Akai Katana Shin
Be guided anew into an epic tale set in the Taisho era with three titles from Cave's Akai Katana series that has captured the hearts of passionate shoot 'em up fans. The Shin version is enriched with new modes, online leaderboard, new musical arrangements and improved audio-visual rendering by converting the title from slot machines.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Akai Katana is a horizontally scrolling shooter bullet hell developed by Cave and released in Japan on August 20, 2010 for arcades. A port to the Xbox 360 with additional game modes, Akai Katana Shin, followed on May 26, 2011. Rising Star Games published the console release in North America and Europe on May 15, 2012 simply as Akai Katana.
An enhanced arcade port titled Akai Katana EXA Label was released by exA-Arcadia on February 17, 2022. City Connection ported the Xbox 360 release to Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and released it as Akai Katana Shin on December 15, 2022.
Gameplay
Plot
Set in a parallel world resembling Japan's Taishō period, the people have discovered the powerful Blood Swords, the titular Akai Katana. Requiring human sacrifices to unleash their immense destructive power, these swords have been used by the empire to crush neighbouring countries. However, all the bloodshed and power gained through sacrificing close family members has made some of the swordsmen reconsider. With new fighter planes and the powered up swords at their disposal, this small band of rebels now fight back against the tyrannical empire.
Reception
Famitsu gave the game scores of 8, 8, 8 and 9 from four reviewers, adding up to a total score of 33 out of 40. GameSpot gave the game a score of 8 out of 10, describing it as "a well-crafted dose of over-the-top bullet-hell action." Destructoid gave the game a score of 9 out of 10, concluding that "you may just find yourself ascending to bullet hell heaven if you dedicate some time to learning the game’s obscure but absolutely thrilling mechanics."
Mean Machines described it as a "must-have blaster" for the Xbox 360, praising the gameplay, the "masterpiece" 2D graphics, and the "fantastic" hard rock soundtrack. Crunchyroll praised the challenging gameplay as well as Umemoto's "insane guitar" music as possibly "soundtrack of the year," concluding that "anyone interested in the genre should pick this one up and reward said risk with a small swirling bundle of gold."
1CC RUNS
One-credit clears we point to as the benchmark for this game.
TRAILERS
STORES best right now: Nintendo eShop −40%
Prices are cached from each storefront and may be out of date. Last checked 24 Sept 2026.
PRICE HISTORY
Every price change we know of, per shop. Flat means the price held; PC shops reach back through IsThereAnyDeal's archive, console shops start when this site started watching.
Nintendo eShop low: $17.94 (10 Sep 2026) , PlayStation Store low: $17.99 (10 Sep 2026) , Steam low: $17.99 (11 Sep 2026) , Xbox low: $17.99 (17 Sep 2026)
REVIEWS
Published elsewhere, collected here. Every score is the outlet's own, on the outlet's own scale. Follow the link for the full review.
“Cave’s meticulous attention to sprites and animations is always a joy to behold and experience. Despite Akai Katana having first hit the market more than ten years ago, it remains an enjoyable and impressive title even after all this time.”
“Akai Katana is one hell of a game. Black sheep it may be, but in our opinion its thrill factor and scoring satisfaction is superior to the likes of Deathsmiles, making it another shooting game favourite among an already long list. It's soft enough to encourage rookies and deep enough to send the hardcore into a digit mining frenzy. At the same time, it's absolutely beautiful-looking; a stunning panorama that fuses the historical and futuristic into a bombastic theatre of war. Whether soaring over snowy mountain ranges, hillside forests, sunset-bathed railways, or across the ocean floor, it's a”
Reviews are the work of the outlets named. Titles, scores and quoted excerpts are reproduced for identification and criticism; each links to the original.
