Fans of Japanese shumps, or DODONPACHI, will be interested to know that DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU is now available to purchase digitally for £30.99 from the Nintendo eShop within Europe.
Why is this interesting news? Well, the game originally released onto the Japanese (and North American) Nintendo eShop last month (on 19th December 2024 to be exact) and only this week (on 13th January 2025) did the game become available on the Nintendo eShop within Europe. It’s unclear what caused the European release to be a month later than the rest of the world, but according to the product listing the game only features Japanese text – which is something you do not see very often.
DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU is described as a faithful port of the vertical-scrolling shoot-’em-up originally developed by CAVE Interactive CO.,LTD and features four different versions of the game including Arcade HD, Ver. 1.5, Novice, and Ver. Saya. Arcade HD and Ver. 1.5 bring the classic arcade game to consoles, while Novice and Ver. Saya offer a more relaxing and story-driven experience for newcomers.
Story: “The Utopia” — a place humanity has dreamed of, where perfect peace and harmonious coexistence with nature are achieved. When invaders disrupt this carefully governed utopia, the Commander dispatches elite operatives to eliminate the threat. Together with your “Element Doll” you must locate and dismantle the massive computer system hidden within “The Utopia”.
As with any shoot-em-up game the aim is to achieve the highest score possible within as few continues as possible, and to do this players will be able to use unique abilities and three types of
dress upgrades to enhance your weapons. DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU also offers replay ability in the form unlockable galleries as well as character customization.
DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU is available digitally from on the Nintendo eShop within Europe and is priced at £30.99. The game is published by Live Wire Inc worldwide onto the Nintendo eShop with the game developed by CAVE Interactive CO.,LTD. At the time of writing DODONPACHI SAIDAIOUJOU can only be found on the Nintendo eShop on the console, and can not be viewed on the Nintendo website.
