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ONI
Developer	Bungie Studios The Omni Group (Mac OS X port)
Publisher	Gathering of Developers (PC); Rockstar Games (PS2), Feral Interactive (Mac - Rest Of World), MacSoft (Mac - North America)
Released	January 2001[1]
Genre	Third-person shooter, Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player
Ratings	ESRB: Teen (T), ELSPA: 15+
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PS2, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X
Media	1 CD
Input methods	Keyboard and Mouse

Oni is a third-person action game developed by Bungie West, a division of Bungie Studios, and released in 2001. It was Bungie West's first and only game. It broke new ground by blending third-person shooting with hand-to-hand combat, resulting in a unique, yet familiar game for third-person shooter enthusiasts. Due to difficulties in debugging it and the general unplayability of a fighting game over anything with higher lag than a LAN, multiplayer was omitted from the released version.

The game's universe is heavily influenced by Masamune Shirow's manga series Ghost in the Shell.^[1] The main characters Konoko and Commander Griffin bear strong physical and character resemblance to Shirow's main characters Motoko Kusanagi and Daisuke Aramaki.

Contents 1 Gameplay and features 2 Storyline 2.1 Monday, Nov 22, 2032 2.2 Wednesday, Nov 24, 2032 2.3 Friday, Nov 26, 2032 2.4 Monday, Nov 29, 2032 2.5 Wednesday, Dec 1, 2032 2.6 Friday, Dec 3, 2032 3 Comic Book 4 Awards 5 Trivia 6 Footnotes 7 External links

In Oni, there are several ballistic and energy cell weapons, including handguns, rifles, and rocket launchers. A full list includes:

• Campbell Equalizer Mk4 - A standard TCTF pistol.
• Hughes Black Adder SMG - An illegal machine pistol manufactured by Syndicate factories, similar to a TEC-9.
• SML3 Plasma Rifle - A rifle which fires bursts of very hot plasma.
• Phase Stream Projector - A handgun which fires a continuous stream of electrical energy, knocking enemies off their feet.
• SBG "Superball Gun" Man-Portable Mortar - An RPG which fires cluster grenades which bounce along the ground before exploding.
• Van de Graaff Pistol - A taser-like device which uses the principles of a Van de Graaff generator to temporarily stun enemies.
• Scram Cannon - An RPG which fires eight small homing missiles with each blast.
• Mercury Bow - A "bow" (essentially a sniper rifle) which fires frozen bolts of mercury at targets.
• Screaming Cannon - An eccentric weapon which fires canisters containing lifeforms which deplete a target's health rapidly.
• Wave Motion Cannon - A huge gun which can only be wielded by Konoko and Barabas which fires streams of energy or bouncing grenades; similar to a cross between the Phase Stream Projector and the SBG Man-Portable Mortar, though much more dangerous.

As well as the aforementioned weaponry Oni features hand-to-hand combat. Since the player is only allowed to carry one gun at a time and ammunition can be scarce, hand-to-hand combat is much more valuable throughout the game. The heroine has punches, kicks, throws, and flips at her disposal, as well as special combos and "super moves" that are unlocked as she progresses through levels. The various moves are executed through varying combinations of attack, directional, and/or jump keys. Each enemy class also has its own set of moves.

The main character, Konoko, can use the entire level as her combat arena. She can explore and move about freely, instead of being confined to a small arena and fighting a small group of enemies (as in the case in many console games of that era).

The game allows Konoko to explore 14 levels of varied sizes, ranging from medium-sized to large, entire-building levels. Bungie hired a professional architect to design the buildings for authenticity. When released, one criticism often leveled at the game was that of the sparse, bauhaus nature of the levels, citing a lack of malleable in-game objects and an overall sterile feel.

The animation engine implements a method of interpolation which tweens key frames, enabling the characters to execute combat moves smoothly. Frame slippage, however, is a common problem when multiple NPCs (non-player characters) are performing attack moves in the vicinity of Konoko.

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The story takes place on or after the year 2032,^[2] shortly after the establishment of a political entity named the World Coalition Government (WCG). This entity currently controls 80% of the world's land area that is livable (the rest, under the guise of wilderness reserves, is toxic), and was created as a solution to the world's economic problems.

The Technological Crimes Task Force (TCTF) is a paramilitary law-enforcement agency within the WCG. When the WCG came to power, they blamed abuse of technology for the world's previous difficulties (in particular biological weapons; the game's manual draws parallels between the use of technological terror in-game and similar attitudes to nuclear weapons in the mid-twentieth century). The TCTF serves to oppose this abuse, to prevent a return to these difficulties (or so say the WCG politicians). In truth, the TCTF is a kind of secret police - they enforce the law, but more for the suppression of loose technology and the government's opposition than for the public good.

The TCTF's other purpose is to monitor every WCG citizen in an Orwellian fashion. The world's cities are the only areas in the world which are lived in and the rest is completely uninhabitable, to the extent that air treatment facilities (also known as Atmospheric Conversion Centres) are necessary to keep the population alive.

As the various governments were combined under a single banner, the various criminal/terrorist organizations and rogue states did likewise. The TCTF's largest foe is a worldwide crime network called The Syndicate. The Syndicate is led by a single individual named Muro, who has been outwitting the TCTF for years.

The story's main character is a young woman codenamed Konoko (voiced by Amanda Winn-Lee), a TCTF special agent fresh out of training. Konoko is under the authority of Commander Terrence Griffin, and is teamed with a Simulated Life Doll (an android made with brain engrams which match those of a living person; in this case, Konoko) named Shinatama. The player controls Konoko for the entire story.

Trial Run

Shortly after a brief training session the story commences with an assault on laboratories by The Syndicate. Konoko, through her neural link with Shinatama, communicating with Commander Griffin and Dr. Kerr, moves in to investigate. All the while, Griffin and Kerr are seen arguing over Konoko's situation; Griffin believes that a trial run for Konoko is necessary but Kerr is showing concern which is seemingly unbefitting for his position.

Konoko ventures into the Syndicate Warehouse and the TCTF's mole, Chung, is found dead at the scene. A data pad on his person informs Konoko that the Musashi manufacturing plant is being used by The Syndicate. While she is inside the warehouse, Konoko also finds several Hypo Sprays (the equivalent of a fast-acting first aid kit), and Shinatama warns her to be careful when using them near full health as she may experience the "Overpower Effect, a temporary burst of strength and health". Shinatama also tells Konoko not to tell anyone she told her about this, but does not explain why.

Konoko clears out the warehouse, preventing an armoured truck from leaving shortly before backup arrives, and then tells Griffin what she found on the data pad, insisting that the Musashi plant must be searched. Adding weight to her argument, she tells Griffin that TCTF reports indicate that BGI Corporation (a company who used the warehouse) is a suspected front for the Syndicate, and Musashi is owned by BGI.

Engines Of Evil

Konoko and her team are sent to the Manufacturing Plant and are almost immediately attacked by Syndicate members. Inside the plant, Konoko and Commander Griffin realise that the plant is just a trap; while Konoko and her team are inside the plant, the Syndicate is attacking a bio-research lab. However, while she is at the plant she finds that an illegal type of AI nicknamed a Deadly Brain has been assembled and activated and is threatening to destroy a large portion of the city. Konoko shuts the brain down.

Puzzle Pieces

As soon as she destroys the brain, she motorcycles to Vago Biotech, the plant that Musashi was a diversion from. Muro and his strikers are raiding the lab for an as-yet-unknown reason. Upon her arrival, Konoko faces Barabas, a cyborg (part human, part machine) that is one of the main enforcers of The Syndicate. Konoko defeats Barabas to gain entry to the plant. Upon retreating, Barabas messages to Muro, telling him that "She [Konoko] was too strong."

Konoko saves as many scientists as she can from the strikers but fails to catch Muro before he leaves the plant for the Vansam Regional Airport.

Tiger By The Tail, Hot Pursuit

He was trying to escape by plane, while Syndicate troops attack the airport as a diversion; the airport cargo hangars were being used as a temporary base of operations. Muro loses Konoko, but Konoko manages to land a tracking device on the plane. Muro, while departing, speaks to his henchmen, who inform him that "They do not know of the condition of the Chrysalis". Meanwhile, the TCTF loses the tracking signal from Muro's plane, allowing him to finally escape.

Counterattack

Shortly after, the TCTF Regional Headquarters itself is attacked by The Syndicate and they seem to have surprising knowledge of the interior security machinations by very quickly disabling all of the power substations. Reaching the rooftop of the HQ, Konoko finds out that Barabas has kidnapped Shinatama. Unable to control herself, Konoko first kills Barabas, and then experiences a strange feeling overtaking her; something similar to a Daodan spike, but far more powerful.

A Friend In Need

Konoko tracks down Shinatama, and despite Griffin's objections, rushes to save her. All the while, Muro is torturing Shinatama to retrieve information in a nearby Atmospheric Conversion Center.

An Innocent Life

While venturing deeper into the facility, Konoko finally finds Shinatama. Shinatama says that she won't live, and in a heart-rending scene, reveals that Konoko's real name is Mai Hasegawa, and that she was involved in some sort of project. Griffin, in a desperate attempt to prevent Konoko from getting further with that information, sets the auto-destruct sequence of Shinatama, revealing that she was armed with a bomb with huge explosive power (why this was necessary is not immediately explained). Konoko flees, and the TCTF starts pursuit.

Truth And Consequences

Looking for her origins, Konoko goes to the Regional State Building, and there, is encountered by both TCTF and The Syndicate. She finds a terminal to access to the information, but as she is downloading it, Muro's elite ninja, Mukade copies and deletes all the data concerning her.

Cat And Mouse

Konoko follows Mukade through the city's rooftops and finally, corners him. Mukade states that they are one and the same; that they should surrender to their essence of the joy in killing, and revel in it. Enraged and disgusted, Konoko kills Mukade, breaks his neck and retrieves the disk.

Dream Diver

Konoko goes back to Dr. Hasegawa's laboratory, where she reads the files on the disk. Apparently, Dr. Hasegawa was a college lecturer, and had fallen in love with a student of his, Jamie, who was an activist who believed that the government was hiding secrets, particularly concerning the euphemistical "Wilderness Zones". Both of them venture into one of these zones (overgrown plants were covering it), and Jamie accidentally cuts her leg. However, almost immediately the wound becomes infected. Unable to bear seeing her in pain, Dr. Hasegawa shoots Jamie (to "ease her pain"). In his notes Dr. Hasegawa says that the Wilderness Zones are poisonous, uninhabitable and beyond human reclaim. He leaves a clue: "I will not let this tragedy happen again. Her brother will help me. He misses her as much as I do." Konoko learns that Jamie's maiden name was Kerr; the brother mentioned must have been Dr. Kerr.

Sins Of The Father

Konoko infiltrates TCTF Science Prison #112 to find Dr. Kerr, who tells her about the solution Hasegawa and he developed. Using funding from the Syndicate, they developed a "Daodan Chrysalis" which was essentially a hyper-evolved form of a cancer cell. By implanting a person with the Chrysalis, they would let it adapt to the biology which contained it, and grow as the host suffered physical damage. However, further than that, over a duration of time, the Chrysalis would start to improve the host as well, replacing the organs of the host with its own extensions. Kerr says that two Chrysalis prototypes were made based upon two genetic patterns; Konoko and her brother, Muro, both of which were implanted into their respective owners.

However, the Syndicate, who were after all funding the project, attacked Hasegawa's facility, killed him and kidnapped Muro. Kerr was forced to go to the TCTF to keep Konoko safe. Griffin, aware that Muro would soon become hugely powerful, insisted that Konoko be trained as a field agent, though he also wished to keep her under strict control. This is why Shinatama was assigned to Konoko and implanted with an explosive device; should she ever go rogue, Shinatama would be detonated to prevent her from becoming too dangerous.

Before he can reveal more, Dr. Kerr is killed by a TCTF Black Ops member, who attempted to shoot Konoko. To escape the Science Prison, she is forced to test the theory she has just heard, by attempting to escape through acid vats. As she dives into one of these vats she whispers: "Father, I pray you were right."

Phoenix Rising

Konoko infiltrates the TCTF Regional HQ single-handedly, to learn that Griffin had used Shinatama to do something. Upon tracking Griffin down to his Omega Bunker in the basement, Konoko finds out that Griffin constructed his own security cell (a Deadly Brain) with Shinatama's brain, one that knows Konoko the best. Konoko soon disables all the security functions. Shinatama frees herself from the machine and the wrecked remains of her body march towards Griffin, who promptly shoots her. Konoko, right behind him, disarms him and holds him at gunpoint.

At this point, the player is faced with the choice of shooting Griffin or walking away. The choice has no effect on the overall plot, but changes the final fight sequence at the game's end.

Dawn Of The Chrysalis

After this, Konoko sneaks inside the Syndicate Mountain Compound that Muro is using. Soon afterwards, she discovers Muro's master plan, Project "Sturmanderung": Muro is planning to reroute the atmospheric conversion centers to pollute the clean world; a disaster from which only the Chrysalis can save humankind. As Konoko quotes, "He's planning to kill everyone who doesn't sell his soul to him for a Chrysalis." Quickly devising a counter-measure, Konoko tries to destroy some of the atmospheric conversion centers before Muro's satellite has rerouted them, but doesn't interfere in time. Instead, she is forced to destroy the mountain compound and the conversion centers connected to it. Then, she heads to the rooftop to face Muro.

Here, if the player killed Griffin, the final showdown ensues between Konoko and Muro's new self as he has accomplished to pass to the next stage of Chrysalis evolution - the Imago stage. This choice makes the game somewhat more difficult to complete, as instead of fighting a large number of weaker enemies, one must face a superboss -- periods of invunerability, massive size and damage, etc. However, if the player chose to walk away, then Muro stays in human form, he and his henchmen face Konoko, upon which Griffin comes along to help her. The overall plot remains the same, the ending included.

After the explosion, Konoko is shown roaming the ruins of the city, and monologuing to herself that, the Chrysalis may save humankind in the form of evolution after the disaster that had occurred, but that the fate of humankind is unclear.

A 4-issue comic book mini series was published by Dark Horse Comics. The pilot issue (#0 of 3) was packaged with the PC version of the game.

• E3 1999 Game Critics Awards: Best Action/Adventure Game

• Though the city in which the game takes place is never made explicitly clear, a news article while Konoko is reading her father's file has a location header which appears to be Tokyo.

1. ^ Interview with lead engineer Brent Pease
2. ^ Officially confirmed to be set in 2032 by Bungie.net's Oni FAQ, although this is still debated due to how tightly the events of Oni would have been packed together, and that the FAQ went up during the Bungie/Microsoft take over. According to Konoko's in-game diary, November 22 was a Monday. This is true for the years 2032, 2038, 2049, etc.

• Bungie Studios Oni section
• ONI Central
• ONI Online
• Oni at MobyGames
• Oni2-all oni related
• ONI Wiki
• Script10k oni site

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