Katana Zero – Analysis of Gameplay & Art

Introduction

Katana Zero is an action-platformer that was released in 2019, developed by Askiisoft. It has a dark and mysterious story with many mature themes such as drug abuse and PTSD. The game follows the protagonist, Zero, an amnesiac katana-wielding assassin, as he carries out various assassination missions for his mysterious boss while he slowly uncovers his past. Its gameplay is very effective as it relies on platforming, slashing, and utilizing the protagonist’s time-slowing ability in order to clear levels.

Gameplay & Mechanics

Zero has a kind of clairvoyance/time reversal ability that justifies the respawn mechanic, where its essentially that the protagonist can’t die as he can reverse time or use clairvoyance to avoid his death. The combat is relatively simple; you can slash in any direction, you can deflect bullets, you can jump, you can use items you pick up, and you can dodge. The difficulty comes in having to deal with multiple enemies at once. The protagonist’s time-slowing ability allows the player to more easily deal with multiple enemies, however it has limited use that must be slowly recharged, thus the player must use the ability tactically. Zero can also jump, wall jump, and slide down ramps and walls.

Control

Zero moves very fast and slides slightly. Since his attacks can be used in any direction, he can be used with precision. He’s not super snappy to control but his abilities allow for him to move with more precision. For a less experienced player, the ability to slow down time lowers the difficulty curve in controlling him, allowing both new and veteran players to utilize his abilities effectively. His platforming abilities also make him very satisfying to control in how effortlessly he wall jumps and slides across surfaces. It allows the gameplay to flow seamlessly from platforming to combat. Although the game has much larger emphasis on combat than it does on platforming.

Art

Katana Zero utilizes pixel art. It has a neo-noir aesthetic that is befitting of the plot and setting of the game, which takes place in a dystopian city. The style is somewhat cartoonish with characters with large heads and very stylized appearances, however it still retains a mature tone, albeit with some comedic moments. This game proved that an art style does not necessarily define the tone. Though some parts of this game look “cute” it can have moments that are disturbing due to their contents, such as some torture scenes as well as the dream sequences.

The art style is effective especially in regards to gameplay. The platforms that the player can walk on are generally a lighter and bolder colour than the background, allowing for the player to easily distinguish what they can and can’t interact with. The same may be said for the enemies and the player character. The distinct shapes of each enemy also lends itself well to being able to, at a glance, tell the enemy types apart. For instance the standard men in suits are easily distinguishable from the wider brawlers, just in their shape, which allows the player to immediately read the situation and plan an attack without having to pause and spend any extra time figuring out which enemy type is which. To add, each enemy type has differing colour schemes, the shotgunner wears a blue police uniform while the semi-auto gunners wear black and white suits. Katana Zero is very effective in communicating everything visually.

Conclusion

Katana Zero is an effective game due to its engaging and effective art style and because of its quick and responsive gameplay.

It has impacted how I may go about designing my characters in order to clearly define them at a glance. It has also made me realize that the art style of a game can be utilized in any context, essentially just because a game may appear cartoonish, that does not mean it cannot have a serious or mature tone. Beyond that the gameplay has also affected how I may want the speed of my game to be. I knew I wanted a fast paced game, but I wasn’t certain how fast I wanted it to be, it would certainly be slower than Katana Zero, just by the nature that my game leans more into platforming than Katana Zero does, but it would still aim to have a similar sense of flow that is present in Katana Zero.