Shikigami No Shiro - Classic Arcade Shoot 'Em Up (Alfa System 2001)

Shikigami No Shiro is a classic arcade shoot 'em up that was developed by Alfa System and first published to arcades in Japan by Taito in 2001; running on Taito's G-Net arcade platform. The game was later released in North America and Europe for original XBOX and Sony PS2 in 2003 under the title "Mobile Light Force 2"; although, the Japanese PS2 and XBOX ports released in 2002 still retained the original name. The game was also ported to PC's through the Steam platform in 2017 and retitled as "Castle of Shikigami." The game's story is pitted in July of 2005, where investigators in Tokyo Japan are searching for clues to the mysterious deaths of 31 women; only to realize a dark, demonic force supernatural force is behind the deaths. Players took on the role of 1 of 6 playable characters, each with their own unique shot types, charge attacks, and bomb attacks. The game's "Tension Bonus" scoring system rewards putting your character closer to enemies during battle, increasing the score multiple up to 8X. The challenge is getting close to enemies without being destroyed. Likewise, close quarter defeats can also cause enemies to release additional coins, further increasing your score. Here we played as Kim Dae-Jeoung, who's armed with a giant lightning staff that has the ability to spin 360 degrees, wiping out everything in its path. The tricky part here is getting close enough to the enemies to execute these attacks, as your character moves quite slowly, while enemies often appear from the top or sides of the screen. However, unleashing bomb attacks provides a temporary shield for your character, giving you time to move closer to enemies in order to execute the charge attacks. Other characters charge attacks can be executed from a distance, while Kim Dae-Jeoung's must be within very close proximity. The game boasted stunning 3D visual effects. As your character moves left and right, the landscapes below dip and turn to create a real sense of height as your character flies in the air vertically across the screen. Some of the boss characters have force fields that can inflict damage if your character crosses them, and the trick is to try and stay within the forcefield area to avoid being hit. The game boasts a strong supernatural theme to it, with players battling it out against demonic looking teddy bears, spiders, human skulls, and oddly enough, spinning ballerinas. Bosses in the game include a sword wielding Samurai, a giant dragon like serpent, a star with teeth, and some of the game's bosses are so bizarre they're honestly difficult to even explain. The game was popular enough that it spawned multiple sequels, including Shikigami No Shiro 2 and 3; as well as a spin-off based on the series known as "Shikigami no Shiro Nanayozuki Gensoukyoku" or Shikigami No Shiro - Seven Moon Noturne." Though, the last title in the series was graphical text-based adventure game, and not an all out shooter like the original titles in the series. Connect with Gamers Bay on X (Formerly Twitter):   / gamerz321   Gamers Bay Group MeWe: https://mewe.com/group/5bbe77d8480990... Gamers Bay Brand Page MeWe: https://mewe.com/profile/5bbe746d4809...