DoDonPachi[a] is a vertically scrolling bullet hell video game developed by Cave and published by Atlus in 1997.

[1] The overall background of the game, unlike following sequels, remains more or less centered around a supposed invasion by a mysterious race of mechanized aliens, which the player is called to face throughout its run.

However, more sinister and shocking secrets lie beneath the surface, accessible only to those brave and skilled enough to clear the entire game.

The player takes on the role of a squadron fighter facing a race of mechanized aliens that recently appeared and started causing havoc.

Each aircraft has a main forward-firing gun used by tapping the two shot buttons, the style of which is determined by the type of fighter chosen.

Using the laser to continuously damage an enemy will maintain a low level on the gauge and periodically increases the combo by 1.

If players fail to meet the requirements for second loop access, they are simply congratulated by the DonPachi Corps leader, Colonel Schwarlitz Longhener, for their bravery in battle.

Should the requirements be met, however, Longhener reveals - in a shocking twist - that the "mechanized aliens" were in fact the pilot's own comrades (the International version of the game renders this as a "lost fleet" legendary among cadets) trying to actually stop them, being aware of Longhener's nefarious scheme revealed in the true and final ending.

Having served its purpose, Longhener orders his elite fleet to annihilate the pilot, and on this premise the second loop of the game begins.

If the player completes the game once again, this time without any kind of requirement except the annihilation of the ultimate fighting machine Hibachi (in which Longhener is killed piloting), in the true ending the pilot realizes that the DonPachi's true goal was to annihilate the human race, owing to Longhener's deranged idea that mankind was a flawed creation to be eradicated from existence.

The pilot wonders in the end if maybe Longhener - instead of being the genocidal maniac he claimed to be - had actually intended this extreme solution from the very beginning.

[1] On September 17, 2002, a conversion of DoDonPachi for i-mode mobile phones titled DoDonPuchi was distributed by Cave through their Gaesen Yokocho service.

[14] An Xbox 360 version was included as a bonus in the 2011 visual novel Instant Brain, featuring online leaderboards and Kinect support.

[1][15][16] In February 2012, an unofficial hack for arcades dubbed DoDonPachi Arrange was released online, featuring alterations to the GPS and gameplay mechanics, among other changes.

[36] In a 2013 interview with Retro Gamer, programmer Steve Redmond stated that DoDonPachi served as inspiration for his 2013 Xbox Live Indie shoot 'em up Chronoblast.