I love two-dimensional shooters. Some of you may refer to
them as shmups, a silly shortening of the phrase “shoot-em-up”. I never
understood this because I don’t go around referring to beat-em-ups as bemups.
But whatever, just this once I’ll do you all a turn and say I love…shmups. Japanese developer Cave
The story behind the dreaded Akai Katana is about what you’d
expect from the genre. It’s depressing, insane, and probably will make you
wonder why you’re fighting at all. During a reconstructive era in Japan a
powerful mineral was unearthed. Not only could it power anything better than
coal or electricity, it could also be used to forge katanas. It seems that when
these dark-blades are used to kill a human being their souls can become trapped
and they become phantoms. All you really need to know about phantoms is that
they’re practically invincible, can summon battleships out of thin-air, and
have mastered chemistry to the point where they turn bullets into gold.
So on one side we have the evil empire that uses the katanas
and phantoms to spread tyranny and oppression. On the other side we have six
heroes, who have paid the greatest of sacrifices in order to become strong
enough to stand against the empire. Sumire Asaka, Kikyou Saionji, and Suzuran
Sanada have given their lives to the katana for the power of the phantom. In
order to lead them to victory they must be guided by three other people, whose
lives have also been irrecoverably touched by the katanas. Botan Saionji, a
woman who lost her sight and her brother Kikyou. Shion Kobayawaka, whose deal
with the katana cost her youth. Finally there is Tsubaki Shinjo, who decided to
stop wearing women’s clothing. One of these three ladies didn’t have to
sacrifice all that much.
You’re not given much time to dwell on the melodrama since
your ship is going to be the target of multiple battalions and the hundreds of
millions of bullets they’re capable of drowning the screen with. Your goal is
to make the best of this awful situation by scoring as many points as possible.
You could survive and win the war, most likely you won’t. Your hopes and dreams
will come crashing to earth alongside the one of three ships you were piloting.
Over the course of five or six stages – depending on which of the three modes
you play – you’ll have to come to grips with the fact that winning is not a
right videogames are supposed to give you. You must master the various sub-systems
while forging a relationship between a phantom and its guide that is stronger
than any katana. Even then you likely won’t survive…so just try to have a bit
of fun okay?
The three modes of play in Akai Katana are known as Origins,
Climax, and Slash. Origins mode is as you’ve already guessed the original mode
that was found in the arcades. Climax mode is the same in terms of scoring
mechanics but it was designed with wide-screen in mind. The additional
real-estate can make things a bit more forgiving for the player. Slash mode is
the obligatory console-exclusive mode though I’ve read a port* to the arcades is
being worked on. This is a really good idea because I think Slash mode is the
most entertaining of the bunch.
Each stage of Akai Katana involves the usual mix of tiny
ships that yield to the slightest amount of firepower and much larger vehicles
that can take and receive punishment like no other. Mid-bosses and end-bosses
are also to be expected and chances are fairly high a lot of bullets will be
involved as well. The ship you choose effects the weapon-type as well as the
phantom you control. Each ship also comes equipped with a “sacred spirit” aka
an option. Manipulating this option is important as it can gather energy, which
you will need to keep your phantom powered. Ships and phantoms have an
offensive and defensive stance. When you’re holding down the shot button you’re
on the offensive but when you’re tapping the shot button or pressing down
auto-fire you’re playing defensively. As per more recent genre traditions you
also get a stock of three bombs for those situations you can’t handle. If you
really wanted to you could probably get through this game while completely
ignoring your phantom. Your score and sanity will suffer however as this game
revolves around using their powers to make the battlefield your own.
Your immediate goal in Akai Katana is to turn the most
hopeless situations into brief shining moments of pure bliss. Pure bliss is
attained through the mass accumulation of wealth. In Slash mode you destroy
enemies or maneuver the option onto them to acquire energy. While doing so you
also have to collect enough steel orbs, which can be done through defensive
play. When you believe you’ve attained enough steel orbs that’s when you summon
the phantom. As a phantom you must then seek out the perfect opportunities to
fire those steel orbs and collect katanas in the process. When you think you’ve
got enough blades you release them all in one devastating attack. Timing,
location, and aim are everything because overwhelming katana destruction
happens only a few times each stage. It’s an impressive sight to behold as
bullets and enemy alike are destroyed and the explosions are pure shiny
brilliance. There are other factors to account for such as how many hits you’ve
managed up to that moment, when to use this ability during boss-fights, and so
on. You could read a guide or watch a superplay but you can’t hope to replicate
this difficult yet rewarding process until you’ve played and replayed the game
an innumerable amount of times.
What can I say about Origins mode? When I first got the game
I spent a large amount of time in the Slash mode and really enjoyed it. When I
started Origins mode however my world had turned upside-down, inside-out, and all
that I had known had become unknown. I was no longer the same person. I went to
work, argued with my boss, and nearly got thrown out. At home I’d pace between
the windows and the mirror, everything I saw just made me confused and
disgusted. I then considered quitting videogames, this whole review business,
and possibly starting a blog about bowling. At least when I hit the pins little
revenge-pins wouldn’t appear and gold wouldn’t start pouring down the lanes if
I ever got a strike. I don’t like Origins mode.
Just like in Slash mode you have to seek out the worst
possible situations and try to profit from them. However what you want to do
this time is when you become a phantom you want to gather as many bullets as
possible. While in defensive stance you will block all bullets and push them
around. The trick is to shove as many bullets in the enemy’s general vicinity
before you destroy them so all that neon ammo turns to precious gold. However
you have to do this with while in offensive stance, and that means not being
protected from all of the bits of death you’ve been juggling for the past
several seconds.
Again while the process seems only slightly convoluted you
have to take into account the fact that you won’t get it right the first,
second, or even the 437th time. Part of this is because after you
get the gold you have to hold onto it. You must keep the fire button held down
and allow the gold to orbit you like some phantom planet. For reasons only
explained by fantasy science this causes the gold to grow in size and become
more valuable. If you hold on for too long the gold eventually disappears. Even
for a Cave shooter the scoring system behind Origins mode feels unnecessarily
obtuse. Slash mode requires a bit of work to get the most out of it as well but
at least the results of a well-timed strike are immediate as the Xbox 360
nearly chokes from having so much gold on-screen. With Origins mode there’s no
time to take in your accomplishments as you’re likely already building up
energy for your next bullet-planet-swirling-gold-phantasm fever.
I’m at the point where my biggest concern when playing is
not how I just missed death by millimeters. Instead all I think about is how I
mistimed my switch to phantom and cost myself tens of millions of points. Even
the boss battles do nothing for me. While the idea of enemy phantoms that draw
battleships out of thin air to overwhelm the player sounds interesting the
actual fights simply aren’t entertaining. It’s like not enough is done to
establish the importance of this battle. These bosses might be high-ranking
generals or have some history with the main characters but to me they’ve done
nothing to get me interested in seeing them killed. As difficult as the final
boss is I think he is quite unimpressive due to his laughable design. He can
fill a screen with bullets and obliterate me many times over but he’s still a
loser with two katanas and a bad haircut.
Overall Akai Katana leaves me conflicted. If you’re the type
who can appreciate scoring systems that are loaded with depth you’ll find a lot
to love about this game. However the possibility exists that you may find
yourself dissatisfied and maybe even a little empty. It’s as if Cave somehow
managed to take the thrill out of a 2D shooter. That feeling of joy that can
only come from having death within shaving distance is gone. In its place is
regret and frustration, because your placement and timing was off by the
slightest smidgen. Of the Cave releases that are available this generation I
consider this one to be the weakest. It’s not a bad game at all, but it doesn’t
create that fire that I yearn for when I sit down with a 2D shooter.
*This is an old review.
*This is an old review.
