Customer Reviews

Castle Shikigami 2

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is going to sound odd but it actually makes perfect sense that I rated fun at 5 stars and overall at 3. Castle Shikigami 2 is the sequel to Mobile Light Force 2 (don't ask how that works, no one knows) and is essentiall a vertical scrolling shooter. You can play as one of 8 differenct characters each with different special abilities and "stories". You have three different ways to attack, there is the traditional shot the varies among characters as to what exactly it looks like and power ratings. There are also bombs that clear the screen and make you temporarally invincible. Then there are the special abilities. This is the big difference that should be taken into account when selecting your character. There are two versions of these abilities for each character but you must decide between one. For instance one character will summon a demon to attack enemies while all you have to do is dodge, while another will create giant swords that you can spin around you freely in defense.

Now the reason I put story in quotation marks earlier is that the game is so horribly translated that you can get some sense that they tried to have a story but failed in the localization. Basically it is like they tried to translate word for word without attempting to have it make snese. While this can be irritating, more than anything it is hilarious and just makes me love the game more. The best part, the game is fully voiced and only a few of the voice actors tried to make the script make sense. So what you get are some oddly nonsensical one liners that make so little sense that you can't help but laugh. A good example of this is the second boss. You defeat her as one character and the end conversation proceeds with her saying "I hate me. Men stink of sweat. You so cool..." then she dies. Makes no sense but is still amusing. Not to mention that every conversation is different depending on the character you play as (and even character combinations in multiplayer) which makes the possibilities quite interesting.

As far as the difficulty goes, this is one of the hardest games I have ever played. I've been playing games for nearly my entire life since atari and I can only beat this game on Very Easy with one character. The screen becomes so difficult to see at times that dodging bullets will be virtually impossible. Thus you have no choice but to either die or use a bomb. And you only get three lives per continue, and one hit kills. Plus, if you are playing multiplayer, you share continues (so your friend better be pretty good!).

Overall, if you like a good challenge and can find amusement in the horrendously translated (and voice acted to boot!) then you will love this game. It is both hilarious and frustrating.... and cheap too. So if you feel daring, give it a go.

Castle Shikigami 2 is a must have for anyone itching for a return to games like Raiden or R-Type or even Galaga. it's very itcy triggered, and the x8 bonus makes sure you try to skirt danger as closely as possible. The story is basically nonexistent, and the english dub of the cutscenes are not only nonsensical (but hillarious) engrish but are also recorded on bad equipment (I swear it's a Radio Shack mic, and it doesn't mix properly with the rest of the sound.) but they keep the japanese for the actual shooting segments so you're not snorting milk out your nose while you're trying to kill stuff. Unless you're still laughing at the cutscene before the boss fight. also, it supports screen rotation, so if you can turn your TV sideways(or maybe lay on your side just right), you can enlarge it to fill up the whole tv screen with shooting action. All this adds up to a very nice kitschy package for a suggested price of $9.99. Make Purchase for Happy Time!!

This is a very hard game and is obviously a shoot em up. I bought this game because it was cheap. Im an RPG gamer so this game may be a bit easier to those veterans of shoot em ups.

The thing thats interesting about the game is theres 8 different characters to choose from all with unique strengths and weaknesses.

Buy this game if you appreciate a challenge AND can take some time to appreciate the different characters. If you dont take at least 30-60 minutes to learn the differences between each of the characters, dont even bother. Also dont bother if you want an easy game.