Mushihime-sama | |
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Developer(s) | Cave |
Publisher(s) | AMI Co., Ltd. (arcade) Taito (PS2) |
Designer(s) | Toshiyuki Kotani |
Composer(s) | Manabu Namiki Masaharu Iwata Ryu Umemoto (Cave Matsuri) |
Series | Mushihime-sama |
Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation 2, iOS |
Release date(s) | 2004 (arcade) 2005-07-21 (PS2) |
Genre(s) | Vertical scrolling shooter, |
Mode(s) | Single player, 2 player Co-op |
Cabinet | Upright |
Arcade system | CAVE CV1000 |
CPU | Hitachi SH-3 (133MHz) |
Sound | Yamaha YMZ770C-F (APU) |
Display | Raster, vertical |
Mushihime-sama (虫姫さま , lit. Insect Princess) is a manic shooter developed by Cave and released by Taito in 2004. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2005. The game has an insect theme as all of the enemies resemble various insects such as beetles and butterflies. The game is set in various forest environments. It received a sequel in 2006, known as Mushihime-sama Futari.
A limited PlayStation 2 version also includes young Reco and Kiniro figures.
Contents |
The world of Mushihimesama is a wild, untainted one where large desertic areas abruptly change into lush forests, all inhabited by arthropods called Koujuu: such beasts (basically oversized insects) are capable of surviving due to their hardened shells and, upon their deaths, leave them behind for vegetation to grow around them, in a natural cycle of life and death. However, their life force, called Levi-Sense, proved to be poisonous to the humans to the point of being named the Miasma; only sparse human settlements were allowed to survive, one of them being the Hoshifuri village, in exchange for the sacrifice of a 15 years old girl every 200 years. However, the daughter of the royal family, Reco, is apparently the next in line after being given an ornate bracelet by a mysterious boy in Shinju Forest, where she lost herself at young age: by the day she turns 15, the Miasma contaminates the village.
In order to save her people, she enters Shinju Forest once more, riding the golden Koujuu beetle Kiniro (with which the golden bracelet grants a telepathic link) on a quest to meet the Koujuu god himself.
This is a version debuted in Cave Festival 2006. It includes following features:
This version was released for arcade in Cave Festival 2011 on May 27, 2011 at the price of ¥180000. It was only available for purchase from Cave's online store, from 12pm to 8pm on May 27th and 28th, 2011. It is considered a proper arcade release. In this version of the game, all difficulty levels (Original, Maniac, and Ultra) are initially selectable, all the music has been remixed, the colour palette is brighter, and there is a new mode called MAX Select (with Original, Maniac, and Ultra difficulties). In standard (non-MAX Select modes), there are changes in enemy number and bullet patterns, and ground gems can be sucked by releasing A as per Futari. An incomplete summary of MAX Select gameplay differences follows:
It was announced in November 2011 that Cave would port Mushihime-sama to iOS platforms under the title Bug Princess.
This game has some similarities with the Studio Ghibli film: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind