History YMMV / DonPachi

** ''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, something that the [=PS2=] port was sorely lacking in.

** ''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'', 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 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'', 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 the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', 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'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 [[ItsHardSoItSucks due to its high difficulty]] even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', which ended up alienating a lot of non-veteran players. Although still [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel better-received than]] ''Bee Storm'', it was still a "avoid this" for players who weren't particularly skilled at shmups. 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'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 [[ItsHardSoItSucks due to its high difficulty]] even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' (although still a better reception than ''Bee Storm''), 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'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 [[ItsHardSoItSucks due to its high difficulty]] even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', 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'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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 straying so much from the formula of the previous two games and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]].

** 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 TrueLastBoss who only exists to force top-level players to feed coins in order to finish the game.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: 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]]".

** ''[=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).

** ''[=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 (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).

** ''[=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 (the original ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' gets some criticism for only having three stage themes and no unique theme for the TrueFinalBoss).

** ''[=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 gam. 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 (the original ''[=DoDonPachi=]'' gets some criticism for only having three stage themes and no unique theme for the TrueFinalBoss).

* VindicatedByHistory: ''dai ou jou'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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 straying so much from the formula of the previous two games and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]].

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[BigBad Colonel Schwarlitz Longhena]], debuting in ''[=DoDonPachi=]'', organized the Element 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]]. Granted, [[TheDogBitesBack you do indeed stop him from killing everyone]], however [[DownerEnding it comes at a high cost]].]]

** ''[=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. This means people who want to play it will either have to be lucky enough to live near an arcade that has it, which are vanishingly few outside of Japan[[note]]a select few Round 1 locations in the USA and a very, very small handful of arcades that explicitly specialize in Japanese games; the more common "barcade"-type businesses choose to stock cheaper Western-developed games instead, mainly pinball, while non-R1 "amusement center"-type arcades lean more towards ticket-redemption and dedicated-cab games again made by Western devs[[/note]], or spend thousands of dollars on the hardware just to play one game.

** 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. While M2 did announce that it will have Gadgets, it will not have leaderboards or Arcade Challenge. 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.

* 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.

* 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. This means people who want to play it will either have to be lucky enough to live near an arcade that has it, which are vanishingly few outside of Japan[[note]]a select few Round 1 locations in the USA and a very, very small handful of arcades that explicitly specialize in Japanese games; the more common "barcade"-type businesses choose to stock cheaper Western-developed games instead, mainly pinball, while non-R1 "amusement center"-type arcades lean more towards ticket-redemption and dedicated-cab games again made by Western devs[[/note]], or spend thousands of dollars on the hardware just to play one game.

* 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.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''dai ou jou'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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 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 straying so much from the formula of the previous two games and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]].

* VindicatedByHistory: ''dai ou jou'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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 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, 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 straying so much from the formula of the previous two games and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]].

* VindicatedByHistory: ''dai ou jou'' was met with contentuous reception upon its release in 2002 due to its high difficulty even by the standards of its predecessor ''[=DoDonPachi=]''. 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 getting tedious when one has to play it every single time). Less positively, the game's improved reception is because its successor, ''[=DoDonPachi=] Resurrection'', is an even more divisive sequel due to straying so much from the formula of the previous two games and [[ItsEasySoItSucks forced auto-bomb]].

* 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. This means people who want to play it will either have to be lucky enough to live near an arcade that has it, which are vanishingly few outside of Japan (a select few Round 1 locations in the USA and a very, very small handful of arcades that explicitly specialize in Japanese games, as the more common "barcade"-type businesses choose to stock cheaper Western-developed games instead, mainly pinball), or spend thousands of dollars on the hardware just to play one game.

* 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. This means people who want to play it will either have to be lucky enough to live near an arcade that has it, which are vanishingly few outside of Japan, or spend thousands of dollars on the hardware just to play one game.