DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu

DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu ("Great Resurrection")

DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu (JP: 怒首領蜂 大復活, abbreviation: DFK, localized in the West as DoDonPachi Resurrection) is the fifth game developed in the DonPachi series of games, the fourth developed by CAVE. Released in 2008, it was originally intended to be the final entry in the DonPachi series of games, until the development and release of DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou in 2012. There are two major revisions of DFK (Ver 1.0 and Ver 1.5), as well as DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Black Label (DFK BL), a major expansion on the original release of DFK. DFK has seen a number of ports to other platforms compared to other CAVE releases, as it's been released on Arcade, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, and Android. There are also several Arrange modes of the game, which are all included in the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows ports of the game.

DFK is known as a highly mechanically dense game, with two of its major defining mechanics being the bullet-canceling Hyper Counter system, and enemy lasers that can be pushed back by your own. There are three ships available in the game; Type-A, B and C, as well as three different "Styles" to choose from; Bomb, Power, or Strong. Bomb Style is the most beginner-friendly style, playing like a traditional DDP game, while Power introduces a Normal/Boost shot mechanic, and Strong is a juiced-up version of Bomb, with much slower movement speed overall. Power Style is recommended only for advanced players and score chasers due to its increased complexity, while Bomb is recommended for defensive players, and Strong is recommended for survival runs and offensive players.

Releases

The first release, DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Ver 1.0, was released in arcades in 2008. A few months later, Ver 1.0 would see a recall due to several major bugs, safespots, game balance issues, and a counter-stop present in the game, and would be followed up with DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Ver 1.5, which fixed all of these issues and rebalanced several aspects of the game. Due to these issues, Ver 1.0 is not recommended for serious scoring, and is mostly played as a novelty; effectively rendered obsolete by 1.5.

Two years later, DFK would see another Great Resurrection in the form of DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Black Label, a major re-mixing of Dai-Fukkatsu with tons of brand new mechanics, the most prominent and noticable being a "custom" rank system that fluctuated in real time with player actions, and additional bullet canceling mechanics. The ships and their styles also went through rebalancing, making a more "balanced" experience overall. Due to the major differences between 1.5 and BL, the two are considered to be separate games entirely.

With the release of DoDonPachi Resurrection on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms, came even more modes. DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu Ver 1.51, a revision of 1.5 with arranged scoring mechanics, was a limited version of DFK, previously only available at Cave Matsuri 2010, but was included in the Windows version of DoDonPachi Resurrection (available as DLC for the Xbox 360 version). There are also three arrange modes -- Arrange L (Arrange A), Arrange B, and Black Label Arrange -- included with this release. Finally, Resurrection includes a Novice mode for 1.5 and BL -- featuring more forgiving chaining, less bullets, and bee items that don't have to be uncovered -- to allow newer and less experienced players to ease themselves in and learn the many complex mechanics in the game. The game also features updated, higher definition visuals.

Gameplay Overview

Due to the many differences between the several versions of DFK, each different version and arrange mode of DFK will be receiving its own individual page, which you can find after the section below. This section will only contain information that is relevant to all releases of DFK.

With the exception of Ver1.51 and Arrange B, DoDonPachi Dai-Fukkatsu is a four-button shooting game.

• A (Press): Fires standard shots from the player's ship and their options
• A (Hold): Fires the traditional DonPachi laser, which deals concentrated damage to enemies and objects in its path, and can push back weaker enemy Lasers
• B: Releases a Bomb, as long as you have one in stock (Bomb/Strong Style) OR switches your ship between Normal shot and Boost shot (Power Style only)
• C: Auto-Fire for the standard A shot
• D: Activates the ship's Hyper Counter, granting the player beefed up firepower and the ability to cancel bullets with their Shot and deflect huge enemy lasers with the Laser (requires a 100% full Hyper Gauge)

Hit Chaining

Much like the games before it, DFK utilizes a scoring system that is centered around chaining hits with your Shot and Laser weapons. When you destroy enemies, you fill up a GP Meter, which automatically depletes when enemies are not being destroyed. You can prevent chain drops either by training your Laser on enemies (where the meter will stall at around 5-10% as long as you are hitting with your Laser), or by activating Hyper Counter, which fills the GP Meter back to 100%. If the gauge fully empties, your hit chain is "dropped", and starts back at 0 Hits. Note that your GP Meter will also fill back up to the top when Hyper Counter mode ends.

Bullet-Canceling Hyper Counter System

DFK includes a brand-new bullet canceling mechanic in the form of its Hyper Counter System. By dealing damage to enemies and collecting green / white bees, you fill up a Hyper Meter that can be activated with the D button when your meter is 100% full. Activating the Hyper Counter grants the player the ability to cancel bullets on-screen with their A shot / C auto-fire, racking up huge amounts of Hits and wiping the screen clear of danger. Depending on the ship and mode you play, canceling bullets with your Shot will also turn them into Small Stars, each Star being worth 1/10 of the value of your current Hit chain.

The player's Laser weapon also gets a massive boost with Hyper Counter active, allowing them to repel huge enemy lasers (which can normally only be done with a Strong Style ship). Repelling enemy lasers while in Hyper Counter will also rapidly increase the rate at which the player earns more Hits for their chain. Point-blanking enemies and the base of enemy lasers will also rapidly increase the player's Hyper Meter, allowing them to quickly recharge their meter to 100%.

Hidden Bee Items

Much like the games before it, DFK includes bee items that are uncovered using your Laser. Unique to DFK, bee items come in three varieties:

• Gold: Awards the player points, multiplied on the amount of bee items collected in the stage.
• Green: Adds about 25% Hyper Meter to the Hyper Gauge.
• White / Flashing: Rewards both green and gold bee bonuses to the player. Freshly revealed bees will also flash white.

Collecting bee items is an integral part of accessing both types of "second loops" in the game (Omote and Ura).

In Black Label, hidden bee items also cancel all bullets on-screen and converts them into Star items.

Ura Route & Second Loop

DFK includes two different "routes" of the game, which include different mini-bosses as well as slightly different stage progression and enemy layouts; the Omote (Standard) Route and the Ura (Hidden) Route. The Omote Route is the default route of the game, which has you fighting the DFK mini-bosses, whereas the Ura Route sends you on different paths to fight different mini-bosses in each stage, represented by the original bosses from DoDonPachi.

You can access the hidden route during stage 1, by destroying three specific silos before they are run over by the tanks at the beginning of the stage. If you perform this correctly, you'll be sent to a different stage path and fight the first DoDonPachi boss, and you will stay on this route unless you die (dying at a boss is OK), time out an Ura mini-boss, OR fail to collect every bee in the stage. The hidden Ura route has additional bee items as well as a higher scoring potential in most cases. (In Black Label, Power Style ships will always be sent on the Ura route of the game, even if they don't destroy the silos before the tanks do.)

There are two loops to access in DFK, the Omote and Ura loop. Omote is a standard second loop that takes you through harder versions of the five stages of DFK, facing off against the standard mini-bosses on the Omote Route of the game, with the Last Boss, Golden Disaster, waiting for you at the end. Ura is an even harder second loop with more aggressive enemies, and has you face off against the "Ura route" mini-bosses, ending in an encounter with both Golden Disaster and the True Last Boss, Hibachi.

To reach the different two loops, you must accomplish the following:

• Omote: Collect 35 bee items, OR don't die more than once (Power) + avoid using more than two bombs (Bomb/Strong)
• Ura: Collect all 45 bee items AND don't die more than once (Power) + avoid using more than two bombs (Bomb/Strong)

Ver 1.0

Ver1.0 of DFK is the original release issued to arcades. It did not include the Type-B ship or Strong Style by default, each one requiring a different code to enter in order to unlock on the PCB. It is known for having several bugs and a particular safespot in the fight against Hibachi, as well as a counter-stop. It is mostly obsolete, and superseded by 1.5. 1.0 is not included in any of the ports of DFK.

(Contrary to info online, it is not possible to unlock either the Type-B ship or Strong Style by 1CCing the game.)

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Ver1.0

Ver 1.5

Ver1.5 brings back the Type-B helicopter ship as a default selection, re-balances the Type-A and Type-C ships, adds two more digits to the score counter (to prevent counter-stopping), and increases the difficulty of the True Last Boss, Hibachi (as well as removing the safespot. Strong Style is still hidden by default, but can be unlocked permanently on the PCB by accomplishing a 1CC / 1-ALL run.

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Ver1.5

Black Label

Black Label introduces new scoring systems and updates/remixes some mechanics of 1.5. It also features completely new music, an additional True Last Boss (Zatsuza), and removes the second loop, with the new RED Gauge system acting like a player-customizable rank system, and the second loop patterns being limited to Strong Style players only. Hidden bee items also tie into the bullet canceling mechanic for the first time.

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Black Label

Ver 1.51

(Basic mechanics breakdown)

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Ver1.51

Arrange L (Arrange A)

(Basic mechanics breakdown)

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Arrange A

Arrange B

Arrange B is a highly unique score attack mode, featuring a "global rank" system as well as individual stage and enemy ranks, causing each run of a stage to become easier or harder depending on how you play, and allowing you to custom-tailor your experience through your gameplay. It also strips the player's buttons down from four to two (Laser and Bomb/Hyper) and introduces always-on auto-fire. Stages in Arrange B will always have the player face off against the Ura mid-bosses from DoDonPachi. Hidden bees are uncovered by default, and collecting a bee will put the player in a different "Grid" that influences how the stage's rank grows, as well as altering the bullet patterns that enemies use against the player.

Arrange B contains a slew of mechanics changes far too dense to cover on this page.

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Arrange B

Black Label Arrange (Ketsuipachi)

Black Label Arrange is a head-on collision between DFK Black Label and Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi, mixing mechanics from the two games into one. It is also referred to as "Ketsuipachi" by many players. In this mode, you play as the Tiger Sword / Tiger Schwert from Ketsui, complete with the Lock-Shot mechanic, utilizing both the proximity chip system (which now goes up to 10-chip) and the bullet-canceling + Hyper Counter mechanics of Black Label. An arranged soundtrack is also included in this mode featuring remixes of music from Ketsui by Jake "virt" Kaufman.

Full details: DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Black Label Arrange