“When death smiles, lolis smile back”…again.  Welcome to Hell’s Merry Christmas.

The original DeathSmiles was one of the first games from Japanese developer CAVE to make the trip overseas with a full localization, courtesy of niche publisher Aksys Games.  It was also the first game from the developer that I purchased, having gotten hooked after stumbling upon it in a smoky Japanese game center back in 2008.  The game’s US release last year on the Xbox 360 was well-received, particularly by fans of the genre. For whatever reason, Aksys decided to pass on localizing/releasing this sequel – which up until a few days ago was stuck in region-locked purgatory over in Japan at a retail price of approximately $80.  Thanks to CAVE’s efforts in promoting their shooters overseas, the game has become available to an international audience through Microsoft’s Games on Demand service for $29.99, albeit in fully unlocalized form.

Game: DeathSmiles II X
Publisher: CAVE
Developer: CAVE
Genre: Shmup
Price: $29.99 (Games on Demand Only)
Verdict: A solid arcade shooter from CAVE that is helped significantly by the enhancements in the home version.
Cons: No localization makes it inaccessible for newbies, 3D graphics are adequate but CAVE excels with sprites.

Acquired via Purchase

The arcade version of DeathSmiles II was released to Japanese arcades in 2009, and came home to the Xbox 360 in Japan last year with the addition of high-definition graphics, new characters, new levels, and extra modes.  The story of DeathSmiles II has the Angels from the first game (along with a couple of new additions) collecting magical wish-granting notes stolen on Christmas Eve by a demon named (get ready for this)  “Satan Claws.”  And yes, he looks like a deranged version of Santa Claus… some of you may begin to realize why Aksys passed on this one.  Still, if you care about the characters from the first game, there are a few surprising plot twists during the story, though truthfully, the plot is little more than an excuse for the Angels to take to the air and do what they do best: blast lots of evil things with their magical powers.

DeathSmiles IIX is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up, where enemies can come from either the right or left side of the screen.  The game starts with a player selecting one of several young witches with different shot patterns.  The player then navigates the witch through a set of quirky, creepy, and sometimes slightly disturbing levels on the way to defeating the final boss.  Like most shmups, the actual length of the game is short but the fun is in the replay value.  Users can select the levels in any order and have a choice of several different difficulties for each stage, with the latter ones being absolutely manic in terms of enemy and bullet density.  The game plays very similar to the original, which is a good thing.

The scoring system is similar to the first game, but slightly different.  Each character can collect items from damaged/destroyed enemies that increase either the counter (which determines when a player can activate power-up mode) or a multiplier (for increasing score potential).  Destroying enemies with rapid-fire shots will increase the counter, while destroying them with the laser (holding down the shot button) will increase the multiplier.  When the counter reaches 1000, a power-up mode can be activated that clears the screen of bullets, boosts scoring potential exponentially, and improves damage output.  The downside to power-up mode is that enemies release homing bullets when destroyed; these can be cleared by releasing the shot button before power-up mode wears off.  There are also a limited number of bombs provided to the player that damage enemies and clear the screen if things get too messy, at the expense of scoring potential.

CAVE is known for its use of 2D graphics, and the original DeathSmiles II was their first attempt at a full 3D shmup. As far as the original arcade game is concerned, it was certainly easy to tell that this was the case.  However, the same cannot be said for the Xbox 360 version of the game.  DeathSmiles IIX‘s  high definition graphics and full widescreen support add a much-needed layer of polish to the proceedings.  Though the graphics are still simplistic by modern standards, DeathSmiles IIX is not an ugly game by any means.  I do wish CAVE would have kept the game fully 2D as I have a tremendous amount of respect for their artists.  The worlds of the original DeathSmiles popped to life, and the locations in the sequel feel a bit sparse in comparison.  The levels are as varied as ever, though, ranging from a Christmas village to a zombie-infested haunted house to a warped version of an amusement park.  The extras – a mini-game using music and backgrounds from the first game, a port of the original arcade game (experts say it’s a bit spotty), and an arrange mode with a modified scoring system – are icing on an already delicious peppermint-flavored cake of a game.  If you like shmups, CAVE makes some of the best, and this certainly won’t disappoint. Just remember that this release of the game contains NO LOCALIZATION (despite being on the North America Games on Demand service), so other than some basic options, everything is in Japanese.  Then again, most fans of the genre are probably used to that by now, so it’s really not that big of a deal.  This is a solid addition to any shmup fan’s library, particularly fans of the original game.  Like most of CAVE’s shooters, it’s quirky, but fun.  Those who look past the sugary exterior will find a lot of replay value here.

GrE Grade: B+

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