I played D no Shokutaku on the 3DO for the first time in about 30 years and it was incredibly fun!!
Just the other day, while looking for ideas for a note, I was digging through a game storage container in my storage room... and I found them. 3DO game software (and the 3DO console itself)!
By the way, 3DO is pronounced "three-dee-oh." The word "multimedia," which is nostalgic now, was everywhere back then. The 3DO was released in 1994 by Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) as a multimedia terminal that went beyond the category of a home game console.
The 3DO was an unfortunate piece of hardware that was overshadowed by the Sega Saturn and the original PlayStation, which were released the following year. However, its performance was quite high, and I personally remember being intensely attracted to the advantage of being able to play Super Street Fighter II X at home for the first time.
Although the 3DO had a short life, many attractive games were released for it, of course. The aforementioned Super Street Fighter II X is one, and Policenauts was also ported to it first. It's a bit obscure, but the live-action mystery adventures by Misa Yamamura and Kyotaro Nishimura were also good, and you could also play Alone in the Dark, which had a huge influence on the later Resident Evil. As a trend, I have an image that it was strong in adventure games that appealed to the senses through visuals.
The legendary interactive movie "D no Shokutaku"
And when it comes to the 3DO, you absolutely cannot forget D no Shokutaku.
At the time, it was the cutting-edge genre of "interactive movie." There was a new, unprecedented experience where the player could interfere through the controller with CG images that made full use of state-of-the-art polygons.
By the way, the "D" in D no Shokutaku is deeply related to the Dracula legend, which is also famous as a vampire in Japan. Also, the taboo act (cannibalism) that the word "shokutaku" (dining table) evokes is expressed, and the story is a quite substantial psychological thriller.
Booting it up after 30 years, and the shock
Since it's a work from over 30 years ago, I thought, "If I play it now, it'll probably be unplayable..." while booting up the 3DO (miraculously, it still worked properly!).
......The result. I'm sorry! I got completely absorbed in it (surprise).
It is truly amazing that this quality of video could be created over 30 years ago. Of course, compared to today's games, the polygons are rough and you can feel the graininess of the movies, but the way the images are presented is skillful and highly tasteful. The use of sound also effectively amplifies the horror of the psychological thriller, and that sense of immersion from back then clearly came back to my mind.
I was very bothered by the slow "walking speed" when moving between scenes, but I positively reinterpreted it in my brain, thinking, "No, wait, when you're exploring a dark, old castle you've wandered into, you're supposed to act cautiously like this, right?"
This work has a "two-hour time limit" and is designed so that you cannot save or pause in the middle, so perhaps that's why the slowness of this movement makes you feel even more nervous and stressed. But I think even that was calculated and intended.
The existence of the rare creator Kenji Eno
D no Shokutaku was also a trigger that put the spotlight on its creator, Kenji Eno.
Many works from Eno's company, "Warp," were released on the 3DO. The falling-block puzzle game "Fropon-kun," the over-the-top silly game "Oyaji Hunter Mahjong"... I still love them when I think back on them.
Kenji Eno, who radiated an overwhelming presence and excited us in that era. Someday soon, I would like to carefully write down my memories of the works of Eno, whose images and music were exceptionally high-sense, and whose reckless and outspoken behavior was charming.