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Touhou Project
- Thread starter Hourai
- Start date
I've played all of the relevant ones
never did beat Lunatic Kingdom, I blame that partly on the fact that I started working full time and mostly the fact that the difficulty was amped up to 11 (there's a Subterreanean Animism joke in there somewhere but it doesn't work because Lunatic Kingdom is even harder)
never did beat Lunatic Kingdom, I blame that partly on the fact that I started working full time and mostly the fact that the difficulty was amped up to 11 (there's a Subterreanean Animism joke in there somewhere but it doesn't work because Lunatic Kingdom is even harder)
hey sorry for the bump, but i wanted to talk about this series. i got into it a few months ago, i've known about the music for a while but actually tried out the games after seeing a random yt video in my recommended. i started with imperishable night and have mainly been playing that, and some ufo as well.
the touhou stereotype for most people is levels full of near-impossible to dodge bullet patterns that you need both memorization and insane precision to dodge, like genocide sans in undertale. but the difficulty curve is actually done so well. it really says something that a game that's only 40 minutes long can be fun for hundreds of hours.
i would say that the spell card practice mode is what really carries the game. it encourages you to use it in the first place through the notes you unlock for each spell card when you capture them, and it encourages you to improve on spell cards you're not that good at through saving your records. it's not the most fun thing in the world, but the results are visible in future runs and it feels really good to see your hard work pay off. that's one of the things i like about this game, it rewards effort.
as for the stages, the difficulty levels feel extremely well balanced. a completely new player is probably going to get through a decent amount of easy mode before being sent directly to hell by marisa on stage 4. then they can work on getting the earlier spell cards consistent and the later ones feasible, then they unlock a new level of difficulty in the later stages. the nature of the game (lives/spells + potential continues) makes it so you can go a bit outside your comfort zone, but not too far. it goes on like this through the rest of the difficulties.
this game rewards an interesting set of skills. memorization, reaction time, and precision are obviously required to a certain extent, but what really sets the good players apart from the bad ones is their ability to adapt to different situations. you could even classify touhou as a puzzle game where the objective is to find the least risky solution within your present situation. these skills are improved by failure. when you die, there's always something you could've done better, and if you have a decent understanding of the game you can internalize this and improve in it.
the last point i wanted to bring up is the aesthetic of the game. the fancy character cast, surface-level dialogue, elaborate spell card names, weird story/setting, INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK, interesting yet bland level backgrounds, and even cool attack patterns combine to create something incredibly different from anything else i've ever seen. rather than trying to say something, the game simply exists (this is probably why there are so many interpretations of it). it feels like modern-day mythology in some ways.
overall imperishable night has been an incredible game for me, and i'd encourage anyone who hasn't checked it out to go do that. i'm not a huge fan of ufo because getting used to the "normal" deathbomb mechanics + no spell card practice makes it less appealing, but it will probably be more fun once i get used to it. this series is great and i'm looking forward to playing new games in it after these.
the touhou stereotype for most people is levels full of near-impossible to dodge bullet patterns that you need both memorization and insane precision to dodge, like genocide sans in undertale. but the difficulty curve is actually done so well. it really says something that a game that's only 40 minutes long can be fun for hundreds of hours.
i would say that the spell card practice mode is what really carries the game. it encourages you to use it in the first place through the notes you unlock for each spell card when you capture them, and it encourages you to improve on spell cards you're not that good at through saving your records. it's not the most fun thing in the world, but the results are visible in future runs and it feels really good to see your hard work pay off. that's one of the things i like about this game, it rewards effort.
as for the stages, the difficulty levels feel extremely well balanced. a completely new player is probably going to get through a decent amount of easy mode before being sent directly to hell by marisa on stage 4. then they can work on getting the earlier spell cards consistent and the later ones feasible, then they unlock a new level of difficulty in the later stages. the nature of the game (lives/spells + potential continues) makes it so you can go a bit outside your comfort zone, but not too far. it goes on like this through the rest of the difficulties.
this game rewards an interesting set of skills. memorization, reaction time, and precision are obviously required to a certain extent, but what really sets the good players apart from the bad ones is their ability to adapt to different situations. you could even classify touhou as a puzzle game where the objective is to find the least risky solution within your present situation. these skills are improved by failure. when you die, there's always something you could've done better, and if you have a decent understanding of the game you can internalize this and improve in it.
the last point i wanted to bring up is the aesthetic of the game. the fancy character cast, surface-level dialogue, elaborate spell card names, weird story/setting, INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK, interesting yet bland level backgrounds, and even cool attack patterns combine to create something incredibly different from anything else i've ever seen. rather than trying to say something, the game simply exists (this is probably why there are so many interpretations of it). it feels like modern-day mythology in some ways.
overall imperishable night has been an incredible game for me, and i'd encourage anyone who hasn't checked it out to go do that. i'm not a huge fan of ufo because getting used to the "normal" deathbomb mechanics + no spell card practice makes it less appealing, but it will probably be more fun once i get used to it. this series is great and i'm looking forward to playing new games in it after these.
wicked bump bro
Imperishable Night is a popular starter game because it's considered arguably the easiest, although I'm not sure what to say about that other than the generous deathbomb timing as I find the game's gimmick, the phantasm mechanic, a little confusing as a newbie and spellcard difficulty between all the games will vary based on personal opinion. IN's large playable cast also offers more variety for entertainment value and finding a team that fits one's preferences.
I'm more on the fangame train, in particular Labyrinth of Touhou (2) and Genius of Sappheiros are legitimately top-notch RPGs but there are a lot of great platformers, Metroidvania, and puzzle games in the fandom too.
Imperishable Night is a popular starter game because it's considered arguably the easiest, although I'm not sure what to say about that other than the generous deathbomb timing as I find the game's gimmick, the phantasm mechanic, a little confusing as a newbie and spellcard difficulty between all the games will vary based on personal opinion. IN's large playable cast also offers more variety for entertainment value and finding a team that fits one's preferences.
I'm more on the fangame train, in particular Labyrinth of Touhou (2) and Genius of Sappheiros are legitimately top-notch RPGs but there are a lot of great platformers, Metroidvania, and puzzle games in the fandom too.
but what does a tiny clever commanded command?