Castle of Shikigami 2 (henceforth CoS2) has managed the unthinkable: it has mimicked almost every non-graphical aspect of part one, yet has turned out to be somehow worse than its predecessor. To take an existing design, apply a new coat of paint, and re-release it is one thing, but to do that and end up with an inferior product is to cross the line that divides console developer and community college comp-science dropout.
CoS2 is the successor to Shikigami No Shiro, or Castle of Shikigami 1, released in the States under the title Mobile Light Force 2. In this sequel, players take control of one of seven characters (each of which has two marginally different forms) and take to the skies, cities, and temples to fight human and machine enemies spread across ten levels.
Players are given three attacks: a charge shot, a bomb, and a regular pattern of fire, all unique to each character. At certain points throughout the game, using each of these attacks is required, but most of the game can be completed using only the basic attack, executed by pressing the A button. Unfortunately, that basic attack is constant throughout the game. Never is the player given a chance to upgrade or change it, a pet peeve of mine. After you've played Raiden II, going back to a non-power-up game is quite difficult.
CoS2 feels like it has been set at half the speed of an Ikaruga or Armored Police Batrider. Enemy fire always seems to methodically glide towards your on-screen character, allowing anybody to easily bypass it. Further, there is a leniency in avoiding said fire, in that the character only sustains damage when hit in the center. Not only do the shots approach at a comparatively slow rate, but avoiding them is incredibly easy.
What amazed me as I was playing this sequel to MLF2, was that it had an "Easy" mode. Alfa System's Shikigami sequel is already as much of a non-challenge as Gunbird 2 was on the 1 setting; to provide an easier setting than even that is to insult the skill of the player. What may be the saving grace of CoS2, however, the factor that elevates this feat of sheer mediocrity above the damning 3.9 score, is the presence of an "Extreme" mode. But don't let the name fool you - there is nothing extreme about this mode of play; it is basically the regular game set to what would elsewhere constitute a default difficulty setting.
With easy enemies, short levels, and lenient collision detection, CoS2 falls under the category of "Sh'mup Lite". It may be a good introduction to the genre for newcomers, but everyone else may want to opt for something more challenging - like Cave's upcoming sequel to ESPRade.
In the debate over whether 2D-gameplay shooters should conform to 3D graphics, I think anybody that has seen DoDonPachi or Guwange in action would argue strongly against the change. Simply put, this genre was made for 2D, and 2D was made for this genre. But some developers feel otherwise - namely, Alfa System. Now, unlike Success, who have tried to do good things with 3D in spite of the format's inferiority, Alfa System seems to be conforming to the trend to excuse laziness.
There is little detail to speak of in the array of animations found in CoS2. Enemy ships consist of maybe fifty polygons each, large screen-spanning bosses are simplistic and amaturish in design, and the scrolling 3D backgrounds, one of the most impressive aspects of Ikaruga, are bland and uninspired herein. The frame rate also has a nasty tendency to plummet when a lot is happening on-screen, often to the point where you feel like you're watching the game in slow motion. If it was a second generation Playstation game, I could say CoS2 'looks good', but being as it is on the Dreamcast, a platform that has seen the likes of Mars Matrix and Zero Gunner II, it has little appeal.
Of course, where there is bad, there surely must be some good, right? After all, even Winger produced some listenable music in their time. That said, CoS2 has two positives with respect to its otherwise dismal graphics: explosions, and the intro. While neither carries much weight, I feel it necessary to mention something (anything) in favor of the game, and flashy lights fit the bill.
Paced with a tepid trance music beat, CoS2 has a very limited and forgettable sound. The voice actors, though in another language, sound cheesy, and the sound effects are repetitive. Rather than tolerating the game's soundtrack, do what I do: mute the TV and play some music off a CD or mp3 player. It may actually keep you awake through the experience.
CoS2 is at the very bottom tier of Dreamcast shooters. To place it alongside or even below Giga Wing or G-Rev's abysmal Border Down is to do it justice. That games of such weak stature are prolonging the death of the system is a great shame. They are turning this once wonderful platform into the Rolling Stones of the gaming industry, and with every new release there comes the unsettling realization that, despite its resplendent history, the DC will never have the opportunity to die with any dignity.
