Excellent Port

Update: Thank you Cave for fixing that annoying bug crash! Now come back to the states and port more of your amazing games! We need our twitch, bullet hell shooter fix too! Excellent port of the 360 version. However, as a previous reviewer stated, this version has no Black Label content and is NOT updated for the retina display. Hopefully Cave can ameliorate this by making an HD Black Label version (I'd pay another 12-14 dollars)...Also, a Deathsmiles 2 port would be awesome (however, I've heard rumblings that Cave is in some financial trouble so we might not be so lucky)...Despite these caveats, this is one of my favorite Cave (or for that matter any other company i.e., Taito, Konami) shooter that I have ever played. Do not hesitate if you like 2D-side-scrolling shooters...There is plenty of content here for the twelve dollar asking price! Good show!

iOS 11 compatibility added!! 😍

CAVE makes the absolute best shoot-em up games, and this one is no exception. Deathsmiles, especially, is unique in that it’s a horizontal shooter that can fire in both directions. For the last few years these masterpieces were unplayable on modern iOS devices, but in a surprise, they added 64-bit compatibility recently. Do yourself a favor and pick up all of the CAVE shooters available - you won’t be disappointed! And, CAVE, PLEEEEAAASE update Espgaluda 1 & 2 as well!!

Cute anime girl and action

Seriously, what more can you want? Haha. But really this seems to be a port apparently. A well-done port. I like the added phone features, and although the controls are a bit confusing at first they work out. This is a different game from many and it is enjoyable so far for the brief time I got it. The price is a bit hefty but it has no sneaky in-app purchases and it's fun.

I love this game

Great characters/atmosphere, exciting gameplay. One of the best shmups for me. Really liked it. Hoping Deathsmiles 2 comes to ios. Thanks.:) Edit: May 21, 2020. Dear Cave, there is no longer any background music when we beat The final boss.:( Music returns during ending credits. I hope you can bring back the music for the ending scene. Thanks Cave.:)

Good (for a Touch game)

I managed to get it free, so that's one less issue I could have. It really is good. The art style and music remind me of Castlevania SotN, but that is a really good thing. It's also fun for short time wasting or if you want a solid play through. It isn't perfect. The graphics are TINY, but they kind of have to be. It does get confusing at times with everything on the screen. But the weirdest is that any time you quit you will have to start from the very beginning. That's not bad...but if you pick up a new item and forget to check if it is any good, you can't back out of the map or it starts ALL OVER. At least you keep the inventory. It's worth around $3 max if you want to buy it. It is still not on par with real handheld gaming systems like Vita.

Death smiles

Loved this game it was one of the best on my old iPod touch. Was so excited to see the new update to try on my iPhone X. Unfortunately they just put a frame on the sides but didn’t make it a control area so only the play area is usable for movement. Even without the actual game stretched out it would be fine but please let us use the entire screen to control. Save your cash and get One of caves Dodonpachi games. They stretched gamescreen and updated controls.

Wish this developer would support games better

I’ve really enjoyed the Cave shooters but their titles keep falling off the store and I’m done paying $6 for a game the won’t be supported within a couple of updates, then another iteration pops up and I’m expected to fork over another $6. Great shooters but I won’t keep getting gouged.

Amazing port in general

The game itself is still high quality fun and overall a blast as its transition to mobile is perfected. My main worry is that the game might be very well unplayable in the coming years due to os updates on this smarthphone among others. I IMPLORE YOU, DEV TEAM PLEASE KEEP THIS GAME UPDATED COMPATIBILITY WISE!

Cave's absurdly crazy shooter completely in Japanese is the beginning of something, but what?

Giant Bomb Tue Jan 01 2013

Cave Interactive will be acquiring Deluxe Games for 5 billion yen (roughly $38 million) , making the Monster Strike developer a subsidiary...

AUTOMATON Mon Jan 01 2024

Strictly Limited Games will open pre-orders for limited print physical editions of Deathsmiles I & II for PlayStation 4 and Switch on...

Gematsu Thu Jun 01 2023

Aksys may have released Deathsmiles in North America, but Cave is taking care of Deathsmiles 2X themselves. The news comes from the ESRB,...

Siliconera Sat Dec 01 2012

Deathsmiles: Adorable Angels In Bullet Hell for Your Xbox 360.. A News about Deathsmiles and its co-op game features.

Co-Optimus Wed Feb 01 2012

Legendary shmup developer CAVE bring another of their games to Steam, but is Deathsmiles necessarily their best work?

Metro.co.uk Wed Nov 01 2017

It strikes me, on the way to the company's offices, that the inspiration for Cave's legendary gameplay style may be sta…

Eurogamer.net Sun Jul 01 2012

There's good news for people who enjoy the mobile versions of Cave shmups. The company is going to make its classic Apple iOS apps...

Siliconera Sat May 01 2021

City Connection will re-release CAVE Interactive-developed shoot 'em up Akai Katana in 2022, the company announced.

Gematsu Wed Nov 01 2023

Junya Inoue Acclaimed manga illustrator, known for his designs of famous shooter titles such as Dodonpachi, ESPrade and Guwange.

Siliconera Sat Oct 01 2011