Touhou Project

[CRBWildcat]

I've gotten back into the series again, focusing on Imperishable Night this time. Oddly, the Easy Mode for this game is easier than the one for PCB; my first time through, I managed to reach Reisen before losing my first life (although I'll grant you that Marisa did not make things any easier), whereas with PCB I would always lose a life during the course of Stage Four. For those playthroughs that had Reimu has a boss, though, I've found things to be much harder.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

I told you Imperishable Night was easy. But, yeah, I also found Reimu harder than Marisa. I probably could have gotten through her without much trouble if I didn't bother to attack her so I could try to get her spell card, but that's just not happening. ;p As far as I know, though, Reimu doesn't appear as the fourth level boss if you play either the Border team or the Ghost team.

Once I have a remote control again I'm going to practice against the Prismriver sisters until I can figure out how to get through some of their attacks unscathed. The funny thing is, is that I've already figured out how to get through the rest of the stage without a problem, and I can even get past Youmu with relative ease. But I really need to learn to use my bombs if I want to get through Yuyuko, though I think I managed that as I've played Ten Desires. (Not much, though, since it's pretty easy. I even have a playthrough where I beat it on easy without using a single bomb.)

When you get the chance, try out Ten Desires. I want to know if you have the same difficulty using Youmu as I do. ;/

[CRBWildcat]

Maybe at some point. I need to work up the bravery to take another shot at EoSD, but before that I have Youmu and Yuyuko's path in IN to finish.

[CRBWildcat]

Alright, I have three videos uploaded for the viewing pleasure of those who read this.

Be amazed as Reimu gets beat by a vending machine raider and a vegetarian!

Thrill as Hong Meiling defeats Utsuho with a Skittles endorsement!

Cover your ears as I try to sing Yukari to victory... Okay, maybe not. ()^_^

[Crescent Pulsar R]

I heard that cackle when Meiling won the first round. ;p

I finally got the PS3 controller to work with my PC (though it requires both MotionJoy and JoyToKey), and I was thinking of playing Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. But my mind isn't in any condition to figure out what keyboard keys correlate to which buttons on the controller. The Touhou wiki certainly makes it look like a mess and too bothersome for my feeble mind to puzzle out.

I've only tried the PS3 controller on three games so far, and my adaptation to it is... eh. I nearly finished Perfect Cherry Blossom with Sakuya, though. The controller seems to work a bit better in regard to character movement. I saw some improvement with Mountain of Faith, too, even though I haven't played either game in a while. I've been playing Ten Desires almost exclusively before, and I did fairly worse while using the new controller.

[CRBWildcat]

I heard that cackle when Meiling won the first round. ;p

Thanks. If I'm playing as her, I always try to finish a round with Roc Fist or Roc-Killing Fist if I can. Personal quirk, I guess.

I finally got the PS3 controller to work with my PC (though it requires both MotionJoy and JoyToKey), and I was thinking of playing Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. But my mind isn't in any condition to figure out what keyboard keys correlate to which buttons on the controller. The Touhou wiki certainly makes it look like a mess and too bothersome for my feeble mind to puzzle out.

Eeesh. How many buttons does that controller have, anyway?

I've only tried the PS3 controller on three games so far, and my adaptation to it is... eh. I nearly finished Perfect Cherry Blossom with Sakuya, though. The controller seems to work a bit better in regard to character movement. I saw some improvement with Mountain of Faith, too, even though I haven't played either game in a while. I've been playing Ten Desires almost exclusively before, and I did fairly worse while using the new controller.

Still having a minimal amount of success using Youmu?

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Thanks. If I'm playing as her, I always try to finish a round with Roc Fist or Roc-Killing Fist if I can. Personal quirk, I guess.

I had one of those once, for Tekken. With Xiaoyu, I liked to finish the fight when she back flips, lands in a sitting position on the opponent's shoulders, and smacks them in the face (or something like that).

Eeesh. How many buttons does that controller have, anyway?

More than enough. The same amount as my other controller. Once I actually figure out which buttons are what, using the controller shouldn't be a problem. While the site has a short list for correspondence, actually knowing what the keys/buttons do is made into a riddle below. ;/

Still having a minimal amount of success using Youmu?

I didn't even bother to try her with the new remote yet. I tried Reimu and Marisa, to get familiar with how the characters I know I can handle well respond to my input via the new controller, and it wasn't all that well. It seemed to work better for PCB because I only lost to Yuyuko because of a few stupid mistakes on my part, even though I'd done better up until reaching Youmu despite the new controller and not having played the game in a while. I also had someone watching me play, a rare occasion due to an even rarer visit by an extremely rare acquaintance I know. I was a nervous wreck by the time I lost my last life with only ten seconds to go on Yuyuko's final-final (because one final wasn't enough) spell card.

[CRBWildcat]

I had one of those once, for Tekken. With Xiaoyu, I liked to finish the fight when she back flips, lands in a sitting position on the opponent's shoulders, and smacks them in the face (or something like that).

Ah, funny.

More than enough. The same amount as my other controller. Once I actually figure out which buttons are what, using the controller shouldn't be a problem. While the site has a short list for correspondence, actually knowing what the keys/buttons do is made into a riddle below. ;/

Reason I asked is because it's been years since I've last laid eyes on a Playstation in person (any of them), let alone the controllers. Last time was back in... 2006 or early 2007, I forget which.

I didn't even bother to try her with the new remote yet. I tried Reimu and Marisa, to get familiar with how the characters I know I can handle well respond to my input via the new controller, and it wasn't all that well. It seemed to work better for PCB because I only lost to Yuyuko because of a few stupid mistakes on my part, even though I'd done better up until reaching Youmu despite the new controller and not having played the game in a while. I also had someone watching me play, a rare occasion due to an even rarer visit by an extremely rare acquaintance I know. I was a nervous wreck by the time I lost my last life with only ten seconds to go on Yuyuko's final-final (because one final wasn't enough) spell card.

Eh, give it time. Things'll work out... somehow.

On any and all future attempts at EoSD, I'm not going to use Marisa anymore. Both available weapons make it difficult for me to focus on shots that are incoming, blue ones especially. My most recent try had me down to two lives before I could get past mid-boss Sakuya, at which point I got fed up and stopped the game.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

The controllers really haven't changed, as far as buttons and analog are concerned. Visually identical, too.

Poor Marisa. Her focus shot in Ten Desires creates an obscuring cloud where it hits stuff, but it's manageable. Funny thing is, I was thinking of using Marisa the next time I played EoSD. Hoping to kill things faster with her. ;p

[CRBWildcat]

When I tried her, that was my intention. My problem was that in the second half of the game, the enemies were taking her out faster than she could take them out. Usually, if I'm careful, I can beat the first three levels without losing a life. After that, well... you know the rest.

I watched my only replay of EoSD (the one where I actually survived long enough to reach the 6th stage before continuing) for another look at Sakuya's mid-boss patterns. There's a way through them, that much I can tell, but I don't have the coordination or the patience to pull it off.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

I think one or two of Sakuya's spell cards are the hardest in the game (not including the extra stage) because it's hard to figure out the pattern when there are so many knives going in so many directions. With many spellcards you can pretty much count on the bullets to go down in one or three directions at once, in such a way that you can anticipate where they will go. But Sakuya's knives cover so many vectors that they appear random and thus undecipherable; it's difficult to see the pattern when there are so many pieces to put together. X_X

[CRBWildcat]

Yeah, tell me about it. I've heard it said that in those cases you should just focus on avoiding those aimed specifically at you, but it doesn't change the fact that there's still so many.

It had been a while since I last made any effort to play it, so last night I tried my hands at Mountain of Faith's Normal Mode. Using MarisaC, I fared much better than I had in previous attempts; I was about 9/10ths of the way through Kanako's last spell card. Just a little bit further, and I would've won my first game on Normal without the use of continues. It's gratifying, but also a bit frustrating.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Well, if it makes you feel better, I've been there twice now. XD

I probably would have completed one of these games on normal by now, but I'm playing them rather sporadically and I don't stick to one long enough to build up enough familiarity when I get back around to one of them. And at the moment I'm considering putting some serious time into SWR so I can figure out the controls, get used to them, then actually try to get through the story mode.

[CRBWildcat]

A word of warning: the first few times, Tenshi's final spellcard will be an absolute pain.

[Crescent Pulsar R]

Is that the one where the ground starts to rise?