Presented by CAVE

Since many folk seem to be in such a shooter mood, I figure a little thread dedicated to CAVE, one of the finest developers of said shooting games, is rather appropriate.

1995
http://www.vsa-ag.ch/cave/DonPachi/Marquee.jpg

Cave's first shooter to be released was DonPachi, the first of now four -Pachi games. With the release of DonPachi, Cave established themselves as a no-nonsense, all manic shooter developer. DP introduced the now infamous combo meter, a system requiring that you kill enemies quickly [but not too quickly] and in an orderly fashion to retain your chain.


1997
http://www.vsa-ag.ch/cave/DoDonpachi/title.jpg

DonPachi was quickly followed up by a much improved sequel, aptly [?] titled DoDonpachi. Many folk, myself included, consider DDP to be one of the finest shooters in existence. DDP is a brilliant combination of huge bullet storms, epic boss fights, and refined comboing. A timeless example of the genre's greatest offerings.

1998
http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/esprade...g/esp_logo.gif
http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/feveron/feve_img/logo.jpg

1998 saw the release of two Cave shooters, ESP Ra. De. and Dangun Feveron, each unique in its own light. ESP Ra. De. is Cave's first of two 'people shooters.' It features an incredibly unique and fairly complex scoring system involving the use of two main weapons to destroy targets. ESP has some of the most downright amazing bullet patterns, massive boss battles, swift music, and a slick visual style.

Dangun Feveron is probably Cave's kookiest shooter. One cannot deny Feveron its brilliant atmosphere with its disco theme. Feveron is all about speed, disco music, dancing disco people, and collecting disco men items for score.

1999
http://www.vsa-ag.ch/cave/Guwange/title.jpg

Cave continued to pump out shooters at a fairly constant rate when they released Guwange, their second 'people shooter.' Guwange is yet another example of Cave's sheer uniqueness and ingenuity. Guwange features characters that actually run along the ground, as opposed to the normal flying. The game has a kind of feudal Japan theme with a cast of very memorable characters and an absolutely incredible soundtrack. Guwange is probably Cave's most stylish shooter, but it certainly does not lack in the gameplay area.

2001
http://www.capcom.co.jp/newproducts/...a/img/logo.gif

Progear no Arashi. Cave's very first [and last?] horizontal shooter, on the CPS-2, no less. Cave takes everything they've done and turns it on its side in Progear: massive bullet patterns, small hit boxes, and two button gameplay. PnA features some awe-inspiring bullet formations, sweet level and character design, and fantastic boss fights. Progear also has a very obscure scoring system involving the capturing of jewels and stones.

http://www.vsa-ag.ch/cave/icon_DoDonpachi2.jpg

2001 also saw the release of "DoDonpachi II: Bee Storm." Cave licensed out the DonPachi name to IGS who saw fit to nearly murder the title with their barely mediocre attempt at a shooter. I lost the link to a review of the game but hopefully someone out there has it on hand.

2002
http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/daioujo/dai_img/title.jpg
http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/ketsui/...img/rogo_g.jpg

They never stop. DoDonpachi dai-ou-jou was released to the masses only to slaughter them shortly thereafter. dai-ou-jou keeps the DonPachi franchise tooting along with even fiercer gamplay than its predecessor. Bigger combos, more enemies, more bullets. This is what players call 'bullet hell.'

Ketsui was released not too long ago and is yet another game unlike any of Cave's previous efforts. I do not know all that much about the game other than it has a scoring system involving killing enemies up close and quickly to collect score boxes. It's a another two button-er and features some Progear-like scroll shifiting.



That's Cave in short, I suppose.

Oh yea, they did a puzzle game in 1998, but I have no idea about the specifics.

Links for screens, artwork, etc.
http://www.cave.co.jp/
http://www.vsa-ag.ch/cave/

Great thread. My single experience with Cave is, of course, DDP DoJ. It has become, is such a short time, my favorite game. Often I find myself sitting down to play a game, and no matter how far I've previously progressed in the RPG of the month, and no matter how close I am to collecting everything in my most recent platformer/treasure-hunt outing, DDP is what I choose, because everything else can wait.

I like every single one of their games, and thats the only developer in the world I can say that for (though i havent played ketsui yet, but i'm sure its good).

I've played brief amounts of DP and DDP, as well as a decent (by my standards) amount of Esp RaDe. So far, those are probably my three favorite shmups. :)

I'm still torn between buying Soul Calibur 2 or DDP dai-ou-jou... =/

Quote:

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Originally posted by Click_Stick
Dangun Feveron is probably Cave's kookiest shooter. One cannot deny Feveron its brilliant atmosphere with its disco theme. Feveron is all about speed, disco music, dancing disco people, and collecting disco men items for score.

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DISCO?! That's awesome. I need this game.

UoPoko (1998)
http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/uopoko/uo_img/uopoko.gif

Cave's puzzle game. This follows a Battle Balls concept by eliminating bubbles in groups of 3 or more. The distance the launched ball travels depends on how long you hold the joystick. (All you need is the DOWN switch for this game). It was also ported to Japanese cell phones.

http://www.cave.co.jp/mobile/ge-sen/..._img/poko2.jpg http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/uopoko/uo_img/uoscr1.jpg

If you didn't know already, the "star" of this game is also a secret character in Dangun Feveron.

http://www.cave.co.jp/arcade/uopoko/uo_img/cat.gif

i wish progear was available on mame.( i don't think i'm going to be buying any arcade machines any time soon.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Captain Vegetable
DISCO?! That's awesome. I need this game.

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another thing about dangun feveron.. it is easily the fastest shooter i've ever played. the scoring system is nerve-wracking.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Tain
I'm still torn between buying Soul Calibur 2 or DDP dai-ou-jou... =/

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As was I, so I ended up buying them both. But I'd get dai-ou-jou over SC2 just b/c it should be the harder of the two to get, though both are pretty much easily accessible right now.

My favorite Cave shooters are DoDonpachi, DDP Dai-ou-jou, and ESP Ra. De. Can't go wrong with these three. :cool:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Click_Stick
2001 also saw the release of "DoDonpachi II: Bee Storm." Cave licensed out the DonPachi name to IGS who saw fit to nearly murder the name with their barely mediocre attempt at a shooter. I lost the link to a review of the game but hopefully someone out there has it on hand.

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maybe you're thinking of http://www.stickycarpet.com/dam/dodon2.htm

Gotta love the voices in Feveron. "Bring it on down!"


About Ketsui~Kizuna Jigoku Tachi....

Click touched on the concepts behind it. Now I'll go a bit further.
The gimmick in this game is largely like Progear since you you have lock-on options. What's interesting about this game is that it resemble a few of Cave's other games in some way or another. Once again, the main "technique" is Lock Shot, where your options lock-on to the enemy and your main fighter spurts a laser straight ahead.

This game also has a Feveron touch in it since you catch score items. The way this work is by catching boxes that are numberd from 1 to 5 (1 is small and 5 is big). If the enemy is far from you when you destroy it, you get a '1' box. In-your-face kills get you a '5'. The scoring incentive is to catch as high a number as you can. The total number is also your score multiplier for when you take out the boss. When you catch a box (other than 1), you can rake in boxes of the same number by using Lock Shot (Hold down the button if you didn't know by now). Everything you destroy with Lock Shot will give you the same number box for a limited time. (Almost exactly like how the multiplier works in ESPRa.de.) Also any enemy you destroy with Lock Shot will net you its point value times your current multiplier.

http://www.boomspeed.com/gaijin81/game/ketsui_disp1.jpg

From looking at the maps, you'll see that some stages scroll in directions other than forward. This is a very nice touch since it adds to the suspense. In stge 3, the screen will scroll backwards because you have you have a big-ass battleship heading at you with all kinds of bullets everywhere.

If you happened to be a fan of the DDPDOJ look you'll be happy to hear that it's prevalent here too. Wait until you see the first boss come out of the baseball stadium!This game is beautiful, aside from the pink-and-blue patterns that make your life miserable. By the way, Joker Jun didn't do the artwork this time, but rather Tomoharu Saitou did this game's art. Kinda interesting to know that "main" character is named Alice. The endings are nice. (if not better than DOJ)

The music must have been done by the folks who did the DDPDOJ tracks. It seems to follow the same style, but still be original. (During the beta test, DDPDOJ's stage 2 track was Ketsui's 2nd stage track!)

This game is great. Definitely worth whatever coins you can drop in it. Though it may not be forgiving on the bullets, the chaining is not as hard here.

Hope that provides a little more insight.