DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou Is a Great Cave Bullet Hell

Since 2021, we’ve seen quite a few Cave bullet hell classics show up on the Switch. Since Mushihimesama debuted in 2021, Live Wire and City Connection made many games more easily accessible to a wider audience. Now DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou is finally on the Switch, closing out that series’ storyline, making it playable on a console for the first time in over 10 years, and making one of the studio’s final danmaku arcade games even more accessible worldwide.

So a big thing to know going into DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou on the Switch is that while there is English text in the menus and you can get by, Live Wire didn’t localize the game. It is only available in Japanese. So the conversations between characters, supplemental story elements, and some menu text will be indecipherable to a large number of people. The critical menu options you need to play and enjoy it are all in English, however! Also, since this is a shoot’em up, exposition isn’t a priority. It’s nice to have, but not the primary focus.

Since DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou is an entirely self-contained follow-up that also doesn’t involve the trademark second loop after finishing a first run, it is easier to jump right into the Switch game. Other types of story beats remain, however. We’re still sent to fight against incredible odds against various robots and machines, like past entries, with an uncertain origin as you race to reach Hibachi. However, the remaining humans are fighting back with Elemental Dolls androids much like the ones from DoDonPachi DaiOuJou. Since this version of the Cave bullet hell game is based on the EXA Label arcade and Xbox 360 release, we get four kinds of ships to choose from and can fight as Hikari, Maria, Shuri, and Saya. For those who do know Japanese, Saya’s route ends up being the most satisfying due to her backstory with Hibachi.

Like all Cave bullet hell games, gameplay in the danmaku DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou is easy to understand, but can take time to master. You pick one of the Elemental Dolls as your partner and head into the field. You then fly through stages, switching between your shots and more concentrated laser, to attack foes. Each unit has their own speed and unique tendencies, which helps with picking a style that suits you for your onslaught. There are also bombs, a more limited type of assault resource that can help with providing a temporary reprieve, as well as additional easier or harder difficulty levels. 

Score chasing and completing goals becomes as much of a draw as survival, as I found. As you play, you might complete challenges or gain access to certain secrets, as well as be able to unlock character art and voiced lines. It feels like a more tangible reward. However, the systems that allow you to build and maintain combos here are quite sound. I also appreciated how the GP System almost seems like it rewarded me for making things more difficult for myself. It increases the score based on if a player keeps attacking one enemy after another, so allowing foes to propagate, then take them sequentially once a larger number are on-screen, helps.

As Live Wire based the Switch release on the updated and best version of DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou, we get the most fully-fledged experience. As mentioned a moment ago, Saya is present as a character with her own additional mode, storyline with unique ending, and attack patterns. There are Challenges to undertake. The soundtrack options are available. We have multiple modes, which are Ver. 桜夜 with Saya, Arcade HD, Ver.1.5, and Novice. So the Switch version of DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou becomes one of the definitive ones in terms of content.

It is because of some of those inclusions that it also becomes one of the more accessible Cave bullet hell games. You have a Novice mode in addition to the difficulty levels, to help you learn. You can set bombs to auto, to allow a bit of assistance when things are overwhelming. If you”re doing well, Hyper Mode increases the power and range of your shot and laser weapons, as well as makes it easier to chain combos with GP. Purchasing things like the AI Full-Auto Maneuver in the shop makes it possible for a complete beginner to 

I’d also say it is among the best in terms of performance. The input timing feels flawless. There is no hesitation, no long, and no issue with latency. It is perfectly responsive. However, I think I would encourage docked performance, rather than handheld, if you are going to be playing on the standard or harder difficulty options. Especially when it comes to certain bosses. While it looks great in handheld mode, the number of projectiles on-screen at once in this Cave bullet hell installment is staggering. I found using a larger screen to take that in and move accordingly  benefitted me. 

DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou is one of those games that basically you tell a bullet hell fan to pick up because it is an essential title, but perhaps advise a more casual fan to consider if they like the developer or series first. If you love Cave, then absolutely grab it. It is exactly what you expect. If you like the DonPachi and DoDonPachi series, then again it is for you. It is a fantastic title for those who like that type of thing, but a beginner might want to start with a fully localized one like Deathsmiles instead. If you are a fan of Cave bullet hell games, though, remember that the Switch version of Mushihimesama ended up delisted in August 2024 and was also a Live Wire release, which that leaves me a little concerned about the future of this entry.

DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou is available on the Nintendo Switch worldwide, Xbox 360 in Japan, and in Japanese arcades.