Akai Katana - XBOX 360

It's hard for me NOT to rate this game a 5. Keep in mind, I'm comparing it to a long line of Cave shooters: Guwange, Ketsui, Mushihime, ESP Galuda, Deathsmiles, and the DoDonPachi series. If you like any of those games, chances are you'll like this one even more. Compared to the games already mentioned, it's relatively easy to stay alive. It offers a nice balance in the difficulty department, so you won't find yourself getting killed every 3 seconds. As far as the graphics and music, well... there are online videos for that. However, if you like Deathsmiles, I will say that AK completely surpasses it on every level. It's that simple. Personally, I love the scoring systems, and find them to be clearly outlined and well-refined. Like Ikaruga, there is a definitive set of rules to follow if you want to achieve ultra-high scores.
---
And that's where the real challenge comes in. Akai Katana demands that you challenge yourself to learn the scoring system and achieve new high scores. What does this mean exactly? Well for the casual shooter fan, you may find that after completing stage 1, you have a score of 2 or 3 million. But once you learn how to power up and utilize your power, you can actually reach scores around 80 million. That 100-million mark for your 1st extra life is there for a reason. Anyone who understands and practices within the system will eventually get there. Casual shooter fans won't be able to reach that mark even by accident, since there is a sequence to using your powers and a time limit in which to do so. Playing casually and constantly bombing will simply not reward you in any way, and I doubt you'll ever play the game again after your first 15 minutes. However, those who dig deeper will find that this is surely one of Cave's top tier games. I've spent several months simply replaying levels 1 and 2, over and over, to reach new high scores. When that gets old, there is a second game mode, with a significant change in scoring mechanics and gameplay -- in which you can expect to reach scores of 600 million or more. For purists and collectors, the disc also includes a third mode, an arcade port in standard 4:3 format. Again, this mode is complete with different game mechanics and the arcade soundtrack. Cave designed this game with 16:9 HD home-gaming in mind, and it shows. Beautiful hand-drawn artwork like this (sprite-based) is extremely rare, but hopefully will never die. Overall, I would expect this title to become a massive hit in the shmup world. Now that Cave has shifted their focus to hand-held gaming, be sure to pick up this rare gem.

I'm the kind of person who loves seeing classic sprite-based shooters brought to retail, as I'm more of a collector, so these types of games are nice to have on the shelf, with a thick, colored manual, and a disc itself over a download sitting on your Xbox 360 hard drive.

Some may argue that the sprite graphics and game's length doesn't warrant a $40 price tag, but I disagree entirely. I think there's enough room in the video game industry for retail games with sprite graphics, as I find them to be both beautiful and nostalgic. In addition, while some will argue that shooters are short, I believe that there's enough content on the disc to warrant the price. These games are all about replaying multiple times to become better. We used to pay $40+ for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo games, which are likely some of your best and favorite memories as a gamer, so what's the problem with it now?

IGN argues that $40 is too much when you can buy Skyrim on sale for the same price, but why must one compare the two? Can't both coexist, as they're both completely different? Why must I choose one or the other? Why does IGN think a game like Akai Katana should only be sold as a downloadable game?

It's a shame so many people feel this way.

Akai Katana is hands down one of the most satisfying horizontal shooters I've played in a long time. Great graphics, music, gameplay, etc.

This is a port of a 2010 Japanese arcade game. However, Akai Katana goes far beyond just providing a straight arcade port.

First, there is Origin Mode which is a straight port featuring the original 4:3 aspect ratio, but with remastered graphics for HD televisions.

Next, there is Slash Mode which features new gameplay mechanics, scoring techniques, an extra stage, and has been reconfigured and rebalanced to run in 16:9 widescreen.

Finally, there is Climax Mode which is a rebalanced and harder version of Origin Mode featuring the additions (extra stage, widescreen) from Slash Mode to challenge players who have mastered the other modes.

The gameplay mechanics are a bit complicated to grasp, but are a lot of fun once they click. In a nutshell, it involves flying your aircraft and shooting enemies to release collectable items, summoning a powerful ninja phantom, and cashing in items for massive scoring gains. The game systems are all explained in great detail within the full-color instruction manual. Akai Katana is one of the best looking 2D games out there. Even the game menus are attractive, ensuring that no aspect of this game was left unpolished.

Definitely buy this if you are a shoot-em-up fan, and give it some serious consideration even if you are not. This is a good entry point for newcomers to the genre, and a great way to add some diversity to your game collection.