Prior to Milestone's announcement of "Karous" for the coin-op market, the word "Karous" did not exist in Japan. Mutter "Karous" in Shijuku and no one will respond. In the USA, there's a word "Carouse" which means a drunken stupor but that's about it. Karous is a bastardization of the word "Karasu" which means a type of "Crow."The crow reference may refer to the heroines in the game who are all decked out in black outfits that make them look like crows. Sort of. Maybe crow references the feather motif in the game as well where a heroine may ring her ship with a barrier that blows outwards into a radiating circle of feathers. Or maybe, just maybe, the main heroine who is named "Karasu" got lucky and got a game named after her.
The result of the union between a mortal man and a female angel, Karasu is a 13 year-old girl who lost her parents to war. Her best friend is named Shigi who's a techno-whiz with a pair of square-shaped glasses.
First Impressions
When NCS checked out Karous last year, we figured that Milestone had a Rajirugi Contruction Kit somewhere on the premises. Visually, the game is similar to that earlier effort but the game has enough wrinkles to distinguish itself somewhat. The control scheme looks like this:
Joystick: Movement
A-Button: Shoot
B-Button: Slash sword
C-Button: Special Attack
Press "A" and bullets will burst forward. Stop shooting and a shield appears which blocks oncoming fire. To attack with a swishing sword, press the "B" button to smack anything that meanders too close for comfort. Each weapon system and the shield has an experience level as indicated by three numbers on the upper left corner of the screen. Furthermore, a cumulative level of the ship's systems is tracked by a number on the upper right corner which acts as a score multiplier. We think the soundtrack for Karous is a keeper and we'll throw up some more details and a full review of the DC version of the game when it is released. Preorders are welcome today.
