Additional Ketsui details - More than just an April Fool's Joke

After the surprise Nintendo DS video of the final Doom battle from Ketsui appeared on the net last week, a lot of general speculation followed from SHMUP fans. Was this an elaborate April Fool’s joke, or something more?

After a meeting on March 31st, according to web sources, all of the details have come out. The Ketsui/Doom video is real, but more importantly than that, the game may indeed be considered for commercial release.

As stated in the previous story (which also includes the video and can be found here: Ketsui Coming to the Nintendo DS), Ketsui was originally being considered silently for a port to the Playstation 2 by Arika and Cave. After struggling with the game’s fifth stage, Mihara regretfully informed the community both of the existence of the project as well as the improbability that it would ever be completed due to Arika’s commitment to maintaining the same level of quality as the original arcade title.

Obvious disappointment followed, and due to some rather cryptic “messages” about Sony declining to allow for a port to the Playstation 3, it seemed that Ketsui had been put permanently on the back burner for considered releases to home consoles.

After listening to the feedback from the community, Mihara scheduled a public meeting at a restaurant in Akihabara. A few general statements were made about the event (location, time, etc.), but the most surprising part of the update was the Ketsui video.

According to the blog, the purpose of the meeting was to gather feedback on the title (which was going to be playable in a demo format) as well as market research to bring back to Arika.

On March 31st, during the official meeting at the Food Theatre, Mihara outlined the project and his motivations for his work so far on the title (which has been done alone). Essentially, Mihara had the idea for the title while in the hospital. His desire to play through the Ketsui Doom battle anywhere led him to consider a portable Ketsui “boss attack” game (a la Dodonpachi Daioujou Death Label).

Though it was originally conceived for the Playstation Portable, the disjointed d-pad proved to be frustrating to Mihara and the idea was scratched temporarily. After looking at other options, Mihara finally decided to test the Nintendo DS, and surprisingly enough, was extremely satisfied with the results.

Though the demo was only a portion of what would be available if the game was released at a retail level, the response from the players at the restaurant was extremely positive. The only concern expressed was whether or not a boss attack styled game would be “boring” for players of the arcade title. Mihara responded that any game developed commercially would also have more bosses and “new” secrets to find to make it interesting for fans of the original Ketsui as well as to provide a great gaming experience.

The demo featured was downloadable only. During the demo, players had 120 minutes to face off against Doom with a single ship and no bombs before the demo was locked due to a time out. There were noticeable changes to Doom’s attack patterns as well as the game speed that helped alter the game to fit the DS’s resolution and screen size, but according to the participants at the event, the arcade feeling that the game provided was still excellent.

Mihara seemed satisfied with the response of the demo, and stated it was now in the hands of Arika to determine the commercial viability of the project.

Expect future updates as they come.