In Mushihimesama (Or “Insect Princess”) by CAVE interactive, you play as Reco, a princess riding on a golden beetle who enters into the forest of the Koju, a giant insect race who stand between you and a cure to the mysterious illness afflicting your people. The game takes place in the form a vertical shooter, with a decidedly retro tone, evocative of classic Sega Saturn or arcade shmups. The end result? Admittedly mixed. For fans of the genre who are looking for something reminiscent of its heyday this could be a fine title, though the rest of us may have to look a little harder for something to love.
The fundamentals of Mushihimesama should be readily apparent to anyone who’s ever played a shmup. You start the game choosing between three different shot-types, each with different patterns and behaviors. While all three types perform differently and seem to embody a different type of tactic I found the S-pattern was easily my preferred type, laying down a near solid wall of fire after a few power ups. One aspect I liked is that you acquire little escort insects who add to your firepower, turning your already tremendous onslaught into a monstrous one.
From here on out there aren’t many surprises to the game; you’ll take on various enemies who launch dozens of attacks simultaneously in tandem with other enemies who are doing the exact same, at times nearly covering the whole screen in bullets. Almost from the get go the game is utter pandemonium, leaving you trying to pull off ridiculously tight maneuvers under nigh inescapable fire. The overall confusion and overwhelming-ness of the action works pretty well, taking a title that doesn’t have much new to offer, but still making it enjoyable and engaging with its over the top action. In fact, I had the most fun playing around with the various options for outlandish power-ups on the highest difficulty; it’s completely outlandish, but that was the funnest way to play.
Most appreciated is that the game does not have any limit to lives or continues, and a player like myself who doesn’t have the coordination and skill to play for fifteen seconds, let alone the whole game, without getting decimated can still play through all the game’s content. Not normally having the patience to master the intricate dance of bullet hells I was glad that I could play without being left to wonder what happens past the first two minutes, but the lack of restarts also betrays how short the game is, a single playthrough (With numerous, numerous deaths) lasted only about 20 minutes from start to end boss.
Aesthetically Mushihimesama is a bit of a mixed bag. The style is very intentionally retro, but it feels like sometimes they overshot the mark and ended up with intentionally cheap to the point that a few times I felt like I was playing on a Power Mac. Similarly, the actual game is framed with hand-drawn artwork set so out of proportion that the images look look blocky and unsightly. On the other hand, I feel like most of the game hits the mark pretty well, cultivating the intentional throwback style that that made me think wistfully of Taito Arcades and Shinsaibashi game centers. The action plays to a cool, upbeat ethereal soundtrack that set the mood nicely, though the tracks were limited even for a game of such limited length.
At the end of the day, if you aren’t already a fan of shmups I don’t think there’s anything in Mushihimesama that is going to change your mind. Yet while some of my time spent playing this game reminded me of exactly why they aren’t my cup of tea, after getting the hang of it I did feel a bit of the excitement and tension that I think must make these titles so appealing to some. Unfortunately, at the release price of $19.99 this title is a pretty short on content. If you are a shmup fan who digs the retro style you might find something unique and rewarding about this title, but for most of us the price and length make it hard to justify.
This game was reviewed using retail code provided to us by the publisher.
