https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxm5wll7bW0

Dodonpachi DaiOuJou is the 4th game in CAVE’s Donpachi series. It is commonly referred to by the abbreviation “DOJ”. There are two widely played versions of the game - the initial White Label release, and the later revised Black Label version, named after the color of their title screens.

Unlike Espgaluda, which always ends after 5 stages, DOJ has a hidden, even harder “second loop” through its stages. This is only seen if you meet certain requirements like a very high score or not dying more than a few times. Completing the normal 5 stages in 1 credit is referred to as a “1-all”, and doing the same for both loops is a “2-all”. Most “regular” shmup players set their sights on 1-all clears. 2-alls are reserved for the most skilled and advanced players - not me, in other words. At least not yet.

The subtitle DaiOuJou was localized in the west as “Blissful Death”. Jisho.org translates it as “peaceful death” and references its usage in the phrase “daioujou wo togeru”, meaning something like “dying peacefully after living a full life”.

Almost exactly three months ago, I 1cc’d Espgaluda, another CAVE game. It was the first CAVE game I 1cc’d, and the experience felt cathartic and momentous. It came after weeks of daily practice, during which I went from naive optimism to sinking despair, then renewed determination and triumph when it was least expected. After the clear, I sat disbelieving in my chair for a while. A neighbor’s cat I was catsitting lay on the floor behind me, sleeping peacefully. I also felt like sleeping, finally freed from a crushing burden of expectation.

In the weeks that followed I questioned what I wanted to do with this whole shmup thing. I cleared several easier games and even a few relatively hard ones, but nothing that would require the amount of time and effort that Espgaluda had taken me. I didn’t consciously realize it at the time, but I think I was afraid of reliving the same intensity of emotion that I felt when working on Espgaluda. The highs were high, but the lows were also very low - anger, frustration, disappointment, and most of all self-doubt.

Around the time I was working on Espgaluda, I found a video posted by a player called Norbait commentating his 1-all clear of White Label. In it, he says:

I don’t really really know how much sense this makes - I don’t really have the skill required to clear this game. Whenever I see other players clear this game, they’re all better than me, and they pull off some crazy dodges that I just can’t. But I do have the indomitable human spirit.

Those feelings resonated with me. I started my shmup journey with the knowledge that I was severely lacking in skill, and didn’t have much raw talent to make up for it. While I’ve come a long way, I have not forgotten the feeling of “there’s no way I can ever do this.” What I have learned though, is that there’s a lot you can accomplish that you didn’t think was possible, if you trust in your indomitable human spirit.

After watching that video, I knew that I wanted to clear DOJ one day, or at least try.

Of the Dodonpachi games, DOJ has the most stark and uncompromising visual design. While the standard elements that have come to define the series are all there - sleek fighter jets, chunky enemy tanks and ships, bees, and (especially in the later games) anime girls - the overall tone is restrained and contemplative. The artwork used for the game’s arcade poster is unlike any piece of game marketing I’ve seen. Instead of depicting excitement or glory, it shows the player’s crashed ship riddled with bullets, blood streaming from the cockpit.

It could be a challenge: can you avoid that pilot’s fate? It could also be a warning: that no player can escape it, and that death is inevitable.

The game’s stages have a muted, desaturated color palette that contributes to the game’s bleak feel. Even the game’s music has a brooding tone that often seems to cast a skeptical pall over the action taking place. Coming from the bright and heroic Espgaluda, or the enthusiastic action-movie vibe of Donpachi and Dodonpachi, DOJ feels oppressive and unfriendly.

Similar to Espgaluda, I followed PAN’s guide to find a route for DOJ. Quickly I found myself reliving some of the same struggles as when I worked on Espgaluda. Despite knowing exactly what to do, actually executing it was another thing altogether.