Duration: 20:41

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NOTE: Go to 8:39 for the beginning of the game recording! Also, the recorder was recording the opening movie a bit wonky, so we used the online video instead. The only thing you really need to know is that the console video seems compressed and that the Dreamcast swirl is blue, and not orange/red. Also, for the game segment, there is no "border artwork" --- That grid that you see separates the gameplay area normally. I did not want to make the game 16:9 exactly as the gameplay is already bordered off.

You can find the game at:

http://www.play-asia.com/search/Ghost+Blade

It's 2015 and... people are still releasing games for this nearly 20 year-old system!? YEAH! Not bad... introducing "Ghost Blade", the latest "post-death" SHMUP for the Sega Dreamcast. Featuring five stages of intense 90s-inspired shooter action, players take control of three skilled pilots (Stella of the "Ghost Blade Spectre-3", Rica of the "Rekka Unit-1" and Mimi of the "Milan V1") of the experimental "Ghost" crafts to save Earth from an evil alien menace.

The story from the manual reads:

"10,000 years ago there was an Artificial Intelligence in Mars known as Shira. When it became corrupt, the Evil Shira was banned from Mars by the Earth Defense Force, who destroyed her physical form, blasting her with laser beams. Full of anger, Evil Shira was able to make a digital backup of her intelligence module and sworn to get her revenge one day. She escaped from the planet and rushed millions of light years through the universe to seek a new home and build her attack force."

"Now, you must destroy Evil Shira before she can complete her attack force and threaten the existence of the entire universe."

The game supports Yoko (4:3) and Tate (16:9) displays at 480p as well as a VGA box and connection to a PC monitor, two player support, a caravan mode (2 and 5 minutes), and a skill-based scoring system where combos and technical chains yield more points and bombs. Speaking of bombs, this game is pretty generous with the number of bombs it offers, so while you don't have to use them, it is encouraged for less experienced SHMUP fans. The game has a few neat effects here and there and a great soundtrack by Rafael Dyll.

After the excellent release of Sturmwind which set the bar really high for post-death shooters on the Dreamcast, Ghost Blade is an interesting, more traditional and simple shooter, but something other than shooters would be nice too. However, more games on the DC is still a great thing! This is a video of the game in action showing single and multiplayer gameplay. In multiplayer, it seems that the ships are nerfed as to not make things too easy (especially the "Ghost Blade Spectre-3").