If I see one more person call the UFO system "unfair" then I will personally come to your house and force you to 1CC this game. It is now clear to me that ZUN made Touhou 13 piss easy out of spite alone.
Anyway, Touhou 12's pretty good. It's much more ambitious than its Second Windows Era predecessors with... mixed results. Touhou 10 and 11 are better games overall, but 12 hits pretty hard when it isn't pulling its punches.
Obviously, I like the UFO system. In terms of "gimmicks," they are probably the best system mechanics ZUN has ever made up to this point. Their implementation into the game encourages a lot of fundamental shoot 'em up skills: taking control of the middle of the screen, offensive bombing, smart stage routing, that kind of stuff. All of which is great! The "unfairness" complaint becomes very silly when you spend enough time in TH12 to understand that UFO's are basically entirely deterministic. Everything about their spawn conditions is static. The major difference between each run is you, the player, and when you shoot the UFO fairies down. Plus, TH12 is actually very generous with its resources, too. You can screw up quite a few UFO match-3s before things start to become problematic. It's not a perfect system--- I think it makes scoreplay too linear, and those same blue UFOs that give you points being useless for survival feel incongruent with the rest of the system. But if I--a colorblind dude--can enjoy the gimmick, then it's probably pretty chill.
The actual spellcards are where I find TH12 to be weak, though. There's some pretty cool stuff in this game. Unzan and his hitbox are awesome and I'm particularly fond of the calm and calculated way Shou's fight functions as if you're really fighting a (Buddhist) tiger. But otherwise this game's kinda boring with it, IDK. I don't have much to say about most of the other fights: they're solid but not special. This is especially damning for Byakuren who the game sets up as a bigger deal than she feels like she is, unfortunately.
The presentation in TH12 is similarly simple, but I think the game leverages it way better. The first half of the game spent in Gensoyko's skies gives the world good texture, (ala Touhou 10) and the descent into Makai is genuinely hype. I locked in immediately when I heard Fires of Hokkai play for the first time. It's easy to see why people thought this would lead into more PC-98 content returning. To treat this area from it with so much respect and then to do nothing with it would be such a tease...
Like I started with, Touhou 12's pretty good. Not my favorite game in the series-- I'm not even sure if it holds a candle to 11, honestly. But it's a fun time, and clearly shows how ZUN has improved since the early 2000s.
Anyway, Touhou 12's pretty good. It's much more ambitious than its Second Windows Era predecessors with... mixed results. Touhou 10 and 11 are better games overall, but 12 hits pretty hard when it isn't pulling its punches.
Obviously, I like the UFO system. In terms of "gimmicks," they are probably the best system mechanics ZUN has ever made up to this point. Their implementation into the game encourages a lot of fundamental shoot 'em up skills: taking control of the middle of the screen, offensive bombing, smart stage routing, that kind of stuff. All of which is great! The "unfairness" complaint becomes very silly when you spend enough time in TH12 to understand that UFO's are basically entirely deterministic. Everything about their spawn conditions is static. The major difference between each run is you, the player, and when you shoot the UFO fairies down. Plus, TH12 is actually very generous with its resources, too. You can screw up quite a few UFO match-3s before things start to become problematic. It's not a perfect system--- I think it makes scoreplay too linear, and those same blue UFOs that give you points being useless for survival feel incongruent with the rest of the system. But if I--a colorblind dude--can enjoy the gimmick, then it's probably pretty chill.
The actual spellcards are where I find TH12 to be weak, though. There's some pretty cool stuff in this game. Unzan and his hitbox are awesome and I'm particularly fond of the calm and calculated way Shou's fight functions as if you're really fighting a (Buddhist) tiger. But otherwise this game's kinda boring with it, IDK. I don't have much to say about most of the other fights: they're solid but not special. This is especially damning for Byakuren who the game sets up as a bigger deal than she feels like she is, unfortunately.
The presentation in TH12 is similarly simple, but I think the game leverages it way better. The first half of the game spent in Gensoyko's skies gives the world good texture, (ala Touhou 10) and the descent into Makai is genuinely hype. I locked in immediately when I heard Fires of Hokkai play for the first time. It's easy to see why people thought this would lead into more PC-98 content returning. To treat this area from it with so much respect and then to do nothing with it would be such a tease...
Like I started with, Touhou 12's pretty good. Not my favorite game in the series-- I'm not even sure if it holds a candle to 11, honestly. But it's a fun time, and clearly shows how ZUN has improved since the early 2000s.
zun got that Treasure in him making this one
I BEAT BYAKUREN AND THEN CLIPPED A BULLET MAKING ME GAME OVER AND LOSE MY 1CC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Byakuren
ufo is fucking DOGSHIT dude. easily the worst gimmick they've ever added to touhou - having to take massive risks to gather ufos just to get bombs/lives feels absolutely terrible, especially when you have to juggle the ones that switch colors while you're already trying to avoid everything. nothing about this one feels fun.
on top of that, idk if its just me being a wuss but what the hell is up with some of these bosses? shou and byakuren were so absurdly frustrating that i wanted to light myself on fire - i've never had this much trouble with this franchise before. sure, there were a few that were satisfying difficulty-wise (murasa was very funny) but damn!!! this one didn't feel good to play or satisfying to improve in. i think i'd recommend literally any PC entry over this pile of shit. i'm very glad to finally be done with this one.
on top of that, idk if its just me being a wuss but what the hell is up with some of these bosses? shou and byakuren were so absurdly frustrating that i wanted to light myself on fire - i've never had this much trouble with this franchise before. sure, there were a few that were satisfying difficulty-wise (murasa was very funny) but damn!!! this one didn't feel good to play or satisfying to improve in. i think i'd recommend literally any PC entry over this pile of shit. i'm very glad to finally be done with this one.
People seem real mad because bad about this one here. Ichirin and Murasa are some of the coolest bosses in the series but they're all pretty good, even Nazrin. You can pretty quickly max your lives with the red UFOs too, so I don't really think it's that hard. I imagine trying to continue at the final two stages is difficult, so maybe it feels worse if you don't play to 1cc these games as a matter of course.
Full disclosure, I had to give up and take an easy 1cc for this game becuase I spent about a month straight bashing my head against the wall trying to get the one run I needed to clear Byakuren on Normal, but, man, it just wasn't coming. My own disabilities seemed keen to prevent me from reaching that goal. I was about ready to be done with the game, and just wanted to move on.
I actually like this game. A return to regular bombing is great! I think the choice to make you lose huge entire chunks of your power when you die sucks, becuase dying twice on a boss means you're basically doing nothing at all to them. The UFO mechanic, honestly, I like it. I see why people don't like it, because sometimes the Blue Man will enter your home without your permission, but routing stages to get huge points into a UFO to then give you a bunch of life pieces all at once, that's super satisfying. It feels great. The danmaku in this game isn't super easy, but it's not nearly as bad as some of the stuff in 11. I think this game is fun. I feel bad for moving on without an actual normal 1cc, but after a month of it, I just wanted to play something else.
I love this game for bringing Makai back into Touhou canon for certain. Byakuren also having one of ZUN's best patterns in his entire career, Devil's Recitation, is the cherry on top. A definite return to form after the pointless changes of 10 and 11.
Favorite track - Rural Makai City Esoteria OR UFO Romance in the Night Sky
I actually like this game. A return to regular bombing is great! I think the choice to make you lose huge entire chunks of your power when you die sucks, becuase dying twice on a boss means you're basically doing nothing at all to them. The UFO mechanic, honestly, I like it. I see why people don't like it, because sometimes the Blue Man will enter your home without your permission, but routing stages to get huge points into a UFO to then give you a bunch of life pieces all at once, that's super satisfying. It feels great. The danmaku in this game isn't super easy, but it's not nearly as bad as some of the stuff in 11. I think this game is fun. I feel bad for moving on without an actual normal 1cc, but after a month of it, I just wanted to play something else.
I love this game for bringing Makai back into Touhou canon for certain. Byakuren also having one of ZUN's best patterns in his entire career, Devil's Recitation, is the cherry on top. A definite return to form after the pointless changes of 10 and 11.
Favorite track - Rural Makai City Esoteria OR UFO Romance in the Night Sky
In this one you can Spawn Big UFOs by collecting 3 small UFOs of the same color. I think this mechanic is alot of fun and adds a layer of depth and decision making that other Bullet Hell games lack.
Characters are fine but not as iconic as in other games imo. I like the Mouse and Sailor Girl. Also love Nue and her design but I haven't unlocked the Extra Stage yet. Soundtrack is okay not outstanding.
Characters are fine but not as iconic as in other games imo. I like the Mouse and Sailor Girl. Also love Nue and her design but I haven't unlocked the Extra Stage yet. Soundtrack is okay not outstanding.
Great music but bosses are quite annoying and gimmick ridden, stages lack content and interesting routes.
The scoring system is pretty fun and rewarding as well as the way you create resources.
Still had fun with it though, I'll never play this one beyond Lunatic 1CC though.
The scoring system is pretty fun and rewarding as well as the way you create resources.
Still had fun with it though, I'll never play this one beyond Lunatic 1CC though.
ES EL SEPTIMO TOUHOU QUE JUGUE 5 ESTRELLAS Y APARECE NAZRIN POR PRIMERA VEZ SI PUDIERA TENDRIA 6 ESTRELLAS
Out of all the Touhou games. This one is easily my least favorite. I find it rather obnoxious to play in comparison to the others in the worst possible way.
The UFO mechanic feels half baked and not fully realized, resources feel very hard to manage, the the game is uncharacteristically difficult to the point of feeling unfair on top of that. Patterns are quite dense and unforgiving at the best of times.
The music is good, however, and the first instance of playable Sanae! How novel.
Perhaps with time this game will grow on me, but for now I just don't have many kind things to say about it. I would rather play literally any other Touhou game. Yes, even Highly Responsive to Prayers.
The UFO mechanic feels half baked and not fully realized, resources feel very hard to manage, the the game is uncharacteristically difficult to the point of feeling unfair on top of that. Patterns are quite dense and unforgiving at the best of times.
The music is good, however, and the first instance of playable Sanae! How novel.
Perhaps with time this game will grow on me, but for now I just don't have many kind things to say about it. I would rather play literally any other Touhou game. Yes, even Highly Responsive to Prayers.
This one's bullshit and I got bored and sadde and ditched it for now. 10-12 all have this really annoying shit with the continues where it's like, while they're infinite now, they always put you back at the start of the level instead of dropping you off where you were like in earlier games. There are frequently times where you'll be stuck in the same spot for a long ass time due to this and it's just not really as enjoyable. You also can't adjust your number of lives in the options anymore for some reason. 10 is still quite manageable despite this but 11 is a hassle and this is just outright not very fun.
During some point in stage 5 I clicked on "redo from beginning" from the pause menu, thinking it'd put me back at the start of the level, and it put me at stage 1. I'll probably be coming back to it later but for now ehh h no thanks
During some point in stage 5 I clicked on "redo from beginning" from the pause menu, thinking it'd put me back at the start of the level, and it put me at stage 1. I'll probably be coming back to it later but for now ehh h no thanks
I like how there's this whole plot about a flying ship gathering treasure to resurrect someone and then there's just Kogasa who is completely unrelated to everything and just wants to scare people
ufoyu o kadar doğuruyon besliyon büyütüyon okutuyon güzel güzel liselere yazdırıyon amına koydugum gidiyor dilci oluyor
Tied for my favorite in the series with 11. It has some of the strongest general theming, art/character design, and music of all the Touhou games. UFOs, Space Invaders-style enemy placements, etc., all that stuff gives this game a distinct flavor.
Mechanically I feel this is the strongest Touhou game thanks to the UFO system. It recontextualizes every stage - which were previously rather straightforward and uninteresting before (and after) - into an intense scramble for UFOs. Routing is more important now: you'll have to prioritize UFO-carrying enemies, strategically wait for UFO colors to change, decide when to bomb, and decide where to move to maximize UFO bonuses. This kind of system makes the game a lot more intense compared to others, it's really satisfying. Most of the spell cards are pretty tough, but you can get tons of bombs and lives through UFOs, so it balances out.
Mechanically I feel this is the strongest Touhou game thanks to the UFO system. It recontextualizes every stage - which were previously rather straightforward and uninteresting before (and after) - into an intense scramble for UFOs. Routing is more important now: you'll have to prioritize UFO-carrying enemies, strategically wait for UFO colors to change, decide when to bomb, and decide where to move to maximize UFO bonuses. This kind of system makes the game a lot more intense compared to others, it's really satisfying. Most of the spell cards are pretty tough, but you can get tons of bombs and lives through UFOs, so it balances out.
this game is so bad man please play any other touhou LOL
"A ganância que te move é a mesma que te mata"
One of the weakest Touhou games I've played, it's not bad but it's also far from being the best
Everything i said in my last review was a lie except for the good parts
i think this would without a doubt be my favorite game in the series if the boss fights were good.
UFO mechanic is good when you learn it, shot types are all fun and, marisa b especially, fresh. Aesthetics are actually unmatched this game is breezy and lighthearted and its deep and mysterious. It switches from these aesthetics so masterfully, with even the depths of makai’s slums fitting in perfectly with a ghostly passenger ship and a plain after it rains. The music goads you into the experience, with objectively the best selection of stage themes pushing you to feel like you’re actually exploring these locations which are all amazingly crafted. The characters are definitely the best set of them IMO, with even sanae being the most in-place player 3 in the entire series, more than even reisen aya or sakuremi in 15/16/8.
My only legitimate complaint about this game is that every single boss has some obnoxious gimmick that you would expect from a stage 5/6/ex like turning invincible for ages or getting shields or those stupid fucking orbs kogasa shits out
Also murasa is the best character she is evil
i think this would without a doubt be my favorite game in the series if the boss fights were good.
UFO mechanic is good when you learn it, shot types are all fun and, marisa b especially, fresh. Aesthetics are actually unmatched this game is breezy and lighthearted and its deep and mysterious. It switches from these aesthetics so masterfully, with even the depths of makai’s slums fitting in perfectly with a ghostly passenger ship and a plain after it rains. The music goads you into the experience, with objectively the best selection of stage themes pushing you to feel like you’re actually exploring these locations which are all amazingly crafted. The characters are definitely the best set of them IMO, with even sanae being the most in-place player 3 in the entire series, more than even reisen aya or sakuremi in 15/16/8.
My only legitimate complaint about this game is that every single boss has some obnoxious gimmick that you would expect from a stage 5/6/ex like turning invincible for ages or getting shields or those stupid fucking orbs kogasa shits out
Also murasa is the best character she is evil
It introduced Kogasa. GOTY 2009.
a little bit on the harder side but it's still really good. no more power bombs tho..