Perfect Dark (universe)
| Perfect Dark (universe) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | Rare 4J Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Rare Xbox Game Studios |
| Designer(s) | Martin Hollis David Doak |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Console/platform of origin | Nintendo 64 |
| First installment | Perfect Dark (N64) (2000) |
| Latest installment | Perfect Dark (XBLA) (2010) |
| Article on Wikipedia | Perfect Dark (universe) |
The Perfect Dark universe (パーフェクトダーク, Perfect Dark) sometimes stylized as PERFECT DARK, refers to the Super Smash Bros. series' collection of properties that hail from the Perfect Dark series of first-person shooters developed by Rare.
Perfect Dark received limited representation in Super Smash Bros. Melee due to both logistical issues with Rare[1] and rating concerns in North America.[2] Following Microsoft's purchase of Rare a year after Melee, all gameplay content from Perfect Dark was removed from the series completely.
Franchise description[edit]
The game first started as an adaption of the then-upcoming James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies as a successor to one of Rare's most successful prior titles, GoldenEye. However, the studio lost the rights to the film after being outbid by Electronic Arts. The developers saw this as a blessing in disguise, as they felt working on an original project would allow them to be more creative.[3] Several names like Covert Ops and Alien Intelligence before the final title Perfect Dark was chosen. The two slash marks in the logo was inspired by the Japanese writing system. The intentionally poor grammar of "Perfect Dark" was inspired by the team's love of Japanese products using English words and phrases inappropriately, a practice also known as "Engrish." The game was now set in a dystopian science fiction setting based on popular media at the time like Ghost in the Shell, Elektra, The X-Files, La Femme Nikita, novelist Thomas Pynchon, and The Matrix.
Development on the game was rocky from the beginning, with more and more features routinely being added, such as high quality sound, full voice acting, and native 16:9 widescreen support, to the point of the team not realistically including them all in the final product. These unchecked ambitions, as well as completely reworking the GoldenEye engine during development, incited a minor exodus of key staff due to expired contracts, and the team moving to new offices in 1999 slowed the game to a nearly four year development cycle. To make sure the game ran at all on the Nintendo 64 hardware, it was one of the few games that required the use of the Expansion Pak, which allowed for higher resolutions and more memory. The game also received minor controversy pre-release due to it being the first M rated game developed and published by Rare. The game finally released on May 22, 2000. The game starred Joanna Dark, a secret agent who must assassinate her targets to take down the evil dataDyne corporation. Joanna was an early example of a female lead in the first person shooter genre, and was deliberately made more plain looking than most hyper-sexualized female protagonists to be a more realistic character and stand out among her contemporaries. A direct prequel, Perfect Dark for the Game Boy Color would be released a few months later.
The series went dormant for several years after Rare was acquired by Microsoft and many projects in development were canceled. One of these projects was Velvet Dark, a spin-off based on Joanna's sister. A proper sequel initially made for GameCube was not canceled and instead shifted to Xbox, before finally releasing as Perfect Dark Zero, as a prequel to the original, and as a launch title for Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005. while the game was received as a solid entry to the series, many voiced disappointment and how it was much worse than the previous entry in many ways. While the graphics and weapon combat were praised, many design decisions like orientation sensitive actions and a more sexualized design for Joanna were believed by fans to have betrayed the design philosophy of the original game. A two-parter sequel to the original called Perfect Dark Core and Perfect Dark Vengence began development shortly after, that would seen Joanna traveling around the world and visiting places like Cairo and Russia, before landing on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, where Russia had uncovered an ancient civilization beneath its frosty surface. Both of these were cancelled by Microsoft in 2007 due to underwhelming sales of Perfect Dark Zero.[4]
The series once again went dormant due to Rare choosing to shift focus away from legacy intellectual property, outside of a remaster of Perfect Dark for Xbox 360 developed by 4J Studios in 2010. The series made an unexpected return at The Game Awards 2020 with a teaser trailer for a game simply titled Perfect Dark. The game was being co-developed by The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics (best known for their work on Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain) and was planned to be released on PC and Xbox Series X/S. After years of no announcements, a new trailer released on June 9, 2024. The next announcement was its sudden cancellation on July 2, 2025 alongside the closure of The Initiative.[5]
In Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
The Cloaking Device item, as well as the Japanese version's Proximity Mine, both originate from Perfect Dark. Due to concerns raised by the original game's M rating in North America, Perfect Dark's already-limited representation was further restricted and obscured in the international releases of Melee. The Proximity Mine was replaced by the Motion-Sensor Bomb from Perfect Dark's predecessor, GoldenEye 007, with a specific reference to the Carrington Institute removed entirely from the text. The Cloaking Device was retained, but both items' trophies list their game of origin as "TOP SECRET".
Despite this, all versions of the game's credits acknowledge Rare for "certain [...] items from Perfect Dark".
Trophies[edit]
- Proximity Mine
- (JP language option) 床、壁、天井などに投げつけると設置され、誰かが近づくと爆発。敵味方問わずに巻きこむ。小さいが、威力は強力。本来は近くによっても動かなければ反応しない爆弾だが、『スマブラ』の登場人物は全員落ち着きがないので、あっという間に反応してしまう。
- (EN language option) The perfect accessory for ambushes, the proximity mine has long been a favorite covert weapon of the Carrington Institute any surface[sic], and once armed, detonates with incredible force when it detects motion within its range. In the frantic world of Super Smash Bros., it doesn't take long for it to go.
- パーフェクトダーク(N64)
- Perfect Dark (5/00)
- Cloaking Device
- This state-of-the-art camouflage device bends light rays in such a way that players using it appear almost invisible. The device fosters confusion, and players using it will not take damage while cloaked. This does not mean, however, that players become invulnerable, so they can still be sent reeling or flying across the screen, depending on their damage percentages.
- Perfect Dark (5/00)
- (International)
- TOP SECRET
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Beginning with this game, the Proximity Mine was fully redesigned and treated as an original Super Smash Bros. series property to resolve its associated issues. The Cloaking Device was removed entirely, although invisibility remains within the series as a situational mechanic. Brawl bears no reference to Perfect Dark other than the N64 and Game Boy Color installments being mentioned in the PAL Chronicle.
Trivia[edit]
- Perfect Dark was the newest major universe (represented by a character, stage, or item) to be represented in Super Smash Bros. Melee, with an initial date of May 2000.
References[edit]
- ^ Nintendo Dream, March 2002
- ^ Nintendo Dream, January 2002 (translated by Soma)
- ^ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/learn-how-perfect-dark-came-to-be-in-this-behind-t/1100-6433378/
- ^ https://www.unseen64.net/2011/03/21/perfect-dark-core-xbox-360-cancelled-prototype/
- ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2025/07/02/xbox-has-cancelled-perfect-dark-and-two-more-games-amongst-layoffs/
