Daikatana (Game Boy Color)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 10/18/2000
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 06/30/2000
• Originally published on GameSpot: Daikatana (Game Boy Color) Review

Picture this. Hiro Miyamoto, the leader of the renowned Miyamoto clan, is practicing in his dojo one day. Suddenly, a stranger appears, filling Hiro's head with all sorts of flights of fancy. It seems Kage Mishima, enemy to the Usagi and Miyamoto families, has stolen the mystical Daikatana sword and aims to use it to rewrite history. As farfetched as it might sound, the sword allows the user to bend the very fabric of time, altering reality without anyone being the wiser. Before Hiro has time to absorb it all, the Mishima clan kidnaps his friend Mikiko and attacks the dojo. Hiro must rescue Mikiko, seek out Kage Mishima, and reclaim the Daikatana. This is where you come in. Across the eight locations and 32 levels of Kemco's Daikatana, you get to be the hero, um Hiro.

Unlike the laughable PC and N64 releases, the Game Boy Color Daikatana is not a 3D first-person shooter. Instead, it's a top-down-perspective dungeon crawler with action-RPG elements, and it's a fun one at that. Progressing through the game's intricate plot, you'll need to travel from timeline to timeline, acquiring weapons and stalking the evil Kage Mishima. Along the way you'll gain two allies, the agile Mikiko and the charismatic Superfly Johnson - both of whom you get to control at various points in the game.

Each level is set up so you have to acquire a special object, defeat a puzzle, and topple a boss character. As Hiro, Mikiko, and Superfly, you can walk, jump, and attack in any number of ways. Swords, lasers, hammers, discuses, and all sorts of weapons are at your disposal. You'll need to use them to defeat Daikatana's six bosses, each of whom must be defeated in a special way. The game's puzzles, which range from shape matching to pit jumping, are clever. If anything, it's only the game's lack of an overworld and its stiff control that dirty an otherwise solid title. For most, the former complaint isn't going to be an issue. However, the latter is something to consider, because you can only use the same eight-way jump and cookie-cutter weapons for so long. The game does have an instant save feature, though, which diminishes the fatigue factor quite a bit.

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