and greater attack power, or character-specific abilities such as ranged attacks or stunning enemies. Players navigate linear levels with the selected character, able to interact with certain environmental elements and jump over obstacles or onto higher platforms. During combat, the player is able to move freely within the environment, and has access to a variety of moves including a back step and strafing to avoid attacks. Enemies encountered in areas include humans, hostile animals, machines, and supernatural entities. The player character, who can lock onto enemies during combat, has a standard attack option, with combos achieved through consecutive attacks. An "EX Gauge" can be charged up and released to trigger a powerful attack. The player can also leap over and strike an enemy from behind—these actions open the enemy up to a high-damage attack. The player can find several types of items within each level; these include various sizes of life capsules which replenish health, increase attack power for a limited time, and gain PSI points from defeated enemies. PSI points are essential when brainjacking new characters, as the Maken can only brainjack a character with a lower or equivalent PSI level. For the remake Maken Shao, gameplay remains mostly the same, but with several added mechanics and a shift to a third-person perspective focused behind the back of the character. Combat options remain the same, but character abilities are now increased through combat by gaining "Image points", experience points earned from defeated enemies. After gathering enough Image points, new skills are unlocked for the current character, with the Maken's compatibility or "synchronization" with that character increasing alongside it; increased synchronization with a character raises their basic attributes such as health and attack power. Synopsis Setting and characters Maken X is set in a near-future version of Earth, described as "five minutes" into the future, the limit of precognitive vision. In the world of Maken X, the spirit is a scientifically-proven concept referred to as PSI, which arises from a separate dimension and is the source of emotion and sensation. Amid rising tensions and flagging negotiations between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, the European Union is collapsing due to growing misfortune across Europe. Two key factions are the Blademasters, a society who maintain world peace at all costs and share a special gene dubbed the "D Gene"; and the Sangokai, a Hong Kong-based crime