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| Arngrim 308th Post
 
Bronze Customer
 
    
|  "Re(6):Touhou nes rom hacks" , posted Fri 18 Jan 16:49
quote:
I only played some of the demos and it's been a while since I last checked 'em so I dunno which is the latest game.
The last game released is Tōhō Fūjinroku 'Mountain of Faith', which is officially numbered as the tenth installment of the series.
It has been really subversive due to ZUN announcement of wanting to go "back to the basics". The roster has been cut (back to only Reimu and Marisa playable from 8 characters in Imperishable Night) and the basics dramatically reduced and tweaked (e.g. a new bomb system, changes in the slow gameplay, et cetera).
Despite of that fact, the public has warmly received the new stages, characters and music (which I love, by the way, specially Nitori's and Sanae's themes).
There is actually a myriad of characters in this saga (i.e. a bunch of lolis) and a numerous variety of doujin games besides the main series paying tribute to classics such as Megaman, Super Mario Bros and Captain Tsubasa, most notably the 2D fighting game Inmaterial and Missing Power, which is soon going to have a sequel.
For those curious about the extension of the Touhou phenomenon, you can check the Touhou wiki or the Touhou Image board.
But I still want to quench your thirst.
Because I am the one that put you into the desert.
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| HAYATO 840th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
   
  
| "Re(9):Re(10):Touhou nes rom hacks" , posted Tue 22 Jan 22:39
quote:
Shmups aren't supposed to play like Guilty Gear.
Well, perhaps you are trying the wrong shooters, but I usually play them this way and I achieve pretty decent scores (I failed to beat any Touhou game at all, besides Perfect Cherry Blossom)...
I've said this before, but the problem with Touhou is that it assume you are always playing for score, hence it does alot of that forced grazing which looks impossible unless you know the exact spot you need to be.
My problem would be why can't games like Under Defeat be as popular? Oh wait..."it lacks moe"
It really bugs me that a game with so many problems can get away with so much just because it has lolis.
Yeah, but you should also take into account the fact that Touhou games are fan-made, unlike the vast majority of shooters. Moreover, they're made by a single person, so that's why I think people is so indulgent with Zun's games (well, the loli factor is determinant as well, we all know how delicious they are)...
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| Arngrim 313th Post
Bronze Customer
| "Re(9):Re(10):Touhou nes rom hacks" , posted Wed 23 Jan 00:22
quote:
My problem would be why can't games like Under Defeat be as popular? Oh wait..."it lacks moe"
It really bugs me that a game with so many problems can get away with so much just because it has lolis.
Don't understimate the power of the lolis!!
ZUN has been working on Touhou for many years, and his reputation has steadily increased Comiket after Comiket.
The danmaku game mechanics have appealed to the shoot'em up consumers, which is a really niché but loyal market.
Besides, the cast of characters plays an important role in the series: it's a likeable (although flat and simplistic) party which appeals to the moe community, who, in turn, create a snowball effect by creating doujin material which further expand the saga (they even celebrate their whole convention The Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai since 2004, which has been regarded as the largest doujin con).
Furthermore, the fans emphasize the music. ZUN has released some music cds as well. IMHO, he is a great composer, and his style is really characteristic. I must personally admit that I'm a big fan of his music.
With this, the point I'm trying to make is that a large part of the Touhou fan community care little about the score system, as they are casual gamers that happen to be attracted to Touhou universe. Think of the lurkers on the imageboards.
This case is somewhat similar to the Type-Moon case and the Higurashi case to a lesser extent.
But I still want to quench your thirst.
Because I am the one that put you into the desert.
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| sfried
92th Post
Occasional Customer
| "Re(7):Re(10):Re(10):Touhou nes rom hacks" , posted Sat 26 Jan 06:18:
quote:
I don't understand the disdain for having scoring systems in shooters! I loved Ikaruga very much.
It's not about having a scoring system. It's having a system in which you are always being forced to play for score and can't simply just play for survival. This game always assumes you're some graze-crazed maniac and tosses everything into your path except for small gaps in the middle. At least Ikaruga avoided that by letting you switch colors if you felt the bullets gaps where too overwhelmingly small. In other words, it had safe-zoning. Kind of like in Under Defeat where they fire a small spreading barrage at you save for a small gap in the middle. You can choose to avoid the entire barrage by avoiding it completely, or wait for it to spread and sneaking inside the gap for more points. The was a certain balance of risk-reward that did not feel antagonistically pinned on you.
The second problem I have with Touhou is how it seems to against building your own strategy. Yes, I understand certain games like Contra and whatnot require a certain amount of memorization, but even those games are flexible in letting you devise your own approach. Touhou doen't, and this isn't fighting the same fodder enemies in new levels with very little variety makes progression feel like a chore. It's so anti-progressive in its design that I can't help but feel it's being specifically cattered towards those masturbating fanboys who keep up with this kind of anachronistic design.
Edit: Note that I do understand where ZUN is coming from with his design. He wants to used grazing-based reward mechanism to add benefits other than point bonuses and multipliers, and streamlines it further by making his entire system revolve around that. At the same time, however, because of his bullet patterns and bomb-penalties, it makes it hard for someone to digest his games piecewise in order to advance since it always makes you fight for your score and not with your life. ZUN is almost ignoring the very fundamental nature for a player to survive first before even caring about such things like scoring. And not everybody's good at grazing.
I just find it unfair that a game with obvious problems gets #2 in the list of best doujin shmups out there.
[this message was edited by sfried on Sat 26 Jan 09:19] |
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