(Sega AM1's universe)
The future belongs to the people who are alive here and now. I'm prepared to live the rest of my life bearing the burden of my father's crime.
Daniel Curien (ダニエル・キュリアン, Danieru Kyurian) is the son of the late Dr. Curien. He is one of the main protagonists of The House of the Dead III, being playable in the final chapter of the game.
Daniel was cured of a terminal illness by his father, who later produced hostile biologically-engineered creatures in a homicidal frenzy. After his father's death in the 1998 Curien Mansion incident, Daniel moved to the EFI Research Facility and watched him grow into a powerful entity named Wheel of Fate. He condemned his father's actions and, in 2019, helped survivors destroy Wheel of Fate to save humanity.
Biography
Childhood
- Main article: The House of the Dead (1996 video game)
Living with his father in a mansion, Daniel became terminally-ill. To save his son's life, Curien researched breaking the barriers between life and death. Businessman Caleb Goldman funded the project, but Curien eventually went mad and released his creations upon staff members. He died at the hands of his "masterpiece", Magician. Daniel, however, was cured.
After his death, Curien's body underwent a transformative process, becoming a powerful entity called Wheel of Fate; for nineteen years, Daniel witnessed this development within the EFI Research Facility.
Adult life
- Main article: The House of the Dead III
By 2019, civilization had collapsed following a pair of outbreaks caused by Goldman in 2000 and 2003, and Thornheart in 2006. To find the source of humanity's downfall, AMS agent Thomas Rogan led a group of military commandos into the facility. Eventually, the only survivors, Rogan, and captain Dan Taylor discovered where Wheel of Fate was held, but Death, one of Curien's creations, killed Dan and injured Rogan. Daniel appeared and rescued the latter.
When Rogan's daughter Lisa Rogan and former partner G investigated two weeks later, they eventually met Daniel while reuniting with Rogan. Willing to bear the burden of his father's crimes, Daniel teamed with Lisa against Wheel of Fate. Although the humanoid pleaded for mercy, Daniel angrily refused to recognize it as his father and mercilessly killed him.
Feeling that he has finally moved on in his life, Daniel bid his father farewell, but vowed to return to the EFI Research Facility should humanity be threatened again.
Appearance
In flashbacks, during which Daniel is bedridden and in a comatose state, he wears light-green pajamas.
As an adult, Daniel appears with blue eyes and short brown hair, which has half fringes on the left. He wears glasses like Curien, and is seen in a formal brown suit jacket, a gray long-sleeve undershirt, and black pants and shoes.
In the "bad" ending of The House of the Dead III, he becomes a pale-skinned and monstrous-looking zombie.
Development
Designed with a "cool" and "intelligent" appearance, Daniel represents generational change and evokes parent-child relationships.[1][excerpt 1] His intellectual exterior has been interpreted as hiding "an atmosphere that contains sharp things that hurt when you look into it".[1][excerpt 2]
He influenced Dr. Curien's design in The House of the Dead III, including his face.[3][excerpt 3][excerpt 4]
Trivia
- He was first mentioned by name in The House of the Dead Sub-Story, a piece of lore in the 1998 Japanese guidebook The House of the Dead Official Guide. The House of the Dead's Sega Saturn manual also mentions that Dr. Curien has a son.
- Daniel's ultimate fate at the end of the game depends on the player's progress throughout the game:
- If one or both players get any rank below an A or S, the normal and best endings will be shown depicting Daniel showing no adverse effects of his life with his father and follows Lisa in leaving the area (with or without the jeep Lisa and G drove in with, depending on the ending).
- Ironically, if one or both players get an A or S rank, Daniel would stop moving and show little will to go on, prompting Lisa to witness him becoming a creature and attack her, possibly due to the adverse effects of Curien's "cure" to his illness.
- Kevin Miller, Daniel's voice actor, also voices Sly Cooper from the titular video game franchise and James "Smarty" Cools from Virtua Cop 3.[2]
Gallery
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To view the Daniel Curien gallery, click here. |
Sources
- Excerpts
- ↑ Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.53:
"クールでインテリな男性ということをイメージして制作しました。ダニエルもリサと同様に、親と子の関係を前に出して、さらに世代交替というテーマも含んでキャラクターをつくり上げています。" - ↑ Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.53:
"理知的な風貌の奥には、覗き込むと傷つくような、鋭利なものを内包している雰囲気がある。" - ↑ Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.61:
"前作とデザインコンセプトは変わっていません。ですが今回はマッドサイエンティストという面だけでなく、息子思いという面もデザインに影響しているのでは、と思います。" - ↑ Excerpt from The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, p.61:
"息子ダニエルとの顔の対比を考慮してデザインされた。"
- References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, pg. 53
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Kevin Miller's resume (PDF)" (English). Kevin Miller. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved on August 29, 2023.
- ↑ The House of the Dead III Perfect Guide, pg. 61
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