Maken X

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Maken X

Developer(s)	Atlus Software
Publisher(s)	Sega
Release date(s)	October 31, 1999 November 25, 1999
Genre(s)	First-person slasher
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature
Platform(s)	Dreamcast
Media	x1 GD-ROM

Maken X (魔剣X, Maken X^?) is a game for the Sega Dreamcast console that fits into an extremely small sub-genre of "first-person slashers". It is unique in that the main character is the weapon (Maken), rather than a person.

The word "Maken" literally translates as "demonic sword". On the title screen, the "X" is shown to apparently stand for deus ex machina (Latin for "god from the machine").

The player can control a number of character via 'brainjacking', which leaves the person a vegetable. The woman displayed on the boxart is the first person controlled when the facility that Maken was created at comes under attack.

1 Censorship
2 Manga
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Censorship

The western release of Maken X: was heavily censored from its Japanese counterpart, which featured a more National-Socialist theme for some enemies (most notably, two enemies who actually had swastikas for faces), and a boss-battle against the pope set inside the Vatican.

The Playstation 2 remake, Maken Shao: Demon Sword, retains censorship of the swastika in all versions, including the Japanese. It also contains significant differences to the gameplay, the most striking being that it is played in a third-person perspective rather than first-person.

[edit] Manga

Maken X

Genre	Science fiction, shōnen
Manga
Authored by	Kyu Hayashida
Publisher	Kodansha Planet Manga
Serialized in	Magazine Z
Original run	January 21, 2000 – November 22, 2001
No. of volumes	3

A surreal adventure following Kei Sagami as she journeys to rescue her kidnapped father. Her father, Professor Hiromitsu Sagami, developed the Maken, a sword designed to heal people. As strange as a weapon that heals people sounds, the Maken does very little actual healing. The soul of the sword seems bent on "brainjacking," simultaneously stealing a person's knowledge and killing them, than saving lives. Unfortunately for Kei, unknown assailants attack her father's lab and mysteriously the Maken grafts itself to her arm. Struggling to keep her mind separate from the Maken, Kei and her childhood friend wander about leaving behind a trail of corpses.