Xbox 360: Akai Katana Shin (May 2011)

[Special World]

Alright, for the gold cash-in at the end of a boss, do I want to be right near the boss at their death, and back up into the gold as it begins to appear? Or do I want to stand halfway across from the boss so I can be in the dead center of the gold cloud?

This ended up sounding like some sort of corporate metaphor -_-

[DragonInstall]

Alright, for the gold cash-in at the end of a boss, do I want to be right near the boss at their death, and back up into the gold as it begins to appear? Or do I want to stand halfway across from the boss so I can be in the dead center of the gold cloud?

This ended up sounding like some sort of corporate metaphor -_-

I usually get the most out of it when I'm right next to the boss and slowly back up. It's so minimal in the overall score that I never noticed it too much.


I mean shin mode is just so much fun because it's all about point blanking / timing / meter management / not dying / knowing when to attack. So many little factors that you need to adapt to if something goes wrong.

[Special World]

Yeah, I do like it a lot, it's just so frustrating when everything goes wrong <:O

One of the things I like most about Zetsu is that if I die early on, I can treat it as giving more scoring opportunity, rather than just wasting a life.

Maybe Yagawa knew all about the perils of restartitis.

ED: One more question while I'm at it:

Is there any way to increase the size of the green energy orbs in Shin? Maybe you're just supposed to hover your option over enemies and they'll bleed small energy to supplement those you get when they die? I've experimented with it a little bit, but I haven't reached a conclusion yet.

[BulletMagnet]

According to this the game sold fewer than 6,000 copies in its first week. Not sure exactly how that number might translate for a niche product though...

[drunkninja24]

According to this the game sold fewer than 6,000 copies in its first week. Not sure exactly how that number might translate for a niche product though...

I think it's worth noting in this case that those numbers typically don't include online sales and IIRC, AKS was fairly high up on the Amazon JP listings for a bit. But otherwise, those numbers seem about average.

[whoozwah]

How do you set training mode to fight bosses? Everything is in moon speak... why oh why CAVE

was this ever answered? If so I must have not seen it. The bosses are what's giving me trouble and I'd like to be able to focus on practicing them specifically.

[BPzeBanshee]

Maybe Yagawa knew all about the perils of restartitis.

Yet Another Stupid Question:

Yagawa had involvement in this?

[moozooh]

Yes, he was one of the game designers/programmers for the arcade release. Though in this particular case it's more of an all-star cast (IIRC, Ichimura and others were also involved, don't remember about Ikeda).

[BPzeBanshee]

Yes, he was one of the game designers/programmers for the arcade release. Though in this particular case it's more of an all-star cast (IIRC, Ichimura and others were also involved, don't remember about Ikeda).

[-Bridget-]

Well, finally got my copy today, and I have to say, I really couldnt be more impressed with this; I easily think this is one of Cave's best. Maybe not quite where Futari or DFK are for me (or Eschatos, though that's not Cave), but it's pretty darn close.

So far, I'm really enjoying the hell outta that Zetsu mode. Here I'd thought I'd be playing mostly Shin mode, but no.

Shin is good, but it feels a little too much like Deathsmiles for me; spend half a level building things up, go into some loopy alternate mode, get a bazillion points, and then you dont do it again for a bit.

Zetsu is SO much more interesting. Having to balance the Ninja meter, use it at the right times, time your shots well, deal with all that orbiting crap (boy is it ever easy to make a mistake with that) AND try to bounce all that crap in the right direction so you can pop it..... just freaking amazing. This might well be my favorite of Cave's scoring systems.

This game definitely seems to be a "play for score" thing. If someone is JUST playing for survival and ignoring the scoring system, this would be easy in the same way that Giga Wing is. But when playing for score, I dont think this is easy at all. It's SO easy to screw up and take a hit, and you cant just be using Ninja mode simply to block attacks; you gotta use it to GET POINTS. Leads to me dying in all sorts of stupid ways.

Best score so far: 169,502,988 with the.... er.... first of the 3 planes. Whatever it's even called.


Also, I would just like to say, and I mean this sincerely,

SCREW THE FOURTH BOSS. WITH A CATTLE BRAND. ARGH.

Seriously, as GREAT as this game is, the bosses.... argh. I mean, their patterns are actually very cool, but at the same time SO AMAZINGLY ANNOYING. I cant remember the last time I saw a collection of bosses this damn irritating (yet still cool) in a shmup, probably since Futari's God mode.

[Strider77]

Do the soundtrack options actually do anything? I swear they sound the same no matter what I change them to?

[StarCreator]

It's subtle at first listen, but there's definitely a difference - the arrange tracks are longer and the parts where it does share melody with the original tracks are arranged differently.

[stryc9]

Do the soundtrack options actually do anything? I swear they sound the same no matter what I change them to?

Yeah I fiddled with it a bit and got the remix soundtrack going for Arcade, for example. Just have a bit of a fiddle around.

As for the game, well I have concentrated most of my time on Zetsu mode and of course it is excellent, although not in the same league as their Verts. I struggled with some really simple patterns that I would not ever die on in a month of sundays in one of CAVE's vertical efforts; funnily enough the problem lessens when I play the 4:3 Arcade Mode so I'm gonna blame the whole 16:9 presentation. I know, LTP

The whole mechanic in Zetsu is clever, intuitive, and represents another evolution in bullet behavior from CAVE the last being the suicidal homing sperms from DSIIX IMO. Really good, fun system. Have yet to hit up Shin for any length of time, but I'm surprised it's the headliner on the disc as it seems a little bloated and a lot less obvious, but we will see.

In a showdown with the other rival STGs released this year, my earliest of impressions would place this behind them, because despite clearly being an excellent game you gotta admit it has some rather feisty competition.

[chempop]

In a showdown with the other rival STGs released this year, my earliest of impressions would place this behind them, because despite clearly being an excellent game you gotta admit it has some rather feisty competition.

You'd really put this behind TWN, Bullet Soul, Otomedius Excellent, and Eschatos? I haven't checked any of them out yet, probably won't until there's a drought in the market.

Finally getting somewhat of a grasp of Shin mode, DragonInstall's demo replay helped a whole lot!

[DragonInstall]

I'm a little bit disappointed in the top players not uploading their replays to the leaderboard. This was never an issue in other cave games, but for some reason they want to keep their scoring ideas a secret.

I guess it's to make it harder for others to reach their spot, but I would really like to know how they do it. owells i guess.

[evil_ash_xero]

Do the games start with arranged music already, or do you have to do something in the options?

[Dave_K.]

I'm a little bit disappointed in the top players not uploading their replays to the leaderboard. This was never an issue in other cave games, but for some reason they want to keep their scoring ideas a secret.

High score elitists!

[BulletMagnet]

Do the games start with arranged music already, or do you have to do something in the options?

IIRC Shin and Zetsu have arranged music by default, but Arcade has the OST...someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

[8 1/2]

Why is it always the easiest mode on the disc that's praised as "brilliant" "intuitive" and "one of Cave's best"? Oh, right...

[evil_ash_xero]

Why is it always the easiest mode on the disc that's praised as "brilliant" "intuitive" and "one of Cave's best"? Oh, right...

True...


The original music is the one with the flutes more pronounced, correct?

[-Bridget-]

Why is it always the easiest mode on the disc that's praised as "brilliant" "intuitive" and "one of Cave's best"? Oh, right...

It doesnt seem like any of the modes on this particular disc are all that hard though, in terms of survival difficulty. Shin isnt using the "reflect" mechanic, but..... I dont find it to be at all more difficult than Zetsu is.

I woulda liked to have seen some alternate mode that IS more difficult, though. That just doesnt seem to happen much though. Aside from DFK Black Label, it seems like most of Cave's recent stuff has been a bit on the easy-ish side, in terms of survival challenge (DFK 1.5, in particular, took me ONE TRY. Just one. That shouldnt happen.)

Regardless of which mode you play, this particular game definitely seems to be about scoring high, not "beating" it.

[Strider77]

The same reason the hardest version is always touted as the best by the other half of the crowd.

[stryc9]

In a showdown with the other rival STGs released this year, my earliest of impressions would place this behind them, because despite clearly being an excellent game you gotta admit it has some rather feisty competition.

You'd really put this behind TWN, Bullet Soul, Otomedius Excellent, and Eschatos? I haven't checked any of them out yet, probably won't until there's a drought in the market.

Finally getting somewhat of a grasp of Shin mode, DragonInstall's demo replay helped a whole lot!

I'de put it behind DFK BL/ Ketsuipachi, Crimzon Clover, Muchi Muchi Pork/ Pink Sweets, Strania Side Vower and Eschatos, for sure. It's better than Bullet Soul yet I still prefer that game cos I'm a bit strange like that, I dunno. Something about the feel of BS, but I'm in the minority there, so feel free to disregard that particular advice. Eschatos on the other hand is absolutely fantastic, no doubt about it.

Have not played TWN or the Otemedius game, but OE does NOT look good at all from what I've seen/ heard.

Like I said, AK is an excellent little game, but competition is particularly strong at the moment, thats all.

PS I lie, I have played the TWN demo and kinda just went Nah I'll wait for AK... seemed OK but a little too 'Moe' or whatever you guys call it for my taste, especially when there has been so many releases lately with actual spaceships

[Special World]

Why is it always the easiest mode on the disc that's praised as "brilliant" "intuitive" and "one of Cave's best"? Oh, right...

You're gonna have to provide examples for this, because as I've seen it people tend to think:

Ketsui > X Mode
DOJ Black Label > X Mode
Espgalua 2 = Espgaluda II Black Label > Arrange and Omake
Futari 1.5 + Black Label > Arrange
DFK BL > 1.5

etc.

There are certain easier modes that people really like, such as Pink Sweets Arrange, but I don't see any trend to support your statement.

Also, people may just like that there are a lot more opportunities to cash-in in Zetsu compared to Shin. Or maybe just the system in general, as it's much less finicky. Can't really see any point to your post other than attempting to claim superiority over players who like other modes, really.

[BPzeBanshee]

Why is it always the easiest mode on the disc that's praised as "brilliant" "intuitive" and "one of Cave's best"? Oh, right...

You're gonna have to provide examples for this, because as I've seen it people tend to think:

Ketsui > X Mode
DOJ Black Label > X Mode
Espgalua 2 = Espgaluda II Black Label > Arrange and Omake
Futari 1.5 + Black Label > Arrange
DFK BL > 1.5

etc.

There are certain easier modes that people really like, such as Pink Sweets Arrange, but I don't see any trend to support your statement.

Also, people may just like that there are a lot more opportunities to cash-in in Zetsu compared to Shin. Or maybe just the system in general, as it's much less finicky. Can't really see any point to your post other than attempting to claim superiority over players who like other modes, really.

I think reviewers were quite the fan of Guwange's Arrange 360 mode which was undeniably due to it being more 'accessible', but besides that I agree with you on this one.

I personally like having the original Arcade versions more than I care for the arrange modes. If the arcade version is perfect (and I can actually buy it without too much trouble, ie Guwange via XBLA) I'll buy it. That's not to say the Arrange Modes are ignored, I like them too, but I think people *here* would buy it first for the perfect original mode.

[-Bridget-]

I'de put it behind DFK BL/ Ketsuipachi, Crimzon Clover, Muchi Muchi Pork/ Pink Sweets, Strania Side Vower and Eschatos, for sure. It's better than Bullet Soul yet I still prefer that game cos I'm a bit strange like that, I dunno. Something about the feel of BS, but I'm in the minority there, so feel free to disregard that particular advice. Eschatos on the other hand is absolutely fantastic, no doubt about it.

Have not played TWN or the Otemedius game, but OE does NOT look good at all from what I've seen/ heard.

Like I said, AK is an excellent little game, but competition is particularly strong at the moment, thats all.

PS I lie, I have played the TWN demo and kinda just went Nah I'll wait for AK... seemed OK but a little too 'Moe' or whatever you guys call it for my taste, especially when there has been so many releases lately with actual spaceships

I agree with this; as great as Akai has turned out to be, there's been some stellar releases recently that still surpass it, at least for me.

Eschatos in particular. I put that one above MOST of the shmups in my collection.

[stryc9]

Gonna give it another few hours on Zetsu then I might get in on Shin mode.

Which one is the new stage? I thought I could select all of them in training or maybe I was just trippin'...

[spadgy]

So Zetsu's easier than Shin?

And where does Arcade go on the difficulty spectrum of the various modes in your humble opinions?

[dmauro]

So I just got this, and tried playing it on my cab but didn't get very far. Someone please tell me there is a custom button layout option I'm missing, and that I can somehow force 4:3 mode. ( 9_Q )

[spadgy]

So I just got this, and tried playing it on my cab but didn't get very far. Someone please tell me there is a custom button layout option I'm missing, and that I can somehow force 4:3 mode. ( 9_Q )

Forced 4:3 is the last option in the screen settings menu, and overrides all the other screen options (as far as I know). It does, however, somewhat overzoom in on the image, so you'll need to tinker with your cab's screen settings after that.

You can also customise the buttons, although it isn't very clear! In the menu that allows you to chose one of the pre-set button configurations, hit 'A' when you have one of those configurations selected. Then you can move down to highlight each button and customise it there (you may have to hit 'A' again on each button - I can't remember exactly).