edit: 1cc'd this one again this week and wanted to update my thoughts. not that anything's changed for anything but the better. honest to god not just a perfect game but one of my favorite games ever made. i think it stands as THE benchmark by which every arcade shooter should be measured - gripping gameplay, gorgeous and restrained, heartfelt visuals and soundtrack, legendary boss battles that paint stories in the shape of danmaku, and an earnestly somber and bittersweet story that stands as the only one in its genre that has ever moved me like this. flawless game, and zun's masterpiece as far as i've played. <3
unbelievable how much of an improvement this is on every touhou game prior. i was told the jump between embodiment of scarlet devil and this game was big, and i suppose i wasn't ready for how tremendous a leap that was. i'll say it - as of right now, this is my favorite arcade-style video game i've EVER played and one of the most rewarding playthroughs i've ever experienced of a game of this type. i wasn't expecting to enjoy and crave the difficulty present here the way that i did, and i certainly didn't expect a surprisingly moving, quietly somber story like the one present in perfect cherry blossom.
this game flows with the delicacy of the wind; the deft moment in which a haiku lingers. breezy, chilly and brisk is the name of touhou 07's game, and the presentation here is beyond marvelous. i see elements of games like kirby's dream land 3 all over this game's aesthetic, colored-pencil like backgrounds and character sprites with a surprisingly acoustic and wind section-heavy ensemble in zun's arrangements. when the intensity ramps up as the climb whisks reimu, marisa and sakuya up from the snowfall and cheeky eastern villages into the sky and beneath the youkai's solemn cherry oak, the music follows suit; songs of dread, songs of triumph, it's all here. the setpieces and deliberate pacing of stages 4 and 6 are an absolute marvel within the medium and genuinely stopped me in my tracks with my prior expectations.
even the boss battles themselves are now pure spectacles - zun has somehow found a way to tell you all of a character's personality through their bullet patterns. it's astounding what characterization this gives bosses like chen, the prismriver sisters, and youmu. not to mention the... legitimate gutpunch of a plot reveal waiting at the absolute end of it all.
another breeze blows blossoms of scarlet and rose through the air. another crisis averted. another soul laid to rest. man. this is the one that elevates touhou to real masterpiece territory.
unbelievable how much of an improvement this is on every touhou game prior. i was told the jump between embodiment of scarlet devil and this game was big, and i suppose i wasn't ready for how tremendous a leap that was. i'll say it - as of right now, this is my favorite arcade-style video game i've EVER played and one of the most rewarding playthroughs i've ever experienced of a game of this type. i wasn't expecting to enjoy and crave the difficulty present here the way that i did, and i certainly didn't expect a surprisingly moving, quietly somber story like the one present in perfect cherry blossom.
this game flows with the delicacy of the wind; the deft moment in which a haiku lingers. breezy, chilly and brisk is the name of touhou 07's game, and the presentation here is beyond marvelous. i see elements of games like kirby's dream land 3 all over this game's aesthetic, colored-pencil like backgrounds and character sprites with a surprisingly acoustic and wind section-heavy ensemble in zun's arrangements. when the intensity ramps up as the climb whisks reimu, marisa and sakuya up from the snowfall and cheeky eastern villages into the sky and beneath the youkai's solemn cherry oak, the music follows suit; songs of dread, songs of triumph, it's all here. the setpieces and deliberate pacing of stages 4 and 6 are an absolute marvel within the medium and genuinely stopped me in my tracks with my prior expectations.
even the boss battles themselves are now pure spectacles - zun has somehow found a way to tell you all of a character's personality through their bullet patterns. it's astounding what characterization this gives bosses like chen, the prismriver sisters, and youmu. not to mention the... legitimate gutpunch of a plot reveal waiting at the absolute end of it all.
another breeze blows blossoms of scarlet and rose through the air. another crisis averted. another soul laid to rest. man. this is the one that elevates touhou to real masterpiece territory.