Akai Katana [Cave, ARCADE, August 19, 2010]

[EOJ]

Better graphics than DSII (Arcade), but I think DSII X360-Mode (16:9 mode, with updated graphics) looks better than this.

[SuperPang]

I'll have some of what EOJ's smoking 

I have to admit, the high scoring vids look hella boring. Gameplay is nothing like that for the average player though, it's heaps of fun. I would agree however that AK doesn't have the something-for-everyone balance of certain Cave STG. It starts off confusing, gets really exciting as the possibilities open up, then if you have the time/skill to squeeze everything out of the scoring it appears it grinds to a halt.

Fortunately I suck.

[Strider77]

And imho the graphics just squashes the uninteresting low-quality 3D graphics of DSII.

I kinda have to agree with that, I think the visuals are pretty high up there to me. I enjoy the tunes enough from what I've heard also. DS2 enhanced or not is one of their wost looking games IMHO. I'm not against 3D either...   but Ikaruga and Gradius V (especially if running in HD) looked WAY better than DS2 to me.

I haven't played it but the presentation, graphics and sound all set really well with me.

I'm not in the camp that thinks DFK music sucks and only the BL music kicks ass though. I like both but there are some tracks in DFKs BL that are kinda droning and racket like to me....  but I haven't heard them in game. Not saying I don't like BL's tracks though.

I'll wait till it hits Ibara cheap

Or a 1.5 or BL version will come out. Who knows though, I keep seeing Ibara kits going for way higher than what I thought they went for, either that or I got a hell of a deal @ 250 for a new kit unused kit.

The gameplay I can't comment on...  just kinda shocked at folks not liking the visuals or tunes. I'm ok with cave games giving options for easier modes like Futari and Mushi's original modes, DFKs strong and Deathsmiles lower stage difficulty choices. I have had fun with those, but then again if I only had original in Futari and Mushi...  then only strong in DFK, I don't think I'd like them nearly as much. I'm no where near EOJ's level at these games though and I actually enjoy Futari's BL maniac mode more than vanilla Futari's maniac.

[moozooh]

A lot of the recent Cave games are boring to watch played for high score. It's either about lots of slowdown and fairly liberal bullet canceling, or abundant boss milking, or both. For instance, SWY's DFK trillion run was really impressive in the stages, but boss fights sucked all fun out of it already by the end of the first loop.

[Goon(SNC)]

A lot of the recent Cave games are boring to watch played for high score. It's either about lots of slowdown and fairly liberal bullet canceling, or abundant boss milking, or both. For instance, SWY's DFK trillion run was really impressive in the stages, but boss fights sucked all fun out of it already by the end of the first loop.

I think the shmup genre is in need of a major overhaul like the one we had with the introduction of "danmaku" shmups: we need something readically new, else we're gonna see lots of boring/uninspired/unoriginal games in the future.

[moozooh]

Realistically, we're already seeing them. The last five years or so most shmup developers, including Cave, can only think about imitating Cave's style (except when Yagawa is at the helm, in which case he largely imitates Raizing's style in Cave's presentation). The rest are busy rehashing series that brought them popularity: Gradius, Parodius, Darius, Space Invaders, ThunderForce, Raiden. Do these names sounds familiar? That's because these guys are too afraid of coming up with something new, because the majority of the audience that would clap their hands at a completely original title are by this point busy walking their kids to school, not spending time in dark places filled with smoke and Egrets. Hence why you don't see anything radically new from arcade developers.

I would still like to point out games like Shoot the Bullet and Fairy Wars (Touhou spin-offs by ZUN himself) that were probably the most original ? yet underrated ? stuff released in the aforementioned time frame. Their gameplay is radically different from regular shmups (although maybe not in the direction you wanted), and not at the expense of difficulty. Then there are games like Senko no Ronde, but it's a crossbreed situation, which may be what the genre will eventually find itself in.

I'm afraid the only way for the genre to rehabilitate itself, as unrealistically as it sounds, would be for all involved developers to stop relying on it as the source of income (in other words, funding the genre development at their own expense). As it goes they will stick to the trusted formulas to ensure at least some profit. They will restrain themselves from the boldest ideas as long as any expectations of financial success remain. But if things go the way they do, financial success will decline along with arcades and shmups in them. It's also the reason it's the doujin/homebrew scene that should be monitored for breakthroughs ? those have nothing to lose by wild experimentation because it's just a hobby for them.

It's a sad, but I don't see any ray of hope unless major console and PC publishers suddenly realize that there's such an awesome game genre as shmups, and that the shovelware titles they've referred to by this name to this point are for the most part utter garbage. Which I honestly don't see happening.

[EOJ]

The last five years or so most shmup developers, including Cave, can only think about imitating Cave's style (except when Yagawa is at the helm, in which case he largely imitates Raizing's style in Cave's presentation).

Cave can't imitate themselves, no more than any person can imitate him or herself. They have continually evolved. Every game from Ketsui onwards is an evolution of something. That's why they all feel so unique, and why people shell out huge amounts of cash for the PCBs.

I never liked Cave before Mushihimesama. The SH3 Cave shooters are the best ever made, period (IMO, of course). Even today, I never play any of their games released before Daioujou because frankly I think they're a complete bore, and even Daioujou and Ketsui are my least played Cave games (I don't like them as much as the SH3 games). The current trend they are doing (bullet reflections, non-stop 'underwater-like' slowdown, bullet cancellation, homing bullets, etc) is not my favorite, but it will pass and they will try something new soon enough.

All other STG developers out there today have been creating games that are completely boring and uninspired in comparison, and that's why they all sell less games, and are less popular among STG fans.

Also, it's worth noting that Cave is a relatively large company, and shooting games are only a small part of their overall business and profits.

[moozooh]

I meant that in the sense that a lot of the recent scoring systems are permutations and recombinations of earlier scoring systems, rather than completely new stuff. Actually, pretty much every Ikeda game since Espgaluda relied on bullet canceling and/or cycles of filling up some gauge/counter and cashing it in as major parts of their scoring systems. That's Cave's style in a nutshell, imo.

As I see it, Akai Katana is very close to Espgaluda 2 in terms of scoring principles (gathering items, then entering a different mode, where bullets are slowed down and are following your location, to cash in) and DeathSmiles 2 in terms of how it actually looks (lots of pointblanking with familiar, bullets floating around you, rather liberal canceling, etc.).

Obviously none of this is a criticism.

[EOJ]

Actually, pretty much every Ikeda game

Yes, but let's not forget there are three main programmers at Cave that shape the scoring systems: Ikeda, Ichimura, and Yagawa. Ichimura is the most neglected (almost cruelly - no one mentions his name on Western or Japanese forums), even though he created some of the most beloved scoring systems (Ketsui, Deathsmiles).

Your point about the common elements of Cave scoring systems is valid. While Ichimura and IKD are similar in style, I think Ichimura is the more exciting of the two in recent years. I also think having YGW tossed in the mix makes things feel continually variegated.

[Dale]

Who created the scoring system for Dangun?

[EOJ]

Ichimura.

[Dale]

Welp he's my favorite now. Ketsui, DS's and Dangun I always thought had the best of Cave's best scoring systems.

[emphatic]

Cave can't imitate themselves, no more than any person can imitate him or herself. They have continually evolved. Every game from Ketsui onwards is an evolution of something. That's why they all feel so unique, and why people shell out huge amounts of cash for the PCBs.

^^This.

I'd like to use my favorite quote here "Everything you do is a self portrait". When you get kids, they look like you, when you write your name, write a song, a book, paint a picture etc, all creative input is on some level very personal. Some artists embrace this, some try to work around it, but in the end, it's really hard to create something truly unique with every try, because your brain has gotten used to doing things a certain way. When CAVE released Death Smiles II, it was on a new hardware platform, and you could tell instantly at first glance. Then the revisions came, and with every one, the CAVE vibe poured into it. Of course there's copyists out there, but IMHO, the best way of being original is not trying too hard to be original.

[Kaneda]

27m+ in stage 1. More impressive to me is the high score of 421m, that's got to be pretty close to optimal scoring.

[Tesuman]

Over 300 hits on Stage 2, 3, 4 bosses

---

Obtaining a bomb cancels all bullets and gives you a bonus.

[moozooh]

Over 300 hits on Stage 2, 3, 4 bosses

I don't quite get the difference. What causes hit counter inflation?

[Tesuman]

The only thing I can make out is the number of lasers on screen that aren't fading out...I think this can be done on some of the mid-bosses too.

---

I made a few runs today.  Didn't get any stellar scores, but at least made it mostly through Stage 4 - with Botan.  (ever notice that there are no super plays yet?)  Recovering energy is a bit challenging with her.

[SuperPang]

Always finish the bosses in Ninja mode with as many bullets/lasers on screen as possible.

[rtw]

Fujita states that they are sold out of Akai Katana

Anyone heard anything similar from other suppliers ?

[brentsg]

Fujita states that they are sold out of Akai Katana

Anyone heard anything similar from other suppliers ?

Yeah I checked HK recently and they were sold out.  I forget if I asked Legend or Excellent. 

Also, beware...  Fujita tried to push a used kit on me at full retail price.

But lest anyone get freaked out..  surely Cave will refill the supply channel if their first run is already sold out.

[EOJ]

This game seems to have bombed hard in Japan. I wouldn't expect them to make many more of them.

Or perhaps a ver 1.5/BL is coming soon, and that's why Cave isn't replenishing stock.

[moebinkay]

Still don't understand the game controls. so when exactly should you change to the other player and when should you remain default? Could anyone help me out with the whole gameplay system...

[moebinkay]

Plus anyone know if there is any Akai Katana desktop wallpaper. Thanks

[brentsg]

This game seems to have bombed hard in Japan. I wouldn't expect them to make many more of them.

Or perhaps a ver 1.5/BL is coming soon, and that's why Cave isn't replenishing stock.

Sophia also confirmed that Cave is either no longer selling this game, or they won't be for long.  (a bit of an engrish issue but it's one or the other)

Kind of interesting.  It's so new, it basically sounds like a 1.5/Black Label thing.. or it just simply isn't popular so it's done.  If it's the latter it makes me wonder if it'll even see a port.  Heck it came out, what.. a month and a half ago and it's being dropped?

[EOJ]

Definitely points toward a new version coming soon.

A port is a no-brainer for this game. It's a hori, character-driven, and they can expand on it with a bunch of quickie arrange modes, and then toss in a new arranged soundtrack. Easy yen for them. Expect it by the end of 2011.

The real question is how this impacts their future arcade development. With this and DSII, it seems like the arcade versions are becoming little more than location tests for the home ports.

[brentsg]

Well it seems that they favor new games that are much easier from a survival perspective, with the only expert challenge left in scoring.  That's fine from my perspective, but I'm not an arcade OP.  I'd imagine that it amounts to a lot of long gameplay sessions for not a lot of yen.

[EOJ]

Deathsmiles was like that, but it did very well in the arcades. Maybe lolis really do make a difference.

[skykid]

Well it seems that they favor new games that are much easier from a survival perspective, with the only expert challenge left in scoring.  That's fine from my perspective, but I'm not an arcade OP.  I'd imagine that it amounts to a lot of long gameplay sessions for not a lot of yen.

I actually really dislike this new tact. I like games that are short and furious. 

[GaijinPunch]

The real question is how this impacts their future arcade development. With this and DSII, it seems like the arcade versions are becoming little more than location tests for the home ports.

This is technically two turds in a row.  Not good for the arcades.

[rtw]

Who is the distributor for CAVE now that AMI is no more ? (webpage please)

I heard from one of my contacts that the distributor is returning all kits to CAVE at the end of this week.