New Game Review] Gothic Lolita girl shoots enemies and snatches an avalanche of items! Review of "Death Smiles I and II," a bullet-hell shooter with point-scoring fun!

City Connection released Death Smiles I and II on December 16, 2021.

This is a set of two side-scrolling shooters developed since 2007 by Cave, a renowned bullet-hell shooter, and ported to Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One (Xbox One is downloadable only). The series has previously been released for Xbox 360, iOS, and Windows, but this time around, five characters from Cave's smartphone shooter "Gothic is Magic Maidens: Contract Me Quickly! ～The key point is that five characters from "Gothic is a Magical Maiden - Hurry Up and Contract Me!" will be available as DLC and as special edition extras.

Since both games are set in the same world, this is truly a dream collaboration. The characters have strong personalities and are fun to use.

While most shooting games feature fighter planes and mecha battles, the "Death Smiles" series is characterized by a gothic horror world where beautiful girls in gothic lolita outfits face off against demons and the god of death. When the original version of "Death Smiles" was released in arcades in 2007, shooting games were entering a "winter period," and there was a search for ways to attract new users by strengthening the characterization.

In "ESPRED" (1998) and "ESPGALUDA" (2003), the player's plane becomes a boy and girl espers, and in "Dodonpachi Daioujou" (2002), the player's plane is accompanied by a beautiful girl partner. In "Casting Roses" (2005), a sexy army of beautiful women became the enemy. One such effort was the "Death Smiles" series.

The key point of this series is that beautiful girls are transported from the real world to another world, where they learn magic and fight, in an imaginative setting. Gothic is Magic Maidens" (2015), which shares the same worldview as this work, is a smartphone game. ～(2015), which is still active as a smartphone game and has succeeded in attracting a new user base, the significance of the "Death Smiles" series is significant.

Death Smiles I and II," a port of the series to current consoles, includes "Death Smiles" and "Death Smiles IIX Merry Christmas in the Magic World. Death Smiles" includes the original version and the upgraded "Death Smiles Mega Black Label," the original "Arcade," the Xbox 360 port "Normal," and the arranged version "Version 1.1" (in which the optional "messenger demons" that help the girls can always be moved).

And "~IIX" includes the original "Arcade" version and the Xbox360 port "IIX" (the omni-directional "warding" attack launches special bullets when you defeat enemies, but it also provides a chance for high scores) and "Arrange" (you can use the "messenger" to erase enemy bullets and turn them into items for scoring. ) and "Arrangement" (in which players can use "messengers" to erase enemy bullets and turn them into scoring items, raising their "tension meter" and aiming for a high score by erasing enemy bullets that have intensified).

Those who have no experience with the series may be confused by the nine modes presented in the three games, but basically, the newer versions such as "Version 1.1," "IIX," and "Arrangement" are easier to play.

In "Death Smiles: Mega Black Label," the "Death Smiles" mid-boss, Sacula, is now available.

Arrangement" of "Death Smiles IIX Merry Christmas in the Magic World. The "tension meter" at the top of the screen rises when scoring items are taken, and enemy attacks become more intense. However, enemy bullets can be erased and used as scoring items, which increases the risk but also provides a chance for high scores.

The fun of this game lies in the fact that the player must understand the system and create his or her own "power-ups" and "fever," which will be explained later, to create an inflated state of score, while defeating countless enemies at the same time.

Basically, the player shoots left and right using the "Left Shot" and "Right Shot" buttons to defeat enemies. The performance of the shot changes depending on whether you press and hold the button repeatedly or not. Basically, if you press and hold the button continuously, the bullet will fly over a wide area, and vice versa. Enemies attack relentlessly from behind (left side), so it is important to distinguish between left and right shots. If an enemy comes from outside the range of your shot, such as overhead or underfoot, use the "lock shot" function by pressing both buttons at the same time. If an enemy is caught within the expanding circle, a guided missile will fly out, allowing the player to attack a wide area. The exhilaration of using these attacks in different situations and successfully defeating the enemy increases.

This alone is fun as a shooting game, but it becomes even more enjoyable when you understand the system of scoring items.

Scoring items such as rings, crowns, and golden crowns appear when enemies are defeated. Depending on the enemy, the scoring items that appear depend on whether you hit the enemy repeatedly or hold the button down. The system is designed to reward players for their ingenuity.

If you continue to score items and the "item counter" in the lower left corner of the screen reaches 1000, you have a chance to "power up" your shot. During the "power-up" phase, your shots are enhanced and your attacks become more spectacular. In addition, more items will appear, and if you take a lot of items, "Fever" will be triggered and even more items will appear.

The "Fever" feature, in which items that appear on the terrain are broken and many items of one rank lower appear, can be used to earn even more money. This is a unique feeling of collecting at once the many golden crowns that have been broken by the terrain and turned into more crowns and rings. The sense of accomplishment of understanding the system and the pleasure of collecting an avalanche of crowns, rings, and other expensive ornaments stimulate the right and left brains at the same time.

This work is a so-called "bullet-hell shooter," and enemy attacks are quite fierce.

This port of the game includes a "Training" mode, where you can freely set not only the characters and stages, but also the "item counter," the number of "bombs" to erase enemy bullets, and the game rank, so you can practice aspects where you tend to make mistakes, or repeatedly play aspects where you can collect all the scoring items at once. As with the Xbox 360 version, replays can be saved and viewed later. If you connect your console to the Internet, you can download replays of the masters for reference.

The most prominent of the new elements is the addition of five new characters. Lanan and Cattleya from "Gothic is Magic Maidens: Get on with it! ～Ranan, Cattleya, Souffle, Plumeria, Rosalie, and the other "5 Maidens" from "Gothic is a Magical Maidens - Get on with it!

The five maidens can be used in "Death Smiles" and "Mega Black Label" in "Normal" and "Version 1.1". An exclusive demo will be provided, depicting a new story of the "5 Maidens".

Zilva, the boss of this title, plays an important role in "Gothic is Magic Maidens - Hurry Up and Make a Contract! ～The boss of this game, Zilva, also plays an important role in "Gothic is a Magical Maiden: Make a Contract with Me!

The "5 Maidens" are quite interesting in terms of performance.

The energetic Ranan, who manipulates fire, is useful with her straightforward shots and small explosive messenger attacks. Although the "rock shot" has a short range, it is generally easy to handle, so when using the "5 Maidens," I recommend starting with this Lannan or Rosalie, discussed below.

The highlight of Cattleya's water magic is the ice bullets released from the messenger by holding down the button. While its high firepower makes it strong against bosses, its slow rate of fire makes it unsuitable for fighting small fry. The game is a good example of her calm and collected personality, and it is important to choose the right method depending on the situation.

Lannan is relatively straightforward and has no peculiarities.

Cattleya's ice bullets are powerful but slow-firing

The innocent Souffle uses wind magic. The barrage is easy to use, following a fairly wide area, but the bullets that come out of the messenger when held down are a bit special. They bite into the enemy and continue to inflict damage, but there may be a limit to the number of bullets that can exist on the screen, or "all the bullets shot are biting on the screen, so there are no more bullets coming out of the messenger" when dealing with bosses and other enemies of high durability. The firepower seems to be high for this reason, and it is quite exhilarating if the shot is well executed.

Despite her calm personality, Plumeria has a unique performance. She can easily defend against attacks from above and below, which is a weakness of other characters, but she is unique in that she does not fire bullets from the front. Also, the messenger remains in place while the button is held down, making it possible for Plumeria and her messenger to split up different enemies.

Rosalie's performance is easy to understand, perhaps because she is a tsundere. Both the continuous hitting and holding are uniquely different, and the cursor is just right by default. The "lock shot" shoots a bullet with a time lag between activation and impact. This bullet seems to be very powerful, so you want to shoot it into the main body of the boss well.

The bullets from Souffle's messenger continue to bite and damage durable enemies.

Plumeria's push and hold shots go up and down.

Rosalie's "rock shot" sends a high-powered knife flying

The four modes (three titles, nine modes, and "5 Maidens") are presented out of the blue, and the in-game tutorial is rather simple, so those who have never played the series may feel intimidated at first, but this article will give you an overview and allow you to try out the various modes. Once you understand the scoring items and the "power-up" system, you should be able to enjoy the fun of a shooting game where you gradually increase your score.

The boss, "Mad Teddy & Mud Bunny," is an amusement park-like mascot of two characters who beat each other up while ignoring you. This boss is unique to the world of this title and has a personality that sets it apart from mecha shooters.

Both pieces, if played well, can create an avalanche of items and feel good about it!

The special edition "Gothic is Magic Maidens LOVE MAX EDITION" includes download codes for five "Gothic is Magic Maidens" characters, as well as the "Gothic is Magic Maidens 'DEATHSMILES Respect Arrangement' Soundtrack" CD. soundtrack" CD is also enclosed. The design of the package itself is in full "GOMA OTOTSU" color.

This package is sure to satisfy both fans of the "DEATHSMILES" series and "GOMA OTOTOKU" fans, so be sure to pick up a copy.

Product Information

DEATHSMILES I and II

Now on sale

Price: 5,980 yen (including tax) for package version, 9,980 yen (including tax) for special package version (with DLC), 4,950 yen (including tax) for download version, 2,970 yen (including tax) for DLC

Genre: Gothic horror shooter

Compatibility: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One (*Xbox One version is downloadable only)

Players: 1-2 players

CERO: 12 years old and up

Publisher: City Connection