is a

bullet hell Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...

shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

video game developed by

Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

that was released on August 20, 2010 in arcades. A

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

port, , was released on the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

on May 26, 2011 in Japan.

Rising Star Games Rising Star Games Limited is a British video game publisher based in Hitchin. History Rising Star Games was founded on 10 July 2004 by Martin Defries as a joint venture between Bergsala Holding and Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment ...

released the game in North America and Europe on May 15, 2012. It is the fourth horizontal

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

game from the company, the prior three being ''

Progear ''Progear'' is a 2001 Shoot 'em up#Types, horizontally scrolling Shoot 'em up#Bullet hell, bullet hell Arcade game, arcade video game developed by Cave (company), CAVE and published by Capcom for the CP System II Arcade system board, board. Set i ...

'', ''

Deathsmiles is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game by Japanese developer Cave, released in late 2007. It has heavy occult and gothic influences. It is the second Cave shooter to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor (the first being ...

'', and ''

Deathsmiles II is a bullet hell game by Cave (company), Cave, released in 2009. It is the third Cave shoot 'em up to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor (preceded by ''Progear'' and the original ''Deathsmiles''). ''Deathsmiles II'' is also the firs ...

''. The game's soundtrack was composed by

Ryu Umemoto was a Japanese video game music composer, born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is known for composing soundtracks to various visual novel and shoot 'em up video games since the 1990s, for several companies including FamilySoft, C's Ware, ...

. City Connection re-released the game as ''Akai Katana Shin'' for

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, PC and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

on December 15, 2022.

Gameplay

Plot

Set in a parallel world resembling Japan's Taishō period, the people have discovered the powerful Blood Swords, the titular Akai Katana. Requiring human sacrifices to unleash their immense destructive power, these swords have been used by the empire to crush neighbouring countries. However, all the bloodshed and power gained through sacrificing close family members has made some of the swordsmen reconsider. With new fighter planes and the powered up swords at their disposal, this small band of rebels now fight back against the tyrannical empire.

Reception

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave the game scores of 8, 8, 8 and 9 from four reviewers, adding up to a total score of 33 out of 40. As Rising Star's inaugural U.S. title, Tech-Gaming found the game a "promising offering, offering stateside shoot ‘em up fans an exceptional entry into an increasingly niche genre.", and praised the title's depth of play mechanics.

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

gave the game a score of 8 out of 10, describing it as "a well-crafted dose of over-the-top bullet-hell

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

gave the game a score of 9 out of 10, concluding that "you may just find yourself ascending to bullet hell heaven if you dedicate some time to learning the game’s obscure but absolutely thrilling mechanics." ''

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...

'' described it as a "must-have blaster" for the Xbox 360, praising the gameplay, the "masterpiece"

2D graphics 2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. It may refer to the branch of computer s ...

, and the "fantastic"

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock super ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

soundtrack.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

praised the challenging gameplay as well as Umemoto's "insane

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

" music as possibly "soundtrack of the year," concluding that "anyone interested in the genre should pick this one up and reward said risk with a small swirling bundle of gold."

Notes

References

External links

* {{CAVE games 2010 video games Alternate history video games Arcade video games Cave (company) games Video games about ninja Scrolling shooters Shoot 'em ups NESiCAxLive games Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Ryu Umemoto Xbox 360 games Rising Star Games games