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%% Dai Ou Jou Re:incarnation is banned from the following tropes until June 5, 2024 (6 months from release), as per Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease:
%% * Broken Base
%% * Porting Disaster (although unlikely to be applicable, due to this version's high critical reception)
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* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Thanks to an unknown composer for ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' and Creator/ManabuNamiki for ''Dai Ou Jou'' and ''Dai Fukkatsu''.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOJHIA5e5d8 Sally]], the select theme from ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] BLACK LABEL''.
** The music going against Golden Disaster and Hibachi in ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'', [[https://youtu.be/YWuHfINP5ms The Longhena Cantata]] and [[https://youtu.be/EVt5bH8maVY ]-[|/34<#!]]. Yes. The name is actually "[[LeetLingo ]-[|/34<#!]]".
** ''[=DaiOuJou's=]'' boss theme, [[https://youtu.be/Pd6-jWE6ZKk Burning Body/Burn Yourself]]. The [[https://youtu.be/TXbgs8PPPjw PS2 Arrange]] is particularly exciting.
** [[https://youtu.be/TIQj92WAl-I Deep Red Bee]], Hibachi's theme from the same is instantly recognizable to most danmaku fans. [[https://youtu.be/arCl_d36QJ8 As are its remixes.]]
** [[https://youtu.be/nDMjMv6COIU DoDonPachi's Level 1 & 4 Theme]] invoke the beginning of a heroic fighter pilot's crusade.
** [[https://youtu.be/-anGJC6__9I Grieving Womb (or Taidou)]], the Final Stage music from ''[=DaiOuJou=]'', simply ''screams'' this is the end. The [[https://youtu.be/ALM4_nFE9Bs PS2 Arrange of this theme]] is particularly powerful with its background chorus.
** The Ketsuipatchi remix has "[[Creator/JakeKaufman Virt]]" do some work on ''VideoGame/{{Ketsui}}''[='s=] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzPuPQKGtEU No Remorse]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACB2eJRGhCY Day of Judgement]]
** The soundtrack of the iPhone version was composed by Ken'ichi Maeyamada, also known as Music/{{Hyadain}}, and therefore contains a lot of awesome tracks. However, special mentioning deserves the TrueFinalBoss theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBLPGD8kv8w "Battle for the Last"]], which also has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdH5tdxcPf4 vocal version]] sung by Hyadain himself, as usual.
*** The stage clear theme. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NYoY_1uJKs Hell Yeah!!]] indeed.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6tOFmtzIXg&hd=1 The ending]] of [=DoDonPachi Maximum=]
** ''Saidaioujou'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWjT99lnHeE Hoshikuzu Garandou]], the opening theme sung by Creator/AyaHirano and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTs4pe2x-yw Heading For Tomorrow]], the ending theme performed by Zwei.
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Hibachi's many incarnations. Either seen as a dazzling spectacle and utterly satisfying to finally defeat, or an uncreative attempt to making an ultra-hard TrueFinalBoss who only exists to force top-level players to feed coins in order to finish the game.
** The Element Dolls and Daughters. Some enjoy their presence in an otherwise drab military shooter series, others feel that they turn the game into {{Fanservice}}-laden "{{moe}}[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools shit]]".
* BrokenBase:
** Autobomb in ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] ver. 1.5''. Survival-oriented players hate it because it effectively turns the bomb gauge into a life bar and [[GameBreaker breaks the concept of lives]], score-oriented players fail to see what the problem is because bombing is just as hurtful to score as dying is, and point out that one can simply play Power Style to avert the generous bomb stock. This seems to be a non-issue in ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] BLACK LABEL'' and ''Saidaioujou'', where autobomb can be toggled at the start of the game.
** Are the second loops a rewarding challenge for experts? Or are they an [[ItsHardSoItSucks unnecessary]] form of FakeLongevity?
** The ''EXA LABEL'' versin of ''True Death'' has been quite divisive. While regarded as a PolishedPort among many for its absolutely minimum input lag, the inclusion of both Arcade and the previously console-exclusive ArrangeMode, as well as the new EXA arrange and the infaous Inbachi mode, the fact that it's exclusive to arcades and has a very high price tag even by the standards of arcade games has had a number of fans booing its inaccessibility (especially fans outside of Japan, as very, very few arcades outside of Japan carry exA-Arcadia hardware), as well as the fact that the exA legal team infamously used this version of the game as grounds to issue a cease-and-desist order to the UsefulNotes/{{MAME}} team to prevent the arcade original from being available on the platform, as the only home version of the game available is on the Xbox 360 and has long been out of print.
* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[BigBad Colonel Schwarlitz Longhena/Longhener]], debuting in ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', organized the Elemental Dolls' attack on mankind and humanity's near extinction. [[KnightTemplar Thinking humans to be irreparably flawed]], Longhena founds the [=DonPachi=], to be conditioned via slaughtering their own comrades, to fight the "invaders". In truth, these invaders are a human fleet trying to stop Longhena's insanity. Gleefully revealing the truth, Longhena attempts to simply [[KillAllHumans wipe out humanity]].]]
* ContestedSequel: Every CAVE-developed game after ''[=DoDonPachi=]'':
** ''Daioujou'': A well-crafted game that expands upon the formula set up by ''DDP'' with a new Hyper mechanic, or [[ItsHardSoItSucks a needlessly sadistic game]] that piles on the UnstableEquilibrium?
** ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] ver. 1.5'': A worthy new direction with its LighterAndSofter soundtrack and bullet-cancelling, or a poorly-designed mess with [[GameBreaker forced auto-bomb making the game]] [[ItsEasySoItSucks too easy to no-continue clear]] with awful scoring tricks like timing out midbosses for score?
** ''[=Saidaioujou=]'': Did CAVE make a good call drawing inspiration from DOJ with stackable Hypers and ever-building rank, or is it SoOkayItsAverage compared to ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' and once again becoming [[ItsHardSoItSucks too daunting to enjoy]]? The use of ''seiyuu'' voices and increased focus on the Element Dolls are also a major point of contention, with some liking the characterization they bring to the series and some others finding their presences and voices [[TheyChangedItSoItSucks utterly obnoxious.]]
* DemonicSpiders: The ring-formation turrets in Stage 5 of ''Dai-Fukkatsu'', which continously fire bullets or lasers and ''cannot be destroyed'' except in Arrange A. These turrets alone make this stage one of the most hated in the series.
* EvenBetterSequel: ''[=DonPachi=]'' was mainly notable for being hard but fair, for its second loop with suicide bullets, and for a few interesting game mechanics. It was otherwise not very interesting in the grand scheme of things. Then ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' changed the 2-D shooter world forever, and remains a favorite amongst shmup players today.
* FandomRivalry:
** Just don't ''ever'' mention ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' in the same sentence as the ''Donpachi'' series. [[CrossingtheLineTwice Claiming any]] ''Touhou Project'' [[CrossingtheLineTwice boss was harder than Hibachi]] is much worse.
** Also, comparing any NintendoHard game outside BulletHell genre with ''Donpachi'' series can net you a death sentence.
* FanNickname:
** The original edition of ''[=DoDonPachi=] Dai Ou Jou'' is commonly referred to as "White Label" after its white title screen, as opposed to the distinct black title screen of ''[=DoDonPachi=] Dai Ou Jou Black Label''. Contrary to [[CommonKnowledge popular belief]], "White Label" has never been used offically; this version is instead typically called "Old version" or "original version" instead.
** The "Washing Machine": Hibachi's final attack in ''[=DaiOuJou=]'', which features a screen filling amount of spiralling bullets resembling the interior of a washing machine in motion.
** In ''[=SaiDaiOuJou=]'' [[spoiler: Hibachi is called "[[MoeAnthropomorphism Lolibachi]]" or "[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Mado]][[Creator/AoiYuuki bachi]]"]]
** Ketsupachi for ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]] BLACK Label'' ArrangeMode on the Xbox 360. (See CrossOver).
** The ''[=DoDonPachi=] III'' build of ''[=DoDonPachi=] [=DaiOuJou=]'' is sometimes referred to as "Gray Label", due to its modifications serving as the basis for ''[=DaiOuJou=] Black Label''.
* FanonDiscontinuity:
** Most fans don't acknowledge ''Bee Storm'' as part of the canon due to being outsourced to a third-party developer and not liking the game. While {{Call Back}}s in later games are mainly limited to ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', ''dai ou jou'', and ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'', and ''[=DonPachi=]'' is integral to the canon due to [[spoiler:demonstrating just what sort of mental conditioning that [=DonPachi=] Squadron pilots must go through]], one of the "stage cleared" screens for ''Daioujou'' refers to the game as "Donpachi Episode '''4'''", meaning that unless CAVE put out yet another ''[=DonPachi=]'' game between ''DDP'' (the second game) and ''DOJ'' (not counting the ''Campaign Version'' of ''DDP'', which is a GameMod and ArrangeMode rather than its own game) that nobody knows about, ''Bee Storm'' is an official and canon game in the series.
** The more "hardcore" section of the fanbase ignore the officially-localized titles, so ''Blissful Death'', ''Resurrection'', and ''True Death'' are commonly instead referred to by their Japanese titles ''dai ou jou'', ''Dai-Fukkatsu'', and "Sai Dai Ou Jou'' instead, respectively.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: ''Bee Storm'' toyed with the concept of actual protagonist characters about a year before ''dai ou jou'' introduced the [[BaseBreakingCharacter controversial]] Element Dolls. While it does have characters with {{Fanservice}} designs, fans tend not to complain due to the game not being as in-your-face about them as later games; although another part of it is that most series fans don't even acknowledge ''Bee Storm'' anyway...this is despite the fact that IGS had a hand in the creation of ''Daioujou''.
* FriendlyFandoms: On the flip side, if you are in ''Japan'', it is fine to mention ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' in the same sentence as the ''Donpachi'' series, as several ''Website/{{Pixiv}}'' artists and veteran shooter players in Japan like both series.
* FridgeHorror -- The FanNickname for ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] Black Label''[='=]s 360-exclusive Arrange Mode, a crossover of ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ketsui}}'', is "Ketsupachi". "Ketsu" in Japanese can mean "buttocks". So "Ketsupachi" means "Ass Bee".
* GameBreaker:
** ''[=DoDonPachi=] II'' has the Laser Bomb, which is [[ChargedAttack charged up]] by grazing bullets. Someone who is good at grazing bullets can basically bomb enemies ''ad infinitum'' whenever there is a bullet-dense section. Notably, it does not terminate your combo like bombs in other games.
** Strong Style in ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' / ''Resurrection''.
*** {{Nerf}} + DynamicDifficulty -- In ''[=DaiFuukatsu=] BLACK Label'', playing in Strong Style is often likened to playing on DFK 1.5's second loop. One player commented that "it feels like the enemies are in strong style, not the player."
** Also in ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'', Bomb Style and Strong Style's auto-bomb mechanic. If you get hit with at least one bomb in stock, you use a bomb instead of dying. It does last shorter and does less damage than a manually-fired bomb, but that you can use your bombs as extra lives is still pretty broken. Moreover, on each successive life, you start off with one more bomb than your last life can hold, so by the time you're on your last life, you're carrying 6 bombs, or rather, 6 extra lives. The BLACK Label version allows you to turn it off, and Version 1.51 {{Nerf}}s auto-bomb by taking away all of your bombs if you auto-bomb instead of manually bombing.
*** Do note, however, that if you are playing for score, and unless you are playing Version 1.51 or either of 1.5's Arrange modes, bombs wipe out your combo (alongside getting killed), and thus subvert this trope. A single touch of another bullet will destroy that 15,000 combo of yours whether you die or not.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The ''Black Label'' edition of ''[=DoDonPachi=] Dai Ou Jou'', which is an UpdatedRerelease of the original game with balancing tweaks to make the game a bit easier or more fair, is more widely-played in the West than it is in Japan, where the original [[FanNickname "White Label"]] edition is more frequently played. This is because the ''Black Label'' arcade board was a limited-print release unlike the White Label edition, and as such is not as easy to find in Japanese arcades, and until the ''Re:incarnation'' port in 2023, the only way to legally play ''Black Label'' was via an [[PortingDisaster ill-received port]] on Xbox 360 whereas the White Label version has a [[PolishedPort highly-acclaimed port]] on [=PlayStation=] 2, so most people who played ''Black Label'' until then did so via MAME. Western shmup players are often surprised to find out that emulation is more criminalized in Japan than in most Western countries, which explains why Japanese shmup players don't simply emulate ''Black Label'' and just make do with White Label.
* GoodBadBugs: In ''[=DaiOuJou=]'', if you wait until the Stage 2 boss's HP bar has fully filled up before you start attacking it, the first hit will do an abnormally large amount of burst damage, around 7% to be more specific.
* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The initials for the default high scores for ''[=DonPachi=]'' read "TOAPLAN FOREVER" when read top to bottom then left to right, as a tribute to Creator/{{Toaplan}} which had just gone bankrupt. About 25 years later, ports of Toaplan games started gracing modern platforms after the rights issues with those games got sorted out, with former Toaplan employees assisting in their developments. "TOAPLAN FOREVER" indeed.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/{{Atlus}} of ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' fame published the first two games in the series, along with ''VideoGame/ESPRaDe''. CAVE would later return the favor by developing ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIMAGINE''.
** The developer of the GameMod ''[=DoDonPachi=] Arrange'', trap15, would later work on the exA-Arcadia port of ''[=SaiDaiOuJou=]'' and develop its exclusive ArrangeMode.
* ItWasHisSled: ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' is well-known for the twist where [[spoiler:Colonel Longhena is revealed to be a slimy ManipulativeBastard who tricks you into killing your allies before sending you off to die]] for the second loop.
* ItsEasySoItSucks: The Version 1.x revisions of ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' are disliked by survival-based players due to forced auto-bomb, effectively turning the player's bomb stock into a health bar and watering down the value of a 1-credit clear. That said, the problem isn't necessarily that it exists, so much as that there is no way to turn it off. Playing in Power Style somewhat remedies this by giving the player a bomb capacity of only one...which ends up making the game [[ItsHardSoItSucks far too difficult]] for many players instead. Fortunately ''BLACK LABEL'' and ''[=SaiDaiOuJou=]'' have the option to turn off auto-bomb, and ''SDOJ''[='=]s version of auto-bomb is nerfed by taking ''all'' of the player's bombs when used, bringing it into the realm of "useful assist, but doesn't [[GameBreaker break]] the game and should not be relied upon too much" for many.
* ItsHardSoItSucks: ''dai ou jou'' is criticized by some shmup fans for pumping up the difficulty but without doing much to make the game more fun or accessible for people who may not be highly-skilled at BulletHell games. The game's Hyper mechanic certainly doesn't help, as the player is forced to use a Hyper if they have one in stock, and using Hypers raises the game's rank, something that can only be mitigated by bombing or dying. The ''Black Label'' revision fixes up some of the rank-related criticisms, but the [=PS2=] port of ''DOJ'' is based on the original "White Label" instead and it took ''20 years'' for an acceptable port of ''Black Label'' to be released, the ''[=DoDonPachi=] Dai Ou Jou Re:incarnation'' release (the Xbox 360 version in the interim is widely regarded as a PortingDisaster due to its bugs, long loading times, and ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} stolen source code]]'').
* MemeticBadass: Hibachi, one of the most notorious {{True Final Boss}}es in genre history.
* MemeticMutation:
** CAVE INVENTED BEES!!!
** A general CAVE one, but "[[GoodBadTranslation To the full extent of the Jam]]". It got to the point where [[VideoGame/MushihimeSama Mushihime-sama]]'s Steam release [[https://twitter.com/cavegames/status/657547380372299776 turned it into an]] AscendedMeme.
*** From ''[=Dai-Fukkatsu=]'' and ''[[FanNickname Ketsui]]''''[[{{Crossover}} pachi]]'': JUST A COUPLE MORE SHOTS DESU!
** In [=SaiDaiOuJou=]: Uhehehehe Bee or [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Madoka Bee]] [[note]]Hina (the incarnation of Hibachi in this game) is voiced by Creator/AoiYuuki, and she adds the trademark Madoka Laugh for Hina's Hibachi personality [[spoiler: as well as the [[IceQueen cold stoicism]] of their [[TheSociopath "other side"]], Inbachi.]][[/note]]
** '''game over''' -- WHY DON'T YOU TRY HARD?[[labelnote:Explanation]]The GameOver screen from ''[=DonPachi=]'', likely intended to be "WHY DON'T YOU TRY HARD''ER''?"[[/labelnote]]
* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Longhena sending out the player to kill off his own comrades, falsely accusing them of being alien invaders.]]
* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: Most games in the series have "Just a couple more shots!", the line spoken by the announcer when the current boss is almost dead. The Arrange mode of ''[=DaiFukkatsu=] BLACK LABEL'' is known for saying "''[[GratuitousEnglish Just a couple more shots]]'' desu!"
* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Hibachi's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlHqrSXMqA new voice]] in ''Ichimen Bancho'', it's already lazy and whiny on its own, but if you heard of her [[Creator/AoiYuuki previous voice]] and compare it to the new one, it's ''downright hilarious''. Also, Inbachi's DeathCryEcho [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9A7G8MH8vk sounds less like she's dying and more like she's having an orgasm.]]
* NarmCharm:
** [[https://youtu.be/JoJCSsyBLhE "Battle for the Last"]] from the mobile ports of ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' should by all means [[SoundtrackDissonance not make sense]] for a [[TrueFinalBoss Hibachi]] theme, given that Hibachi themes are typically lightning-fast gabber pieces of doom and gloom. Instead, it ends up sounding like the most heroic [[FinalBoss final showdown]] theme in a ShootEmUp ''ever.''
** The ending of ''Maximum'' has Dr. Daugh boasting about the wonders of EVAC's weapons in a thinly-veiled speech about how challenging and awesome CAVE games are. He's not wrong.
* OlderThanTheyThink: ''[=DoDonPachi=] Campaign Version'' features a prototype version of the Hyper mechanic. It also introduced the idea of having the value of bee items being multiplied by your current combo. In a way, it is a prototype ''[=DaiOuJou=]'', especially considering its extreme difficulty. This version was presented to the winner of a scoring contest that happened in late 1997 to celebrate the release of the Saturn port; this was approximately 4.5 years before ''DOJ'' was released.
* OvershadowedByControversy: The 360 port of ''dai ou jou'' had some glitches and obnoxious load times, but was otherwise relatively workable. What it's more known for is that the port used ''stolen code'' from the [=PS2=] port.
* PlayerPunch: ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' features the classic twist that unveils should you unlock the second loop. [[spoiler:Colonel Longhena gleefully reveals that the "Mechanized Aliens" he briefed you on prior to the mission were in fact ''your allies'', and that ''[[UnwittingPawn you just slaughtered your poor friends without knowing it]]''. He then declares that YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and his special forces intend to dispose of you. "SeeYouInHell!" Nearly anyone who doesn't believe in PlayTheGameSkipTheStory probably wants to kill the bastard themselves at this point (and should they be skilled (or willing to spam continues) enough to finish the game, [[CatharsisFactor they do]]).]]
* PolishedPort:
** The Platform/PlayStation2 port of ''Dai Ou Jou'' by Creator/{{Arika}} was quite groundbreaking for its time and introduced a lot of useful training and quality-of-life features. It features a Simulation Mode that serves as a stage practice mode, and you can adjust various parameters such as which portion of the stage to start at, how many Hyper stocks to begin with, how much [[DynamicDifficulty rank]] to begin with, and so forth; furthermore, this mode has pre-installed replays by top players, allowing you to study their routes. Not only does this game allow you to save replays, you can actually take over a replay while it's running by performing any gameplay input. This version also adds a No Bullet Mode, intended to help players learn combo routes, and the infamous Death Label, a BossGame mode [[NintendoHard on horse crack]].
** The Switch port of ''Resurrection'' by Livewire is a more faithful port of the original Xbox 360 release than the PC port. Not only all the slowdown issues and lack thereof were fixed in this port, but it also adds descriptions to every mode in the game, something that was lacking from both the 360 and PC ports. Of all the versions of ''Resurrection'' available, the Switch version is the definitive one by far.
* PortingDisaster:
** The Xbox 360 port of ''[=DaiOuJou=]'' is not just glitchy, it nearly caused legal trouble! A patch came out that resolved some of the glitches...two years after the port's release...''after'' it went out of print.
** In the Windows port of ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'' the ''Ketsui'' arrange mode introduces a ''lot'' more slowdown than in the original 360 version of it.
* SalvagedGameplayMechanic:
** The original version of ''dai ou jou'' takes away all of the player's lives upon entering the second loop, and they can only get one extra life per stage by clearing the stage without dying ''or'' without bombing. Furthermore, continues are disabled entirely for this loop. This was disliked because it teased the player with a harder set of stages only to throw them off the machine. The ''[=DoDonPachi=] III'' build allows players to carry over up to three lives to the next loop, while ''dai ou jou Black Label'' not only allows carrying your entire life stock to the next loop, but continues remain allowed until the very final stage.
** ''dai ou jou Re:incarnation'' originally only applied the visible hitbox setting to the original version of the game, not ''dai ou jou Black Label'' or ''[=DoDonPachi=] III''. This led to complaints and further belief that M2 was putting the original version above all the other versions. Fortunately, the hitbox display was patched into ''Black Label'' and ''[=DoDonPachi=] III'' within a couple of weeks.
* ScrappyMechanic: In ''dai ou jou'', if you have Hypers in stock, pressing the bomb button will deploy a Hyper instead of a bomb. This wouldn't be too bad, but activating Hypers also spikes the rank, and even once the Hyper wears off, whether on its own or you firing an actual bomb, some of the rank effects will linger. Somewhat fixed in the ''Black Label'' revision, which nerfs the rank increase from using a Hyper. However, it still doesn't solve the problem of there being situations where a bomb might be preferred over a Hyper.
* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'', particularly version 1.5. Strong Style is particularly overpowered, the game has mandatory autobomb, effectively giving you 15 starting lives, and this game's version of the Hyper can cancel enemy bullets. This is a huge contrast to ''dai ou jou'', regarded as one of the most brutal games in a series that's already NintendoHard.
* SequelDifficultySpike: After ''DFK'' paved the way for easy one-credit clears, ''True Death'' kicks the difficulty back up to ''DOJ'' levels. Hypers no longer cancel bullets, autobomb returns but can be disabled and takes away all of your bombs if triggered, and the difficulty curve picks up sooner.
* SequelDisplacement: ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' is far better remembered than ''[=DonPachi=]'', mainly due to ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' taking DP's bullet patterns and action and cranking them up to eleven.
* {{Sequelitis}}: ''[=DoDonPachi=] II'' is one of the less well-received installments. It didn't help that it was developed not by Cave, but by IGS, a lesser-known Taiwanese development team.
* SignatureScene: The TrueFinalBoss fights of ''Daioujou'', ''[=DaiFukkatsu=]'', and ''[=SaiDaiOuJou=]'' are by far the most iconic parts of the series.
* TaintedByThePreview:
** ''[=DoDonPachi=] True Death EXA LABEL'' put off many fans from the moment it was announced, as it was the first time in seven years that the game had gotten a new port after the Xbox 360 version drew complaints for issues like input lag (and ''inconsistent'' input lag, ranging from 4-6 frames), only to be an arcade rerelease rather than a new consumer port, rendering it largely inaccessible to gamers outside of Japan, the only country to still have a relatively healthy arcade scene. While it is sold globally, and in fact is the first edition of the complete game to be released outside of Japan (''[=DoDonPachi=] Unlimited'' uses ''True Death'' as a base, but it's so truncated compared to the original game that it doesn't count), the number of public arcades in Western countries that carry the game can be counted on two fingers. Failing that, the only way to get ahold of a current print of ''True Death'' is to spend thousands of dollars on that particular release.
** During a pre-release M2 livestream of ''dai ou jou Re:incarnation'', it was revealed that the "White Label" edition of the game will serve as the main version of the game, featuring leaderboards, M2 Gadgets, and Arcade Challenge, while the ''Black Label'' edition of the game gets relegated to the "Extra" category, meaning it won't receive the same treatments. This disappointed a fair number of players who prefer ''Black Label'' for what they consider to be an easier and more balanced game, especially since ''Black Label'' was made by the programmer of the game, Tsuneki Ikeda, and touted by him as the "corrected" version of the game. While most of those critics are glad to at least have ''Black Label'' playable, it still stings a bit that it's treated as a side dish rather than the main event. Many of these fears died down once the game came out, since ''Black Label'' does come with Gadgets and leaderboards, although Arcade Challenge, Arcade Osarai, Luna Tour, [[EasierThanEasy Super Easy]], and the {{Arrange Mode}}s are still based on the "White Label" edition.
* ThatOneLevel: Stage 5 in ''Resurrection''. While shmup final stages are generally expected to be hard, this one is exceptional due to the presence of ring formations of indestructible spinning turrets that can easily kneecap a 1CC attempt or cause copious credit-feeding.
* ThatOneRule: The ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' series' most prominent scoring mechanic by far is its combo system; destroying enemies within a sufficiently short interval of each other accumulates combo, and to oversimplify, the higher your combo, the more points you get from destroying the next enemy. At first, this seems like an interesting concept, but it becomes apparent that the best way to score is to build stage-long chains, which require extreme levels of memorization of where each enemy is, far beyond what is needed in a survival-based run, because destroying enemies ''too'' quickly will leave you without any enemies to combo off of before the combo timer runs out, breaking your combo and hurting your score, and depending on where the combo breaks you can miss out on ''tens of millions'' of points (''[=DoDonPachi=]'' 2-loop and ''Dai Ou Jou'' 1-loop top-level plays end in the hundred-millions, ''Dai Ou Jou'' 2-loop into the single-digit billions). While there are players who do enjoy playing for combo and thus for score, the vast majority of players find the strategies for comboing to be very complex and confusing and prefer to play purely for survival instead (it helps that for those going for 2-loop clears, there are several ways to unlock loop 2 without needing to score, like collecting all bees or dying fewer than a set number of times).
* VindicatedByHistory:
** ''[=DoDonPachi=] II: Bee Storm'' was widely panned upon release due to being outsourced to a third-party team and lacking a lot of the design principles of the original ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', reusing a lot of the same graphics, and having some strange quirks like even "popcorn" enemies having a considerable amount of health and having to choose between conventional bomb ''or'' laser bomb at the start of the game (you can't have both). However, in the years that follow, while it's still not regarded as highly as the CAVE-developed games, people have discovered this game through emulation and found it to be a good title that's more beginner-friendly than most of CAVE's in-house catalog, featuring easier patterns and the mechanic of grazing bullets to generate bomb if using laser bomb (in a manner similar to ''VideoGame/{{Psyvariar}}'') and a robust electronica-focused soundtrack with plenty of tracks (the original ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' gets some criticism for only having three stage themes -- stages 4, 5, and 6 just reuse the themes of stage 1, 2, and 3 respectively -- while the TrueFinalBoss gets a unique theme for phase 1 only before reusing the regular boss theme for phase 2).
** ''dai ou jou'', while widely regarded as a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel to ''Bee Storm'', was still met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 [[ItsHardSoItSucks due to its high difficulty]] even by [[NintendoHard arcade game standards]], which ended up alienating a lot of non-veteran players. However, over time it has started to be better-received for refining a lot of ''[=DoDonPachi=]''[='=]s rougher design and taking less time to get to the game's more challenging elements (the first stage of ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' is often derided by hardcore shmup players for being a fun warm-up level the first few times but [[https://youtu.be/_nAVbHYaEN8?t=384 getting tedious when one has to play it every single time]]). Part of this has to do with the game's [=PS2=] port, which was the only way to play the game for years unless one was lucky enough to live near an arcade that carried the game or was willing to pay top dollar for the PCB itself, being based on the more difficult original "White Label" version of the game as opposed to its more forgiving ''Black Label'' version, but the game becoming playable in the MAME arcade emulator as well as the release of the Xbox 360 port (albeit one with some major problems) allowed players to check out the ''Black Label'' version and give the game a second chance. Less positively, the game's improved reception is because its successor, ''[=DoDonPachi=] Resurrection'', is an even more divisive sequel due to [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks straying so much from the formula of the previous two games]] and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]]. ''dai ou jou'' would later get an ''Creator/{{M2}} [=ShotTriggers=]'' release, ''[=DoDonPachi=] dai ou jou Re:incarnation'', with a lot of beginner-friendly features and modes to help ease in new players such as Super Easy mode, the three {{Arrange Mode}}s, and the Arcade Challenge practice mode.
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'''game over''' \\
[[BrickJoke WHY DON'T YOU TRY HARD?]]

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