not entirely sure if marking this game as "completed" counts since I only watched a translated youtube playthrough of it, but stories are the bread and butter of visual novels anyways so :P

anyhoo, this game was actually my introduction to lucky star, and it sure was one hell of a starting point. you have stories that are fairly mundane stuff like trying to help out with a beauty contest, and then there's batshit insane scenarios with things like aliens, time travelling and even a friggin' isekai plot. this game is definitely more surreal than the usual lucky star fare and I love it for that

the artwork for the characters are also top-notch, and all of the VAs from the anime return to reprise their roles here, along with a few new ones for characters that never appeared in said anime, such as kou and nagamori. the music is also criminally underrated, with "Jumbled Up Blues" being a particular favourite of mine since it sounds so much like a mario & luigi tune, lol

overall, I'd definitely recommend this if you've already finished the manga and/or anime but still carve more lucky star media, especially since this is probably the closest we'll ever get to a second season of the anime

bloody brilliant game, and my favourite touhou entry so far

the team mechanics give the game a lot of variety and depth compared to the character rosters in the previous games (especially when you unlock the ability to play the characters individually), the time system is interesting and can make continues either more forgiving or punishing than before and the ability to practice spell cards is a godsend. the music is badass as always, with eirin's theme being particularly epic (and also something I first heard in a mario kart wii video, believe it or not)

(reisen is my waifu for laifu btw)

the one that called me a "human failure" after I beat it with a bad ending (seriously, what was with ZUN and being savage back then?)

anyways, this was a good way to end off the PC-98 era, even though the enemy bullets blending in with the backgrounds is an issue that still remains

also gotta love how I died at the very beginning of shinki's fight because of a bug

this was the first touhou game I was able to get a 1CC on, and yet it still told me to kms

anyways, this was a pretty solid entry. the introductions of boss health bars and the focus mechanic were welcome additions that became series staples, and best of all, you don't have to constantly mash the Z key to get the highest rate of fire (which is the main reason I skipped story of eastern wonderland, though I might come back to it)

only real issue I have gameplay-wise was the enemy bullets sometimes blending in too much with the backgrounds