Castle of Shikigami 2

I like girls, but now it's about justice!

Funny how I jumped on reviewing Shikigami 1 and 3 yet somehow neglected to review my favorite game in the series, so I'll rectify that slight immediately. As you probably know from my other reviews, I've worked on a fan translation for the PC version of the original game, so the series, its labyrinthine & silly lore, and its bullet hell stylings are near and dear to me. This particular entry is also the reason I got into the series. The short version is one day I saw the PS2 version on a shelf in the US, the anime artwork and budget pricing($15!) having caught my eye, only to realize it was a shmup. Bonus. Then, as most might be aware, I was gloriously exposed to one of the worst dubs of all time, containing such classics as: "I like girls, but now, it's about justice", "Beat 'em down then jump, I just started now", "Crooked CASTLE? I SEE.", and so on. For all the wrong and right reasons, the XS Games(no relation to XSeed) dub of Shikigami 2 has firmly steeped itself in gaming legend. Did they have no budget? Did they hire friends and family? Hobos off the street? The world may never know. That said, beyond all that, the masterful gameplay still stood tall, and does to th…

i love this game dearly i hold it very close to my heart i love gennojo hes a very hot man id tap that ngl 10/10 play this game its so good ngl id also tap kim but he religious so idk if he’d like that

This game is pretty good, but remember that you only have two options when playing it: A.Beaten and caught B.Caught and beaten

This is a great shmup that has stood the test of time. The "New Entry" mode is a great addition worthy of your time. The port quality it's a firm "OK" from me. No problems with lag/slowdown, but the lack of certain features hold it back from being the definitive iteration of the arcade game, despite that being the mode with the most features. What's missing is: 1) Practice mode for all game types. This is the biggest problem. There is a stage select feature for the arcade mode only. The lack of this feature for New Entry or Dramatic Change modes is a real drag. 2) Ability to select game rank (very easy, easy, normal, hard, very hard) and change score extends thresholds. The previous windows port and PS2 versions had these features. Odd that they are missing here as the steam version of Shiki 1 also has the equivalent options. 3) Replays. I'm not sure if the PS2 version had this but the old windows version does. 4) Extra options (bullet size, hitbox displays etc). These were some goofy options in the PS2 port. I don't think the old windows version had them but could be mistaken. 5) Graphical glitches - broken textures which can effect anything from text to enemy bullets and ex…

Buy this game if you like having your balls crushed.