/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Oh don't mind us, just being the best Touhou house.

What's this? An actual gameplay thread?

I seem to hold the least popular opinion here. UFO's system is actually more generous than any of the other games', but it takes a lot of getting used to. You really have to hurry up and slow down to take advantage of it, but every UFO is a full screen clear, as well as (possibly) more than a full bomb. Using this system, leaving stage 3 7/7 isn't unheard of.

The patterns themselves are extremely fun at times, and complete bullshit other times. Stage 5 is the biggest offender of the latter, but Byakuren is mostly filled with honest challenges. Murasa is also ridiculously fun, and Kogasa is definitely my favorite character at this point. The Extra stage is kind of eh; the stage itself is hellish and forces you to use rainbow UFOs to your advantage while still amassing lives for Nue, who is brutal but extremely fun. Overall, I'd say the game is slightly below my favorites, PCB and PoFV.

Yes, yes, PoFV single player sucks. If you play against other people though, there's a lot of room for strategy. All the characters provide for a great deal of variety in the patterns, especially considering the increased focus on random barrages. When you're not feeling like the game itself cheated you out of a victory, a hectic match feels like an accomplishment whether you win or lose. It's really one of the best Touhou experiences you can have.

And while I'm making tiers. SA is just barely below PCB, EoSD sits with UFO, IN blows, and I haven't played MoF enough (or recently enough, for that matter) to pin it. That it's not with IN means it's either with EoSD and UFO or just below them.