The Typing of the Dead

From Sega Retro

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  • NAOMI
  • Sega Dreamcast
    NTSC-J
  • Sega Dreamcast
    NTSC-U
  • Windows PC

Typing of the Dead.png

TTotD DC JP Title.png

TTotD DC US Title.png

TypingOfTheDead PC UK Title.png

The Typing of the Dead
System(s): Sega NAOMI, Sega Dreamcast, Windows PC
Publisher:
Arcade (NAOMI)
Sega Dreamcast
Sega
Windows PC
Sega PC
Windows PC
Empire Interactive
Developer:
Distributor:
Windows PC
Wizard Soft (KR)
Peripherals supported:
Sega Dreamcast
Dreamcast VGA Box, Dreamcast Keyboard, Visual Memory Unit
Genre: Typing Game (タイピングゲーム)[2][3], Typing (タイピング)[4], Table[5]

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Arcade (NAOMI)
JP
¥? 840-0026C






















Sega Dreamcast
JP
¥4,800 (5,040)4,800e[3] HDR-0067
Sega Rating: Violent Content
Sega Dreamcast
JP
(Keyboard Doukon-ban)
¥8,800 (9,240)8,800e[3] HDR-0085
Sega Rating: Violent Content
Sega Dreamcast
US
$39.9939.99[9] 51144
ESRB: Mature 17+
Windows PC
JP
¥5,500 (5,775)5,500e[4] HCJ-0301-1
Sega Rating: Violent Content
Windows PC
JP
(US Edition)
¥4,980 (5,229)4,980e[11] HCJ-0313
Sega Rating: Violent Content
Windows PC
JP
(DVD)
¥2,857 (3,000)2,857 (3,000)[12] HCJ-0381
CERO: 15
Windows PC
JP
(10th Anniversary)
¥1,790 (1,880)1,790 (1,880)[13] HCJ-0423
CERO: C
Windows PC
US
ESRB: Mature 17+
Windows PC
DE
EI-1256
Windows PC
ES
EI-1255
Windows PC
FR
Windows PC
UK
EI-1255
ELSPA: 15+ OK
Windows PC
UK
(Xplosiv)
EI-1335
ELSPA: 15+ OK
Windows PC
IT
ELSPA: 15+ OK
Windows PC
IT
(Xplosiv)
ELSPA: 15+ OK
Windows PC
CN
Windows PC
KR

The Typing of the Dead (ザ・タイピング・オブ・ザ・デッド) is a Sega NAOMI game released in 1999 based on The House of the Dead 2. While the latter is a standard light gun shooter, Typing replaces the gun with the keyboard.

While the game is an educational game, as it requires players to enhance their typing skills to be successful, it has been praised by critics primarily for its comedic content. It was later brought to the Sega Dreamcast and Windows PCs.

The success of this game, particularly in Japan, led to many variations of The Typing of the Dead. This article covers the original NAOMI arcade version and its ports to the Sega Dreamcast and Windows PCs. It also includes the Japanese release of The Typing of the Dead US Edition (ザ・タイピング・オブ・ザ・デッド USエディション), as this is the Japanese release of the US version of the game. For the Japanese-only variants, see The Typing of the Dead 2003, The Typing of the Dead 2004 and The Typing of the Dead Syoukai.

Plot

The plot of the game follows that of The House of the Dead 2 almost completely. The story begins on February 26, 2000, where another zombie outbreak has occurred and several AMS agents have been dispatched to investigate. The player can control two characters, James and Gary, who are first sent to find the original game's "G" before being tasked with restoring order. Responsibility for the outbreaks is soon traced to "Goldman," a banking tycoon and scientist who is attempting to end human control of the earth. Much of the game revolves around destroying Goldman's creations, concluding with the final boss of "the Emperor." There are three possible humorous ending sequences, dependent on how the final questions asked to defeat the Emperor were answered.

Gameplay

The Typing of the Dead has been described variously as a remake or mod of the original House of the Dead 2. Like the original, Typing of the Dead is styled as a first-person rail shooter game, but substitutes shooting zombies and other enemies with typing out words or phrases to kill them. When enemies appear, they are accompanied by a box showing a word, sentence or phrase which must be typed to neutralize the enemy. The length, and complexity, of the phrases increase during the game's progression. Other features retained include the challenges of saving survivors, which will alter the path the player character will take to his final destination, and the secrets/bonus items hidden throughout the game.

All levels contain specific challenge areas, where the player is required to kill a certain number of zombies in limited time, and are ended with a boss battle using some sort of alteration of usual gameplay (e.g. a long phrase, typing the correct answer to a question etc.) The console ports have two modes, "Original" and "Arcade," for the main storyline, as well as "Tutorial," "Drill," and "Boss" modes for additional typing training. Other changes are mostly superficial, including replacing the weapons wielded by zombies with harmless items and equipping the AMS agents with keyboards attached to backpack Dreamcasts with oversized batteries.

History

Releases

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The Typing of the Dead was first released for arcades in Japan in 1999 with a special arcade cabinet equipped with dual QWERTY keyboards. The game was WOW Entertainment and one of the second developments by Smilebit, a developer team from Sega which had recently spun off as a new company.

The first home console release was made for the Japanese Dreamcast market on March 30, 2000. The North American release was made the following year in January. A PC port was produced by Empire Interactive, and released in September 2001.

Another port of the game was for the PlayStation 2, titled The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Panic. This version was released exclusively in Japan in late December 2004, and was packaged with a USB keyboard. The game was mostly unchanged, disappointing observers hoping for an update of the graphics, although the Dreamcast backpacks were replaced with PS2 backpacks and new "minigames" were incorporated into the main story.

Also, in Japan the PC port had its updates as separate games. It had a total of 6 releases:

  • The Typing of the Dead JP (Romanji/Hiragana Alphabet / December 7, 2000)
  • The Typing of the Dead US (English Alphabet / September 20, 2001)
  • The Typing of the Dead 2003 (Romanji/Hiragana Alphabet / December 5, 2002)
  • The Typing of the Dead 2004 (Romanji/Hiragana Alphabet / December 4, 2003)
  • The Typing of the Dead JP Ver 2 (Romanji/Hiragana/English Alphabet / September 22, 2005)
  • The Typing of the Dead Syoukai (Romanji/Hiragana/English Alphabet / July 12, 2006)

The demos of these releases can be found on the official Typing of the Dead Japanese website.

A sequel game, The Typing of the Dead 2, was released in 2007. This version was a revision of The House of the Dead 3, and has only been released in Japan as of 2008.

Production credits

Dreamcast version

©Sega Enterprises, Ltd., 2000
Source:
In-game credits (JP)

Source:
In-game credits

Source:
US manual
TTotD DC US Manual.pdf
[16]

PC version

Empire Interactive
  • Design Coordinator: Benedict Wilkins
  • Product Manager: Stephen Wickes
  • Art: Phil Goldfinch, Paul Flewitt, Stephen Brennan
  • Lead Testers: Florence Kum, Lee Clarke
  • Testers: Simon Lewis, Nmlotey Nartey, Mark Klocek, Edward Albert Wilson, Christopher Giggins
  • Special Thanks: Tristram, Danny, Ian, Justin, James, Liz, Jimmy
Take 2 Interactive
  • Producer: Brian M. McGinn
  • VP of Business Development: Jamie Leece
  • VP of Publishing: Chris Mate
  • Graphic Artist: Christine Lagna
  • QA Supervisor: Frank Kirchner
  • Lead Tester: Stephen Thomas
  • Quality Assurance: Lisa Nawrot, Kai Ma, Josh Rose, Joe Covello, Stacey Sharpe, Joshua Noll, Scott Vail

Magazine articles

Main article: The Typing of the Dead/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #2000-14: "2000-14 (2000-04-21)" (2000-04-07)
also published in:
  • (JP) #2000-15: "2000-15 (2000-04-28)" (2000-04-14)[17]
Logo-pdf.svg

PressRelease 2000-10-20 EmpireInteractive tHotD2.pdf

PDF
PC press release
PressRelease 2000-10-20 EmpireInteractive tHotD2.pdf

Artwork

Physical scans

NAOMI version

NAOMI, JP
Typing of the Dead NAOMI JP Cart Back.jpgTyping of the Dead NAOMI JP Cart Front.jpg
Cart

Dreamcast version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(FR) NTSC-J
83
[18]
(JP) NTSC-J
90
[19]
(UK) NTSC-U
88
[20]
(JP) NTSC-J
92
[21]
(US) NTSC-U
75
[22]
(RU)
83
[23]
(JP) NTSC-J
88
[24]
(US) NTSC-U
80
[25]
(US) NTSC-U
75
[26]
(DE) NTSC-J
71
[27]
(PL)
80
[28]
(US) NTSC-U
80
[9]
(PL)
77
[29]
(RU)
73
[30]
(DE) NTSC-J
30
[31]
Sega Dreamcast
78
Based on
15 reviews

The Typing of the Dead

Dreamcast, JP
TTotD DC JP Box Back.jpgTTotD DC JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
TTotD DC JP Disc.jpg
Disc
Typing Of The Dead DC JP Manual.pdf
Manual
TTotD DC JP Inlay.jpg
Inlay
Dreamcast, JP (Keyboard Doukon-ban)
TTotD DC JP Box Front WithKeyboard.jpg
Cover
Dreamcast, US
TTotD DC US Box Back.jpgTTotD DC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
TTotD DC US Disc.jpg
Disc
TTotD DC US Manual.pdf
Manual
THOTDDCUSInlay.jpg
Inlay

PC version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(UK) PAL
0
[32]
(UK)
70
[33]
(YU)
86
[34]
Windows PC
52
Based on
3 reviews

The Typing of the Dead

PC, JP
TTotD PC JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, JP (DVD)
TTotD PC JP Box DVD.jpg
Cover
PC, JP (10th Anniversary)
TTotD PC JP Box Front 10th.jpg
Cover
PC, JP (US Edition)
TTotD PC JP Box Front US.jpg
Cover
PC, US
TTotD PC US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngTTotD PC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
TTotD PC US Box Front JewelCase.jpg
Jewel Case
PC, UK
TTotD PC UK back.jpgNospine.pngTTotD PC UK Box Front.jpg
Cover
TTotD PC UK disc.jpg
Disc
TTotD PC UK jback.jpgTTotD PC UK jfront.jpg
Jewel Case
PC, UK (Xplosiv)
TTotD PC UK Box Xplosiv.jpg
Cover
PC, FR
TTotD PC FR Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, DE

TTotD PC EU Disc.jpg
Disc
TTotD PC DE Box Back.jpgTTotD PC DE Box Front.jpg
Jewel Case
PC, ES
TTotD PC ES back.jpgNospine.pngTTotD PC ES front.jpg
Cover
TTotD PC ES jback.jpgTTotD PC ES jfront.jpg
Jewel Case
PC, IT
TTotD PC IT top.jpg
TTotD PC IT back.jpgTTotD PC IT left.jpgTTotD PC IT front.jpgTTotD PC IT right.jpg
TTotD PC IT bottom.jpg
Cover
PC, IT (Xplosiv)
TTotD PC IT xp cover.jpg
Cover
PC, KR
TTotD PC KR Box Back.jpgNospine.pngTTotD PC KR Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, CN

Technical information

Main article: The Typing of the Dead/Technical information.

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sega Arcade History, Enterbrain, page 171
  2. File:TTotD DC JP Box Back.jpg
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 http://sega.jp/dc/000315/ (Wayback Machine: 2013-08-01 04:52)
  4. 4.0 4.1 http://sega.jp/pc/tod/ (Wayback Machine: 2001-10-31 09:46)
  5. https://sega.jp/history/hard/dreamcast/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-11-09 14:09)
  6. Dreamcast Magazine, "2000-18 (2000-05-26)" (JP; 2000-05-12), page 151
  7. http://www.sega.com/games/dreamcast/post_dreamcastgame.jhtml?PRODID=680 (Wayback Machine: 2002-04-11 00:25)
  8. http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/categories/homepages/dreamcast.asp (Wayback Machine: 2001-02-01 16:44)
  9. 9.0 9.1 Official Dreamcast Magazine, "March 2001" (US; 2001-01-28), page 81
  10. 10.0 10.1 http://sega.jp/search/result.php?page=7&pf=11 (Wayback Machine: 2017-03-04 10:30)
  11. http://sega.jp/pc/todus/ (Wayback Machine: 2001-12-01 23:16)
  12. 12.0 12.1 http://sega.jp/pc/todvalue/ (Wayback Machine: 2005-11-16 17:49)
  13. 13.0 13.1 http://sega.jp/pc/tod10th (Wayback Machine: 2010-03-26 14:16)
  14. http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/size=20&store-name=videogames&index=video-games-uk&field-manufacturer=Empire/ (Wayback Machine: 2001-12-16 21:52)
  15. http://www.amazon.co.uk:80/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/size=20&store-name=videogames&index=video-games-uk&field-manufacturer=Empire/ (Wayback Machine: 2002-04-02 05:52)
  16. File:TTotD DC US Manual.pdf, page 26
  17. Dreamcast Magazine, "2000-15 (2000-04-28)" (JP; 2000-04-14), page 2
  18. Consoles +, "Juin 2000" (FR; 2000-0x-xx), page 129
  19. Dreamcast Magazine, "2000-12 (2000-04-07)" (JP; 2000-03-24), page 27
  20. Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 20" (UK; 2001-03-22), page 68
  21. Dorimaga, "2002-18 (2002-10-11)" (JP; 2002-09-27), page 32
  22. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 2001" (US; 2001-02-06), page 110
  23. Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast, "Izdaniye chetvertoye, dopolnennoye" (RU; 2002-xx-xx), page 284
  24. Famitsu, "2000-04-07" (JP; 2000-03-24), page 31
  25. GamePro, "March 2001" (US; 2001-0x-xx), page 93
  26. Gamers' Republic, "January 2001" (US; 2000-12-20), page 83
  27. MAN!AC, "06/2000" (DE; 2000-05-03), page 50
  28. Neo Plus, "Marzec 2001" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 56
  29. PSX Extreme, "05/2001" (PL; 2001-0x-xx), page 52
  30. Strana Igr, "Sentyabr 2000 2/2" (RU; 2000-xx-xx), page 21
  31. Video Games, "06/2000" (DE; 2000-05-04), page 124
  32. Computer & Video Games, "February 2001" (UK; 2001-01-17), page 108
  33. Edge, "January 2001" (UK; 2000-12-28), page 111
  34. Svet Kompjutera, "Februar 2001" (YU; 2001-xx-xx), page 1


The Typing of the Dead

Typing of the Dead.png

Main page | Comparisons | Hidden content | Development | Magazine articles | Reception | Technical information


Sega Dreamcast
Prototypes: 2000-08-14



The House of the Dead series of games
The House of the Dead (Remake) (1996) | The House of the Dead 2 (1998) | The House of the Dead III (2003) | The House of the Dead 4 (2005) | The House of the Dead: Overkill (Extended Cut) (2009) | House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn (2018)
The Typing of the Dead games
The Typing of the Dead (1999) | The Typing of the Dead 2003 (2002) | The Typing of the Dead 2004 (2003) | The Typing of the Dead: Zombie Panic (2004) | The Typing of the Dead for Mac (200x) | The Typing of the Dead Typing Lariat (2006) | The Typing of the Dead 2 (2007) | The Typing of the Dead Featuring Rakuten Minna no Shushoku Katsudou Nikki (2010) | The Typing of the Dead EX (2012) |The Typing of the Dead: Overkill (2013)
Spin-off games
Zombie Revenge (1999) | The Pinball of the Dead (2002) | Ai Sareruyori Ai Shitai: The House of the Dead EX (2008) | Zombie Shiki - Eigo Ryoku Sosei Jutsu: English of the Dead (2008) | The House of the Dead LL (20xx) | Zombie Utsu: Flick of the Dead (2012) | The House of the Dead: Overkill The Lost Reels (2013) | Darts of the Dead (2017) | House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn Battle Genesis (2019)
Compilations
The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return (2008) | The House of the Dead Bundle Pack (2012)
The House of the Dead related media
Music
(1999) | (1999) | (2005) | (2019) | (2022)
Book
(1998) | (1998) | (1999) | (1999) | (1999) | (1999) | (1999) | (2003) | (2003) | (2009)
Book
The House of the Dead "Wilder than Heaven" (1997) | Nightmare Syndrome Horror Game Comic Anthology (1998) + one more manga
Film
(2003) | (2005)