Deathsmiles is a dark, twisted look into an alternate world populated by missing children. A rift in the real world is responsible for pulling children into this separate reality. Known as Gilverado, this world is separate from our own and frozen in the early 20th century. Dior, an elderly man, decides to take care of the lost children that suddenly appear in Gilverado. Our four heroines, Wyndia, Casper, Follett, and Rosa are among the adopted, and named Angels because of their bravery and powerful magic.
Deathsmiles is the epitome of hell-shooters. Nothing in recent memory can compare to the carnage that fills the screen from start to finish. As one of four Angels, you must battle an endless onslaught of minions that literally flood the screen with bullets. Dodging the incoming bullets and creatures not only takes fast reflexes, but incredible memorization. Shooting is done by pressing the B button to shoot right and pressing the A button to shoot left. This configuration may sound strange at first, but after spending a few minutes surrounded by creatures that parade endlessly in every direction, you begin to appreciate it real fast. The Y button unleashes a devastating bomb that wipes the entire screen clean, but it has limited use and should be used very sparingly.
The game world is broken down into chapters, and those chapters into verses. A world map illustrates the world of Gilverado and the locations (i.e. stages) that can be visited. These stages can be selected in any given order and their difficulty rank can be chosen before being selected. Ultimately, every stage on the map must be cleared regardless of the order chosen.
Each Angel comes with her own familiar (creature), firepower, and story that impacts the ending. The world of Gilverado is laden with imaginative creatures, twisted horrors, and towering behemoths that try to stop you every step of the way. Giant orc beasts jump down from the sky, flocks of wyrns surround you, and ghastly apparitions from Hell attack you relentlessly. The atmosphere, though that of a shooter, feels very reminiscent of Castlevania. Victorian buildings grace the moonlit skies, graveyards crawl with the undead, and caverns are filled with twisted horrors of the damned.
Boss encounters are frantic and memorable. A good example of this is The Buried Baron of The Graveyard. He is a face of decaying flesh that has been imprisoned in rock. If you’re lucky enough to destroy a little over half of his health, his flesh will peal off exposing a skull with bulging eyes. It is demonic imagery like this that makes these encounters so unforgettable.
The only gripe I have about Deathsmiles is that you can’t shoot vertically. Some stages, like The Canyon, have vertical scenes, and it is very difficult to shoot incoming enemies. This is a small gripe, however, and is forgivable.
The U.S. release of Deathsmiles is something quite special. Not only does it contain the original Arcade mode, Ver 1.1. Arranged Mode, and the Xbox 360 mode found in the Japanese release, but it also contains the Mega Black Label content that Japanese gamers had to pay for last year.
The Mega Black Arcade Mode and Mega Black Label 360 Mode both contain exclusive content not available in the other modes. For starters, character Sakura is playable with her own special ending. While playing Sakura, you will encounter an evil version of herself halfway through the story (this adds a variation to the gameplay). She is very powerful with some of the best firepower in the game.
A new difficulty setting known as Level 999 has been added. This setting is for the extreme hardcore; the screen is awash with so many bullets and enemies your eyes will literally twitch from the action. Boss encounters are also ramped up in difficulty too.
The real prize of the Mega Black Label content is the Xbox 360 mode and its improved graphics over Arcade mode. Arcade mode is unaltered and the graphics are blocky, smaller, and lacking in detail. You can definitely see the difference between the two versions at first glance.
The Mega Black label 1.1 Arranged Version offers the most upgrades of all the modes, and it was specifically developed for the Xbox 360. Typically when playing Arcade or any of the Xbox 360 modes, your Angel enters Power-Up Mode when her Item Counter reaches 1000. In this version, your Counter only needs to be at 100. Additionally, your familiar (who is capable of eating suicide bullets from enemies) will turn the bullets it eats into skulls which are collected for points. Plus, you can control you familiar by using the Right Stick or by pressing the B button and moving the D-pad. This new element adds a twist to the gameplay.
Lastly, you can sacrifice part of your overall counter in order to increase your item counter. This is done during boss battles by using the targeting area. There are surprises in store if this isn’t done correctly, though.
Deathsmiles is a feast of auditorial delights. The music is a collection of orchestrated gothic rock scores that range in mood. The chorus of eerie voices that sing in the background sends shivers down your spine, and the heavy guitar riffs lick sharply at your ears while an organ plays on. This is something that must be heard to be appreciated. The music is chaotic, evil, and downright epic in scale.
Deathsmiles is one of those games that comes along once in a lifetime. It’s a unique experience that US gamers hardly ever have the chance to experience. The US release, aptly named Deathsmiles Limited Edition, comes with a collector’s box, a music CD, and a Deathsmiles Xbox 360 Faceplate. Deathsmiles releases on June 29th, 2010 at your local video game retailer. Buy it. Own it. Enjoy it. Don’t let this one slip away.
Mike ‘STGuy1040’ Pittaro
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Cave
Publisher: Aksys
Developer’s– website
#1
I’m excited.