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Kenji Eno has died

D survival horror series creator and Real Sound developer dies at 42 from heart failure Wednesday.

127 Comments

Longtime game designer and musician Kenji Eno, known for his work on the D survival horror and Real Sound franchises, died Wednesday. A statement released on the From Yellow to Orange website from CEO Katsutoshi Eguchi explains Eno died of heart failure. He was 42.

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"It is with great sadness that I inform you that Mr. Kenji Eno passed away last night (February 20, 2013) of heart failure," Eguchi wrote.

"Mr. Eno was a musician and video game designer based in Japan. He is best known for his cult survival horror series, the D games and his audio game series, Real Sound."

Eno's latest work was the WiiWare game You, Me, and the Cubes.

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ISC13

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R.I.P

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gamefreak215jd

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R.I.P

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Flexanite

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R.I.P

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D3dr0_0

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Never played D nor do I know what that is but may the man R.I.P.

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ad1x2

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@D3dr0_0 D was one of those pre-filmed games (similar to Dragon Lair where you make a selection and that determines what scene will play next) that came out for the PS1 in the mid-90s. I rented it while I was a teen and played a little bit of it. Likewise, RIP to this man.

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Hyperskate65

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Edited By Hyperskate65

RIP, and may my D last longer than his.

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mmanultra

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He will live on in his work... I must get 2 it at 0100... or whenever. Time - pink Floyd..

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syler4815162342

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Edited By syler4815162342

R.I.P

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hobotech64

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D, man that takes me back. D was probably the first point-and-click adventure type game I've ever played now that I think of it. At that time I never played anything like it (I was into fighting games and RPG's). You could say it also made me find appreciation for other FMV games like Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.

RIP Kenji Eno

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onixevil

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RI.P

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DarkSaber2k

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How many people here are even likely to know the D series?

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CaptainGamespot

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Edited By CaptainGamespot

sad. he was so young.

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Zerosumgame

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Edited By Zerosumgame

My sincere condolences. R.I.P.

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elreddiablo

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R.I.P

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ItsEvolution

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D was one of my favorite PS1 games. RIP.

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deactivated-5e90a3763ea91

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Not sure I've ever even heard of the guy, but RIP.

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Konuvis

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Pretty shocking :(

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Solace427

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Damn this is a real shame. Only 42...May he rest in peace. Lost a great person.

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Lord_Python1049

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Rest in peace.

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apolloooo

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Rest In Peace :(

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USDevilDog

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Sad to hear. I still remember enjoying D2 (Dreamcast) and Enemy Zero (Sega Saturn) immensely. Eno's games never truly felt like conventional titles as they rely heavily on mood and long moments of silence and eerie audio cues. They might not have been entertaining for a wide audience, but Eno's games are undeniably artful and intriguing. RIP Eno.

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deactivated-5c60a3d1c2911

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How sad. He was still a young guy. I hope he is with God and in peace.

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SciFiCat

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He left us too soon, my deepest condolences to his family.

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corrus

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Very sad news R.I.P

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geelw

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Long post here, sorry - but I'm a rather huge WARP fan.

Save for an interestingly serendipitous yet satisfying Eno-related moment I had with a personal friend of his that's going to result in a bit of a reunion of something thought lost forever, it's just been a really awful day had after hearing this.

Anyway, here's a link to my re-review a while back of D2 for those who never got to play it:

http://fanboydestroy.com/2011/12/30/d2-warps-last-gasp-makes-for-a-curious-cure-for-holiday-melancholy/

By the way, the first D is NOT a "survival" game at all. It's simply a timed adventure game with a horror theme that was innovative for a few reasons. Until you get to the ending or ran out of time (which was quite hard to do unless you got up and walked away from the TV), there's NO way for Laura to die, no actual combat (the quick-time event that's supposed to be "combat" simply cycles endlessly if you're bad at the timing) and even the "bad" ending is easily avoided if you pay attention to the choices you need to make at that time.

The second game isn't a "true" or traditional "sequel" at all as we know it (and frankly, it's not much of a "survival" game either), but it IS a horror game through and through. Until the last disc, it's REALLY hard to die unless you're not paying attention. I'd say it's a completely new game that used WARP's digital "actors" from Enemy Zero cast in new roles. Although Laura is back, the game never references the first outside a few nods to certain elements (the compact, David's voice "guiding" Laura mush like her father's voice in the original and Laura's mute state [save for the sole word she utters late in the game] being the prime examples).

I liked that Parker and Kimberly have the same first names as they did in EO, (making it a sort of amusing ensemble casting in both games). By the way, the ORIGINAL version of D2 planned first for the 3DO (based on the footage I've seen) and later the canceled Panasonic M2 console WAS indeed a direct sequel, but it was VERY heavily reworked into what became the Dreamcast game.

The only thing that stayed the same were chunks of the opening airplane sequence, but in the canceled game, Laura was pregnant and "died" during the crash (which I think was caused by a lightning storm, not terrorists). You were to play as her son who somehow gets sent back through time to a castle and ends up there as a young man who has to explore the castle and confront its master in order to (I think) save Laura in the future.

Of course, you need to own or have played the stupidly rare 3DO game, D no Shokotaku: Director's Cut

(image here: http://fanboydestroy.com/2011/12/01/gallery-3do-library/3doc/)

have read the long sound novel on one of the discs AND watched all the initial D2 trailers on that disc and an import 3DO magazine demo (I got this after that above pic was taken) which featured someone modeled on Vlad Tepes railing against the heavens for his wife dying (in childbirth, I believe) and more or less placing some sort of curse on the bloodline of Laura's family which seems to be what causes the time rift and Laura losing her child. My Japanese is horrific, but that's what I got from the videos.

There's also a VERY well hidden clip of M2 D2 footage in a most unusual place: the import version of D2 on the Dreamcast! You need a copy of the D2 Shock! Demo from the DC import Real Sound: Kaze no Regret, a VMU to save the demo data on and a copy of any Japanese version (regular or one of the limited editions in the bottom row of this pic):

http://fanboydestroy.com/2011/12/20/gallery-sega-dreamcast-library/dc1/

I forget which D2 disc that footage is on, but you access it by having a Real Sound save on that VMU. This footage seems to be gone from the US version, as I've never been able to access it.

FINALLY (yeah, I'm about done here)... if you have a copy of Enemy Zero for the Saturn or PC, go watch the credits (accessible from the start) for about ten seconds of D2 footage - a completely different CG movie of the plane interior as all hell breaks loose. I"m gathering this was from the aborted M2 game given its looks as it's hard to think WARP did that work just for part of the game's credit sequence.

OK, one more trivia bit. Hideo Kojima is thanked in D2's credits and if you play Metal Gear Solid to the end, you can probably see why. Both games have a thematic element that's interestingly handled (as in you sit and watch things for a reason)...

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o0squishy0o

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Its nice to see people from this industry remembered. RIP

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Xirexor

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Edited By Xirexor

@o0squishy0o Man have you played UT ? (Due ur icon)

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REDShadowG

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Its sad, very very sad. And i didn't even knew him.

R.I.P.

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bongsyas_23

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rip man...

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exedeath

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Sweet. Now get moving on a HD re release of the D series in his honor. I could never get my hands on a copy of the second one.

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brainiac1988

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@exedeath highly inappropriate...

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sunyatanada76

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@brainiac1988 @exedeath That guys a big time a hole.

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fiXyouRfacE

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Edited By fiXyouRfacE

@exedeath **** yeah bro, so stoked a man died so you might get a video game! SWEEET!!


Asshole.

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tightwad34

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Man this sucks. So young. May you rest in peace. I am not close to 42 and have a bad heart already. I needs to watch it, but I don't see myself changing my lifestyle anytime soon.

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Zoza24

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Edited By Zoza24

He died young, Rest in Peace man..

May your spirit find a better place than this damn stressed world.

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kiramasaki

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D was a great little horror series so his talents will be missed with the deteriorating state of the genre. And at 42, that is too young.

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PumpkinBoogie

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Damn......42?? Geez, that's way too young to go. u_u

My heart goes out to family in their time of grief.

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Zid96

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The ps4 killed him:p


But no im sad. I did like many of his works. And at a young age too. RIP

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hippiesanta

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@Zid96 *chuckle* .... but then .... RIP

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Okplay

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R.I.P

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Yulaw2000

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R.I.P

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Meta-Gnostic

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On Fyto's web site, Kenji Eno's bio described him as "The lucky adventurer who freely strides the digital world. In reality, an individual with a super analog mind — recently very emotional and sentimental."

I never got to play his games but I certainly remember him and his projects such as D, D2, and Enemy Zero, among others. Sadness.

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uglypinkmoose

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Edited By uglypinkmoose

What a shame....to bad he never had his break

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HAZCHEM88

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@HIT3kNology

Well said. Music is the most overlooked part of any game, but sometimes is the deciding factor of whether I buy it or not.

@PSYCHOV3N0M

Not as retarded as your misguided rage. Did your Xbox RROD again?


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