DoDonPachi DaiOuJou

DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou ("Blissful Death")

DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou (JP: 怒首領蜂 大往生, abbreviated: DOJ, iOS/Android: DoDonPachi Blissful Death) is the fourth entry in the DonPachi series of shoot-em-ups (the third developed by CAVE). It is one of the most well-regarded games in CAVE's catalog of shooters. DOJ introduced the Hyper System to the series, which allowed the player to give all of their firepower an enormous boost in strength, in exchange for increased game difficulty.

There are two versions of DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou that were released to the arcades; White Label and Black Label. White Label is the original release of the game, and Black Label is a sort of "revised" version of the game featuring an easier first loop, and a more difficult second loop, as well as the option to select between a one-loop or two-loop game. Black Label also contains a selection of mechanics adjustments and bug fixes. When differentiating between the two, people abbreviate the game as "DOJ WL" for White Label and "DOJ BL" for Black Label.

Gameplay

Overview

The controls in DaiOuJou are identical to the previous games in the series. The joystick (or controller on the PS2 version) moves the ship. Tapping button 1 fires standard shots, and holding button 1 fires the laser weapon. Pressing button 2 activates a hyper if one is available, or uses a bomb if no hypers are in stock. If the laser is active the bomb is an amplification of the laser weapon; otherwise it is an explosion that covers the screen. In all cases the player becomes invincible for a short period. There is also an option to enable button 3, which automatically fires only the standard shots, otherwise known as "auto(matic) fire".

DaiOuJou follows the conventions of the previous game with only a few changes. The chaining system is intact and works in much the same way. Causing an enemy to explode fills a meter, and every enemy destroyed before the meter depletes adds to the current chain and again refills the meter. Holding the laser weapon over a large enemy will hold the meter steady and slowly accumulate hits. In this way it is possible to create a single chain out of any of the 5 stages.

Hyper item

This is an addition to the series. A hyper meter is incorporated into the upper-left status display and is filled by chaining, collecting bees, and dying, amongst other things. When the meter is filled, a hyper item falls from the top of the screen, unless the player is currently in a boss battle. A player can hold up to 5 hyper items at any one time.

When a hyper is activated, all hyper items are used at once with an effect proportional to the amount of hypers consumed (duration and power are both affected). A hyper causes the player's fighter to be invincible for a short while, and amplifies the powers of both normal fire and the laser. Once the timer runs out the player's ship returns to normal. As a side effect, all enemy bullets move faster when the hyper is activated, increasing the "RANK" difficulty level of the game, until a bomb is used or when the player's ship is destroyed. This effect does not disappear when the hyper wears off. Using a bomb during a hyper will end it immediately; dying causes the player to lose all in-stock hyper items. Using a hyper while there is an uncollected hyper item will transform it into a large star.

Fighters

• TYPE-A: High speed, fires front concentration shots
• TYPE-B: Low speed, fires wide front area shots

Element Dolls

The selection of Element Dolls is similar to the selection of Shot or Laser variants in DoDonPachi. A doll is chosen after a fighter type is selected.

• DFSD-010 SHOTIA: Increases shot power, 3 bombs (max 6)
• DFSD-014 LEINYAN: Increases laser power, 2 bombs (max 4)
• FSD-002 EXY: Increases shot and laser powers, 1 bomb (max 2)

When the player loses a life, the revived fighter's enhanced weapon is reduced in power by one level, while the non-enhanced weapon's power is reduced to its lowest level. In the case of Expert type, both weapons are lowered by only one level upon death. Also, a player's maximum bomb capacity may be increased after respawning.

Stages

There are 5 stages per loop. The second loop becomes available if the player completes the first loop and satisfies one of the following requirements:

• Loses at most 2 lives
• Uses at most 3 bombs
• Collects all 10 bees in at least 3 stages. The bees in each stage must be collected without dying.
• (White Label Only) When finishing the first 5 stages with more than 350 million

If the player then defeats the regular stage 2-5 boss, the true final boss of the game, Hibachi, appears.

Plot

Synopsis

Centuries have passed since the catastrophic war that almost cost the human race its complete annihilation at the hands of the deranged Colonel Schwarlitz Longhener, leader of the DonPachi Corps: a military squad of starfighter pilots known for their combat prowess and emotional detachment (as a result of the inhuman training they are subjected to - the first game being a prime example of it, with the trainee actually slaughtering comrades posing as the enemy); whatever remained of his genocidal army was gathered, transported to the Moon and sealed within a network of caves, left to rot away as the nightmares faded into legend.

The human race flourished again, to the point of colonizing the Moon itself, the megacity of Lunapolis being the hub of human activity on lunar soil. However, as time passed, the dormant machines reawakened, rebuilt, evolved: the caverns of the planet swarmed with all sorts of advanced war machines, and automated production facilities, at their core a heavily guarded platform where the ultimate fighting machine of the past, the mechanical bee Hibachi (this time named 緋蜂, lit. "Scarlet Bee"), was slowly being rebuilt. Still following their original programming, the machines broke the seal, invading the surface and quickly seizing control of the almost defenseless Lunapolis, its streets and facilities now completely overtaken and littered with heavy artillery emplacements.

With little time to spare, the DonPachi Corps are reactivated, with enough time to build only two fighters; nevertheless, to each was bestowed the assistance of an Element Doll, highly evolved sentient droids (apparently widespread in human society by then, and treated as little more than slaves) capable of providing tactical data and enhancing the craft's own capabilities. Knowing that the mission is plausibly suicidal, the two attack ships are deployed on the Moon surface, just outside Lunapolis, alone against a ruthless army of machines with a single objective; killing.

Ending

The game's ending reveals, in a chilling twist, that the Element Dolls are, in truth, cybernetic beings built by forcefully turning human beings into servants, laborers and soldiers, their minds and wills rewritten and bent to the whim of Earth's upper class. Then, a Doll-specific coda is shown:

• Shotia: Interfacing with the enemy's computer network and forcibly shutting it down, Shotia is finally pulled out of the fighter jet by her pilot, who has come to grow feelings for the biomechanical soldier. As he holds her however, her mind is overcome by a virus hidden in Hibachi's mainframe and slowly deteriorates, each memory being deleted until, at last, tears accompany the Doll's final ones, those of her in her human days, before being abducted and converted. With a smile, Shotia dies.
• Leinyan: Having finally destroyed the devilish war machine Hibachi and ensuing the collapse of the enemy's computer network, the fighter plane returns to base, the pilot's mission completed. However, Leinyan rebels against her masters, having fallen in love with her pilot, who is forced to watch helplessly as she is dragged away, deactivated and her body dissected for research. In an atypical subversion of the series' dark endings, the Doll's consciousness takes control of the laboratory's systems, escaping into cyberspace and, finally, reuniting with her lover.
• EXY: In a desperate attempt to shut down the enemy's computer network, EXY interfaces with it and delves within the massive data stream with her own consciousness. The attempt is successful, however the information flow drives her mad (it is implied that she discovered Colonel Schwarlitz Longhener's involvement and betrayal), who ultimately breaks free from the fighter's armor and, in a fit of blind rage, chokes the pilot and slaughters the accompanying infantry escort. This, along with the deranged realization that mankind is the one true enemy to defeat, ultimately leads to the events depicted in Dai-Fukkatsu.

Development

Black Label

This variant was a limited edition release. The arcade board includes the original and Black Label games, which can be selected during boot time. The Black Label game can be identified by the black title screen. After the release of the Black label, the original version is called as White Label, particularly for clarification.

Changes in Black Label include:

• The player can select 1 Loop Mode or 2 Loop Mode at the beginning of the game, after selecting a battle fighter and Element Doll. In 2 Loop Mode, after completing stage 1–5, the player now has the option to play the second loop as before, but in 1 Loop Mode, the player immediately fights Hibachi after defeating the normal final stage boss.
• The player is no longer reduced to only one life when entering the 2nd loop.
• The player can continue should he/she lose all his/her lives in the 2nd loop by inserting more coins and pressing START (and a second player can join in), up until he/she reaches the true final stage.
• The game is easier in general. The enemy bullets are fewer and move slower, but the changes are subtle.
• The Hyper Meter fills faster than in the original.
• Some bug fixes. The chain meter now has 5 digits, so it no longer rolls over if it reaches 9,999 hits. (In the original version, the chain meter counts internally correct, but displays only lower 4 digits.)
• Both weapons are lowered by only one level upon respawning for all types when in the 2nd loop.

A prototype export/overseas version of the Black Label edition named DoDonPachi III was discovered in 2016.