DoDonPachi Resurrection (2008)

This is fun to run through on all the main modes, very solid at a lot of the base-level things I’m looking for out of this kind of game. You definitely get some thrilling bullet patterns to weave your way through, and lots of explosive action, as expected from Cave.

Though the game has some pretty approachable easier modes, it does have some quirks that make it tough for a true beginner. I bounced off it after a few hours, but after some time with other Cave shmups, I came back and was immediately more able to appreciate how fun it was and have a great time.

Aesthetically the game is relatively in line with older DonPachi games, with nice backgrounds at points, though generally not a game I am coming to for art direction. Random anime girl mechs as bosses definitely feels a bit out of place, but I suppose it gives the game some weird personality.

Overall this is a solid entry in the DonPachi series that I’m glad I was willing to take some time away from and come back to. Maybe not one of my absolute top favorites, but a game I feel I could pick up and enjoy any time. It’s borderline overwhelming for a true newcomer, but a solid pickup for someone who already has a bit of familiarity with the genre and wants a PC game that’s packed with different modes and stuff.

I think it would be fair to say I'm a bit of a CAVE stan. Going through their catalogue over the past year or so has exposed me to some of the best games I have ever played. Mushihemesama Futari, Ketsui, Dodonpachi Dai-ou-jou, Deathsmiles, ESPra.de - I'd argue all easily stand among the best arcade games i've ever played. All of which share razor-sharp focus in their game design, excellent art direction (with by far the best use of digitised sprites you'll see), and usually an amazing soundtrack.

So, when Dodonpachi Ressurection - sequel to the incredible Dai-ou-jou - has none of that it's as confusing as it is dissapointing. Despite the experience and staff behind Ressurection, its an incredibly disjointed, unfocused experience throughout.

The art style is the most obvious issue. Blatantly caught between being a shooting game with waifus and a more traditionally military-styled shooter, it completely fucks up the balance - choosing to have their waifus only as transforming mecha boss battles which basically come out of nowhere after shooting hundreds of very normal enemies the rest of the time. The rest of the aesthetic doesnt help, with backgrounds and sprite work a lot more average than the rest of CAVE's 2000's output which leaves the game with a severe lack of visual identity for the most part.

Then there's the gameplay - which suffers from a similar lack of focus - most evident with the dozens of variations on the game you have access to upon booting up the PC version. Even the main mode, 1.5, feels a bit underdeveloped, and mediocre stage design of the base game hurts even the best modes (Black Label and Arrange A). The sheer variety the game has on offer is it's biggest boon and makes it very good value compared to some other shmups on the face of thing, but not a single one of the dozens of leaderboards feels close to as well directed as the single leaderboard Dai-ou-jou or Ketsui have.

Granted, it's not awful. I feel a lot of the issues I have with Ressurection come from how it compares to other CAVE games - most of which are a pain to play - rather than it's own merits, and it does have some, chiefly it's large amount of modes and accessibility, with some variations on it's modes carrying particularly low difficulty for a cave game. But after playing a bit of CAVE's back catalogue, it's probably the weakest shmup of theirs i've played.

If you want a CAVE shmup on Steam, get Deathsmiles and Mushihemesama. Ressurection is ok, but in a field of very special games, it's not even close.