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[Danmaku ON!] Touhou Project: Healthy, not lewd!
Suriko
AustraliaRegistered User regular
AustraliaRegistered User regular
Touhou
What is this?
Touhou is a series of shmups from Team Shanghai Alice, of which there is only one member (who goes by the pseudonym of ZUN). They focus on "danmaku", aka "curtain fire" or "bullet hell", which basically entails the entire screen being filled with bullets. The player character will also have a hitbox smaller than the sprite itself. Having bullets go through the sprite but avoiding the hitbox is known as "grazing". Screenshots really can't convey both how frantic and beautiful danmaku patterns look in motion.
What are the main features?
Wikipedia sums this up much better than I could:
The games
PC98:
Highly Responsive to Prayers (1996): The game that started it all. Had gameplay similar to Arkanoid and introduced Reimu Hakurei, the protagonist in all future Touhou games.
Story of Eastern Wonderland (1997): The first game based on danmaku, and introduced Marisa Kirisame, the second-most important character in the Touhou games.
Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream (1997): Two-player versus-type shooter.
Lotus Land Story (1998): The game that introduced the focus mechanic.
Mystic Square (1998): The last Touhou game for the PC98.
Windows:
Embodiment of Scarlet Devil:
Perfect Cherry Blossom:
Immaterial and Missing Power:
While produced by Twilight Frontier (makers of numerous fighting games such as Higurashi Daybreak and Eternal Fighter Zero), Team Shanghai Alice made both the music and storyline for the game - and have officially adopted it as canon material. It is unique among the Touhou games for being a 2D fighter (and a damn good one at that). There was eventually a patch to include the character Hong Meilin, much to ZUN's disapproval.
Imperishable Night:
Phantasmagoria of Flower View:
Shoot the Bullet:
The next Touhou game is under production, though I don't know the ETA. Edit: Coming in summer. Thanks Arudoc.
What is this?
Touhou is a series of shmups from Team Shanghai Alice, of which there is only one member (who goes by the pseudonym of ZUN). They focus on "danmaku", aka "curtain fire" or "bullet hell", which basically entails the entire screen being filled with bullets. The player character will also have a hitbox smaller than the sprite itself. Having bullets go through the sprite but avoiding the hitbox is known as "grazing". Screenshots really can't convey both how frantic and beautiful danmaku patterns look in motion.
What are the main features?
Wikipedia sums this up much better than I could:
Wikipedia wrote:* The player's bullet power increases on a linear scale as the player collects powerups dropped by enemies, and eventually maxes out. The player can also collect 'point' icons to earn extra lives; the number needed grows exponentially as the player gains lives.
* 'Focus', the shift key by default, slows down the player's movement, makes the collision box visible and (generally; some characters are reversed) focuses the player's attack to make it more powerful. In Imperishable Night this mode actually brings in the Phantom teammate. This function is essential for navigating through complex bullet patterns and defeating bosses more quickly.
* The Graze counter tracks how many bullets entered the character sprite but avoided the collision box, and rewards the player with a score bonus for living on the edge.
* 'Spell Card', the X key by default, is similar to the 'bomb' in most other shooting games. The player has a limited number; using one makes the user temporarily invulnerable and uses a magical attack that generally clears the screen.
o The player can use one during a short period after being hit by a bullet (known as the 'Border between Life and Death') to avoid loss of a life. However, this consumes two cards.
o Each one has a name, and the bosses use them as well to create bullet patterns.
* Perfect Cherry Blossom and Imperishable Night, respectively, have 'Cherry' and 'Time' points. Cherry points are used mostly in scoring, but can grant temporary invulnerability (known as 'Supernatural Border.') Time points are essential to restoring the moon before morning arrives; they also determine if the player gets to challenge a boss's 'Final Spell' on normal or higher difficulties.
The games
PC98:
Highly Responsive to Prayers (1996): The game that started it all. Had gameplay similar to Arkanoid and introduced Reimu Hakurei, the protagonist in all future Touhou games.
Story of Eastern Wonderland (1997): The first game based on danmaku, and introduced Marisa Kirisame, the second-most important character in the Touhou games.
Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream (1997): Two-player versus-type shooter.
Lotus Land Story (1998): The game that introduced the focus mechanic.
Mystic Square (1998): The last Touhou game for the PC98.
Windows:
Embodiment of Scarlet Devil:
The first Windows game, with somewhat simplistic mechanics compared to later offerings. Still fun, but sometimes really hard.Wikipedia wrote:The story, told by conversations between characters during interludes in the action, goes as such: The land of Gensokyo; (setting of all the Touhou games) has been engulfed by a red mist, and its inhabitants no longer see the sun. As the miko Reimu Hakurei or the witch Marisa Kirisame, the player attempts to deal with the source of the mist, a mysterious figure called the Scarlet Devil.
Perfect Cherry Blossom:
My, and seemingly many other's, introduction to the series. Starts off easy, but the later levels are markedly more difficult. My second favourite of the series.Wikipedia wrote:As the month turns to May, winter has lasted far longer than normal in Gensokyo, and the denizens begin to suspect foul play. As Reimu, Marisa or the new arrival Sakuya Izayoi, the player embarks on a search for those who are working to prevent spring's coming.
Immaterial and Missing Power:
While produced by Twilight Frontier (makers of numerous fighting games such as Higurashi Daybreak and Eternal Fighter Zero), Team Shanghai Alice made both the music and storyline for the game - and have officially adopted it as canon material. It is unique among the Touhou games for being a 2D fighter (and a damn good one at that). There was eventually a patch to include the character Hong Meilin, much to ZUN's disapproval.
Imperishable Night:
This is my favourite game of the series. Good story, art, music, characters and gameplay come together in a wonderful union.Wikipedia wrote:This story's focus is on a rather more insidious evil than past games. Gensokyo's yearly event, the Moonviewing Feast, is only one dawn away... but someone seems to have replaced the moon with a fake that won't grow full. A team of human and phantom set out to remedy this before the night is over - the story says that the team the player selects is the only team heading out to investigate. This is true for most of the Touhou games; the only character heading for the final boss is the player-chosen one - exceptions to this are Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream and Phantasmagoria of Flower View.
Phantasmagoria of Flower View:
Not a bad game, though far from a favourite. Would have worked really well with network multiplayer.Wikipedia wrote:This game is a versus-type shooter like Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream, and has very different gameplay from the past three entries in the series. The story puts the characters in an investigation on why the flowers of Gensokyo; are blooming fanatically. Initially playable characters include Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya as usual, but the list adds on as the player progresses in the storyline of each of the players.
Shoot the Bullet:
The only Windows game I've yet to try, though it looks like a blast.Wikipedia wrote:The player, as tengu (dog-spirit) reporter Aya Shameimaru, is tasked with taking pictures of bosses for her newspaper to clear successively more difficult stages. The game is unique in that the player has no standard shot or bombs; rather, the camera is the main method of offense and defense, as it clears bullets from the screen. Scoring is based on the contents of each photo, boss location, number of bullets, and Aya's position. Notably, this is the only game from which Reimu Hakurei is absent. The same goes for Marisa Kirisame, with the exception of Highly Responsive to Prayers.
The next Touhou game is under production, though I don't know the ETA. Edit: Coming in summer. Thanks Arudoc.
I made a game! A Tithe in Blood, a dark yuri VN set in snowy Sapporo. Demo available on Steam!
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Suriko on
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But almost certainly this summer.
PS, if you need links to demos for any of those (well, except StB), Shrine Maiden's got links. http://www.shrinemaiden.com/
And youTube has videos of pretty much everything.
There's another fan made Touhou shump fighter that's starting to appear on youtube now. Touhou Rensa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Xt8vN4GCA
Rensa's been around since at least the last Comiket. It's pretty enough, but the controls are abysmal. There's a demo somewhere, but I don't recall the black magic I used to find it way back when.
Versus? As in something like Senko no Ronde?
Edit: Or more accurately, the Rensa link above?
I WILL NOT BE DOING 3DS FOR NWC THREAD. SOMEONE ELSE WILL HAVE TO TAKE OVER.
Spoiler contains Friend Codes. Won't you be my friend?
More Friend Codes!
Mario Kart Wii: 3136-6982-0286 Tetris Party: 2364 1569 4310
Guitar Hero: Metallica: 1032 7229 7191
TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM: 1935-2070-9123
Nintendo DS:
Worms: Open Warfare 2: 1418-7870-1606 Space Bust-a-Move: 017398 403043
Scribblenauts: 1290-7509-5558
Not really. In PoFV, the player is on the left screen, and a computer opponent is on the right. Winner is the one alive/with the highest score.
Old PA forum lookalike style for the new forums | My ko-fi donation thing.
No, close to Twinkle Star Sprites.
Lines of sprites come down. Shoot them and they explode and take out nearby pellets (and other sprites) and generate pellet shots on the enemy side. Every 15 -things- you destroy (dunno actual number), you send over a butterfly. The butterfly can be caught in your scope (each character has a different shape/property scope), turned into a ball that explodes even large. Or if you don't destroy the ball within a few seconds, it creates three undestroyable bullets on your field. Every 5 (or whatever) butterflies/balls you destroy, you generate a special attack that gets sent over to the opponent's side. There's also a combo gauge. Keep it from zeroing out (every thing you kill refills it to full) and you can generate boss attacks. Also, destroying shit fills up your magic meter which you can use to clear small portions of your screen and send over even stronger special attacks. As you cast more spells, your powers (and the boss) get more powerful as well.
Sound complex? It is. The important parts are: Shoot things and don't get hit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qSpBKEONBA
The winner is the last one standing. You lose life every time you're hit and the first to die is... well... dead. Extra mode works a little differently, but it more or less the same.
Man, it sure is different. I like like how story mode plays, it feels like a series of boss fights with oldschool patterns and such.
Whee!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nRsaYhHDVs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9IkVFYdXBE
The IaMP spritework really is fucking gorgeous though.
Finally, the length and breadth of Touhou fanwork is astounding. It has comics, music remixes, Captain Tsubasa fan games, etc etc etc
Dance Reisen, Dance!
Also, that's probably the cleanest looking well-animated Flash movie I've ever seen. Wow.
From the same people: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing.
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They're all part of a remix series of the various themes. The Overdrive is a remix of Reisen's boss theme, Marisa Stole of Alice's theme (which is in both PCB and IaMP), and there's a Yukari one beneath Alice's here.
http://iojacket.hp.infoseek.co.jp/toho2.html
And I believe the first one is based on on of the StB themes.
http://iojacket.hp.infoseek.co.jp/toho1.html
I initially hated that flash. Then the song caught on me, and I now love it.
I, too, initially hated it. It's infectious, dammit!
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Because goddamn, it sure seems like they'd fit that hummingbird type of gameplay.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Remixes thereof, and with added voices.
Old PA forum lookalike style for the new forums | My ko-fi donation thing.
I mostly use dBu's. Even though it's not that great, it sounds like a literal remix of the songs, so it fits well.
Here's Doll Judgement, Alice's Theme, (the IaMP version is a bit jazzier) so you can compare it to the Marisa Stole the Precious Thing IOSYS remix.
http://chips.bones.org/doll.mp3
vs
http://iojacket.hp.infoseek.co.jp/IOSYS_tohootomebayashi_loving.swf
thanks in advance
http://shootthecore.moonpod.com/database.php?sub_genre=11
The first 3 PC Touhou games are there, amongst all the clones of them, as demo downloads.
If you want to get the full games, it's importing for you. I can't remember the site I was shown before, but there is a site that sells the games for reasonable prices.
Actually, they're the 6th through 8th PC games. :P
http://www.himeyashop.com/ has them for the realm of $20 a pop.
Forgive me for my grievous error. I should have made clear that I meant modern IBM compatible PCs running Windows, as opposed to the NEC PC-98.
Touhou10 to be a highly responsive to prayers game. That would be interesting.
Although what Zun means by going back to the basics is probably just back to normal danmaku.
More MASTER SPARK. And China.
I've been meaning to start playing Immaterial and Missing Power for a while now, it looks awesome. I tried it once a while back, but I didn't really know what I was doing. I figure touhouwiki has a rundown of the basics, so maybe I'll try and become competent over April vacation.
Yeah, I figured he just meant it wouldn't be a fighting game/versus shmup/innovative StB type thing. Which is fine with me, really.
Imperishable Night's Last Word cards are some of the most fun I've had with a game. I've captured 13 of the 17 so far. 3 of the remaining spells remain locked, and the fourth is 215, which I just can't win. The most difficult of the spells I've captured so far were probably 214 and 221, both of which took well over 200 attempts for me.
I refuse to use replays to learn how to win, preferring to develop strategies myself, but it almost always turns out that I go about things the same way as WhiteKnightAGC/Dracil/whoever does anyway. I guess most of the tougher spells just have one strategy that works.
Agreed. I played it after IN, and the first three stages made me think that I wasn't going to have much trouble with the game. I noticed a significant increase in difficulty when fighting the Prismriver sisters, but it was still manageable.
But Youmu can die in a fire. The jump from the stage 1-4 bosses to Youmu is huge.
Fuck 215. Fuck it. That's all. I actually didn't have too many problems with 221 or 214. 214 is just a rhythm card where you have to pay a little more attention to where you are. Yuyuko though... not really certain how I took her down, but I'm pretty sure it's just a placement thing. Her butterfly shots have a deceptively small hit box, so there tends to be lots of room for error as long as you don't spazz out.
I have random problems with bosses too. Mostly those with horizontally drifting shots. One of the Prismrivers gives me absolute hives in PCB (I think it's whichever one faces Sakuya), and I have an inordinately difficult time with any boss that uses the light shard attacks in IN (Keine and Kaguya in particular). Reimu and her barriers are my personal nightmare though. I think it's the fact that she likes to spew out zillions of slaves, and they make me flinch and run into actual trouble. I don't usually die on her too much, but every time I fight her, I just feel stressed and drained.