Hardcore Gaming 101: Kenji Eno's WARP and the D legacy

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Kenji Eno's WARP and the D legacy

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Page 1:
Intro
D

Page 2:
Enemy Zero
D2 M2 Beta

Page 3:
D2 (no spoilers)

Page 4:
D2 (spoilers)

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Ｄの食卓 2 (D no Shokutaku 2) / D2 - Dreamcast (1999)

Japanese Regular Cover

Japanese "Bliss" Cover

Japanese "Hope" Cover

This page contains reduced spoilers and is intended for those haven't yet played the game (but should play it). To read a spoiled version go to page 4.

D2 on Dreamcast was WARP's last officially developed game; it is their grandest in terms of scope and ambition, and also their most accomplished title. It pushed the videogame boundaries of sex and violence in ways still not matched, featured a unique mix of genre styles and mechanics, is still a visually beautiful game with haunting soundtrack, but above all is still supremely enjoyable to play despite some minor flaws. Without question it is essential for anyone with an interest in gaming history and is WARP's magnum opus.

Mechanically it's an extension of D and Enemy Zero, in that it still has slower paced adventure sections, albeit now they're rendered in real-time polygons, which allows for much greater detail and clarity. While slower paced than the rest of the game, these sections are considerably more speedy than previously. The game is set in the Canadian wilderness close to Christmas time, meaning the polygon corridors of E0 have been expanded into massive snow covered mountains and valleys, all of which give a reasonable illusion of outdoor freedom. Later on the environment is so expansive that a snowmobile becomes essential for travel.

The 3rd ingredient of this genre mix are the randomly occurring battles, which take the form of a 360 degree cursor-driven lightgun game - describing them as being FPS in nature would be a mistake, since apart from being able to turn 360 degrees, you're rooted to the spot. They're actually integrated really well, since they use precisely the same environment of wherever you were standing when they start. As also noted by most players, random battles are preceded by the rather ominous sound of the Dreamcast's disc-drive increasing speed to load the data, thereby unintentionally warning of a sudden attack. As you win battles you earn experience in an RPG fashion, which yields a level up and stats boost. There are also regular boss encounters.

The combat mode

The story facilitating events is beautifully insane and equally disturbing. It again features a main protagonist named Laura, also on an aeroplane as the unreleased D2 would have started. Except now instead of the devil stealing her unborn child, she isn't pregnant and instead survives the plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. The game starts 8 days later, as Laura wakes up in a wood cabin. It turns out there were other survivors, except they're now mutating into hideous monsters. As Laura investigates the situation and tries to find a way to escape, she is joined by other survivors and meets the local inhabitants (most of which are severely unhinged). There are several references to Enemy Zero, such as the names of the main characters, and also lunch boxes found in the mines later on.

One of the coolest aspects of the game is its pseudo-survivalist setting (if you ignore the fact that Laura traipses across miles of winter countryside through waist-high snow in nothing more than a business suit and heels). As you explore the outdoors you'll come across 4 varieties of animal: hare, snow grouse, caribou and moose. You also have a hunting rifle with which to shoot all of them, though this requires some practice since if they become aware of your presence they run off. Successfully bagging a kill yields animal meat - and in typical videogame fashion this immediately appears in your inventory without need to travel to the carcass. Meat refills your health, and while there are first-aid sprays you can find, it's worth stocking up on some life-giving flesh for any lengthy trip. You can also earn ranks the more successfuly you hunt, from Trainee right up to King of Hunting.

Hares are the easiest prey

For more cosmopolitan players, there's a photo camera to shoot photos of animals instead of the animals themselves. The scenery throughout the game is quite lovely actually, and so use of the camera is highly recommended, although the pictures are saved in very low quality because of the space limitations on VMU.

Characters

Laura Parton

Named after the blonde protagonists in D and Enemy Zero. After the plane crash she wakes up in a cabin, having been saved by Kimberly. After the shock of her ordeal she remains mute for the entire game, over the course of which she discovers the truth about herself and her mother Lucy, whose laboratory is situated nearby in the mountains. She is guided by the Great Mother, a spiritual forces that governs life on Earth.

Kimberly Fox

A deeply troubled and complex character, named after and appearing similar to the Kimberly in Enemy Zero. As a child she saw the death of her father, then suicide of her mother after repeated abuse from loan sharks. Uses poetry as a means of escape and is heavily addicted to the drug Linda. At the start of the game she is attacked by a monster who forces one of its tentacles down her throat (censored in the US release).

Jannie

A young girl travelling on the plane with her mom to visit her grandpa for Christmas. Her mother dies, but she survives and is protected by Kim. Befriends Laura.

Parker Jackson

Also named after a similar looking character from Enemy Zero, he works for CETI (Centre for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and believes in aliens and the supernatural. He was on the plane, travelling to investigate a mysterious signal coming from Death Mountain. Unlike in Enemy Zero, he is at constant odds with Kimberly.

David Brenner

Just as in Enemy Zero, David is the name of the main love interest for the protagonist Laura. A special agent for the FBI, he is travelling to visit his father who wrote to him. When the terrorists take over the plane he attempts to intervene, and ends up saving Laura's life when a meteorite strikes the plane in mid-air.

Sorcerer

Initiates the hijack of the plane Laura is on. Evil puppet of the Great Shadow, or the Evil Destroyer. He believes in bringing about a new world, ‘order into chaos', and is controlling the terrorists.

Terrorists

Controlled by the sorcerer who keeps them obedient with drugs, these thugs bring about the plane crash. Two of them feature prominently in the main game.

Stewardess

First boss of the game, found in the plane wreckage near the start. Is grotesquely mutated by the virus.The ship's vice captain and pilot. A minor character, he gives Laura clues over the videophone before getting killed.

Jannie's grandpa

Lives locally and was expecting his grand-daughter's arrival by plane. Plans on showing her some magic tricks. Normally a kind hearted old man, he's been infected and mutates into something violent and hideous, accompanied by giant doves.

John Brenner

Brother of David who was on the plane. He's a homicidal maniac with a gun who lives locally. Is addicted to the drug Linda and, working at the nearby pharmaceutical company, has access to a more potent variety.

Tom Warren (musician)

Talented musician driven to madness by regular abuse from his mother, Martha. She wouldn't allow him friends, instead forcing him to play the piano. When he refused she'd lock him in the cellar. Eventually she brought him to the mountains to force him to focus on piano playing. She gets him addicted to the drug Linda in order to enhance his playing abilities. A tragic and utterly deranged character, he has a penchant for butterfly collecting and animal cruelty, slicing up rabbits and birds for fun.

Martha Warren (Tom's mother)

Cruel mother who forces her own ambitions on to her son Tom, destroying his mind in the process. Her burn injuries were done by Tom when he thrust a burning log in her face, proclaiming that he could finally play the piano really well.

Priest and parrot

Mysterious priest who lives in a remote, crumbling stone building in the mountains, with just his parrot for company. Has a mechanical arm. He reads you the prophecies of William Kneiff, which foresees the end of the world.

Dr Brenner (David's father)

The father of David and John Brenner. He's a doomsday monger who spent most of his life obsessed with the end of the world. After discovering the precise day it will end, by studying Stonehenge, he requests that his son David, an FBI agent, visit him.

Lucy Parton

Laura's mother found at the Lucy Parton Laboratory. Her bio-mechanical appearance is subliminally freaky. As taken from the game's script (via Marc's transcription):"Dr Lucy Parton is especially well known for her work on mammoth cell cloning, a project that began in 1963 with the discovery of a perfectly preserved woolly mammoth in the sub-arctic permafrost. Her life and work were cut short in 1973 by a research-related accident."

The Great Mother

A supernatural force that is the source of all life on the planet. She protects and guides Laura throughout the game. Has been in conflict with the Great Shadow for millions of years.

The Great Shadow

An evil force obsessed with wiping out all life on Earth. He is the opposite to the Great Mother. Uses people to enact his plans, but manifests himself physically towards the end of the game.

Eno never mentioned performing any kind of master disc swapping stunt like he did for the original D, and indeed D2 did suffer some censorship regarding the opening's tentacle fellatio. We've included screenshots of this scene from the Japanese version, in the US release the camera pans to the side and avoids showing anything specific. Still, how WARP managed to get away with including repeated full-frontal female nudity and some disturbingly graphic deaths, is anyone's guess. As for the penultimate boss, which can be politely described as a head-on machinegun fight with a robotic birth canal (complete with legs akimbo), the less said the better. Some of the psychosexual scenes featured in D2 make the Hot Coffee content of GTA (where people dry humped with their clothes on) seem rather tame in comparison.

Generally Eno hasn't commented a great deal on creating D2, apart from saying that at the time he knew it would be his last game with WARP, and that it had an extremely thick atmosphere as a result. He likened it to the final album put out by a band before they split up. As already said though, WARP developed a reputation for flair and conceptual creativity, and this final album was the one to remember them by.

Today this 4 GD-ROM epic will probably alienate players who have grown soft due to current design trends. At the time of its release critics complained about being confused regarding what to do and where to go, and this situation will only be exaggerated now. But for those with the patience and tenacity to persevere, D2 is one head trip you won't soon forget. It's easy enough so that everyone can complete it, and it's also not yet prohibitively expensive on eBay. For European players you'll have to import it from the USA, but the game loads fine and runs without problems on a PAL system when using Datel's Action Replay CD, or the demo of which was placed on certain magazines. Be sure to have an RGB SCART cable.