Touhou: Blossom Blade

Up front, it's worth noting that Touhou: Blossom Blade is essentially a remaster of a Touhou doujin game made in 2011. That said, Blossom Blade is an excellent little action game with boss fights that incorporate the bullet-hell roots of Touhou well. There's a score system in place, complete with a DMC-inspired combo counter that rewards keeping a quick pace of defeating enemies while not getting hit. This isn't an earth-shattering feature, but it adds some decent depth the game, alongside the 3 difficulties. For a low asking price of 6 USD at the time of writing, this old game cleans up exceptionally well and makes for a fine addition to the collection of any Touhou fan or Score Attack gamer.

2011年的東方同人老遊戲了，所以畫面有點年代 一般難度大概2~3小時能打通，一共6關+一個EX關 非常有伊蘇6的味道，打擊感跟難度都設計的挺合理的，是一款完成度很高的ARPG 小缺點就是流程有點短，還有不能選關只能一個存檔打到底

Antes de Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity e New World, havia Blossom Blade - e fico muito contente que finalmente esteja disponível de forma mais acessível! É um jogo direto ao ponto, combinando gameplay hack'n'slash inspirando em Ys com elementos bullet hell e personagens de Touhou num pacote curto, porém divertido e satisfatório. Graficamente é simples, porém os visuais charmosos mascaram as limitações - na verdade tirando proveito delas, e transmitindo a atmosfera de um jogo do final da vida do PS1/início da vida do PS2 - me passa uma experiência similar Digimon World 4, por algum motivo. A trilha sonora é composta por belos arranjos de Touhou - trazendo novas versões de músicas icônicas de Touhou 7, 10 e outras que prefiro deixar que descubram na hora. Isso em conjunto com as interações entre as personagens e as localidades icônicas é um prato cheio para qualquer fã de Touhou - me encantei desde a primeira vez que estava escalando a cachoeira da Montanha Youkai, ao som de Fall of Falls! Quanto às críticas, podem ocorrer bugs ocasionais (em uma de minhas jogatinas, um chefe clipou na parede e precisei voltar para o menu inicial), e em certos momentos, o caminho que você deve seguir para prosseguir pode não estar tão evidente (por causa do ângulo da câmera ou algum elemento do cenário obscurecendo. Também sinto falta de alguns recursos como múltiplos saves, stage select, e um boss rush até que não seria mal, mas nesse caso a falta desses elementos não compromete a experiência - só seria legal se tivesse mesmo. No final das contas, Blossom Blade é um pacotinho delicioso e satisfatório para quem está afim de jogar um Action RPG daqueles que você zera rápido, mas tem vontade de retomar de tempos em tempos pela atmosfera e para tentar se sair melhor nas batalhas. Também serve como um ponto de partida decente para quem quiser se familiarizar com o universo de Touhou, além de ser uma experiência bem agradável para quem já é fã. Mesmo que suas sequências sejam experiências mais robustas e polidas, ainda vale à pena conhecer ou revisitar esse pequeno jogo charmoso!

I remember I played this game like more than 12 years ago, and I think I wasn't even in high school yet lol The "indie game" term wasn't a thing, we had some obscure japanese doujin games at the time and Steam wasn't even that popular yet. I'm happy that the devs brought this game to Steam. Now it can be eternalized and officially accessible on PC. This is a great game, totally action focused with smooth and simple controls, fast and satisfying action and a speed and responsiveness that is hard to see these days in gaming. It is pretty much inspired by the classic Ys games and has excellent Touhou music. It is a very short game though and can be finished at around 1.5 hours. For the price being asked, it is pretty good and very fun for the time. I recommend it, very worth for the fun and price for a quick play.

A fun little game, awesome music and mechanics.

3Dアクションゲームをあまりやらない私には難しいです どこに進めばいいかわかりにくく、ステージ1の時点で迷ってしまいました ゲームクリア後に追記します

This game was practically built for speedruns, I feel like. It's just so satisfying to run through the game as fast as possible, jumping & dashing over enemies in an attempt to beat your best time. Touhou: Blossom Blade is a remaster of the very first game from these developers, and while I believe it's the weakest of their three games, it is by no-means bad. My first run through this game was a frustrating challenge that was satisfying to complete, and my four other runs were a mix of speedruns & high-score challenges that kept the game feeling fresh. The story is simple. Youmu Konpaku, gardener of the Netherworld and personal guardian of Yuyuko, has been sent on a quest to defeat Reimu Hakurei, the Shrine Maiden of Paradise. Uncertain of her ability to complete such a monumental task, Youmu sets off on her journey to reach the Hakruei Shrine and face her opponent. She comes across many obstacles on her way that she sees as nuisances, but they ultimately help her grow stronger as she prepares for the daunting fight ahead of her. The gameplay is similar to Scarlet Curiosity & New World, but with its own unique feel as well. Your skills are static, and you have access to all of them from the very beginning. Level ups only unlock longer combo chains for your basic attacks. Instead, you collect "Skill Orbs," which allow you to use more skills in quicker succession. You have three basic skills, and one Ultimate Skill. Your Ultimate Skill has its own separate gauge from the basic skills, and it recharges slowly, while your weaker basic skills recharge quickly. There is no overworld in this game, nor is there a level select option. Your game only saves when you transfer from one level to the next, so make sure to finish a level before you exit out. The music is, of course, well-done. There's nothing I can really say here that I haven't said already about both Scarlet Curiosity & New World, so I'll just refer you to my reviews of those games instead. My favorite track from this game is "Our Hisoutensoku," it feels very heroic and motivating. The achievement grind is more difficult than SC & NW, and by a pretty large margin. I found myself getting stuck on the last "break X pots" and "earn X score" achievements, and had to dedicate an entire run to JUST getting those ones. The most difficult achievement is the final "Hi-Score God," in which you must earn 30000000 (thirty million) points, then complete the game without dying a single time. From my experience, I do not believe it is possible to get thirty million points in either Easy or Normal mode without insane combo luck, so you would be better off playing on Hard. All I can say is good luck. It was a rough one. My favorite achievement was "Unyielding Tenacity." Something about earning an achievement for falling into pits 50 times is both insulting and humorous. All three Ankake Spa games complete! Can't wait to see what you guys do next!