Death Smiles: Countdown to North America Invasion

[lmagus]

yup, that's it.

[Chacranajxy]

Alright, that's not too bad.

Kinda bummed that the US version got messed up

But I guess this gives me incentive to keep the JP 360 around, even if the other currently Jap-only games should get ported.

[KindGrind]

Weirdly enough...

DS is currently listed as the 5th most popular game (meaning the most looked up, I think) on gamerankings.

Quite surprising for a game with such little circulation.

[cools]

This would be the preferable thing to do in the future. Just have it "off" by default and then those of us who want it can turn it on.

Default settings for high scores kthx.

[bcass]

Weirdly enough...

DS is currently listed as the 5th most popular game (meaning the most looked up, I think) on gamerankings.

Quite surprising for a game with such little circulation.

Probably just a really quiet release period at the moment. They definitely chose the best time to release it. It's had half a chance of exposure.

[evil_ash_xero]

I don't know what all the fuss is about the slowdown. I mean, the Japanese and NA leaderboards aren't connected.

Also, when you go into your power up phase, sometimes the game just seems like it's going in slow motion. Ice Palace, and all of MBL 1.1 is pretty bad at this. I haven't had the opportunity to play the NA version yet, but fixing this seems like it would improve the game(and make it tougher too). I don't know what the problem is.

People always talk about how the great job M2 did with Futari...well, what about MBL? It's in slow motion, and really hurts the game. I'd rather it be a bit more normal paced, than in slow motion. I thought that's why we all didn't like shmups on the SNES?

Now, if this was Ketsui or something, i'd understand, but DS is easy as pie.

[GaijinPunch]

I don't know what all the fuss is about the slowdown.

You've obviously not been paying attention for most of your 1761 posts here then, I'd venture to say.

[evil_ash_xero]

I don't know what all the fuss is about the slowdown.

You've obviously not been paying attention for most of your 1761 posts here then, I'd venture to say.

You got me.

[subcons]

I don't know what all the fuss is about the slowdown.

You've obviously not been paying attention for most of your 1761 posts here then, I'd venture to say.

You got me.

It essentially breaks scoring.

[Exarion]

49919 after 5 weeks, the US version has now sold more total than the Japanese version. I think they've overestimated the sales amounts somewhat, there has been a second printing, or the first print run was above 50k, as there are certainly more than 100 new copies in stores.

[evil_ash_xero]

Well, that's good. Despite the lolis, I thought this game was a pretty good first step in the U.S.. Side scroller, easier than most Cave games, more stages than usual, and great graphics and designs. But I thought the lolis would hold it back a bit. Guess I was wrong.

[StarCreator]

I don't think under 50k are particularly good sales numbers in the US considering how many more 360 owners there are here versus Japan. Here's hoping Aksys made some money out of it.

[Octopod]

This thread is rich.

[njiska]

I don't think under 50k are particularly good sales numbers in the US considering how many more 360 owners there are here versus Japan. Here's hoping Aksys made some money out of it.

It's all about sales ratio. As long as they sold what they produced they should have at least made their money back. Maybe even turned a profit. For a Niche developer like Aksys this is a success. Besides it did way better than their release of Castle of Shikigami III.

[Malc74]

I don't think under 50k are particularly good sales numbers in the US considering how many more 360 owners there are here versus Japan. Here's hoping Aksys made some money out of it.

It's all about sales ratio. As long as they sold what they produced they should have at least made their money back. Maybe even turned a profit. For a Niche developer like Aksys this is a success. Besides it did way better than their release of Castle of Shikigami III.

Exactly. If those VGChartz numbers are in any way accurate (and that's a big 'if') then I reckon it's done very well indeed. Fifty thousand copies for such a niche title (and especially considering it came in a shelf-unfriendly limited edition box) is a triumph IMO.

[bcass]

VGChartz figures are renowned for being wildly innacurate. I wouldn't be surprised if the true figure was half of what they're claiming. We'll soon find out eitherway. If it made money then I'm sure you'll see at least one more port in the US.

[apple arcade]

I was in gamestop today picking up the new blazblue and noticed new standard edition copies. This means it's hit the 2nd print mark.

[Kubrick]

Roughly 4 times as many MyGamerCard.net users have played JP DeathSmiles compared to the NA one.

Doesn't prove anything but I thought the numbers might be closer if it's supposed to have outsold the Japanese version.

[Strider77]

[Octopod]

I seriously doubt that Aksys would release a second print if the first was not pretty much good as gone.

[evil_ash_xero]

Is this considered a cute 'em up or what?

[Battlesmurf]

Is this considered a cute 'em up or what?

TyrannoSatan may partially disagree with you. I'd have to say I'd be closer to the 'no' side of the fence.

[njiska]

Is this considered a cute 'em up or what?

It may seem cute at first when you look at the girls, but the game's aesthetics and plot are actually rather dark. It's better refereed to as a gothic Shmup.

[Octopod]

Was the Japan 360 Deathsmiles arcade perfect?

[CStarFlare]

Arcade mode is really close from what people say. 360 not so much, and Black Label even less.

I'm sure EOJ has a detailed writeup somewhere on cave stg.

edit: here

[PsychoGun]

Was the Japan 360 Deathsmiles arcade perfect?

I have both versions of death smiles on the 360, and have played the PCB. The import 360 version is as close a copy as you can get in arcade mode and MBL arcade mode when compared to the PCB. All the tricks in the PCB work with ease. 360 mode on the import has less slowdown than the arcade modes, but still plays far slower than the NA version's 360 mode. If you're going for PCB authenticity then you'd want to stay clear of the 360 modes even on the import.

The Death smiles NA arcade mode plays significantly faster than the import's arcade mode. Overall the game is sped up, but it still has some of the proper slowdown in most places (jitterbug, last boss, forest, volcano). The NA's 360 modes are a completely different story, they are so sped up it isn't even funny. You'll notice there is no slowdown in places like volcano, level 3 forest, and jitterbug. I honestly call the NA 360 modes "hell" training modes, because if you do a 1CC in the NA 360 mode, and then go back to the NA's arcade mode, stuff moves so slow. If you play the import after this, that just seems like bullet time since it runs so slow.

I have honestly been having fun playing both discs and trying to notice the differences. I just recently did a level 3 1CC of NA's arcade mode, which is significantly harder than doing the same in the import (something I did on my 2nd attempt). 360 mode on the NA version is more trouble than it's worth trying to get a level 3 1CC, and if you can accomplish that then my hat goes off to you.

As for the other modes, I haven't played them much, but all modes in the NA version have been sped up over the import. As far as difficulty goes, America definitely has a much harder version of death smiles. And my scores across the board in the import are higher than the NA version, because there are just more places to milk longer with the slower game play. There are certain things in the import you just cannot do in the NA version, because the game runs so much faster your hyper also diminishes faster. Levels in the NA version finish a whopping 1-3 minutes faster than the import (a number Aksys quoted on their messageboards).

If you love death smiles and have the means to own both versions, I'd highly suggest it. I am even better in the import now from all the time I've put into the NA version, it really hones your reflexes.

[evil_ash_xero]

Is this considered a cute 'em up or what?

It may seem cute at first when you look at the girls, but the game's aesthetics and plot are actually rather dark. It's better refereed to as a gothic Shmup.

Yeah, I was just wondering what the overall opinion was. It doesn't really strike me as a cute 'em up. It's just cartoony.

[apple arcade]

How does everyone rate the difficulty of a lvl 3 mbl 1.1 vs vanilla and mbl normal modes?

[CStarFlare]

Level 3 1.1 is really easy if you're playing as Sakura. Windia can be a bit of a problem sometimes (extra/final stage bosses mainly) because she's so weak, but she's also the best character for scoring so she's definitely worth using.

[Chiaroscuro]

Sorry if it is already discussed before (I did not read all the posts in this thread) but I want to discuss more about the differences between the Japanese and the US releases of Death Smiles.

You guys talked that the US version is speed up. I am not sure about it. Sure, some slowdown has been removed, but overall the US release looks the "version for dummies" for me. Death Smiles was already one of Cave easiest games, but the changes in the US release made it even easier.

Just to check I played both versions some days ago (after playing US version for some weeks). Choosing the same route and level in both versions (Lv1, going first through seaside village, volcano, forest, A-1, A-2 and choosing the swamp as the last level before Castle). In the US release the enemy patter is the same as the import, and the do act the same and speed looks the same. However the bullet pattern is extremely slowed down. In most cases I can kill all of the enemies before they even shoot. The slow pattern is more noticeable at the bosses. Other changes includes that the enemies have less energy, I can kill them more quickly.

The result is that I can almost 1CC the US release (I need a little more practice, usually I die at the very end of Tyranossatan), and can go through the 6 initial levels without losing a life or using a bomb. I cannot do the same in the Japanese version, usually the levels become harder.

I have been playing mostly the 360 mode in both releases.