Death Crimson 2 - Dreamcast Game

Game Review & Description

A Light Gun Oddity That Defies Expectations (and Good Taste)

If you’ve ever wanted to play a game that combines the janky charm of a B-movie with the existential dread of a lost Sega Saturn sequel, Death Crimson 2: Meranito no Saidan is your ticket to weirdness. Originally released in Japan in 1999, this light gun shooter (with Resident Evil-style exploration segments) is the epitome of kusoge - a "shit game" so bad it’s beloved. Think of it as House of the Dead 2’s drunken cousin, one who stumbles into philosophical monologues between shooting mutant frogs in a haunted European castle. The recent fan translation by Derek Pascarella finally lets English-speaking masochists - er, "enthusiasts" - experience its full glory, complete with corrected Engrish street signs and a cheat mode to bypass its infamous difficulty.

Gameplay is a bizarre mix of on-rails shooting and tank-controlled exploration, where you alternate between blasting monsters and wandering dimly lit corridors like a confused tourist. The shooting sections are passable, if clunky, with a rapid-fire mechanic tied to an "Energy" meter that feels more like a slot machine than a combat system . But the real "magic" lies in the story mode, where you’ll meet characters like Yuri Rosenberg, a heroine who presumably fights evil between naps, given her voice actress also sang the game’s ending theme. The plot involves subliminal mind control, a city named Saronica (RIP), and enough Freudian imagery to make Silent Hill blush . It’s nonsense, but it’s committed nonsense.

Visually, Death Crimson 2 is a time capsule of Dreamcast-era ambition and limitations. The character models wobble like they’re made of gelatin, and the pre-rendered backgrounds look like they were filtered through a Vaseline lens. Yet there’s a perverse charm to its aesthetic, like a PS1 game that accidentally got a next-gen budget. The soundtrack, composed by Masafumi Ogata, swings between haunting piano melodies and synth tracks that sound like a cat walking on a keyboard—fitting for a game where consistency is the real enemy.

The fan translation elevates the experience from "so bad it’s funny" to "so bad it’s playable." Pascarella didn’t just translate text; he fixed bugs, added subtitles to cutscenes, and even injected a VMU icon because Ecole couldn’t be bothered. The new cheat function (L+R triggers to max credits) is a mercy for anyone facing the game’s sadistic countdown puzzles. There’s even a bonus menu with composer Kunitaka Watanabe’s Saturn-era keyboard performances, because why not?

Death Crimson 2 isn’t a good game by any metric, but it’s a fascinating artifact of Dreamcast eccentricity. It’s the kind of title you boot up to bewildered friends, shouting, "Look at this!" as you shoot a zombie in a wedding dress. For light gun completists or fans of cult horror trash, it’s a must-play. For everyone else? Well, there’s always Confidential Mission.

A selection of hints, tips, and cheats to survive Death Crimson 2’s chaos can be found below.

GameShark / Pro Action Replay Cheat Codes:

The following dongle-dependent codes are designed for use with the North American (NTSC) version of the game, but may work on compatible systems:

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