History VideoGame / Espgaluda

The ''Espgaluda'' series is a series of BulletHell {{ShootEmUp}}s by Creator/{{CAVE}}.

The game is known for its Ascension (''Kakusei'') mechanic, in which the player can press a button to [[BulletTime slow down enemy bullets]], allowing beginners to better enjoy the game, although Awakening can only be used for a limited period of time. Notably, the player's character [[GenderBender changes genders]] when activating Awakening mode, and back when deactivating it. To encourage use of Ascension even in high-level play, the game's scoring system relies on destroying enemies in Ascension mode to collect gold items.

''Espgaluda II'' expands on the gameplay of the original, this time featuring a variant of Ascension known as Absolute Ascension, which can create much higher score multipliers at the cost of generating extra bullets and a harder drain on the player's resources. Bullet patterns have also been made more difficult, ensuring that even survival-based players still face a lot of challenge.

A mobile port, ''[=Espgaluda=] II iPhone''/''Android'', was released in 2010, and features a mode that replicates the arcade version as well as an exclusive arrange mode that makes use of the touchscreen. It would later get an UpdatedRerelease, ''[=Espgaluda=] II HD for iPad 2'', in 2011.

The series is known for its Awakening mechanic, in which the player can press a button to [[BulletTime slow down enemy bullets]], allowing beginners to better enjoy the game, although Awakening can only be used for a limited period of time. Notably, the player's character [[GenderBender changes genders]] when activating Awakening mode, and back when deactivating it. For experts concerned that the games' scoring systems will discourage the use of such a "push button, slow down bullets" mechanic, fret not: Both games' scoring mechanics depend heavily on using Awakening mode at strategic moments, usually when a lot of bullets are on the screen.

* ''[=Espgaluda=]'' (2003): Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom named Shinra, ruled by a line of queens with supernatural powers. The current king, Jakou, decides to conduct a number of experiments to induce this power in his children as well as harness it for military purposes. Two of his children, Ageha and Tateha, are rescued from his grasp and taken into hiding by a man named Hiodoshi. Eventually, Jakou's forces track them down...
** ''[=Espgaluda=] DX'' (2005, UsefulNotes/PlayStation2)
* ''[=Espgaluda=] II'' (2005): It has been three years since the first game, the events of which are known as the "Great Shinra War." The ruling family of another country named Soma decide to salvage Jakou's research and create an organization called the Spirit Society, dedicated to producing more children with psychic powers. One of the products of these experiments, Asagi, flees and joins Ageha and Tateha.
** ''[=Espgaluda=] II Black Label'' (2010, UsefulNotes/Xbox360; 2021, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch[[note]]This version is simply marketed as ''Espgaluda II'' without the ''Black Label'' subtitle, but it is a port of ''Black Label''[[/note]])
** ''[=Espgaluda=] II iPhone (and Android)'' (2010)
*** ''[=Espgaluda=] II HD for iPad 2'' (2011)

** ''[=Espgaluda=] DX'' (2005)

** ''[=Espgaluda=] II Black Label'' (2010)

The series is known for its Awakening mechanic, in which the player can press a button to slow down enemy bullets, allowing beginners to better enjoy the game, although Awakening can only be used for a limited period of time. Notably, the player's character changes genders when activating Awakening mode, and back when deactivating it.

The ''Espgaluda'' series is a series of BulletHell {{ShootEmUp}}s by Creator/{{CAVE}}

* '''[=Espgaluda=]''' (2003): Once upon a time, there was a peaceful kingdom named Shinra, ruled by a line of queens with supernatural powers. The current king, Jakou, decides to conduct a number of experiments to induce this power in his children as well as harness it for military purposes. Two of his children, Ageha and Tateha, are rescued from his grasp and taken into hiding by a man named Hiodoshi. Eventually, Jakou's forces track them down...
** '''[=Espgaluda=] DX''' (2005)
* '''[=Espgaluda=] II''' (2005): It has been three years since the first game, the events of which are known as the "Great Shinra War." The ruling family of another country named Soma decide to salvage Jakou's research and create an organization called the Spirit Society, dedicated to producing more children with psychic powers. One of the products of these experiments, Asagi, flees and joins Ageha and Tateha.
** '''[=Espgaluda=] II Black Label''' (2010)
** '''[=Espgaluda=] II iPhone (and Android)''' (2010)
*** '''[=Espgaluda=] II HD for iPad 2''' (2011)

* EvilLaugh: Jakou does this at the beginning of his FinalBoss fight, daring his opponents to show them their full strength.

* EvilLaugh: Madara, the boss with the multi-part tank, Asmodeus, in ''Espgaluda II''.

* FusionDance: The final boss of ''Espgaluda II''
* GenderBender: The core gameplay mechanic for high scoring. [[spoiler: The final boss of ''Espgaluda'' can do it too. In ''Espgaluda II'', this game mechanic is required for unlocking the fight against True Seseri, and the final boss is a fusion of a boy and a girl.]]

* DuelBoss: In ''Espgaluda II Black Label'', there is a special theme song for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QrkhZ8uIcs Seseri vs. Seseri]].

* CainAndAbel: Sersei's father is Jakou, but her mother is not the Queen of Shinra (aka Ageha and Tateha's mother), making her the half-sister of the player characters. She hates Ageha and Tateha because Jakou focuses all of his attentions on them, so she seeks to kill them to earn Jakou's love.

* CreepyChild: The Alice Clones from ''ESP Ra.De'' return for the final stage of both games in this series.

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:In the first game, Seseri falls from a great height while injured and bloodied from the first boss stage. She then comes back [[WeCanRebuildHim as a cyborg]].]]

* EvilLaugh: Madara, the boss with the multi-part tank in ''Espgaluda II''.

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Jakou's female form is angelic and beautiful, and has golden wings. He later his male and female forms together, resulting in a saintly figure with demonic-looking wings.]]

* MadScientist: In the first game, Ageha & Tateha's father is an evil king who experimented on his own children in order to induce PsychicPowers. In the second game, the Spirit Society is doing this on a larger scale on many children.

* MoreDakka: Stage 5 has Jakou's men shoot at you with a ludicrously amount of bullets. Stage 6 has the Alice clones do the same as well.

* RobotGirl: [[spoiler: Seseri appears to be fully machine in ''Espgaluda II'']]
* ROMHack: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtZT4Do00wI Espketsuda]]'', the result of mashing ''Espgaluda''[='=]s program ROM with the graphical and sound assets of ''VideoGame/{{Ketsui}}''. It was popular enough that it got an original soundtrack of sorts. ''[[RunningGag YOUR MISSIONS!]]''

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''ESP Ra.De'' due to the guard barrier mechanic, bosses with huge psychic wings, and the Alice Clones.

* SuperGenderBender: The heroes are already powerful psychics, but gender-changing makes them into ''even more powerful'' psychics. [[spoiler:Not only Jakou, the BigBad, can do this, but in the final boss battle he fuses his male and female forms together to create a powerful, androgynous being.]]
* TankGoodness: A three-part tank that can combine, no less, in ''Espgaluda II'' stage 4. Lampshaded by the achievement for the iOS version, "One Less Tank in a Cave Game" upon defeating this boss.

* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Seeing their ParentalSubstitute Hiodoshi get brutally killed by Jakou's men caused Ageha and Tateha's PsychicPowers to awaken.
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler: Subverted in ''Espgaluda II'', in which it's the boss of stage 5 who has a true version.]]

* WeCanRebuildHim: [[spoiler: Seseri, ''twice''.]]
* WellDoneSonGuy: Seseri's motivation for wanting to kill Ageha and Tateha, since she was not born from a psychic queen like they were. [[spoiler: When she is defeated in the second game, she even says, "Father, I'm sorry..." as she dies.]]

* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler: Kujaku, the final boss of the first game, is able to do gender-changing Awakening just like the player characters.]]

* GuestFighter: The [=PS2=] port's arrange mode has a character who plays just like J-B 5th, and one who plays just like Irori Mimasaka.

* AristocratsAreEvil: "Royalty" in the case of Jakou, an evil king who experimented on his children Ageha and Tateha so he can turn them into psychic {{Tykebombs}} and use them for military purposes.

* InnocentFlowerGirl: Janome, the boss of ''Espgaluda II'' stage 3, is strongly linked with flowers. She turns not-so-innocent when she becomes a boss of a {{Cave}} game.

* AbusiveParents -- Ageha and Tateha's father is decidedly not a nice guy.
* ArtShiftedSequel -- The art for the first game was done by Tsukasa Kado, while the art for the second game was done by Masaki Hirooka.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence -- [[spoiler: Asagi's ending has this for herself, Tsubame & Janome, and all of the children who were being experimented on by the Spirit Society.]]
* BareYourMidriff -- Ageha's female form in ''Espgaluda II''. Tateha's male form in both games, with much tougher abs in the second game.
* {{BFG}} -- Madara, the midboss of ''Espgaluda II'' stage 2, carries one.
* BulletTime -- The effect of being in Awakening mode and having spare gems.
* CreepyChild -- The Alice Clones from ''ESP Ra.De'' return for the final stage of both games in this series.
* {{Cyborg}} -- [[spoiler: Seseri, after the first stage of the first game.]]
* DudeLooksLikeALady -- If not for the first game and the other two characters as references, you might not realize that Asagi's alternate form is supposed to be a boy, especially thanks to the artwork showing that this male form's shoes have higher heels, and the book is changed to a stuffed bunny head.
* DuelBoss -- In ''Espgaluda II Black Label'', there is a special theme song for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QrkhZ8uIcs Seseri vs. Seseri]].
* EvilCounterpart -- [[spoiler: Kujaku, the final boss of the first game, is able to do gender-changing Awakening just like the player characters.]]
* EvilLaugh -- Madara, the boss with the multi-part tank in ''Espgaluda II''.
* FanServicePack -- In ''Espgaluda II'', Tateha and Ageha have aged a bit, and their clothes for their female forms are noticeably more revealing. [[spoiler: Almost literally for Seseri, who was rebuilt to look like she had aged as much as the main characters. (not counting her playable version in ''Espgaluda II Black Label'')]]
* FusionDance -- The final boss of ''Espgaluda II''
* GenderBender -- The core gameplay mechanic for high scoring. [[spoiler: The final boss of ''Espgaluda'' can do it too. In ''Espgaluda II'', this game mechanic is required for unlocking the fight against True Seseri, and the final boss is a fusion of a boy and a girl.]]
* GuestFighter -- The [=PS2=] port's arrange mode has a character who plays just like J-B 5th, and one who plays just like Irori Mimasaka.
* GuideDangIt -- The scoring system, especially the Awakening Overdrive mode for ''Espgaluda II''. Then there's the whole gameplay for ''Espgaluda II Black Label''.
* IncestSubtext -- [[spoiler: In the second game, Tsubame and Janome unify into a single being named Kujaku as the final boss. There is a lot of additional subtext between them shown in Asagi's ending. Also present in Ageha's ending, between him and Tateha.]]
* InnocentFlowerGirl -- Janome, the boss of ''Espgaluda II'' stage 3, is strongly linked with flowers. She turns not-so-innocent when she becomes a boss of a {{Cave}} game.
* LongSongShortScene -- Unless you're listening to the soundtrack, you won't get to hear the entire stage song in some levels.
* MadScientist -- In the first game, Ageha & Tateha's father is an evil king who experimented on his own children in order to induce PsychicPowers. In the second game, the Spirit Society is doing this on a larger scale on many children.
* MagicPants -- An interesting example, in that the characters' clothes magically transform to be appropriate for their current gender, for certain definitions of "appropriate."
* {{Meganekko}} -- Asagi from ''Espgaluda II''
* PsychicPowers -- The player characters were engineered specifically to have these.
* RobotGirl -- [[spoiler: Seseri appears to be fully machine in ''Espgaluda II'']]
* ROMHack -- ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtZT4Do00wI Espketsuda]]'', the result of mashing ''Espgaluda''[='=]s program ROM with the graphical and sound assets of ''VideoGame/{{Ketsui}}''. It was popular enough that it got an original soundtrack of sorts. ''[[RunningGag YOUR MISSIONS!]]''
* SequelDifficultySpike -- As far as playing for score goes, ''Espgaluda II''[='=]s mechanics are much harder to understand and master.
* ShapeshifterBaggage -- It is difficult to calculate how much of a mass difference there is, or whether or not any of it is involved in keeping Kakusei ("Awakening") mode going besides the gems.
* SpiritualSuccessor -- To ''ESP Ra.De'' due to the guard barrier mechanic, bosses with huge psychic wings, and the Alice Clones.
* SuperGenderBender -- The heroes are already powerful psychics, but gender-changing makes them into ''even more powerful'' psychics.
* TankGoodness -- A three-part tank that can combine, no less, in ''Espgaluda II'' stage 4. Lampshaded by the achievement for the iOS version, "One Less Tank in a Cave Game" upon defeating this boss.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill -- At the beginning of the first game, Hiodoshi gets shot up a ''lot'' of times.
* TrueFinalBoss -- [[spoiler: Subverted in ''Espgaluda II'', in which it's the boss of stage 5 who has a true version.]]
* VoiceOfTheLegion -- [[spoiler: Jakou's final form, a fusion of both his male and female forms, has this.]]
* WeCanRebuildHim -- [[spoiler: Seseri, ''twice''.]]
* WellDoneSonGuy -- Seseri's motivation for wanting to kill Ageha and Tateha, since she was not born from a psychic queen like they were. [[spoiler: When she is defeated in the second game, she even says, "Father, I'm sorry..." as she dies.]]

* GuestFighter -- The PS2 port's arrange mode has a character who plays just like J-B 5th, and one who plays just like Irori Mimasaka.

* AttractiveBentGender -- Depending on your preferences, any of the characters' alternate forms could be this. In ''Espgaluda II'' this is made more intentional.

* SequelDifficultySpike -- As far as playing for score goes, ''Espgaluda II'[='=]s mechanics are much harder to understand and master.

* ArtShift -- The art for the first game was done by Tsukasa Kado, while the art for the second game was done by Masaki Hirooka.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome -- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUnGX1aeReY&hd=1 Fort City aka Stage 4]]

* WastedSong -- Unless you're listening to the soundtrack, you won't get to hear the entire stage song in some levels.

* CrowningMusicofAwesome -- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUnGX1aeReY&hd=1 Fort City aka Stage 4]]