Dodonpachi Blissful Death is an iOS port of a previously Japan-only arcade/PS2 game titled DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou from Japanese developer CAVE.  If you’ve never played a CAVE shooter, make this your first one!

DoDonPachi Blissful Death ($4.99)
iOS iPhone/iPod Touch 4

“The famous DoDonPachi Blissful Death (DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou) is now back for the first time in 10 years! The legendary shooters is now available for all on iOS. This port now consists with exhilarating combo and hyper systems but will you be able to dodge and survive the ultimate bullet hell?”

Presentation

Bullet Hell shooter? Played one before? They are ridiculously fun shooters that require skill and precision to be successful. Japanese developer CAVE makes some of the best and are known for having wicked character designs and excellent bullet animations, DoDonPachi Blissful Death has both. Unfortunately the graphics were a bit of a let down, though at times there is so much on the screen, you can’t help but appreciate the visuals.

Controls

CAVE has done a great job with the touchscreen controls; You control your ship with one finger, and adjust between your cannon/laser button. You will also find a bomb button on the screen that is used to clear the screen of all enemies and bullets. It’s also worth noting that you can change your button layout in the options section to one of four unique layouts. It’s really just preference, I was fine using the default layout.

Gameplay

The game is nice enough to include four difficulty settings; Those with a death wish can go straight to ‘Hell’ mode, while newbies can start off on can get comfortable with the novice setting. However be warned, even on novice the game can be frustrating to the inexperience player. Both OpenFeint and Game Center are supported for those interested in achievements and leaderboards.

The goal of this vertical-scroller is to destroy as many enemies as you can(boss fights included), all while avoiding oncoming bullets to your ship. You have the choice of 2 ships to choose from, equipped with both a laser weapon/cannon, as well as bombs. You also pick one of 3 dolls to attach to your ship, which offer slightly different play styles. Playing through levels is fast, with absolute chaos on the screen at all times. You won’t be bored waiting around that’s for sure.

Suggestions

I wish there was a way to save my game, it’s very old school in the sense that once you run out of lives you must start from the very beginning. But hey, we don’t wanna make the game too easy now do we?

Conclusion

DoDonPachi Blissful Death is another quality bullet hell shooter for CAVE, with an excellent price point. At $4.99, you can’t really go wrong. I’m hoping more people give this genre a try, I promise the difficulty is adjustable so the game will only kick your ass if you want it to. You won’t find a better bullet hell shooter on iOS! 9/10