Shoot ‘em ups, shmups, shooters, STGs - call them what you want. They’re undeniably one of the most enduring yet progressive game genres around. From Space Invaders, the game that kicked off Japan’s arcade craze, to DoDonPachi Saidaioujou, Cave’s latest release, shooters have kept our index fingers pounding on the Shot button and our middle fingers precariously hovering over the Bomb button. Hit the link for a list of our favorite shoot ‘em ups.
What will likely be Cave’s final release for Xbox 360 will launch on May 30 according to the famous shoot ‘em up developer. The arcade version of the bullet hell game was released last year. This is presumably the final game in the DoDonPachi series, which started with DonPachi back in 1995, and is the followup to the very awesome DoDonPachi: DaiFukKatsu. The Japanese version will likely be region-locked, but Rising Star Games have been localizing recent Cave shooters like DaiFukKatsu and Akai Katana.
Check it: More Cave posts from Albotas
Buy: Dodonpachi Resurrection: Deluxe Edition (Region Free)
DotEmu, the company that brought us a meh iOS port of the Neo Geo’s Blazing Star will be releasing a collection of Raiden games this fall. The bundle will include Raiden, Raiden Fighters, Raiden Fighters 2, and Raiden Fighters Jet. If you don’t have an Xbox 360 - and if DotEmu doesn’t mangle the controls like they did with Blazing Star - this is an awesome release. If you do have a 360, pick up Raiden Fighters Aces, which contains all of the above except for the original Raiden game.
![Under Defeat HD PS3 Version Coming to US
Rising Star Games recently announced that they will be brining G.rev’s excellent shooter, Under Defeat, to the US as well as publishing the previously announced European version. The Xbox 360 version of the game will not be coming out in America.
It’s cool that the game is finally being published in one way or another in the US, but it’s worth noting the the Japanese PS3 release was region-free to begin with. I’d also like to point out that the US version is getting both a PSN and boxed retail version. (Some sites have claimed only a PSN version will be released.)
[Rising Star Games]
[Check out our thoughts on rare game re-releases]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9fvx2Seww1qbg80vo1_500.jpg)
Rising Star Games recently announced that they will be brining G.rev’s excellent shooter, Under Defeat, to the US as well as publishing the previously announced European version. The Xbox 360 version of the game will not be coming out in America.
It’s cool that the game is finally being published in one way or another in the US, but it’s worth noting the the Japanese PS3 release was region-free to begin with. I’d also like to point out that the US version is getting both a PSN and boxed retail version. (Some sites have claimed only a PSN version will be released.)
![DoDonPachi Saidaioujou Confirmed for Xbox 360
Phew! I was worried that Mushihime-sama HD would be Cave’s last 360 game, but early this morning they announced that the latest game in their DoDonPachi series will be getting a home version. The arcade port with spiced up visuals and several extra features will be out next Spring. No word on region-lockout but it’s not likely this one will be region-free.
[andriasang.com]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m99fbcQLQc1qbg80vo1_1280.jpg)
Phew! I was worried that Mushihime-sama HD would be Cave’s last 360 game, but early this morning they announced that the latest game in their DoDonPachi series will be getting a home version. The arcade port with spiced up visuals and several extra features will be out next Spring. No word on region-lockout but it’s not likely this one will be region-free.
Qute, the makers of Eschatos, a pretty darn cool Xbox 360 shoot ‘em up, have shared screen shots of their new shmup, Ginga Force. Judging by the screens, it looks like this might be a mix between 2D and 3D play styles, which makes me skeptical. At the same time, I’m interested because the character design looks like it’s inspired by that of Radiant Silvergun. Plus the ship totally looks like the one from ThunderForce V.
(Source: andriasang.com)
A Little Bit on the OMG It’s a New Arcade Shmup Side: Just when you thought Cave was ready to - uh - cave, they announce that their mystery game, DoDonPachi Saidaiohjou is indeed a new arcade shooter. The game will be location tested in the near future and hit the arcades at some point later in the year. Hopefully there will be a 360 port, but I don’t think we’ll hear anything about that for several months at the least.
A Little Bit on the Bad News Side: Shoot ‘em up fans, brace yourselves. Cave are allegedly shifting most of their development money away from the bullet hell genre and into “social games.” I’d imagine they mean games more like XBLA’s Nin-Nin Jump. Whatever it means, it translates to less shmups. And the pessimist in me is worried that it could mean no shmups at all. Cave are one of the best - if not the best - current game developers, in my opinion, so this is definitely a shame.
