Shin Akai Katana Confirmed for North America

[trap15]

havent posted in ages..is this game worth $40? i really enjoyed ds and ds2

Yes it is.

[iconoclast]

havent posted in ages..is this game worth $40? i really enjoyed ds and ds2

No way, not when you can get Skyrim for the same price.


(Yes, it's awesome. One of my favorites.)

[Skykid]

Destructoid, 9.0 http://www.destructoid.com/review-akai- ... 7604.phtml

Unreal, a review where the guy knows what he's talking about. Very good.

He must be a member here with that kind of commitment to the genre. Who are you, show yourself!

[Special World]

Futari Black Label Original, Deathsmiles, and Deathsmiles II are the only Cave games I've 1cced.

I think I may have gotten to level 4 in DOJBL once.

[njiska]

Destructoid, 9.0 http://www.destructoid.com/review-akai- ... 7604.phtml

Unreal, a review where the guy knows what he's talking about. Very good.

He must be a member here with that kind of commitment to the genre. Who are you, show yourself!

He had me at

"Unlike other gaming sites, I’m not going to spend three paragraphs explaining danmaku, CAVE’s history, or Akai Katana’s asinine plot which is confined to press releases and a brief intro/outro. So go visit Wikipedia and come back if you must. Okay, now let’s talk about what matters: mechanics and presentation."

I also have to say that I really like the tutorial video Rising Star made for this game. Learned more about AK scoring from them then I have from just trying to play it.

[AntiFritz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXbgy20EgqY

I love how he says impossible every 10 seconds.

Why do people even bother uploading crap like this anyway? It just makes you look bad. Re mind's me of that old guwange "walkthrough" video where they credit feed the entire time.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Is it me, or is he not even using the focused shot to navigate tight sections during bosses? He also doesn't seem to use the Ninja/Phantom mode's shield...

on the plus side the commentary is hilarious in a sad sort of way

[xbl0x180]

His commentary is funny 'cause it's coming from a non-shoot-'em-up gamer. It's good to have support from non-niche gamers

[Op Intensify]

Got my copy today.

Very impressed with the work on this port. The menus are incredibly streamlined, coherently explained, and slickly presented. Unlike in most Cave 360 ports, everything on the menus is easily accessible with just a couple button presses and practically no loading/saving times. Graphics simply couldn't be made to look any better without totally redoing them, and the scenery lacks the upscaled pixellyness that plagued Deathsmiles even in 360 mode.

The game itself may not be Cave's best, but it's another solid entry to the Ikeda canon. I like Shin a lot more than Zetsu/Arcade. The steel/katana mechanic is a lot more satisfying and intuitive than faffing around with playing bullet ping-pong across the screen with an invincible character. The stages could use more enemies, thicker patterns, and a bit more length. Essentially I wish it was a spiritual Progear 2. I guess it's all about squeezing as many points as possible out of the relatively meager resources the stages give you.

Are the in-game tutorial videos new to the US/EU version? Also, what's up with the listing number on the game's spine being 00004?

[Deca]

The game itself may not be Cave's best, but it's another solid entry to the Ikeda canon.

Yagawa.



I want to like this game but there's just so much wrong with it. The lasers in particular are the worst mechanic I've seen in any cave game. I'll get my clear and then probably leave it be unless something drastically changes my mind.

[Op Intensify]

The game itself may not be Cave's best, but it's another solid entry to the Ikeda canon.

Yagawa.

Seriously? It feels like the most Ikeda-minded game there is. Low survival difficulty, tiny visible hitbox, no rank, boss lifebars, bullet canceling, autobombs. It's the uber-Ikeda.

What mode in particular are you talking about, Deca? What do you think of Shin/Slash? I love the flow of building up resources for orbs, phantom energy, and katanas, then unleashing it all in a huge burst of maxed-out coins and diving into the storm to get them at full value.

[AntiFritz]

...I wouldn't say "low survival difficulty" is a ikeda trait.

[Op Intensify]

I can't think of a single Ikeda-designed game that's harder to survive in than Garegga/Batrider/Bakraid. Ikeda's toughest games, DOJ and Galuda II, are made considerably easier to survive in if you ignore scoring and fully exploit the generous supplies of available bombs and shield energy. The Garegga trilogy doesn't really have bombs, they're more like special attacks. You can't carry as many and they don't offer total protection. You also end up blowing them all on score objects if you're playing that way.

[trap15]

Actually, if you watch the credits, Yagawa, Ikeda and Ichimura all worked on the code. So I'd say it's not designed entirely by Yagawa or Ikeda or Ichimura. Which means all of them probably had a say in the mechanics.

[BPzeBanshee]

Actually, if you watch the credits, Yagawa, Ikeda and Ichimura all worked on the code. So I'd say it's not designed entirely by Yagawa or Ikeda or Ichimura. Which means all of them probably had a say in the mechanics.

This.

Going from the interview that rancor translated (if memory serves), we've got Yagawa to thank for the core engine itself, Ikeda for the idea of Stage 6, and Ichimura for a lot of the initial mechanics with all three of them having inputs on specific parts of said mechanics. Sounds like 'All Star Effort' to me.

[Zaarock]

I can't think of a single Ikeda-designed game that's harder to survive in than Garegga/Batrider/Bakraid.

The "normal courses" on batrider and bakraid are some of the easiest 1ccs around though.. advanced course is the full game pretty much but you could compare it to something like modes in futari.

[Despatche]

I agree, although the original DDP would be the best choice for that quintessential CAVE shooter

no, just no, i walk into thread to find something and see this crap, no

i don't even care if you pick something else, just not fucking ddp. futari or galuda ii, at least.

this is for your own good

[evil_ash_xero]

Nah, DDP is the quintessential CAVE shmup. Everything they have takes from that series, and DDP is the best one.

So there.

[Deca]

What mode in particular are you talking about, Deca?

I was mostly talking about Arcade/Zetsu. Shin definitely feels a lot better to me but the stage design, lasers, and patterns still bother me. It's too soon to say if the scoring mechanics balance it out for me.

[Op Intensify]

I don't see how the lasers are that bad. The transparency makes them a little hard to see but I quickly adjusted. They're clearly telegraphed beforehand and they're never made impossible to dodge like in DFK, since you can't simply cancel them with your laser.

Now, I'm with you on the stage and enemy designs being kinda bland on a functional level. Progear had so much more variety and character in how its levels were laid out. So far there's nothing really memorable like the gigantic snowstorm of bullets at the end of Progear's second boss.

[xbl0x180]

I just ordered mine from Amazon using some rewards points. The game cost me 27 bucks

Schweet. I might buy a third copy to lend out

[Exarion]

8.0 from gamespot. Reviewers are starting to figure things out.

[Austin]

Picked up a copy from GameStop yesterday. Seems pretty good so far. Dabbled with learning the scoring system on Original and Climax. Is it just me, or is it a mindfuck compared to other Cave shmups? It's definitely going to take some time to get used to.

All in all the package is solid. Kind of annoyed that it's forced letterboxed, but I digress. Glad we at least got another retail disc shmup, and a quality one at that!

[Kiken]

Is it just me, or do none of these reviewers understand the concept of overscan adjustment?

[Kyle]

Picked this up at GameStop. I asked if they had a sealed copy and it turned out I was buying the only copy they got in city-wide. Kinda sad.

Thankfully there is 4x3 in Origin mode under the bottom option to toggle widescreen. It looks even better with the smoothing option disabled. Cab owners rejoice.

[Austin]

Thankfully there is 4x3 in Origin mode under the bottom option to toggle widescreen. It looks even better with the smoothing option disabled. Cab owners rejoice

Nice! Ironically, Origin was the only mode where I didn't check the screen settings. I assumed the options would have been the same as the others.

[Skykid]

Is it just me, or is it a mindfuck compared to other Cave shmups? It's definitely going to take some time to get used to.

It's weird because it does become really intuitive when you finally get a handle on it, it just takes a little work. RSG produced some really neat (and in English) youtube vids that help explain all the scoring mechanics.

Shin is a mindfuck especially, but it's one of the most liberating scoring systems ever when the penny drops.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I preordered the U.S. version of Akai Katana from my local Gamestop in Riverbank, CA a couple weeks in advance of it's actual release date (May 16th). Went down there on the 15th, to see if it was in. Was told to come in on the 16th to pick it up. So the next day, finally went to pick it up & surely, it was there before 11am. It was sealed as usual and was told that it was the only preordered copy that came in that day.

Fired up the JPN region 360 Slim & stuck in the U.S. copy of AK to see if it was region locked. It's definitely region locked indeed.

Booted it up on the U.S. region 360 Slim & was glad to see the obligatory 4:3 mode (perfect for hooking up an 360 to a candy cab via an Ultracade UVC adapter setup). Looks awesome with the low-res arcade monitor's scanlines & razor sharp CRT overall presentation.

The instruction manual & game disc are both printed in full color (which is a rarity for console shmup titles released in the U.S. nowdays if they ever are). However, there isn't any page in the manual listing the U.S. Rising Star Games staff whatsoever (whomever they are, remains a mystery).

Checked the various leaderboards & was pleasantly surprised to see some very familiar shmup monikers on the lists with the usuals like spadgy, TVR, etc.

The MSRP of $39.99 USD is quite reasonable considering it's a Cave shmup.

My suggestion to the U.S. Rising Star Games subsidairy, is offer both a LE set & a regular barebones set for the next console shmup offering would sweeten the deal. Include a superplay DVD and/or OST + artbook are certainly most welcome in any shmup port LE set indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[xbl0x180]

The MSRP of $39.99 USD is quite reasonable considering it's a Cave shmup.

My suggestion to the U.S. Rising Star Games subsidairy, is offer both a LE set & a regular barebones set for the next console shmup offering would sweeten the deal. Include a superplay DVD and/or OST + artbook are certainly most welcome in any shmup port LE set indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Yeah, I loved the Raiden IV OST that was included and used the 360 faceplate from the Deathsmiles LE. I would totally buy a LE and RE of the same game if they were available here (although I wouldn't touch anything that's worthless DLC)

[Snoopy89]

Is it worth it to buy the game now? Not sure if the game will drop in price like Deathsmiles did.