Ginga Force and Natsuki Chronicles coming to PS4 and Steam in 2020

Rising Star Games has announced that Ginga Force (available for Xbox 360 in 2013) and its sequel Natsuki Chronicles (first available on Xbox One in 2019) are coming to both Steam and PlayStation 4.

Deathsmiles II-X review from Bullet Heaven

Technically posted on new years eve in the US, we had already passed that in my time zone so instead of ending the year with this review i'm starting up 2020 with it. I'm hung-over but otherwise ready for a new year of news!

Blast from the (recent) past: The Cave Collection unboxing

Unboxing of the Cave Collection Kan, the second and most recent of the Cave Collections for the Xbox 360. Kan has an extra game included compared to the first edition, Akai Katana, but doesn't include the soundtracks for the games which are in a separate box included with the first collection.
The Cave Collections for Xbox 360 were released in 2013 and 2014 respectively and are quite pricey.

Besides getting the collection you also need a JP Xbox 360 or a modded 360 machine to play some of the games as they are decidedly region locked. Let's hope all these games get re-released on current consoles.

Debris Inifinity is available on Xbox One now

Already available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 3, Playstation 4 and Xbox 360, Debris Infinity is now available on the Xbox One too.

Deathsmiles & Deathsmiles II being ported to multiple platforms

Siliconera reports that Cave and City Connection has announced that Deathsmiles and Deathsmiles II are being ported to multiple platforms. In my mind that would be PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch but at this stage we just don't know.

Deathsmiles is available on Steam and Xbox 360 and Deathsmiles II has only appeared on Xbox 360 (outside of arcades).

Cave and City Connection also tells us that this is the first wave of planned multiplatform releases of Caves games.

There's no way to get around it: this is FANTASTIC news.

Arcade Love Plus Pengo! for Nintendo Switch now has a website

It's a Japanese only release (like its Xbox 360 predecessor) so of course the website is only in Japanese. I have a feeling this one is gonna end up like its Xbox 360 big brother, rare and out of print, real fast.

Ikaruga gets physical again

Ikaruga is a really great shooter with puzzle elements or possibly a still great puzzle game with shooting elements. Whichever way you see it there's no denying that it is already readily available to play:
First developed for the arcade, it was first ported to Dreamcast and subsequently to GameCube, Xbox 360 (it's compatible with Xbox One), Windows, Switch and PlayStation 4. The physical releases in that long list of targeted platforms are only Dreamcast and GameCube (sure, the arcade release was physical but if you're into arcade PCBs you already knew that) however.

But now Nicalis is doing us all a favor and releasing it physically for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch:

No details yet on release date.

Caladrius Blaze coming to Switch

In a sneak announcement, Play-Asia has put up Caladrius Blaze for Nintendo Switch for pre-order. It's due out July 19th.

Caladrius and its Blaze brethren has been available for some time on PlayStation 3 and 4 and Xbox 360.

Caladrius Blaze to make Switch appearance

As spotted by @Elixir on Twitter, Taiwanese ratings are in for Caladrius Blaze for Nintendos shmup monster Switch.

Caladrius Blaze is of course already out on Steam and PS4 (and in it's non-Blaze costume on Xbox 360 and PS3) but it's nice to have another one in the bag for Switch.

Radiant Silvergun might get Switch release

Treasure has tweeted that a port of Radiant Silvergun was in the works when they released Ikaruga for Switch and may still see the light of day.

Radiant Silvergun is available on Saturn and Xbox 360/One already of course but it would be nice to see it on Switch.

R-Type Dimensions hurls itself onto Steam, Switch

R-Type Dimensions is a compilation of R-Type and R-Type II (arcade versions) with enhanced graphics (don't worry, it has original graphics too, instantly switchable when you play) already available for Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PlayStation 3 (PSN Store).



This winter it will hit Steam and Nintendo Switch!

Sine Mora gets Xbox One compatibility

For those of you who already had Sine Mora on the Xbox 360 and for some reason couldn't be bothered to get the Xbox One release of the game, Sine Mora EX - rejoice!

Sine Mora was just added to the backwards compatibility on Xbox One so your Xbox 360 copy of the game will run just fine on your shinier, newer Xbox.

I really like the game, especially with the Hungarian voice-work. Please change to Hungarian when you play it, ok?

Switched on shmups

We knew it was on it's way but making it official that Treasure's beloved Ikaruga lands on the Nintendo Switch on May 29th is still something of a milestone. Yes, it's available on Steam, GameCube, Dreamcast and the Xbox 360/One but it's still great to see it available on the switch so you can "take it anywhere".



The second great news is that Zerodiv will bring Psikyos Gunbird 2 to the Switch. After the first Gunbird it was pretty much inevitable and, of course, very welcome.

Ikaruga rated for PlayStation 4

German video game censorship watchdog USK has rated Ikaruga for release on PlayStation 4. This would be the first appearance of Ikaruga on a Sony console. For those of you who don't have a Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox 360 or Xbox One this is great news! One of Treasures finest shmups.

Play-Asias Tachyon Project and an Xbox One update

The landing page for Play-asias pre-order of Tachyon Project.


Up to date list of Xbox 360 shoot'em-ups that are compatible with Xbox One:

Bullet soul

Bullet Soul Infinite Burst
Capcom arcade collection

Contra
Galaga
Galaga Legions
Geometry Wars
Geometry Wars 2
Guwange

Hard corps uprising
Ikaruga
Jetpac Refuelled
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug XX
Mutant Storm Empire

Omega Five
R-Type Dimensions
Radiant Silvergun
Raiden IV
Space Invaders Infinity Gene

Strania
Trigger Heart Excelica

I have been on vacation and we have stuff to cover

Let's get right to it: Bullet Soul - Infinite Burst known from Xbox 360 is launching on Steam on July 31st, the games soundtrack will be available as DLC.



Raiden IV has joined the ranks of Xbox 360 games that are now playable on Xbox One. Pop any region (it's available in super expensive JP and reasonably priced US versions) disc into your Xbox One and it will be available to play.
Play-Asia has announced twin-stick shooter Tachyon Project as a physical release for both PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.
Quirky cute'em'up Game Tengoku: Cruisin Mix, a port of a game from the seminal Sega Saturn, has been announced for a release in japan on PlayStation 4 and PC.
A Batsugun comic book has been announced for people who get off on that sort of stuff, it's listed on japanese Amazon already.
Galaga is being developed into an animated series.

I know Hamsters ACA NEO GEO releases have popped up on many platforms already but as I just bought a Nintendo Switch I thought it was worth mentioning that Last Resort, Metal Slug and Metal Slug 2 are available for the system.



I think that about covers it. Not bad for a dead genre, really.

Everything old is new again

Microsoft has committed to adding backwards compatibility to both original Xbox games and Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One console.

Radiant Silvergun, originally released on the Sega Saturn and later updated with HD visuals for an XBLA release on Xbox 360, was added to the list of Xbox One backwards compatible games yesterday. Ikaruga of course has been backwards compatible for some time, as has Guwange.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Strania, Mutant Storm Empire and Triggerheart Excelica are all also available to play on Xbox One.

This is not an exhaustive list and shmups has been added more frequently recently.

Cave's XBLA action platformer Nin2-Jump is also backwards compatible for those who want to peek at what Cave has been doing besides shooters.

How time flies...

Now that the first part of Shooting Love 20XX is released Degica announces that the second part, MINUS ZERO, arrives on June 16th.


I forgot to mention this earlier but Shooting Love 20XX is out on physical release for Japanese Xbox 360 and everywhere else as an Xbox Live Arcade downloadable title for those who want to polish their skills before participating in the just announced Skill Test competition.

From the press release:
Triangle Service’s MINUS ZERO is an abstract, minimalist shooter that focuses on a tried-and-true shoot-’em-up weapon: the lock-on laser. It’s shoot-’em-up purity: just you, your lock-on laser, a whole bunch of enemies, and an electronica soundtrack that builds upon itself as you progress. As long as you continue to blast away at the waves of enemies, you’ll maintain invincibility, but if you lose track of your position amongst the explosions and neon glow, you’ll soon find that invincibility can be fleeting! MINUS ZERO also has replay support and Steam Achievements, Leaderboards, and Cloud saves.

And the competition part:

Shmups Skill Test Contests:

Celebrating the release of Shmups Skill Test, there are two Shmups Skill Test contests. You may enter both.

Lowest Gamer Age Contest Rules: Contestants will play in Solo Test mode. The 3 lowest “gamer age” entries submitted in Solo Test mode win. Matching gamer ages will be tie-broken by highest scores. Replays must be uploaded for entries to be counted.

Prizes: All three winners each get a TRIZEAL Remix Steam key (given before official launch!)

Mystery Age Contest Rules: Contestants will play in Solo Test mode. The first three contestants to achieve one of three different mystery ages and post their screenshot to Twitter mentioning and following @DegiGames and using #ShmupAge win. Once a mystery age is achieved, no other contestant can submit the same age. The mystery ages are Fujino-san’s age, the amount of years since Gradius 3 (the game that inspired Fujino-san to design games) came out, and the amount of shots a second that Takahashi Meijin is famous for firing.

Prizes: All three winners each get a beautiful, signed poster covered in XIIZEAL and DELTAZEAL ships.

Deadlines:

Both contests start at Shmups Skill Test’s launch, 6/09 US (6/10 Japan), and end at 6pm PT on 6/16 in the US (10am on 6/17 in Japan).