Hibachi (DoDonPachi)

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Hibachi is a large mechanical fictitious bee originating from the DoDonPachi series, a shoot'em up game developed by Cave which has spawned three sequels. It comes as a "reward" for those skilled players who are able to complete the second, harder loop for each game: succeeding in defeating him usually awards the player with the best ending. The high difficulty of the fight however makes this task nearly impossible, without a prior intensive training on the bullet patterns: among fans of the game, managing to destroy Hibachi is a symbol of true mastery.

[edit] Appearances in games

DonPachi: a single, bulky bee boss (still unnamed by the game's release) is fought in a single-stage battle after completing the second loop. Its defeat brings about the only ending of the game.

DoDonPachi: meeting the requirements for the second loop allows the player to fight a much more refined version of Hibachi, which now truly assumes the form of a bee. Destroying the bee unleashes a much smaller, but deadlier, fire bee.

DoDonPachi II - Bee Storm: A version of Hibachi is fought before the true first level of the game starts. This is an exceptionally easy battle. The sprite is most likely identical to the Hibachi from DoDonPachi. A secret boss, unlocked in a similar fashion to the other titles, also appears, and is referred to as a "bee". However, it bears little resemblance to Hibachi.

DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou: similar to DoDonPachi: destroying the boss of the 5th stage, which is actually Hibachi in a "larval" form, during the second loop unleashes a giant bee, which is much more alien looking than previous incarnations. Destroying this bee unleashes a smaller, fire encased bee, who attacks viciously.

DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou ("Death Label" mode): the same as normal Dai Ou Jou, only this time, destroying the giant bee unleashes two fire bees who attack in sync.

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu: Maybe the hardest Hibachi of all time. Has two forms, giant ship and fire encased bee which is more horrifying than before. Last attack pattern seems to be impossible without losing lifes, it consist "star" of lasers, and behind of there is three thick bullet patterns.

[edit] Criticism

Although, as previously stated, defeating this particularly tricky enemy is a sign of exceptional skill, a large number of players debate that the fight occurring during Dai Ou Jou is a mere way to trick the user into wasting large quantities of continues trying to beat an almost impossibly hard boss. This opinion has also been stressed by top-ranked players during a number of interviews.