Game Info
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Developer: Raizing
Publisher: Capcom
Year of Release: 2000
Game Review & Impressions
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Ever since the mid 90s, vertical shoot 'em ups became progressively more complex beasts, layering additional mechanics with increasingly vibrant graphics to stay relevant. Dimahoo is no different in this regard, boasting some truly stunning pixel artwork, plus a game loop not too dissimilar to that to the later Ikaruga and similar titles, which involves additional strategy and skills on the part of the player.
To earn some truly preposterous high scores in Dimahoo, players need to power up their primary weapon bar through successive levels of charge. When the bar -- located bottom left for player 1 and bottom right for player 2 -- reaches level 8 and begins flashing, a brief period of overcharge can be activated. Destroying enemies with the force beam which manifests in front of the player ship at this point causes them to drop RPG-themed bonus items, including armour, food, potions and so forth. These items convey no special powers or upgrades, other than to award bonus points at the end of the level, not unlike the prize bonus system from Smash T.V.
Further leaning into its RPG trappings, Dimahoo's enemies possess resistances to ice or fire attacks. If you want to maximise damage and increase chances of success, you'll need to figure out which waves and bosses are vulnerable to a specific element. It's worth noting it's not a total bust if you have the wrong element type equipped, just that things take a bit longer to kill.
Of course, you don't have to bother with any of this if you don't want to. Unlike some of the later Raiden games, Dimahoo doesn't punish you if you fail to reach a certain score level. In fact, players can even choose to stick with the default weapon type and forgo the specials system entirely, if they so wish. The default weapon lacks the overcharge ability, but does damage all enemies equally; there's no way to revert to the default weapon once collecting a fire or ice token, other than dying, but it's an interesting option nonetheless.
Stunning to look at, Dimahoo still holds its own, even in a world where gaming had gone almost exclusively 3D. Capcom's CPS-2 arcade hardware, on which the game is based, does a sterling job throwing huge numbers of sprites around the screen with nary a drop in frame rate. Coupled with engaging gameplay mechanics and excellent controls, Dimahoo is definitely worth revisiting today.
Chapters
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TBC