Japanese developer Cave gathered the press and the public alike in Akihabara on Saturday afternoon to reveal its lineup of games for the coming year. While the majority of the presentation was dedicated to Japanese-only software, there were a few items of interest to gamers around the world.
Cave is most famous for creating so-called "bullet hell" shooters, where enemy fire can nearly cover the entire screen. As it turns out, that reputation has reached the people at the Guinness Book of Records. Director Mikio Watanabe revealed that the company holds the record for "most prolific developer of danmaku shooters" ("danmaku" meaning "bullet curtain" -- how the games are known here).
One of the more successful Cave entries in said genre is DeathSmiles, an arcade title that was later ported to the Xbox 360, and is now coming to the iPhone and the iPad this spring worldwide. Associate Producer John Rodgers told me that, as with previous Cave app releases, a special iOS mode will added with the capabilities of the touch screen in mind.
As it stands right now, DeathSmiles on iOS simply uses the touch screen as a virtual joystick with virtual buttons. You don't need to touch the character to control her though; just dragging your finger anywhere will do. I definitely found the iPad version easier to handle than the iPhone one, if only due to the larger screen. Not only did it give me more space to place my fingers, it made seeing the bullets a lot easier.
In other shooting news, the company will be porting arcade hit Akai Katana ("Red Katana") to the Xbox 360 as a full disc-based release in Japan this May. The new version, called Akai Katana Shin, will be remastered for 16:9 widescreen displays and feature a new stage with a new boss.
Playing Akai Katana Shin on a widescreen TV was a real treat. Most bullet-hell shooters are vertically-oriented, so to have one that takes full advantage of a widescreen television felt almost luxurious. The 2D sprites looked terrific, and I delighted in having so much room to maneuver. As a fan of Capcom's 194X series growing up, I also liked the game's non-futuristic military look. No spaceships or aliens, just planes, tanks, and giant cannons.
For the time being Akai Katana Shin is not planned for an international release, and at 7140 yen (approximately $85.90 USD) it would make for a pricey import. However, if DeathSmiles made it overseas (a few years late), there's always a chance Akai Katana Shin could do the same.
Easily the most surprising game of the day (regardless of Cave's shooter reputation) was Nin2 Jump, an Xbox Live Arcade title with a genuinely unique look. Dubbed a "shadow ninja action" game, this platformer resembles a shadow play where the lead character is a puppet on a stick. There's even a silhouette audience of children watching the show.
Nin2 Jump will feature online leaderboards with rankings based on score and completion time. An international release is definitely in the works, I was told, although the game will probably be available in Japan first with other territories to follow. No specific release date for any country was announced.
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