This is Mushihimesama. A bullet hell shmup made by Cave. I imported the Best of version from Play-Asia for $30 bucks and it is the only Cave shooter I’ve been able to get into. This video here I use to study for a proper scoring route. The scoring system in Mushihimesama is a bit weird, there are few things to know about it. On a basic level, there is a counter that you try to maintain by constantly attacking enemies. The higher the counter is, the more points you’ll accumulate. This scoring mechanic is the one used in the Maniac mode difficulty. To do this, you have to use a few different techniques for firing your shot that manipulate the counter. As you attack bigger enemies, they accumulate what is called a parent counter from your main shot, the option lasers accumulate what is known as the child counter. There are specific enemies where knowing how to manipulate these counters is essential in aiming for a high score.
With slow A tapping you can manipulate the child counter into the parent counter by building up a multiplier for each tap of the shot button. After this is done, you can use fast C tapping where you hit the Full Auto shot button as fast as possible which literally skyrockets the laser counters into the overall counter. Confused now? It takes a bit of getting used to, but it is wholly satisfying skyrocketing the counter and then trying to hold onto it for the rest of a stage. I play this mode primarily.
If you’ve never seen a game like this, it’s called a bullet hell shooter. In which the bullets flood the screen and it seems very daunting to dodge, but the catch is that your avatar’s hitbox is only about 4 pixels wide, while the punk bullets also have a hitbox only about a pixel wide. Understanding this makes playing these games tangible and quite fun, from an outsiders glance, you’ll probably be thinking, ‘what the fucking fuck’ is going on.
I specifically like the colorful art style of this game, and playing it in person (playing the port on the PS2 in my case) is really a sight to behold. The 2d art style and animations are absolutely brilliant, and blowing up bugs has never been so satisfying. Look at those colorful blasts of insect guts, yum yum!
This game in particular is one of the more accessable shooters by Cave, meaning it’s easily approachable compared to some of their other shooters in the same style. Well, it’s the only one I’ve taken the time to get into. So far, I’ve spent probably 80 some hours playing it, and I expect to play even more through the future.
The main character is a busty 15 year old named Reko who is on a journey with her beetle friend to save her village from a cancer which occurs every 300 years. As the princess of the village, it’s her duty to take this journey. It’s kind of weird but basically I think she’s supposed to prove to the bugs (by destroying the shit out of them) that she’s worthy to be the next protector of the forest and it’s bug life. Pretty weird huh? I’m not sure what really happens in the ending because it’s in japanese, though.
3 years ago