Line #41 VideoGame/BulletHellMonday


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/photo_2023_04_22_05_12_00.jpg]]
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4	-> ''Why don't we play a {{bullet hell}} shooter? I made it for you who think bullet hell shooters are hard. \
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6	"Bullet Hell Monday" is a bullet hell shooter game that’s fun for beginners too. Let's start with a simple stage and gradually get used to bullet hell.''
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8	''Bullet Hell Monday'', or ''Danmaku Getsuyōbi'' (弾幕月曜日) in Japanese, is a series of [[VerticalScrollingShooter Vertical-Scrolling Shooters]] by Creator/MasayukiIto, originally developed for [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames i(Pad)OS]] and UsefulNotes/{{Android\|Games}} mobile devices, before later being released on Platform/{{Steam}} for play on Windows PC and Steam Deck.
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10	!!! ''Bullet Hell Monday''
11	The first game in the series, released in 2016 for mobile devices and then on September 10, 2022[[note]]or September 9, depending on timezone[[/note]] on Steam. This game features three distinct modes: Chapter, Challenge, and Extra.
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13	In Chapter Mode, players start off with a weak ship and must progress through a series of short stages to earn points to upgrade their ship. However, completing a stage itself will not unlock the next; the player must fulfill objectives (such as "destroy ''x'' enemies", "collect ''y'' items", or "destroy ''z'' enemies with bombs") to reach 100 Mission Points to unlock the next stage.
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15	Challenge Mode is more akin to arcade-style shmups. The player has a fully-upgraded ship and faces off in five different stages; the player may either play each stage individually, or play all of them in sequence.
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17	Extra Mode is an [[EndlessGame endless mode]] where the player fights enemy waves that increase in difficulty until the player dies.
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19	!!! ''Bullet Hell Monday: Black'' / ''Danmaku Getsuyōbi Kuro'' (弾幕月曜日黒)
20	The second game in the series, released in 2019 for mobile and on April 24, 2023[[note]]or April 23, depending on timezone[[/note]] for Steam.
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22	This game eschews the original game's Chapter Mode, focusing instead on arcade-style gameplay similar to the original's Challenge Mode. In addition to the original five stages from the first game, this game introduces the "Black" set of five additional stages.
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24	Only four weapon types are available in this game as opposed to the original's nine, although two more of the weapon types from the original game are available in the Steam version. However, this game also features six SP weapons, which are available to all weapon types and operate on cooldown gauges, with two of the SP abilities being based on two of the weapon types in the first game.
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26	The Steam version of the game additionally brings back Extra Mode after it was absent from the mobile original.
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28	!!! ''Bullet Hell Monday: Finale'' / ''Danmaku Getsuyōbi Shūshō'' (弾幕月曜日終章)
29	The third and final game in the series, released in 2020 for mobile and on September 3, 2023 for Steam. The mobile release features optional {{Microtransaction}}s to expedite ship upgrades, but the Steam version is [[FreewareGame completely free of charge]].
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31	This game goes back to the Chapter-based roots of the first game, with the stages being based on the ones from ''Black'', and brings back two of the weapon types from the first game. This time, completing a stage within a chapter unlocks the next stage regardless of Mission Points, with the exception of the boss stage at the end of each chapter which requires 1000 Mission Points combined from the previous nine stages.
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33	Extra Mode from the first game is brought back as well.
34	----
35	Compare ''VideoGame/DanmakuUnlimited'', another series of bullet hell shooters with both mobile and PC versions.
36	----
37	!! The ''Bullet Hell Monday'' series provides examples of:
38	* ArrangeMode: The Original stage set in ''Black'' effectively serves as this to the Challenge stages in the original game; it's the same stages but with ''Black''[='=]s mechanics such as SP abilities and the bomb item gauge. It does not feature [[spoiler:the TrueFinalBoss from the first game's Steam port]], however.
39	* BittersweetEnding: Completing an all-stages run of ''Black''[='=]s Black [[spoiler:or Black IF]] stages [[spoiler:ends with not only the TrueFinalBoss being destroyed, [[TheHeroDies but also the player's ship]] while a LonelyPianoPiece plays.]]
40	* BoringButPractical: Laser and Wide may not be the flashiest or coolest-feeling weapons, but equipping both in a stage is rarely ever an ineffective choice. Laser inflicts high DPS against single targets, while Wide is a SpreadShot that is great at destroying large swaths of enemies.
41	* BribingYourWayToVictory:
42	** In the original game, one of the in-app purchases unlocks all Challenge stages and fully upgrades all of your purchased ships. Averted in the Steam release; there is no option to pay for instant-unlock.
43	** In the mobile version of ''Finale'', you can spend real-world money instead of AP to immediately unlock new weapon types or fully upgrade them. Averted in the Steam release, which is a completely FreewareGame, although this does mean you cannot expedite your upgrades and have to [[EarnYourFun earn them]].
44	* BulletHell: Like the title implies, the game rains down hundreds of bullets upon the player, with bullet densities becoming quite unreal at the higher difficulty levels.
45	* BulletTime: The Time weapon's bomb slows down enemies and their bullets for a few seconds. In the sequels, this ability is made into an SP ability that is available to all weapons.
46	* {{Cap}}: The maximum multiplier is 9,999.9%, which can be gained on certain stages, or more easily in [[EndlessGame Extra stages]] should one survive long enough.
47	* CloseRangeCombatant: In the original game, the Blade weapon has a very short range, but it has absurd DPS that can tear even the most armored of enemies a new one.
48	* CommonHTTPStatusCode: In the original game's Steam port, [[spoiler:after beating the FinalBoss on Normal or higher, the game freezes, and then flashes an "ERROR -- CODE: [=BHM403=]" message, as in a "403 Forbidden -- You don't have permission to access this asset", before summoning the TrueFinalBoss. Additionally, [[Every10000Points point-based extra lives]] are disabled for this fight, represented by the "points until next extend" gadget being replaced with "BHM 503 EXTEND UNAVAILABLE", as in "503 Unavailable -- the service is unavailable at this time."]]
49	* DeadlyWalls: Some stages, most notably Stage/Chapter 3 in all games, feature blocks as part of the environment and which are indestructible and don't shoot. Touching them has the same effect as touching a bullet, although using Spark in ''Black'' and ''Finale'' lets you safely pass through them.
50	* DifficultyByAcceleration: In Extra mode in the original game, ''Finale'', and the Steam version of ''Black'', Accel stages make the game increase speed as you collect point items. Not just enemy and bullet speed, ''the entire game'' speeds up. Burst does the same as well (with the added gimmick of making your SP gauges recharge faster). However, the game speed will slowly decay back to 100% when not collecting items.
51	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first game, in addition to not having SP abilties, uniquely has Decoy (called "Phantom" in this game), Time, and Blade as separate weapons. These three weapons would be changed to SP abilities in the next two games. The interface also looks different, using standard fonts in more places, rather than the dedicated font used in later games or even this game's own Steam port.
52	* EmbeddedPrecursor: ''Black'' features the five Challenge stages from the original game, but with ''Black''[='=]s mechanics. [[spoiler:However, despite the Steam version of the original game featuring a TrueFinalBoss at the end of those stages, the port of ''Black'' to the same platform does not have it.]]
53	* EndlessGame: Each game, except for the mobile version of ''Black'', has Extra mode, which has a series of stages that keep going indefinitely until you die. There are several stages available, with gimmicks such as accelerating bullet speeds or faster SP gauge gain.
54	* Every10000Points:
55	** In Challenge Mode of the original game and in ''Black'', you gain an extra life every set number of points. The exact amount depends on whether you're playing the mobile or Steam version in the original game, and the difficulty in ''Black'' (the higher the difficulty, the more points needed). In the orignal game's Steam version, [[spoiler:extra lives are disabled during the TrueFinalBoss fight -- "BHM [[CommonHTTPStatusCode 503]] EXTEND UNAVAILABLE".]]
56	** In ''Black'', you gain an extra bomb at every 1,000% multiplier.
57	* FlawlessVictory: The game tracks [[NoDamageRun no-damage]], no-bomb, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs no-damage-no-bomb]] badges for each stage. These are tracked independently of high scores, so you don't have to accomplish your no-damage-no-bomb run in the same run as a new high score.
58	* GenreShift: Not the games, but rather their soundtracks. Whereas the original game's soundtrack is mainly trance, ''Black''[='=]s soundtrack (which consists of remixes of the original game's tracks), as well as [[spoiler:the True Chapter 5]] theme in ''Finale'', is instead {{Eurobeat}}.
59	* GoldenEnding: In the PC version of ''Black''. [[spoiler:After defeating the TrueFinalBoss of IF mode, it seems as if your ship is going to be destroyed just like in Black mode's ending...but then it shifts off the bottom of the screen before zooming back upwards as the screen [[FadeToWhite fades to white]] to the tune of the triumphant True Chapter 5 theme, as if you survived this time.]]
60	* HardModeFiller: In ''Finale'', [[spoiler:after completing the first five Chapters, you unlock True Chapters. They are basically Chapters 1-5 all over again, but locked to Heaven difficulty. Instead of stage-specific objectives, most of them have the same few objectives: clear the stage, clear the stage without dying, clear the stage without bombs, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs clear the stage without bombs or dying]], and clear the stage with a 100% destruction rate.]]
61	* HarderThanHard: The difficulties in the original and ''Black'' go Easy, Normal, Hard, and ''Heaven''. Heaven not only has denser and faster enemy bullets, but midbosses and bosses may gain new forms. For example, the midboss of stage Black 1 has two forms on Easy and Normal. On Heaven, it has ''four''. While ''Finale'' features Heaven difficulty too, it's subverted in that Hard is absent. The Steam version of ''Black'' [[spoiler:does a similar thing with the IF stages; only Normal and Heaven are available]].
62	* HomingProjectile:
63	** The Search weapon makes your shots automatically target enemies. However, what your ship decides to target may not necessarily what you want or need to shoot.
64	** The Homing weapon fires homing missiles that create lingering explosions on impact when they reach their targets.
65	** The Lock-On weapon features a series of pods that fly up to enemies to shoot them, as well as a stream of auto-targeting shots straight from your ship.
66	** In ''Black'' and ''Finale'', Homing Laser is an SP attack that fires a burst of {{Homing Laser}}s at enemies when you switch from your second weapon back to your first one with the Homing Laser gauge full.
67	* LimitedLoadout: In ''Black'', you have all six SP abilities equipped at once. In ''Finale'', you can only equip four SP abilities: two multitouch-gesture SP abilities (two of the following: Spark, Decoy, Time, Barrier) and the two weapon-change SP abilities (Blade and Homing Laser).
68	* LongSongShortScene: The original game's Challenge mode Stage 5 lasts about 30 seconds before sending the FinalBoss after you. However, the full stage theme is 1 minute and 22 seconds long (still pretty short, but it's almost three times longer than what you can hear of it).
69	* NoPlotNoProblem: There is never any backstory for why you're flying around blowing up enemies that, in turn, release [[BulletHell huge masses of bullets]].
70	* RecycledSoundtrack: The [[spoiler:True Chapter 5]] theme from ''Finale'' is reused in [[spoiler:Black IF Stage 5]] in the Steam version of ''Black'', rather than doing a TitleThemeDrop like in Black Stage 5.
71	* ScoreMultiplier: Destroying enemies adds to your multiplier, with the multiplier gain being higher the stronger the enemy is and the faster you kill it. Your multiplier mainly factors into how much the score items are worth. There's also a Score Multiplier ''Multiplier'': Destroying enemies with a bomb or the ''Blade'' or ''Homing Laser'' SP abilities awards double the multiplier gain, destroying enemies while Spark is active awards 1.5 times the multiplier gain, and destroying enemies with a bomb, Blade, or Homing Laser while Spark is active awards triple.
72	* SingleUseShield:
73	** If Auto-Bomb is enabled, then if you get hit with bombs in stock, you'll automatically bomb at the cost of all of your bombs.
74	** The Shielding weapon's bomb creates a barrier that protects your ship for one hit. The barrier persists until either you get hit or the stage ends, even if you later switch weapons. Starting a level out with Shielding will also spawn a shield from the get-go (though in Chapter mode in the original game and ''Finale'', this ability needs to be unlocked first).
75	* SmartBomb: Pressing the bomb button deploys a powerful attack, with the effect varying based on what weapon you're currently using, while also [[InvulnerableAttack briefly making you invincible]]. For example, Laser bomb fires a WaveMotionGun in front of you, Wide bomb creates a circular blast in front of your ship, and Time bomb slows down enemies and bullets. Enemies destroyed while your bomb is active give twice the multiplier increment, and bullets caught in the bomb will be cancelled and converted to point items, so the player is encouraged to use bombs offensively just as much as defensively.
76	* StealthSequel: ''Finale'', [[spoiler:despite its title, is implied to be an ''{{Interquel}}'' between the original game and ''Black'' ([[NoPlotNoProblem for what little plot the games have]]); True Chapter 5 is called "Advance to the Black".]]
77	* SuperMode: In ''Black'' and ''Finale'', Spark is an SP ability that temporarily boosts your shot power and multiplier gain.
78	* TimedMission: Certain Chapter stages in ''Finale'', most notably in Chapter 5 with the "Defeat enemies quickly!" prompt, have an OptionalBoss that only appears if you defeat enough enemies within an on-screen time limit. If the timer runs out, the stage ends without the boss appearing, which is counted as a clear but will deprive you of large amounts of AP and Mission Points.
79	* TrueFinalBoss: The Steam port of the original game and ''Black'' [[spoiler:feature one last boss fight at the end of an all-stages run (i.e. it will not appear if you just play Stage 5 by itself), all set to SadBattleMusic as the sound effects cut out]]. In the original game, [[spoiler:your multiplier is reset back to 0% and you have to gain it back, [[Every10000Points extra lives]] are locked out, and the boss does not have a healthbar -- [[HoldTheLine you have to hold out until it self-destructs]]]]. In ''Black'', [[spoiler:your SP abilities' gauges are greatly boosted]].
80	* UpdatedRerelease: The Steam version of the original game not only adds [[spoiler:a TrueFinalBoss]] in Challenge Mode, it also updates the UI style to match that of ''Black'' and ''Finale''.
81	* VersionExclusiveContent:
82	** The Steam version of the Original game adds [[spoiler:a TrueFinalBoss at the end of a Challenge all-stages run]].
83	** The Steam version of ''Black'' adds the Search and Homing weapons and Extra Mode, which are not present in the mobile version. Completing all five Black stages [[spoiler:unlocks "IF" stages, [[RemixedLevel remixed versions]] of those five stages.]]
84	* ViolationOfCommonSense:
85	** Dying and respawning adds to your bomb stock (if the relevant upgrade has been purchased in Chapter modes, and in Challenge in the original and in ''Black'' by default) up to a {{cap}} of 5 bombs, so for scoring purposes, it may be more advantageous to die to get more bombs at times.
86	** Auto-Bomb mode fires a bomb for you if you get hit, at the cost of all of your bombs. However, an auto-bomb at one bomb left doesn't take any additional bombs, and furthermore in ''Black'', auto-bomb also activates a free Spark (with the multiplier bonus that entails), Homing Laser, and Blade, which can be used in lieu of a proper Spark bomb if your Spark gauge is not ready yet.

Context VideoGame / BulletHellMonday