Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec 2021

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Hero of Legend
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Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec 2021

Post by Hero of Legend »

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/09/castle- ... n-december

Famitsu also has an article about the port:

https://www.famitsu.com/news/202109/24234524.html

Very cool to see. Would've loved to have seen CoS1 on Switch as well as this is a follow up to the Steam port of 1 by the same team (Degica and Cosmo Machia), but maybe they'll do it in the future, plus the hopefully inevitable port of 3 as well.
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Sima Tuna
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Sima Tuna »

New translation? BOOO! 0/10. GTAB. Old ps2 translation is the best.

Seriously though, this is one of my favorite shmups. This is the shmup that got me into shmups, years ago on the ps2. One of my favorite shmups ever made and a day one purchase for me on any system and every system. There's something about Shikigami gamefeel. It just feels so good to play and I love all the different characters. Amazing meme dialogue is icing on the cake.
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MathU
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by MathU »

I presume the PC release will be crippled by Steam DRM, as has been Degica's propensity for some time now.
Of course, that's just an opinion.
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cj iwakura
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by cj iwakura »

I wept.


Seriously, we were THIS CLOSE to starting a project for Shiki 2, and honestly, I'm relieved. That's a huge burden off our backs.


It's got a demo too!

https://twitter.com/cj_iwakura/status/1 ... 9489308675


The translation is a MASSIVE improvement over Shiki 1's, the font too.
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Jeneki
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Jeneki »

Awesome news.

New modes sound cool as well. I loved the character swapping mode in Shiki 3.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by davyK »

Love Shikigami 2. Played it a lot casually. Love the replay value from the different characters and really like the presentation. Have JP-GC and JP-PS2 ports. Will need to see if this is worth getting. Obvs. would prefer physical if there's enough new content to make it worth getting.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Martinov »

Used to play this game a lot 15 years ago and Sisters Royal has made me want to revisit it, so this is perfect timing.

New Entry Mode makes this sound like a Shikigami no Shiro 2.5, and I'm perfectly happy with that.

Rolling around how Dramatic Change Mode will shake things up too.

Looking forward to this for sure. Hope my laptop can handle it. edit: specs for the PC release are really low.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by xxx1993 »

Will a remaster of the third game soon follow?
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Herr Schatten »

Great news!

Hopefully, this additional exposure will eventually lead to the game reconquering its rightful place among the yearly top 25.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by M.Knight »

Yooo, holy fuck :shock:
New localization and an arranged level-design and Dramatic Change too? That sounds pretty awesome!
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Hero of Legend
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Hero of Legend »

Out of curiosity from veterans, which of the trilogy was best and which is the most beginner-friendly?
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Sima Tuna
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Sima Tuna »

Shiki 1 is the most jank. Shiki 2 is the best overall imo. Shiki 3 is very polished but I don't have as much playtime in it, to judge its quality.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by banjoted »

MathU wrote:I presume the PC release will be crippled by Steam DRM, as has been Degica's propensity for some time now.
Dude, please.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by MX7 »

MathU wrote:I presume the PC release will be crippled by Steam DRM, as has been Degica's propensity for some time now.
Imagining MathU on their deathbed, their last words rasping out of cracked lips:

perhaps I shouldn't have spent so much time systematically complaining about digital rights management on some niche videogame forum
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by ATTRACTS »

MX7 wrote:
MathU wrote:I presume the PC release will be crippled by Steam DRM, as has been Degica's propensity for some time now.
Imagining MathU on their deathbed, their last words rasping out of cracked lips:

perhaps I shouldn't have spent so much time systematically complaining about digital rights management on some niche videogame forum
"Welcome to the kingdom of paradise my son...."
"But is there Steam DRM?"
xxx1993

Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by xxx1993 »

Sima Tuna wrote:Shiki 1 is the most jank. Shiki 2 is the best overall imo. Shiki 3 is very polished but I don't have as much playtime in it, to judge its quality.
I still don't understand what makes 3 inferior to the second, honestly... I thought it was the other way around for me...
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by cj iwakura »

xxx1993 wrote:
Sima Tuna wrote:Shiki 1 is the most jank. Shiki 2 is the best overall imo. Shiki 3 is very polished but I don't have as much playtime in it, to judge its quality.
I still don't understand what makes 3 inferior to the second, honestly... I thought it was the other way around for me...
I like all 3, but Shikigami 2 feels the tightest to me. Shikigami 3 has a LOT of unfair boss patterns, it feels the most vicious, and not in a rewarding way.
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M.Knight
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by M.Knight »

After having played them all, I'm not even sure it's possible to pick out either of them as "the best". Each game has a specific kind of playstyle and unique things it does that no other game in the series does. It's kinda like asking "What's the best DDP?" when none of them 100% obsoletes a previous one and everyone has their own loved and hated DDPs anyways.

While Shiki 1 has some jank aspects and the 5-1 milk really lasts a looong time, the focus on speedrunning the early game is pretty unique and it's fairly exciting to be thinking not just as a score-chaser but also as a speedrunner when trying to get hiscores in the game. IMO the rush to 5-1 is even a better speed game than Eschatos. The pacing pre-milk is also really great and the shorter stages in general make it an exciting game to learn and practice.

Shiki 2 is all-around solid and the most "normal" one, which might be why some consider it the best. It takes the basic scoring system formula and really focuses on it unlike the speedrunning of Shiki 1 or the HTM shenanigans of 3. Lots of inventive bosses and patterns, more charcters and playstyles, improved visuals, etc. also help making it a very easy recommendation for someone unfamiliar with the series.

Shiki 3 adds a completely new system on top of everything 2 had which drastically changes the way the game is even played. Grazing takes a back seat as the cycle of SDs to replenish bombs and HTM uses for scoring provides the main meat of high-level play. The heavy risk-reward nature of Shikigami scoring is still there, albeit in a different form. The unorthodox playstyle may not click with those used to the more graze-based games, but it's pretty exciting on its own too.

Nowadays I'm not even sure which one I like the most lmao. It used to be 3 becuse I scored it the most, but 1 is really good too now that I went beyond just the 1CC. I woudn't be surprised to love 2 as well after putting even more time in it, especially after that new port drops. :mrgreen:
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by third_strike »

M.Knight wrote:After having played them all, I'm not even sure it's possible to pick out either of them as "the best". Each game has a specific kind of playstyle and unique things it does that no other game in the series does. It's kinda like asking "What's the best DDP?" when none of them 100% obsoletes a previous one and everyone has their own loved and hated DDPs anyways.

While Shiki 1 has some jank aspects and the 5-1 milk really lasts a looong time, the focus on speedrunning the early game is pretty unique and it's fairly exciting to be thinking not just as a score-chaser but also as a speedrunner when trying to get hiscores in the game. IMO the rush to 5-1 is even a better speed game than Eschatos. The pacing pre-milk is also really great and the shorter stages in general make it an exciting game to learn and practice.

Shiki 2 is all-around solid and the most "normal" one, which might be why some consider it the best. It takes the basic scoring system formula and really focuses on it unlike the speedrunning of Shiki 1 or the HTM shenanigans of 3. Lots of inventive bosses and patterns, more charcters and playstyles, improved visuals, etc. also help making it a very easy recommendation for someone unfamiliar with the series.

Shiki 3 adds a completely new system on top of everything 2 had which drastically changes the way the game is even played. Grazing takes a back seat as the cycle of SDs to replenish bombs and HTM uses for scoring provides the main meat of high-level play. The heavy risk-reward nature of Shikigami scoring is still there, albeit in a different form. The unorthodox playstyle may not click with those used to the more graze-based games, but it's pretty exciting on its own too.

Nowadays I'm not even sure which one I like the most lmao. It used to be 3 becuse I scored it the most, but 1 is really good too now that I went beyond just the 1CC. I woudn't be surprised to love 2 as well after putting even more time in it, especially after that new port drops. :mrgreen:
you talk like a true Shikigami master! :cry:
xxx1993

Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by xxx1993 »

cj iwakura wrote:
xxx1993 wrote:
Sima Tuna wrote:Shiki 1 is the most jank. Shiki 2 is the best overall imo. Shiki 3 is very polished but I don't have as much playtime in it, to judge its quality.
I still don't understand what makes 3 inferior to the second, honestly... I thought it was the other way around for me...
I like all 3, but Shikigami 2 feels the tightest to me. Shikigami 3 has a LOT of unfair boss patterns, it feels the most vicious, and not in a rewarding way.
The third game is the only one I could 1CC anyway…
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To Far Away Times
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by To Far Away Times »

Played a casual credit or two of Shiki 2 and it seemed like a good game. I put a few hours into 3 on Wii and I enjoyed it alot.
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Mishi
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Mishi »

I'm very excited for the new release with the translation and arrange mode. Good excuse for me to finally go back and improve my score and learn more characters.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by cj iwakura »

Of course, there's also the small matter of the story.

Shikigami 1 has the most serious story overall, I think, very little levity, shit gets heavy real fast in almost every route.

Sayo's conflict with suicide, Gennojo's dead girlfriend, Kim's murdered students(and him being the only one who puts two and two together in the end), Fumiko out for vengeance against... the demons who possessed Hitler(!?), etc.


Shikigami 2 is when it starts getting self aware, characters making jokes about the metaplot and Kohtaro being an idiot, off-the-wall comedy characters like Roger, Niigi, Chibi Fumiko, etc, but it still has a pretty good serious tone for certain bosses(Yukari, Shintaro, whatever the hell the NWO are).

Shikigami 3 just plows through the fourth wall with a bulldozer, but again, it still manages to be dead serious at times(Kohtaro and Tsukiko, Kim's niece(?) being a psychopath, etc), but when it goes comedy, it's just utterly ridiculous in the best way(Roger and Munchausen, anything Reika touches).


I'm really excited for 2's story to finally get a proper localization to fill in the missing pieces.
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xxx1993

Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by xxx1993 »

Reika is one of the reasons why I like the third game the most. Anytime she breaks the fourth wall, she might give Deadpool a run for his money.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by BulletMagnet »

I briefly tried the Steam demo for this, and off the cuff it honestly seems kinda bare-bones...no fullscreen option (that I could see), dialogue boxes were translated but other stuff (notably your "rank" designation at the end of a stage/credit) was not, etc...they might just not be done with everything yet, but I never played the PC port of the first Shikigami, was any more work put into that one than seems evident here?
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Mishi »

BulletMagnet wrote:I briefly tried the Steam demo for this, and off the cuff it honestly seems kinda bare-bones...no fullscreen option (that I could see), dialogue boxes were translated but other stuff (notably your "rank" designation at the end of a stage/credit) was not, etc...they might just not be done with everything yet, but I never played the PC port of the first Shikigami, was any more work put into that one than seems evident here?
The steam port of shiki 1 was very barebones when it was released, like arcade slowdown and practice mode were patched in I hear, and it has no replay system like the old PC version did. This one outside of the obvious basic missing options seems like like more effort already. I can't imagine they wouldn't finish adding basic things like fullscreen or button configuration, but I have seen worse things before.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by lovecraft »

If you want it physical, buy the PS2 jpn version, it's great, has no input lag, and is still affordable, even the LE pack with a bundled figure. The same about Shikigami 1 !
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by cj iwakura »

Worth mentioning the PS2 version of Shiki 2 is the only one with the art gallery, to my knowledge.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by Mishi »

cj iwakura wrote:Worth mentioning the PS2 version of Shiki 2 is the only one with the art gallery, to my knowledge.
PC port has it as well.
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Re: Castle of Shikigami 2 coming to Switch and Steam in Dec

Post by cj iwakura »

Mishi wrote:
cj iwakura wrote:Worth mentioning the PS2 version of Shiki 2 is the only one with the art gallery, to my knowledge.
PC port has it as well.
Ah, nice. Hopefully the Steam one will too, it has some great concept art.

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