Mushihimesama  (PlayStation 2) Imported

SPECIAL NOTES

Not compatible with US PS2 system

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Mushihimesama (PlayStation 2 - Japanese Version)

The Story:
The world of Mushihimesama is a wild, untainted one where large desertic areas abruptly change into lush forests, all inhabited by arthropods called Koujuu: such beasts (basically oversized insects) are capable of surviving due to their hardened shells and, upon their deaths, leave them behind for vegetation to grow around them, in a natural cycle of life and death. However, their life force, called Levi-Sense, proved to be poisonous to the humans to the point of being named the Miasma; only sparse human settlements were allowed to survive, one of them being the Hoshifuri village, in exchange for the sacrifice of a 15 years old girl every 200 years.

The daughter of the royal family, Reco, is apparently the next in line after being given an ornate bracelet by a mysterious boy in Shinju Forest, where she lost herself at young age: by the day she turns 15, the Miasma contaminates the village. In order to save her people, she enters Shinju Forest once more, riding the golden Koujuu beetle Kiniro (with which the golden bracelet grants a telepathic link) on a quest to meet the Koujuu god himself.

The Gameplay:
Mushihimesama is a vertically scrolling shooter; players need to control their character over the constantly scrolling terrain and score points by shooting the various enemies that appear. Each of the five stages ends with a large "boss" battle. Like other games from developer CAVE, Mushihimesama is a "bullet hell" style shooter; the numerous opponents you encounter fire a very significant number of bullets, often completely covering the entire playfield. The player will need to either dodge these by navigating through the complex pattern formed or by utilising the shield that is available for a limited time. As is typical for arcade style shooters, weapon upgrades are available to make blasting enemies easier.

Mushihimesama features three difficulty levels, original arcade, maniac, and ultra. In addition to these three modes found in the original arcade version, the PS2 version also adds a practice mode where any stage and boss battle can be practiced as well as the arrange mode. In arrange mode, the player begins fully equipped with weapon upgrades and changes are made to the scoring system.