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

This is the main shmups forum. Chat about shmups in here - keep it on-topic please!
User avatar
NeoStrayCat
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:43 am

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

Post by NeoStrayCat »

BulletMagnet wrote:In the US region, at least, it seems to have released; 20 bucks, discounted to 18.
There's a Shiki bundle so that if you already own the first one, you can get the other for 19% off, discounted to around $16 and change.
I've Come to Deliver Some Bad Luck!
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

New script is phenomenal, especially compared to the original.

It has some untranslated text(CLASS A/B/C and the hints for the 3-1 boss, as well as the logos), but it's nitpicky stuff.

Really happy that the art gallery is back.
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

Fumiko script comparison:
https://twitter.com/cj_iwakura/status/1 ... 9445035008

Image
Image

Night and day.
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
User avatar
hyp36rmax
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2021 3:07 am

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

Post by hyp36rmax »

Anyone successfully get the Steam version to load in Offline Mode? Obviously not a problem when logged in. Not very arcade cab friendly. Have it setup in my Vewlix via Big Box Launcher Front End. Anyone have a working solution?

I get the following error:

"Steam user must be logged in to play this game (SteamUser()->BLoggedOn() returned false)."

The first Castle of Shikigami on Steam does the same thing, however that can be bypassed by pressing OK. Does not work with this version...

Found a possible solution called "Special K". Will try this another day.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ ... 1311500105
User avatar
Herr Schatten
Posts: 3259
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:14 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

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

Post by Herr Schatten »

Apparently, this is out on Steam now, but the Switch release has been pushed to 2022?

I'm not happy.
harborline765
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 pm

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

Post by harborline765 »

cj iwakura wrote:Guess I'll bite. I could always stream it if anyone wants an expert(?!) opinion!

https://youtu.be/rq3ruI2nSJ4
Looks good from your video, thanks for the upload.

How is the port quality overall? Also - specific question - how are the resolution options? Do they properly support full screen with non 16:9 aspect ratio displays? If I wanted to play on a 16:10 or 3:2 ratio monitor, would it support that natively through the game while rendering the correct resolution of the game within?

If it's a good port I am tempted to bite now and get it on Switch later.
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

harborline765 wrote:
cj iwakura wrote:Guess I'll bite. I could always stream it if anyone wants an expert(?!) opinion!

https://youtu.be/rq3ruI2nSJ4
Looks good from your video, thanks for the upload.

How is the port quality overall? Also - specific question - how are the resolution options? Do they properly support full screen with non 16:9 aspect ratio displays? If I wanted to play on a 16:10 or 3:2 ratio monitor, would it support that natively through the game while rendering the correct resolution of the game within?

If it's a good port I am tempted to bite now and get it on Switch later.
Seems to have all the graphic options of the PS2 version, but I'm not sure about the specifics on whether it's natively supported or not.

It does have the PS2 art gallery, which is a huge plus.
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
User avatar
BrianC
Posts: 8859
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:33 am
Location: MD

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

Post by BrianC »

cj iwakura wrote:
harborline765 wrote:
cj iwakura wrote:Guess I'll bite. I could always stream it if anyone wants an expert(?!) opinion!

https://youtu.be/rq3ruI2nSJ4
Looks good from your video, thanks for the upload.

How is the port quality overall? Also - specific question - how are the resolution options? Do they properly support full screen with non 16:9 aspect ratio displays? If I wanted to play on a 16:10 or 3:2 ratio monitor, would it support that natively through the game while rendering the correct resolution of the game within?

If it's a good port I am tempted to bite now and get it on Switch later.
Seems to have all the graphic options of the PS2 version, but I'm not sure about the specifics on whether it's natively supported or not.

It does have the PS2 art gallery, which is a huge plus.
I'm enjoying this version quite a bit. Glad the gallery made it intact. Does the Dreamcast gallery have less pictures? The videos I have seen of that version show a gallery mode.
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

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

Post by EmperorIng »

Some minor issues with the port. I've reported them on the steam boards and Degica is aware of them.

-definitely the leaderboard is currently graphically unstable, a lot of times opening it will have a lot of garbage sprite data. Some times it's fine.
-weird bug that continuing during a particular phase of the Aja bros. (3-2 boss) will make them teleport off the screen before rushing in and surprising you. Uhhh, don't continue there!
-continuing during the 3-1 boss Freyn and killing him makes you pick up a few phantom coins even if there are none on screen. I dunno if that was because I continued or not

There are a few other minor graphical glitches here and there (stage 1-1 midboss' polygon border visible on his tiny appendages while he spawns in? same with red Aja bros' sword) that don't affect play.

But otherwise this is pretty good! Playing at 60fps is crazy, everything is so smooth. I must not have realized that the old PC port ran at 30fps? I thought the game was fast until I realized maybe it was just at proper framerate, lol. Seeing the background 3D models so clearly is wild too.

Dramatic Change mode is cool as well, especially with instant switching between characters. Even with its own leaderboard! Time to grab free World Records, people.

I know the resolution goes up to my screen size, 1600x900. I don't know about off-kilter res's though.

OBS had a hard time capturing full-screen application for this game (just a black screen), and didn't capture past the main menu when I did window capture. I am not sure what was up; I had to do a full-display capture on my test stream last night. Did anyone else have better luck using full-screen application or window capture on OBS?

Hopefully they fix those couple of bugs up above (and tighten up those graphical hiccups) and I will be using this as my main go-to for Shikigami 2.
User avatar
Rastan78
Posts: 1964
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:08 am

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

Post by Rastan78 »

Seeing the background 3D models so clearly is wild too.
I used to love how this game looked at 480p on the DC outputting via the VGA box to a computer CRT. Ikaruga, Border Down etc all looked amazing this way. I don't know if it's just rose colored glasses or if this kind of set up was actually the shit.

Those monitors were usually small, but didn't the main dev of Shiki II say he was working primarily on a tiny monitor? Then he had to hook it up to an arcade cab at some point to see if it still looked ok. So really I was playing just as it was intended. :mrgreen:

Too bad the PS2 didn't have such an easy way to output pure 31khz RGB goodness. That being said the official DC VGA box was not easy to find, but at least there were 3rd party options that worked well.
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

BrianC wrote:I'm enjoying this version quite a bit. Glad the gallery made it intact. Does the Dreamcast gallery have less pictures? The videos I have seen of that version show a gallery mode.
I don't recall the DC one having a gallery mode at all, unless I missed it somehow...
(I have the LE, which skyrocketed in price not long after I got it, lucky me. :P )
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
harborline765
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 pm

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

Post by harborline765 »

Thanks for the impressions everyone. I'm going to go for it, might even pick up Sisters Royale on PC as an excuse to play it again.
User avatar
NeoStrayCat
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:43 am

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

Post by NeoStrayCat »

@hyp36rmax
Small update was pushed today (as of post) so that the game now works in Steam's offline mode. And some other stuff too. (Ver 1.0.11.)

https://steamcommunity.com/games/155665 ... 2155504653
I've Come to Deliver Some Bad Luck!
User avatar
hyp36rmax
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2021 3:07 am

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

Post by hyp36rmax »

NeoStrayCat wrote:@hyp36rmax
Small update was pushed today (as of post) so that the game now works in Steam's offline mode. And some other stuff too. (Ver 1.0.11.)

https://steamcommunity.com/games/155665 ... 2155504653
Yep! I'm happy to see the devs are listening and executing updates this quick! this is awesome!! Might ask them to fix the first one with the same issue haha.
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

They posted a neat roundtable with the dev team, including the original director!

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app ... 2160771624

"James: Speaking of ports, the overseas version of Castle of Shikigami was pretty wild (laughs).
Suda: Oh, yeah, “Mobile Light Force 2.” No comment (laughs)."

"Suda: About that... As the creator of the original game, this is hard for me to answer (laughs).
Teruyama: As a shooting game that relies on the characters, it’s the characters themselves that are very appealing. For example, when I was in Korea for work I found out that one of the characters, Daejeong Kim, is pretty well-known. There’s also the fact that the scenarios and setting created by Mr. Shibamura* are excellent.
*Yuri Shibamura once worked for Alfa System. He created the setting for a group of Alfa System titles called the Unnamed Setting. Games like Castle of Shikigami and Gunparade March take place in the same universe."

"Suda: In Castle of Shikigami, all we had to do was prepare dialogue for the number of characters. But with Castle of Shikigami 2, I realized that the lines would need to increase with two people playing at the same time... We just had to go for it (laughs)!

James: I’ve got nothing but respect for you there.
Suda: By the way, the whole tension bonus system was based on UPL’s “Omega Fighter,” and from there the mechanics were developed. While the first Castle of Shikigami was out, Success’s “Psyvariar 2” was pretty popular. Our tension bonus system was often compared to that title’s “buzz” feature, where you could receive power-up effects by getting grazed by enemy bullets, but we were actually influenced by Omega Fighter."

"Suda: Yeah, it was a royal pain to be honest (laughs). Even when it comes to normal attacks, they all have different methods of attacking. This was done to make the characters unique. I wanted the players to not only love the characters’ lines and scenes, but to also love how they feel when playing and everything else about them too. Turns out that created a lot of trouble for the team... It wasn’t so bad with Castle of Shikigami, but it was a lot of work with each of the eight characters having two types of Shikigami for Castle of Shikigami 2 (laughs).

But it’s because of this that I believe I was able to create characters that anyone could use at least one of. For example, beginners can use Kohtarou’s auto-attack (“Zasae” Shikigami attack) to defeat enemies, while more experienced players can use Fumiko to make bank with her laser (“Satellite Laser” Shikigami attack), which is powerful but requires a lot of precision. That’s how I made it so the characters would resonate with different people."
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

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

Post by EmperorIng »

I recorded a 1cc with Niigi the other day specifically to let the cutscenes play out and show the new translation... Without realizing it I also got a new personal best, which was a pleasant surprise!

The script has some errors here and there (Kim's seem to have a number of typographical mistakes), but over all like CJ said it's night and day.

PS2:
ALWAYS UNBELIEVABLE. REMEMBER IN HELL.

Steam:
"That's the thing about tomorrow. It's about what's possible. I hope you remember that in the afterlife."

Adds a lot of enjoyment for me. I don't need to only have a 1985-era taito translation for every shooter.

It seems the game has been patched yet again. The biggest problem with the port is that the leaderboards and menus keep on glitching up (often filled with garbage sprite data or in the case of menus the text sprites blacked out). I am glad they keep rolling out the patches, especially a leaderboard fix today, as it least it shows they are caring about the game.

Of course the game's translation leaves as many questions as to what da fuk's going on as it potentially answers, lol.
User avatar
BIL
Posts: 18990
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm
Location: COLONY

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

Post by BIL »

Thanks for posting that interview, cj!
cj iwakura wrote:Suda: By the way, the whole tension bonus system was based on UPL’s “Omega Fighter,” and from there the mechanics were developed. While the first Castle of Shikigami was out, Success’s “Psyvariar 2” was pretty popular. Our tension bonus system was often compared to that title’s “buzz” feature, where you could receive power-up effects by getting grazed by enemy bullets, but we were actually influenced by Omega Fighter."
Rad. :cool: Always cool to see these suspicions clarified. Remarkably ahead of its time for a late-80s vert, that one, with its big beefy tension multipliers, not to mention the uncommonly generous shot... I still wonder if its time-slowing bomb was any influence on Galuda.
But it’s because of this that I believe I was able to create characters that anyone could use at least one of. For example, beginners can use Kohtarou’s auto-attack (“Zasae” Shikigami attack) to defeat enemies, while more experienced players can use Fumiko to make bank with her laser (“Satellite Laser” Shikigami attack), which is powerful but requires a lot of precision. That’s how I made it so the characters would resonate with different people."
Truth. I remember Fumiko's Shikigami seeming almost intimidatingly weird when I first picked up SNS2 on a whim (it was actually an outraged review of Mobile Light Force 2 that attracted my notice, haha), then coming back after several years' genre exposure and not being fazed at all (though it remains a marvellously distinctive weapon). Not surprised to hear the creators had a real passion for going beyond the usual narrow/wide/widest archetypes with their lineups.
Martinov
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:36 pm
Location: UK

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

Post by Martinov »

What are people's feelings about New Entry Mode? Does it improve upon vanilla Shikigami 2?
harborline765
Posts: 123
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:10 pm

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

Post by harborline765 »

Thanks for sharing the interview, hadn't seen it before.

It's reassuring to know that NAOKI designed new entry mode, and given how he was supervisor on Sisters Royale (which I really enjoyed) it seems we've got a lot to look forward to here.
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

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

Post by EmperorIng »

Martinov wrote:What are people's feelings about New Entry Mode? Does it improve upon vanilla Shikigami 2?
The other day a number of Shikigami fans and high-scorers (myself included 8) ) participated in a "blind" first-time play of the New Entry arrange mode. We all had specifically held off on even practicing it to have an event be a blind run for semi-skilled Shikigami players. The jury's still out on the wisdom of such an idea, but it was fun to hear all of us scream and rage at all the tricks the game throws out.

You can watch this five-way here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42_Pvsvc1_U

I will say that the New Entry mode feels twice as hard as arcade. Unlike other arranges that make things easier for newbies, this one does the opposite. WAY more aggressive enemies, lots more bullets, and more challenging obstacles (the maze in particular is hard!). The only thing unchanged are the bosses, which might be a little disappointing if you were hoping for a completely brand-new experience. A big downer that I can see atm is that there is no stage practice for the arrange. Hopefully they'll patch that in. For now it's credit-feed only.

I can imagine New Entry offering a fresh challenge for people who have gotten tired of 1cc'ing the normal game. God help them if they try New Entry's Extreme mode. I can't even fathom how hard that must be.
Martinov
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:36 pm
Location: UK

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

Post by Martinov »

Nice! Watching it now.

I have to admit New Entry Mode was what I was most looking forward to in this rerelease, so it is a shame about the unchanged boss patterns and lack of training mode, but other that this looks very good.
Last edited by Martinov on Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
M.Knight
Posts: 1246
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: France

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

Post by M.Knight »

Yeah I also felt that New Entry is a much harder take on the original game, probably aimed at people who are already quite familiar with the game and want a new challenge.
I'm not sure exactly how balanced it is for scoring with all the characters, but going through it blind during that event was quite fun! Some of those tricks the stage design pulled off were so funny lmao.

Unlike EVO mode in Shiki 1 Steam, it's already included in the base game so you can more easily give it a try if you are curious.
RegalSin wrote: I think I have downloaded so much I am bored with downloading. No really I bored with downloading stuff I might consider moving to Canada or the pacific.
Remote Weapon GunFencer - My shmup project
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

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

Post by EmperorIng »

Degica listened to my request and translated the dialog/insane ramblings of the final boss World Order/Shintaro Kuga during 5-2! :mrgreen:

Finally, as a closeted lore junkie I get my damn fix.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ ... 2691834332
Section 1
You are being a fool; I can think of no other way to describe it.
You would destroy the world of man, yet what kind of era do you seek to forge in its place?
Surely there is a method to your madness, and you have a plan for tearing down this age and the type of world you will replace it with.

Are you prepared to do whatever is necessary? Or perhaps you feel that simply voicing your displeasure with the status quo is enough?
Do you truly think that a world born of such motives can know happiness without any sort of plan or sense of resolve?

Surely you can see it... This is how things ought to be. The world is centered on humans and exists solely to serve them.
In fact, the world demands to be ruled by the human elite, with both gods and spirits alike acting as faithful servants. That is how it has always been, and it has brought great success with it as well.

So why do you now seek to destroy such a perfect system?

Perhaps you believe the world will return to an age where the gods ruled over humans?
Impossible. That age is a thing of the past, it shall never come again.
So I ask you once more... Why?! Why?! Why do you fight?! Answer me! Why do you oppose the advent of this new world?!

...So, you refuse to listen to me or even reason itself. Very well. If that is the way you feel, then you do not deserve the benefit of mercy, you cursed invader!

Section 2
Why do you think the castle appeared here of all places?

Castles exist to defend a particular location. Therefore, the world is clearly trying to prevent the dawn of this new age!
Why can’t you see that?!

The world is mired in pain and suffering. Indeed, the world of man is nearing its end as technology continues to advance.
At the current rate, it won’t be long until a presence equal to that of humans, or perhaps something even greater, rises above all else.
We shall be born after the gods, and create an entirely new world of our own design.

It is only a matter of time before a new order outside of humans arises and drives the world toward progress!

Do you believe that the world does not feel pain?
The world does in fact possess a consciousness. However, it is merely too difficult for most of us to comprehend.
Perhaps it is that complexity that you use to justify making it suffer?

The world is merely a reflection of the beings belonging to it. Humans, gods—all are merely projections of the world itself.

So I ask you this... why? Why do the humans that exist merely as a piece of this world now seek to oppose that same world, which is both everything and everyone?
It is as if the world is attempting to take its own life in a sense.

Section 3
Numerous worlds have come and gone throughout the course of time, while to this day, numerous worlds continue to live on.
So for what purpose do you seek to intrude upon such a system and destroy all that it represents?

Answer me, invader. I demand an answer to your madness.

I received the divine weapon, yet there are those who seek to end my life. Has the world gone mad?
Or perhaps a choice must be made—much like a certain someone once did.
A choice that says among a handful of worlds, there can only be one...

Even so, I...no, mankind itself...and the Yaoto are not destined to meet their end just yet.
No, not until vengeance has been wrought!

Hraaah!
No, not yet... It can’t end like this!
User avatar
professor ganson
Posts: 5163
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 3:59 am
Location: OHIO

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

Post by professor ganson »

Herr Schatten wrote:Apparently, this is out on Steam now, but the Switch release has been pushed to 2022?

I'm not happy.
Ok, that must be why I can't find it in the Switch shop. Sounds like it's worth the wait. An all-time favorite given a worthy refurbishing.
Hero of Legend
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:23 pm

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

Post by Hero of Legend »

Forgive me for the bump, but have they said ANYTHING about the Switch version? It was due in Dec 2021, then delayed, 6 months later with zero update that I'm aware of. The hell is going on? :(
User avatar
NeoStrayCat
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:43 am

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

Post by NeoStrayCat »

Hero of Legend wrote:Forgive me for the bump, but have they said ANYTHING about the Switch version? It was due in Dec 2021, then delayed, 6 months later with zero update that I'm aware of. The hell is going on? :(
My thoughts exactly, it has been a while since they mentioned the annoucement of the Switch port. Sadly, no new info came out of that. I mean, the Steam version just runs fine to this day, shoudn't be any problem to release the Switch version at any time.
I've Come to Deliver Some Bad Luck!
User avatar
m.sniffles.esq
Posts: 957
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:45 pm

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

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

On Switch April 13

(also my birthday if anyone wants to update my Dreamcast version...)
User avatar
cj iwakura
Posts: 1729
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:28 am
Location: Coral Springs, FL

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

Post by cj iwakura »

m.sniffles.esq wrote:On Switch April 13

(also my birthday if anyone wants to update my Dreamcast version...)
Amazing! I don't think 1 ever got ported...
Image
heli wrote:Why is milestone director in prison ?, are his game to difficult ?
xxx1993

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

Post by xxx1993 »

Just in time for Kohtaro’s 33rd birthday, huh? Though honestly, I’d rather get a remaster of the third game.
User avatar
NeoStrayCat
Posts: 973
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:43 am

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

Post by NeoStrayCat »

xxx1993 wrote:Just in time for Kohtaro’s 33rd birthday, huh? Though honestly, I’d rather get a remaster of the third game.
Or a current gen version with modern features (dual audio and various text languages with QoL stuff). Especially when the old PC port has outdated DRM that wouldn't work in later Windows OS's. (Other than the already existing console ports and the Nesica arcade version that works fine anyways...)

Either way, took a long while for the Switch port, despite missing its 2022 release window through delayed 2023 window.
I've Come to Deliver Some Bad Luck!
Post Reply