The reason Laura is in all the D games even though each is a different character, is because he had the idea of a "Digital Actor". She's not the same person in the stories, but she's the same "Digital Actress". His idea was that you could rent out a character, likeness and voice, to other studios.
Yeah I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in the video, it's one of the more interesting things about his D games. He basically created a virtual actress, with intent on her or others becoming like Hatsune Miku. What a mad lad.
@@VIeshPilled In a horror movie whenever I see a famous actor, it kinda takes something away from my immersion, in contrast to an unknown actor. So when there is a "actress" in a game I dont think it works so well. I mean Hatsune Miku works because she appears mostly in Music Videos and is fitting for advertisements. or small cameos But still this dude was pretty forward thinking and I have to applaud him for that^^
@@hatad321 Thats true, sometimes you it gets like "Oh hey its that character from the other video game!". Steve Blum voiced many characters simultaneously in Killer7 but it worked because he put in some variety into the voices. But I think generally a voice wouldnt distract me as much as seeing the same actor over and over again. For example in GTA Vice City, I dont think of the Protagonist "Oh hey its Ray Liotta". Its Tommy Vercetti who has been brought to life through Ray Liottas awesome voicework^^
Hearing how he made a game for the blind, a minority that no game developer was thinking of at the time, and even went as far as to include a manual in braille and knowing that it wouldn't really be a financial success is incredibly touching and made me start to tear up a bit.
I caught a little segment on NHK a few years ago about the little neighborhood restaurant he used to go to regularly, and how he charmed his way into being able to order mapo doufu(normally reserved for dinner) for lunch there, and how he’d pay for others to try it too, just so he could share the experience and the flavor of his favorite dish with people he didn’t even know. That’s just how strong Eno’s passion was about everything he did, and I hope that people continue to share his story, his games, and even some mapo doufu, just to keep his legacy alive.
Kenji Eno's band was called Norway. There's a RU-vid channel up with a few songs they did most of them after Eno's death. As well as original songs they did Evangelion covers and tributed Eno's death with a cover of Komm Süsser Tod from The End of Evangelion. Other songs on Eno's RU-vid channel including more Eva covers don't seem to be available anymore sadly.
This dude got back into making games after sharing spliffs with musicians at a fucking Mac Expo and then bullied an Oscar award-winning pianist into creating the soundtrack for his invisible space alien game. What an actual legend.
I believe they were friends in real life. You can find some pictures of Kojima and Eno playing Enemy Zero together, and Kojima's listed in the 'special thanks' section of D2's end credits.
I really love this channel because it's one of the few ones that would talk of guys like Kenji Eno, otherwise I would have never known about him! If not because of you, then how? I guess I would have known thanks to the eventual DYKG - Kenji Eno, right? Ha!
Nostalgia hit me so damn hard seeing y'all talk about Eno again; I've been watching this channel literally since elementary school, got hooked bc of the D trilogy videos, and my interests in weird games have only grown since. I don't say this kind of thing often but seriously, I don't know what the hell kind of person I'd be if I didn't grow up with these videos.
Enemy Zero is still an underrated horror gem. The game made me go back and forth with feelings of sadness, disgust, and panic. Eno was a unique voice; glad you guys gave him credit, where credit is due.
@@fernie-fernandez He released a short film a couple of years ago, 'Last Days of Coney Island'. He's not really heavily involved in the animation industry anymore, he spends most of his time painting these days.
Kenji Eno was a genius & the fact he made a game for the blind is nothing short of amazing. I've played "Winds Of Regret" & despite not understanding Japanese, the music & sound effects kept going until I finished it. "Trip'D" is a very fun game & I like it better than "Puyo Puyo". I was a bit surprised you didn't mention Fumito Ueda. He worked on the director's cut of "D" as well as "Enemy Zero". Considering Kenji Eno gave Ueda his start in the business, it's no wonder he's considered a genius too.
Kenji Eno is one of my favorite developers. Even his not as famous stuff, like flopon world(which includes a great single screen galaga style shooter) is great. I hope there will always be visionary developers in the future. It makes me glad to see devs like Swery, or Suda51. They understand how to create an enjoyable experience, even if the gameplay is a bit rough. Its a shame Eno died so young. This is a wonderful documentary and I'm glad his legacy lives on.
Yay! I'm SO happy y'all did a bio of Eno and his work. I got into his D series a while back when y'all covered it as HVGN, and I was hoping there would be an SSFF video about him later on. Thank you so much! He seemed like such a thoughtful and creative human being.
What makes Eno's legacy more interesting is that he also worked with Ko Takeuchi (3D Modeller/D2) and Fumito Ueda (Animator/Enemy Zero) of all things! This man really went out to define the time and passion he put in his games!
God, this is a blast from the past. I'm having flashbacks of the candles, wine glass, and low-lighted room in those very early videos, hahah. It's nice to see you talk about Eno again in detail.
8:54 - This game looks heavily inspired by the early Lucasfilm / Lucasarts game Ballblazer, which has the same vertically split screen with players sliding around a 3D plane pushing pucks.
Just get the Famicom version. It's about 1/10th of that price. Literally the only differences are the title, the main character's sprite, and it includes the credits.
@@SmaMan I mean, you've got a point but that's still S I X T Y U S D O L L A R S. Also the PAL version is only like $20 more expensive. But still, I emphasized the US value because it's funny. On an unrelated note, it really sucks that you can't easily obtain any of Kenji Eno's late period work legally.
Real sound was actually made because his father had vision problems and he wanted to make something for his dad. Eno was really interesting. I have D for the Saturn and Enemy Zero as well. Bought it day one, still haven't finished it. Great game but you only have limited saves,rough. D2 is a really good game. There are some great interviews with him and James Milkie from EGM. Wish you could still get You,Me and the Cubes. Sad that his last game is unavailable. R.I.P Eno San. Glad he had a child.
Your HVGN video is the reason why I made "D" my Halloween game that year. A totally unique experience, and pretty crazy (for the time) that you have to play it all in one sitting.
4:56 OH MY GOD! I was literally searching for any info about this nostalgic game during these last months, with no results; And just when I was off-guard, it gets mentioned in a Stop Skeletons video...! Much thanks! You guys are precious. :)
It is so surreal to think back when you first talked about the D trilogy, at the time, you could have met the man himself. I didn't know he passed until after this video. The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
I was lucky to interview a friend of Mr. Eno, James Mielke, shortly after he passed. I admired Mr. Eno from a fan point of view, but after the interview, I admired him as a person, which is not a common thing to find in any industry. Here's the article (in Japanese) in case you're interested: automaton-media.com/articles/interviewsjp/interview-james-milkey-with-eno-kenji-memory/
Fun fact! 1. That mobile paying system used in Japan has evolved and now its as common to buy a shirt or a meal with the suica system as with ordinary means of payment. Its really handy in arcades and convienience stores. Also. D can be bought and played on a computer thanks to gog.com
9:40 This makes pretty clear that this was written and recorded long before it was discovered that the ESRB doesn't play the games and pretty much just believes publishers when it comes to game content
Watching Eno cornering Michael Nyman in the hotel would be the greatest six-hour comedy sketch ever. Seriously, I want to know how that went down. Did Eno even speak English?
Fun fact. I used to work in the video game industry so I made a lot of friends because of my intermediate knowledge with Japanese. I was always a huge fan of his games and after reaching out on his blog we would talk a lot on Twitter. One of my fondest memories of our conversations was asking if the green blood in D2 was inspired by the infamously bad film Troll 2. He admitted to me that while he's heard about that film he's never actually seen it and I made a promise to him that as long as he didn't see it beforehand that when I meet him in Japan in a year or two I will bring a copy with me and I will watch it with him together. We never got to do that. I cried when the news broke that he passed away which I was already nervous about because it was a while before he posted anything new. RIP Eno. 😞
Kenji Eno is one of my video game heroes. When he passed I was following him on twitter and noticed he had stopped posting, and the news came out. He was an visionary who was about to make his comeback into the game world but it wasn't fated to be.
Hey Derek, as a fellow retro fan I just want to say you're great and I loved the video. I think Kenji Eno was underappreciated in his time. I do want to let you know his name is actually pronounced Kenji Iino, like feed or greed. Back in the 90's romaji wasn't as well known in the west, so his name was spelled Eno to help people pronounce it. Ironically now romaji is very well known (especially among gamers and otaku) which has led to his name being pronounced ehno. Once again, love you, love your work, not being a dick or correcting you, just think as a fan you'd like to know. Hope October goes great for you!
It seems genuinely fitting that you've made this considering that without you, I probably would've never played the D games (though still to give D2 a try) and definitely wouldn't have heard of Kenji Eno! Marvellous work!
You know, I was always trying to get noticed with my music on youtube since 2012, never had too much luck that I stopped and started drawing and few animations (recently.) But seeing how someone and legendary as kenji eno being so underrated compared to capcom and nintendo, I feel like its not really a bad thing: People will go hunting and will just find that treasure that the rest of the world has never seen. And that greatness eventually comes to light. Sorry, its just kenji been putting his all into his work, I truly believe he is just above and beyond. Loved the D series. Maybe I just shouldn't give up completely and try again sometime.
Thank you so much for doing a video covering some of Kenji Eno's legacy! I've always loved the guys' work & can only keep hoping we see more of his games re-released on GOG/Steam -- you can get the original D on GOG, but none of the other D-titles unfortunately.
I really enjoyed this look into Eno and Warp. My mom introduced me to D when I was really young and the game scared me to actual tears. Years later I brought my Saturn and copy of D to my college apartment and me and my friends played it one night on a whim and it was such a fun experience.
Really hope they pull through on Kakexun. Every now and then I dig around for any new info and besides some mini stuff on their Facebook and an article blurb, nada
Great video but it has one little mistake: There were 2 Flopon games released on the 3DO. Flopon - The Space Mutant (which was released as Trip'D in the US) & Flopon World (which was not released in the US at all). Flopon World contains the only 2D Shoot'em up released on the 3DO.
I didn't realize he had passed away. D was quite a fascinating game to me when I was younger, too, and I had no backstory to know about how creative this man truly was. Thanks for this video. ❤️
I love D for some reason. It has a special feel to it. I haven't played Enemy Zero yet. What Kenji Eno built is fascinating. His merketing strategies as well. Thank you for this informative video/documentary.
I am so ready for spook-tober with SSFF!! Honestly you two makes the best Halloween RU-vid videos out of any other RU-vidr, can't wait to see what other videos you guys post the rest of the month! Great video as well, I'm I got to learn more about a real legend in the game industry and his fascinating life!
Don't be diminutive with your work or path. He'd be hella proud of you man. I know I am. You've gone such a long way since I first started watching you and in a really meaningful way (content wise and as a person too).
Was hugely into D & Enemy Zero... they cemented my love of pre-rendered graphics that Donkey Kong Country started. So much so that despite the tech we have today, my own game creations are all pre-rendred. Such a shame he is no longer with us.
Where did you find a high quality version of that live action Enemy Zero commercial with Eno (the one at 0:38)? The only video I've ever been able to find was super grainy and low resolution.
I did not know about Eno-san and his amazing life. I watched the old HVGN videos and then this one. That was quite a ride... Too bad he passed away so early. Especially that he designed a game for blind people touched me, since Japan is usually not very open about people with disabilities. Lots of greetings from Germany! Keep up the great work!
Kenji Eno looks like your childhood friend's older brother who has an expensive synthesizer in his room, shows you a bunch of cool games he's working on, and probably has some cannabis stored somewhere in his dresser.
This is maybe the 3rd time I've watched this video. I implore everyone who enjoyed this video to be on the lookout for Archipel's soon to be released documentary on Kenji Eno. I'm looking forward to it!
Man, I would have LOVED if you had dropped Calvin/Maya's name and Starship Amazing at the end of the video when you talked about your old reviews. I've recently downloaded most of your albums from your oficial page, and I have to Say: They are AMAZING (heh...) to listen when walking and enjoying the outside view. While Ruby Dagger was your most succesful album, I personally love *A man who Made a choice* and *Scoops/Gearheart* (which are turning 10 next year!) Keep up the good work, both of you. I love your videos.
Love when you guys talk about Kenji Eno! Your D series videos were my favorite in the HVGN days. I got D on GoG and an import copy of Enemy Zero after looking for them for years. Still need to play D2 though!
What was I doing when I was 19? Watching some Happy Video Game Nerd It's amazing how Kenji Eno has always been a part of the documentaries and reviews of this channel
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