Jun Takeuchi

Videogame history is incremental additions to mechanics and systems, series and genres, and technology and production pipelines, and following their cinematic shooter Resident Evil, Capcom began applying its 3D action model to more genres, swapping elements to experiment without breaking. The PlayStation 2 primed the design for the design’s second generation, and Jun Takeuchi’s Onimusha: Warlords successfully created cinematic sword fighting, translating hack ‘n slash into 3D as SquareSoft’s The Bouncer had done for brawlers. The increased processing power for animations and effects, the high-res art and character models, all aided gameplay and presentation, transforming the grindhouse zombie flick into a historical fiction samurai horror film.

Even after the snow had melted on the harsh planet E.D.N. III, Thermal Energy is such a scarce commodity that the scattered human factions are still locked in a brutal war for its reserves, a conflict that further leaves them vulnerable to attacks from the insectroid race of Akrids native to the land. Of course, when a load of T-Eng is being transported by train, a worm-like beast attacks that is so massive, it dwarfs the four people that are forced to fight it back, even with the racks of weapons littered about. As it takes out the rear cars and any player left behind, the only thing that can counter its immense size is the cumulative strength of those standing against it, all focusing their fire into its mouth and tender insides. And when the worm finally falls, the group makes off with the spoils. With its in-mission economy, Lost Planet 2 portrays an ecological system reminiscent of Frank Herbert’s Dune, showing that, on E.D.N., every second is a fight to survive. It’s a metaphor ripped from the history books of every life form that’s ever lived.

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