moogy
I don't normally like "gimmick" danmaku games, but the item system in this one is cool and allows for much more individualized play than the camera games imo. Everything being doable without using items is also a plus.
Danmaku is mostly unfun, probably more interesting as a score game than a survival one. Huge step forward for the series in terms of aesthetics, though, and I can't hate the game that gave us Yukari.
Haven't played this enough to give it a rating yet. Ichirin's boss theme is one of the most underrated songs in Touhou imo.
Somewhat repetitive, but manages to do some interesting stuff despite the player character having a very limited set of verbs.
Release system is stupidly broken and there are lots of weird/overly hard patterns that drag the game down. But I think it actually has a lot of neat stuff if you can get past that; the stage design in particular is pretty tight, IMO. Definitely not a bad game.
Ys2 is probably my favorite game from the 80s. Embrace the bump
2015
Has a lot of the same problems as the Sen/Cold Steel series, but at least it actually wraps things up in the space of one game.
Stages are trash and it's lacking in QoL to say the least, but the rawness of the RNG-heavy danmaku makes it surprisingly fun to play (as long as you're not particularly invested in any given run). Also great for honing your basic danmaku skills.
Generally solid game, nothing really sticks out but nothing is really wrong with it either (except some visibility issues here and there). Not being able to avoid interfacing with the hyper system is a bit annoying when going for bombless runs, but otherwise I think it's a much better take on that sort of system than trances in 13 or the release system in 16 (and everything is perfectly doable without hypers except maybe the penultimate pattern). Also has one of the best soundtracks; every song from stage 4 on is impeccable.
The gameplay isn't bad, per se, but it's not really interesting either. It's best to treat it as a musou SRPG, and it does pretty well at delivering a musou experience if you go into it with that expectation. The story itself is pretty straightforward by the standards of the Rance series, but it's presented well and still has enough of the Alicesoft bite to keep you on your toes. Maybe not a standout entry in the series, but it's by no means a poorly-made game and should satisfy any fan.
Probably my least favorite of the Windows Touhou games. Patterns are mostly boring and while it has a lot of content not very much of it is actually good (the last words in particular are mostly just annoying gimmicks). As a survival player, the most fun I've had with this is grinding Asteroid Belt.
2011
Not for everyone, with its quest-based gameplay and emphasis on resource management, but it's one of my favorite RPG systems of all time and I've spent hundreds of hours with it. Disgaea fans should appreciate the grindier side of things, but you can beat the main story without going off the deep end.
The story gets pretty good during the Magnum campaign, too, laying the groundwork for the rest of the series through 10.
The story gets pretty good during the Magnum campaign, too, laying the groundwork for the rest of the series through 10.
Feels like a janky clone of Ys and not like Ys itself. At least Remilia is cute.
Surprisingly good world design with a lot of fun platforming. The combat is dull and repetitive, though.
2011
Pretty fun level design if you can look past the spiritual torment of playing a Ubisoft game.