Gaming
‘Mushihimesama’ to receive Switch-specific arcade treatment
The arcade shooter from 2004 was recently re-released in HD for the Switch and will now get closer to its roots.
In Mushihimesama (or Bug Princess) players assume the role of Princess Reco, who operates an enormous beetle like a spaceship and attempts to out-gun a medley of even bigger insects that are equipped with the weaponry to match. The game released earlier this summer for the Nintendo Switch through the company’s eShop, and now a limited collection for the shooter will be available for pre-order this week on October 29.
Originally released as a physical arcade game in 2004, Mushihimesama was developed by CAVE, a Japanese video game company that got its start making “bullet hell,” shoot-em-up games. The playing experience is characterized by a frenetic, almost overwhelming pace — you won’t be able to dispatch enemies quicker than they spawn. Players are immersed within a distinct, bug-like world and weave through never-ending bullet patterns, while trying to dish out damage themselves.
The Mushihimesama Switch mini arcade houses your Switch so that you can play the game in vertical TATE mode. This contraption makes use of the joy-con as the stick and buttons, hearkening back to the age where you might huddle around an actual arcade with nothing but a handful of quarters.
Not the first rodeo— Despite receiving a modern re-boot 17 years after the fact, Mushihimesama was ported to the Playstation 2 in 2005, iOS in 2011, and then finally the Xbox 360 in 2012.
There are a multitude of difficulty settings for the game ranging from novice mode to ultra mode and players don’t have to worry about evading every single projectile shot their way — As long as you avoid taking a bullet through the center of your vessel, you’ll survive.
Nostalgia runs deep, even if it is beginning to gravitate away from the arcade games of old and more towards early console favorites. Sometimes this can lead to bad deals on an online service, or even worse simply not be up to par with modern devices. The return of Mushihimesama on the other hand feels welcomed, because it evokes those distinct days of trying to do the impossible: Beat an entire arcade game with very limited funds.