Latest Reviews of Cave Games
Review DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou (Switch) - Cave's Vicious Shooter Is Close To The Series' Best
Elemental rage
Holding the Guinness World Record for "Most prolific developer of danmaku shooters” — a tenuous plaudit seemingly concocted entirely for their receipt — Cave’s five DonPachi entries form bullet points in the company’s evolution, from Toaplan-esque beginnings to a full-blown, bullet hell renaissance. SaiDaiOuJou, the...
Review Dodonpachi DaiOuJou Blissful Death Re:Incarnation (Switch) - Poetic Bullet-Hell Perfection
Get Hyper
Cave, a shoot-'em-up developer assembled from the ashes of Toaplan, was preparing to fold in 2001. The arcade scene was moving in new directions, relying on increasingly ostentatious Taikan cabinets to compete with the emerging technology of home consoles. For Cave, the 2D shoot 'em up, no matter how unerringly creative, was struggling to...
Review Akai Katana Shin (Switch) - One Of CAVE’s Very Best Horizontal Bullet Hells
Live by the sword
Update: Now that the game is available on North American and European Switch eShops, we're republishing this review of the import version from February 2023. CAVE Co. Ltd, the pioneering, god-tier arcade developer that reignited the shooting game genre in the '90s, has a portfolio to die for. After 17 years of cast-iron quality...
Review Deathsmiles I & II (Switch) - A Visually Impressive Panoramic Slice Of Bullet Hell
Chips, dips, chains, whips
Originally marketed in Japan with bottles of tea labeled as “Windia’s Delicious Urine” — the ostensible excreta of Deathsmiles’ central protagonist — one has to wonder what exactly Cave’s aspirations were for this entry in their shoot-em-up canon. A 2009 bullet hell shoot-em-up (or ‘shmup’), Deathsmiles...
Review Espgaluda II (Switch) - Localisation Issues Can't Spoil This Superb Shmup
There’s a fly in the full extent of the jam
Espgaluda II’s originally a 2005 arcade game by legendary developer Cave, responsible for the already-released Switch ports of Mushihimesama and Progear (via Capcom Arcade Stadium), the upcoming Deathsmiles I & II collection, and before that a string of high-quality arcade shmups stretching all the...
Review Mushihimesama (Switch) - A Cave Classic With The Right Kind Of Bugs
A bug's life
Arcade shoot-em-ups in the 1980s may have started out as largely science fiction, but there have long been efforts in the genre to differentiate games with unique themes. One of the most interesting of these is Cave’s Mushihimesama (“Bug Princess”), which takes place in a world filled with enormous insects. It was initially...
Review ESP Ra.De. Psi (Switch) - The Best Shmup On Nintendo Switch, Period
M2 ShotTriggers' Switch debut is a thing of beauty
Before we begin our review of ESP Ra.De. Psi, M2 ShotTriggers' latest triumph, here's a little history for those who may not be intimately familiar with ESP Ra.De. and its place within the pantheon of shooting games. In 1998, the blossoming shmup developing studio, CAVE, just finished delighting and...
Latest Cave Articles
News Bullet-Hell Shmup Dodonpachi Saidaioujou Launches Today On Switch
Will you take on the challenge?
Publisher Live Wire has announced that DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU will be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop from today. The game is available now via the North American eShop for $34.99, though at the time of writing, it’s not yet visible via the EU eShop, and Live Wire has not confirmed a release within Europe at...
PSA Get 50% Off 'Mushihimesama' Before Its Switch eShop Delisting This Week
Hurry!
Last month, we reported on the rather sad news that Mushihimesama, the wonderful bullet-hell shmup from developer Cave, would soon be delisted from the Switch eShop. Well folks, there isn't much time left. Mushihimesama will disappear from the digital storefront later this week on 10th August 2024. If you're on the fence about whether to...
News Four Critically Acclaimed Shmups To Get Physical Switch Release In Europe
Including Mushihimesama
Clear River Games has revealed that it's releasing four critically acclaimed Switch shmups in physical form in Europe. Three Cave classics — DoDonPachi Resurrection, Espgaluda II, Mushihimesama — and Treasure's celebrated Radiant Silvergun will all be getting a physical release across Europe soon. More details will be...
News Bullet-Hell Shmup 'Mushihimesama' To Be Delisted From The Switch eShop
Grab it while you can
The fantastic bullet-hell shmup Mushihimesama is set to be delisted from the Switch eShop on 10th August 2024. Announced by publisher Live Wire, the reasoning provided for the delisting is that the licensing agreement for the Switch version has expired. It seems that rather than attempt to renew the agreement, the best course...
News Deathsmiles Collection Gets A Western eShop Release At The End Of The Month
The shoot 'em up of gothic horrors is back
Update [Sat 18th Dec, 2021 06:55 GMT]: It's official, Deathsmiles I.II is coming to the Switch eShop here in the West on 30th December 2021. It'll be available for $39.99 USD or your regional equivalent. It'll require 3.5 GB of space and supports up to two players. Our review for the Japanese version of the...
News Cave's Shmup Espgaluda II Locks In A September Switch Release For The West
Update: It's almost here!
Update #2: A listing on the Nintendo Switch eShop in the UK has now confirmed Espgaluda II will arrive here in the west on 9th September. It'll be available for £15.29 or your regional equivalent. Update #1: A new site and trailer have been published for the upcoming Switch port of Cave's Espgaluda II. We've also got...
News Cave's DoDonPachi Is Coming To Switch, But It's Not The One You Want
Another 'feature phone' port for Japan
Cave's DoDonPachi series really pushed the 'bullet hell' shmup style back in the '90s, and the company has kept the franchise going over the years with sequels and ports – including the 2002 arcade release DoDonPachi Blissful Death, known as DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou in Japan. The good news is that the Switch is...
News Christmas Comes Early With ESP Ra.De. Psi's Limited Edition Package For Switch
We've been really good, honest
Christmas might be just around the corner but we've been deemed good enough to open one of our presents early – and it's the swanky limited edition package for Cave's legendary shooter ESP Ra.De., which launched in Japan on Switch and PS4 on December 19th. A collaborative effort between emulation masters M2 and the...
News Bullet-Hell Shmup Dodonpachi Saidaioujou Launches Today On Switch
Will you take on the challenge?
Publisher Live Wire has announced that DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU will be available on the Nintendo Switch eShop from today. The game is available now via the North American eShop for $34.99, though at the time of writing, it’s not yet visible via the EU eShop, and Live Wire has not confirmed a release within Europe at...
PSA Get 50% Off 'Mushihimesama' Before Its Switch eShop Delisting This Week
Hurry!
Last month, we reported on the rather sad news that Mushihimesama, the wonderful bullet-hell shmup from developer Cave, would soon be delisted from the Switch eShop. Well folks, there isn't much time left. Mushihimesama will disappear from the digital storefront later this week on 10th August 2024. If you're on the fence about whether to...
News Four Critically Acclaimed Shmups To Get Physical Switch Release In Europe
Including Mushihimesama
Clear River Games has revealed that it's releasing four critically acclaimed Switch shmups in physical form in Europe. Three Cave classics — DoDonPachi Resurrection, Espgaluda II, Mushihimesama — and Treasure's celebrated Radiant Silvergun will all be getting a physical release across Europe soon. More details will be...
News Bullet-Hell Shmup 'Mushihimesama' To Be Delisted From The Switch eShop
Grab it while you can
The fantastic bullet-hell shmup Mushihimesama is set to be delisted from the Switch eShop on 10th August 2024. Announced by publisher Live Wire, the reasoning provided for the delisting is that the licensing agreement for the Switch version has expired. It seems that rather than attempt to renew the agreement, the best course...
News Deathsmiles Collection Gets A Western eShop Release At The End Of The Month
The shoot 'em up of gothic horrors is back
Update [Sat 18th Dec, 2021 06:55 GMT]: It's official, Deathsmiles I.II is coming to the Switch eShop here in the West on 30th December 2021. It'll be available for $39.99 USD or your regional equivalent. It'll require 3.5 GB of space and supports up to two players. Our review for the Japanese version of the...
News Cave's Shmup Espgaluda II Locks In A September Switch Release For The West
Update: It's almost here!
Update #2: A listing on the Nintendo Switch eShop in the UK has now confirmed Espgaluda II will arrive here in the west on 9th September. It'll be available for £15.29 or your regional equivalent. Update #1: A new site and trailer have been published for the upcoming Switch port of Cave's Espgaluda II. We've also got...
News Cave's DoDonPachi Is Coming To Switch, But It's Not The One You Want
Another 'feature phone' port for Japan
Cave's DoDonPachi series really pushed the 'bullet hell' shmup style back in the '90s, and the company has kept the franchise going over the years with sequels and ports – including the 2002 arcade release DoDonPachi Blissful Death, known as DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou in Japan. The good news is that the Switch is...
News Christmas Comes Early With ESP Ra.De. Psi's Limited Edition Package For Switch
We've been really good, honest
Christmas might be just around the corner but we've been deemed good enough to open one of our presents early – and it's the swanky limited edition package for Cave's legendary shooter ESP Ra.De., which launched in Japan on Switch and PS4 on December 19th. A collaborative effort between emulation masters M2 and the...