Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Deathsmiles got on Game Forest GF today and this one sits at a genuinely interesting crossroads in arcade history. Developed and released by Cave in late 2007, specifically on October 19 of that year, Deathsmiles is a horizontally scrolling bullet hell shooter, (Marvel Database) which was already unusual for Cave since the studio almost always made vertical scrollers. Lead programmer Tsuneki Ikeda explained that the horizontal orientation was chosen because it is the easiest to play and most attractive graphically, aiming to attract lighter users beyond hardcore shoot em up enthusiasts. (eBay)
Cave modeled the characters around the gothic lolita theme, trying to make use of a then popular Japanese fashion style, with the team's idea being to apply a new artistic take to a shooting game while lending itself to creating cute designs at the same time. (Marvel Database) You pick one of five magic wielding angel characters and fight through the gothic fantasy world of Gilverado, choosing which stages to tackle and which difficulty rank to play each one at before you enter.
Instead of the typical lives system in traditional shooters, the player is given a pool of life points, with one point lost when hit by a bullet and half a point lost when colliding with an enemy. Life points can be restored by items, and the maximum increases when reaching certain score milestones, defaulting at 20 and 45 million points. (Steam Community) That system is exactly what you see on the attract screen in this footage.
The Mega Black Label was a limited arcade edition of the game released in Japan, with only 200 copies produced in total. It added Sakura as a playable character, a new Crystal Shrine stage, and a Level 999 difficulty level. (Marvel Database) This was also the first Cave shooter released in North America on a console, (Marvel Database) when Aksys Games brought the Xbox 360 version over in June 2010.
Let me know in the comments which character you always picked. Subscribe to Game Forest GF for retro gaming content every single day.
#deathsmiles #cave #arcadegames #retrogaming #classicgaming #arcadeclassics #bullethelll #shmup #2000sgaming #retroarcade #oldschoolgaming #vintagegaming #gaminghistory #gothicgaming #shootemup #youtubeshorts #gaming
Deathsmiles got on Game Forest GF today and this one sits at a genuinely interesting crossroads in arcade history. Developed and released by Cave in late 2007, specifically on October 19 of that year, Deathsmiles is a horizontally scrolling bullet hell shooter, (Marvel Database) which was already unusual for Cave since the studio almost always made vertical scrollers. Lead programmer Tsuneki Ikeda explained that the horizontal orientation was chosen because it is the easiest to play and most attractive graphically, aiming to attract lighter users beyond hardcore shoot em up enthusiasts. (eBay)
Cave modeled the characters around the gothic lolita theme, trying to make use of a then popular Japanese fashion style, with the team's idea being to apply a new artistic take to a shooting game while lending itself to creating cute designs at the same time. (Marvel Database) You pick one of five magic wielding angel characters and fight through the gothic fantasy world of Gilverado, choosing which stages to tackle and which difficulty rank to play each one at before you enter.
Instead of the typical lives system in traditional shooters, the player is given a pool of life points, with one point lost when hit by a bullet and half a point lost when colliding with an enemy. Life points can be restored by items, and the maximum increases when reaching certain score milestones, defaulting at 20 and 45 million points. (Steam Community) That system is exactly what you see on the attract screen in this footage.
The Mega Black Label was a limited arcade edition of the game released in Japan, with only 200 copies produced in total. It added Sakura as a playable character, a new Crystal Shrine stage, and a Level 999 difficulty level. (Marvel Database) This was also the first Cave shooter released in North America on a console, (Marvel Database) when Aksys Games brought the Xbox 360 version over in June 2010.
Let me know in the comments which character you always picked. Subscribe to Game Forest GF for retro gaming content every single day.
#deathsmiles #cave #arcadegames #retrogaming #classicgaming #arcadeclassics #bullethelll #shmup #2000sgaming #retroarcade #oldschoolgaming #vintagegaming #gaminghistory #gothicgaming #shootemup #youtubeshorts #gaming
