/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The Sleeping Terror!

I tend to flipflop between LLS and IN.

I consider Lotus Land Story to be the easiest game in the series, and as such I find it relaxing to play. I also have some personal connections to it because it is the first game I 1cc'd.
Outside of gameplay, it hosts some of my favorite songs in the series, such as Alice Maestra and Lotus Love, and it has an atmosphere that contributes to its relaxing nature. The limited color range and hollow sounding instrument choices create feelings of isolation and surrealism, fitting as Gensokyo is the the land of illusions and fantasy. HRtP, SoEW, and TD also have a very similar atmosphere, though.

Imperishable Night feels like one of the most complete Touhou games. I greatly enjoy the team/character switching gimmick and have much fun playing as the igood, idual characters. Although it could have been implemented better, I like the idea of having branching paths and two final bosses. This game introduced spell card practice and (I think?) is the only game to include last words, which is a neat feature for completionists to go after. The danmaku is also enjoyable and strikes a good balance between accessible and fun.
While fleshed out in later entries, this game introduced my favorite cast in the series, with many of my favorite characters such as Eirin, Mokou, Keine, and Reisen. While not my favorite, the soundtrack is also pretty damn good, with its fast paced songs contributing to the "race against the clock" concept and creating a more tense atmosphere.

Might as well include my least favorite. HRtP is a shitshow. With its frustrating gameplay, unbalanced difficulty, and some of the worst controls of a game I've ever played, it is by far the least enjoyable n the entire series. Its saving grace is its soundtrack and atmosphere, which is similar to LLS.