The Game That Lies To You | Katana Zero
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- This is Katana Zero. One of my favourite indie games that asks the question, what do the soldiers fight for when there's no war left to fight?
Watch the extended edition on my Patreon: patreon.com/ComboTrigger
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00:00 Introduction
1:02 What is Katana Zero?
5:13 The Game (Light Spoilers)
21:07 Major Spoilers
45:25 Secrets & Theories
50:56 Conclusion
#katanazero #indiegame #actiongames #gamereview - Zábava
I want the dlc so bad man. I've been playing since the year it came out, at least doing level select from time to time. The dev put a lot on his shoulders but it shows his efforts through the quality of the game
piracy
@@TheController_0 pirate something that doesn't exist?
@@peachpink2831 aren't they talking about katana hero? the unofficial "dlc"?
Katana Hero is also free if you have the game already so, no need for piracy
@@TheController_0Free story DLC has been being worked on for ages now. It's supposed to be like, three times the size of the basegame and the few glimpses we've gotten have been amazing.
the reason why you have no choice to kill the homeless man if you stealth through the prison is most likely that zero is addicted to killing. he isnt a good guy, after all. "killing someone else is the closest thing we can get to something we can never have", he likes killing and i'd say hes addicted to it, and being denied to kill the guards and his target i think leaves him... dissatisfied, which causes him to take it out on a drunken alcoholic homeless man who in a different life tries stealing his medal.
thats what i like so much about the men in the masks comparing you to him, it just has less impact if you dont kill him. "the drink is all this man ever was, and when it is gone, what remains is the bottle", the drink, in zero's case, is his chronos. exited for the DLC, i know the entire point of katana zero is that you arent supposed to understand everything and you're just as confused as zero but i still want to know:
who are the men in masks? deities of time, yin and yang, or hallucinations, and everything they've done and every time they interact might have been an hallucination.
is the little girl fake? if the men in masks are fake she is also fake, the men in masks could be his sub-conscious mocking him and making him confront the bad side of himself "the drink is all this man ever was, and when it is gone, what remains is the bottle", and the little girl is a hallucination made to make zero feel better about himself to make him feel like he did one good thing in his life before the men in masks make him confront himself by taking that away, or they could just be deities somehow tied to time or chronos (of which they only appear as symptoms of chronos withdrawal or faintly in glitched sections (where your screen glitches) while still on chronos) and they're messing with a man they find pathetic
whos bringing back chronos? who does V work for? why dont we have a cool boss fight with snow already!?!?
i know at least the last 3 are going to be answered in the DLC, theres a lot to add to the story but those last 3 at least have to be answered for the story to continue
The bottle line is good, because it really does imply that it traps zero in the bottle just like a model ship - which is the side effect of the drug.
You could also go with the trio of Comedy, Tragedy and Girl with a greek twist: the Moirai. Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis for their roles, which certainly fits the theatre theme.
I sort of like the idea of a norse take for the fates: Past, Present and Future. If the LG is Future, then it implies zero does survive (somehow) and might even have a kid, and is hallucinating his a further future.
Also, sick video dude.
Do metal gear rising next
Bro..CHILL..Its never as deep as you think...the men in masks are obviously two of the people who made chronos and are actively controlling the main character from the background..they are intelligent and childish..and they take pleasure in watching how their experiments play out.
@@flewis02 thats an interesting idea, but seems a bit far fetched
Also in one of the psychologist sessions when questioning him about null if you choose the “my psychopathy?” Response and then the I like killing option Zero actually speaks and talks about how it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive.
A fun detail I remember connecting back then was, when the little girl asks you to find Leviathan using the Behemoth toy she has, she says that "Behemoth only glows when Leviathan's nearby." And when you do find it, the screen glows a bright red with black silhouettes. Eerily similar to how Zero's katana glows upon first meeting Fifteen on the highway.
Also, spoilers for the next part:
I always thought that the stuff the psychiatrist injected himself with during the secret boss fight was some mind-altering medication, since everything goes back to normal after the fight immediately and Zero's just sitting there on the chair. He also said "Did you really think Chronos was the only thing the government developed for the war?" So if Chronos can grant the user pre-cognition, who's to say there isn't some other thing out there that could grant the user the ability to attack others via their mind or hallucinations? But apart from that one line and the different colors in the vials, I have no way to support this theory.
Say that is true that the latter part is the case... one thing I could see it is that by attempting to attack the mind directly, specifically that of someone who can just loop endlessly, unless they are also able to handle the same situation, it causes an indefinite loopback onto themselves until someone wins.
How do iget the secret fight
the devs have confirmed that while the fight isnt canon, the drug he uses *is*. make of that what you will
@@karimabenhammou1753 look it up. It's mostly just choosing the most uncooperative dialogue option every time you interact with the Pychologist.
God, this game was a fucking incredible experience, i wish i could play it for the first time again.
Hoping the dlc comes out one day
This does sound like the story isn't done. While it concludes the stuff the story focuses on, it also introduces new plot points that will probably lead to more developments. So it comes across as more of an ending to a chapter in a bigger story.
They do have a DLC planned.
I love the narration in this part 33:18 “katana zero gets his very own Vergil and you don’t have to buy a special edition just to play as him” I bloody love that line 😂also amazing review mate! you did a really good job on the video! And one last thing hopefully you have an amazing day
Thanks for the support and your comment made my day! I hope you have a great one mate.
oh btw for anyone who's waiting for the dlc, I would recommend the game Sanabi! Its a criminally underated game that the devs have said was heavily inspired by KZ !!!
Second this! Having fun with it right now, but had to change some the resolution and other settings since it kept crashing (just some stuff to keep in mind for others trying it out).
This look siiick thanks for the recomandation!
dude sanabi made me ugly cry holy fuck the story was too good for that game
@H3NRY121 SAME the art at the end had me bawling
@@okok-fd8yu dude that shit hit so hard more than i ever expected....and the twists with the story.....and even tho u sorta knew what was gonna happen....when it did it told it differently and made u feel worse LMAO an amazing game
I like how the letters of Judgement slide sideways like that.
Almost like Judgement was Cut...
Is that a Storm that is approaching!? 👀
Idk why the theory that the little girl is Snow isn't more popular. First few reddit results I checked on the topic instantly shut down that theory, when it seems so obvious.
I've always chalked the kid up to being your therapists child they talk about
I mean, there is almost nothing to suggest it. And just because there isn't anything that doesn't suggest it doesn't make it plausible either
A katana zero essay in 2024? Not complaining though lol
i have a weird theory that's kind of flimsy but if anyone can find supporting or contrary evidence to it let me know (and please be civil, it is not that serious, we are just throwing theories out there and seeing what sticks :D):
The kid is the psychiatrist's daughter.
-In one hallucination, the daughter is stabbed onto a pillar in the office and the shrink is dead on the ground
-Interacting with the paperweight on the desk will prompt the shrink to tell you that it's his daughter's. So much thought is put into this game, for what reason would the shrink have a daughter? not just a child, but a child that he refers to with a specific gender?
-When the shrink is packing up, he is also angry that he's been unable to reach his daughter. Right after you kill him (with the same paperweight from his daughter), you'll find the girl is gone.
the daughter is supposed to have gotten the "paperweight" while travelling, the psych says as much. a 5 yo girl probably isnt travelling the world by herself, so this contradiction makes the theory not really work.
@@Sad_Mercy forgot that detail augh. maybe she's a young version of the daughter that zero is hallucinating for whatever reason?
Feels like that would be stretching. Also there is nothing explained or anything understood for the little girl being the shrinks daughter
The whole game is great.
But boy, the music is just PEAK.
But I also love Zero as a character. While he is incredibly cool, he is just as pathetic on an entirely different level.
And he ia on one hand a massive, funny weeb, while also being a remorseless, cold blooded killer. And it all just somehow works.
He also canonically listens to the music that plays on each level, which is just such a CUTE detail
And at last...
The detail that he picked up the toy back in the war.
He is 22 during the game.
The war was seven years ago. He was 15. Years old. Just a child. Why wouldn't a child keep a toy they found?
There's a bonus version of the video on my Patreon with an extended intro if you want to support me further but that's completely up to you, just seeing people watch the video already makes my day. The extra version also has the original song from the game at 22:35. For some reason it was copyright claimed by an artist who sampled it in 2021 and not by the Katana Zero team so I made an entire different version of the video for CZcams out of spite.
hella underrated video, but it’s due to the small timeframe (at time of writing - 1 day). well researched, finely spoken about & great editing.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
The biggest lie of all was that the dlc would come out in just a few months. In the time its taken I've graduated high school, graduated college, become a priest, and have held 5 different jobs
Holy shit man, you move around a lot, don't you?
@@felixangelpazovila1350 only moved once in all that time lol
You've been taking some Chronos, that's why
Cricket?
There actually is *one* change, from beating the secret boss.
Zero doesn’t suffer any withdrawals after.
Why?
it might be a representation of zero's body beating the chronos out of him. by defeating the boss you defeat the effects chronos would have had on the body. why? I don't know
@@anonymousfox4620 it seems a bit odd, but it *could* be a way to represent getting past the withdrawals. Though, I’d imagine chronos isn’t exactly the kind of drug you can quit
I don’t think he does.
In the final phase, which is laden with Chronos-related imagery, the puppet is struck three times to kill. It would make sense that these are the same three doses of Chronos that Zero injects in the normal ending.
the reasoning for this being Chronos-related and not particularly psychiatrist-related is a bit long-winded, but I can type it out if you’d like.
@@meme6738 but you stay seated, until the end of the fight, the psychiatrist’s desk isn’t rooted through.
@@birdup1_2 it’s a really curious one - here -
During the psych fight, whenever you die in the second and third phases (throwing energy balls and the psychedelic eyes) he will taunt you in the death messages - the drug he is using allows him to alter your mind and essentially fight you inside your own head.
Upon slashing out his eyes during the third phase, he begins his weird Akira-esque monster transformation - which has you go through a bunch of glitching, for the matter, which is mostly used to convey temporal discontinuity - in this phase, the psychiatrist’s taunts cease and are replaced with “…” when you die. My guess is that the psychiatrist is dead by then - when you complete the fight the sword is stuck in his eye, and he becomes unresponsive after the phase where you slash out his eyes. My guess is that Zero ends up hallucinating the grotesque monster as related to his withdrawal - the psychiatrist is relegated to being a puppet, the level is filled with syringes, and - again - the puppet is struck three times to end the fight, much like the three Chronos syringes. It could be that this is actually representative of a threefold rejection of each syringe, given getting hit by them, yknow, kills you, but it’s not entirely implausible that after killing the psychiatrist during the eyes phase that zero goes deranged and the monster represents his use of Chronos whilst affected by the mind-altering drug the psychiatrist used.
it’s a shame we probably won’t see more of this - askiisoft confirmed this ending isn’t canon (though the drug the psych used is) so I suspect we will see nothing more about this in the DLC.
(Even when you inject the Chronos in the normal ending you still have to root through the desk for the dossier on Zero - this doesn’t seem particularly sufficient.) (Not sure about being in the seat because this is entirely dependent on what actually happens when Zero’s perception of reality does that temporal glitch.)
Something to add onto Theory 1 since I was actually coming to a similar conclusion on a recent playthrough, but one that covers a few more holes than what you present-
Namely that Zero is a Chromag child who was captured and used as the first test subject for Chronos and turned on his own country
His dreams come from the perspective of the children because he was quite literally one of them, and he's going on a warpath against his own blood. This also explains why he would keep Behemoth as a keepsake- He's literally just keeping a part of his old home with him to try and remind him of his heritage whether he knew this or not.
Side note- Pretty sure it wasn't some unspecified injury that causes Zero's amnesia, it stems from the long-term use of Chronos warping his perception of time. In the Katana Hero DLC's stinger there's even dialogue from Tragedy implying this is the case, as (Spoilers for those who haven't played it) the entire story is implied to be Zero's hazy recollection of the main game's events- Only natural to assume Fifteen likely suffers from the same memory loss effect since he's been on Chronos about as long as Zero
I loved the video, please continue to make more stuff in this style I’d love to see more
Man, I’m dying for DLC
I hate to nitpick, but Shinkageryuu is 新陰流, or "new shadow style/school."
All good, thanks for letting me know. I couldn't tell if they wanted the shin to be true, new or God tbh haha
1:03 - It's a masterpiece of a game. That kind of game is not my favorite, but what Katana Zero does with the narrative is simply one of the best stories ever delivered, via games or any media.
One day we'll get that DLC/Expansion.
If I can wait in that period of time between Hotline Miami 1 and the DLC that eventually became Hotline Miami 2/Wrong Number, then I can wait for as long as it takes for this.
I'm glad I found someone as perplexed by this game as me
They need to drop the dlc or a sequel I loved this game
Shinkage Ryu (new shadow style) was founded in the mid 16th Century by master Kamiizumi-Ise-no-Kami, and is Kamiizumi's own variant of his teacher Aizu-Hyuga-no-Kami Iko's Kage Ryu. A later variant of Shinkage Ryu, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, would be developed by Kamiizumi's own student, Yagyu Munetoshi.
13:11 - Best line from the day.
I can't wait enough for the DLC. I know its not going to answer everything which just says so much about this games writing.
This games one of the trippiest of all time. I literally dropped my controller in shock from one of the twists lol
Also the replay-ability is huge cuz of the slo mo feature that makes you want to be able to beat the levels without using it at all!
this game don't need a DLC this game need a whole sequel
A great video on one of my favorite games of all time.
Best part about the psychiatrist’s last words is that it’s exactly what Zero said about V in the limousine. It’s amazing how this game forces the player to realize that the protagonist is a bad a person
this deserves a whole lot more views
Katana Zero easily has the best dialogue system I've seen in any game ever no diff
Interesting video, that I, however, will not finish watching for now - because you've inspired me to buy the game and play it by myself. Thank you! 😇
I hope you have a great time with it! 😁
This video was so fantastic ! Great humor and story summary / analysis
Had a blast watching it ! Remember to make a vid on sanabi too , its simialr to k0 and is also fantastic . Love your style
I hadn't heard of Sanabi until now and just checked it out. It looks amazing and is on sale so I'll pick it up.
Thanks for the support and for putting the game on my radar!
Sick video dude, you will definitely make it big.
nvr mind that, just checked your channel, you're already big lmao
Thanks man, hopefully the number keeps going up.
katana zero is one of those indi game i LOVE
one of my favorite game of all time
Funny detail Comedy and tragedy can be seen in the game in some of the level, the hotel is one of them
43:02 - Wow, Zero's 5'10". Japanese guy indeed.
yup instant sub cant wait to watch more of your content
Not sure if you mention this later, but you can avoid triggering the continued fight on the return in the hotel after the receptionist conversation, with one of the dialogue paths giving you an achievement later. Telling her you're just for a bath there is possible as well, and can be maintained later too, but doesn't give an achievement.
51:05 - I'm still waiting for a follow up or DLC...
Anyways, thanks for the video, mate! Much respect, and Please Come to Brazil.
It was 11 P.M., and i had an exam for a class that i had neglected the entire semester. If i didnt get a B in that exam, i would fail the class, and go on academic probation. I decided that i needed a break from studying to play some mindless game on the xbox. I looked at katana zero and said "yeah ill kill some dudes with a katana". Wasnt expecting cyberpunk samurai Metal Gear Solid. Finished it in 1 sitting. 10/10 would fail that class again.
46:33 - It's hard as nails. One of the most difficult boss fights I've ever had ('cause I'm bad like that).
this was very enjoyable
heres a theory the one we believe is zero IS the child from the dreams but said child is a CLONE of the original zero
Katana zero's ost is my chronos
I hate how amazing games are left unanswered and will most likely never have the full story completed.
8:48 - *Someone* really learned with Hideo Kojima.
9:45 - We've all been there.
KATANA ZERO LIVES ONNN
What a great video! I'm not a huge playing these types of games, but I love the lore and worldbuilding that goes behind them. Thanks for taking me on a journey through Katana Zero, the story is definitely interesting and I'd love to see more conclusions drawn if a DLC is added or if people ever discover some new secrets! I would never get to here these cool ideas that these developers came up with without videos like these, and I appreciate your effort in sharing them.
47:37 - LOL
15:58 - Isn't she the sweetest girl you've ever seen in a video game?
I beat the and didn't quite use the slow down feature because i couldn't realy use it that well
the slow down feature is so that parrying and dodging is a bit easier ig.
It's been I dont know how long since I chose to just die with tragedy and comedy Just to keep the little girl safe.
Today I get to know what happens if you choose to live instead.
Safe to say, my Zero is still happily dead.
Goddamn I love this game but the stealth prison on mobile can suck an egg
Peak Video
Ngl I hate how I know of Old Boy, but I don't know what the fuck its about and I haven't watched it.
(pfp gives away how I know about it)
46:39 SMT Reference??
whats the music used at 22:34
Hey, it's called Elegy by Asher Fulero from the CZcams Audio Library.
22:34 seeing that scene like this really shows how important the original music is. it feels nowhere as impactful.
Are doing a visual play by play or not?
I want a turn-based game that shows you the result of your actions in an action replay. Like John Wick - HEX, But better action?
Your only move is HUSTLE
@@mehcro3622 oh RIGHT!
Also, there's this card based game with a demo I found in Switch... I'll find it again and tell y'all!
Fights In Tight Spaces!
Katana Zero is a great game with good storytelling and some interesting things here and there. Too bad the DLC will never come out and our questions will remain unanswered. Oh well.
Let's have some hope it'll come out
It may. It's become full meme status tho by now, I'll give you that. If and when it does come out i feel that it would give the game another, longer lifespan. Dont give up man
It was only a couple months ago that we got a teaser trailer for the dlc, we know its still coming out
Important to note Katana Zero was developed in six years. The art takes a lot of time among other things like inconsistent developers working on the game.
What happens if you leave the game for a few months and return to the sword room?
Where the hell are the dlc or the sequel?
One theory, is zero...is the girl.
4:07 yeah what ever, but ¿WHO THE HELL IS THE GUY READING THE NEWSPAPER? PLEASE I NEED RESPONSES
25:06 OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH It was that guy
Watch video about Katana Zero from RE:2D, russian content-creator. He have amazing theory about game.
... only 140 views?
It does that. Give it a few days.
Man this is 45 minutes of recap and 5 minutes of discussion. Come on man.
You know… the side effects of Chronos withdrawal are as follows:
Time stops for you, and your life becomes a living nightmare that you can’t escape from without more Chronos.
You the player are seated in front of a TV watching each of those episodes of the game. You are effectively seeing Zero’s fate play out in front of you, and finding the one path of Zero’s fate that reveals everything about the story… no matter how many die in the process.
This suggests the following: Zero is foreseeing HIS ENTIRE LIFE. From wherever he is now all the way to whatever grisly end at the end of the DLC awaits him.
It’s a nightmare, because the ending is just so bleak. Zero cannot believe his life is just as a meaningless hit man wielded by those in power, a fragment of the losing side of a war that he didn’t even really care about.
Zero’s nightmare is knowing every. single. tiny. step. towards. his. eventual. demise. The head injury, causing memory loss. The government of New Mecca, taking advantage of that. The hallucinations, the nightmares, the killing of everyone in Project Chronos.
The ultimate failure of a soldier, of a man, of a human being with at least a basic sense of empathy or decency. And he cannot look away. His body desperately searches for any sliver of a good timeline that isn’t some pathetic and meaningless death, some hope that this nightmare is worth trudging through… and fearing that there is no way out. It’s the future, and once he finally decides “Yeah… that should do it,” that he would lock himself into the very nightmare that now torments him.
If you read the second book in Frank Herbert’s Dune series (SPOILERS AHOY) Paul Atreides falls into the same trap: his precognition locks him into one future that he cannot escape no matter what he does, and it leads to his own downfall. Something tells me that Zero is going through something similar, and we the player are a mere witness to the sheer size and scope of this comedic tragedy. A tragedy because of the death and slaughter and waste of good life… a comedy in that this tragedy hasn’t actually happened yet. It is about to happen, once Zero (meaning the player) loses the will to keep fighting for a “suitable end”. But… will an end ever come? Honestly… I don’t think so. We humans are just too stubborn to not loggerheadedly bash our dumb brains through whatever seemingly impossible barriers we put in place to stop the ridiculous from overturning the expected. Zero can’t stop fighting. He must keep going, he must keep fighting, **IT CANNOT END LIKE THIS….**
man, what a video. i got nothing else to say tbh. i would watch way more of your videos, but i dont like anime, so i guess ill just wait for more gaming content...
Thanks. There'll definitely be more gaming content so I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.
i gave up on the fucking laser dude boss fight, i hated the lasers in this game.
wait, none of these were... none of these happened when i played the game?