Maken X

The first-person perspective of Maken X (top) was changed in Maken Shao (bottom) to a third-person perspective.

Maken X is a first-person action hack and slash video game where players control a variety of characters wielding a sentient sword dubbed the Maken.[1][2] The game is divided into "Event Scenes", cutscenes related to the story; and "Action Scenes", the gameplay segments; and the world map used to select levels.[3] On the world map, players can select a variety of levels including main story missions, zones holding new playable characters, and levels involving key non-playable characters.[4] If the player character's health is fully depleted, the game ends.[3] Players take control of a number of people through the Maken's "brainjack" ability, enabling them to take control of different story-related characters; each character wields a version of the Maken, but also have unique abilities and different statistics such as higher health and greater attack power, or character-specific abilities such as ranged attacks or stunning enemies.[2][5][6]

Players navigate linear levels with the selected character, able to interact with certain environmental elements and jump over obstacles or onto higher platforms.[2][7] During combat, the player is able to move freely within the environment, and has access to a variety of moves including a back step and strafing to avoid attacks. Enemies encountered in areas include humans, hostile animals, machines, and supernatural entities. The player character, who can lock onto enemies during combat, has a standard attack option, with combos achieved through consecutive attacks. An "EX Gauge" can be charged up and released to trigger a powerful attack. The player can also leap over and strike an enemy from behind—these actions open the enemy up to a high-damage attack.[6][7][8] The player can find several types of items within each level; these include various sizes of life capsules which replenish health, increase attack power for a limited time, and gain PSI points from defeated enemies. PSI points are essential when brainjacking new characters, as the Maken can only brainjack a character with a lower or equivalent PSI level.[7]

For the remake Maken Shao, gameplay remains mostly the same, but with several added mechanics and a shift to a third-person perspective focused behind the back of the character. Combat options remain the same, but character abilities are now increased through combat by gaining "Image points", experience points earned from defeated enemies. After gathering enough Image points, new skills are unlocked for the current character, with the Maken's compatibility or "synchronization" with that character increasing alongside it; increased synchronization with a character raises their basic attributes such as health and attack power.[9]

The concept for Maken X arose while Atlus was part of the way through developing the Persona 2 duology (Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment) for the PlayStation.[15] Producer Kouji Okada was one of the original creators of Atlus' Megami Tensei series. Longtime Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko acted as art director and character designer.[15] The director was Katsura Hashino; having worked as a planner on multiple titles since Shin Megami Tensei If..., Maken X was his debut as a game director.[16] The game was developed by internal studio Atlus R&D1.[17] Most of the development team were directly carried over from the second Persona 2 game.[18] The Atlus staff were beginning to feel limited by the scope of the Megami Tensei universe, so when they were shown the specifications of the Dreamcast console, they immediately decided to create something new for that console.[19] Okada later said that Atlus' main desire when creating Maken X was to develop something new after making role-playing games for most of the company's lifetime.[18]

Speaking in an interview, Okada and Kaneko referred to the development period for Maken X as quite turbulent. Kaneko felt at first that the game was an "odd job", but over time he became deeply involved as the game graduated into being an important project for him. It was the first time the team had tried development with the Dreamcast, which proved more versatile and powerful than expected. The developers initially wanted a "neat" development project, but demands came for a more expansive project, resulting in the game's scale greatly increasing and the development process becoming chaotic, with more staff coming on board to help development. Due to these factors, the period of trial and error when creating the gameplay lasted much longer than intended.[15] The first-person perspective combined with sword-based action was chosen to create a unique feel for the game.[18] While 3D elements had been included in earlier Atlus titles, Maken X was the first time Atlus used both full 3D visuals and full-motion 3D CGI cutscenes.[20] The game was also the first time the Megami Tensei team had attempted development of a game outside the role-playing genre.[15]

Okada described the main theme as power achieved through intelligence and overcoming the environments.[19] The main narrative featured multiple references to Chinese mythology, while many of the player characters drew from historical and literary figures from each country the game visited. The Hakke leaders of the Sangokai were designed around a particular part of their body being malformed.[15][21] A narrative element carried over from the Megami Tensei franchise was a system of choices based on morality that influenced the ending; while these elements had been thoroughly explored in Megami Tensei, the team felt the themes still had potential and so used it in Maken X. The game was Atlus' first title to feature full voice acting; the team initially planned to voice event scenes in English and Chinese with Japanese subtitles, but included voice acting across the whole game due to positive feedback. A similar set of circumstances led to the wide use of stereophonic sound across the whole game when it was initially planned only for action sequences.[15]

Maken X was first announced in November 1998.[30] Maken X was published by Atlus on November 25, 1999.[31] While Atlus' earlier Megami Tensei titles were aimed fully at the Japanese market, Maken X had been designed from the outset to have an international appeal.[18] Voice recording for the international release took place in North America. Meguro was involved in the process, which he stated was a positive experience.[25] The localization was handled cooperatively by Atlus and the American branch of Sega, who acted as the game's publishers.[19][32][33] The game's international release was announced in February 2000.[34] One of the points Atlus was concerned about for the international version was the use of Nazi imagery for some enemies. Due to what were described as "cultural points that could be harmful", the game's graphics were altered for the international release to avoid controversy. The gameplay remained unchanged between versions.[18][19] Kaneko described the voice recording as the most difficult part of the localization.[19] Initially scheduled for release in March, the game was pushed forward into April for unspecified reasons, although it was speculated that it was due to that month already boasting several game releases.[35] Maken X was eventually released in North America on April 25, 2000.[33] In Europe, the game was released on July 7 of that year.[1]

Maken Shao was first announced in February 2001. Prior to its official announcement, there was speculation that it was a sequel to the original game.[36] Maken Shao was published by Atlus in Japan on June 7, 2001. It came with both standard and limited editions, with the limited edition having exclusive cover art.[37] For its European release, DC Studios both converted Maken Shao to PAL region hardware, and localized the game into English.[38] It was published as Maken Shao: Demon Sword by Midas Interactive Entertainment on June 27, 2003.[39][40] This version was later re-released by Midas Interactive Entertainment on the European PlayStation Network on February 27, 2013 as a PlayStation Classic title.[41]

In Japan, the game received high scores from critics. The Japanese Dreamcast Magazine gave Maken X scores of 9, 9 and 7 out of 10 from three critics, placing it among the issue's highest-scoring games.[63] Famitsu gave the game a score of 32/40, consequently receiving the magazine's "Gold" award.[53] The remake Maken Shao received an identical score of 32/40 from Famitsu, which praised the overall gameplay and varied character choice.[54]

The game received above-average reviews internationally according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[48] In an import review, Edge Magazine said that it was only the game's lack of multiplayer and level design that kept it from contending with the likes of GoldenEye 007, saying that it was otherwise a good Dreamcast game for adventure players.[6] In contrast, Lee Skittrell of Computer and Video Games felt it was not worth purchasing other than by those "desperate" for an action game due to the many faults he found.[51] James Mielke of GameSpot called Maken X a strong addition to the Dreamcast library and a good game in its own right,[5] IGN's Anoop Gantayat felt the game should be rented rather than immediately bought due to his own complaints,[8] while website GameRevolution said that Maken X was "one of those games that could have been great."[58] Eric Bratcher of NextGen said of the game, "There are redeeming elements, but they just don't resolve into anything exciting. We suggest waiting for Half-Life [Counter-Strike]."[62] GamePro, however, stated, "While this game doesn't fit neatly into any category – action, fighting, adventure, or role-playing – anyone who likes the idea of a pulse-pounding, arcade-style slasher with sweet graphics will enjoy hacking it up with Maken X."[64][lower-alpha 4]

Nerys Coward of Official Dreamcast Magazine praised the story, calling it "theatrical and intriguing",[1] while in contrast Gantayat felt the storytelling was "poor" and faulted Sega's translation for further effecting it.[8] Edge Magazine noted the story's prominence set Maken X apart from equivalent first-person games of the time.[6] Skittrell was highly critical of the story segments as "boring [...] and far too long", but said the story was entertaining.[51] Game Revolution praised the unique choice of the Maken as protagonist along with the variety of endings.[58] The English voice acting was panned by multiple critics.[1][8][58]

Coward described the gameplay as highly enjoyable, praising the variety of playable characters but faulting the controls as stiff.[1] Edge praised the combat options and refreshing change from standard combat in other first-person games, noting the variety offered by character abilities but criticizing the lack of multiplayer options.[6] Mielke called the gameplay "pretty standard" aside from enemy variety and character options, and noted the light puzzle elements.[5] Skittrell generally found the game's substance lacking, but enjoyed the brainjacking feature.[51] Multiple reviewers faulted the controls as cumbersome or inappropriate for the gameplay.[1][5][8][51][58]

Coward praised the "slick and glitch-free" environments,[1] while Gantayat gave unanimous praise to both the game's graphics and its character designs.[8] Mielke gave particular praise to Kaneko's character designs, and like Coward noted the environments as being free of glitches and running smooth while maintaining quality.[5] Skittrell called the environmental graphics "super-crisp but lifeless and bland",[51] a sentiment shared by Edge.[6]

Upon its release in Japan, Maken X reached #6 in gaming charts. With sales of around 66,000 units, the game was the best-selling new Dreamcast release of the week, selling through nearly 73% of its shipments.[65][66] The game's total sales as of 2004 have reached over 70,800 units, ranking as the 50th best-selling Dreamcast game in Japan.[66] Maken Shao entered Japanese charts at #2, coming in behind Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 and ahead of the PlayStation port of Shin Megami Tensei.[67] Total sales for Maken Shao in Japan during 2001 stand at just over 40,000 units.[68]

• Japanese Dreamcast website (archived) (in Japanese)
• Japanese PlayStation 2 website (archived) (in Japanese)
• Maken X at MobyGames
• Maken Shao: Demon Sword at MobyGames