So I played the new TouHou game

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Taylor
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Post by Taylor »

escadrille wrote:Inaccurate comparison. Nobody is saying touhou makes you chase after real underage girls.
My (very tongue-in-cheek) comments never mentioned anything close to that point. This entire discourse is getting beyond absurd; and if that’s the way it's going I don’t want to be associated with it.
Momijitsuki wrote:Human or Werehakutaku?
In before caved.
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Post by GrimoreLibrarian »

Momijitsuki wrote:You're forgetting Chiyuri Kitashirakawa from Phantasmagoria from Dim. Dream. Hat aside, she looks just like an anime schoolgirl.

Reisen is close though.
She looks more like a sailor to me.
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Post by escadrille »

moozooh wrote:
escadrille wrote:I'm only noting that people who enjoy anime schoolgirls sometimes tend to also enjoy hentai.
Which is funny because the Touhou universe contains zero schoolgirls (and no schools that I know of). :P

That aside, I should additionally stress out something that bloodflowers has said on numerous occasions: Touhou characters are always presented decently; there is not a single sexual situation, or even an innuendo thereof. Not to mention that none of them are actually drawn to [try to] look sexually attractive. Unlike said Cave games, btw. (Not that I have anything against that, but you have to separate the author's intention from the fanbase's intention.)
Young girls. "Lolis." I'm unfamiliar with the... technical terminology in this case. During the games the characters are mostly dodging and shooting, but one hopes they attend school in their off hours.

That there is nothing overtly sexual in the games is certainly correct and I haven’t stated otherwise. Certainly there is overlap in the interest of the fans however, as the "which character would you sleep with" thread indicates.

Cave games with similar themes fall into the same category. However Cave produces a more diverse collection of game themes than touhou. Plenty of boring old planes and ships for all the stodgy old prudes. It's a matter of taste, and while the primary purpose of playing any game is the gameplay itself, theme is also a substantial component.
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Post by Momijitsuki »

GrimoreLibrarian wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote:You're forgetting Chiyuri Kitashirakawa from Phantasmagoria from Dim. Dream. Hat aside, she looks just like an anime schoolgirl.

Reisen is close though.
She looks more like a sailor to me.
Well, schoolgirl uniforms are often called 'seifuku' (sailor uniforms). Hat aside, they look pretty much the same.
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Post by moozooh »

escadrille wrote:However Cave produces a more diverse collection of game themes than touhou.
You know the main reason for that? Touhou games all belong to the same series. If you take, say, all DonPachi games, they will all look similar and have similar gameplay. Which is true. It is also true that if you play them more, you'll notice that, while the core gameplay stays similar, there are lots of more subtle differences throughout, like those in scoring systems, or character handing, or modes of fire, etc.. Same with, say, ESP series. Or Mushi. I believe Cave would get exatly the same amount of flak if they only stuck to one series.

But for what it's worth, Cave is a commercial developer that makes arcade games, and ZUN is a lone beerholic who makes PC homebrew. Despite having less obligations to his audience, his quality output in the context of series isn't worse: all sequels have largely the same kinds of differences throughout as with Cave games (and it's actually quite surprising that he manages to come up with new stuff by the time of making a 10th sequel; this is actually pretty hard). It's just that he doesn't make anything beside his series of choice, because, well, he doesn't have nor want to. So I don't think it's fair to blame him for the lack of diversity.

People just want him to start making non-Touhou games, which I don't think he will (at least not as a hobby).
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Icarus
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Post by Icarus »

moozooh wrote:It's just that he doesn't make anything beside his series of choice, because, well, he doesn't have nor want to. So I don't think it's fair to blame him for the lack of diversity.
This is my pet peeve with ZUN. It is clear he has talent (disproportionate character art aside), and can make good games (I've enjoyed EoSD, MoF and SA), but he squanders it making games catered to his loyal and creepily fanatical fanbase. And because of that, his games always end up being similar in design, gameplay and pacing, to appease the "more of the same" crowd.

"Familiarity breeds contempt", after all.

I'd like to see him do something completely different, just for once.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

Icarus wrote:
moozooh wrote:It's just that he doesn't make anything beside his series of choice, because, well, he doesn't have nor want to. So I don't think it's fair to blame him for the lack of diversity.
This is my pet peeve with ZUN. It is clear he has talent (disproportionate character art aside), and can make good games (I've enjoyed EoSD, MoF and SA), but he squanders it making games catered to his loyal and creepily fanatical fanbase. And because of that, his games always end up being similar in design, gameplay and pacing, to appease the "more of the same" crowd.

"Familiarity breeds contempt", after all.

I'd like to see him do something completely different, just for once.
I actually heard that he never wanted Touhou to be as popular as it is now. I may be wrong, but I do remember hearing that he delayed Mountain of Faith because he wanted the fandom to die down. I can't really call that catering to his "creepily fanatical" fanbase.

Anyway, I just got a copy of the game, and I'm going to go try it out once I get to a better computer,the on I'm on right now sucks, it can't even run EoSD.
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Post by Icarus »

For someone who supposedly doesn't like his fanbase, he seems to be churning the games out at a fair clip. Milking the cash cow for all its worth. :p
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Post by Taylor »

I'm sure with every release he adds another acre to the grounds.
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Post by shadowbringer »

some stuff that I believe to be relevant to this topic:

P1: What games do you want to create in the future?
Z: I'm going to keep making games that stand out. If so all my fans disappear I'm still happy if I can keep doing the games I want.

source: http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Interview_ ... 1_Magazine

Incidentally, ZUN likes Hatsune Miku, and wonders if her(?) appearance hasn’t helped more people find Touhou. Generally, ZUN hopes that as old people drift on to other things, or even remain in the fanbase, new people will also come in, and everyone will get along, basically without caring who showed up when.
source: http://www.gensokyo.org/archives/92#more-92

Personally, I (as an average-level shmup player) like the series because of the gameplay, the characters (as I do for most games), the oriental feeling (and perhaps the way ZUN makes Japanese mythology not-so-dangerous, and the tea parties :p), and these games give room for competition (this applies to the fighting games, too, especially the first one, Immaterial and Missing Power). In fact, it's because of Touhou that I decided to play shmups more seriously, since in Touhou one has to 1cc it to get the good ending and Extra Stage/Mode unlocks.
As for the game itself, I'm stuck at level 5 in Normal Mode, haven't been practicing it regularly, so I'm at fault :(
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Post by Momijitsuki »

As for ZUN making non-Touhou games, there is Uwabami Breakers.

Sure, it's basically Touhou sans loligirls with alcohol instead, but still. :P
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Post by moozooh »

ZUN didn't do anything for its gameplay, though, he just donated the MoF engine and wrote the soundtrack. The team responsible for UB was considerably large, actually.
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Post by Momijitsuki »

Haha, I'm just saying there IS a non-Touhou TSA release-- despite its similarities to the rest of the series. :)
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

Momijitsuki wrote:As for ZUN making non-Touhou games, there is Uwabami Breakers.

Sure, it's basically Touhou sans loligirls with alcohol instead, but still. :P
What about the Seihou series? Almost no one talks about that, which is very sad because those are an incredible set of games (Though, to my knowledge, ZUn only did the music composition for Shuusho Gyoku).
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Post by gennss »

I'm new at this, don't mention new series without posting a link!!! (ok, i'll rephrase, link please?) Whats Seihou?
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Post by joeboto »

shadowbringer wrote: Incidentally, ZUN likes Hatsune Miku
i'd hit it. hopefully we can see miku in touhou, kthx.
It is to us a sufficient body in which, fairies and it is packed and can group of play.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

gennss wrote:I'm new at this, don't mention new series without posting a link!!! (ok, i'll rephrase, link please?) Whats Seihou?
Seihou is Touhou's sister series, it started before EoSD was made. Unlike Touhou, Seihou has a lower number of bullets, but they're faster and more likely to kill you. That, and though you play as a robot maid (Who's the best maid to ever be imagined), your enemies consist mainly of large battleships and mecha. This series has three main games and a spin-ff, Samidare.

http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Seihou

This is probably the most information on Seihous I have been able to find in English.

EDIT: Post needed more replays

Shuusou Gyoku Stage 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqGqy7Yj ... re=related

Shuusou Gyoku Final Stage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I5fr83b ... re=related

Shuusou Gyoku Extra Stage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB4bE1xFrm4

Samidare Extra Stage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hps4X9_ ... re=related
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Post by Momijitsuki »

SockPuppetHyren wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote:As for ZUN making non-Touhou games, there is Uwabami Breakers.

Sure, it's basically Touhou sans loligirls with alcohol instead, but still. :P
What about the Seihou series? Almost no one talks about that, which is very sad because those are an incredible set of games (Though, to my knowledge, ZUn only did the music composition for Shuusho Gyoku).
Well, you answered your own question there. ZUN really didn't have much to do with Seihou, although he did the music-- and also Reimu and Marisa show up as Extra stage bosses.
joeboto wrote:
shadowbringer wrote: Incidentally, ZUN likes Hatsune Miku
i'd hit it. hopefully we can see miku in touhou, kthx.
Same. :P
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Post by escadrille »

moozooh wrote:
escadrille wrote:However Cave produces a more diverse collection of game themes than touhou.
You know the main reason for that? Touhou games all belong to the same series. If you take, say, all DonPachi games, they will all look similar and have similar gameplay. Which is true. It is also true that if you play them more, you'll notice that, while the core gameplay stays similar, there are lots of more subtle differences throughout, like those in scoring systems, or character handing, or modes of fire, etc.. Same with, say, ESP series. Or Mushi. I believe Cave would get exatly the same amount of flak if they only stuck to one series.

But for what it's worth, Cave is a commercial developer that makes arcade games, and ZUN is a lone beerholic who makes PC homebrew. Despite having less obligations to his audience, his quality output in the context of series isn't worse: all sequels have largely the same kinds of differences throughout as with Cave games (and it's actually quite surprising that he manages to come up with new stuff by the time of making a 10th sequel; this is actually pretty hard). It's just that he doesn't make anything beside his series of choice, because, well, he doesn't have nor want to. So I don't think it's fair to blame him for the lack of diversity.

People just want him to start making non-Touhou games, which I don't think he will (at least not as a hobby).
I agree with everything you've said here. As I said earler, ZUN does what he likes, and there are fans who enjoy it. No problem.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

Finally got a chance to try this out. And I must say, this game fills me with LOVE AND JOY! Seriously, I haven't had this good of a time playing the first lever of a game since I first played R-Type Delta. :D
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Post by Momijitsuki »

SockPuppetHyren wrote:Finally got a chance to try this out. And I must say, this game fills me with LOVE AND JOY! Seriously, I haven't had this good of a time playing the first lever of a game since I first played R-Type Delta. :D
Which one did you play? Perfect Cherry Blossom was my first and it's my overall favorite-- though Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism are strongly contesting it-- mainly because I'm better at Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism is absolutely gorgeous.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

Momijitsuki wrote:
SockPuppetHyren wrote:Finally got a chance to try this out. And I must say, this game fills me with LOVE AND JOY! Seriously, I haven't had this good of a time playing the first lever of a game since I first played R-Type Delta. :D
Which one did you play? Perfect Cherry Blossom was my first and it's my overall favorite-- though Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism are strongly contesting it-- mainly because I'm better at Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism is absolutely gorgeous.
Imperishable Night was my first Touhou game, and it was a very nice experience and made me interested in trying out the rest of the Touhou series. Oddly enough, I liked Highly Responsive to prayers more than some of the windows games. Imperishable Night is still my favorite of the windows set, and this one seems to be on my favorite list also.

I said R-type Delta mainly because I played it more recently, though it's first level did indeed make me feel BURNING LOVE.
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Post by Momijitsuki »

SockPuppetHyren wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote:
SockPuppetHyren wrote:Finally got a chance to try this out. And I must say, this game fills me with LOVE AND JOY! Seriously, I haven't had this good of a time playing the first lever of a game since I first played R-Type Delta. :D
Which one did you play? Perfect Cherry Blossom was my first and it's my overall favorite-- though Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism are strongly contesting it-- mainly because I'm better at Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism is absolutely gorgeous.
Imperishable Night was my first Touhou game, and it was a very nice experience and made me interested in trying out the rest of the Touhou series. Oddly enough, I liked Highly Responsive to prayers more than some of the windows games. Maybe I'm just a weirdo. Imperishable Night is still my favorite of the windows set, and this one seems to be on my favorite list also.
Imperishable Night is pretty good. I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, it just arrived today.

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See? :o


Highly Responsive to Prayers is fun too, especially when you get the hang of it.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

Momijitsuki wrote:
SockPuppetHyren wrote:
Momijitsuki wrote: Which one did you play? Perfect Cherry Blossom was my first and it's my overall favorite-- though Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism are strongly contesting it-- mainly because I'm better at Imperishable Night and Subterranean Animism is absolutely gorgeous.
Imperishable Night was my first Touhou game, and it was a very nice experience and made me interested in trying out the rest of the Touhou series. Oddly enough, I liked Highly Responsive to prayers more than some of the windows games. Maybe I'm just a weirdo. Imperishable Night is still my favorite of the windows set, and this one seems to be on my favorite list also.
Imperishable Night is pretty good. I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, it just arrived today.

clip for space

See? :o
You went out and bought it? UNHEARD OF! :shock:

I kid. Hell, I ended up taking it off of my computer because I wanted to buy an actual copy. Of course, I haven't done it yet, mainly because I need a new video card. The one I have right now can't run any of the windows games. :cry:


Highly Responsive to Prayers is fun too, especially when you learn that Reimu's face isn't the same as the paddle in Arkanoid.
Fixed for accuracy to my own experiences. :wink:
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Post by captpain »

Does anyone else find the Touhou graphics a bit dingy? Honestly, it's a bigger turnoff for me than the borderline/full on creepy anime stuff.

They do have some radical patterns, though.
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Post by moozooh »

Dingy in what way?
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Matskat wrote:This neighborhood USED to be nice...until that family of emulators moved in across the street....
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

borderline/full on creepy anime stuff.
Which Touhou are you talking about?

Anyway, the sprites themselves have improved greatly over what they were, though I agree, they look kind of dinky. The backgrounds, on the other hand, are beautiful.
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Post by captpain »

@moo:
Just sort of "flat" -- not in depth, but general appearance. I don't care much for the colors, IMO there isn't enough detail... etc. etc.
Plus something about the way the sprites move around looks kind of cheesy, like a cheap freeware game (I realize this is one guy of course so I guess this is expected)

@SockPuppet:
Having huge anime girls pop in and out of the screen every few minutes is really bizarre, and if I recall correctly they all look 10 years old. I've played PCB and IN. Not too much, though.
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Post by SockPuppetHyren »

captpain wrote:@moo:
Just sort of "flat" -- not in depth, but general appearance. I don't care much for the colors, IMO there isn't enough detail... etc. etc.
Plus something about the way the sprites move around looks kind of cheesy, like a cheap freeware game (I realize this is one guy of course so I guess this is expected)

@SockPuppet:
Having huge anime girls pop in and out of the screen every few minutes is really bizarre, and if I recall correctly they all look 10 years old. I've played PCB and IN. Not too much, though.
You have an odd definition of bizarre and creepy. Either, that, or you're taking things too seriously. Take it easy.
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Post by captpain »

SockPuppetHyren wrote:
captpain wrote:@moo:
Just sort of "flat" -- not in depth, but general appearance. I don't care much for the colors, IMO there isn't enough detail... etc. etc.
Plus something about the way the sprites move around looks kind of cheesy, like a cheap freeware game (I realize this is one guy of course so I guess this is expected)

@SockPuppet:
Having huge anime girls pop in and out of the screen every few minutes is really bizarre, and if I recall correctly they all look 10 years old. I've played PCB and IN. Not too much, though.
You have an odd definition of bizarre and creepy. Either, that, or you're taking things too seriously. Take it easy.
Haha, no, I would say that the majority of people on planet Earth would define the TouHou games as bizarre.
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