Deathsmiles II

Deathsmiles II
Developer(s)Cave
Publisher(s)Cave
Director(s)Junya Inoue
Producer(s)Kenichi Takano
Designer(s)Atsushi Aburano
Akira Wakabayashi
Hiroyuki Tanaka
Hideki Nomura
Programmer(s)Takashi Ichimura
Artist(s)Junya Inoue
Composer(s)Manabu Namiki
Noriyuki Kamikura
Yoshimi Kudo
Motoi Sakuraba
SeriesDeathsmiles
Platform(s)
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: May 14, 2009
Xbox 360
  • JP: May 27, 2010
  • NA: May 17, 2011
PS4, Xbox One, Switch
  • JP: December 16, 2021
Windows
  • WW: June 23, 2022
Genre(s)Bullet hell
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Deathsmiles II: Makai no Merry Christmas[1] is a bullet hell game by Cave, released in 2009. It is the third Cave shoot 'em up to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor (preceded by Progear and the original Deathsmiles). Deathsmiles II is also the first CAVE arcade game to use polygons instead of their traditional sprites for graphics. A compilation of Deathsmiles I and Deathsmiles II was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in Japan in December 2021 and later for Microsoft Windows in June 2022.

Gameplay

Arcade version screenshot

In Deathsmiles II, players control a character armed with a magical weapon, navigating through levels filled with enemies and obstacles. The game features multiple characters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities and playstyle. As players progress through the game, they can collect power-ups and items to enhance their character's abilities and make them more powerful.

Deathsmiles II also features a "Mega Black Label" mode, which is a harder version of the game with different levels and challenges.

Development and release

Deathsmiles IIX was ported to the Xbox 360 with additional modes in 2010. It was released both regular and limited editions which included a soundtrack CD. On release week, Deathsmiles IIX sold 16,112 copies in Japan according to Media Create.[2] A platinum edition was released in 2011. The unlocalized Japanese release was made available on the US "Games on Demand" store in 2011.[3]

Reception

In Japan, Famitsu gave the X360 version a score of 30 out of 40.[4] GamesRadar rated the XBLA release a 3.5 out of 5 and called Deathsmiles 2X one of the better shooters available in the Western market.[5]

References

  1. ^ デススマイルズII 魔界のメリークリスマス
  2. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (May 18, 2010). "Big in Japan May 24–30: Super Mario Galaxy 2". GameSpot. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Klepek, Patrick (May 26, 2011). "How Deathsmiles 2X Became Xbox Live's First Unlocalized Game". Giant Bomb. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. May 18, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Kemps, Heidi (May 27, 2011). "Deathsmiles 2X review". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 27, 2015.