Topic: Dead or School

2019 is packed, but the game that's at the top of my desire index is Dead or School. It's essentially Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night...only with guns and a Contra-like aesthetic. As a Switch physical collector, I'm keenly aware of the upcoming physical release. Currently, it's Japan-only. And although the PC version supports English, it's unknown if the Japanese Switch release will have English straight away, often times the Japanese releases don't due to file sizes in conjunction with the cartridge size the publisher decided to go with.

So I spend my days either looking at the Japanese eShop or the Play-Asia preorder page with hope of a confirmation of English dub or sub.

So is anyone else excited for an action/rpg with weapon crafting like Mercenary Kings with a dark aesthetic, as though Contra and Ghouls'n Ghosts got together and had a baby?

I literally can't think of a less appealing combination of words, at least without getting into morbid territory. Like if eating babies was a mechanic or something.

Alright, after growing impatient for the Japanese eShop to update I emailed Studio Nanafushi and asked if the Japanese physical release would support English. (Currently both Nin-nin and Play-Asia list the game as supporting Japanese only) I pointed out that the Steam version supports English, so I had hope that the Switch version would as well. The answer I got back was, "yes, the game supports English".

Whether that was acknowledgement of the existence of the Steam version (which supports English) or just acknowledgement of the Switch version is unclear. They didn't mention a specific platform in their response. Aren't language barriers fun? At least they took the time to reply. I could have easily just been ghosted.

@Magician It's going to pop up in the Switch eshop at some point and that will confirm or deny the English support. I'll try and remember to check tonight after work.

@Heavyarms55 - No worries, I check the Japanese eShop on the regular. I remember Dead or School appearing briefing after it was announced but I didn't take the time to check the supported languages. Chances are the information is still listed, but the search function is useless when you have zero knowledge of the Japanese language. Sometimes you can associate game releases with a particular publisher.

However, in the case of Studio Nanafushi, Dead or School is their only game. And so trying to narrow down a search by either publisher or even game genre is beyond difficult. Instead, I think I'll have faith in my fellow human being and preorder a physical copy of Dead or School regardless of the supported language. I can't remember the last time I took a leap of faith, and this game looks dope enough to be worth the trouble if it doesn't support English.

@Magician Well I must be going nuts or it got removed. I swear it was in the coming soon for the Japanese eshop, but now I can't find it.

I thought this would be a parody “looking for suggestions” thread...

Although I had previously placed a preorder based solely on the developer's word that the Japanese release would support English, today's Japanese eShop update brought me reassurance in that trust. According to the Japanese eShop listing, Dead or School will support English straight away. So if you're looking for a metroidvania with a touch of fanservice, that thematically looks like a combination of Contra and Ghouls'n'Ghosts, then I entreat you to consider taking a gander at this game.

Wow, that update must have just happened recently. I didn't see it when I was looking at the coming soon yesterday.

After a few months of waiting Dead or School is finally in my hands. I had hoped to jump into Oninaki over the weekend, but I don't know how long this game is. Early impressions are good. Love the music, like the rpg system, and the metroidvania exploration always wins points with me. However, the game commits a personal gaming sin, item durability.

I loathe that game mechanic.

But it's early, I'll put some quality time into the game and report back.

@Magician was there a english option?

Yes.

P.S. - So the item durability is nearly a non-issue as all weapons are restored at save point. It's more like a mild form of gear check than an irritating necessity. After an hour of playing this feels like a 2D mashup of Borderlands and Bayonetta. Borderlands, because the loot and progression system are similar. And Bayonetta, because you can switch between melee and ranged attacks, although it's done less elegantly than in Bayonetta.

The game is dope.

@Magician
Glad to hear it's a solid game. Your description just confirms for me that it's right up my alley.

I hope this gets a US release soon; i really want to check it out. I've already passed up two or three times it's been on sale on Steam because i'd much rather play it on Switch than PC.

Four hours in, just beat the second boss. Looks to be about a quarter of the way through the game. I'm basing that from the ability to replay boss fights and eight are listed. Bosses have been serious skill and gear checks, I wiped a half dozen times against each boss before understanding their patterns enough to pass. The game aids you by lowering the boss's overall movement speed if you wipe enough times.

Haven't gone around to it yet. Too many other jobs outside of Gaming to catch up on before I can get back. And also got blacklogs I need to get back to finishing up as well and a big one BOTW.

Well that escalated quickly. I'm only up to the third boss and the play time on file says 15 hours played. LOL, feels like less. Its been challenging. But a fair kind of challenge, almost Souls-like.

There are some minor quirks that irk me. Sloped, uneven ground changes your attack angle. Making CQC on that kind of terrain nightmarish. And the inability to sort your attachments is cumbersome.

All in all it's still a blast, but it's going to take much longer to get through this game than I anticipated. I thought ten hours, tops. Nope. It's looking to be closer to a fifty hour investment.

Ugh, I remember beating Super Metroid in less than two hours. Those were the days.

Games don't need to be month-long epics in order to qualify as being worthwhile.

@Magician did you finish? It’s out in the US shop Friday...

this game actually looks great and I've never heard about it. Fingers crossed that it comes to EU!

@scoobdoo - I have not finished it, no. I played for around twenty hours then moved on to a different game. I intend to get back it eventually. But consider my steep backlog I'm not sure when that'll be.

Do you like Katana Kami btw?