Chuhou Joutai, officially Chuhou Joutai: The Middle State of War and in Japan as Chuhou Joutai: The Legend of the Mysterious Real Driller, is a manic shooter developed and published by Drillimation Systems. The game was released worldwide exclusively on Steam on May 22, 2020 (officially listed as May 21, 2020 due to time zone differences). The game is notable for being inspired by Touhou Project, but the game is intended to appeal to beginners and younger audiences. It is the first installment of an intended series of games set within a shared universe titled the Drillimation Danmaku Universe.
The game is heavily inspired by the golden era of arcade games in the 1980s, primarily the game design principles of Namco and other studios, and sought to emulate the art style used in 1980s anime. Created as a parody of a buddy comedy film with a mix of screwball elements in between, Chuhou Joutai has one or two players taking control of Susumu Takajima and his close friend Kagami Ochiai as they fight through eight treacherous stages that end in boss fights, in order to destroy a stronghold held by the communist militant group SPASDOT. The game was positively received upon release, with praise being aimed for its visuals and soundtrack, as well as its difficulty curve, although the game did face criticism for its long cutscenes.
Plot[]
The game opens with an explanation of Kozan, its governmental structure, and its battle against the Soviet Union whose attempt with the terrorist group SPASDOT was to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with a socialist republic as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. After the assassination of King Kenjirou, his cousin Soujirou takes the role of king and leads a revolutionary war against the Soviet Union, and with aid of the United States, they successfully defeated the Soviets. It then zooms to 2004, the year Chuhou Joutai is set in, on how Kozan had entered a period of civil war thanks to SPASDOT wanting to overthrow the monarchy again. Atop of that, it also explains the death of Hikari Uchida by Jack "Hearthcliffe" Fawkes, for which Driller swears revenge against.
On a busy Saturday morning in Kozankyo, Driller goes out and encounters Kagami Ochiai standing outside. Running down to the bottom of the hill, they hear a loud explosion, only not to realize Hearthcliffe was at the scene, where he formally introduces himself to the duo and has Amy Fawkes challenge the duo to a duel. Amy is defeated and notifies Fred Fawkes about it, leading him to get angry. The duo continue down the road where they run into Alex Fawkes, whom he challenges to a duel. During the battle, Kagami is notified by text message that she and Driller meet up with the chief officer of the Kozankyo Police Department at Kozankyo University. The duo cut through a forest as a shortcut to get to Kozankyo University, running into a human with bunny ears named Damausagi and to the university.
The duo meets up with the officer at Kozankyo University's Hirano Hall, and Kagami does not realize her mother was there as well too. The Chief tells the duo how SPASDOT is becoming an even deadlier threat and orders the duo to kill Fred Fawkes, SPASDOT's leader. Right before they could begin running to the stronghold they've just been ordered to destroy, Driller's ex-girlfriend, Ayako Sugiwara, stops them for a duel. Ayako is eventually crushed and the duo devises a plan to get to the stronghold as it's located at the end of Ahoge Peninsula, and ultimately decide to run down to Kozankyo's bayfront and take a riverboat to get there. After arriving at the bayfront, they run into Tatsuro Hozoshima who politely asks the duo for a duel.
After the duel, the duo do not realize that Konata, the Crown Princess of Kozan, is there, and offers to take the duo to the edge of Ahoge Peninsula using her prized riverboat the Victorian Princess. After getting to the tip, Driller strikes the attention of a redhead at the gate of the stronghold. The redhead reveals herself to be Lee Gyu-ri, a defector from North Korea who fled to join SPASDOT. The duo challenges her to a duel and ultimately win. Konata then wishes the duo good luck trying to destroy the stronghold. The duo enters the stronghold and encounters Hearthcliffe once again, who is soon defeated by the duo. Fred Fawkes, who has been angered by all the madness he went through, is then confronted by the duo, before Fawkes reveals he is the true "Scarlet Devil" of SPASDOT, taking on the appearance of a Shinto priest. After a fierce battle, Fawkes is humiliated by the duo. Right before admitting defeat, Ryuta Shigematsu and Kumiko Uchida enter with Kumiko placing an undetachable bomb in the form of an ofuda on Fawkes, which then explodes, killing him and destroying the stronghold, which all four watch from the distance.
In a post-credits scene, Konata is shown dressed in a Victorian-style gown relaxing before Driller, Kagami, and Ayako each show up one-by-one. Konata commits the duo to search the remnants of the stronghold for anything they find. The next weekend, Driller and Kagami return to Ahoge Peninsula to the stronghold, only to find someone already present. That person appears to be Marie Willow, a girl from the country of El Kadsre and challenges the duo in a danmaku duel. Willow is eventually thumped with Driller and Kagami taking back the artifacts. That night, Driller claims that he made it to the end and is ready for summer, possibly setting up a possible sequel to the game.
Sound Effects Used[]
NOTE: Given the NES-style graphics, all stock sounds are run through the 2A03 chip's DPCM channel.
WARNING: Some content in parentheses may highlight important plot points from the game. Like usual, spoilers will be present. Do not read ahead if you do not want to be spoiled!
- Hollywoodedge, Crash Metal Shatter PE110201 (Heard once on the title screen and in one cutscene in stage 3.)
- Hollywoodedge, Explosion Large Shar PE097801/901 (Used for the explosion caused when you kill a Caterblaster.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, LAUGHTER - HIGH PITCHED CRAZY LAUGHTER 01 (Used for Hearthcliffe's voice.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, LAUGHTER - HIGH PITCHED CRAZY LAUGHTER 02 (Used for Hearthcliffe's voice.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, LAUGHTER - FUNNY, ZANY LAUGHTER 01 (Used for Hearthcliffe's voice.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, LAUGHTER - FUNNY, ZANY LAUGHTER 02 (Used for Hearthcliffe's voice.)
- Sound Ideas, EXPLOSION - LARGE EXPLOSION 01 (Series 6000) (Used when a Remikaze detonates itself and multiple times after you defeat Fred Fawkes.)