Review: Akai Katana Shin - One Of CAVE’s Very Best Horizontal Bullet Hells

Live by the sword.

CAVE Co. Ltd, the pioneering, god-tier arcade developer that reignited the shooting game genre in the '90s, has a portfolio to die for. After 17 years of cast-iron quality and unceasing invention, the sound of gunfire finally rang silent in 2012 with their swansong, Dodonpachi SaiDaiOuJou.

Among Cave’s output, only a few entries are regarded as black sheep. Progear (2001) and Akai Katana (2010) share a kinship of sorts. Both were salient horizontal scrollers among a host of verticals, and neither were hits on release. Directed by Shinobu Yagawa (Battle Garegga), Akai Katana is the most Cave-like of his creations and one of the easier titles on his resume.

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