CAVE



CAVE Interactive Co., LTD, or CAVE for short, is a Japanese game company that mostly specializes in bullet hell STGs. Established in 1994 by former Toaplan employees, they would go on to create iconic STG franchises, such as the DonPachi series and Mushihimesama series, as well as one-off greats like Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi and Progear no Arashi. "CAVE" is an acronym for "Computer Art Visual Entertainment".

CAVE games are notable for being among the first to have intricate patterns with an over-abundance of bullets, esoteric scoring systems, and minuscule player/ship hitboxes. For instance, Mushihimesama Futari and DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu contain player characters with single pixel hitboxes, permitting seemingly impossible bullet pattern navigation. Earlier CAVE titles presented basic power-up systems with upgrade pick-ups that would spawn in the play field and downgrade the player upon death. Their later works often put the player at a fixed power level throughout the entire game.