QUICKIE -- Killer Is Dead

Killer Is Dead is a 2013 action video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan, XSEED Games in North America and Deep Silver in Europe.

This is a game that I have had a review done for a while now, but I don't know why I haven't published this article already. I suppose it's because this isn't the run of the mill type of game, so I had to approach this topic a tad differently.

First of all, let's look back at the awesome reveal teaser for this game from a few years back.

The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

Killer Is Dead includes such technology as lunar tourism and cybernetic enhancements. The main character is an executioner named Mondo Zappa (voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu in the Japanese version and Patrick Seitz in the Western version) who receives jobs from the Bryan Execution Firm. This firm, run by a cyborg named Bryan Roses, tasks Mondo with killing dangerous criminals and assassins from around the world. Mondo wields a sword with his right hand but his cybernetic left arm can be converted into many different weapons, including guns, drills, and other objects.Although Mondo travels the world as part of the game, Suda calls it a "personal story" of "a man who doesn't show himself much in the public world but still worms his way into society and mercilessly eliminates the evil dispersed in it"."Love and execution" and "how far can you protect someone" are also central themes of the story.

The game begins following a deranged former executioner named Tokio who has kidnapped a girl and is being hunted by a katana-wielding man who looks like Mondo. Tokio calls him "the darkness" right before he is killed. It then flashes forward two years to the modern day where Mondo is accepted into Bryan's execution agency following his assassination of the former executioner in his place, who had also been taken over by a dark force and was deemed unfit for his job. This man, Damon, warns Mondo about the perils of the job and that he may also fall to the dark side.

Mondo then kills many strange, monstrous beings known as Wires, eventually killing a woman named Alice who was transformed into a grotesque crustacean-like monster following her trip to the Moon. She blames a strange man named David for causing her to become a monster. Subsequently, they are visited by a woman named Moon River, who asks them to assassinate David. Mondo agrees and travels to David's moon palace on the dark side of the moon, though he is unable to kill the ostentatious and eccentric David despite a pitched battle.

While a strange dark force from the moon starts turning people and even inanimate objects into monsters, Mondo learns that Moon River was once the ruler of the Moon, until she was overthrown by David and her race transformed into Wires by the Dark Matter. David has gained control of the moon's Dark Matter and is using it to take over the world, creating Wires as his minions. Meanwhile, Mondo exhibits intense pain from his artificial arm every time he kills a monster.

Eventually, Dolly, a psychic who serves David, attempts to enter the mind of Mondo's assistant Mika to kill him. Mondo uses a sleeping drug to fight her, but in the process dredges up all his memories. He realizes that David is his brother and he lost his arm due to David's attempt to kill him. David was also a former assassin working for Bryan, and after rescuing Mika, the kidnapped girl in the first mission, he brainwashed her and used her to spy on Mondo before going rogue. Bryan gave Mondo his artificial arm in order for him to fight David, though its capability to absorb Dark Matter means that Mondo is vulnerable to becoming corrupted like Tokio and Damon. He decides to head to the Moon yet again to settle the score and stop David's evil rampage.

Mondo fights David in his castle yet again, but during the battle both of them are changed by the Dark Matter into super-powered Wires, after which they fight as equals in their assassin's garb. In the end, Mondo is able to defeat David and stop him from harnessing the full power of Dark Matter. However, Mondo himself is then possessed by the darkness and rebuilds David's castle. Moon River requests that he be assassinated as well, much to the surprise of the Bryan Execution Firm. The game's ending is open-ended, but suggests that Mondo has become the ruler of the moon in David's place.

Mondo and David's names are likely based on David and Goliath. Mondo, in English slang, is another word for large.

The Verdict: 

The game's narrative is without a shadow of a doubt a confusing mess of events that won't make sense even after the revelation near the end of the game - it's a tale that is still up to speculation and debate by fans.

My take? It's a Suda51 game. It's supposed to be weird, otherwise his games would be boring. You're an assassin for hire - simple as that. Don't dwell on the messier details and enjoy the gameplay.

I personally feel like this is the spiritual successor to No More Heroes in terms of gameplay. Any fan of No More Heroes will feel right back at home the second you see Mondo use Travis Touchdown's Shadow Step style evasion (Guard Burst) and katana skills to boot. The difference here in Killer is Dead compared to No More Heroes is that you have ranged attacks, along with multiple subweapons, to keep things interesting. Also, you can actually block and parry with precise timing. Guard breaks and Guard Bursts are satisfying to pull off each and every time that you execute them. Juggle combos are possible but the enemy AI will quickly try to interrupt you doing these combos as they will kill most normal foes in the game.

Keep in mind that you are NOT going to buy all of the upgrades and costumes on your first playthrough unless you do some hardcore and unnecessary grinding for in-game cash and points for upgrades. That's what New Game+ and post-game are for. You should have all of the cash that you need for items and upgrades as long as you play through the side-missions between main missions and keep Mondo's girlfriends happy.

Sidemissions spice things up from themes in main missions and often reward you well for the trouble. The Gigolo/Dating side-missions offer Mondo a break from work, but don't dismiss this mini-game. If you complete the mission and get the girl to take Mondo home with her, you will be rewarded with a new subweapon. Each one of the girls off a new subweapon, but continue to play these missions to acquire more in-game cash and upgrade points. Do these missions frequently to reap the rewards or the girls will annoy you for no end during main missions. The date is over when you either run out of gifts before the end of the date, run out time, or you get caught for oogling her too long to the point that your date slaps Mondo senseless. I personally thought it was a perverted mechanic for no real payoff other than eye candy, but I thought it was pretty cool that the game actually rewards you for guiding Mondo successfully through these dates.

Scarlett (look for her hidden throughout missions in numerous locations) is unique as she won't date Mondo until you complete a number of her special mission challenges to fill her heart guage up to maximum. She rewards you with her glasses that fills up the blood guage on Gigolo Missions faster during dates and it allows Mondo to see through his dates' clothing with X-Ray vision. Keep in mind that if you fail one of these missions while wearing those glasses, they will break.

Overall, the game isn't as bad as early reviews criticized it for at launch for being - combat doesn't really pick up until you purchase a few upgrades to improve Mondo's skills by roughly Episode 4 to 6.

Buy it, Rent it, or Don't Bother?

I suggest buying it for that mature gamer in your life, since this is definitely not a game I wouldn't let my kids play. Even the Collector's Edition with the extra mission and costume DLC, artbook, and official soundtrack goes for less than $10 brand new in most retailers. At launch, I can understand the skepticism paying for a game like this for $59.99 but now, when it's cheaper - not so much.

Suda51 fans will find a lot to enjoy here - especially fans of No More Heroes, Lollipop Chainsaw (Juliet Starling has a cameo in the bonus DLC mission), and Shadows of the Damned, while most other gamers will find something to enjoy here too. Don't allow the dating sidemissions/mini-game deter you from giving this game a fair chance. The combat more than makes up for the little bit of time you have to sacrifice your dignity earning the bonus subweapons from those missions.