DoDonPuchi Zero Is Preserved!!!

Posted in Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games on November 10, 2025 by slateman

Dedication and perseverance have led us to this fortuitous moment: DoDonPuchi Zero is playable for everyone after having been locked to archaic Japanese mobile phones for two full decades! This is simply incredible news to those of us who follow these things, but for many who’d never even heard of this, understand this is a landmark moment. Wherever you’re coming from, I’d like to share the history of the game, the platform and what’s so special about this ‘tiny’ entry into the DonPachi franchise.

The mobile market in the West in 2003 was understandably limited, however, in Japan, things were bustling. Publishers innumerable were developing and porting existing IPs to the mobile realm in the form of a diverse and curious rainbow of titles. From a preservation vantage point, this is one of the most-prolific yet least-documented era in gaming. Capcom, for instance, issued no fewer than a dozen mobile-only games using their existing IPs: Rockman, Street Fighter, Vampire/Darkstalkers as puzzle titles, card games, rhythm experiments and much more with virtually none of these available in any form in 2025. I digress; let’s step back and look at how things all began and how shmups fit into the whole story.

History of Cave’s Mobile Titles

Starting in 1999, the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo began offering a service called i-mode which allowed mobile phones to go online. This primitive service offered web access and e-mail, initially in monochrome environments, before developers began to expand into the gaming realm.

On the 17th of September, 2002, CAVE launched their own storefront titled The シューティング　ゲーセン横 (The Shooting Game Center Yokocho) for i-mode compatible phones. The site had four sections: Arcade Game Information, Classic Games, Variety Games and Score Trial. Classic titles were 1990s-era CAVE and Psikyo games like Strikers 1945 and Gunbird. Variety Games housed the pinball spin-offs ESP Pinball and DonPin (another game we know only from screenshots), some puzzle and strategy games, and today’s topic: DoDonPuchi Zero.

The service cost ¥300 a month (about $2 USD today) to access. For this fee, you’d receive six credits. Classic games cost three points and Variety two, but if you deleted it from your phone, you’d receive one credit back. Participating in the Score Attack cost one credit itself.

By the following year, the company had published several mobile renditions of their popular titles, including ports of Dangun Feveron, DoDonPuchi (not Zero), ESP Ra.De and Ketsui. All in all, CAVE published about two dozen games on the services, sometimes in split form, due to storage and bandwidth restrictions. DoDonPuchi Zero, by contrast, was an original game developed exclusively for the 504i series of phones and is the subject of today’s deep dive.

Game Center Yokocho shut down in 2014 and after that point, the only way to play these games was by finding a phone with the title still installed. Due to preservation efforts by RockmanCosmo and the excellent Keitai World Launcher, we’ve seen scores of otherwise-inaccesible titles made available in recent years. I wrote about the astonishing preservation of DoDonPachi: Dai-Ou-Jou Reco.Ver a few weeks ago, and we now can play yet-another long-lost entry: DoDonPuchi Zero with special thanks to Cuebus for dumping this (and for not getting one credit back by deleting the game!!!) In the process, he also preserved a trial version of DoDonPuchi proper; information about that rendition will be saved for its own entry. For now, let’s dive into exactly what DDPZ is, a sentence I’ve wished to utter since learning of this game in the early ‘00s.

ドドンプチ零 / DoDonPuchi Zero

One of CAVE’s earliest entries into their service was DoDonPuchi Zero, an original game “created by the arcade game staff,” Furukawa recalled in a 2020 interview with 4Gamer. He continued, “it established a mobile shooter engine, so in that sense it was a very valuable title.” Rather than just translating existing code, this was an important step for the company, who would issue renditions of Mushihimesama, Pink Sweets, ESP Galuda (both 1 and 2), Storm Of Progear and more in the coming years.

The Zero suffix was not uncommon for Japanese titles, but its full name was a fun take on the already jovial DoDonPachi. It’s long been established that the title DonPachi and DoDonPachi each contain a play on words: the first entry roughly means Bee Leader and the sequel Angry Bee Leader all while hearkening the onomatopoeic sound of gunfire. Here, Puchi translates to ‘petite’ or ‘mini’, making this an Angry Mini Bee – more or less. It’s playful and fitting.

Audio & Music

Given the truly-limited storage size of games on this platform (DDPZ clocks in at a meager 31k), there are no sound effects. However, the legendary Manabu Namiki was hired to do the soundtrack, quite surprising, given his pedigree and the nature of this title. He recalled in a 2010 interview of STG Gameside #1 (with special thanks to Shmupilations for the translation.)

Interviewer:
What shooting game music you’ve composed has given you a lot of troubles, or is otherwise very memorable for you?

Namiki:
The work I did for the mobile phone app DoDonPuchi Zero gave me a lot of problems. The available memory was tiny, and there wasn’t enough space for the BGM data, so there was no way to get it to fit except for removing notes from the songs. Even though I had to shave off so many notes from the pieces, the songs still needed to be enjoyable to listen to, and with all the fine tuning I had to do on these songs it was like some incredibly complex puzzle. Those days remind me of how much I hated the way musical data was done on mobile devices. (laughs)

Each stage’s theme song is a bit over a minute long and with the levels themselves lasting about two, the loop is enjoyable and not too repetitive. Though Namiki was understandably frustrated with the constraints and results, the songs are actually quite catchy, despite not drawing from the original DDP’s tunes at all. Boss music is shared and there is a pair of other tracks: the intro/ship select music and the usual end-of-level quick recap as well. See the Links Section below for a download of the full OST.

The Game Itself

The fact that DDP Zero was an original game makes this a unique entry amongst the standard fare of ported titles. While this diminutive version was scaled down considerably, so much of the base game was carried over here. The core gameplay was the same: Three ships, laser or shot choices. Bombs came in the same two flavors. A warning sign flashes before each boss and afterwards, your star count is tallied, distributing a bonus for a No Miss.

For a stripped-down mobile title from 2003, DDPZ was a surprisingly-good game! There are three difficulty levels and you could change your ship speed in the options menu. There was an online leaderboard as you could upload scores, but while this is all impressive, do not forget that this was a mobile-phone game. On the numberpad, you moved with the number keys, 0 would change from laser to shot and # would unleash bombs. It’s actually more playable today with proper controller configurations (much like the G-Mode ports).

Each of the three ships does feel unique and represents the pedigree of the series well. Two stages are available and you can begin on stage 2 when starting. Entering level 1, it’s astonishing just how well the game actually runs. It’s smooth and features a fair amount of bullets, particulary for the 240×240 screen. The added difficulties present even-more firepower to dodge and the game scrolled fluidly, even with all these on-screen projectiles.

Both stages have a mid-boss with a life bar and you could destroy the arms of the second-stage boss, revealing a more-difficult bullet pattern. Even the chaining system arrives intact, carrying over the GP meter in the upper-left-hand corner and the usual dance of popcorn enemies, lasering tougher foes, revealing bees via said laser and harsh scoring punishments for bombing.

Final Thoughts

DoDonPuchi Zero is, by all accounts, a mere novelty when compared to even console affairs of the time. However, it is a fun and competent representation of the best shooting series ever produced.

A trio of CAVE’s mobile DX games were ported to the Switch and Steam by G-Mode with great results and it would be phenomenal to see others get the same treatment. It seems unlikely, but this preservation effort should be applauded and I sincerely hope the momentum continues as there are so many unique and quirky entries into our favorite franchises that many of us have never played. I hope these chronicles covering such niche titles are worthwhile to some. Thanks for reading!

Useful Links

5-Layer Pyraminx Algorithms

Posted in Algorithms, Best / Worst, Blog, Cubing on October 27, 2025 by slateman

…and so it ends (Super Mario Galaxy)

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags on October 11, 2025 by slateman

8 days, 15 hours // 120 stars

Super Mario Galaxy Complete!!!

Quick notes:

  • I am NOT doing this all as Luigi to get a true 100%.
    • (maybe one day, starting anew with this save file)
  • Comet system & world hub was annoying to keep up with
    • Too much running around just to enter a stage
    • Clunky to discover what else you needed to do
    • Addressed in earnest in its sequel
  • Flying was great in designated areas
  • Good challenge – not absurdly difficult
  • Switch 2 translation was fantastic!
    • Ran great and fantastic resolution
  • Bee power-up was fun, spring was iffy
  • Exploration wasn’t really worth it…
    • Mostly yielded 1-Ups, thus diminishing desire to look further
    • Which is, to me, the heart of the Mario series.
  • Level diversity staled as time went on.
    • Also addressed in Galaxy 2
  • Late-game challenge was appropriate. Frustrating, but never out of reach.
  • Very satisfying 100%* (again, not doing all 120 stars again!)

I loved it. Breaking this game out of its Wii shackles (I realize it was on the Switch already) is great and its upscaled assets, 4K resolution and comfort playing on a Pro controller make this the ideal version. I’m so happy I played this behemoth of a game. It boggles my mind that it was released in 2007 – that short window between moving to Maine and my latter two children. I can’t say it brought me back, despite remembering some of those stars vividly. It’s been 18 years since I played this game and 18 years prior, I was in 7th grade.

I’m diving straight into Galaxy 2 – I wonder if it’s as good as I remember!

…and so it begins (Super Mario Galaxy)

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games with tags on October 4, 2025 by slateman

I started this blog in early 2012 and by then, both Galaxy games had come and gone. A decade ago, I wrote about my Mario Completion stats and there I reminisced about how Galaxy 2 was the third-best Mario game ever. I’ve wanted to revisit, but I am the reason these remasters exist. I could play all of this on the original hardware, via emulation…hell, I could do it on my phone, I’m sure. But convenience is king and with a Switch 2 in hand (and its 4K resolution), I was decidedly a day-one buyer, even in spite of it’s silly price tag. (Grazie, zio).

I endeavor to chronicle my progress. Do I have the patience to 100% the first game before eagerly jumping to the second? Do I even need to reach that goal? So far, so good, I must say. Galaxy is Nintendo at their most creative and I’m really quite enjoying myself. Let’s see how this adventure goes!!!

Concert Review: Geoff Tate – Silver Spring, MD – 28 September, 2025

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Personal, Photos on October 4, 2025 by slateman

I saw Queensrÿche three times: in 2000, 2003 and again in 2005. And when Geoff Tate and the band split, I was firmly a member of the QR camp. The divorce was ugly and neither side looked good, however, I never really enjoyed Tate’s solo material and as the years passed, even the band’s continuation failed to inspire much passion. I was fine ending my journey with all of it, especially considering I’d seen all of Operation: Mindcrime during the last of my three concerts.

Now, it should be said that I don’t have a full recollection of that evening, with Doug fully to blame. And as Tate announced a goodbye to one of my top-20 albums ever, playing the entire record, I felt no hesitation plunking down a few bucks and driving yet again up to Silver Spring. Before we get to this night, however, I’d like to reminisce some decades.

I walked all the way to Looney Tunes to purchase Operation: Mindcrime and another record (maybe an Anthrax tape). The two-mile walk, which Google tells me takes 45 minutes, was a common occurrance in subsequent years, but at the time, I was a mere 12 years old. On the way back, I stopped at my school and some kid stole my money. What odd memories we retain. And as it came out before I was 16, I still remember a majority of the lyrics. Thus, tonight, I sang much far more than normal. I was not alone. Even the taped intros had the crowd reciting from memory, “Dr. Hamilton, Dr. J. Hamilton.” “Sleep well, you bastard.”

The band has its own light system and immediately I was impressed by the absolute clarity of things. They sounded utterly fantastic. All three (!) guitarists played rhythms, leads and interludes perfectly – almost astonishingly so. The production was reminiscent of Def Leppard or Ghost, virtually-perfect recreations of the studio creations. Unfortunately, it loses all that punch that I love about live shows and it felt manufactured – meticulously crafted for authenticity and not the gritty live performance. Tate’s vocals were phenomenal, but often buried lower in the mix with loud backing vocals lifting it all up. It’s hardly dismissive, it’s far better than some of the botch jobs I’ve seen online by Jon Bon Jovi or David Lee Roth, etc. We’re all getting older, but he did a remarkable job.

Spying on t-shirts from recent tours and it’s evident: this band plays a LOT of shows. I estimated about 100 in 2024 alone. City upon city. Geoff Tate mentioned he’s played in 66 countries. Say what you will, but that’s dedication.

He kept the between-song banter limited and played the role as frontman well, sporting a no-sleeved jacket, black cowboy hat and his trademark, thick-framed glasses. It almost felt like Mindcrime was rushed through, and Tate appeared to enjoy the Mindcrime 2 songs more, the three chosen truly showcased his skills, perhaps more than them being the best selections. But make no mistake, seeing a great rendition of the concept album that shaped my youth was just awesome.

The two songs with keyboardist/vocalist were fantastic, and the entire choreographed evening did what it intended: offer a strong sense of nostalgia presented in a lengthy and highly-curated package.

There were three songs from Mindcrime’s sequel, another trio from Empire and a pair of classics rounded out the night. None hit the highs of the main draw. The sound of Empire felt more than ever like that transitional, early ’90s time period. The classics were solid and the evening as a whole was fun. Unless Queensrÿche comes back with something worth seeing – and with a more-authentic live experience – I’m happy closing this chapter of my top-20 record…a mere 37 years after I first got into the band.


DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX Reco.Ver

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games on September 24, 2025 by slateman

There is an awful lot to discuss about this exceedingly-rare mobile-only game. This modified version of DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX was released in 2007 and essentially forgotten by most until this autumn. While mobile versions were common in that era, we never had any specific information about DOJ DX. All of that changed when G-Mode ported the game to Steam in 2021, and later to the Nintendo Switch.

The game itself is a surprisingly-good translation that retains almost every part of the core DOJ experience: hidden bees, a full chaining system and well-animated bosses. Unsurprisingly, the game’s audio is the weakest part of the package, well, alongside original phone controls. On modern systems, the latter is a clear improvement, but audio is 2007-era music and effects.

All of this is standard, but even more obscure was G-Mode’s other release, a caravan-style alternative titled 弾幕検定死験-大往生編-. There’s very little information in English about this, so let’s break it all down. That name translates to Danmaku Kentei Shiken – DaiOuJou-Hen. Danmaku is the blanket term for the genre Bullet Hell. Now, the next two words are the same, in some ways. Kentei is a proficiency ‘test’ or ‘examination’. Shiken appears to be a play on words: both as a test itself but also containing the word ‘shi’, which means ‘death’. The Hen suffix just means ‘edition’, more or less. So, while translations exist out there, none of them really gave me any comprehension of what it precisely was. A bullet-hell test version of DOJ. It sounds much better in its native Japanese.

This rendition of the game was a boss-only gauntlet, pitting you against DOJ’s iconic bosses over and over with increasing difficulty. It’s quite repetitive and shallow, but let’s not forget it was a mobile game from nearly two decades ago. The game’s interest lies in the bullet patterns progressively increasing in difficulty and you can start at later levels on future runs.

OK, language and history aside, what exactly is the story behind DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou DX Reco.Ver?

This high-score variant of DOJ DX was curiously issued for one day only, back on the 30th of December, 2007. Why it was so limited is unknown, but it only features minor changes from the base game. In September of 2025, Yuuku! managed to preserve this 18-year-old mobile game and make it available for the world to enjoy via Keitai World Launcher. Considering fewer and fewer devices exist out there in the wild with this software installed, this preservation is even more remarkable.

The title itself is a double set of double entendres. While DoDonPachi’s name alone is a fun play on words, the Reco.ver suffix honors Cave’s other flagship shmup of the era: Mushihimesama. Its heroine, Reco (which I’ve always preferred to spell with a K), is the protagonist of this rendition of DOJ. The title’s full name, DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou Reco.ver pays homage to who is probably Cave’s most-identifiable character. Reco appears here with both her shot and laser and with her M, W and S modes representing green, red and blue. Each has the same laser, but the shots differ, and the latter of the two the only ones that can reveal bees, in laser form only.

The alterations found in this alternate take on DOJ are all relatively minor. The obvious difference is that Reco replaces DDP’s ships, using her sprites from Mushihimesama DX. There are several other visual changes: lives now are represented by Kiniro’s curled horn instead of ships and the GP meter is gone, moving the hyper meter upwards. Bombs have the explosions from Reco’s main game and both they and hypers have a great aquamarine hue. Level-ending screens now feature the long-haired heroine and her voice appears when appropriate, but the sound is otherwise untouched. In terms of gameplay, while the stages remain identical, combos, and thus scoring, differ greatly. The combo counter adds up much faster and is far-more forgiving. Failing to maintain the invisible GP meter results in a dwindling hit combo (à la Daifukkatsu) and dying just reduces your combo by about a third. Even after bombing, your combos continue, something the base DOJ DX allowed, unlike its arcade original. And while there was a level select in DX, one isn’t present here as this was a high-score competition.

In the end, though this alternate-reality DOJ DX may just be a ship-replacement substitute, and truly a mere novelty, its preservation is simply a miracle. It’s worth noting that Keitai World Launcher also has dumps of Guwange DX, three Mushihimesama games: the original under its own DX moniker, Futari and Gaiden, as well as demo renditions of ESP Galuda II and, curiously, the original DoDonPachi – though this last one isn’t DoDonPuchi Zero and is way better than it has any right to be. The fact that this exists at all inspires optimism about preservation and it simplifies and incentivizes others to dump titles locked to this archaic hardware. Personally, I’d love to see some of Capcom’s efforts, as a number of unique games were made in the early ’00s and effectively lost to the sands of time. Though DoDonPachi: DaiOuJou Reco.Ver is a curious bookmark in Cave’s catalogue of games, the ability to play it in 2025 is nothing short of remarkable.

Concert Review: Bruce Dickinson – Silver Spring, MD – 14 September, 2025

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Personal, Photos on September 17, 2025 by slateman

After his landmark solo records of the late 1990s, I haven’t been quite as enamored with Bruce Dickinson’s last two albums. Each had its own highlights, but I’ll always go back to Accident and Chemical if given a choice.

Despite my less-enthusiastic take on these efforts, Bruce hasn’t done a US tour since I (saw him in 1998) and going tonight was a bit of a no-brainer. I got to the venue with time to spare, had a beverage and headed in, getting comfortably close, but not as near as I normally would like. The aging crowd didn’t move altogether too much, so where I landed is about where I stayed for the duration. During my half-hour wait, I gazed upon the crowd curiously; spying all the tropes of metal fandom.

With the instrumental intro beginning things, he kicked off into Accident Of Birth, a spectacular start. There are pockets of unfamiliarity in his catalogue, and though these selections were pretty good, it also meant diminished enthusiasm for sections. It didn’t help that things were generally quite slow. Even Laughing In The Hiding Bush, never my favorite, felt weak.

The air-conditioned venue was actually quite cold, never an issue for me, but Bruce was not fond and he commented on it several times, in addition to a few subdued political jabs. Nothing too forceful, but they garnered a smirk from many.

Chemical, Flash Of The Blade and the killer cover of Frankenstein were highlights from the middle of the evening. The first sounded beautiful and Bruce’s voice was as strong as ever. The sole Maiden cover would’ve been a great surprise had it not been spoiled – but the solo section in the middle was just spectacular as was Frankenstein. The band was having fun and I loved every minute of it.

Wrapping things up, we got three hits from my favorite two albums and this represented the best part of the evening. All were just awesome even if they were slower and packed less of a punch than most metal shows. Things were clear and all musicians were top notch.

Following a brief moment backstage, we were treated to the expected Tears Of The Dragon complete with an enthusiastic sing-along. I was unfamiliar with the next Balls To Picasso song, to my dismay, but this led into the finale. Bruce spoke about recording the next album and thanked the crowd before diving into The Tower, one of his best and a suitable closing to a wonderful evening. I zipped out swiftly and Google routed me on what seemed a long, out-of-the-way path home. I woke not feeling terrible the next day, can’t complain about that!!! Setlist and photos/videos to follow.

  1. Intro: Toltec 7 Arrival
  2. Accident Of Birth
  3. Abduction
  4. Laughing In The Hiding Bush
  5. Shadow Of The Gods
  6. Chemical Wedding
  7. Flash Of The Blade
  8. Resurrection Men
  9. Rain On The Graves
  10. Frankenstein
  11. The Alchemist
  12. Book Of Thel
  13. Road To Hell
  14. E: Tears Of The Dragon
  15. E: Gods Of War
  16. E: The Tower






Metal Gear Solid Δ: Does It Still Hold Up?

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Games, Metal Gear Solid on September 2, 2025 by slateman

In selecting my favorite games ever, something that’s still not quite comprehensive, one thing was certain: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is top-five. My first playthrough in 2008 impressed; my second playthrough in 2016 solidified that fact. The announcement of a modern facelift was exciting, enough to dissuade me from picking up the latest collection of titles. MGSΔ came out this past week and I’ve spent my extended labor-day weekend devouring every part of it.

My experience began in an underwhelming state. Extended cut scenes and slow gameplay are never inspirational foundations. Finding collectibles became a chore and despite the QOL improvements, the source material is mired in decades-old advancements. What was once truly revolutionary is now baseline. Don’t get me wrong – the game looks utterly phenomenal and the environments are lush. They are small, but carefully planned, unlike so many procedurally-generated environs of nowadays.

Knowing my way around (generally) certainly helped and I resorted to guides when that memory faltered. As the hours continued, I became enamored, once again, by the twisted tale of double and triple crossing agents, defections and the most bad-ass roster of personalities ever. Kojima’s attention to details and if-then scenarios is one thing that hasn’t decayed with age. It’s a cinematic masterpiece whose gameplay, updated or not, is the weakest element in 2025. Its greatness only grew as bosses were felled and the Snake’s tale advanced. As we witnessed Ocelot’s hubris. Boss’ sacrifice. Ava’s ‘sincerity’. With a pair of prior playthroughs in tow, the big picture was enjoyed on an elevated level.

This experience has only deepened my appreciation to the game and franchise and now I yearn to revisit MGS4, Peace Walker and MGSV. (Master Collection Volume 2 announcement soon?!?!) If I have to rank my favorite games anew, Metal Gear Solid 3 doesn’t move in its position. While higher-placed games have a more-fun gameplay loop, none topples Kojima’s story and direction. I’m so glad I got to play a more-modernized rendition of this title. It’s as good as I remembered.

Elden Ring: Playthrough #3 – 400 Hours

Posted in Best / Worst, Bloodborne, Games on August 25, 2025 by slateman

Super Mario Bros. 3. That was my answer for the best game ever for the better part of three decades. There was never a doubt, hardly even a competitor. Imagine my surprise when Bloodborne, a title that shares virtually no DNA with SMB3 usurped the throne. My appreciation truly grew through repeated ventures into its world and my fascination only increased from there. Its lore revealed via YouTube deep-dives, secrets through Wikis and strategies from Reddit threads. Gaming nowadays is different than in ages past. And while Elden Ring was immediately a top-20 game, a second playthrough and its vast DLC helped the title rise the ranks ALSO leapfrogging the aforementioned greatest game ever. One developer with the two most-exceptional titles in history?

Another year hence, I opted to dive back into The Lands Between. As a high-school teacher, summers allow much more free time than normal. The hours melted away; I was hooked. Best talisman combinations. Repeatedly searching the Wiki for locations, weaknesses and shortcuts. My memory is quite good, and a lot of this is familiar, but this game is massive. The sense of exploration is diminished through repeated runs but I’m never not impressed. Even still – several hundred hours down – I continued finding things I hadn’t seen. I completed questlines I didn’t witness in my prior 300 hours.

My sole summertime gaming goal was to beat the DLC and on the eve of returning with students, Promised Consort Radahn was bested. Malenia downed. Bayle felled. I didn’t complete everything – such is a daunting task. But even without those breadcrumbs, this remains the most-beautiful and expansive world I’ve ever enjoyed adventuring through.

It’s hard to know if this now trumps Bloodborne. One has potency through its first-impression weight and rich, decaying world. The other in its sprawling vastness and infinite possibilities. I’ll ponder this contest as the days and weeks pass. Months may be required. Whatever the outcome – the one-two punch by FromSoftware resides in the annals of gaming excellence and undisputed as the most-outstanding games ever released.

Fuck Yeah

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music on August 8, 2025 by slateman

« Older Entries