As a fan of bullet hells, it was probably going to be inevitable that I'd put a CAVE game here. While I'm honestly not huge on the Donpachi series, I love all CAVE's other games like Espgaluda and Deathsmiles. But my favorite of the bunch was a no-brainer, it's zero contest. Mushihimesama is simply in a league of its own.
If you're familiar with CAVE's games, you'd probably associate them with insanely bombastic bullet hell shooters, almost like the Michael Bay of that genre. Their games boast massive explosions, tons of military vehicles, weird-ass weapon systems, and bullets flooding the screen so much that the game has slowdown. Mushihimesama isn't entirely divorced from that kind of maximalist philosophy, but like Ikaruga was for Treasure, it's uncharacteristically pared down by comparison. The explosions look a bit smaller, the militarization have been replaced by bugs and naturalistic settings (more on that later), the controls are as basic as it gets, and the central focus is dodging increasingly elaborate bullet patterns. All the bullets in this game are a bright shade of pink so they contrast super well from the environment, and all of the patterns are well-crafted, fun to dodge and challenging to survive. Mushihimesama focuses on the fundamentals of the genre and creates a bullet hell that simply gets everything right. The pacing is tight, the difficulty curve is spot-on, and it never feels unfair. I know when a bullet hell game is good when I enter a flow state while playing it, pulling off dodges I didn't think I was capable of. Mushihimesama is one of those games.
Not to say that Mushihimesama doesn't bring anything new to the table, because what it lacks in crazy gimmicks, it more makes up with thematic inventiveness. As I hinted at earlier, Mushihimesama takes place on in world with giant bugs and fauna as you fly around on a giant beetle. It's very Nausicaa inspired, which just makes for such a unique setting for a bullet hell game. It's not just set-dressing either, the level and enemy design takes this "bug princess" concept and really runs with it. Each stage takes place in a unique naturalistic environment, from a dusty canyon to a luminous cave, and the later ones even toss in some neat environmental hazards like falling rocks and giant plants. And the enemy and boss designs are all different types of bugs, from butterflies to crickets to freaking scorpions.
Everything coalesces in the high point of the game and one of my favorite levels in any bullet hell, Stage 3, which takes place on a molten hot surface where you follow a massive centipede and progressively destroy all of its segments. It takes so much advantage of Mushi's premise to great effect.
I played the PS2 version of Mushihimesama personally, but most of its versions available right now contain a ton of content and options that make for a really replayable title. Even without the bonus features, Mushihimesama boasts three entirely different scoring styles each harder than the last, and a secret final boss that's so hard that expert players spent over a decade thinking it was impossible to no-hit. That alone gives Mushi a ton of replay value for people who want to push themselves even further, but the ports also add in an Arrange Mode, a very robust practice mode, and a ton of incredibly thorough customization options that let you tinker with the difficulties, continue system, and much more. It all adds up to a bullet hell game that is perfectly accessible for every player. If you're new to the genre and want an entry point, Mushi's lack of frills and robust beginner-friendly customization makes it a perfect pick. If you're a veteran who wants something more demanding, there are countless harder difficulties and modes that you can use to challenge yourself as you work up to that elusive true final boss.
As far as presentation goes, Mushihimesama is pretty great too. There's a surprisingly amount of lore to this world, and a solid story that really puts its main protagonist through the wringer, let me tell you. The visuals have that same blend of detailed pixel backgrounds and pre-rendered enemies that CAVE is usually known for, but it all meshes together particularly well here thanks to just how pretty all the settings look. Those waterfalls in Stage 4 in particular look flat-out jaw-dropping. And, as is the norm for a bullet hell game, the soundtrack is stellar. CAVE brought in shmup soundtrack legend Manabu Namiki to work on the music and the results speak for themselves, every single stage theme is fantastic. The highlights for me are Stage 1, Stage 4, and Stage 5.
Overall, Mushihimesama is just simply a perfect bullet hell, one that I have virtually no problems with. It's got an incredibly creative premise that leads to some very memorable levels, perfect pacing and difficulty, tons of replay value for both newcomers and experts alike, and some of the best visuals and music in a CAVE game. It all feels so effortless, you could tell this was made by a team working at the height of their power.
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