Deathsmiles coming in spring.. (iPhone)

[mizuiroRSG]

Day 1 download for me, although I have it on 360.
It's nice that I could get Deathsmiles on the go.

[Frederik]

Via CAVE-STG.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kjmFHt ... r_embedded

That little Simon Says-gimmick is just as out of place as that spell crap in Castlevania Dawn Of Sorrow was, but other than that it looks really cool. Again, onscreen buttons will be a bit fiddly, but since they arranged it in an L-shape in the corner instead of a long vertical row as in the other two games mistaps will hopefully not as much of a problem (I can´t tell you how many times I pressed in the wrong place in the other games).

That new character art looks absolutely classy, I have to say. And I´m really excited to hear more of the new soundtrack as well. Seems this will be the most polished iOS title from Cave yet!

[MR_Soren]

Again, onscreen buttons will be a bit fiddly, but since they arranged it in an L-shape in the corner instead of a long vertical row as in the other two games mistaps will hopefully not as much of a problem (I can´t tell you how many times I pressed in the wrong place in the other games).

Are the buttons movable in the other games? Supposedly, they are in this one.

[Frederik]

Well, you pick different arrangements, but most of them - say, two buttons on one side and two buttons on the other side - made little sense since you always have one finger controlling the ship and would never want to use two fingers to control the buttons.

"Movable" as in being able to freely choose their position sounds good. In DDP and EspII the buttons were way too close together, and given how both game require carefully timed button input it didn´t reallly work out that well.

[Frederik]

New video, one of their classic MasaKING explanation ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSomlWg ... ture=feedu

I get the feeling that this game is going to be a big hit on iOS. EspII and DDP:R certainly got very good reviews and sold well enough, but this game seems so much more accessible. And the new content looks absolutely fantastic, Tiara is super cute (and I usually don´t bother commenting on this sort of stuff), and the loot concept works very well with the iPhone mode as far as I can tell.

I almost forgot about this game in the recent months, but now I can´t wait for it to pop up on the store.

[BPzeBanshee]

Looks like I was right about taking the Tyrian-style approach there. Good video, that.

The concept certainly seems like a good working one, and actually it feels to me the whole "getting Gold via playing for score" also reminds me of Tyrian. Not a bad thing at all though in this case.

Also, no lag? I guess the iPhone mode would probably have less bullets to compensate anyway but then again I'm not familiar with how Cave cut down on their iPhone ports other than the trial for ESPGaluda II seemed shit-easy and the full version on my mates iPhone lags all the time. Not exactly a great history to go by.

[Frederik]

They didn´t downsize the games at all, which still surprises me. When I saw Deathsmiles playing at full speed with all that shit going on I was STILL baffled, even though I knew how well EspII and DDP:R were running.

On the other hand, these games are quite low res, especially compared to the retina display on the new iPod/iPhone, but it´s still stunning how smooth they run. Stuff like Infinity Sword and Real Racing 2 are even more mindblowing than that.

Believe me, if these were downgraded in any way (say, lower details or less than 60fps) people on these forums wouldn´t be so (generally) positive about these games

[AliceMargatroid]

Also, no lag? I guess the iPhone mode would probably have less bullets to compensate anyway but then again I'm not familiar with how Cave cut down on their iPhone ports other than the trial for ESPGaluda II seemed shit-easy and the full version on my mates iPhone lags all the time. Not exactly a great history to go by.

Both ESPG2 and DDP:R work without lags for me (TLB, Hard difficulty too). The only lag I seem to have is when I bomb in the Hibachi fight.
Also I use an iPod Touch 4g 8gb. I don't know if there are any differences in processor speed between different devices, but I guess the newer devices also might be faster.

Stuff like Infinity Sword and Real Racing 2 are even more mindblowing than that.

But the gameplay sucks. Too mainstream.

[Frederik]

Both ESPG2 and DDP:R work without lags for me (TLB, Hard difficulty too). The only lag I seem to have is when I bomb in the Hibachi fight.
Also I use an iPod Touch 4g 8gb. I don't know if there are any differences in processor speed between different devices, but I guess the newer devices also might be faster.

I have the same model, I´m suprised these games also run on the third generation ones

Stuff like Infinity Sword and Real Racing 2 are even more mindblowing than that.

But the gameplay sucks. Too mainstream.

Haha, yeah, indeed I was mentioning these two for the sheer graphical power these super-thin devices have. I enjoyed RR2 for some mindless tilt-steering once in a while, just staring at the pretty graphics, but Infinity Blade was quite shallow. I have to say that in general my enthusiasm for iOS gaming has faded quite quickly, not because of a lack of great games, but mostly because shmups and Puyo are all I need right now It´s definitely impressive to see how gorgeous 3D games can look on these devices, but playing them is a pain in the ass. Both Infinity Blade and RR2 are more like tech demos to me.

iOS is great for litte arcadey games with touch input, mostly puzzle games and stuff like that, but everything that tries to emulate button input just gets on my nerves very quickly. Tapping glas isn´t as fun as mashing little buttons. The drag movement in the CAVE ports is the most I can tolerate.

Oh, and I still hope this version of Deathsmiles will get a port to the 3DS or PSVita (or PSP!). I don´t know anything about coding so I can´t really guess how easy such a port would be... EspII and DDP:R made no sense to port to either systems since they are vertical, but Deathsmiles would be a no-brainer. To this day I have yet to receive my perfect handheld shmup. I can´t let that dream die

[StarCreator]

Oh, and I still hope this version of Deathsmiles will get a port to the 3DS or PSVita (or PSP!). I don´t know anything about coding so I can´t really guess how easy such a port would be...

It would pretty much involve recreating the entire game from scratch for each device.

[Rebel Ninja]

As with other iOS releases the game is already out in New Zealand. It should be out in Europe at 12am GMT and the US at 11pm EST. The size of the app is 272mb.

source:http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... adid=99751

[Frederik]

It would pretty much involve recreating the entire game from scratch for each device.

Ugh. Well, I´ll enjoy what I can get

As with other IOS releases the game is already out in New Zealand. It should be out in Europe at 12am and the US at 11pm EST. The size of the app is 272mb.

source:http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... adid=99751

Well, now I will be refreshing the iTunes store ever 10 minutes and get nothing else done today

[Rebel Ninja]

Well, now I will be refreshing the iTunes store ever 10 minutes and get nothing else done today

Yeah this game looks like it could be one of their best iOS releases yet. My biggest concern though is how well the controls will be implemented for iPhones and Ipods. From what I’ve seen of this game though, it should be a complete steal for £2.99! I really like how a lot of iOS game developers release their products at a discounted price in order to gauge more interest from people.

[Frederik]

It won´t be cheap enough to the audience that only buys sub-dollar/euro games, but these are idiots anyways. For anybody who has at least a little bit of taste this introductory price is an absolute steal. I mean, let´s not forget that this game has incredibly high production value due to being an arcadea game AND a console game first - there are a lot of very nicely polished games specifically for iOS, but this kind of effort wouldn´t have went in it if it had been for iOS only.

Though the added character AND a whole new quality OST is quite impressive. The alternative OST in DDP:R was garish and annoying, but from what I can tell in the trailers the new music fits the whole theme wonderfully.

[AliceMargatroid]

The alternative OST in DDP:R was garish and annoying

I thought it was a nice change from the Arcade themes (not that they are bad).
Opinions

Also the game should appear any second now.

[Frederik]

Well, I kinda like these two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0K4beqn ... ideo_title
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnhnk2vg ... ideo_title
Their first loop counterparts are way less energetic, however.

Yeah, I hope it appears in iTunes soon. I don´t want to be up all night, but on the other hand I´m way too hyped
for this to go to bed now

EDIT: It´s out, at least on the german store

[fishinant]

Just downloaded and had a crack at arcade mode. Controls are great for an iOS device, I like the auto fire with a button to switch from right to left.

[Shizenshikei]

The game is super fun so far! I thought that unlocking the difficulties in iPhone mode would be annoying, but it adds a nice sense of progression (especially since item upgrades are pretty much necessary.
The sound track for both game modes are great, and the story in the new mode is pretty good, if not a bit short :,(
I've had a few troubles with changing directions; if I press the button to switch directions and then switch to my other thumb to move the character, I get stuck and can't move half the time. I'll probably work around this, but I just thought I'd give a heads up. Still, its probably my favorite cave game on the iPhone so far.

[IDruggedShamu]

-

[LeeB99]

Came on here to announce that it is available and saw this thread. About to download...

Edit: tried to run the "lite" edition and after the Cave title screen, it drops me back into my iPad desktop.

Glad I didn't pay for the full version. My IOS version exceeds the specifications on the app store and still did the same thing after resetting/rebooting my iPad...

Lee

[Kaspal]

Bought it, and i just LOVE IT!! ... super crisp graphics, easy to pick up and play, and i dont find the controls that intrussive (except when you change directions, you can obscure some bullets, but with practice, you just change hands and its like nothing happened).

i think im gonna put my Daifukkatsu aside for awhile while i try to conquer this one... now, lets wait for them to port ketsui or mushifutari to iOS ... another insta buy from me.

[-Bridget-]

Bought this one right away, though, for now, I have mixed feelings about it.

The controls are fine and all.... button placement is much easier than in the other Cave games. The problems that I had with the original Deathsmiles though still remain: WAY too easy, even on the highest difficulty, and dull scoring that I end up just ignoring. I doubt I'll really touch arcade mode.

I'd originally hoped that they were gonna do what they did with the other games on iOS, which is put in an "iphone mode" that was the same game, but with totally redone scoring and whatever. Instead they put in the mode with the princess character. It's not bad, but, I admit I completely dont see the point. The game is far too easy to begin with, so why would I need to power up the character further? Of course, I only just started, and apparantly have to sit through Novice mode first (sigh), so maybe the game will reach a point in this mode that surpasses the difficulty of the original, and makes all this item stuff have a purpose. ....or maybe not.

I'll have to go further into it to really judge it, but for now, that's my initial impressions.

[chempop]

Just finished a playthrough of both Arcade and iPhone mode using my iPad, I couldn't be happier! For $5 this is unbelievably awesome. Some of the new tunes are incredible, far far better than that DDP-R iPhone OST.

Looking forward to unlocking the hard mode for V.iPhone, damn, some of the tunes blew me away.

[Treasurance]

It's good. Why the hell are people complaining about it being too easy? Okay, the first stages are, but The Gorge and Hades Castle were pretty damn intense. The final boss was surprisingly difficult, too.

The low sound quality is annoying though.

EDIT: OK, tried iPhone mode now, first playthrough was piss easy but still kinda interesting

[rancor]

I just got it. This is my first experience with the D.S. franchise, so I cant comment on how it compares to any other version, but I'm enjoying this one so far! Had a few play-throughs, and I agree that it is a bit too easy, so perhaps when I unlock hard mode I'll enjoy it more. For $5.00, this is a steal!

[-Bridget-]

Why the hell are people complaining about it being too easy? Okay, the first stages are, but The Gorge and Hades Castle were pretty damn intense. The final boss was surprisingly difficult, too.

Not just among Cave's games, but among danmaku shmups overall, DS *is* a pretty easy game. It's sorta meant to be, I think. I believe this is why Mega Black Label adds the "999" choice, for the difficulty of each stage, since that's a great deal harder than "3" is (yet still, not as hard as some other danmakus, but it's a bit more satisfying for players that are good at the genre).

Hades Castle isnt particularly bad once you get the hang of it (it IS an awesome, fun level though!), and the Gorge, to me, seemed mostly just like a test of memory. Position yourself and your familiar in certain ways near certain walls, to avoid damage at those areas. The boss is a bit of a snot though.

And the final bosses are..... well, among the easiest that Cave has done. When I cleared the game the first time, I beat Jitterbug without bombs or hyper mode (and without getting hit), and I only used a bomb or two against Tyrannosatan's bizarre warping pattern that he does during his last form (died once against him. Hypered against him for more damage.). This was on the hardest difficulty, too, for the non-black-label version. These guys still make for a pretty awesome fight though, I think. The patterns during this one are fun.

But yeah, get a bit of practice at the game, and you'll probably find that it's actually a fairly easy 1cc.

I dont mind easy shmups too much.... often, the scoring system makes up for the lack of survival challenge (and in turn creates a DIFFERENT sort of challenge). Wish DS had different scoring, though. It's not a bad system, just a little dull.

Overall, it IS a good game, but I do think Cave has made better.

[banjoted]

So what's the crack with scoring in the iPhone mode. Seems different to how I remember it on Xbox 360?

[Aliquantic]

This was on the hardest difficulty, too, for the non-black-label version.

Just to clarify, the hardest difficulty for regular DS is all level 3s to trigger Death Mode for suicide bullets plus the EX stage... was that what you did? I tip my hat off to you if that's the case! I found DS to be just brutal when going for a route other than five level 3 and no EX, and obviously I could only "enjoy" the full difficulty in training mode...

[AliceMargatroid]

So good. I can't stop playing.
Just pulled off 36m with Follett in Arcade Mode (obivously). I really love the scoring system, it's much more forgiving than ddp's and not as complicated as ESPGaluda2s.

[Jockel]

My fingers are in the way. :/