Shikigami no Shiro

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	250px Japanese PS2 cover art
Developer(s)	Alfa System
Publisher(s)	Arcade; Taito Corporation; PlayStation 2; XS Games; Xbox; Mediaquest; Windows; Sourcenext
Platforms	Arcade, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Windows 98
Release date(s)	Arcade; Xbox; PlayStation 2; Windows; (EX); Xbox; (Evolution); PlayStation 2; (Re-release)
Genre(s)	Scrolling shooter

Shikigami no Shiro (式神の城, lit. Formula-God's Castle^?), released in North America under the title of Mobile Light Force 2 and in the PAL region as MLF2 - Mobile Light Force 2, is a 2001 shoot 'em up developed by Alfa System and is the first game in the Shikigami no Shiro series. It was originally released as an arcade game and later ported to the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. The game was titled Shikigami no Shiro Evolution (式神の城 EVOLUTION^?) for its revised version for Xbox, which was then ported to Windows as Shikigami no Shiro EX (式神の城 EX^?).

When localized, publisher XS Games re-titled the game as a sequel to Mobile Light Force, but in reality the games are unrelated. Mobile Light Force is known as Gunbird in Japan, and was not developed by Alfa System.

Gameplay

When holding down the attack button, the player moves at slower speed, and all on-screen items are automatically retrieved. The player character is invulnerable when a special attack is in effect. When the player character is close to an enemy bullet, the poings gained from destroying enemies and retrieving items is multiplied by a factor based on the distance between the bullet and the player character's center. The closer they are to the bullet, the higher the scoring. When destroying enemy in shikigami mode, the multiplier also applies to the number of items dropped by enemy and all items dropped by the enemy are automatically retrieved.

The Xbox release adds Practice mode, Gallery, and Replay mode, while the PlayStation 2 release adds Practice mode, Gallery, and Side Story modes.Windows includes I.R. mode and vertical screen layout from the arcade game. The North American and European releases of the game removed the screen rotation mode and all in-game plot.

Plot

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In July 2005, a string of serial murders take place in Tokyo. All the victims are female and killed by external injury. The killings take place within 20 hours. On July 21, the 31st victim is found. The police force classify the case as special crime #568, and begin to seek investigators from occult sources. On July 23, there is a 32nd victim.

Characters

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Playable characters:

Kohtarou Kuga (玖珂光太郎, Kuga Koutarou^?)
Sayo Yuuki (結城小夜, Yuuki Sayo^?)
Gennojo Hyuga (日向玄乃丈, Hyuuga Gennoujou^?)
Fumiko Odette Vanstein (ふみこ・オゼット・ヴァンシュタイン, Fumiko Ozetto Vanshutain^?)
Daejeong Kim (金大正, Kimu Dejon^?)
???? (Tagami, from Elemental Gearbolt)

Bosses:

Miyoko Aku (悪美代子, Aku Miyoko^?) (Stage 1)
Fujishima Juu (醜藤島, Juu Fujishima^?) (Stage 2)
Hiroshi Aku (悪浩志, Aku Hiroshi^?) (Stage 3)
Bauman Aku (悪バウマン, Aku Bauman^?) (Stage 4)
Shoujo (少女, Shoujo^?) (Stage 5)
Zanryuu Shinen (残留思念, Zanryuu Shinen^?) (Stage 5-3)