Here we have it (albeit a tad late on my part, sorry folks) – Cave’s magnificent feudal Japanese manic shooter : GUWANGE! Only 800 MSP on Xbox Live Arcade!
Anyone who reads my blog or knows me personally can attest to the fact that I am a big fan of the Japanese arcade game developer, CAVE. Some time ago Cave held a survey asking which one, of several of their back-catalogued games, the fans would like to see fully localized and released on XBLA. Among the choices were Progear, Dodonpachi, ESP Ra.De., and Dangun Feveron (aka Fever SOS).
Votes were cast and Guwange (pronounced GOO-WANG) came out the victor! On November 10th 2010 , Cave fans around the globe saw the interspectacular sight of Guwange available on XBLA – for ten bucks!
I encourage Cave fans in the USA to go ahead and drop a Hamilton on this game. Consider it your vote for more Cave games released in the US. Officially the only North American releases thus far have been Deathsmiles NA and Guwange.
What’s up next for Cave on XBLA?
The discomen collecting romp known as DANGUN FEVERON! Keep checking back for news on a release date, etc.
But back to Guwange…
I’m not going to bother reviewing this game…I’ve seen several game sites with the headline “REVIEW: Guwange is Bullet…HEAVEN?” – so I’ll spare you all the pun laden review. I’ll just say that the game is a faithful port and also incluses two interesting extra modes of play : Xbox360 Arrange Mode (basically a novice mode) and the PUNISHINGLY difficult “Blue Label” Mode. Blue labe mode is a port of a very rare, specially made version of the original Guwange arcade PCB. Originally given to the three highest scoring players at a Cave hosted event in Japan, the “Blue” version is an extremely tough arrange mode. Imagine walking without an umbrella in a severe rainstorm, where the rain is bullets…
Well, whether or not my attempt at evoking an image just now was successful or not, I digress…
How about some pictures and video? Now THAT’s what I’m talking about!
Matskat's Custom Arcade Sticks 