Quantcast

Project Aja Resurrects Itself With Doujin Sequel Koumajou Denetsu II

By John . January 14, 2011 . 12:33pm

Japan’s recent Comiket 79 saw the release of Project Aja’s Koumajou Densetsu II. Spencer highlighted Project Aja’s first doujin PC game last year. The sequel also played a bit like a linear Castlevania but with more in-game options to fight with and more enemy firepower to dodge. This game, subtitled Stranger’s Requiem, seemed to be based loosely around the Perfect Cherry Blossom storyline of the Touhou shmup series. Touhou-style bullets were clearly used for enemy fire.

 

Project Aja Resurrects Itself With Doujin Sequel Koumajou Denetsu II

 

Aja’s hired many famous seiyuu voice actresses this time around. One notable is Miyuki Sawashiro from Durarara!!, High School of the Dead, Strike Witches, and CANAAN. She voiced Sakuya, the main character. Marisa Kirisame (shown below), another Team Shangai Alice Touhou staple, also makes an appearance. She is voiced by Hidamari Sketch and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s Ryoko Shintani.

 

Project Aja Resurrects Itself With Doujin Sequel Koumajou Denetsu II

 

Koumajou Densetsu II allowed for joypad or keyboard input. The options menu had a pad config selection to set the buttons. The directional arrows were preset based on the controller you configured for your PC. Most of the gameplay is summed up nicely in the developer play through of the first stage on Easy mode.

 

 

Not revealed in the video were the health power ups, which appeared after slicing at some walls. Like Castlevania, the walls showed no sign of decay to hint where to strike. However, the walls didn’t crumble once I found the food. Despite that non-travesty, the game demo was a blast to play: very easy to start and challenging enough not to stop. While some websites are saying this game has English and French patches, I have confirmed that the sequel does not presently. The first game did receive language patches, and developer Yagani Eiichiro has assured me that there will be patches released by the end of January to play Koumajou 2 in English and French. He is excited players from overseas enjoy his games and says to watch Twitter and his blog, as they will announce downloadable purchase details for the game. The first is available on DLSITE.com, which has an English-friendly browser.

 

Koumajou Densetsu II is available now through retail for between 2100-2,625 yen ($20+). Aja has a free trial that includes the voice acting (which explains the hefty download size) here, labeled “Koumajou2_trial3.zip.” To run the game optimally, the developer has provided these specs:

・DirectX 9.0c

・Windows 7 / Vista / XP

・CPU: Intel Pentium4 Processor 3.0GHz (my laptop @ 2 GHz ran it smoothly,

save some slow down with a lot of characters on screen)

・Memory: 512MB or more (1GB suggested)

・V-RAM: 64MB or more (128MB or more with NVIDIA)

・Sound: DirectSound compatible soundcard

・Resolution: 800×600 or higher

 

Important announcement: The developer has agreed to an interview! Please list any questions you have regarding Project Aja’s games or their take on the doujin scene in Japan.


Read more stories about & & & & on Siliconera.

  • Letiumtide

    I would ask if they would ever consider releasing this on a home console through download services. I would be much more enticed to play the game if it were available on a console rather than through the PC, I’d say the quality of the release looks top notch and taking the time to release it outside of the PC market could really help get their name out there even more…

    • malek86

      That would be very troubling for rights and stuff. I don’t think ZUN would allow that. He probably lets the games be made on PC because the market is more open and you don’t have to respond to anyone.

      • TrevHead

        Not quite, many ppl gamers dont fully understand what doujin is. Although its comparable to the western indie scene, doujin tends to be more fan centered with fan made gamesm and manga that use others IPs and are sold at conventions of which the IP owners turn a blind eye to as its thought of as good publicity (shame western companies dont think the same way).
        However some doujin are so good that they lie somewhere between fanmade and commercial and do get sold at special doujin retail stores aswell as conventions.

      • Reaper gI

        He lets anything be made so long as it’s doujin.
        Release must be self finaced and only sold at convention or specialist shops, and clearly marked as being derivative work.
        The IP is Frontier Aja’s unless it’s comercialy distributed.

        Touhou is one of the exceptions where doujin is explicitly alowed by the original creator.

    • TrevHead

      Sadly there isnt much chance of this game getting a commercial release on any console platform even the PC. As good as this doujin game is, IE better then most commercial offerings. Its still a fan game that uses someone elses IP (like many doujin games do).
      The IP ower in this case ZUN doesnt want Touhou as a commercial ventre

  • MrRobbyM

    Don’t care much for the game but I LOVE the artwork. So pretty.

  • http://www.genkaibreak.com Code

    rar, love the visuals but I was kind of hoping for more Metroidvania-style gameplay, looks a little linear/dull in the level design department. Still, rar, absolutely loving the artwork, animation, and the boss battle looks like a blast >w<'

  • malek86

    Yuyuko dressed in black? It doesn’t get any better than this.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Hiryuu

    Played it day of release. It’s all right. Waiting for the English patch so I can read through the OMAKE and actually understand what the heck they’re saying.

    Should be English AND French.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jstack Jon Stachewicz

    The knife sub-weapon isn’t entirely useless? Some Castlevania game this is :P

    It does look pretty interesting though. I finally finished Rondo of Blood this morning and I’m playing through the original Castlevania now, so I’m definitely in the mood to try something like this out!

  • DarkWaterClone

    I want to know if this game has any chance of coming out on the PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS or PSP2?

    If not would Project Aja think about console or handheld games in the future?

    • godmars

      I think being an obvious Castlevina clone is going to keep it off of anything console related.

      Then again Sony or MS might surprise us. Though it likely wont be on both the 360 and PS3.

  • evilmoogle

    Ask them this:
    “Will you ever make a metroidvania?”

    • http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Hiryuu

      Lot of people think that’s what will happen with 3.

      Everyone thought we were getting a Remi mode too. Good luck. Course we’re waiting for Extra and possibly Phantasm with Prismrivers up front. We’ll see how that goes.

  • maxchain

    I just wanna know what they’ve got in the works next.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/EnvyMizuhashi Garyuu

    Uuuuh, why are they having US ask questions? Should they? It’s not like Touhou officially presents itself in America/Europe plus it’s not likely Koumajo Densetsu will convert itself to Rockin Android. So I don’t see the point in this.
    (let the flamers ensue)

    • http://www.youtube.com/user/xxHiryuuxx Hiryuu

      aja-b has talked to Doujinstyle back when the first one came out. Of course they’re interested in what we have to say.

      Why else would I mention an English AND French patch?

      • http://www.youtube.com/user/EnvyMizuhashi Garyuu

        Oh yeah, I forgot Aja made the english patch themselves. Not too accurate, but it worked. And Doujinstyle? Never noticed it before.

        Then I suppose the questions would be.

        1. Will Meiling be playable, even for a tiny expansion story?

        2. How were the voice actresses (seiyuu) arranged? Were they auditioned well or was it, perhaps, a publicity stunt?

        3. What is the expected climax of your company? Do you intend to reach Project Aja to a higher plane amongst indie developers?

        4. Have you heard of Rockin’ Android? :)

  • PrinceHeir

    “One notable is Miyuki Sawashiro”

    i need THIS. though im still on the ropes how japan sells their PC Doujin games, usually on conventions such as Comiket or so. i would love a steam like service where all Doujin games are available to buy.

  • thaKingRocka

    Steam?

    If it is released there, I will buy it for myself, and a gift copy for my nephew.

  • https://twitter.com/#!/SplashdownTiger STiger

    So wait… the story is basically “Spring hasn’t arrived even though it should have, WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”

    • malek86

      Uh, yeah, that’s the story of PCB. Then again, the plots in Touhou games never actually made sense, so whatever.

      Nowadays I don’t know how many people even play the games anymore, I feel like they are just used to show new characters to the doujinshi scene.

      • https://twitter.com/#!/SplashdownTiger STiger

        Hey man, the Touhou fighting games are fun.

        • malek86

          I prefer the shmups ones, I could never get into IaMP. And among those, I still like PCB the best. Even though the pace is very uneven, it didn’t have weird gimmicks and the music was top notch.

      • http://www.facebook.com/jstack Jon Stachewicz

        Frankly, I find the devotion to these characters downright embarrassing, but I love the classic shmup gameplay and interesting music of the main series games.

  • http://twitter.com/ivanpc_009 Ivanir Paulo Cardoso

    Looks super interesting!

  • http://twitter.com/charliesabers Carlos Escalante

    Any chance of a Mac port?

  • JustaGenericUser

    What games have Project Aja (or Frontier Aja, whichever they’re called) made exactly? Did they make MegaMari? If so, then ask: Will there ever be some kind of sequel to MegaMari?

    If they didn’t make it, then, uh, never mind that. I guess I could also ask if there’s ever a chance there will be PSN/XBLA ports on both sides of the Pacific. It’s doubtful due to ZUN wanting Touhou to remain a doujin series, but still doesn’t hurt to ask anyways.

  • majorhavok

    Definitely hope I can purchase from somewhere not DLsite. You can’t exactly purchase off of there and tell your friends and family about it.

    Maybe this was asked somewhere else but I’d want to know the basics on their development. Like, how they got started, how they got or managed resources/people to develop the game and resources, how they obtained the voice actors, the game development process, and etcetera. I see plenty about the development environment with indie and larger scale games over here and I’d like to see more information on the other side.

    • malek86

      I guess you could try with Paletweb.

  • Masengan

    The smooth animation won me over, game looks really… satisfying. I’m craving some good ol’ 2D Castlevania goodness.

  • http://twitter.com/NikolaDurkan Nikola Durkan

    Definitely going to try this! Some of the background elements lack a little detail but all the animations are silky smooth so I’m happy!

  • MurderDeathKill

    1. English patch when?
    2. Have they considered including a Reimu mode in a future patch?
    3. Do any of their games ever gain the attention of bigger, non-dojin companies?

  • http://photovoltaik.bandcamp.com/ Ujn Hunter

    This is such a waste of talent… :

    • http://www.facebook.com/keishenra Kyle D. Johnson

      Oh? How so? I think it was a great use of their talents.

      The game was fun, regardless of you turning your nose up at it’s Touhou theme. :D

      • http://photovoltaik.bandcamp.com/ Ujn Hunter

        It’s apparent that they have the skill to make their own unique “metroidvania” style game… so by just copy and pasting the Castlevania theme… they are just wasting their talent.

        Also, I have no idea what you mean by “Touhou theme” therefore I’m not turning my nose up at it…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5CZSLVD33W3RGML46STXD3O4V4 Attila

    Yeah, it was already said, but really, one of the main question is, will there be a third game, and if the answer is yes, will it be a SotN-like exploration/RPG game? I mean, if they follow the trend, then the third game would be based on IN, and the Bamboo Forest/Eientei is the perfect setting for a metroidvania game where you can get lost, not to mention taking the partner mode from IN and making it like in Portrait of Ruin.

  • http://www.jb2x.com/wordpress/ JB2X

    I loved the first one. I was thinking about this:

    Would it be feasible to maybe release both through Steam with English translations? That would be awesomelicious!

Video game stories from other sites on the web. These links leave Siliconera.

Popular