OMG TOUHOU

Touhou - The most insane game ever created

Danmaku (fire curtain), bullet hell, freakishly impossible - all these describe the Japanese vertical-scrolling shooter series called Touhou, made by an alcoholic named ZUN.

Although the latest demo of Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism doesn’t run on my computer and I haven’t played the PC-98 games, I would like to try to review as many of the Touhou games as I can.

Anyway, here are some awesome videos of other people playing to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9VuWzZWlms - second part of someone's Phantasm run from Touhou 7 (I LOVE YOU YUKARI YOU ARE SO COOL AS THE PHANTASM BOSS!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWa_NCOrLC0 - Someone's amazing run at Imperishable Night's final stage on lunatic difficulty.

(Please note that I am not good enough to do either of the above... though I did beat extra mode in Impershable Night this afternoon.)


TOUHOU 6: THE EMBODIMENT OF THE SCARLET DEVIL

The first game in the Windows series, playable with either Reimu or Marisa in three options each. The story is just as simple as the other Touhou games - A red mist begins to cover Gensokyo, coming from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. On the way, the player meets Rumia, who’s in the way, Dayousei and Cirno, who want to have some fun. Then, they meet Hong Meirin at the gate (and so the “China” meme is created, as Hong Meirin’s subtitle is “Chinese Girl”). After beating her, they go to the library where they first defeat Koakuma, and then Patchouli. Next, the player finds the Head Maid, Sakuya. Lastly, assuming the player is on normal difficulty or higher, the final boss battle with Remilia begins. The extra stage features McDonald’s best friend (just kidding -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2yfvszqZPo), Flandre.

Some neat points include Patchouli’s various spell cards that are different depending on which character and shot type used. The spell cards used by Hong Meirin are rainbow colored and very fun to watch.

However, after playing the later games, I find quite more issues with this game. First of all, there isn’t a visible hitbox when the character focuses, making dodging bullets more difficult. As this is also one of the more difficult of the Touhou games, a hitbox is extremely important. Also, it’s not possible to complete the full game or see the good ending when played on easy difficulty. The music - especially the first stage theme - is really nother special in exception to Sakuya’s theme “Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial”, Remilia’s theme “Septette for the Dead Princess”, and Flandre’s theme “U.N. Owen Was Her?”, the last two which cannot be heard in an easy run. (The last two were also turned into a Sakuya-harassing video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J45no0vXkDM )

Rating: 7/10. It’s still great fun, but I prefer the other Touhou games.


TOUHOU 7: PERFECT CHERRY BLOSSOM

The second game in the Windows series, playable with Reimu, Marisa, or Sakuya with two shot options each. This story becomes one of the more complicated Touhou storylines - Spring is late, and as the player traveles to the Palace in the Netherworld, they collect more and more spring along the way. First, the player meets Cirno (reappearance!) and Letty, who are the fairy and mastermind of winter. Next, the player travels to Mayohiga, where they meet Chen. Mayohiga is on the border of Gensokyo, and quite close to the border of the Netherworld. On the way up, the player meets Alice (the first non-player character to reprise a role from the PC-98 games), then the Prismriver Sisters. Finally, the player reaches the gates of the Netherworld Palace Hakugyokurou, where the half-ghost gardener Youmu guards the final boss, Yuyuko. Yuyuko was gathering spring so her Youkai Cherry Tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi, would be in full bloom. The first extra stage features Chen guarding Ran, and the Phantasm stage features Ran guarding the most powerful Youkai in Gensokyo, Yukari.

Some neat points include the addition of Sakuya as a playable character. Sakuya A is the best combination of easy and powerful, as she has homing shots that are extremely strong. The music is also the best of all the Touhou games here, with great Asian-style songs such as the stage 2 theme “The Fantastic Legend of Tohno”, the stage 4 theme “The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky”, and the stage 5 theme “Mystic Oriental Dream ~ Anceint Temple”. The character songs are also amazing, such as Alice’s theme “Doll Judgement ~ The Girl Who Played with Peoples’ Shapes” (which became “Marisa Stole the Precious Thing” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32kVVKT-2v0), Yuyuko’s theme “Border of Life”, and Yukari’s theme “Necrofantasia”. Also, the addition of a second extra stage, the Phantasm stage, is neat, and also very difficult to unlock. The graphics in this game are also quite fantasic, such as Yuyuko’s backdrop after her first spell card.

The one problem I have with this game is the difficulty - it’s the hardest of all the Touhou games, and also the last game I completed on easy difficulty. Even with that, I don’t have any extra lives or bombs left. It’s also the only game I’ve completed in which the final spell after the final boss has been defeated does not count against you if you lose - other games (well, just 8, the rest don’t have a final spell) have the life and bomb meters crossed out with “nullify” on them, saying that it doesn’t matter if you lose. It’s frustrating to get to the very last spell - a spell that cannot be ended by defeating a boss, you have to let the timer run out - a 45-second timer for the game’s most difficult spell card.

Rating 9/10. It’s too easy to get to the end and completely fail! I get to the final spell with three lives and three bombs per life, and *still* lose because I run out of bombs being too scared to lose, and then die at the last few seconds because I’ve used all the bombs up when I didn’t need them.


TOUHOU 8: IMPERISHABLE NIGHT

The third game in the Windows series, playable with either four teams or eight individual characters (after the individuals are unlocked from their teams), Reimu & Yukari, Marisa & Alice, Sakuya & Remilia, and Youmu & Yuyuko. The story is about when the moon seems unnatural, so the team the player chooses freezes the night and tries to find the reason. They first run into Wriggle and Mystia, then travel to the human village where Keine has hid it. Then, depending on who the player is, the team encounters either Reimu or Marisa. After that, they reach the mansion of Eientei in the Bamboo Forest of Lost, where earth rabbit Tewi and lunar rabbit Reisen try to halt their advances. After that, if it’s the first playthough, the team battles Eirin, the brain of the moon, and the second playable ending is unlocked. The second playthrough has the team battle Kaguya, the princess of the moon. After 6A and 6B have been cleared, the individuals are unlocked and the ending is selectable.

The best part of this game is the spell practice option. It allows the player to choose a spell card to pratice so that the entire stage doesn’t have to be played through just to pratice one spell card. If you beat the game enough times / beat enough spell cards / etc, you can unlock characters’ Last Words, wich are extremely difficult chards. Each playable and non-playable character has a Last Word spell card. These are extremely hard spells only availible in card practice. Another great feature is the team dynamic. With four team choices, there are tons of ways to play the game. After beating the game through 6B on easy with all four teams, I have to say they are all very different, but fun to play with. Also, this makes the dialogue very fun to read, as it features three-way conversations instead of just two-person banter. The music is also nice in this game, though not as good as the previous - it’s more of a pop style than an Asian or classical style. The extra boss, Mokou’s theme, “Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke”, is phenomenal.

I can’t really find too much fault in this game. If anything, it’s that you have to beat the game twice to actually get the good ending.

Rating 10/10. It’s the best Touhou game to start with because it is the easiest and also the spell practice feature makes the problem spell cards easier to practice and get past.


TOUHOU 9: PHANTASMAGORIA OF FLOWER VIEW

The fourth game in the Windows series, playable with 14 unlockable characters. In what I think is the correct order: Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya, Youmu, Reisen, Cirno, Lyrica, Mystia, Tewi, Yuka (another return from the days of PC-98 Touhou), Aya, Medicine, Komachi, Sikieiki. It’s played in a versus style, where both characters have the same stage and whoever dies first loses. Each character has a lifebar, so a few hits can be sustained in the process. Basically, the story is that there is an extremely large flower outbreak - something that happens every sixty years - and it’s the fault of the Shinigami Komachi and her master Sikieiki. The character plays through seven stages that can be any characters in any order, then Komachi, then Sikieiki.

The best part of the game is that not only can you battle the AI, you can also battle your friends via LAN or over the internet. Also, with the variety of characters, a better match for the player can be found. Whether it’s Lyrica - who attacks two bullets forward and one bullet behind, Yuka - who has a wide spread of bullets, Marisa - who shoots a single laser, etc. Also, each player has a special sort of attack that is reflected onto the opponents screen. For Reimu, Tewi, and Yuka, these are simply falling obstacles. But for characters like Komachi, Mystia, or Sakuya, these are difficult to dodge bullet patterns. Also, I love the Cirno meme presented in this game (⑨ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXCZ90Xk9bo!)

The thing I take issue with here is that it doesn’t really feel like a Touhou game. The multiplayer thing is interesting, but there’s not a lot of danmaku unless your opponent shoots a spell card your way. Also, it’s the easiest of the Touhou games - I can get to stage 7 on Lunatic without dying.

Rating 8/10. It could be better or more Touhou-ish, but I don’t mind it the way it is.


TOUHOU 10: MOUNTAIN OF FAITH.

The fifth game in the Windows series, with playables back down to Reimu and Marisa in three shot types each. The basic story is that a new shrine is being built to worship a new god in Gensokyo, and that competes with Reimu’s own shrine. The player meets people getting in the way such as the Aki sisters, Hina, and Nitori, then make their way up Youkai mountain where Momizi and Aya try to stop them, before they battle shrine maiden Sanae and the god of the shrine Kanako. The extra stage features another god, Suwako (kero, kero - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUBbigtfCWs!).

I really love the bullet patterns in this game. They’re very neat and innovative, and very different from Zun’s previous works. He gives some characters some basic ideas, such as circles for Aya and stars for Sanae, and makes them into patterns of bullets. Some patterns are more pretty than dodgeable, but they’re all possible. The music starting with Aya’s theme through Kanako’s theme is all very nice and features a lot of electric guitar work, which is fabulous.

That being said, the earlier music is rather juvenile, as is the character designs, moreso than the previous games, in my opinion. The graphics are also a bit softer than the previous games, and that’s kind of distracting.

Rating: 9/10. It’s not a bad game. I think I don’t like it as much because it doesn’t run well on my computer.


Touhou 6-10 in order of favoritism:

1. Imperishable Night
2. Perfect Cherry Blossom
3. Phantasmagoria of Flower View
4. Mountain of Faith
5. Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil

Now, there are other games, such as 7.5 Immaterial and Missing Power, which is a fighting game featuring Suika (flat as a pancake, haha - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JrmKBWoyfs), and a hundred million fan-games, but these are all the official ones.

Now, make sure you check out all the links to Youtube videos I stuck in here! You’ll be so glad you did! (I couldn't make actual links because Macs don't support Blogger's ctrl + shift + a link shortcut *sob*)