Khaji (video game franchise)

Khaji
Genre(s)	RPG
Developer(s)	Hej La
Platform(s)	Dream Entertainment Dream 64 Super Dream Entertainment VCube
First release	Khaji-Adventure of A Dragon 6 May, 1988
Latest release	Khaji-Return To The World 2 March, 2005

Khaji is a series of RPG created solely by Jerkuan programmer Hej La. The name of the series references the name of the main character, "Khaji", who's a half dragon, half human that can shift his appearance based on his own current emotions.

Hej La began the series in 1988, with the release of Khaji-Adventure of A Dragon, which he developed all by himself ever since 1975. Hej La learned coding in his college years and got heavily influenced by Vitosian made video games, he developed the game all by himself in the first couple of years before getting a team of 5 members, including him, all formed by his old college friends and family members, which was all credited in each of his video games. Voice acting and animating was a huge problem he had, as he is not talented in drawing nor voice acting, which was quickly filled in by his wife, who is an artist, and his daughter, who played as the voice of Khaji since the start to part 3 of the series. He send the beta of the game to a local game shop in his town, then later a national fair held by Jerku, which made him famous.

Gameplay focuses on a small but open world where the player can complete puzzle in order to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities. Most of the gameplay revolves around talking with NPC, task management and puzzle solving, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements. The games in the Khaji series are set in fictional worlds and dimensions, some include floating islands, caves world… The series centers on Khaji who attempt to solve his everyday situations, most ended up with him jumping to new worlds, making new friends and tying old ones. The antagonists are commonly characters who are old friends with the protagonist, or characters who have the most impact impeding the protagonist's progress that were shifted due to the world settings.

Titles

Main series

The Khaji series takes part in a fictional universe, which none of the players know except the name of it, until Khaji-Return To The World, where it specify each planets and dimensions fully. Each planets and dimensions is considered to be in the same universe.

Expansion packs

The series have its own expansion pack, made by Hej himself, the expansion pack were purposely made for extra content he couldn't put in and an additional sandbox where the players can explore all of the world without restrictions. The expansion aren't expensive, Hej said that it was meant to be free but since his family was going a rough time between the first two games, all of the players decided to spare another 5 to 10 Jerkuan Ling to help out his family, later he thanks the community and continue to make more expansion packs in latter games.

Others games

Outside of Khaji main story lines, Hej made other Khaji related games as well, even though short, he conveys a lot more lore to the Khaji universe, some of them may include "Leko-Lizard In Disguise", "Retsu-Journey Home", "Li Li-Flowers Season", "Kosu-Year of The Rat", "Byffi-Rice Paddies By Night", "Xi Cha-Home By Midnight",… most of them are artistic puzzles games based on story that Hej heard through his friends and colleagues.

Games elements

Gameplay

The gameplay is seen as artistic at the time, as Hej learned to both code and experience the outside world, many task in the game require the player to either sacrifice something small or taking in any huge blow from antagonist. The way the game convey the story is phenomenal as it tackle the mental state of the player, it is quite cheeky for a cliché storyline but Hej change up the elements to suit for the style of player decisions.

As off Khaji 3-Puzzle To The Word Why, it contains some of the most long lasting storyline in the series, as well as many voice acting by some of Iearth famous voice actors/actress. The voice acting was made mostly through volunteering as some of the actors and actress actually were hidden reference in the first two games, it was used as a way to talk to NPC to both progress the games and as well to get into an in depth information about the world surrounding Khaji.

Setting and story

Setting

Almost all of Hej games are connected to a universe he called "Chi", many characters and brands are recognizable when exploring the game, both in the Khaji main games and others Khaji projects. The universe contains anthropomorphic animals, as well as ordinary people, but there is a small community of hybrid between the two groups, which is heavily discriminated by the two original groups, called the "Gumi".

Landgros

Landgros is introduced in the first game, as well as the beta, and is the main world that Khaji lives in, it based on the landmass of Iearth, where lands creatures and human lives on. It is seen as the most advancing world in the universe due to its conditions and advantages. Most of the gameplay in the first game is based on Landgros, only occasional for the others world to appear, it introduced the player the basic of controls and history of Khaji life.

Where Khaji lives in Landgros is an unknown reference to the real life Iearth, many assume his home to be based on somewhere in Vitosium or Jerku but it's still unclarified by both Hej La and the game storyline.

Landgros have a very long history that was explained by Hej in an interview, it suffer 3 different world wars instead of one like on Iearth, it also progress past the needs to have borders as the creatures decided to lives in harmony, it's rarely to see crimes and wars in Landgros as it's seem that hatred no longer exists.

Qua Lo

Qua Lo is introduced in the mist of the gameplay in Khaji 2-Race To The Mystery, it's seem to be an "underwater level" by many due to its mechanics, it is the opposite of Landgros as it is underwater and quite undeveloped, the world was seen as spiritual and peaceful, the creatures that lives in Qua Lo identified technology as a threat to its peaceful lives so they were as developed as Landgros.

Qua Lo is based on the oceans of Iearth, as many underwater level are found to bare reassemblances of many gulfs and coasts, such as the Gulf of Ausiana, Toyana Ocean,…

Avio

Avio is introduced early in Khaji-Adventure of A Dragon, the space between the sky and the atmosphere were considered to be Avio, its inhabitants are mostly birds of all sorts, as well as some bugs. Its organization is quite anarchist as there is no restrictions in the sky.

Story

Khaji-Adventure of A Dragon

Khaji starts as a hybrid between his dragon mother and human father, he is considered as a "Gumi", a very hatred breed, whenever he go, he found himself being hated, at the age of 2, his father left him, letting his dragon mother alone to raise Khaji, not only that, at the age of 6, he found out that he can shift between his original human form into his new dragon form when he expressed negative emotions. He made it to middle school, studying at Berrystone Academy, he only have two friends, Voss, a lab rat, and Max, a golden retriever.

The first game let you explore the world surround Khaji, but when his father revealed himself to be a massive CEO of a famous food corporation, Khaji try to build up all his power and emotions to get passed through all the obstacles to meet his long lost father, but when Khaji try meeting him in his office after passing though multiple problems, his father was found missing, later finding out that it was a rumor, his father passed away long ago and the rumors his believed was an anniversary of his death, Khaji realised that happiness can't be find through the truth of his father, but it can receive through the hardship that he had to went through, like sitting down to talk with his mother about his father, sacrificing himself to help his friends in a side mission as well as getting through problems his friends support.

Khaji 2-Race To The Mystery

It has been 1 year since he heard about the truth of his father, with new found shape shifting strength, he was put into a racing team, due to a law against Gumi, Khaji was forced to into participating in both human and animal race tracks. Khaji must trained days and nights, developing an unhealthy habits of living and at the day of the tournament, you can get two ending, losing it automatically by forfeiting or winning the race, which Hej encourage player to play to achieve a good ending.

As Khaji either wins or loses, he realized that life will always see him as an outsider, no matter what he accomplished, he just wanted to be recognized, he left both the finals of the tournament as well the track team, feeling that recognition of his friends and freedom to live the way he wanted is what he wanted.

This part of series doesn't need much playing, it was more of a "storytelling" but there was still an influx of players as there was a demand for the series part two and continuation of the series. The antagonist can't be determined in this part neither but many players comes the conclusion that the laws that forces Khaji to overworked himself was the "culprit" after all.

Khaji 3-Puzzle To The Word Why

Khaji 3-Puzzle To The Word Why was seen as the most popular game in the series, as Hej put more content than before, as well as real world problems into the games, the game have multiple endings which allows the player to spend more time exploring the game and interaction with multiple NPC to resolve the lore of the game.

The game starts out with a cutscene when Khaji was born, in his father hands, then cutting back Khaji now living alone in an apartment, working in a ramen shop, he is hardworking but still struggling to meet rental deadlines. It is found out that he drop out of college during a misfits with a different herbivore, who is a rabbit named "Itagi", Khaji almost ended up killing her when his instinct gone mad over his love for her and he got expelled. As he continued to struggle with life, life itself keep falling on him, with financial debt, his mother sickness and his life going nowhere.

Out of desperation, he breaks through everything, finding a different job as a vigilante in a black market where animal sells meat, which is outlawed by the government, he arrested and rehabilitated hundreds of different "meat sicked" carnivores. As of his last arrest was another dragon of his kind, not only that, the dragon was a Gumi like Khaji as well, they keep crossing each other path whenever Khaji doing his vigilante works.

His work finally got shut down when Itagi found out about his job and putting a bounty on his head, Khaji have to run through more problems, but thanks to the help from his patients, they help him hide and finally confronting Itagi herself. Turn out that Itagi was under the previous dragon Gumi control as he blackmailed the entire Itagi's father company, Khaji beats him and saving both his innocent name and Itagi, which later becomes his fiancé.

Khaji 4-Key To The Truth

Back on his track, Khaji found himself between a new life with Itagi or his return to his vigilante work, he decided to maintain both at the same time, which costs the precious time that he could spend with Itagi and his unborn daughter but while keeping a name for Gumi under the law. The law kept his new family from getting recognized as Khaji is Gumi while Itagi is a full breed rabbit, but their falling love and their unborn daughter still kept them together.

During one of Khaji mission, he almost lost his entire arm but he lost a bits of his left ear and getting a scar near his right eye, Itagi was near to the point of divorcing him, he try everything to continue living with his wife and trying to see his daughter for the first time. As a last mission, he takes on a whole mafia group that been terrorizing herbivores and selling illegal meats, he beats the mafia group but lost his leg in the progress, Khaji begged Itagi for forgiveness and she agreed, a few months later, Khaji got to hold his daughter, Jeko, for the first time and the cutscene when Khaji's father holds him kept appearing on his mind, the game ends with Khaji saying:"I will gives you everything that I never have… Jeko…"

Khaji 5-The Final Goodbye

His family grows as he have another two daughters and one son, Landgros got into a very tense situation with Qua Lo and it sparks a conflict, ending almost a century of harmony between the two world. Khaji was conscripted into a border patrol due to his previous vigilante works, everyday he saw mass swarm of fish rushing to the patrol, forcing Khaji to shooting them down, painting his hand red with blood.

After a few weeks of patrolling, he was released off his work, returning to his family, they continue to live until the new revealed that the Qua Lo had pushed through the border and are approaching the area near his family. Khaji and Itagi immediately packs everything and try to catch a ride before it too late, but the earliest they can be pick up is at the time of a prediction by the army when the Qua Lo forces comes.

As Max, Khaji childhood friend comes pick his family up, the forces comes rushing, Khaji sacrifice himself to stop the force from advancing while Max drives his family to safety, Khaji picks up his weapon charges to battle, this game in the series only have one ending, whether the player wins the battle or loses, the ending will be the same. As Khaji emerges from the battle, he is soaked in blood, his hand can barely moves, his kneel down and screams as the games ends.

Khaji-Return To The World

Khaji finally settled down with his family in a new home, a very small and urban household in the countryside. After a few years, Khaji is now in his 60s, feeling old, he finally lay down his weapon and retired with his family, but the world continue to collapse on him. This time, due to a new policy from the government, old household will be wreck down to build new building for the rising population, Khaji absolutely disagree with the policy and ignore every offer by the government to moves his house, his family follow him.

Khaji turn to nobody but himself and his family, protecting his house and his family, even though being old, he still can shift his form to finish his deed, after many successful fights with businesses and government officials, his house was left standing between the new innovated building, the neighborhood remembers him as a hero and the game ending with his latter generation still living peacefully in the house and a quote by Hej stating:"What we cannot learn about the future, can be learn through the past."

Critique

Hej was pray as the first game programmer of Jerku as his work spread throughout Jerku, everyone wanted to play his game, from young to old. His work was also widely spread internationally and many game magazines picks up on his. Such as GameFanz:

In a world where we have video game companies making games from sports, Jerkuan developer, Hej La, proves to be a visionary by telling us a captivating story about a human/dragon hybrid called a Gumi and the real struggles one would face in his situation! As for the gameplay, top-notch! If you like RPGs, definitely check this one out! You will NOT regret your purchase! Final Score: 5/5.

Innovative Gaming:

Jerkuan developer, Hej La, who turns out to be one person, really impressed us with his ability to tell a story. The protagonist, Khaji, is such a relatable character that you can't help but root for him. I give this a 10/10!

VG Tactics Weekly:

In what could easily be the top game of the year around the world, you have an amazing story mixed with just as amazing gameplay. You play as Khaji, a dragon/human hybrid as you go through a journey that hits home to many people. Sometimes, the journey is more rewarding than the end result and that is okay. 10/10!