東方恋物語 ~ Locked Together

(W)ow. this game is a must p(L)ay. The (W)riting here is my personal favorite. Same with the music

[b]Touhou Koimonogatari (東方恋物語) ~ Locked Together[/b] is a cute PC-98-styled Touhou danmaku shooter that comes recommended with a warning. As the store description states, this game is an Extra-stage-only affair, and it is [b][i]punishingly difficult[/i][/b] as a result. The difficulty easily approaches the vibes of the EoSD, Subterranean Animism, and UFO Extra stages (Context: I mainly play Touhou for Normal/Hard 1ccs, with Ex clears across about half the mainline series; take this subjective view as you wish). Many spellcards and "non-spell" attacks have limited margins for error and/or short time windows to make required movements to avoid certain death, but otherwise have neat designs and concepts. Players should be well-versed in movement fundamentals and reading medium- to high-density attacks, along with being prepared to fail and practice repeatedly in the hopes of seeing the MariPatchy interactions and earning a 1cc. Unlike conventional Extra stages, you are offered several continues in the event you run out of lives. You can also set the default number of starting lives between 0 to 7 (default is 2) to suit your level of experience and desired challenge. The only major impact for using these features appears to be related to the final All Clear bonus (i.e. reduced multiplier for using continues and setting more lives than default). With that said, I cannot confirm as of yet if there is a “better” ending for a 1cc or not. The game also offers a practice mode that allows you to reattempt the various spell and non-spell attacks you have previously encountered as many times as you wish, which will hopefully improve your performance and help you get further in a run. Really love how this nails some of the PC-98 vibes with modern QoL (e.g. Autocollect Line/Point of Collection indicator, visible [tiny] hurtbox, input display during replays), and it offers a good challenge to boot. If you keep the above in mind, then you’ll have a nice time with this game. [strike](P.S. As of Ver 1.00a, it appears that rapidly mashing the fire button makes the secondary shot come out a lot faster, which in turn seems to dramatically increase DPS output. I'm not sure if this was intended, but I don’t really like the idea of button mashing the entire time to improve survivability. The penalty for doing so seems to be lower raw score across the board due to racking up less graze per attack phase)[/strike] [i]UPDATE EDIT (Dec 31, 2025): The above issue has been corrected as of Version 1.01a. Kind of a weird feeling to have found something worth patching out of a game, but I respect the dedication to correct the issue so quickly.[/i]

domestic violence danmaku edition

Great game & great developer! Can't wait for the next game that gets released!

Absolutely criminally underrated extra stage length fangame that deserves it's flowers as much as Patchouli deserves some sun. Boasting a whopping 10 unique spell cards on the unmoving library herself, the difficulty on the stage and the boss is no slouch, it definitely took me quite a few tries and all my continues to even get my first clear (which I intend to try a 1CC in the future), but the pattern design, solid music and the lovely way Mugenri tied together some character interaction and service for the ship even in its spellcard descriptions tells me a lot about how much they cared to make a quality experience. The PC98 aesthetic doesn't feel skin deep, it really does feel like a game made by someone who appreciates that era of Touhou too. The entire tone of the fight shifting as you clear more spellcards [spoiler] especially when you get halfway through and Patchouli begins using Marisa's spells against her [/spoiler] is something that really scratched that itch for what I like in interactions between characters in these games, "Danmaku as Self-Expression" if I really wanna give it a name. Having non-spells/spellcards that not only provide an enjoyable gameplay experience but also fit the character who is using them is always a really fun thing to see. Other than the game itself, there's the aforementioned Practice Mode which doubles as the game's encyclopedia for all the non-spells and spellcards, which is a joy to read through and provides some well-needed practice (definitely needed some help on those later spells...). There's also a replay mode and a music room to listen to the tunes on their own. I would say it's well worth its price point to even pick up the game and play for a while, even if you don't plan on clearing it. It's $6.50 CAD normally (a bit over 3 bucks on the sale at the time of this review) so you get a challenging, quality experience for less than a Big Mac. Can't get any better than that.

I have like literally 0 idea how you're meant to go more than 10 seconds without dying or bombing in this game but it's PC-98 so :fire:

Είναι ένα πολύ καλοφτιαγμένο touhou fangame στο στυλ των πρώτων 5 παιχνιδιών της σειράς, είναι εντυπωσιακό το πόσο μοιάζει με τα αυθεντικά σε κάθε λεπτομέρεια και ακόμα έχουν προστεθεί νέες λειτουργίες όπως το spell practice και η εμφάνιση του hitbox όταν έχεις πατημένο το shift, κάτι που τα πρώτα παιχνίδια δεν είχαν. Δεν είναι πολύ μεγάλο, μια πίστα μόνο αλλά παρόλαυτα δεν σημαίνει ότι είναι κάτι εύκολο που θα βγάλετε γρήγορα. Ακόμα και με το μέγιστο αριθμό ζωών, θα έλεγα ότι αν δεν παίζατε danmaku games μια ζωή, δεν υπάρχει περίπτωση να το τελειώσετε. Ναι, τόσο δύσκολο είναι, ακόμα και για εμένα που κυριολεκτικά παίζω τέτοια παιχνίδια μια ζωή. Αλλά είναι αρκετά διασκεδαστικό. Αν είστε κάποιος που του αρέσουν τέτοια παιχνίδια θα το ευχαριστηθείτε. Αν δεν έχετε ξαναπαίξει, δοκιμάστε κάνα πιο εύκολο παιχνίδι πρώτα και μετά απο 2-3 χρόνια περάστε και απο εδώ.

патчулли на стеройдах

amazing game !! very difficult

my favorite souls-like indie jrpg-inspired videogame experience