Ghost Blade HD

Fun little shmup, Good graphics, solid control. The screen has a bit too much "flashing" wihich is sometimes annoying (particularly on stage one). This is a back to basics Shmup, with no fancy mechanics. 5 Levels makes it the perfect length to improve your game. It seems like a solid mix of a Cave game with an old Toplan game.

con:
- bad visibility. Which is why I can't recommend. Not sure what, but something is wrong. I think our ship shots are too bright and opaque. Too many color variation for the enemy bullets.
- part of the hud can obstruct your ship (when in TATE orientation)

pro:
- music.

I have LOTS of top notch shmups and this is definitely one of the best, It is very simple, but it does the basics wonderfully- great flow, visuals, sound, and fun. Stylish yet straight forward.

It does have one glaring issue though- the transitions into , and out of, boss fights are astoundingly, annoyingly, and disappointingly abrupt. They obviously didn't play test those bits. Devs, If you are listening, PLEASE fix this. This is a classic that could so easily have widespread recognition as such.

If any DLC or sequels come out, I will be first in line. If you like old school simple shmups DO NOT miss this. Definitely worth full price.

This was my first shmup and I had fun getting all the achievements for it. Also I like the cover art by GENZOMAN.

It's a bullet-hell (not every shmup is a bullet-hell) but it doesn't feel like the game hates you (read: sadistic). The art is good; the music is intense; the game itself is challenging, but I never felt like there was a challenge that I couldn't eventually overcome.

I was poopy at shmups but, after completing this game, now I'm a little less poopy.

I don't know what it is about Ghost Blade HD, it just isn't really doing anything for me. You can run the game and play it without it crashing or glitching out, so it isn't offensively bad in those kinds of regards but it just feels really generic. Three ships with some small differences and standard shot/focus/bomb buttons. The only game mechanic that seems to exist to try and make it stand out in some way is point blanking bigger sized enemies in the middle seems to grant more bonus which can be indicated by a quick jingle. This is also me saying this years later after this game released, so I'm definitely late to the party. Regardless, there's way better options to pick over this.

Decently solid bullet hell shooter. A little bit of jank in the patterns takes it down a few pegs but it's not a bad game.

This is a really fun shmup that feels a bit like an early Cave game. It isn't too hard, but it's hard enough to be fun. The scoring system is very simple, but there a few little tricks to keep things interesting. My only complaint is that sometimes it is hard to see all the different colored bullets, and sometimes when you die, you feel like you didn't deserve it.

It has a caravan mode too!

Make sure you have a monitor that can rotate before before buying this though.

The pre-rendered graphics accentuate the solid gameplay to satisfy those looking to cause immeasurable destruction. 10/10, would TATE again.

@FISTING GURU is wrong by giving this game thumbs down, this game has exemplary display options: it allows you to select from wide range of resolutions, it runs in full screen, it allows to play on pivoted screen (the only way one should play shmus actually = on tilted screen) and it does also something what NO other shmup does (not even CAVE) : instead always displaying some kind of wallpaper , it usees 100% of screen area ! Best options ever !

This game is great, it really does what a description says = "ties old memories to current tones and techniques". It goes back but not too far back which is a good way. You see, between an oldshool game era (where bullets were sparse but fast and deadly) and manic shmup era (where bullets are plentiful but slow) there was a wondrous albeit short period of time which allowed for transition to manic shooters but retained the philosophy of older generation. There was no indie studios and graphics were powerful so every sprite was top notch hand-drawn, the bullet patterns of that era were a "perfect" mix of manic shooter overload and oldschool deadly gameplay but developers did not have to use cheap "i got you" patterns and could experiment with much balanced and intelligent gameplay. One of the pinnacles from this time would be Raiden Fighers Jet from Seibu Kaihatsu (especially the last HUGE True Battle level 2 with incredible level design, enemy placement, blood pumping bullet paterns and soundtrack, and enormous multi-staged bosses).

This sort of game style is my favourite shmup , and games like these are scarce and in between. Ghost Blade is one of these shmups and make no mistake, it is among the best. I would like to make a comparison to a "modern" manic shooter Bullet Soul from the acclaimed 5pb games studio. Bullet Sould is heavily inspired by games made by CAVE who was absolutely the best in the shmup business. How do you beat excellence in department graphics, music and gameplay? You simply can not, but you can try reaching the ideal.
Bullet Souls soundtrack is guitar-heavy typical for late Cave games, but is rather bland and forgettable. Apply the same to bullet patterns, boss designs, backround (which was scrolling in circles like mad) and you have a picture of a pretty forgettable production. Oh, it was also easy. Not the thing you want to hear about manic shooter. The player ship can slow down and have stronger bullets OR accelerate and have weaker bullets. However the option felt redundant as one never felt compelled to use faster movementt unless there was a super specific and very rare pattern which explicitly forced you to use faster movement.

Now compare the same things to Ghost Blade: the gameplay does not copy anything , it is unique and refreshing, comparable to the Raiden FIgters games era. The soundtrack is crisp and super energetic without being overly repetetive , it also perfectly ties to the music of late 1990 which was rave /techno /dnb era. Bullet patterns force you to think , think , think! The lure you into traps and try to hunt the unaware you. You have to be on your toes, but it has nothing to do with the unfair and stupid bullet speed of new Raiden V IV III games from MOSS. This game also reminded me how important and great the sound effects could be , everything from explosions to player ship bullets have very distinct sound that conveys punch and force of attacks. Ghost Blade is truly beautiul and unique game with tons of character and is a great diversion from the bland modern CAVE copy cats.

Both games (bullet soul and ghost blade) have one big disadvatage over old titles: ugly stuff on the screen. The old games as well as manic shooters from CAVE had been for the most part lovingly hand drawn and used animated sprites which have the immortal beauty aspect to it. Nowaday games made in some 3d program are so ugly and lack any basic detail it is absolutely cringe inducing. Ghost Blade is nicer than Bullet Sould, but still i have to mention:
- dead backgrounds which are just huge still pictures
- enemies look like some handy java games sliding on the pictures, nothing EVER is animated on them, wheels of tanks dont move, they dont even look distinct from other part of a model , everything looks like a one mould toy.
- Enemies closing in backround which are suposed to have jet engines trails have just a FAT line behind which is not animated in any way. This looks totally embarassing. i guess these are Dreamcast limitations.
Still, accepting the fact that absouletly no other shump has hand drawn sprites nowadays, the aforementioned graphic is ok.

At the end i want to mention something what can not be easily conveyed. Namely , Ghost Blade really does a good job in recreating the pondering technological army world sluggishness of old shool games. Remember me saying the Bullet soul had fast and slow shot and both were meaningless? Ghost Blade has it too, but the proper use of it is absolutely essential , you can not ignore it, the use of these 2 modes are one of the keys to survival. It is great! No naked lolitas, no emo, only oldschool technological war machines battling for supremacy in this superb recreation of the best shmup time: between aerofighters from TECMO (1992) which marked the new era after the old school Truxton from TOAPLAN (1988) and before the manic shmup era of raizing/8ing and later CAVE games.

Well I didn't know this one of the dreamcast title well I love shoot an up 1st got look at it on XBOX one i just had to have it then saw PS4 grab it without thought played it like the raiden franchise only collect a lot i thinks it gold following powers up no what difficulty u set it on it still hard I'm hopping getting the physical copies soon worth game of the year

Good Linux version, works well on Kubuntu 18.04 LTS. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a bullet-hell similar to Caves games. Technically this game is cutting edge for the genre, high resolution graphics and a nice soundtrack, plenty of options too.

A very enjoyable bullet hell shooter with a hell of a lot happening on screen and quite a lot of replayability. A bit tight fisted with only 5 levels, but for its price it is totally worth the outlay.

In a sea of Windows only shooting games, it's very nice to have a solid traditional shooter for Linux too.

I enjoyed every minute of the game. It presented a traditional feel with fresh graphics and levels.
I've managed to 1CC easy mode and will be going back for more.
I don't give numeric ratings. I will say that you should instantly purchase this title if you're in the mood for a "shmup" and know that the true value of them comes from finishing them without using continues.

The whole game felt great with my joystick.
The developers really seem to know the genre.

Really enjoyed it, will be a pick and play go to for me. Just as a bullet hell shooter should be.

when you think of shmups. You Think of Ghost Blade. It's a fun Port of the Dreamcast Indie.

A true danmaku (unlike most things that call themselves "bullet hell" on Steam). Tiny hitbox, dense patterns you have to memorize, bullets that turn into points, the cherry blossom level, all the classics.

So much fun. I just wish it had more levels.

Decent little game for $9.99. An excellent apology for the rough development history of the original The Ghost Blade, HD is significantly better than that game.

It is much harder than I was expecting! The Score Attack mode is a nice bonus. Only real gripes are that bosses are a bit weak, and that scores for each character are not split so you can just pick the best one and ignore the rest... probably Milan?

Has a few bugs and oddities, like any video game made in the last 45 years, but the major one has a simple and effective workaround that's as bewildering as the bug itself.

Note that you can get a better experience by rotating your TV or monitor 90 degrees, and then enabling the option in-game to take advantage of this. The same goes for many games of this type on Steam.

I have a real soft spot for Ghost Blade. Despite its obvious borrowing from dodonpachi I still think its one of the best modern 2D shooters ever made.

Great player ship designs & great enemey ship designs. Its bright fast and has a brilliant soundtrack. The bullets patterns and enemey waves are fast and tough.

My impressions of the steam version so far are great, no issues so far. Although there are a few Cave shooters now on steam I would have to say this easily fits into the top 3 2D shooters curently available on steam.

If you like 2D shooters this is seriously a no brainer. Buy it!

Simple yet gomblex.

Aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, runs good on my craptop (Thinkpad T510i with Intel HD Ironlake graphics).

It's like touhou.

My only complaint is the projectiles my ship fires can make it hard to see the projectiles from other ships.

That and it slows down some times (for a split second), and the sound crackles a bit.

But that might just be my craptop, or pulseaudio.

I'll test it on my Linux "gaming PC" soon.

This game is authentic bullethell action arcade style. My modded Mayflash F300 arcade stick works great with the game without any issues. The soundtrack is top notch and the action is fantastic. The game itself is not very long but you will sink time into it buy trying to complete the different difficulties. Overall it was a great purchase, well worth the $10 asking price if you're looking for an authentic arcade experience at home.

Great game at a great price. Knowing there are 5 levels and the first level being so short, I was thinking oh no, going to be a short game. Not quite the case, its not too short, but not too long either. A lot of action and bullets. There are 2 things that annoy me a little though, but this is completely subjective, many like this in a shmup, is slowdown during heavy bullet scenes(but can be disabled in the options, thank you kindly) and the 3 coins per play. But more credits can be unlocked, so keep trying. This a very good title, its a back to basics arcade shmup with a pretty cool scoring system. Three different pilots to choose from, essentially all the same except for different shot patterns. Lots of power ups, giving you massive destructive abilities. 3 button scheme, regular shot, focus shot and bomb. Although it doesnt have it, a story mode would be a welcome addition considering its already got fanservice, but then the price would have been twice as much most likely. I love shmups but dont really follow consoles, but from what I see this is an awesome console port at a very very reasonable price. 8/10

ps. easy to get achievements, just makes it funner.