X-Kaliber 2097, released as in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, is a Super NES

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...

 action

Action game

Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...

 video game published by Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

.

Summary and gameplay

The game takes place in the near-anarchic future of the year 2097, in which the world's economy

Economy

An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

 has been devastated, governments have collapsed, and organized crime

Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...

 has gained dramatic influence. X-Kaliber 2097s American soundtrack was arranged by electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

/industrial music

Industrial music

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...

 group Psykosonik

Psykosonik

Psykosonik was an American techno music group.-History:Their first album, Psykosonik, was a hard-hitting techno album with cyberpunk-esque lyrics....

. Psykosonik's soundtrack became an unusually large part of the game's marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

, and was often plugged

Product placement

Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...

 in marketing blurbs. The soundtrack is also mentioned on the game packaging

Computer and video game packaging

Video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a computer or video game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly paperboard or plastic...

, and has its own section in the game manual.

The Japanese version features music by Hitoshi Sakimoto

Hitoshi Sakimoto

is a Japanese video game composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring the games Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, though he has composed soundtracks for over 70 games and arranged music for more than 40 others. He began playing music and video games in elementary school, and began...

 and Hayato Matsuo

Hayato Matsuo

is a Japanese video game and anime composer, arranger and orchestrator. He has worked on titles such as Front Mission 3, Final Fantasy XII, the Shenmue series, and Magic Knight Rayearth. Inspired by his mother, a piano teacher, he graduated from the music composition department of Tokyo University...

, as well as a completely different storyline and script (with different names for every character) than the one that was given in the English localization of the game.

In X-Kaliber 2097, the player guides a swordsman named Slash through a side-scrolling environment. Boss encounters take place as one-on-one matches in the style of versus fighting games.

Characters

Slash/Gear

The main protagonist and the current owner of the legendary sword, X-Kaliber. His goal is bring peace and order to the world. Many of his enemies, especially Raptor, wish to acquire his sword for their own dastardly purposes.

Alix/Cynthia

Slash's female partner. Alex is taken hostage by Raptor as a bargaining chip for X-Kaliber. Later, Alex becomes a vessel for Krux's consciousness. Alex is freed when Krux was defeated.

Raptor/Zieg Dyne

The warlord ruler of Neo New York. He has terrorized the city into submission and imposes order with the aid of the Morphs, a mysterious race of powerful, monstrous beings. He claims to be the brother of Slash and even carries his own mystic sword, though this weapon was inferior when compared to X-Kaliber. Unknown to all but himself, Raptor has secured the aid of an alien gangster named Krux.

Kane/Cocktail

Raptor's lieutenant. Cocktail is the only person privy to Raptor's secret plans. He also deals with the many criminal elements under Raptor's control. In combat, Cocktail uses his cane like a sword and can throw his hat like a flying blade (similar to Oddjob of the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 movies).

Tattoo/Tattoo Man

A large green-skinned humanoid with a tattoo of a rose on his chest. He carries a large sword and can sprout vines from his rose tattoo as a form of offense. A steel mask covers the lower half of his face. Tattoo serves Cocktail as a chief enforcer and assassin.

Chainsaw

An android that looks human at first, but later his robotic nature becomes obvious as he takes damage in combat (similar to the Terminator). Chainsaw carries a large machine gun in his human appearance, but his right arm becomes a real chainsaw later in combat.

Dr. Blast

An insane scientist who serves as Raptor's chief scientist. Dr. Blast performs research on the Morphs, seeking better ways for them to serve Raptor's needs. When he encounters Slash, Dr. Blast carries a sample of experimental insect DNA serum. When he consumes this sample, he mutates into a human-sized amalgamation of several insects including a mosquito, a dragonfly, and a spider.

Spuke

Krux's lieutenant. A pale blue-skinned humanoid with long blonde hair wearing a jester's costume. He claims that Slash's sword, X-Kaliber, once belonged to Krux and intends to retrieve it.

Krux

An alien crime lord from outer space. He makes a deal with Raptor to secure his aid in taking over the world. In fact, the Morphs are from Krux's retinue. Krux's ultimate goal is to capture every resource on Earth for his own selfish purposes, to use up or destroy as he pleases.

External links

• X-Kaliber 2097 at GameFAQs
  GameFAQs
  GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...