Maken X is a first-person hack and slash video game developed by Atlus for the Dreamcast. It was published by Atlus in Japan in 1999, while Sega localized and released the game overseas in 2000. Gameplay has the Maken—a sentient sword-like being—"brainjacking" or taking control of multiple characters across a variety of levels; combat is primarily based around short-ranged melee attacks, with some characters sporting additional abilities such as ranged attacks.
The story is set on near-future Earth during a time when the world is descending into chaos due to natural disasters and political upheaval in Europe and rising political tension between the United States and China. When the facility where the Maken was developed is attacked, the sword bonds to main heroine Kay Sagami and is sent on missions against the group responsible for the attack. Depending on dialogue choices and brainjacked characters, seven possible endings can be achieved.
Concept work began during the middle of production on the Persona 2 duology. Featuring staff from the Megami Tensei franchise including artist Kazuma Kaneko and composer Shoji Meguro, development took approximately two years. It was the first game developed by Atlus to feature full voice acting, and one of the company's earliest fully 3D titles. The game was met with mixed reviews, but sold well in Japan. An enhanced remake for the PlayStation 2, , was published by Atlus in Japan in 2001 and in Europe by Midas Interactive Entertainment in 2003. It changed a number of gameplay elements, introduced further cutscenes, adjusted the music, and added the third-person perspective in response to a common trend in Japan of first-person games causing motion sickness.
Gameplay
Maken X is a first-person action hack and slash video game where players control a variety of characters wielding a sentient sword dubbed the Maken. The game is divided into "Event Scenes", cutscenes related to the story; and "Action Scenes", the gameplay segments; and the world map used to select levels. On the world map, players can select a variety of levels including main story missions, zones holding new playable characters, and levels involving key non-playable characters. If the player character's health is fully depleted, the game ends. Players take control of a number of people through the Maken's "brainjack" ability, enabling them to take control of different story-related characters; each character wields a version of the Maken, but also have unique abilities and different statistics such as higher health and greater attack power, or character-specific abilities such as ranged attacks or stunning enemies.
Players navigate linear levels with the selected character, able to interact with certain environmental elements and jump over obstacles or onto higher platforms. During combat, the player is able to move freely within the environment, and has access to a variety of moves including a back step and strafing to avoid attacks. Enemies encountered in areas include humans, hostile animals, machines, and supernatural entities. The player character, who can lock onto enemies during combat, has a standard attack option, with combos achieved through consecutive attacks. An "EX Gauge" can be charged up and released to trigger a powerful attack. The player can also leap over and strike an enemy from behind—these actions open the enemy up to a high-damage attack. The player can find several types of items within each level; these include various sizes of life capsules which replenish health, increase attack power for a limited time, and gain PSI points from defeated enemies. PSI points are essential when brainjacking new characters, as the Maken can only brainjack a character with a lower or equivalent PSI level.
For the remake Maken Shao, gameplay remains mostly the same, but with several added mechanics and a shift to a third-person perspective focused behind the back of the character. Combat options remain the same, but character abilities are now increased through combat by gaining "Image points", experience points earned from defeated enemies. After gathering enough Image points, new skills are unlocked for the current character, with the Maken's compatibility or "synchronization" with that character increasing alongside it; increased synchronization with a character raises their basic attributes such as health and attack power.
Synopsis Setting and characters Maken X is set in a near-future version of Earth, described as "five minutes" into the future, the limit of precognitive vision. In the world of Maken X, the spirit is a scientifically proven concept referred to as PSI, which arises from a separate dimension and is the source of emotion and sensation. Amid rising tensions and flagging negotiations between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, the European Union is collapsing due to growing misfortune across Europe. Two key factions are the Blademasters, a society who maintain world peace at all costs and share a special gene dubbed the "D Gene"; and the Sangokai, a Hong Kong-based crime syndicate which splintered from the Blademasters and are responsible for the catastrophes engulfing the world. The Sangoki are led by the Hakke, humans with warped PSI that has malformed their bodies. The central cast are staff at the Kazanawa Research Institute in Japan, which is secretly funded by the Blademasters from a base in China.
The main protagonist is the Maken, an artificial being with direct access to the world of PSI. The Maken's key ability is "brainjack"; the Maken's native PSI is able to substitute itself for the PSI of a chosen host—referred to as their "Image"—giving the Maken control of that person's body. Given the default name "Deus Ex Machina", it was developed ostensibly as a means of treating mental illness, but is in fact a weapon for the Blademasters to defeat the Sangoki as it has the ability to destroy a person's Image. The Maken's first and primary host is Kay Sagami; the daughter of the institute's leader Hiro Sagami and a Chinese mother who died when Kay was still young, Kay dreams of following in her father's footsteps. Supporting characters include Institute researchers Anne Miller and Peter Jones, Kay's childhood friend and love interest Kou Yamashiro; Blademaster leader Fu Shou Lee, who funds the Maken's creation; and Fei Chao Li, Kay's tutor and the intended wielder of the Maken due to possessing the Blademasters' D Gene.
Plot The game opens with the Maken's activation; Kay watches with her father as Fei prepares to wield the sword. They are attacked by Sangokai member Hakke Andrey, who kidnaps Sagami and mortally wounds Fei. Prompted by Fei before he dies, Kay takes up the Maken; brainjacking Kay, the Maken defeats Andrey, but fails to prevent Sagami from being kidnapped. Despite brainjacking Andrey to pursue the Sangokai under Lee's orders, Kay remains tied to the Maken and is in danger of permanently losing her PSI. During the Maken's journey across the world, it is revealed that the Sangokai—whose members include the current President of the United States—are being influenced by a god-like being of the PSI realm dubbed Geist. Geist, which also seeks to preserve humanity through more extreme means than the Blademasters, intends to use the Sangokai to reduce the human population. Over the course of the game, the Maken has the option of brainjacking numerous characters from both the Blademasters and the Sangokai.
Depending on brainjacking and dialogue choices made by the Maken through the game, several different narrative paths and endings are unlocked. One ending has the Maken follow the Blademasters' orders, destroying the Sangokai and Geist while saving both Kay and Sagami; it is then sealed away as it has the potential of becoming a second Geist. Another ending sees the Maken allowing Kay to die, taking control of the American President following Geist's defeat. The third ending shows the Maken abandoning its mission in order to save Kay, which brings it into conflict with Geist—with the help of Kou, the Maken sacrifices itself and restores Kay to her body. Alternate versions of this route show the Maken being offered a deal by Geist if the Maken refuses to allow itself to die for Kay—accepting the truce restores Kay, while refusing it restores Sagami while the Maken permanently takes over Kay's body. Another route sees the Maken refuse to follow the Blademasters' orders and instead side with the Sangokai, killing Lee and joining Geist in creating a "utopia" by controlling human thoughts. If the Maken refuses to follow both the Blademasters and the Sangokai, it kills Geist while allowing Kay to die. The Maken is contacted by Lee's spirit, who says that the Maken is now the only being left capable of restoring the world.
Development The concept for Maken X arose while Atlus was part of the way through developing the Persona 2 duology (Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment) for the PlayStation. Producer Kouji Okada was one of the original creators of Atlus' Megami Tensei series. Longtime Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko acted as art director and character designer. The director was Katsura Hashino; having worked as a planner on multiple titles since Shin Megami Tensei If..., Maken X was his debut as a game director. The game was developed by internal studio Atlus R&D1. Most of the development team were directly carried over from the second Persona 2 game. The Atlus staff were beginning to feel limited by the scope of the Megami Tensei universe, so when they were shown the specifications of the Dreamcast console, they immediately decided to create something new for that console. Okada later said that Atlus' main desire when creating Maken X was to develop something new after making role-playing games for most of the company's lifetime.
Speaking in an interview, Okada and Kaneko referred to the development period for Maken X as quite turbulent. Kaneko felt at first that the game was an "odd job", but over time he became deeply involved as the game graduated into being an important project for him. It was the first time the team had tried development with the Dreamcast, which proved more versatile and powerful than expected. The developers initially wanted a "neat" development project, but demands came for a more expansive project, resulting in the game's scale greatly increasing and the development process becoming chaotic, with more staff coming on board to help development. Due to these factors, the period of trial and error when creating the gameplay lasted much longer than intended. The first-person perspective combined with sword-based action was chosen to create a unique feel for the game. While 3D elements had been included in earlier Atlus titles, Maken X was the first time Atlus used both full 3D visuals and full-motion 3D CGI cutscenes. The game was also the first time the Megami Tensei team had attempted development of a game outside the role-playing genre.