Death Smiles: Countdown to North America Invasion

[GaijinPunch]

A)Lack of midbosses

Well, since all the stages are cut in half, all you get are midbosses until the Canyon.

[njiska]

Finally got my copy. Haven't had a chance to pop in the disc yet, but i've been listening to the Arrange soundtrack and boy is it depressing. Some tracks would probably make good background music for a Castlevania game, but on the whole they're too slow and soft. They lack the power of the original tracks.

[drunkninja24]

When do the XBL leaderboards update? I went into Score Attack and got a score that should put me somewhere between 10th-15th on the leaderboards, but nothing up yet

[NR777]

When do the XBL leaderboards update? I went into Score Attack and got a score that should put me somewhere between 10th-15th on the leaderboards, but nothing up yet

Are you playing with EX on or off? If you aren't doing the extra stage(s), you have to toggle that option on the Leaderboard menu to see where your score stands.

[ROBOTRON]

Finally got my copy. Haven't had a chance to pop in the disc yet, but i've been listening to the Arrange soundtrack and boy is it depressing. Some tracks would probably make good background music for a Castlevania game, but on the whole they're too slow and soft. They lack the power of the original tracks.

Hmmmm....I don't have it yet, but from the vids I seen and heard, the Castlevania/Goth music fit pretty well...in my humble opinion.

[NR777]

Finally got my copy. Haven't had a chance to pop in the disc yet, but i've been listening to the Arrange soundtrack and boy is it depressing. Some tracks would probably make good background music for a Castlevania game, but on the whole they're too slow and soft. They lack the power of the original tracks.

Hmmmm....I don't have it yet, but from the vids I seen and heard, the Castlevania/Goth music fit pretty well...in my humble opinion.

The OST is infinitely better...has much more energy and maintains the spooky vibe. I only moderately like about two tracks on the Arranged disc.

[mistcore]

Now that the US release is out, have the options for buying the MBL DLCs for the original JP version changed at all?
I heard that the MBL stuff is on the US disc, but does this mean that my only option for getting the MBL DLC for the original JP release is to still buy it on the JP XBL?

[StarCreator]

Deathsmiles NA has no effect whatsoever on Japanese DLC availability/pricing. The two are completely isolated.

[njiska]

Hmmmm....I don't have it yet, but from the vids I seen and heard, the Castlevania/Goth music fit pretty well...in my humble opinion.

The OST is infinitely better...has much more energy and maintains the spooky vibe. I only moderately like about two tracks on the Arranged disc.

The problem is that they're gothic in a room music sort of way, rather than gothic inspired rock like the original. I'm willing to bet one of the two tracks NR777 liked was the song used in the US trailer. It has the sound of the actual OST.

[MommysBestGames]

How do I effectively use the familiars to get the suicide bullets?

I've only been playing with Windia, but I've noticed that you can position the familiar by not shooting and moving your character around. It's sort of like swinging your arms in X-Multiply, a little. You basically move away from the direction you want it to move (while not shooting). While shooting the familiar stays locked. I used this to collect/stop plenty of suicide bullets.

Strangely if you hold the B button to target-fire, the familiar moves away from you but at much slower speed. It's a little weird.

The manual says if you're playing in 360 mode, you can use the right stick to also move the familiar, but this doesn't seem to work for me. The right stick doesn't do anything in the 360 version (or any ver I've picked so far). Anyone else getting the right stick to work for controlling familiars (or anything)?

[nZero]

The manual says if you're playing in 360 mode, you can use the right stick to also move the familiar, but this doesn't seem to work for me. The right stick doesn't do anything in the 360 version (or any ver I've picked so far). Anyone else getting the right stick to work for controlling familiars (or anything)?

This is exclusive to the Ver 1.1 modes.

[NR777]

The problem is that they're gothic in a room music sort of way, rather than gothic inspired rock like the original. I'm willing to bet one of the two tracks NR777 liked was the song used in the US trailer. It has the sound of the actual OST.

That would have been a good bet. The Lakeshore remix is actually really good. The Deathsmiles OST is probably one of my favorites. Reminds me of Goblin at times.

[mistcore]

Deathsmiles NA has no effect whatsoever on Japanese DLC availability/pricing. The two are completely isolated.

Thanks for confirming that.

[MommysBestGames]

The manual says if you're playing in 360 mode, you can use the right stick to also move the familiar, but this doesn't seem to work for me. The right stick doesn't do anything in the 360 version (or any ver I've picked so far). Anyone else getting the right stick to work for controlling familiars (or anything)?

This is exclusive to the Ver 1.1 modes.

I see, thanks for pointing that out.
The manual's a little confusing. On one page it says the right stick is for "Xbox versions" which I'd expect to include the explicit "Xbox 360" version. But on another page it has controls just for v 1.1 and also lists the right stick for familiars.

[roker]

I don't know if this has been asked already, but is there going to be a standard edition released in the near future?

I'm not sure I want all the extra "garbage" of the LE version.

[njiska]

Definitely enjoying the game so far (I had only played a few hours of the JP version) but option control and suicide bullets are the bane of my existence. Right now controlling my option feels awkward and is completely killing the excitement level, especially when the hordes of suicide bullets start in the EX and Hades Castle stages. Any advice on how to make controlling the familiar feel a little more natural?

Playing on Arcade and MBL.

I don't know if this has been asked already, but is there going to be a standard edition released in the near future?

I'm not sure I want all the extra "garbage" of the LE version.

Aksys seems to take a first print run mindset. Once the LE's have sold and a second printing happens you'll most likely see a standard edition. Though if history proves anything it probably won't be much cheaper, if at all.

[MachineAres 1CC]

I'm not saying I beat it drunk. I was getting crushed. I'm saying that it was a solid clear to get me into the game, it was well earned.
Why you hating on your favorite game all of a sudden?

I'm not hating on the game, mostly just on Rosa since before the US version came out I probably hadn't used her in like 8 months and now I see just about anyone who has played the game on Xbox Live has the achievement for 1cc with her and no one else. It's just weird and I really don't like using her cause there's not really a challenge.

[xris]

Cool enough.
I agree she seems a little overpowered. I came close w/ Casper earlier but paniced (spelling?) against Jitterbug, and failed. I was playing pretty sloppy all morning though.

[Exarion]

A bit of search engine magic has revealed these three:

http://pineconeattack.com/2010/06/03/lo ... pn-review/

http://webguyunlimited.com/pixelperfectgaming/?p=7491

http://www.multiplayergames.com/2010/07 ... and-value/

two positive reviews and one person complaining about gamers not being able to figure out that less padding != less value.

[NR777]

I really enjoyed the third piece...it sums up my feelings on "modern" gaming perfectly. I get far more value out of a title like Deathsmiles than I do out of, say, Gears of War. I played through Gears once, tried the multiplayer, found that I hated the community and never played it again. I've gotten more playtime out of Futari than I have out of pretty much every big budget "blockbuster" title and Deathsmiles looks like it's also going to keep me hooked for a long time. I don't care if a game takes me a half hour or three weeks to finish, the important question is: does it keep me engaged through the entire experience and is that experience good enough for me to want to revisit it?

[Square King]

Special delivery from Amazon today!

First impressions: I've only tried 360 mode/rank 2 for survival, but it's gorgeous! Very detailed sprite work and it all just feels right. This might be the first Cave game where I've made it almost all the way to the end boss on one credit. I'm getting more accustomed to the scoring mechanics, which ups the difficulty a little. Overall, very fun and instantly addictive. I need to find an optimal button config for my stick, though, and it looks like arrange has to be played with the Xbox pad.

And yes, Amazon/postal service squished my box. :/

[njiska]

http://www.multiplayergames.com/2010/07 ... and-value/

two positive reviews and one person complaining about gamers not being able to figure out that less padding != less value.

That was written by my friend Matt. Something he's been wanting to say for a while. Good article as usual.

[t0yrobo]

I don't know if this has been asked already, but is there going to be a standard edition released in the near future?

I'm not sure I want all the extra "garbage" of the LE version.

There will be, but it'll be the same price as the LE. All the first shipment is LE, then it's going to be normal versions after that afaik.

[drunkninja24]

I don't know if this has been asked already, but is there going to be a standard edition released in the near future?

I'm not sure I want all the extra "garbage" of the LE version.

There will be, but it'll be the same price as the LE. All the first shipment is LE, then it's going to be normal versions after that afaik.

There was a standard edition listed at $29.99 for a while, but it was later removed and only the LE offered. I imagine it'll be that price when (if?) it comes out.

[Ex-Cyber]

There was a standard edition listed at $29.99 for a while, but it was later removed and only the LE offered. I imagine it'll be that price when (if?) it comes out.

Yeah, to be honest I'd rather have a standard edition if I knew for sure that it was coming. I don't generally have the collector mindset and I'm not that much of a hardcore shmupper or Cave fanboy. I just got the LE because I don't want to miss it completely.

[Strider77]

You could probably sell that extra stuff pretty easy and recoup the cost of it.

[drunkninja24]

WTF? Has anyone else run into this? I played Score Attack on 360 Mode, played the Halloweentown Stage then the Volcano Stage on Level 3, then did the forest stage on Level 1, but when the stage loaded, I couldn't see the background or the enemies, just my character, the bullets, along with a strange "tearing" effect everywhere I moved. It seemed like the system locked up when I tried to exit as well, I had to turn off the 360 with the power switch and turn it back on.

[gct]

I was thinking the standard edition might be more like Gamestop taking all the unsold LEs, stealing the faceplates for spank value, and selling just whatever's in the DVD case.

[-Roufuss-]

Hey all -

Didn't see this posted yet, but this should be the full list of secret achievements for the US version of Deathsmiles. Credit goes to Dcrvx2k over at GameFAQ's, not the best source but I know for a fact that at least 7 out of 10 are real so there is no reason the other 3 shouldn't be.

05) I Can't Hurt a Friend! - Waited for Sakura to explode while playing as Windia. (Secret Achievement) Xbox 360 / Arcade

05) Everything's Stopped! - Pressed the pause button during a stage. (Secret Achievement) Xbox 360 / Arcade

10) Sweet Tooth - Picked up 4 life-recovery items in one playthrough. (Secret Achievement) Xbox 360 / Arcade

10) Just Barely! - Cleared any stage with 0.5 lives and 0 bombs. (Secret Achievement) Xbox 360 / Arcade

15) Mother... - Chose to stay in Gilverado with Sakura.(Secret Achievement) MBL

10) Hundred Millionaire - Score has reached 100,000,000 points. (Secret Achievement)

20) Double Hundred Millionaire - Score has reached 200,000,000 points. (Secret Achievement)

50) Triple Hundred Millionaire - Score has reached 300,000,000 points. (Secret Achievement)

50) MBL 1.1's Hidden Challenge - Score has reached 10,000,000,000 points in Mega Black Label 1.1 mode.

25) The True Tyrant - Defeated Bloody Jitterbug. MBL

[MachineAres 1CC]

In support of those of us who are against Aksys's horrible localization of the game, I went to my local Play n Trade store today and was talking to my friend who owns it. The US version is the first time he's gotten to play it since he doesn't import games and he said he's enjoying it quite a bit, we talked about strategy for a few minutes, etc. In walks a group of what would be the absolute TARGET audience for this kind of Aksys fanboy shit. Kids in their late teens/early 20s who are in love with anime and Japanese video games (mostly for the wrong reasons, etc.) They all walk up and see the box for Deathsmiles and the one guy says "oh, there's Deathsmiles, it came out already. They sounded pretty interested in it and said the box looked really cool and wanted to take a look at it from behind the counter. My friend hands them the box and after about 5 seconds of looking at it, they all say "oh my god, I'll give you this back now, I can't buy something like this." They were all referring to the "Loli's smile back" line on the back and frowning away from the box for the sole reason that they would be embarassed to buy the game. I'm going to bet there was a good chance those guys may have actually bought the game with how interested they are and how inclined they are to liking shit with anime artwork (the one guy even knew who CAVE is), and based on how bad the packaging was, they walked away from it almost instantly after reading the back for a few seconds. Good job, Aksys. "Knowing your audience" sure pays off, huh.