D2 | December 23, 1999
The sequel to the adventure game D's Table released for the 3DO, D2, generated high expectations as it was another work by Kenji Eno, who had achieved success with the original D's Table. However, the game that was actually released failed to receive positive feedback for its story and other aspects. Moreover, it was released on the same day as Shenmue, which resulted in the game being overshadowed and largely forgotten. After this, Warp, the company behind the game, closed its doors.
That said, the game wasn’t considered a total failure that brought the company to its downfall; rather, it was seen as a mediocre title. The real reason for the company’s collapse lay in Kenji Eno's business style, where he would pour all the company’s funds into each individual title, hoping to multiply the investment. This risky approach meant that every title was a gamble. The cancellation of D's Table 2 for the M2 platform was a huge blow to the company, and it found itself in a precarious position where only a massive hit could save it. Unfortunately, D2 only managed to be a mediocre success, and the company couldn't survive. Additionally, Kenji Eno's popularity was starting to wane, contributing further to the company's demise.
On December 25, 2000, on a Christmas day flight over Canada, the story begins. Laura, who had been sleeping on the plane, wakes up startled by the signal sound, dropping her compact and spilling her coffee. While frantically cleaning up the coffee, she makes eye contact with Jenny, who is smiling at her from the seat in front. Jenny smiles at Laura, thinking she’s cute, while David, sitting next to Laura, picks up the compact and hands it back to her. Just before she takes it back, two terrorists kill a flight attendant, and the plane is hijacked. In a corner of the plane, a magician mutters, "The second destroyer, Shadow..." At the moment David draws his gun and takes out one of the terrorists, Laura’s compact begins to glow, showing a vision of a meteor approaching the plane. As David grabs Laura’s hand and they run, the plane collides with the meteor and crashes into Canada’s permanent frost.
The game, which was intended to be a zombie horror game inspired by titles like Resident Evil and Parasite Eve, becomes increasingly nonsensical and hard to follow in the later parts of the story. It was generally criticized for having too many forced plot elements. Originally, the game had been slated as the sequel to Real Sound, with the Fogged Music Box plot repurposed for D2, which added further inconsistencies to the story.
Additionally, the game heavily showcased Kenji Eno's trademark perverse tendencies, leading to a situation where game strategy guides had to include mosaic censorship. When the North American version was released, certain perverse scenes could not be deleted from the story, so the visuals were zoomed in to obscure these scenes from view.
