D: The Game

[h1]By punks, for punks![/h1] [b]Important disclaimer[/b] [i]I never played or experienced [b]D[/b] before. I knew the game's reputation, its creator, but that's it. What you're reading here is certified 100% free of nostalgia goggles.[/i] [h3]Let’s kick things off with some trivia that’s just too good to ignore.[/h3] [b]D[/b] deals with subjects that were highly controversial for its time in the gaming world: violence, gore, cannibalism… Fully aware that the game wouldn’t pass censorship, Kenji Eno [i]deliberately[/i] sent his publisher a “safe” version of the game for approval, long past the deadline. Once approved, and since they were running late, Eno was tasked with personally delivering the master copy to the manufacturing plant in the United States. But instead, during his flight, he discreetly got rid of the approved version and replaced it with the full uncensored version he had originally made. It might sound amusing, but in the name of artistic freedom, the man willingly risked his career, reputation, and major legal action from several parties, in a country not exactly known for its tolerance of disobedience. Mad Motherfuc*er right there. Luckily for him, the game was a massive commercial success in Japan (over a million copies sold), and it seems this story ended well for everyone involved... [h3]Now let’s talk about the game![/h3] The player controls Laura, daughter of a respected doctor. One night, she learns her father has gone insane, barricaded himself in the hospital he runs, taken several people hostage, and murdered a large part of the staff in cold blood. She rushes to the scene, but once there, she’s suddenly teleported into a medieval castle - greeted by the corpses of prisoners, deadly traps, and other lovely surprises… Laura must do her best to survive the place, and try to save her father by understanding what drove him to such madness. It’s [i]mandatory[/i] to put this game in its proper historical context to really appreciate it: [b]D[/b] came out at a time when 3D was booming and everyone had their eyes on the latest graphical advancements. Everything had to be in 3D to catch players’ attention and push the boundaries of “realism.” Real-time rendering like that of high-end workstations wasn’t possible on consoles, but CD-ROMs were perfect for displaying video. [b]D[/b] is therefore an adventure game made entirely of FMV (Full-Motion Video) - pre-rendered sequences recorded on professional machines able to render cutting-edge 3D environments, allowing players to enjoy what was, at the time, a stunning and realistic visual experience. 30 years later, let’s be honest, it has aged like warm milk. With video compression added on top, [b]D[/b] has withered like a sunflower in the rain and has nothing left to boast about on the visual front. Controls are as barebones as it gets: arrow keys to move, “I” to check your inventory, and spacebar to interact. That’s it. The game didn’t shine for its gameplay even back then, and nowadays it’s downright sluggish and painfully slow. Every movement triggers a new video segment, showing Laura moving at a snail’s pace through these dark corridors. On the bright side, it gives you time to make a coffee between scenes to stay awake. As for progression, the game relies on typical survival-horror puzzles: a key here, a trap to disarm there, a color combination here, a tool to use there... Nothing mind-blowing. The game has one major condition for completion: you must escape the castle in under two hours, video transitions and inventory management included. It might sound [i]very[/i] short, but… well, the game is. I had never played it before, and I got the best ending on my first try without a guide in 1 hour 45 minutes. And I got lost more than a few times, but clearly, the time limit fits the extremely short runtime. [h3]Doesn’t sound too great, huh? And yet...[/h3] ...Once in the right mindset, I found myself quite engaged. [b]D[/b] is incredibly dated by today’s standards, and it’s unlikely to appeal to a younger audience - it offers little interest in terms of gameplay, gore, or puzzles. But two kinds of people might still appreciate what [b]D[/b] has to offer: video game “historians” able to place a work in its proper context, and… fans of genre cinema, especially Italian horror. Very clearly, [b]D[/b] could have been directed by Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, or Michele Soavi and no one would bat an eye. The game shows no signs of its Japanese origins; it bathes in that surreal, strange, and occasionally clumsy atmosphere found in Italian cult classics like [b]Phenomena[/b], [b]The Sect (La Setta)[/b], or [b]The Beyond (L’Aldilà)[/b]... everything reeks of graphic violence, a desire to shock, and bold ideas executed with limited means, even if it sometimes falls flat or ends up looking a bit silly. The sound design reinforces that impression, with subtle but effective tracks composed by Kenji Eno himself. It’s occasionally hilarious: opening a plain old door with a suspenseful and overly dramatic music cue is a guilty pleasure that always brought a smile to my face. These are clichés I know all too well… and never tire of. Don’t believe me? The ending credits for the “good” ending are backed by a Heavy Metal track (with Kenji Eno on guitar) that’s way too cool to only show up once. I wasn’t kidding - those directors’ influence runs deep in [b]D[/b]. Not much else to say about this classic, forgotten for valid reasons, remembered for many others. If you’re not a die-hard fan of gaming history or '70s/'80s Italian cinema, odds are you won’t get much out of it. But if you see yourself in that description… You’re in for a unique title with a strong personality. Flawed, but full of heart. Revolutionary in its time, and well worth knowing... if only for the culture. Thank you, Mr. Eno, the most punk game designer of his era!

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Bad pc port of an amazing game. There’s no controller support and there’s scanlines that make it damn near unplayable just emulate the Saturn 3do or ps1 versions for the best experience

my second disc on Saturn never worked but this does

В моём воображении игра покруче была) Сюжет: главная героиня Лора узнаёт о том, что её отец переубивал персонал госпиталя, в котором работал, и скрылся в его недрах. Она идёт искать папашку и попадает в... ну иное измерение - в особняк, короче. Если что, концовок две. В целом, по сюжету: он довольно простенький, в конце вам раскроют все карты. Геймплей: ходим стрелочками, иногда жмакаем пробел, решаем довольно простенькие головоломки, собираем жучков, которые покажут момент из жизни героини. На всё про всё у нас два с половиной часа, а иначе, ты - дед. Сохранений нет. И я не знаю, что нужно в игре сделать, чтобы умереть. В игре атмосферу можно назвать жутковатой, катсцены напряжённые, однако моменты, когда Лора общается с папой, из-за того, что он повторяет её имя несколько раз, так и хотелось заменить на: "Лора, приём"))) Понравились звуковое сопровождение и музыка в титрах. Итог: для 1995 года игра неплохая, правда, коротковата. На меня, однако, почему-то произвела медитативное впечатление (наверное, потому, что геймплей такой приятно-тягучий). Если нормально относитесь к старой графике (у меня ещё были такие полосы на экране, как у старых телевизоров) и неторопливому геймплею, то попробуйте.

I love big D

Out of the deep respect and inspiration I had for [i]Kenji Eno[/i] and his works, I had to write a review immediately after finishing the game. He was an iconoclast unafraid to stand against major corporations like Sony (!) back in his day, as a result only [i]D (1995)[/i] is currently accessible via official modern gaming platforms. Even D is the only project that is currently accessible, Eno also created several other renowned projects such as [i] D2 //or under its very Nippon title, Dの食卓2// Enemy Zero, and Real Sound: Kaze no Regret[/i] too. Although he left us at a very young age, he was an unorthodox visionary not only in the world of games, but also in music, visual arts, and technology as well who also pushed boundaries for the new techniques to gain traction in the gaming industry. His works are still remembered with respect by many influential figures across both music and gaming scenes, including names like [i]Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yūya Asaoka,[/i] and [i]Hideo Kojima[/i] (cf. [i]Memories of Kenji Eno, 2023[/i]). Disclaimer: Sure, if you're even slightly familiar with horror genres, you’ll likely anticipate the plot twist very early on. But if you have a soft spot for platforms like the 3DO or MS-DOS, D might deserve your time for its atmosphere alone, especially considering how little time the game actually takes as it runs on a real-time countdown and must be completed within two hours of total, while still being able to deliver quite an experience for any techno-nostalgist. If you'd like to better understand just how much of an ambience craftsman [i]Eno-san[/i] was and how seriously he took sensory experience as part of his design, here’s bit of a trivia for the interested: in 1997, while he was still working under [i]Warp[/i], he created [i]Real Sound: Kaze no Regret[/i], which was a project built around the experience of visually impaired players which forgoes visual representation almost entirely and manages to create an intersensory connection using what we now call spatial sound design. [i]Kínēma![/i]

D is a cult classic. However, This is just a DOSBOX emulated version. There is little to no replayability once you know what to do and can easily beat the game within a hour. Note: The game must be completed within 2 hours with no saving or pausing. The true ending makes no sense as the D2 is not a direct sequel to this one as it was originally intended due to the M2 being canned early and the production of D2 was scrapped. tl;dr Game is good for what it is and only retro nerds want to play this game nowadays, so for that I recommend it to the niche audience that this game appeals to. I give it 6 Lauras out of 10

I was interested in trying a piece of horror history and I'm glad I did it. The presentation and vibes are great, I don't mind how "dated" the graphics are or how limited the game was, as I got exactly what I wanted out of it for six bucks. I did feel slightly on edge but I'd be lying if I said the game had me terrified. The puzzles are well thought out but aren't exactly rocket surgery, it fits perfectly into a game you have to beat in under two hours to not get a game over screen. It's not a frustrating game. If you like retro stuff, are curious about obscure horror history, get this, it's the price of a coffee.

I remember playing this on the original PlayStation. Pretty cool FMV for its time unfortunately its dated, but very fun. Check it out https://youtu.be/Zk7zpkII8JY?si=J90NCNGvDmYS93w1