The Deception games, even from the very first, are different from the typical action/adventure game. To survive, Deception doesn't just expect you to kill those who get in your way. You frequently wind up killing innocent people, for no better reason than the fact that they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. All four of the games have one thing in common: a protagonist without any weapons or fighting ability. What they can do, is control an elaborate series of traps to murder intruders with. Tecmo's Deception (US) | Devil's Deception (PAL) | Kokumeikan (JP) [image] [image] [image] US art | PAL art | JP art [image] The first game in the Deception series is the only one with a male protagonist. [image] Save data also takes up a ridiculous amount of space. [image] After returning from a long journey, the Prince of Zemekia(the player) comes home to find his father murdered, and himself framed for the crime. [image] Adding insult to injury, his brother responsible for the framing also steals his fiance from him. Rather than take his execution lightly, the Prince decides to make a pact with the devil for power. [image] Soon after his supposed death, the Prince is given control over a castle, and the power to get revenge, and aid in his benefactor's resurrection. [image] The devil, that is. Since he's kind enough to give the player control over a mansion, the Prince is tasked with defending it from outside intrusion. [image] Usually consisting of nosy knights, or hapless villagers. Along the way, the player learns of the only way to defend himself from those who would do him harm: by summoning traps. [image] Traps come in several varieties. The typical sort just inflict damage, while others can launch their victims in an assortment of directions, or hold them in place for other traps to do the deed. When a victim is slain by a trap, a process that's unique to the first Deception takes place: deciding what to do with their remains. [image] In later games, once they're dead, they're dead. In the first, you can either offer their soul for MP, or sell their remains for gold(to buy newer traps, or improve existing ones). While early on, the player only has to kill an assortment of stupid knights, newer targets can become morally taxing. [image] In between missions is where new traps can be created, existing ones can be modified, and the castle itself can be upgraded with newer rooms and death-dealing equipment. [image] Another feature not present in later games, which just move to newer locations as the game goes on. [image] Available traps come in three key assortments in the first game - Capture, Destroy and Confuse [image] Each with a different effect on their victim Heavily armored targets take longer to kill, and the ones with weapons can easily kill the player if he lets them get too close. The Deception 1 article won't be too heavy on story, since there really isn't much of one. I'll go into more detail on plot for the Deception 2 and beyond articles, since they have (slightly) more of a cast. but this is something of a rough draft. Kagero: Deception II [image] | [image] | [image] [US Art / PAL Art / JP Art ] [image] The first Deception wasn't exactly a raging success anywhere that it saw release. Still, it either gathered enough of a following to warrant a sequel, or Tecmo just knew that a good thing deserved improvement. Kagero, known as Deception II everywhere except Japan, kicked off a trend that continued throughout the rest of the games. A female protagonist. Deception II focuses around the machinations of an immortal race called the Timenoids, or TMD, and an innocent girl pulled into their conflicts with humankind. As with the first game, you take the role of someone who at first has no business killing anyone, and soon takes to it like a gremlin to sabotage. Cast Millennia [image] The silent protagonist. Millennia can be renamed if the player desires, but this is considered her canon name. She is likely the most recognizable of Deception characters, as she's appeared in both the sequels and other Tecmo games. Vocal [image] Vocal is introduced as Millennia's mother. Unlike her, Vocal is a Timenoid. Vocal is the one who introduces Millennia to the world of murder and mayhem. King Eclypse [image] A mysterious TMD who gives Vocal her orders, who in turn assigns them to Millenia. Daar [image] Some poor sap who visits the castle of the TMD, and winds up being Millenia's first victim. This eventually leads to every human on the planet wanting her dead. Keith [image] A member of the human military, who seems neither as stupid nor as heartless as his Millennia-stalking counterparts. Deadmoon [image] A priest who gives Keith his orders, who seems to be full of ulterior motives. Overall, Deception II's cast is given more development than that of the first game's. [image] They all have their own bios with tidbits about their background and reasons for investigating the castle. They also all have one thing in common: [image] Most of them will die. [image] As you can see, not a whole lot has changed from the first game. You still place traps, and use them to kill stupid people. Millennia has no weapons, so they are all she can use. And all she needs. The game has received some graphical improvements, so there is a bit more variety and style to the methods of killing. [image] Once you place the traps to your liking, simply use the appropriate button, and watch the fireworks. Deception II also lets Millennia get something of a personality by interacting with her victims. [image] Depending on her answers, she can sometimes show compassion, or turn into a completely remorseless killer. [image] The multitude of paths and endings give Kagero a fair amount of replay value. The options of profiting from the death of victims isn't as flavored as it was in Deception 1, however. [image] Instead you just rack up Ark based on how effective(or complete) a killer Millennia was, and use the spoils to make better killing machines. [image] The trap creation system hasn't changed much either, and doesn't often the course of the series. [image] To get better varieties of traps, it's often required to purchase the early versions. Without Mega Rock, you can't get the much stronger Volt Rock, for example. [image] The game offers a handy guide for this purpose. While Deception II lacks the customizable castle of the first game, it makes up for it by taking place in several different locations, each with a wide variety of built-in traps to vault victims into your own, or vice-versa. The predesigned maps make a strategy easy to plan out in advance. [image] So many options, so little time. Like any good sequel, D2 is worth pursuing for what it brings to the table, even if you miss the unique qualities of the first. [image] There's still plenty fun to be had. [image] It's every girl's dream. Millenia References [image] The second game in a certain Tecmo survival horror series decided to show Kagero some love. Fatal Frame, aka Project Zero, offers a Millennia costume as an unlockable after clearing the game. (Note: I don't have an image of the costume yet, but I know I've come across it in google before.) Added some story updates that the manual provided(imagine that) and some new tidbits. Deception III: Dark Delusion [image] (US Art) [image] The next game in the Deception series came out in the US a year later, in addition to receiving a UK release not long after. The third Deception game doesn't nearly reinvent the wheel as much as Deception II did. [image] It just polishes it, which is hardly a bad thing. Deception III is one of the stronger games in the series. Just don't expect much of a plot, not that that's ever been a series tradition. The protagonist of Deception III gets caught up in the forthcoming mass murder and mayhem pretty much by accident. Orphaned at a young age, Reina is adopted by a woman named Rosetta, and taken to live in the kingdom of Burganfada. This may not be the actual name, as the localization is far from professional. Shortly after her 17th birthday, Reina's family is kidnapped by the king of Alendra Kingdom, who has a grudge against the Burganfadans, and frequently has them kidnapped to be used as slave labor. [image] Then Reina's family is killed, and she's thrown in jail to be used as slave labor. Shortly thereafter a mysterious benefactor gives Reina a glowing red stone which she can use to create traps and kill people. [image] That's pretty much all that needs to be said about Deception 3's plot, but just in case: Cast (Note: I can not find much of anything in the way of details or even an art gallery from Deception III. I'd love to update this if I get more, some of DIII's art is pretty good.) Reina [image] The main character. Spends her time whining about not wanting to kill anyone, even though she eventually racks up a body count high enough to make Kratos blush. Also called 'Layna' in the packaging. Albert [image] A knight who decides to assist Reina out of the kindness of his own heart. Or does he? Miguel [image] An assassin who works for the king and helps kill Reina's family. He'll get his eventually. King Frederick [image] A royal scumbag who enjoys murdering innocents and enslaving girls. Intent on destroying Burganfada for some reason. He took over Alendra Kingdom after his predecessor, King Arcadia, perished, which ended the strenuous peace between Burganfada and Alendra. Queen Margareta [image] Another sovereign. Not quite as evil as Frederick, but pretty high on the list. She's after Reina and her necklace. Cecilia [image] An espionage agent working under the queen. She is loyal and accomplished, yet seems to know more than she lets on. And so on. Really, the only character that matters in Deception III is Reina. 95% of everyone else you meet, you'll be killing. [image] Before each mission, there's the expected bios of Reina's adversaries and who she'll be killing. [image] There's the occasional interesting tidbit of information buried among them. Unlike Deception 1's main character and Millennia from Deception 2, Reina mostly kills for self-defense, not because a malevolent force insists on it. [image] Though she'll be doing lots of killing, all the same. [image] The interface and basic gameplay is almost exactly the same as II's. Deception III has a few graphical touchups to give it a better presentation, and there's the expected new environments and traps. [image] Anyone familiar with the series should feel right at home in Deception III. [image] The most creative(and fun) ways to kill victims involve linking traps together, and using them to activate the environments to overkill the victims. An effective combo can frequently take out an enemy in one go. After clearing missions, the player earns both 'Ark' and 'Dreak' with which to purchase new traps and modify existing ones. Ark are gathered from fallen victims, and Dreak is accumulated at the end of each mission based on how efficient at killing the player was. [image] When specific traps are combined with other varieties, [image] The player can create brand new ones, such as combining a Thunder Emblem with a Rock trap to create Volt Rock. [image] The story is hardly classic literature, but it's good(and amusing) enough to keep the player interested. Besides, it's all about the innumerable ways to sadistically take out Reina's assailants, and Deception III has plenty to offer there. Based on who Reina lets live and who she kills, the game can end in one of several ways, though none of the endings are exactly cheerful. The music consists mostly of gothic, moody tracks, which suits the game well enough. There's also an Expert Mode, which is basically an assortment of puzzles and challenges, requiring the player to kill enemies within a limited amount of time and trap usages. [image] Deception III was the very last PS1 game, and it took several more years for the series to move to another console.