DeathSmiles Deluxe Edition

Bullet hell collectors, this one's for us. The DeathSmiles Deluxe Edition on Xbox 360 took Cave's gothic-lolita side-scrolling shooter and gave it the expanded treatment on disc, no DLC codes or download vouchers required. Everything extra lives right on the disc itself: the new playable character Sakura, the Ice Palace stage, a reworked scoring system designed to punish and reward in equal measure, and a level 999 difficulty setting for anyone who thought the base game was too forgiving.

That last detail alone tells you who this was made for. Cave's reputation in the shmup community is legendary, and DeathSmiles was one of the few titles that brought their particular brand of beautiful chaos to a Western console audience. The Deluxe Edition represents the complete package, the way the game was meant to be experienced.

For Xbox 360 collectors with a taste for Japanese arcade excellence, this sits in rare company. The 360 became an unexpected haven for shoot-em-ups during its generation, and this Deluxe Edition is one of the crown jewels of that library. On-disc content means no worrying about expired codes or delisted servers.

What you hold is what you get, forever.