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Famous Japanese shoot 'em up developer Cave recently revealed that Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu will be released this summer, joining Espgaluda II [$8.99 / Free on the App Store. With similar bullet hell gameplay to Espgaluda II, which we enjoyed in our review, Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu will share the same limitations in only running on the latest generation of iPhone and iPod touch hardware, unfortunately leaving first and second generation iPod touch users as well as original iPhone and iPhone 3G owners left out once again.

Cave isn't discussing pricing yet, and they're not getting any more specific than "Summer 2010" for a release date. Either way, while I'm sure quite a few people have never heard of this game series before those who have, will likely be very excited.

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There's been a host of high profile vertical shooters released on the App Store, from the hardcore Espgaluda II [$8.99 / Free] to the whimsical Doodle Flight [99¢, but one game that's quietly flown under the radar is Gamelab's Roswell Fighter [99¢ / Free / $1.99 (HD)]. Released last October, it offered solid shooting action, exceptional graphics, and a charming theme thick with 1950's UFO paranoia that managed to win over a modest group of fans despite not getting much exposure. With a recent update adding two brand new levels and a native iPad version released last week, now is a great time to give Roswell Fighter a look.

The action in Roswell Fighter is above average, although nothing groundbreaking. Using either touch or tilt controls, you'll pilot your plane across 11 different levels, doing your best to blast down an onslaught of aliens who are invading Earth. Your main cannon can be upgraded multiple times, and a few special weapons can be collected throughout the game to further enhance your offense. One such weapon uses collected orange stars dropped by defeated enemies to fill a gauge that unleashes a devastating laser. Another brings two wingmen to your aid for a short time, increasing your firepower to nearly the whole width of the screen. And of course, there's a screen clearing bomb you can collect and use. It's pretty standard stuff, but enjoyable nonetheless.

The developer does throw in some elements to break up the more traditional gameplay, with mixed results. At times, a short “quick time event” will pop up and task you with appropriately pressing a series of buttons in order to continue on. It's a nice idea, but ultimately feels too simplistic to really add much to the gameplay besides a brief break in the shooting. Other times you'll be avoiding environmental hazards, such as giant saws and gears, or a maze-like path of mines. These sequences actually test your ability to fly precisely, and feel a bit more successful than the QTE portions. At the very least it's nice to see a developer trying some new ideas while treading such familiar territory.

While the gameplay itself is certainly engaging enough, it's the look and style that really sets Roswell Fighter apart from other shooters. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed, and look especially crisp on the iPad. The enemies are all rendered in 3D, and despite some slightly jagged edges, have a nice colorful look and good variation in design and attacks. There's a few boss fights throughout the game that feature huge enemies with multiple hit points that must be destroyed. The bosses tend to be rather easy, but are pretty impressive to look at.

The first 6 levels take place on a war torn Earth, but midway through level 7 your craft comes upon a mysterious hangar in Area 51. After flying through the hangar, and a short QTE, your plane emerges as an alien infused fighter jet. The Earth is then promptly blasted into two by the aliens, and you take your fight into orbit. The rest of the game has you battling through space, adding new enemies and attack patterns, with the final level taking place on the alien's home planet.

It's these changes in scenery and gameplay that make Roswell Fighter fun to play. The space portions have a high level of action, and the final level in particular is both challenging and graphically breathtaking. The first portion of the game on Earth is fun as well, but maybe lasts a bit longer than it should. If anything, these last levels serve as a reward for those who play through the whole game, and I would love to see some more levels based on the alien's home planet in future updates or a sequel.

When played on the iPad, Roswell Fighter really shines. The game is fun on the iPhone, but like any game that is controlled with your finger, a sizable portion of the screen can be obstructed at times. This issue is completely eliminated on the large screen of the iPad, as even with your finger all over the screen, it never seems like you're covering much of the action. The HD version only has a $1 premium over the iPhone version, and is recommended if you own an iPad.

Overall, Roswell Fighter does everything extremely well and is one of the better shooters available. It really is a beautiful game, and we were surprised at how fun the game was to play on the iPad. If you stick through the slightly sluggish first half of the game you'll be treated to a highly satisfying second half. My strongest point of contention is with the game's music, which sounds era-appropriate but doesn't fit in well with the onscreen action at all. Luckily, this can be disabled in the options. Besides that there's really not much to dislike about Roswell Fighter, and at 99¢ and $1.99 for the iPhone and iPad versions respectively (as well as a lite version), it's a real bargain for such quality content.

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For those of you who had issues installing Espgaluda II onto your 3rd Gen iPod Touches, the new update now fixes that. Along with a few other bugs being fixed:

- Fixed install error for 3rd generation iPod touch
- Fixed issue where sound does not play when receiving a call
- Fixed issue where save data is not saved under certain conditions
- Fixed issue where some achievements do not unlock due to data not being
saved.

The game is a bullet hell-style shooter by Cave Co. that we reviewed earlier this month and really loved.

However, due to the number of projectiles in the game, Espgaluda II requires a 3rd generation device. This includes the iPhone 3GS, 3rd Generation iPod Touch and even the iPad (works great even in pixel doubled mode).

In addition to releasing an update to the full version, a free Lite version is now available to try out to see how you like the game. It is also suggested that you install the Lite version to confirm that the game is compatible with your device.

Compared to the full version, the Lite version only includes the first stage, one character, one difficulty mode, and OpenFeint is not integrated.

Here is a video of the game in action:

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $8.99, Espgaluda II Lite, Free (Both games; 3GS, 3rd Gen iPod Touch or Pixel-Doubled on iPad only)

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A couple of interesting releases recently hit the App Store. For various reasons we can't fully recommend them, but may be of interest.

Fast & Furious Adrenaline, $5.99

A sequel of sorts to Fast & Furious The Game [99¢ / Free], Fast & Furious Adrenaline is another arcade racer that runs at a decent frame rate with tracks filled with jumps and sharp turns. As noted by forum members in the game's thread, the physics in the game feel off and the draw distance is kind of low, but if you love the Fast & Furious movies, here's the latest game spinoff.

If you don't have a device capable of running Espgaluda II [$8.99], Icarus-X may be worth checking out. The 3D graphics are cool, but without an extensive weapon upgrade and power-up system (something which seems to be standard in shoot 'em up games) the game can feel a little monotonous. Forum members seem to be enjoying it because it does a pretty good job at throwing bullet hell at you. The control system is your standard touch to move, but your finger can easily get in the way when you are trying to maneuver your way through fields off bullets.

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Yesterday we posted our close look at the excellent RPG Chaos Rings [App Store], an iPhone exclusive and the latest from Square Enix. In celebration of the release of this new title, the studio today began a two week sale on all of their games.

• Final Fantasy, $8.99 → $6.99 [ review ]
• Final Fantasy II, $8.99 → $6.99 [ review ]
• Crystal Defenders, $7.99 → $5.99 [ review ]
• Vanguard Storm, $4.99 → $3.99 [ review ]
• Sliding Heroes, $2.99 → $.99
• Hills and Rivers Remain, $6.99 → $4.99 [ review ]
• Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes – Encore, $9.99 → $7.99 [ review ]
• Final Fantasy XIII Larger-than-Life Gallery, $8.99 → $5.99

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Any truly diehard arcade shooter fan will have heard of Cave. Founded in 1994, the Japanese gamemaker is responsible for some of the most highly acclaimed scrolling shooters to have ever appeared in an arcade. With their 1995 release of DonPachi, the company created a new, intense genre of shooter known commonly as the "manic shooter" or "bullet hell" shooter, in which the screen is almost entirely filled with enemy fire, and successfully evading said fire requires extreme control precision and skill. It's a prevalent genre in Japan that is far less-represented in the West. (Some such titles readers may be familiar with include Ikaruga (Xbox 360, Gamecube), Triggerheart Exelica (Xbox 360, PS2, Dreamcast)  and Noiz2sa [App Store].)

In a move that should have iPhone shooter fans standing up and cheering, Cave has just thrown their hat into the iPhone gaming ring with their port of the 2005 Japanese Arcade / Xbox 360 release Espgaluda II [App Store]. A sequel to the original Japanese arcade and PS2 release, Espgaluda II is a bullet hell-style shooter that was released in 2005. The iPhone version seeks to bring a fast-action, arcade quality shooter experience to our favorite mobile platform.

The first thing I said to myself upon jumping into a game of Espgaluda II was, "finally!" I've long lamented the fact that the iPhone 2D scrolling shooter experience was, across the board, pretty much a slow-motion affair as compared to that of even much older consoles such as the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation. Cave's first iPhone shooter throws an x/y scrolling backdrop along with an incredible number of moving objects onscreen at once, and the whole thing just flies. Fast action at a super-smooth framerate. (There's a settings option to set the screen size, if you want to tweak performance a bit.) It's certainly the most impressive iPhone shooter to date from a technical standpoint. But all this pixellated magic didn't come without a price; Espgaluda II presently only runs on the iPhone 3GS and the iPad (with 3G iPod touch support coming soon in an update). Older devices just can't push this scale of pixels, it seems.

Gameplay involves using touch controls to maneuver your craft about the playfield, destroying enemies, dodging their fire, and collecting Spirit Stones and power-ups. Along the left or right of the screen (user's choice) are special function buttons that trigger a Guard shield / attack mode, Awakening mode (more on this later), auto-fire on / off, and weapons mode select — some of which may not be presented depending on the control mode you've chosen, among Simplified, Normal, and Expert. The touch controls work quite well and offer better control than either the stick or D-pad of the earlier arcade and Xbox 360 versions. Thankfully, you can tap and hold some distance from your onscreen craft to control it without obscuring your view of it.

Each level is concluded by a boss battle, some quite lengthy, that really puts your control savvy to the test. Keep a finger hovering over that shield trigger when a boss comes out to play…

From an artistic standpoint, the game really stands out. The backdrops are very well done and the enemy craft objects are highly detailed. There's so much color and graphical complexity onscreen — and zipping around at a breakneck clip — that it probably takes the smallest hit in running pixel-doubled on an iPad than any iPhone game I've seen. In fact, the larger screen image makes dodging enemy fire a bit easier than on the iPhone. The iPad is my personal platform of choice for this one.

A lively soundtrack featuring audio similar to other such Japanese shooters accompanies gameplay and adds to the overall feeling of intensity. (Cave released the game's soundtrack on CD back in 2006.)

The iPhone version of Epsgaluda II features two modes of play. There's the Arcade Mode, which stays close to the arcade original and the Xbox 360 version — but in the case of the latter, this has been a source of complaint for some, as far as the somewhat unclear scoring system. Cave addressed this by adding an iPhone Mode, which features a scoring system that the developers feel makes more sense for mobile play. As well, the iPhone Mode features a new Awakening Pulse attack where you can turn enemy fire into the green Spirit Stones that you want to collect, increasing your multiplier and protecting your ship at the same time. Across both of these modes are Novice, Normal, and Hard difficulty levels.

The game utilizes OpenFeint for various in-game achievements and leaderboard tracking to keep things nice and competitive.

I am a particular shooter fan, but the bullet hell variety is not my very favorite flavor. Despite that, I fell quick and hard in love with Espgaluda II. It is easily the best 2D shooter experience in the App Store. I spent most of the day plowing through wave after wave of some of the most dense bullet swarms I've ever encountered and found it quite difficult to put down in order to start this review. I moved frequently between the iPhone 3GS and iPad to get a good feel for gameplay on both devices and it was fast-paced and frenetic fun, whichever device I used.

If you own an iPhone 3GS and are a fan of the manic shooter — go buy this game right now. If you are a general shooter fan and feel that you're up to facing the dense and constant volleys of enemy fire that this type of shooter brings — go buy this game right now. At present, Espgaluda II has no peer in the App Store.

The game is currently listed at an introductory price of $4.99, down from the standard price of $8.99.

App Store Link: Espgaluda II, $4.99 (limited time)

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It seems like I just wrote about this game a few days ago but we have some more information to share with you. Just in case you don’t remember, ESPGALUDA II is a bullet hell shooter from Cave, the leader in creating games of this type. Our forums have been buzzing about this game since it was first announced. If you watch the new game play video we have below you will see why.

The official word on the release date is April 10th, 2010 with an introductory sale price of $4.99. The normal price is going to be set at $8.99. There will also be a lite version so you can see if you can handle bullet hell games before you buy. Also worth mentioning is, the game will only run on the iPhone 3GS and the 3rd generation iPod Touch. I can't wait for this one to come out.

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Facing the possibility of bankruptcy in 1987 after a string of failed titles, SquareSoft (now Square Enix) only had the resources left for one final game. Hironobu Sakaguchi was in charge of the seemingly insurmountable task of saving the company. Aptly named, Final Fantasy needed to succeed, and with the help of artist Yoshitaka Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy not only was massively successful, it also spawned the series that has since become the benchmark that nearly all roleplaying games are compared to in one way or another.

Final Fantasy tells the tale of four "Light Warriors" with mysterious backgrounds that have joined forces to restore light to the world and vanquish the evil that has spread across the land, illuminating four elemental orbs in the process. While the plot of the game is entirely cliche by today's standards and the in-game dialog is succinct and non-sensical at times, Final Fantasy was unlike anything console gamers of the late 80's had ever seen before with an epic world map spanning three continents, party customization, and unmatched gameplay depth.

Final Fantasy

The original Final Fantasy [App Store] was not an easy game by any means. The magic system didn't make much sense, the death and save system was extremely unforgiving, and some of the later dungeons required tons of grinding to earn experience and money to buy the provisions needed to make it through alive– And even then, a string of random encounters could put an end to hours of progress. A strategy guide was practically required, and in its day, Funco Land (now GameStop) sold the used Final Fantasy NES cartridge for far more than its original retail price after the supply dwindled following the surprise success of the game.

Final Fantasy has since been remade and rereleased several times over the years, and while the basic story and gameplay mechanics have remained the same, many tweaks and refinements have been applied in the process. The iPhone port of Final Fantasy includes the high resolution graphics and reworked soundtrack of previous revisions, the additional "Soul of Chaos" and "Labyrinth of Time" dungeons, as well as a greatly reduced difficulty level which has served as a point of contention amongst Final Fantasy fans.

Your party seems to level up much faster, you can save anywhere outside of battle, and ineffective attacks are a thing of the past. (Previously if you assigned a party member to attack a monster and that monster dies before they attack, they just swing at nothing instead of the next available target.) Like any good iPhone game, your progress is saved when you quit the game. When you load the game again, you will be able to resume from where you were in a dungeon or on the world map. This has one side effect though, in that you can cheese your way through skipping random encounters by just quitting the game when you enter battle. On your next launch, you'll be right where you were before the battle and can keep on truckin' through the dungeon.

SquareSoft never imagined Final Fantasy would be a smash hit, as the game in no way lends itself to a sequel. A year after the original Japanese release of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II hit the streets, starting the trend of releasing Final Fantasy sequels that all feature a similar theme with a new game world as well as tweaks, refinements, and modifications to things like the battle and leveling systems. Again you play as a party of four (this time without the ability to customize which classes were in your party like the first) and once again save the world from evil.

Final Fantasy II

The most drastic change in Final Fantasy II [App Store] is way your characters level up. Instead of strictly increasing in level as you earn a certain amount of experience, the more you use certain abilities, the more powerful they become. For instance, by taking damage you will eventually earn more hit points and by casting spells you eventually earn more magic points. This often confusing cause and effect system was supposed to allow players greater customization of their characters instead of the rigid class types of the original Final Fantasy, but also allowed several opportunities to cheat the system to artificially inflate the various attributes of your party members.

Final Fantasy II also comes with a new system to interact with the various in-game characters where players can memorize certain key terms, then recall them to question townspeople. While there is more interactivity than finding the correct character and talking to them until they tell you the next part of your quest, the new dialog system introduces tons of trial and error as you explore multiple conversation trees with each character you come across.

While advancing the plot may be tedious at times, Final Fantasy II is the first game in the series where you can have less than four party members, with new characters rotating in and out as the plot progressed instead of playing the part of silent protagonists in the first. New vehicles were added, and the chocobo was first introduced, a rideable bird that allows players to move around the game world without random enemy encounters.

Final Fantasy II wasn't available in the US until 2003, as before then what we knew as the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy II was actually Final Fantasy IV, a confusing numbering scheme that wasn't rectified until the release of Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation. The iPhone port of Final Fantasy II also comes with bonus content released in previous remakes of the game. Both the "Soul of Rebirth" and "Arcane Labyrinth" dungeons are included.

Final Fantasy II features the same save system, allowing players to save anywhere. The game also will resume where you left off, and is susceptible to the same random battle cheesing as the original Final Fantasy where you can just quit the game and load it back up before the random battle occurred.

iPhone Adjustments

Both Final Fantasy games are controlled via an on-screen D-Pad for character movement and a button to run while in town or dungeons, with similar menu systems as previous releases, except now the various menu items are all touch sensitive. Movement and menu navigation works well enough to get the job done, but the D-Pad feels stiff and much larger than it should be. Also, navigating the menus can be irritating at times, as the touch areas for scroll bars and some menu options are annoyingly small. Regardless, this didn't hinder gameplay much as neither Final Fantasy game really requires quick or precise movement or menu work.

In battles, the menu system as you may remember it is gone, instead replaced with a row of icons on the bottom of the screen to attack, cast magic, use items, etc. Targeting is as simple as touching the party member or monster you want to select, and overall the battle system works well although like most games with random battles, can get very tedious, especially when backtracking and potentially fighting much lower level enemies that you can kill in one hit but still have to go through all the motions of attacking and targeting.

Conclusion

As far as which game you should get, both are substantial pieces of gaming history. If you weren't around when Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were released, keep in mind these early RPG's lack many of the features that have since become commonplace. Because of that, you might require a trip to GameFAQs to figure out what to do or where to go next as it's not always spelled out for you. There's also no quest log if you forgot where you were supposed to be going.

Personally, I love the original Final Fantasy. I've played through the game more times than I can even remember, on more platforms than I'd even care to admit starting with the NES and ending with the iPhone. I'd recommend anyone who considers themselves a fan of RPG's or the Final Fantasy series to download the iPhone port immediately. If like me, you've been around since the beginning, the iPhone version is a competent port and an excellent blast from the past, even with the mediocre controls.

The sequel is good as well, but I've never been a fan of the wacky leveling system, and the new dialog trees that are the result of the key term memorization system will quickly have you heading to GameFAQs. I'd really recommend playing through the first before downloading the second, as if you can't make it through Final Fantasy, you likely won't have the patience for Final Fantasy II.

As an aside, I'm absolutely ecstatic that Square Enix has decided to start porting Final Fantasy games to the iPhone. I think I speak for every iPhone-owning fan of the series when I say: Please, don't stop. Bring them all.

App Store Links:

• Final Fantasy, $8.99
• Final Fantasy II, $8.99

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