D (3DO)

D (3DO) 



"D" is a horror themed adventure game that was first published by Panasonic on the 3DO in 1995. This was an "interactive movie" with lots of full motion video. If you like that sort of thing, then this is a pretty good game, especially if you are looking for something to play on your 3DO.


While D was first released on the 3DO, it was later also ported to the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and DOS based PCs. It was very well received at the time and was among the first mature horror games of its kind though the much more popular Resident Evil would soon be along. In D, The player plays the role of Laura Harris. She receives a call from the LAPD with news that her farther, a well respected doctor, went on a murder spree and has barricaded himself in a hospital. Laura, of course, wants to figure out what is going on so she goes to the hospital. After discovering numerous bodies she suddenly finds herself in a medieval castle. Makes perfect sense, right? Undeterred, Laura keeps searching for her father. From then on, it's lots of disturbing flashbacks and encounters until the mystery is solved.


While D doesn't hold up as well today as some games, it is still worth playing. Even those that didn't like FMV games at the time seemed to like this one and it ranks very highly among 3DO games. It's a relatively short and easy game though so it might not keep you busy for all that long.


While originally developed for the 3DO, the PlayStation and Saturn ports are just as good (and have shorter load times) so pick your favorite version to play. I assume it would work on an emulator as well. However, it's probably easiest (and reasonably cheap at $5.99) to just download it via Steam. An interesting side note... The FMV scenes were all created using an Amiga 4000 computer.

There are also two sequels: Enemy Zero and D2. They feature the same character (or "digital actress" anyway) but the stories are unrelated. Still, they are similar games and if you enjoy the first one there's a good chance you will enjoy these as well.

The ad above is from the October 1995 issue of Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine and the screen shots are from the DOS version of the game.