It’s strange what a powerhouse the Xbox 360 was for Japanese gaming back in its day. The system sold terribly there but was still the place to go for arcade shooters, thanks to Sony being in the frustrating part of its everybody-welcome/hits-only cycle. Cave was in its heyday at the time, putting out one arcade hit after the other, the bulk of which ended up on Xbox 360 but not all managed to get published outside Japan. One of the big ones was Espgaluda II, a top-tier shooter that didn’t need to break from Cave’s bullet-hell formula due to the way it executed it nearly perfectly. Tons of high-contrast bullets clutter the screen almost from the start, but the player has only a tiny pixel-spot that’s vulnerable. Tapping the fire button shoots one type of shot and holding it down produces another more powerful one while also slowing the player’s movement, which actually helps navigate through the tight spots when the only safety is in precision control. It’s been well over a decade since the Xbox 360 release of Espgaluda II, making the port to Switch feel like a welcome return of an old friend.
Before jumping into the mechanics it’s worth noting that whatever the plot may be, it’s not in English. Espgaluda II is only lightly translated at best, including the credits option on the main screen saying “View Mushihimesama credits” as its description. With as much gameplay as is packed into the three initial modes plus unlockable Omake mode, though, that’s easily forgiven. The point of Espgaluda II is to fly up the screen and shoot things, and understanding the motivation of the three selectable heroes probably won’t add much to that.
Each of the modes plays differently from the others, although the basics remain the same. Killing an enemy generates a green gem, which auto-homes in on you. Gems add to the Ascension counter, which powers an enhanced mode where time slows down, enemy fire intensifies, and destroying the enemy converts its shots to gold. The Ascension counter drops quickly, though, so you’ll need to get in and out with good timing so that it will still be available when you need it. Holding down the Ascension button instead of tapping it enters an even more enhanced state that consumes both gems and gold, with even more scoring opportunities to go with it. you’re able to also remain in Ascension mode even after the gem counter drops to zero for an enhanced risk/reward scenario, where enemy bullets turn red and get faster as varying bonuses kick in for the different modes. In Normal, for example, hanging out in Ascension Over long enough gains bonus gems when you switch back to standard, while in Arrange mode your shots get more powerful and can cancel enemy bullets into score-enhancing gold. There’s a tutorial that explains the subtleties of each mode, and it’s worth taking time after playing a game or two to understand exactly why certain effects kicked in as they did.
Cutting all that down to the simplest description, the core gameplay loop in Espgaluda II is: shoot enemies to get gems, spend gems by switching to Ascension, get score. Beyond that it gets complicated, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled by dealing with one mode at a time. Arcade is the original arcade game, exactly as the name implies, while Normal is a less pixely version of the same thing. Black Label replaces one of the three selectable characters with someone else while enhancing and deepening Normal’s rule-set, and Arrange does the same thing in a different way. Each mode also has a separate Novice option, with far fewer bullets to weave through, and if you can complete a one-credit-clear of any mode it unlocks yet another variation on the rules with Omake. Each play-through is short, whether you accept the Game Over or credit-feed to the end credits, but actually getting good at even one of Espgaluda II’s modes is a major long-term quest.
What makes that quest work is that all those advanced mechanics aren’t necessary to have a good time. Flying up the screen and shooting things is rewarding even if you just want to dodge some bullets, but as the mechanics slowly sink in it becomes more and more apparent that opportunities to light up the screen with massive bonus cascades are available even in the early parts of the first level. Which is good, because the learning process combined with the difficulty level means you’ll be seeing a lot of level one on Normal mode at least. Oddly enough, the tweaks to the gameplay make it so that Black and Arrange feel easier, but when you switch from just getting through to maximizing score that may not turn out to be as true as it initially appeared.
Closing Comments:
Cave built up a strong fan-base over its years of development and Espgaluda II is a perfect example as to why. It’s instantly accessible but surprisingly deep, with plenty of room to experiment with the gameplay mechanics to maximize score. The game options are excellent as well, and it’s especially nice to stick the Switch screen into the Flip Grip and play in sideways Tate mode. It also helps that this is basically the Xbox 360 edition of the game, as evidenced by the constant references to the 360 in the credits, and that was the definitive version with three of the four modes created specifically for the home port. While Cave isn’t producing much in the way of new shooters anymore, it left behind an incredible legacy, and Espgaluda II was the developer at the top of its game.
