Official Site: http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/blazblue-continuum-shift-extend-ps3.html
Source: Youtube Channel jourdal
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Aksys Games
Platforms: [Playstation 3], Xbox 360
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Genre: Fighting
Pros:
+ Lots of unlockable content
+ Rebalanced characters and difficulty
+ "Almost" everything great about the series so far put together in one
+ Extra stories that delves deeper into the lore of BlazBlue
+ The addition of Relius Clover
+ Another mode added for those who like playing single-player
+ Optimized online gameplay
+ The in-game money and level system is great for single-player play
+ Abyss mode adds some light RPG elements great for single-player play
Cons:
- An expensive DLC for those who own the original and 3 of the DLC characters
- Legion mode is not present in this "supposed" definitive version of BlazBlue
- A lot of the English voice actors have been swapped out
- Public online community is pretty dead
- Honestly, it's only one extra characters
- Odd typos and weird dialogue problems in conversations
Recommended:
*Yes: If you've never bought any of the BlazBlue or you're a big fan
*No: If you've bought Continuum Shift with the 3 DLC characters
I was hesitant about purchasing Extend as it was mainly 4 new characters for me for $40 (it was 1 new character for those who paid for the 3 DLC characters before Extend released). But I got a really good sale discount, there were new modes, new story lines, new characters, and I really liked BlazBlue. I liked the addition of Abyss mode, which was ported from the handheld editions, and the currency/level system as it gave me an incentive to keep playing to unlock more content much like Calamity Trigger was like. I had never played the 3 DLC characters before, so it pleases me that all 3 turned out to be really fun to play. The exclusive Relius Clover for the Extend edition is okay, but I can understand why a lot of people who bought Continnum Shift and all the DLCs didn't want to buy an entire expansion just for him. The additional story arcs were great and quite moving on some of them. What I really didn't like that made me upset was that some of the voice actors were different. The main problem is that they're mixed in with the original voice actors so some attacks just sound so odd when it's a totally different voice. It was also saddening to hear it in Story mode as it no longer captures the essence and being of that character anymore as well as being inconsistent. There was also some very odd typos where words are misspelled, words didn't match what the voice was saying, and weird dialogue changes in the middle of a conversation where some characters suddenly have the Japanese voice actors speak and then go right back into English voices. This expansion seems rather rushed and unpolished in terms of content quality, but the core gameplay is still very solid and a lot of fun.
Aesthetics
Art Style: 2D Hand-drawn sprites with multi-layer hand-drawn backgrounds
+ Slight changes to UI, certain animations, and graphics to make it smoother
+ New content in gallery and new CGs for story
+ As usual, the music is incredible and new songs have been added
+ Additional levels have been added
- Typos in texts and voice overs not matching to texts or fluctuates to Japanese
- Changes to English voice actors is disappointing and jarring in-game
Aesthetics: 7/10
Buttons
Controller: PS3 controller or Fightstick
+ Nothing has really changed for the controls. Still easy to navigate the menus, character moves and skills are still solid and response time is very tight.
Buttons: 10/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Classic 2D Fighter
+ The new story arcs are pretty well written and has the same great quality
+ New modes like Unlimited Mars and Abyss Mode are great additions for solo
+ The 3 DLC characters with Relius Clover is added to the roster
+ Currency and Leveling system adds more replay value and incentive to the game
+ A LOT of unlockable content such as pictures, unlimited characters, and voices
+ Online play is optimized and runs much smoother
- Legion Mode was taken out
- For competitive players, not much new was added
Concept and Content: 9/10
Duration
+ Replay value for solo play has been "extended" significantly
+ More stories means longer play time
+ Lots of content to unlock so there's incentive to play more
+ Abyss Mode has 4 tiers and has light RPG elements for more "depth"
Duration: 9/10
Fun
+ I like the currency/leveling system a lot, that progression for solo play is great
+ I really like the RPG elements within Abyss mode
+ The additional 4 characters are really fun and unique
+ Relius Clover has the coolest and most intricate Astral Heat
+ The stories for the new characters and side stories were rather moving
-The lack of polish in texts, voice actor changes, erratic language voice overs was a disappointment and I hope this doesn't happen in Chrono Phantasma
Fun: 9/10
Overall
Despite the lack of polish in bringing it over to the Western Market and disappointments with voice actor changes, the sheer amount of solo play content that was added more than makes up for it (but still makes me sad). BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend is the definitive version of the series thus far with all the characters up to date, all the stories including Calamity Trigger, and all the different modes excluding Legion mode. The expansion is quite an expensive payment for those just wanting Relius Clover in their roster, but a worthwhile one if more single-player content is what they seek. For those who really like the series other than just solely on the competitive scene or those who have never even bought the game, BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend is a great buy for any gamer remotely interested in the 2D Fighter genre. Overall: 8.8/10
Showing posts with label Aksys Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aksys Games. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Retroview - From the Abyss
Aksys Site: http://www.aksysgames.com/games/fta/
Source: Youtube Channel TeamDSNEWS
From the Abyss for the Nintendo DS was on my list of games to check out long ago and I eventually played through it earlier this year. The game was like a very watered down "Secret of Mana" with its own little mechanics and gimmicks that sets it apart. From the Abyss is an Action-RPG that's dungeon based rather than an open-world. The player will go through different parts of the Abyss gate and travel through 4 areas before fighting the boss. The game is extremely difficult in the beginning as enemies take quite a few hits before dying and the player won't be able to withstand that many attacks before dying. Once I got through the first 2 areas for the first stage, I was strong enough to get through the rest of the game fairly easily with no problems at all.
The player will end up leveling up very quickly as long as they're killing enemies along the way. There's one problem already: not having a balanced leveling system that keeps the game challenging or fresh. I one-shotted most enemies if not within 3 hits and I had so much money that I could buy the strongest items several times over and still have some left over. The levels themselves go from one block to another much like the original Legend of Zelda games were like. Everything in that particular stage that you're on will look the same. Exploring everything didn't reward the player much as it "sometimes" gave a better equipment if not a regular potion to use, and so near the end I decided to rush the game and ignore going to dead ends if possible. There's the other problem: exploration wasn't fun. There wasn't much of an incentive to check the other paths because there was usually very little there or nothing at all. There there's the most important aspect of the game: the combat system.
The game is a lot like the Mana series where the player can switch between weapons to slash enemies, shoot them from afar, or cast spells. For melee weapons, the combo system was extremely stiff which left the player extremely vulnerable when attacking and fast enemies were annoying to chase after. For the ranged weapon, there was only the bow. The bow attacks really slow, it arcs in a short distance, and it had a very long animation which left the player more vulnerable than any other weapon. The gimmick the game possessed was the ability to steal enemy skills. Sometimes, it's a skill that the enemy doesn't even use but will be acquired anyways. These skills can range from extending a weapon combo, to a special weapon skill, or allow the player to cast magical spells. Magical spells took long to channel before casting and are generally weak if not useless. The most useful ones were heals and speed up. So how was I able to bear through the rest of the game?
The regular attacks from the weapons were ridiculous and useless, but some of the special skills acquired from enemies made them god-like. The one I used most was an extremely strong and fast arrow shot used on the bow which cuts across the screen and did an insane amount of damage. It made the game extremely easy and I ended up using it to mow through the rest of the game. It was semi-entertaining to kill through everything so quickly, but everything about the game just felt dumbed down. The story was very plain, characters were forgettable, levels were a chore to get through when running into a dead end 10 blocks later, the music was average, and the experience was very mediocre. There were a few times where some enemies and bosses gave me trouble as there isn't a grace period between each hit which meant an enemy attack can land multiple times as long as the player's within it (a tornado or enemy flying dive can hit the player 8 times in a row with a stun lock with the initial hit). But knowing to avoid those attacks and using the bow's fast attack skill made it really easy.
All in all, the game wasn't bad, it was just very average and perhaps a little boring. It's a forgettable game, but one that could provide some entertainment value. There are some downloadable sequels (sub-titled "Anonymous Notes") available on the eShop. If anything, they're good for passing the time.
Source: Youtube Channel TeamDSNEWS
From the Abyss for the Nintendo DS was on my list of games to check out long ago and I eventually played through it earlier this year. The game was like a very watered down "Secret of Mana" with its own little mechanics and gimmicks that sets it apart. From the Abyss is an Action-RPG that's dungeon based rather than an open-world. The player will go through different parts of the Abyss gate and travel through 4 areas before fighting the boss. The game is extremely difficult in the beginning as enemies take quite a few hits before dying and the player won't be able to withstand that many attacks before dying. Once I got through the first 2 areas for the first stage, I was strong enough to get through the rest of the game fairly easily with no problems at all.
The player will end up leveling up very quickly as long as they're killing enemies along the way. There's one problem already: not having a balanced leveling system that keeps the game challenging or fresh. I one-shotted most enemies if not within 3 hits and I had so much money that I could buy the strongest items several times over and still have some left over. The levels themselves go from one block to another much like the original Legend of Zelda games were like. Everything in that particular stage that you're on will look the same. Exploring everything didn't reward the player much as it "sometimes" gave a better equipment if not a regular potion to use, and so near the end I decided to rush the game and ignore going to dead ends if possible. There's the other problem: exploration wasn't fun. There wasn't much of an incentive to check the other paths because there was usually very little there or nothing at all. There there's the most important aspect of the game: the combat system.
The game is a lot like the Mana series where the player can switch between weapons to slash enemies, shoot them from afar, or cast spells. For melee weapons, the combo system was extremely stiff which left the player extremely vulnerable when attacking and fast enemies were annoying to chase after. For the ranged weapon, there was only the bow. The bow attacks really slow, it arcs in a short distance, and it had a very long animation which left the player more vulnerable than any other weapon. The gimmick the game possessed was the ability to steal enemy skills. Sometimes, it's a skill that the enemy doesn't even use but will be acquired anyways. These skills can range from extending a weapon combo, to a special weapon skill, or allow the player to cast magical spells. Magical spells took long to channel before casting and are generally weak if not useless. The most useful ones were heals and speed up. So how was I able to bear through the rest of the game?
The regular attacks from the weapons were ridiculous and useless, but some of the special skills acquired from enemies made them god-like. The one I used most was an extremely strong and fast arrow shot used on the bow which cuts across the screen and did an insane amount of damage. It made the game extremely easy and I ended up using it to mow through the rest of the game. It was semi-entertaining to kill through everything so quickly, but everything about the game just felt dumbed down. The story was very plain, characters were forgettable, levels were a chore to get through when running into a dead end 10 blocks later, the music was average, and the experience was very mediocre. There were a few times where some enemies and bosses gave me trouble as there isn't a grace period between each hit which meant an enemy attack can land multiple times as long as the player's within it (a tornado or enemy flying dive can hit the player 8 times in a row with a stun lock with the initial hit). But knowing to avoid those attacks and using the bow's fast attack skill made it really easy.
All in all, the game wasn't bad, it was just very average and perhaps a little boring. It's a forgettable game, but one that could provide some entertainment value. There are some downloadable sequels (sub-titled "Anonymous Notes") available on the eShop. If anything, they're good for passing the time.
Monday, February 13, 2012
GameLight - BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
Official Site: http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/blazblue-continuum-shift-extend-ps3.html
Source: Youtube Channel jourdal
I'm both excited and disappointed with the release of BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend. I'm happy that there will be two new modes to play, all DLC characters added into the roster, a story mode for all characters, and the extension of some story paths from Continuum Shift. The problem is that story mode will be the return of Calamity Trigger's Story and Continuum Shift's Story. I was hoping that they'd reveal the next chapter of the universe of BlazBlue in their next game but it's pretty much a slight continuation of Continuum Shift and minor improvements here and there. If you happened to have NOT played any BlazBlue games but have some interest in it, this next iteration would be a great purchase. With a full roster of 19 characters, full story mode from both previous games for each individual character, 2 new modes with the 5 existing ones (Arcade, Versus/Network, Challenge, Legion, and Story), and a fair price of $40, BlazBlue Continuum Shift is a great purchase for anyone new to the series. For those who own one or both of the first two iterations, it'll be more of an upgrade. As I've discussed before in older posts on BlazBlue, I got into the series because of Guilty Gear and absolutely love the music done by Daisuke Ishiwatari. What I didn't expect out of the game was how uniquely designed each individual character played and how deep the lore got when playing Story mode. Story mode has had moments where it made me laugh, cry, angry, excited, and shocked. It went far and beyond all expectations I had about the game and has become one of my favorite fighting games. The combat system can be a bit tricky, but a beginner's mode allows even the least experienced of gamers to pick up the game and figure out how to do crazy combos and amazing abilities. The game can get quite technical and challenge even the most elite 2D fighting game players at tournaments like EVO (recently added to the list of games played there). BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend releases tomorrow February 14th, 2012 for $40. I highly recommend this game to fighting games of all experience level and encourage those who haven't played fighting games before. I think it's become a better starting game for most beginners than Street Fighter is (Street Fighter has become very technical).
Source: Youtube Channel jourdal
I'm both excited and disappointed with the release of BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend. I'm happy that there will be two new modes to play, all DLC characters added into the roster, a story mode for all characters, and the extension of some story paths from Continuum Shift. The problem is that story mode will be the return of Calamity Trigger's Story and Continuum Shift's Story. I was hoping that they'd reveal the next chapter of the universe of BlazBlue in their next game but it's pretty much a slight continuation of Continuum Shift and minor improvements here and there. If you happened to have NOT played any BlazBlue games but have some interest in it, this next iteration would be a great purchase. With a full roster of 19 characters, full story mode from both previous games for each individual character, 2 new modes with the 5 existing ones (Arcade, Versus/Network, Challenge, Legion, and Story), and a fair price of $40, BlazBlue Continuum Shift is a great purchase for anyone new to the series. For those who own one or both of the first two iterations, it'll be more of an upgrade. As I've discussed before in older posts on BlazBlue, I got into the series because of Guilty Gear and absolutely love the music done by Daisuke Ishiwatari. What I didn't expect out of the game was how uniquely designed each individual character played and how deep the lore got when playing Story mode. Story mode has had moments where it made me laugh, cry, angry, excited, and shocked. It went far and beyond all expectations I had about the game and has become one of my favorite fighting games. The combat system can be a bit tricky, but a beginner's mode allows even the least experienced of gamers to pick up the game and figure out how to do crazy combos and amazing abilities. The game can get quite technical and challenge even the most elite 2D fighting game players at tournaments like EVO (recently added to the list of games played there). BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend releases tomorrow February 14th, 2012 for $40. I highly recommend this game to fighting games of all experience level and encourage those who haven't played fighting games before. I think it's become a better starting game for most beginners than Street Fighter is (Street Fighter has become very technical).
Thursday, February 2, 2012
GameLight Review - BlazBlue Continuum Shift
Official Site: http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/blazblue-continuum-shift-extend-ps3.html
Source: Youtube Channel banjoparapanyo
Source: Youtube Channel banjoparapanyo
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Aksys Games
Platforms: Arcade , Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation Portable, Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: July 27, 2010
Genre: 2D Fighter
Pros:
-Breathtaking visuals in both environment backdrops and character sprites
-Beginner mode makes it more inviting for new comers
-The combat mechanics leaves a lot of room for creative combos and competitive gameplay
-Gameplay is smooth, stylish, dynamic, and fast-paced
-Story mode isn’t just a repeat of Calamity Trigger, but a follow up
-Daisuke Ishiwatari once again graces us with his genius music compositions
-Legion and challenge mode changes up the pacing from the usual arcade mode
-All characters play very uniquely and have their own play style
Cons:
-DLC characters a $7 each, what a rip!
-Last boss: Hazama of Arcade mode is stupidly hard to beat even at the easiest difficulty level
-The new character selection graphics aren’t as good as the CT, but that’s a preference
-Players who have gotten so used to Calamity Trigger might have to readjust for this one
After playing BlazBlue Continuum Shift for about 1.5 years, I’ve come to love it more and more. The game just keeps getting better the more you play it. BlazBlue has one of the most definitive stories to go along with a fighting game. It’s so deep, moving and intricate that it just pulls the player into the world and change the ways one might feel about each individual character. Characters become more than just toons that fight each other, but they all have reasons and agendas that coincide or conflict. What’s more, Continuum Shift is a continuation of the events of Calamity Trigger rather than a simple update as most other fighting games seem to do. The game itself is fast-paced, very stylish and a lot fun to perform all sorts of combos, skills, and special abilities, but having the story completes the package. The changes from Calamity Trigger has added new specials for all characters, an optional beginner’s mode, some tweaks to how burst works, etc. to make the game more balanced and dynamic. This would be one 2D fighter that I would recommend to those who don’t generally play fighting games as its intriguing story mode is like a game of its own while the beginner mode option makes it easier for one new to fighting games to ease into it while definitely recommending it for hardcore, competitive players as it has all the factors that make it challenging.
Aesthetics
The main reason why I decided to buy the game was because the music was by Daisuke Ishiwatari and is developed by the same team who created Guilty Gear. It was sad to hear that they lost the rights to Guilty Gear and was no longer able to continue the series, and so I wanted to support them with the purchase of BlazBlue. Sure enough, the music was amazing the first time I heard it and more so when I hear it now; however, the visuals shocked me. I was expecting BlazBlue to be similar to Guilty Gear as characters from BlazBlue seem to look similar to those in the GG series. The graphics were dynamic with beautiful backdrops with lighting effects, moving sprites, and a sort of 3D-ish feel to them. The character sprites are a lot sharper and clean cut compared to what the team did for GG. The animations are incredibly fluid, flashy, and stylish, making combos, specials, and attacking feel really good. I have to admit that I was annoyed by some of the voice acting in both the English AND Japanese, but as I played the game more I began to adore the talents of both languages and their portrayal of the characters in the game. The biggest treat for me was the Story mode, which convinced me to play through Calamity Trigger before I started on the story on Continuum Shift, as it became a major factor to what made the whole game come alive. Story mode changed how I felt about each character and encouraged me to even play characters I generally wouldn’t choose. My biggest complaint on the game’s aesthetics would probably be the main menu. All modes and options are laid in one long list which makes it overwhelming and cluttered when most of them could have been collapsed into sub-categories and menus for an organized look. Besides that, I can complain a bit about some of the cinematics having odd animations and character design that doesn’t match up to the rest of the game’s art style, but it’s not that big of a deal either. Everything about BlazBlue Continuum Shift in terms of Aesthetics (Still images, sprites, backdrops, animations, cinematics, dialogue, voice acting, music, story, etc.) was very well thought out and meaningful. BlazBlue turned out to be a much more polished and carefully developed fighter than I would have every guessed. Aesthetics: 10/10
Buttons
The controls of the game are both easy and hard at the same time. There are essentially 4 buttons to utilitze: light attack, medium, heavy, and a special attack that differs between all characters. Players can easily perform combos by mashing light->medium->heavy and mix them around a bit; however, the combos and delays vary between each character. Even with beginner mode on, a player may not be able to land all their hits in time and can be countered if the opponent is skilled. Other times, combos are so easy for certain characters that even the most novice player can combo lock an opponent into a string of attacks that they can’t get out of. This is why the controls are both easy and hard at the same time. The mechanic of using three main attacks and a special key has been utilized in other games such as Melty Blood and now even Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 as it is much easier to understand and handle to single-action attacks from fighting games like Street Fighter or King of Fighters. It makes it much easier to learn and perform combos and utilize special attacks into them. Compared to most fighters, the leeway time between each attack for combos is rather lenient. The difficult part in learning how to play each character when not in beginner mode is finding the flow and pacing of each character and knowing which abilities can be chaining to each other. Some skills can still be difficult to execute, even with the use of a fight stick. For the most part, the game’s controls and battle mechanics was easy to understand if given the patience and time to learn them. Challenge mode helps a little, but rushes into the difficult techniques a bit too quickly. Buttons: 9/10
Concept and Content
I was disappointed at first when I got the game and realized how very few characters the game seemingly had; however, I changed my mind about that as I played through story mode and saw how deeply involved each character was to the story of the BlazBlue as well as how distinguished each character players. To give some examples: Bang Shishigami focuses on counter-attack, grapples, and dashes; Iron Tager excels at knock-backs, wall bounce hits, grabs, and pulls; Rachel Alucard requires the use of all her special abilities and the use of wind influence to make the most out of all her attacks; Taokaka is quick and so can perform a long string of attacks in a small amount of time; etc. This idea of different play styles favors those who play in a certain way or ones who seek variety in their fighting games. The additional challenge mode to the existing arcade, training, legion, and story mode is a good tutorial into more advanced techniques, but it isn’t entirely exciting. The concept of story mode playing like a visual novel is both easy for the developers to continually create more in a short amount of time and providing a lot of insight to events, characters, and background history for the player. The continuation of the story from where Calamity Trigger left off is the biggest treat in Continuum Shift. Three additional characters were eventual available for DLC, but cost $7 each and doesn’t include their story modes. Also, those who didn’t play Calamity Trigger will have a lot of unexplained events in the story of Continuum Shift. It seems that upcoming release of BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend will remedy all these with stories of the first and second in one game, all the characters released so far, and a brand new mode. Continuum Shift further extended the concepts and gameplay mechanics of Calamity Trigger, but seems to have been lacking in content that should have been there such as the additional 3 characters. Concept & Concept: 9/10
Duration
The game as a whole doesn’t have a distinct flow, but Story mode is presented differently from Calamity Trigger. Story mode starts off with an introduction as usual and then allows only the choice of playing Ragna the Bloodedge’s story rather than allowing the player to choose any character in any order. After finishing Ragna’s story, 5+ or so opens up and then gradually unlocks more character stories as to keep a sort of flow to each one of them. The game can last a very long time as I’ve had the game for 1.5 years and am still playing it. Continuum Shift provides: Arcade , advanced tutorial (not available in Calamity Trigger), Challenge, Legion, Training, Online, and Story. For those who play casually only for the fighting, arcade mode and legion mod will probably the main modes to play. Those who like stories and learn more about the world of BlazBlue will play story mode and some arcade. Competitive and hardcore players will play online mode a lot. A good fighting game should have incredible replay value and provide something for the player to keep coming back for more. BlazBlue Continuum Shift seems to fulfill those criteria. Duration: 10/10
Fun
Honestly, my first impression of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift was kind of bad. I loved the visuals and the music, but the voice acting annoyed me, the character selection felt very limited, and the last boss, Hazama, was so difficult and unfair (silly me thought I could handle the game right off the bat on normal mode, everyone else was alright other than the last boss) that it just left a bad impression for me. I seldom went back to play it once in a while just because I loved the rest of the game play when I’m not fighting Hazama and because of the music. The game was fast-paced. Performing long combos felt good. It was fun, but it was hard getting back into it everytime I had to face Hazama. Eventually, I got a copy of Calamity Trigger and started playing story mode. For me, I love fighting games because of the story and how all the characters have some sort of relationship with each other in some way or another and I would play each character to see their character endings and see what their story is about. BlazBlue went far and beyond that with story mode as it expands long dialogues, history, backgrounds, and even multiple paths to go by to provide a rich and intricate world for the player to explore. I got really hooked onto BlazBlue ever since I started playing story mode and have begun to play the game a bit more seriously with training and challenge mode to become more familiar with certain characters. The only mode I’m reluctant to play anymore is Arcade because of Hazama. Fun: 9/10
Overall
What started as a curiosity of music and the history behind the developers turned into a game I can fully appreciate and have fun with. The fighting mechanics might be a bit confusing for those who are used to Street Fighter, King of Fighters, or Mortal Kombat at first, but those with patience to sit down and get to know each character will find a very gratifying 2D fighter that is so unique in many ways that it will be hard to put down. BlazBlue’s eccentric, yet loveable characters draw one in as story mode unfolds their endeavors and agendas. The many modes will keep game play fresh and entertaining after hundreds of rounds and continues to get better the more one plays it. If you have never played any of the BlazBlue games, I recommend picking up BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend which releases on February 14th, 2012 as it will contain the entire story mode from both Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift as well all the characters released thus far with all returning modes and extra modes such as Abyss mode and Unlimited Wars. This version of Continuum Shift was great with certain aspects lacking, but “Extend” will be the complete package worth a 10/10. Overall: 9.4/10
Friday, September 9, 2011
GameOn - Shmups - Castle of Shikigami 3
On the last day of this week's GameOn series of Shoot-em-ups (Shmups), I'll be talking about Castle of Shikigami 3 and the sub-genre Danmaku.
Source: Youtube Channel jedikevin20
I could've talked about Touhou, but I seem to talk about Touhou whenever it's about Shmups now (and so does many other Shmups gamers), so I chose a non-obvious choice. Castle of Shikigami 3 is a vertical shmup danmaku (or more commonly known in English terms as Bullet Hell) where the levels consist mainly of enemy bullets. There aren't that many Bullet Hell shooters in the United States (as far as I know) and the ones that are brought over are extremely rare (argh, still can't find Ikaruga!). I first tried Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Japanese name for it) through a demo on PC and really enjoyed the unique characters, the music, the spectacular 3D-like graphics and effects, and the challenge of the "extreme" difficulty. So when I heard that it was being translated and brought over to the States for the Wii, I really wanted it. The voice acting is atrociously bad, but it's bad in a way to be considered humorous and laughable. It added to the light hearted vibe the story gave considering its insane difficulty. From the video above, it doesn't seem much. This video here is closer to what a Bullet Hell usually looks like:
Source: Youtube Channel YannBer16
That excitement and thrill you get from barely escaping through enemy fire in such a chaotic moment is the charm of most Danmaku/Bullet Hell games. It gets even crazier with a 2nd player joining in. For Castle of Shikigami 3, the story/dialogue of the characters changes depending on who the player chooses and who they're paired up with. Bullet Hell and even just shooters in general aren't as popular anymore (at least in the Western Market), but those that get brought over or are made are usually of the Bullet Hell style sub-genre. The most recent one I bought and played is indie developed Jamestown. I actually still play Castle of Shikigami 3 and see how little continues I need to use before beating the game each time and because I find the dialogues to be hilarious between the characters. I hope you enjoyed this week's GameOn and I encourage everyone to try out all these sorts of Shoot-em-ups in the future.
Source: Youtube Channel jedikevin20
I could've talked about Touhou, but I seem to talk about Touhou whenever it's about Shmups now (and so does many other Shmups gamers), so I chose a non-obvious choice. Castle of Shikigami 3 is a vertical shmup danmaku (or more commonly known in English terms as Bullet Hell) where the levels consist mainly of enemy bullets. There aren't that many Bullet Hell shooters in the United States (as far as I know) and the ones that are brought over are extremely rare (argh, still can't find Ikaruga!). I first tried Shikigami no Shiro 3 (Japanese name for it) through a demo on PC and really enjoyed the unique characters, the music, the spectacular 3D-like graphics and effects, and the challenge of the "extreme" difficulty. So when I heard that it was being translated and brought over to the States for the Wii, I really wanted it. The voice acting is atrociously bad, but it's bad in a way to be considered humorous and laughable. It added to the light hearted vibe the story gave considering its insane difficulty. From the video above, it doesn't seem much. This video here is closer to what a Bullet Hell usually looks like:
Source: Youtube Channel YannBer16
That excitement and thrill you get from barely escaping through enemy fire in such a chaotic moment is the charm of most Danmaku/Bullet Hell games. It gets even crazier with a 2nd player joining in. For Castle of Shikigami 3, the story/dialogue of the characters changes depending on who the player chooses and who they're paired up with. Bullet Hell and even just shooters in general aren't as popular anymore (at least in the Western Market), but those that get brought over or are made are usually of the Bullet Hell style sub-genre. The most recent one I bought and played is indie developed Jamestown. I actually still play Castle of Shikigami 3 and see how little continues I need to use before beating the game each time and because I find the dialogues to be hilarious between the characters. I hope you enjoyed this week's GameOn and I encourage everyone to try out all these sorts of Shoot-em-ups in the future.
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