"What should we do with Eno?" - Sony
D stands, not only as a classic in adventure gaming, but also as the first part of Kenji Eno's brilliant series, and the introduction of the mute (and easily frightened) digital actress, Laura. The background of the game is also an interesting subject as it started Kenji Eno's dispute with Sony, leading to the famous event when, during a preview of Enemy Zero at a Sony Press Conference, Eno changed the Playstation logo to the Sega Saturn logo in front of the entire conference. Events such as these and many more make D's background almost as interesting as the game itself. And trust me, D is a very interesting game. Although the game does have a few flaws, mostly having to do with elements of the story and length, the game on a technical standpoint is flawless.
First of all, there's the graphics. Remember the amazingly detailed landscapes found in Myst? Take that level of detail, throw it in a confined, claustrophobic space, add significant elements of horror, and you have something very much resembling D. While the graphics are quite dated by todays standards, the detailed, almost dreamlike world is astonishing to see in a game from 1995 and still holds up to this day. Every single room has the different feel than the next, which is very much unlike (as much as I love the game) Enemy Zero's very repetitive hallways.
Then, there's the gameplay. Now some argue that there is little to no gameplay in D. These are lies. The gameplay, while probably the least unique element in the game, is one of the selling points of the game for me. The gameplay pretty much consists of traversing the many rooms of the castle, solving puzzles in order to move further through the game. The puzzles are very well done. None are too challenging and very few are too simple, and none are convoluted. Another element of note is the sound. The sound effects are all extremely well done. From the slightest sound of Laura gripping a key in the palm of her hand to the stirring and emotional soundtrack, the sound delivers in every area.
Unfortunately, this brings us to the most disappointing aspect of the entire game. It is way too short. It's almost depressing. Right when you feel like your truly, fully immersed in the graphics, the gameplay, the storyline, and you feel like your ready for any obstacle that comes your way, the game ends. I'm not saying the ending is bad. I actually very much liked the twist. I also really liked the good ending sequence. It was really well done and it's gets quite emotional, but the game ends too quickly to get an emotional attachment to the story, so the ending sequence ends up not affecting you as much as it should. The game is almost like an extended demo. It really leaves you wanting more.
The final flaw is a blessing and a curse: the voice acting. There is really only one voice actor in the game if you exclude Laura's gasping and crying. Laura's father has one of the worst voices in video game history. It actually succeeds in being worse than the classic voice acting in the original Resident Evil. It's simply hilarious, but it really sucks at the same time, because it creates yet another barrier for any attachment to the story or characters because it's so hard to take anything her father says seriously. When the dramatic twist comes toward the end of the game, it almost passes right over you and you have to do a double take. Suddenly your like, "Wait! What did he say?!" It's very funny, but very disappointing at the same time.
The game is rated "T" despite having disturbing scenes of cannibalism. When Kenji Eno brought the game over to the US for distribution, he switched the edited copy with the normal copy and by the time anyone noticed anything, it was too late. This led to many complaint letters to Acclaim US about the content of the game. I can only thank Eno for that. It's bad enough we have to live with the edited version of D2 (if we want to actually play the game in English or get it at a decent price). I can honestly say that D wouldn't be the same game without the full experience and I honestly wouldn't be able to recommend it. Kenji Eno has a unique vision that can not be censored and D is not just another one of those visions. It's the vision that started it all.
