Duality

Let me first say that Castle Shikigami 2 (CS2 from now on) is a shoot’em up (shmup). And when it comes to shmups, you either love’em or hate’em. So if you love’em, stop reading right now and pick this game up (it’s only $10!); and if you hate’em, you’re probably better off renting or borrowing it for a one night stand.

Welcome to Bullet Hell
Like other shmups, the goal of CS2 is simple: shoot down anything that moves. But of course, it’s not really that simple. While you’re shooting, you’ll have to dodge enemy bullets—something that the game gives you plenty of. In the later levels, the screen is often filled with so many bullets that the game will lag. In any other game, that would be bad; but in shmups, anything that gives you more time to react is always welcome.

CS2 features a cast of seven characters, each with their own shot pattern, bomb attack, and Shikigami attack. Shikigami attacks (enabled by holding down the shoot button) vary quite a bit from character to character. Ko calls a spirit which automatically attacks enemies; Kim projects three swords around him (type-1 variant); Nigi creates a barrier that reflects bullets back at her enemies (ala GigaWing). Shikigami attacks slow down a character’s movement, but all coins generated when enemies are destroyed are automatically collected.

Live Dangerously
What sets CS2 apart from other shmups is its Tension Bonus System (TBS). The TBS rewards players for putting themselves in harm’s way—in this case, being close to enemies or bullets. The closer you get, the more points you get (up to 8x) and the more coins spewed out from enemies you destroy. As a handy indicator, your character’s normally-green aura will change to yellow, orange, and finally red. When your character’s aura is red, his shot pattern will also be powered up.

The TBS works incredibly well with Shikigami attacks. Without the TBS, Shikigami attacks might go unused because of their start-up delay (0.5 seconds approx.) and how much characters slow down while using them. With the TBS, Shikigami attacks become indispensible when going for high scores. As I mentioned before, coins are automatically collected from enemies destroyed by Shikigami attacks. Thus, to maximize your score, you’d want to jump from bullet to bullet while using your Shikigami attack to destroy enemies—no easy feat.

Concluding Comments
In case you’re wondering, the graphics and sound of CS2 are average, but both are just icing. The cake is the gameplay and CS2’s gameplay is excellent. The TBS combined with Shikigami attacks introduce risk/reward decisions on multiple levels: more damage from powered-up shot patterns vs. less damage but safer position; more points using Shikigami attacks vs. more maneuverability using normal shot. It’s a refreshing addition to the tried-and-true challenge of staying alive.

(boxed rating and few-liner summary goes here)