''Akuji the Heartless'' is an

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Crystal Dynamics Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio developed the '' Gex'', ''Legacy of Kain'', and ''Tomb Raider'' series. Founded in 1992 by Madeline Canepa, Judy L ...

and published by

Eidos Interactive Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...

. It was released for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

on December 31, 1998, in North America and February 1999 in Europe. The game received mixed reviews from critics upon its release.

Plot

The game centres on the

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

priest and warrior Akuji (voiced by

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film '' Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

), who had his heart ripped out on his wedding day, and through the use of voodoo magic is now cursed to wander the Underworld. However, Kesho (voiced by Jamesetta Bunn), his would-be bride, finds him in hell and speaks to him in soul form: she informs him that it was Orad, Akuji's own brother, who orchestrated his murder. She begs Akuji to escape and stop him, as their families are preparing for war, and Orad is preparing to sacrifice her to the gods. Upon traveling through the first level of the Underworld and consulting

loa ( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerat ...

Baron Samedi Baron Samedi ( en, Baron Saturday), also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and ...

(voiced by

Petri Hawkins-Byrd Petri Hawkins-Byrd (born Petri Adonis Byrd; November 29, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York), better known as Bailiff Byrd or simply Byrd, is an American court show bailiff, television personality, social media personality, actor, voice actor, writer, ...

) Akuji discovers he has a chance for redemption: if he traverses hell and collects the souls of his ancestors, which the Baron despises for their evil, then he will grant Akuji safe passage out of the underworld. On his way through, he must also defeat the wardens of each of the vestibules of hell, which will enable him to advance on his quest for the souls. Eventually, after Akuji retrieves the Seal of Sadiki, the Baron steals it from him and reveals he'd tricked Akuji into collecting the souls of his ancestors so it would allow him to break free of his own imprisonment in the Underworld and exact his revenge on the mortal world while also making Kesho his servant once he sacrifices her. Kesho further confirms that the Baron had orchestrated Akuji's murder by possessing Orad and had also earlier used her voice to lead Akuji to him. Akuji engages the Baron in one last battle and succeeds, rescuing Kesho who in turn restores Akuji's heart, sending them back to the mortal world.

Development

''Akuji the Heartless'' was built on the '' Gex: Enter the Gecko''

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

Reception

'' Next Generation'' reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Crystal Dynamics has certainly provided gamers with a solid action title with enough imagination to please those who possess a penchant for the macabre. Yet the rough controls and animations keep ''Akuji'' from truly stepping into the genre's limelight." The game received mixed reviews according to the

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website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akuji The Heartless 1998 video games Action-adventure games Crystal Dynamics games Eidos Interactive games Square Enix franchises PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring black protagonists Single-player video games Fiction about Voodoo