DANMAKAI: Red Forbidden Fruit

About

"Danmakai: Red Forbidden Fruit" is a bullet hell shoot 'em up game set in a mystical forest. Players control a magical cat girl, battling against a variety of challenging enemies and bosses. With a range of weapons and abilities to unlock, players must dodge a barrage of bullets and defeat powerful foes to uncover the truth behind the forbidden fruit.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

DANMAKAI: Red Forbidden Fruit screenshot

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 74 reviews

music11 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

The game features a charming kawaii art style and smooth animations, making it visually appealing.
Gameplay is engaging with a solid difficulty curve, offering a good challenge for both new and seasoned players, especially with its unique mechanics like the rank system and bomb usage.
The game includes a variety of characters and modes, including a challenge mode that adds replay value and fun for players looking to practice specific boss attacks.

The English translation is poorly done, often feeling like a machine translation, which can detract from the overall experience.
Some bullet patterns and pickups can be difficult to see, especially when colors blend with the background, leading to frustrating gameplay moments.
The final boss is considered unbalanced and overly difficult, which may discourage players from progressing further in the game.

music
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
48%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it soothing, catchy, and well-suited to the gameplay, others describe it as annoying or unremarkable. Highlights include a standout stage 4 theme and a generally nice soundtrack, though opinions vary on its overall impact and appeal. Additionally, some specific sound choices, like the meowing during a cat boss fight, have drawn criticism for being distracting.
- “The gameplay is fun, this game has a really beautiful art style and the music is amazing, really recommend trying this game.”
- “Plus, the music is surprisingly catchy at times.”
- “My personal favorite song thus far is the stage 4 theme, simply titled 'the land of flowers.' It's immediately soothing and catchy to the ears, instantly standing out to me as early as my first playthrough.”
- “The music serves its purpose well but is nothing outstanding.”
- “The translation could be better and the OST may not be everyone's cup of tea.”
- “There is a hyper realistic cat boss fight in this game and the music for it has constant meowing sounds.”
gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
30%
11%
The gameplay is widely praised for its fun and challenging nature, particularly for beginners in the danmaku genre. Players appreciate the beautiful art style, engaging music, and well-designed mechanics, including unique spellcards and the grazing system that enhances both scoring and power. While some note an imbalance with the bomb mechanic, overall, the gameplay is considered solid and enjoyable, making it a standout in the danmaku and Touhou-inspired games.
- “The gameplay is fun; this game has a really beautiful art style and the music is amazing. I really recommend trying this game.”
- “The gameplay, spell cards, and stages are all fun, and I'm content with all of the shot types.”
- “The gameplay is interesting and incredibly smooth.”
- “The gameplay here is incredibly solid.”
- “You can go ham on resources once you master the mechanic, but isn't that true of most STGs and Touhou games anyway?”
- “This helps the bosses feel so much more unique, and it always amazed me how very few danmaku games outside of Touhou have used this mechanic for themselves.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
27%
14%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their cute, captivating art style and lovely character designs, contributing to a visually appealing experience. While some spellcard designs are criticized, the overall aesthetic, including the boss attack patterns and visual effects, is considered exceptional. However, the English translation is noted as poor, which some players find endearing in its quirkiness.
- “The sprite graphics and character artwork are lovely and the boss attack patterns are visually interesting.”
- “The art style is very captivating from how the characters are drawn to the effects used for the bullets.”
- “Very satisfying visuals, including grazing.”
- “The English translation is poor and seems machine translated, but the way it awkwardly phrases certain lines of dialogue is adorable and arguably works in favor of the game's quirky aesthetic.”
- “The graphics are cute as hell.”
- “The art style is very captivating, from how the characters are drawn to the effects used for the bullets.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by its absurdity, featuring a funny cat-themed boss and a hilariously bad translation that adds to its charm. Players find the unbalanced gameplay and overpowered final boss amusing, contributing to an overall entertaining experience despite its flaws.
- “The game also has a funny cat-themed boss.”
- “A hilariously unbalanced game with a bomb mechanic that can be spammed to hell and back.”
- “The translation is hilariously bad, and the final boss is pretty overpowered, but otherwise this is an incredibly fun game.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its smooth performance, with no reported issues of micro-stuttering, making gameplay enjoyable. However, there are suggestions for improving the balance of certain characters, particularly the blond vampire, whose performance in both stage and boss encounters is seen as lacking compared to others.
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
20%
40%
The game's story is minimal and often considered non-existent, making it a tougher sell for traditional arcade shmup players. However, the simple and fun setting adds some charm, and the game is generally seen as a worthwhile purchase, especially during sales.
- “The story and setting is simple but fun.”
- “For any traditional arcade shmup players, it can be a harder sell and the story's non-existent.”
- “This was annoying to say the least, because in most shmups I tend to treat missions and optional challenges as an avenue to practice for the main game.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere is enhanced by carefully crafted tunes that complement the stages effectively, though they may not be considered among the best in the genre.
- “Not among the greatest I've heard, per se, but each tune is carefully crafted and lends well to the atmosphere of that stage.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that while the game excels in visual aesthetics with impressive backgrounds and character design, there is no specific mention of character development, suggesting it may not be a focal point in the gameplay experience.
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers significant replayability due to its nonspell/spell card system, rank system, and multiple distinct playable characters, which encourage players to explore different strategies and experiences. Additionally, the extra stage adds further enjoyment and variety to the gameplay.
- “The non-spell/spell card system, rank system, and multiple distinct playable characters give the game a lot of replay value. From what I've played so far, the extra stage is fun as well.”