There are times that it seems like the game industry is in a rut and it can be hard to remember that there are unique games that have came out. Sadly the problem with unique titles is that they usually aren’t the big sellers. For this game series, I’m going to talk about games that were one hit wonders. Or games that were so unique that chances are we won’t be seeing a sequel to them anytime soon. Either because the game didn’t sell, or the designers did everything they wanted with the first game and moved on.
In this series I’m going to examine some of my personal favorite one-hit wonders, starting with what is arguably the most well known: Killer 7.
Killer 7 was an unusual game from designer Goichi Suda, or as he is commonly known as Suda 51. Sporting a vivid cel shaded style; the game was in development for many years for the GameCube and was part of the Capcom 5 project: a partnership between Nintendo and Capcom to develop 5 unique series for the GameCube.
The game was played from a third person perspective as you controlled the Smith Alliance: 7 characters based on a different personality inhabiting one body with a different weapon and special ability used for puzzle solving. What made the gameplay so different was how simplistic it was. Instead of moving each character anywhere within the game space, the characters moved on rails throughout the environment. The only control the player had was which direction to go when they reach junctions, and to move forward or backward along the rail.
Combat took place in first person as players went up against monsters called “Heaven Smiles” (if I didn’t mention that the story was weird, well here you go). These monsters were invisible suicidal bombers who attack by detonating themselves who only the player could see. Players could just fill the Heaven Smiles with lead, but hitting glowing weak points would give the player extra blood, which is the game’s currency. Blood was used to improve the stats of the different Smiths as well as unlock them for use in the different levels.
Killer 7 simply had style, and was designed to tell a story first and foremost. But unlike some story based games where the gameplay felt like an afterthought, that is not the case with Killer 7. Being in development for so many years, it’s easy to guess that the developers went through multiple game systems for how to tell this complex story.
What made Killer 7’s gameplay interesting, is that it feels like there is just enough there to make the player interact with the world, without it overstepping the story. There is this feeling sometimes when playing story based games, that the gameplay is just a brick wall keeping you from the next plot point and nothing more. But in Killer 7 the simplistic design works at being just complex enough to pull you in, without distracting from the insane story.
After launch, Killer 7 didn’t exactly light up the sales chart, but did achieve a cult status over the years. More importantly, it created a fan base for Suda 51 which allowed him to get titles like No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw green lit. Personally I think Killer 7 is his most successful game so far. The reason is that the gameplay and story were in balanced with each other. Later titles seemed to focus more on the crazy story and downplayed the gameplay or left it underutilized.
Killer 7’s irreverent and insane style continued with the story and situations. From batting Power Ranger parodies to a quick draw duel with a kidnapper, it’s impossible to tell where the story was going. One level even replaced all the cel shaded style cut-scenes with anime.
Killer 7 is on a special list of mine of games that I replay every so often just so I can keep the experience fresh.
Josh Bycer
Up Next: A C Horror Game
