M2 has announced that DoDonPachi Blissful Death Re:Incarnation will include DoDonPachi III, the version of DoDonPachi Blissful Death and precursor to DoDonPachi Blissful Death Black Label that was developed for international audiences, making this the first time the game is being made widely available on consoles. Some differences in DoDonPachi III include English text such as in the endings, the ability to carry over up to three remaining lives at the start of your second playthrough, maximum score adjustments, and different Extend conditions on your second playthrough.
In addition, DoDonPachi Blissful Death Re:Incarnation will also feature newly drawn illustrations and other additional options. Regarding the visuals, The “Ver. 2023” visuals will appear on the Element Doll selection, stage clear, and ending screens. The Element Doll selection and stage clear illustrations are done by Junya Inoue, and the ending illustrations are done by Haruhata. The new illustrations and “Ver. 2002” illustrations will be able to be toggled in the “Other Settings” menu of the “Game Setting,” but the “Ver. 2002” illustrations will always be displayed in alternative versions such as DoDonPachi Blissful Death Black Label, regardless of the setting.
In addition, the “Other Settings” menu can also be used to toggle ship hit detection display, the visibility of hidden bee items (which is not available in Arcade Mode), and a gauge that indicates when a boss will change form during boss battles.
To summarize, the following titles and modes will be playable in DoDonPachi Blissful Death Re:Incarnation:
- DoDonPachi Blissful Death Arcade
- Arcade Mode – A precisely ported and faithful reproduction of the arcade version.
- Arcade Challenge – Practice and overcome your weaknesses with the rewind feature.
- Arcade Osarai – Automatically logs your mistakes so you can review them from five seconds before.
- Casual DoDonPachi Blissful Death
- Super Easy Mode – A moderately easy mode that anyone can enjoy.
- Luna Tour – A casual minigame-like mode you can play in one-minute bursts and collect stamps.
- Arrange Mode
- Arrange S – Shotia-exclusive mode. Fight high-speed bullets with Hyper Shot.
- Arrange L – Leinyan-exclusive mode. Eliminate bullets with Reincarnation Laser.
- Arrange EX – EXY-exclusive mode. The second playthrough difficulty is… no continues.
- Arcade Extra Version
- DoDonPachi Blissful Death Black Label
- DoDonPachi III (international version) (first-ever port)
- Selectable Background Music Sets
- Arcade – Music from the arcade version.
- Stereo 2023 – New stereo version by Manabu Namiki.
- Reincarnation – New arrange version by Super Sweep-led Remixer.
DoDonPachi Blissful Death Re:Incarnation will be released for PlayStation 4 and Switch on December 7 in Japan.
