Graphically, the game also doesn’t fail to be unique. The cell shading and blocky textures suit the game’s peculiar aesthetic while some of the cutscenes are typical Japanese manga cartoons. Speaking of cutscenes, holy shit, they are awesome, and the voice acting is extraordinary too.  Fans of the game will unanimously agree the plot is overwhelmingly mind-bending. On one side it tries to take itself seriously as a satire on Japanese and American politics, while also blending it with complete, yet poignant, nonsense. A lot of the time, you’ll be left simply with one thought: what the hell just happened?  

Characters you meet exhibit very strange behaviour, from the humans, to the cryptically-spoken ghosts of people you murdered in the past. And in most cases, ‘very strange’ is putting it lightly; even the killer7 themselves are nutcases. But even they seem normal compared to the bosses; and let me tell you, the bosses and boss battles are as memorable as bosses get, my personal favourites being the Power Ranger-esque ‘Handsomemen’! “HUH how can there be bosses in a game like this?!?!” you may ask. Well, it’s worth finding out for yourself!  

Your currency in-game is blood, which is distinguished into Thick and Thin. Thin Blood is used for charging bullets, health regeneration and special abilities. Thick Blood is used to create serum, which upgrades individual stats. So the game has some RPG elements too, and whichever killers you favour over the rest completely depends on your playing style. Some areas will however require a certain character’s special ability. Changing between them is tedious. After going to the start menu and selecting the required person, there’s a long animation sequence where your current player explodes and reassembles as someone else. It’s considerably longer on the PS2 version, but regardless, it could be smoother. 

What’s even more frustrating is when you die. If you run out of life, you’ll be transported to the last “Harman’s Room” you visited. Harman’s Rooms act as save points, and there you have the option to select Garcian Smith. Garcian is the only Smith with the ability to resurrect dead team members, and chances are the persona who died could later be essential to get through the level. But this system can be really frustrating. You have to travel from Harman’s Room to the exact spot where your player died, which wouldn’t be so bad, if Garcian wasn’t the most useless character in the game! This also wouldn’t be so bad, if you could upgrade his appalling gun (which you can’t)!! And if you die as Garcian, it’s Game. Over. You’d think with seven playable characters, dying wouldn’t be a big deal. Well, it’s a nightmare.

The load times are a pain in the arse too. Especially on the aforementioned PS2 version, long load times, along with frequent loading, equals a fatally ruined pace of gameplay. Another problem I find is the names of junctions. Most of the time, they’ll be vaguely named ‘Road’, ‘Corridor’ etc. which isn’t a helpful reference point when looking for a place you were earlier. The map is really confusing too, and I don’t forgive the dev team for not marking your current position on it. The puzzles are great, but they’re often simple and repeat their conventions, however a few are awfully satisfying to solve. 

Picking out imperfections is futile, because every single thing about killer7 screams cult classic. The awkward yet enticing controls, the deep symbolic story which is open to interpretation, the intriguing characters, the peculiar graphics, the relentless mind-boggling brain-melts! It’s everything a typical game strives to not be! Everything! Few things have moved me as much as the breath of fresh air given by this freak misfit of the Capcom library. Like most selective tastes, it’s a game whose nit-picky flaws are best left ignored in order to fully embrace the enchanting nature of the gameplay. Sure, the loads will kill you before your high cholesterol does, a few elements such as vague reference points and puzzling maps are confusing as hell, and your fingers will hate the controls to start off with. 

But that shouldn’t hold any sane person back from giving this insane package a go, because this is a gaming experience you are never, I repeat NEVER, going to encounter again. So do yourself a favour. Find this cheap (or not), and let the game do the rest.

If only Capcom would let Suda make the sequel…