Title:
Deathsmiles: Deluxe Edition
Genre:
Action
Side Scrolling
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Release Date:
1969-12-31
Date Added:
2018-07-03 13:23:43
Game Summary:
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.
Gameplay
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.
Characters
Windia - 13 year old English redhead girl, dressed as a gothic lolita. She is the last one to be adopted by Dior. She has ability to use wind.
Casper - 11 year old German blonde girl. She has ability to use phantoms.
Follett - 14 year old French brown haired shy girl, dressed as a nurse. She has ability to use fire. Her familiar is a dragon.
Rosa - 17 year old American brown haired girl. She has ability to use fairy powers. The other characters treat her as an older sister.
Sakura - 15 year old English blonde girl. Usually dressed as a witch. She is the boss on Stage B-2. In Mega Black Label, she is also a playable character. Sakura is Windia’s friend from the real world. She is the only unplayable character from the original game in DeathSmiles II.
Tiara - The princess of Gilverado announced to appear in the iOs version of the game, for a special iPhone mode.
Familiar
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.
Items
Jewelry can gain points. "Life Up” items recover life points. Magic gains 1 bomb.
Item counter system
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
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.
Reception
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”.
Gameplay
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.
Characters
Windia - 13 year old English redhead girl, dressed as a gothic lolita. She is the last one to be adopted by Dior. She has ability to use wind.
Casper - 11 year old German blonde girl. She has ability to use phantoms.
Follett - 14 year old French brown haired shy girl, dressed as a nurse. She has ability to use fire. Her familiar is a dragon.
Rosa - 17 year old American brown haired girl. She has ability to use fairy powers. The other characters treat her as an older sister.
Sakura - 15 year old English blonde girl. Usually dressed as a witch. She is the boss on Stage B-2. In Mega Black Label, she is also a playable character. Sakura is Windia’s friend from the real world. She is the only unplayable character from the original game in DeathSmiles II.
Tiara - The princess of Gilverado announced to appear in the iOs version of the game, for a special iPhone mode.
Familiar
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.
Items
Jewelry can gain points. "Life Up” items recover life points. Magic gains 1 bomb.
Item counter system
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
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.
Reception
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”.
Platform:
Microsoft Xbox 360
Publisher:
Rising Star Games
Developers:
CAVE
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Country of Purchase:
Australia
Input Devices:
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Special Edition:
Yes
Discs:
3
Date Added:
2018-07-03 13:23:43
