Espgaluda II

Instead of having to repeatedly tap the shot button for rapid fire, the feature is on by default. In most of Cave's other manic shooter games, rapid fire is usually an option that must be enabled through the game's BIOS by an arcade operator.

The game still utilizes the Kakusei, or Awakening, mode from the first game, where enemies and bullets are slowed down at the cost of collectible green gems, or Seireiseki. In this mode, any enemies that are defeated have their remaining bullets on screen transformed into gold ingots that can be collected to boost the player's score. Espgaluda II also adds the ability for enemies to release yet another set of shots when they are defeated. These bullets are destroyed when destroying another enemy, which in turn creates another wave of bullets.

The game takes place in a fictional land called Soma, three years after a massive war known as the Great Shinra War devastated the land and killed most of its plant life. Humanity is forced to pull their efforts together for the sake of survival and reforestation. Using new found technology, an alchemist named Hiodoshi spearheaded a project called Project Espgaluda, which gathered youths and used them as experimental test subjects for artificial armored wings. They were then called Galuda, named after the mythical bird of legend.

Ageha and Tateha were two of the subjects who escaped during the project. At the end of Espgaluda, they were reunited with their mother and lived peacefully after going into hiding. Espgaluda II begins when they are discovered.

Famitsu magazine awarded the Xbox 360 release, Espgaluda II Black Label, a score of 30/40 based on four reviews (8/8/7/7).