Mushihimesama (Switch) is a great replayable shmup to play on your Switch console. For Switch owners new to the bullet hell genre, Mushihimesama is a fantastic place to get your feet wet. For Switch owners itching to replay a classic bullet hell, look no further than Mushihimesama! Either way, you will have a great time navigating the seemingly endless waves of bullets in beautiful bug-filled arenas.
When I was in high school, I remember coming across a Youtube video of an expert Touhou player surviving what seemed like an impossible boss. I was surprised by how they were able to precisely navigate their character through a screen that was nearly full of bullets. I was enchanted by the possibility playing a game that looked so difficult yet so simple. This started my love for bullet hell games (or shoot-em-ups aka “shmups”). Fast forward to 2021, I am relieved that classic shmups are becoming available on current-gen consoles, especially portable consoles such as the Switch.
Mushihimesama (Switch) is not a new shmup, nor is it a direct port of an original arcade game that was released in 2004. Instead, the Switch version is technically a port of the XBOX 360 version, which came with several different modes, HD graphical updates, and DLC content. Unlike the XBOX 360 version, Mushihimesama (Switch) has all of the modes available at the start, online leaderboards for players to showcase their top scores, and the DLC already included in the base game. In short, Mushihimesama (Switch) is an excellent one-stop-shop for unfamiliar and experienced players to test their mettle against waves of bullets raining down on your character.
In most bullet hell style games, the gameplay mechanics are simple: You move your character around waves of bullets, you use an ability to clear the screen of bullets if you’re overwhelmed, you collect powerups from killing enemies, and you survive for as long as possible during intense boss battles. Mushihimesama (Switch) does not stray from these mechanics: 3D Bugs fill the screen with bullets as you move upward, you have the option of using bombs to clear screens of bullets, and several powerups can drop that change your weapons. At the center of your character is a glowing circle that acts as your weak point: You can move your character through bullets so long as they do not touch the circle. For those of you who have played the later iterations of Touhou, this should be no different. Otherwise, Mushihimesama (Switch) gives newer players just enough information on the screen that they need to survive.
Several modes and difficulties exist in Mushihimesama (Switch): Normal (the original Arcade mode), Arrange (a rebalanced mode where you are automatically at max power and you release a bomb when you get hit), and Ver. 1.5 (also called “Matsuri” mode, released as DLC, featuring new enemy patterns, slightly updated graphics, and more), Novice (a toned-down difficulty that eases new players into the bullet hell experience), and Maniac (the literal embodiment of bullet hell in Mushihimesama). Although I wished that there were more additions/features in this Switch port, I am confident that there is just enough content to play and replay for many hours (especially among those who want to show off their high scores on the harder difficulties).
Just for kicks, I tested out both Novice and Maniac difficulties during my review period. Playing on Novice was refreshing as one who hadn’t played a bullet hell game in several years. I was able to cruise through the first few levels, but I was pleasantly surprised by the later levels’ spike in difficulty. Maniac, on the other hand, made me call myself just that. Seconds into the first level my screen was filled with bullets, making me question if I could make it to later levels as I did on Novice. Luckily, losing my lives didn’t boot me to the first level; instead, my score reset and I continued as you was. Completing each of these Maniac levels was a challenge and was worth the onslaught of bullets that pierced my resolve (and strained my eyes).
A general concern among shmup players involves input lag. When playing on arcade cabinets, you can expect slightly less input lag than when you play on consoles. Ports can deviate from this in the sense that the ported game will be slightly laggier than the original game. Luckily, Mushihimesama (Switch) does not seem to suffer from increased input lag you can expect to see in other ported shmup titles. I used the Joycons and a PS4 controller connected to my Switch, and I was very pleased to find that I could near-precisely navigate through the waves of bullets on harder difficulties. If you do encounter input lag, Mushihimesama (Switch) contains settings for you to adjust to your liking.
Two additional settings worth noting in this review are Screen Rotation and Link Rotation (more colloquially known as “Tate Mode”). These settings give you the ability to visually rotate the in-game display so you can play Mushihimesama (Switch) on a vertical screen. Playing on the horizontal Switch screen stressed my eyes out (especially on Maniac mode), but the vertical option gave me more space to magnify the display. I highly recommend that you enable the Tate Mode when you play on the Switch’s display.
Mushihimesama (Switch) is a great replayable shmup to play on your Switch console. For Switch owners new to the bullet hell genre, Mushihimesama is a fantastic place to get your feet wet. For Switch owners itching to replay a classic bullet hell, look no further than Mushihimesama! Either way, you will have a great time navigating the seemingly endless waves of bullets in beautiful bug-filled arenas.
