With the first details and screenshots for Killer is Dead still warm from Famitsu’s printing press, Grasshopper Manufacture and Kadokawa Games released the title’s debut trailer today — giving us our first look at Suda 51’s latest game in motion.
Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the GameCube cult-classic Killer 7, or the Wii franchise No More Heroes, will instantly recognize some of the story elements and visual style used in the Killer is Dead trailer. Where some might see that as a negative and nothing more than rehashing old ideas, I could not disagree more. It is my firm belief that the gaming world could use more highly stylized games featuring assassin vs. assassin combat.
Aside from the beautiful visuals, the Killer is Dead trailer features a decent amount of footage of Mondo Zappa (the game’s executioner protagonist) in combat situations. Most of the fighting seems to focus around swordplay, however, Mondo’s cybernetic left arm also gets a workout whenever he needs a bit of firepower or a giant drill.
We are also briefly introduced to some of the game’s other characters. Brian Roses (the boss of the Brian Execution Firm) is featured early on in the trailer, along with (what appears to be) some of the game’s bosses, and two female characters.
The end of the trailer promises that the next “episode” will center around the blond woman, who is described as “a beautiful woman who has devilish hands.” Sounds a bit like No More Heroes‘ Sylvia Christel if you ask me… only she appears to have the ability to spawn multiple arms.
Killer is Dead is currently scheduled to launch this Summer in Japan on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Grasshopper Manufacture has not yet announced or confirmed a Western release for the game, so Suda 51 fans should keep their fingers crossed while checking out the game’s debut trailer below.
