Castle of Shikigami III

The third and final installment of the Castle of Shikigami trilogy, Shikigami no Shiro III builds on the gameplay of its predecessor with several new characters (one of which is based heavily on Reika Kirishima from Taito's 1985 game Time Gal) and an updated Tension Bonus System (which can be temporarily boosted using Bomb stocks by pressing both buttons simultaneously). The game's story involves the fictional country of Alcaland and a new floating demonic castle terrorizing it.It later received a home PC release by Cyberfront on September 29, 2006, with both Xbox 360 and Wii ports released by Arc System Works on December 13, 2007. The Wii version received a localized North American release by Aksys Games on May 13, 2008 as Castle of Shikigami III. It later received a second PC port by Cosmo Machia, released digitally worldwide on March 12, 2025.GameplayThe gameplay revolves around the concepts found in many SHMUP (shoot-em up) games. Each character has a standard attack known as a primary attack and a secondary attack known as a Shikigami. The Shikigami attack is more powerful but slows down or stops the player completely. There are 5 levels consisting of two parts. Each part has a boss at the end. An art gallery, music player, and replays of the dialogue cutscenes are unlocked throughout the game.Completing a stage earns a rank between F and SS.ModesEasy mode: Bombs are automatically used when the player is hit.S3MIX mode: A different soundtrack from Castle of Shikigami 2 is used.Extreme mode: Enemies fire faster bullets.Practice mode: Re-play a selected stage.Director's mode: Uses readjusted settings.Boss Attack mode: Defeat bosses in succession.Dramatic Change mode: Select two characters and switch between them in game.CharactersReika KirishimaEmilio StanburkeMihee KimBatu HaraiNagino IseKohtaro KugaRoger SasukeFumiko Odelle Van SteinMunchausenGennojo Hyuga