2005 · Action · Action-adventure

Death Jr.

PlayStation exclusive

A 3D action starring a super-deformed version of the Grim Reaper (or, as the title would suggest, the junior successor to Death himself) featuring platforming and shooting elements. Death, Jr. has a range of weapons to go along with his trusty, multi-use scythe (which can also be used for platforming challenges when it's not being used to slice up evil enemies.)

Released: 16 August 2005
Platforms: PlayStation Portable
Genres: Action Action-adventure Adventure Platformer Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: Konami
Series: Death Jr.
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Science fiction Comedy
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB T PEGI 12

About

Death Jr. is a 2005 video game for the PlayStation Portable. The PSP iteration was the first PSP game shown publicly and advertised as a killer-app. It was released to a mixed reception and noted for many problems with the camera, gameplay and uninspiring graphics, but was praised for its Tim Burton themes and quirky characters.

Slightly better received was the comic book adaptation by Gary Whitta and Ted Naifeh, which includes two three-issue miniseries. The game was followed by Death Jr. II: Root of Evil in 2006 and Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom in 2007.

Keywords

protagonist's name in the title
cheat code
konami code

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

In the game, the player has a variety of guns ranging from pistols to a rocket launcher. The player controls the protagonist by moving around with the analog nub and attacking enemies with the square and circle buttons. There is a lot of emphasis on the combos which can be achieved by linking attacks to each other in rapid succession.

Story

The game and comic book are about the teenage son of the Grim Reaper, called Death Jr. (DJ for short). His father tried many times (all of them failed) to stop his son from creating chaos at every school he has attended. Now is DJ's last chance.

If he creates chaos one more time, he will be sent to military school. He meets new friends at this school: Pandora, a girl with obsessive–compulsive disorder and a fascination for locked boxes; Stigmartha, a girl who has holes in her hands and bleeds from them whenever she is nervous; Smith and Weston, conjoined twins who are very smart and conjoined at the head; the Seep, an armless, legless, foul-mouthed kid in a vat; and the Dead Guppy, a character who speaks for himself.