Deathsmiles IIX: Makai no Merry Christmas

Overview

Deathsmiles IIX: Makai no Merry Christmas is an updated version of Deathsmiles II: Makai no Merry Christmas developed by Cave for the Xbox 360.

Story

The game takes place in Gilverado (Same location as the first Deathsmiles) on Chirstmas Eve. Satan Claus has come to Gilverado to exact revenge on Count Dior for a past incident. He wounds Count Dior and escapes with five gold music notes which can grant wishes. After the girls discover their master wounded and the music notes gone, they take flight to stop Satan Claus and get the notes back.

Characters

The four angels (Casper, Windia, Rosa, Follett) return and are joined by two new angels:

Supe

She fell into a pond while skating and awoke in Gilverado. Windia finds her on the streets of Gilverado and brings her back to meet Dior. Satan Claus was watching Supe and when they arrive, her powers were awakened and are used to attack Dior. When Satan Claus takes the music notes, Supe returns to normal and goes out with the girls to set things right.

Her Familiar is a remnant of Tyrannosatan (Final Boss from Deathsmiles)

Lei

Supe's older brother who tried to save her from falling into the pond, but he also awoke in Gilverado. A man named Goldberg finds Lei and gives him a pair of dry clothes, which look like a maid outfit. Goldberg suggests Lei go to Count Dior's mansion to earn some money, but when the pair get there, he sees Supe fly off with the other angels. Lei follows suit, despite the clothes he has on.

He has two familiars (Similar to Sakura), two angels named Pipi and Pepe.

Modes

Arcade

Exact port of the arcade version. Follett and Rose aren't playable in this version. The game runs in 4:3 mode with a wallpaper background.

Deathsmiles IIX

Essentially the Black Label version of the arcade game. This mode has Follett and Rose playable. The game runs in true 16:9 widescreen and the bullet patterns have been tweaked slightly for this mode. There are also two extra stages added as well. Voice overs have been added to the story sequences in this mode, which can be turned on or off. The 'difficulty selector' from the first game has been brought back to adjust the difficulty between Level 1 and Level 3.

Arrange

Just like Deathsmiles IIX with some tweaks. When the item count hits 1000, the game slows down into a "Fever Mode" where all the bullets move slower and are more frequent. Your familiar can be sent into the field to collect the bullets (using the RB) and are cancelled into items when they touch them. Some enemies taken out by the familiar will turn them into lock-on skulls. Destroying the bullets and skulls in "Fever Mode" fills up a magic meter which, when filled, rewards the player with an extra bomb.

Tsukaima Race

An extra mode where players take control of one the familiars through 2D mazes. This mode has its own leaderboards and achievements.

Release

The game was released on May 27 2010 in Japan in both a standard and limited edition. The limited edition came with a soundtrack cd of the game.

On May 12 2011, it was announced that Cave and Microsoft will release the game on Games on Demand in North America without localization; all original Japanese language elements will remain in tact. The North American version was released on May 17 2011 in the US and May 24 2011 In Canada and Mexico. Cave commented on the game's digital release, claiming that they were testing the waters to see how american gamers would react to a non localized game, in hopes of perhaps offering other games in the same vein. DeathSmiles 2 was chosen for this little experiment because the original was released in a box in the US. The game costs 29.99$, has a disclaimer before purchase and is rated by the ESRB (T). 

Soundtrack

1. Visitors from Hell (Select)

   

2. On Christmas Eve... (Field A)
3. Fragment of Tragedy Blood-Soaked with Murderous Intent (Boss)
4. Angel's Rest (Field Clear)
5. A Wild Beast Assaulting the Capital (Field B)
6. Demons at the Abyss (Field C)
7. A Shadow Wandering the Ruins (Field D)
8. Inside the White Darkness (Field E)
9. The Kingdom of Unfinished Dreams (Field EX-1)
10. The Enchanted Palace (Field Final-1)
11. Elegy for the Fallen Angels (Field Final-2)
12. The Decisive Christmas Eve Battle (From "Ave Maria" by Gounod/J.S. Bach) (Final Boss)
13. Christmas Angel (Arcade Ending)
14. The Special Two (Xbox 360 Ending)
15. To the Wandering Pure Souls (Name, Demo)
16. Death X' Mailes - AOU Version (Image Song)