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(Zappa cameos in Travis Strikes Again, placing Killer Is Dead into the larger universe.)
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Although not Kill the Past games in style or format, these games include minor plot elements from the main Kill the Past games, seemingly placing them within the same continuity.
 
Although not Kill the Past games in style or format, these games include minor plot elements from the main Kill the Past games, seemingly placing them within the same continuity.
 
* ''[[Michigan: Report from Hell]]'' (2004) introduces the recurring company [[ISZK]]
 
* ''[[Michigan: Report from Hell]]'' (2004) introduces the recurring company [[ISZK]]
  +
* ''[[Shadows of the DAMNED]]'' (2011) is a video game that receives a sequel, ''DAMNED: Dark Knight''/''Serious Moonlight'' on [[Death Drive Mk II]] in ''Travis Strikes Again''.
 
* ''[[Diabolical Pitch]]'' (2012) stars baseball pitchers from [[Santa Destroy]] and [[Lospass Island]] and its protagonist is mentioned briefly in ''Travis Strikes Again''
 
* ''[[Diabolical Pitch]]'' (2012) stars baseball pitchers from [[Santa Destroy]] and [[Lospass Island]] and its protagonist is mentioned briefly in ''Travis Strikes Again''
 
* ''[[Let It Die]]'' (2016) introduces the [[Death Drive]] console series
 
* ''[[Let It Die]]'' (2016) introduces the [[Death Drive]] console series

Revision as of 02:35, 30 January 2019

Kill the Past is the collective term for a number of related video games directed by Goichi Suda, also known as Suda 51. Not only are these games often thematically similar, but they also feature a number of recurring trademarks, for instance: severed heads (sometimes in paper bags), the death and resurrection of playable characters (as well as the meaninglessness of death in general), the Moon, assassins, the medium of television, and occasionally even recurring characters. The main theme in "Kill the Past" titles is the necessity for their protagonists to destroy relics of their past that burden and prevent them from moving forward. Oftentimes, characters find themselves at odds with previous events in their lives that must be confronted head-on for them to be at ease.

Although each game in the series can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, if taken as a whole, "Kill the Past" builds an overarching plot that does not end so much as it carries on where the last title left off. Characters seem to be expendable and serve only to advance the plot; once they have lived out their purpose, it is common to see them killed or simply dissipated from the story.

The literary trend and style known as postmodernism features heavily in "Kill the Past". The nature of the work as a game is not only brought up for comedic value, but also to support the underlying themes, some of which have to do with video games themselves. It is a recurring theme for the protagonist to mirror the player in some way.

The earliest games essentially considered to be a part of the "Kill the Past" collection are Human Entertainment's Twilight Syndrome and Moonlight Syndrome, titles Suda helmed early in his game director career. However, some sources choose not to include these games in their interpretation of the "Kill the Past" line, despite their concise connections to related games published in later years, particularly The Silver Case. This is largely because the events of "Kill the Past" are not considered canon to the Syndrome series, which continued even after Suda's departure from Human. "Kill the Past" titles are frequently interpreted as a trilogy, usually Grasshopper Manufacture's The Silver Case, Flower, Sun, and Rain and killer7; others excise killer7 and insert Moonlight Syndrome at the beginning.

At the time of release, Suda reported that the No More Heroes franchise was a body of work separate from the "Kill the Past" titles. Despite this, the Lovikov Balls sidequest and other minor elements such as ISZK seem to suggest a connection; later on, references to Santa Destroy and Lospass Island in Diabolical Pitch retroactively reinforced the connection. Killer Is Dead has some visual and thematic resemblance with "Kill the Past" however it was not connected on a narrative level until Travis Touchdown met Mondo Zappa in 2019's Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.

On a larger scale, Suda has claimed that he sees all of his games as existing in one world, which likely explains some of the more minor connections.

In-universe, the words "Kill the Past" were originally created by Kamui Uehara in a video project he made with Ayame Shimohira or possibly even earlier.

Titles

Main titles

Other connected games

Although not Kill the Past games in style or format, these games include minor plot elements from the main Kill the Past games, seemingly placing them within the same continuity.

Killers of the past

The titular element of these stories is protagonists first having a past that has been "killed" through repressing memories or ignoring it, but then having to properly acknowledge and confront it in order to truly "kill" it and move on.

  • In The Silver Case, Sumio Kodai and the other Mikumo Boys were disabled as children due to riots provoked by the actions of the Yukimura Group. In case#3:parade, Sumio and the other boys finally have their revenge.
    • Both Akira and Tokio Morishima discover that they originally grew up in the Shelters, although it is unclear if they are satisfied with learning this or properly confront it, especially as Tokio goes on to continue investigating in future games.
  • In Flower, Sun, and Rain, Sumio Mondo has to confront his past as a clone of Sumio Kodai, and Kodai's history with the events of The Silver Case; on an even higher-level sense, Mondo confronts the fact that his game is a sequel.
  • In killer7, Garcian Smith has to confront his past as Emir Parkreiner.
  • In No More Heroes, Travis Touchdown has to remember his motivations for joining the United Assassins Association and his memories of his dead parents.
  • In Killer Is Dead, it seems as though Mondo Zappa has to confront his history living on The Moon and about David being his brother, but it is never quite made clear how true the former is.