifulJC said:
It's a Suda51 game, Miles

I think you'd be better off comparing it to NMH
Click to expand...

I'm hoping the combat's a little deeper this time round, the footage certainly suggests it might be. Not that I mind No More Heroes combat, but it's hardly deep by any measure and with the likes of NG, DmC no longer worth bothering with, I was hoping this might fill the void until Bayo 2.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Visualante2 said:
How does the combat compare to say No More Heroes? Regarding the difficulty, are you saying it's too easy or too hard? Same RE: Length, too long or too short?
Click to expand...
Made those 2 points more clear. Thanks.
Silky said:
The ones I bolded sounded like the negatives boiled down to your preference. I love difficulty in an action game, as well as length. So the only thing I have to worry about are the camera and screen tearing?

Very interested in playing the game now!

How deep is the combat? Are there unlockable difficulties? New Game+?!
Click to expand...
Yeah, generic schoolgirl character being annoying is my preference, but I can't say the same for lip-sync being totally off for the Japanese voices.

As for your questions, clearing the game on normal unlocks very hard+ and I think that you still have your health/blood levels and upgrades.
Sorry, I've played NMH quite a while ago, so I don't remember much about the combat.
 
D

Dascu

Member
rvy said:
So, is Suda51 credited as director or not?
Click to expand...

No. Hideyuki Shin is the director.

---

I've watched a few gameplay streams, and from what I've seen, this is the closest to Killer7 in regards to story and presentation since then. Barely any "perverted" stuff outside of Gigolo Mode, which itself is rather tame. It makes me a little bit optimistic, actually.
 
T

Tnetennba

Member
Screen tearing? That's pretty much a deal breaker for me. How's the framerate?

Guess I'll just hold off until a month after launch when it drops to £10, as usual.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
rvy said:
So, is Suda51 credited as director or not?
Click to expand...
No idea, didn't watch the credits.
Miles Quaritch said:
Thanks for the impressions. Can you give some in depth/more detailed impressions about the combat? How does it compare to the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Bayo, etc.
Click to expand...
Well, it's definitely more simple. You spam square for the basic combo and have to hit triangle for the guard break from time to time when fighting everything harder than the most basic enemies.
The fun part is timing your dodges so that you can enter a short katana frenzy mode (it had a name, which I already forgot) and the fact that your attacks get stronger/more crazy along with your combo counter, so it's important to not get hit when fighting larger groups of enemies.
There's also a one hit kill which can be used when you have enough blood.

You can purchase a few new attacks and upgrades to your sub weapons which include a gun, drill freezer and 2 more.
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Krusenstern said:
How bad is the screen tearing? Is it comparable to Shadows of the Damned or is it worse?
Click to expand...

Sou said:
Been playing this game, and it is a technical mess. Constant screen tearing and it can become disorienting even just moving the camera around.

Very interesting design and theme throughout the game for those who likes pop culture, grindhouse related things.

Combat is what I would call godhand lite. The system is dependent on get up close to the enemy/boss and from there you can execute different combinations/skills while dodging or guarding incoming attacks. Doing this well allows you to unleash more stylish attacks or execution moves. It's not a bad system, but nothing extraordinary.

If a patch comes and fixes the technical issues with this game, it is a solid purchase for Suda fans.
Click to expand...

another impression
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Tnetennba said:
Screen tearing? That's pretty much a deal breaker for me. How's the framerate?

Guess I'll just hold off until a month after launch when it drops to £10, as usual.
Click to expand...
I think the framerate was pretty stable. The tearing was noticeable at first, but I totally ignored it later, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I initially thought.
EVOL 100% said:
How much is this like Killer7? Does it actually do anything interesting with the plot and mechanics?
Click to expand...
The story is weird and has a lot of twists. Mechanics don't really change throughout the game. I have no idea how it compares to Killer 7, because I've never played it.
 
N

Nowhere Man

Member
I'll probably rent and buy it through GameFly. I'm not concerned about the length. If it's fun enough I'll play it over and over like DMC, Bayo, Vanquish and MGR regardless of other "incentives" to do so. If I like it enough I'll also likely go for platinum like Lollipop which was even shorter. Lack of difficulty is a concern though, are there different difficulty settings and which one did you play on OP?
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Nowhere Man said:
Lack of difficulty is a concern though, are there different difficulty settings and which one did you play on OP?
Click to expand...
Normal, but you can choose hard from the start.
Holmes said:
There are difficulty levels, right? And if so, can it be changed in game or one time only at the beginning?
Click to expand...
They can be changed at any time, but the Very Hard unlocks after clearing the game once.

One thing about the difficulty. I thought it was really hard at first, but after I've discovered the revive on the spot option and how cheap it is, learned how to use the one-hit kills and got a few upgrades it became a cakewalk.

Okay, I'm off to sleep. I can keep answering questions tomorrow if no one else with the game comes along.
 
V

Visualante2

Member
I've heard James Bond been referenced in relation to the game, if you're familiar with the films do you get the feeling Killer is Dead is inspired by Bond in any meaningful way? And if so what era of Bond?
Astarte said:
I doubt it. I'm pretty sure that it was Mikami and suda collaborating on a suda DIRECTED game.
Click to expand...
Who was a Capcom employee, right? It's like Silicon Knights x Nintendo to my mind.
 
V

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
The length of this game seems that it wants you to replay it for better grades/ranks in the end of each mission. Overall seems like a fun game anyways and I saw a playthrough that lasted around 6 hours and 15 minutes.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Visualante2 said:
I've heard James Bond been referenced in relation to the game, if you're familiar with the films do you get the feeling Killer is Dead is inspired by Bond in any meaningful way? And if so what era of Bond?

Who was a Capcom employee, right? It's like Silicon Knights x Nintendo to my mind.
Click to expand...
Sorry, not really a fan of Bond. Maybe it's the fact that the main characters gets so many girls in the Gigolo mode? No idea.

One more thing, the game does a really good job of breaking the fourth wall during some of the dialogues.
Pupi18 said:
The length of this game seems that it wants you to replay it for better grades/ranks in the end of each mission. Overall seems like a fun game anyways and I saw a playthrough that lasted around 6 hours and 15 minutes.
Click to expand...
I think I've spent a good 40 minutes in one of the first challenge missions, because my execution moves were always targeting the wrong enemy (I was only supposed to kill one type). Got so frustrated, that I didn't bother with them anymore.
 
N

Nowhere Man

Member
Hasemo said:
Normal, but you can choose hard from the start.
Click to expand...

Ok, that's what I'll do (as usual). But even more important is how enjoyable I find the game to be, Lollipop was so goddamn fun to play that I didn't even mind how easy it was, and how the forward spin attack pretty much broke the game.
 
A

Astarte

Member
Visualante2 said:
I've heard James Bond been referenced in relation to the game, if you're familiar with the films do you get the feeling Killer is Dead is inspired by Bond in any meaningful way? And if so what era of Bond?

Who was a Capcom employee, right? It's like Silicon Knights x Nintendo to my mind.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that Mikami being attached to capcom had to do with anything. I'd support that both individuals have unbound potential and genius and that the two of them working together (so long as one of them is the director) would make absolute magic.
 
J

Jubern

Member
Started the game with a friend who bought it the other day. We played a little less than an hour and didn't really knew what to make out of it. It is stylish but... That's all. Gameplay didn't seem very deep, cutscenes aren't that interesting and the game is a technical mess, tearing all the time and clearly unpolished.

I'm currently crashing at a friend's place, who bought the game, so I'll think I'll play it pretty soon while I'm still here. But I didn't really thought about buying it before and trying it didn't exactly made me want to do that any more.
 
T

Tohsaka

Member
rvy said:
I think this explain the tearing and other issues. I'd be willing to bet the other poster also has the PS3 version.
Click to expand...

A friend let me play the 360 version, it also has horrible screen-tearing. I was hoping that it might be better on PS3 but it doesn't seem like it. I'm still keeping my PS3 pre-order of the US version, though, since I thought the game was quite good aside from the tearing.
 
H

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
I-i think you just solidified my pre-order cancel...
I'm not sure what I was expecting. The bonuses probably lured me.
 
A

Arklite

Member
Sounds surprisingly solid, I can deal pretty well with OP's negatives. Too bad there's not much notable on the plot side.
 
P

papercamm

Member
I don't think I expected differently from this game, but that length is very little for the price of the game. I think I'll hold onto my reservation though, those bonuses are nice.
 
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