Mushihimesama

Mushihimesama
Developer(s)Cave
Publisher(s)
AMI
    • JP: AMI (arcade)
    • JP: Taito (PlayStation 2)
    • WW: Cave (iOS)
    • JP: Cave (Xbox 360)
    • WW: Degica (PC)
Director(s)Tsuneki Ikeda
Producer(s)Kenichi Takano
Designer(s)
Akira Wakabayashi
  • Hiroyuki Tanaka
    Hideki Nomura
    Tomoyuki Kotani
    Takeharu Isogai
Programmer(s)Tsuneki Ikeda
Takashi Ichimura
Artist(s)Tomoyuki Kotani
Composer(s)
SeriesMushihimesama
Platform(s)
Release
October 12, 2004
  • Arcade
    Version 1.0
    • JP: October 12, 2004
    Blue Label
    • JP: December 28, 2006
    Version 1.5
    • JP: May 27, 2011
    PlayStation 2
    • JP: July 21, 2005
    • JP: August 3, 2006 (limited edition)
    iOS
    • WW: December 15, 2011
    Xbox 360
    • JP: May 24, 2012
    Microsoft Windows
    • WW: November 5, 2015
    Nintendo Switch
    • WW: June 15, 2021
Genre(s)Vertically scrolling shooter, bullet hell
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemCAVE CV1000-B

Mushihimesama (Japanese: 虫姫さま, "Bug Princess") is a manic shooter developed by Cave, originally distributed by AMI in 2004 and later redistributed to arcades in 2011 as the significantly changed "version 1.5". It was ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2005 and iOS in 2011. An Xbox 360 port was released in May 2012 (with ver1.5 as first print DLC). A version for Microsoft Windows was also published by Degica in 2015.[1] In 2021, the game was ported to the Nintendo Switch.[2]

The game has an insect theme as all of the enemies resemble various insects such as beetles, like the Japanese rhinoceros beetle[3] and butterflies. The game is set in various forest environments. It received a sequel in 2006, known as Mushihimesama Futari, and a spin-off iOS and Android game entitled Mushihimesama Bug Panic.

  1. ^ "Mushihimesama Website". Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "Nintendo eShop". Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Hoshina, Hideto; Takada, Kenta (2012). "Cultural Coleopterology in Modern Japan: The Rhinoceros Beetle in Akihabara Culture". American Entomologist. 58 (4): 202–207. doi:10.1093/ae/58.4.202. ISSN 2155-9902.