Shinji Mikami, renowned creator of series such as Resident Evil and The Evil Within, recently sat down with Grasshopper Manufacture’s Goichi Suda (aka ‘Suda51’) to discuss the upcoming release of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered.
As reported by VGC, Mikami expressed interest in Suda developing a follow-up to one of his studio’s most beloved games. “I’ve realized that I want to stay as hands-on as possible when it comes to game creation,” says Mikami when asked about plans for future projects during the Grasshopper Direct presentation. “And I’d love to see Suda make a sequel to Killer7.”
Suda, appearing taken aback by Mikami’s comment, replies: “Seriously?!” He follows up by saying: “Someday we may just see a Killer7 sequel, or a ‘complete edition’… I’d rather make a complete edition first.”
Humorously, Mikami chides that a complete edition of the original game would be “kinda lame,” after Suda suggests ideas for a sequel title in “Killer11“ and “Killer 7: Beyond.“
Nobutaka Ichiki, project manager on Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, chimes in, stating that in the original Killer7, one of the playable characters – Coyote Smith – had lots of cut dialogue. Mikami then admits: “Fans would probably love a complete edition. That could actually be doable.”
Killer7 launched on the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2005 (with a surprise Steam release landing in 2018). It was immediately notable – and divisive – for its striking cel-shaded art style and peculiar gameplay which had its seven playable characters – the Smiths – follow pre-determined on-rails paths through stages instead of being able to fully explore them.
Despite its quirks, it’s maintained a healthy following over the years thanks to its captivating story, incredible style and exceptional music and sound design. Next year will be Killer7’s 20th anniversary, too, so I don’t think there’ll be a better time than then to release a complete edition on modern consoles and PC.