World War II fighter planes firing lasers, magic and giant ninja swords that are also capable of turning into enormous ghosts of dead teenagers? Sounds like a typical Japanese shoot 'em up to me.
In the 80s and early 90s, Toaplan made some brilliant arcade shoot 'em ups. Tiger Heli, Hellfire, Slap Fight, Batsugun and perhaps most famously Truxton I and II (which I discussed in last January's Classic of the Month) can all claim to be classics in their own right. Sadly, in 1994, shortly after the release of Snow Bros II, Toaplan filed for bankruptcy.
Thankfully, from the ashes of Toaplan rose Computer Audio-Visual Entertainment Interactive, or CAVE for short. Over the past 17 years, CAVE have been been making a variety of games for arcades, home consoles and smartphones, but they're most famous for their series of bullet hell shoot 'em ups, including Guwange, Espgaluda, Deathsmiles, my son's favourite shmup, Progear No Arashi, and the jewel in their crown, the Donpachi series. In 2010 they released Akai Katana Shin in the arcade, which looks and plays like its the spiritual successor to 2001's Progear (although nowhere do they say that). Now, with the help of publishers Rising Star Games, CAVE have brought Akai Katana to Xbox 360 (minus the Shin for the UK).
Like all CAVE's shoot 'em ups, Akai Katana has a complex back story, but with the exception of a few cutscenes during boss encounters (which are in Japanese with no subtitles) the game does not waste the player's time explaining it, so I won't either. Just know there's a bad guy, he's in control of a fleet of World War II era planes, helicopters, tanks and submarines, which all fire lasers and magic rather than lead and explosives. At the start of the game you get to chose one of three pilot and phantom teams, each with their own plane. Tsubaki and Sumire fly the Marigold, which fires in straight lines; Botan and Kikyou fly the Orchid, which has homing lasers; and finally Shion and Suzuran fly the Sakura, which fires in a spread patten. Like other CAVE games, there are no weakest links in the choice of fighters, which means it's all down to play style.
There are three modes in this Xbox version: Origin, which is the original arcade version, Climax, which is a harder, widescreen update of the Arcade version, and Slash mode, which is new for the Xbox and by far the best version of the game. Visually the game has a far higher resolution than CAVE's previous offerings, whilst still being clearly sprite-based. It almost looks like a HD Neo Geo game — which is no bad thing in my book. However, as I've already said it looks like Progear, as well as a host of other World War II-themed games, like Psikyo's Strikers 1945 series or even Metal Slug (which is probably I think it looks like a HD Neo Geo game). Conversely, the music and the front menus actually make it look and sound like a Guilty Gear game, so much so that when my wife saw me start it up for the first time, she remarked, "All these games look the same. Like Street Fighter and Soul Calibur?" So Akai Katana is the Megan Fox of arcade shoot 'em ups: it's very pretty, but it doesn't really stand out from the crowd.
So on to the game play. If you've never played Akai Katan before, what you think of its game play could be affected by which mode you play first. If you decide you want that authentic arcade experience and choose Origin mode, you may think it's game play is as run of the mill as its artstyle; if you play Climax mode you may think the same, plus it's frenetic and hard; if you play Slash mode, you may be left dumbfounded by what's going on at all, because Slash mode is a very different beast to the other two modes. The arcade original was good, but no better than anything else CAVE has offered. If you're a shmup fan you'll still enjoy it, but it may not leave a lasting impression. If you chose Slash mode, take the time to watch the lengthy tutorial video and maybe read the user guide — yes, for a shoot 'em up — you'll find that by tweaking the game's rules, CAVE have made Akai Katana into something very rewarding indeed. You see, in Origin and Climax modes, you fly around, collect energy from fallen foes and use it to switch to phantom mode, which allows you to deflect bullets and provides more fire power, but that seems to be all there is to it. In Slash mode, you have to collect energy to charge up your phantom, but also steel to arm it. You control how you collect these two resources by switching between defence and attack mode. Thankfully, that's all done with one button (although a second can be used if you want). Tapping the shot button fires your general weapon; holding down the shot fires a more powerful weapon, but at the cost of your speed. It's a mechanic that CAVE have employed for years, but here it has more application than previously. As you collect steel red orbs appear around your fighter. When you switch to phantom mode the steel orbs turn into katanas, which float around the phantom and will be unleashed when you switch back to fighter mode. This is key to both destroying mid-bosses and end of level bosses, as well as netting high scores. It means that you can conjure the most powerful attacks in the game when you want, rather than when the game decides to give you a power up. However, that is only part of the Slash's mechanics — there's much more to it than that, but I'm still learning the rest of the game's subtleties and nuances. How many shoot 'em ups can say that?
Between Xbox Live Arcade and all the CAVE ports, the Xbox 360 has a lot of great shoot 'em ups. This is where Akai Katana's £25 asking price, however cheap compared to other boxed games, seems less appealing. For that price if you wanted some classic arcade bullet hell action you could buy Treasure's classics Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, plus CAVE's other classic, Guwange. If you're open to some modern bullet hell action you could buy Sine Mora, Omega Five and Strania. If you're really open minded (and patient), you could buy about 20 Xbox Live Indie shmups for that price, such as the brilliant Platypus, Shoot 1-Up or Vorpal. This all sounds like I'm trying to talk you out of getting Akai Katana, but I'm not, I'm just trying to provide a balanced review. I guess it all comes down to how much a shmup nut you are. If you're like me, you'll probably own everything I've mentioned and are looking for something with that bit more depth. Many of the games I mentioned above also offer that, but for me, Akai Katana scratches a very particular itch and I cannot stop scratching. Err... yeah, that's not the best metaphor in the world. Let's just say I love it.
Highs
- The best looking CAVE port to date and looks great on a big HD TV.
- Three versions of the game in one, each with its own subtle differences.
- At less than £25, this is a budget price for a new boxed release.
- Switching between attack and defence to collect energy and steel respectively provides plenty of scope for tactical, rewarding gameplay.
- Slash mode makes this one of CAVE's most satisfying shoot 'em up experiences to date.
Lows
- At £25, it is not the cheapest slice of shoot 'em up action on the Xbox this year.
- Could get lost in the crowd.
Akai Katana is available for Xbox 360 from all decent retailers for around £25.
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