| Deathsmiles | |
|---|---|
North American box art |
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| Developer(s) | Cave |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Junya Inoue (graphic) |
| Composer(s) | Manabu Namiki |
| Series | DeathSmiles |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Xbox 360, iOS |
| Release date(s) | Arcade
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| Genre(s) | Manic shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Rating(s) | CERO: B ESRB: T PEGI: 12 |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | CAVE CV1000 |
| CPU | Hitachi SH-3 (133 MHz) |
| Sound | Yamaha YMZ770C-F (APU) |
| Display | Raster, horizontal |
Deathsmiles (デススマイルズ) is a horizontal side scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game by Japanese developer Cave, released in late 2007. It is notable for its aesthetic style, featuring heavy occult and gothic influences. It is the second Cave shoot 'em up to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor (the first being Progear, followed by the recently released Akai Katana). It was the first Cave shooter released in North America on a console,[3] and the first one in Europe.[4] Cave have also released it to the iOS market.[5] A sequel, DeathSmiles II, was released to Japanese arcades on May 14, 2009.
Contents |
Instead of the typical lives in traditional shooters, the player is given a pool of life points (initially 3). The player loses 1 point if they are hit by a bullet, 1/2 point if they collide with an enemy or are hit by a non-bullet attack. The game ends when the player has no more life points. Life points can be restored by items, and the maximum life point is increased when reaching certain scores (default 20 and 45 million points).
When an enemy is destroyed, it fires a yellow "counter bullet" that is smaller than the regular bullet fired from an enemy. If the player's familiar is hit by a "counter bullet", the player's item counter is increased, which leads to an increased score. Stage bosses do not fire counter bullets.
Each player has an accompanying familiar, which can fire its own shots and chooses target in auto lock shot. It can also block enemy bullets. Its movement is opposite to player's.
Jewelry can gain points. "Life Up" items recover life points. Magic gains 1 bomb.
When player obtains an item, or when the familiar touches a counter bullet, the item counter is incremented (maximum 1000).
When the item counter is full, pressing the A and B buttons simultaneously causes both player and familiar to fire more powerful shots than normal, while the item counter begins to decreases. The player does not lose life points for colliding with enemies in this state. The enemies drop more items when destroyed by the powerful shots. The power-up effect finishes when the item counter reaches 0.
Stages are arranged in a chapter and scene format, with 3 chapters and 2 scenes per chapters for the first 6 stages. The Player can choose the order of stages by arranging the A, B, C at the start of the game. The stage order within A, B, C cannot be changed. When choosing a stage, the player can choose difficulty levels between 1 to 3 (or 999 in MBL).
After completing 6 stages (Chapter 3 Scene 2), the final stage (Chapter 4) begins, which is organized in 2 parts. The, player can choose to play an extra stage if certain conditions are met at the end of Stage Chapter 3 Scene 2.
Mega Black Label is a limited (150 copies total) edition of the game released in Japan. It added Sakura as playable character, as well as the Crystal Shrine stage, and Level 999 difficulty level.
In the August 25?31, 2008 issue of Famitsu Weekly, Cave announced an Xbox 360 port of the game. New game modes include an Xbox 360 mode and Ver 1.1 mode. The player can also adjust the screen brightness, background frame, game screen position and zoom level.
Downloadable content for the Japanese market included the Mega Black Label features (1200MSP) and a full voice download card for preorder and limited edition users.
The Limited Edition in Japan includes a Manabu Namiki Selection Deathsmiles Premium Arrange Album soundtrack CD.
Hori produced a controller for the Xbox 360 game that was an Amazon Japan exclusive.[6]
On April 8, 2010, the Platinum Collection re-release came out in Japan, containing both the main game and the Mega Black Label downloadable content on the disc.
Aksys Games has released the game in North America on June 28, 2010. A Limited Edition was released that includes, along with the game, an exclusive Xbox 360 faceplate and a "Premium Arrange Album" soundtrack CD. As with the Japanese Platinum Collection re-release, the North American port integrates the Mega Black Label (MBL) content, providing a total of 6 game versions selectable from the front-end menu: Arcade, Ver 1.1, Xbox 360, MBL Ver 1.1, MBL Arcade, MBL Xbox 360. The additional playable character, Sakura, is available in the MBL versions.
In Ver 1.1 mode, players can independently control familiars via the Xbox 360 controller. Lock shot and powerup shot are located on different buttons.[7] Other changes include:
It includes following changes:
Cave has announced the release of the Game on the Apple iOS App Store, following the trend with Espgaluda II and Dodonpachi Resurrection. The changes known so far:
On the back of the arcade game poster, there is a template for a skirt blowing game. In the game, the player attempts to blow up the skirt or petticoat of the model to see her underwear. The player scores 30 points for blowing up a skirt and 50 points for blowing up a petticoat. Points are deducted if a pumpkin or tombstone is knocked over.[8]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 79.70%[9] |
| Metacritic | 76%[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Edge | 8/10[11] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[12] |
| GameZone | 8.5/10[13] |
Japanese video game magazine Famitsu's "Famitsu Xbox360 monthly" awarded the game a score of 8/9/7/8. Weekly Famitsu gave the game a score of 7/7/7/8. Edge Online gave the game a score of 8 out of 10. GameZone gave the game an 8.5/10, saying "Shmups are slowly making the journey back into the hearts of westerners, but I fear that Deathsmiles may ruin it for other games to come. From the numerous modes and adjustable options, to the beautiful artwork and masterful touches, Deathsmiles is the new shmup to be reckoned with."
NTSC-uk praised the game's approachability, writing that "it gently eases in newcomers yet underneath has an incredibly sophisticated set of scoring mechanics and level layouts", further stating that the title was "proof of the continuing viability of the genre". GameSpot wrote in their review of the American release that "Deathsmiles is a top-notch shooter that brings the crazy Japanese arcade action in spades with a great presentation and a lot of options for bullet-hell buffs".