It's been a while since I made that post about my first experiences with the Touhou games, and since then, I've been playing a lot more of them. I got around to checking out all the Windows entries up to and including Unconnected Marketeers, including many of the spinoffs, and my opinions on the series has changed quite a bit the more I played them. So, I wanted to make an updating ranking of the Windows Touhou games, from least favorite to favorite:
18. Violet Detector
Violet Detector is actually really close to being one of the best spinoff games because structurally, it strikes a nice balance between the photo games and ISC. You have to defeat each opponent, but you need to snap at least one photo to clear the stage. It's also a bit more generous with progression, at least in the early game, so new players won't feel stuck on the first or second day. However, the big issue with Violet Detector is that it lacks the thought and polish that Impossible Spell Card and the other photo games have. Once again, you're given an arsenal of items to use but that doesn't mean anything when a large chunk of the spells you're put up against are very obviously taken from previous games rather than be tailored towards the use of these items like in ISC. And the spells that are tailored around a mechanic are based around Violet Detector's new teleport mechanic, which controls horribly. Not only is it a fixed distance, but you activate it by tapping Shift twice. You know, Shift, the focus button. I could see the potential in Violet Detector, if it had the same care and attention that Impossible Spell Card got, I could see myself liking it even more. But as it is now, it's a spinoff that is pretty obviously rushed.
17. Undefined Fantastic Object
Undefined Fantastic Object is the hardest game in the series and not in a good way, which is a real shame because it makes some real strides over the last two games. The bomb mechanics are back to normal and bosses give you a life piece regardless if you captured the spell card, but none of that really matters when the game is smothered by one of Touhou's worst gimmicks: the UFOs. During stages, UFOs of three different colors fly across the screen, and if you collect three UFOs of the same color, you can get life pieces, bombs, or... another UFO? However, you can only hold up to three UFOs, so you need to be on your game grabbing the right color at the right time while also dodging the usual bullet patterns. It's hard and it starves you for resources unless you've perfectly memorized the UFO layouts, which is bad because Undefined Fantastic Object's boss fights are brutal. Obsessed with lasers and employing gimmicks that often flood the screen with bullets, UFO's bosses feel a bit too bonkers for their own good, preferring pure spectacle and scope over the puzzle-y mind games of SA's tougher fights. And between the frustrating UFO mechanics, brutal boss fights, and lack of resources, you get a Touhou entry that is just not fun to play past the third stage.
16. Great Fairy Wars
Great Fairy Wars is simultaneously really easy and really hard at the same time. It uses this freezing mechanic where you can freeze bullets in front of you, which is at times borderline necessary since some of the enemies and bosses will send walls of bullets your way. However, the freeze also has a charge to it not unlike the photos, so you basically need to chain bullets perfectly for the entire stage lest you get yourself trapped. It's a mechanic that I'm sure could be really fun if you come to grips with it, but it's just not really my thing. And that's a shame too because I love how it's an spinoff of the Touhou Sangetsusei manga. Getting to fight the Three Fairies Of Light, seeing Luna's triangle mouth in full color, it's pretty cool stuff and it's a shame I wasn't that huge on their game.
15. Shoot The Bullet
Shoot The Bullet is the first of ZUN's spinoff games and while it's not the worst, it lacks the quality of life features of Double Spoiler or the accessibility of Impossible Spell Card. This game is brutally hard, between having to spend large chunks of time dodging the same patterns, needing to find a safe spot to snap a photo, and dealing with the fact that you are controlling one of the fastest characters in the series. Needless to say, I couldn't get too far in this one. It's definitely not a bad game, it's pretty polished, the music is great, and there are some pretty unique patterns, but it's just too hardcore for me.
14. Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil
While I have warmed up on Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil as a game, there's no denying that it probably hasn't held up the best. The lack of a hitbox makes things harder than it should be, the bullet patterns can feel a bit all over the place at times, the Easy Mode implementation is ridiculous, and the visuals can look a bit... crusty would be a kind way to put it. However, it's still a pretty fun bullet hell if you can look past all that. You can kinda feel ZUN improve over the course of the game because pretty much every boss is better than the last. Rumia is the low point as far as the bosses go, Cirno and Meiling are already noticeable improvements, and once Stage 4 and the Patchouli fight kick in, the game becomes pretty uniformly fantastic until the end. EoSD also does a lot right on a presentation level, with a charming story, an incredibly memorable cast of characters, and an iconic soundtrack. I genuinely think that if we got a remake of this game that would fix some of EoSD's weird quirks, it would stand out as one of the best games in the franchise. As it is now, however, it's a good game that's held back by some early installment weirdness.
13. Double Spoiler
Double Spoiler is definitely an improvement on Shoot The Bullet in a lot of ways. It controls better, the difficulty curve is slightly less sharp, the music is better, the bullet patterns are more interesting, you can shoot vertically, there are two characters, and bosses can change their patterns mid-stage so the game doesn't feel quite as repetitive. However, Double Spoiler is still a brutally difficult game even with all these improvements and changes, and thus is one I haven't been able to make much progress in.
12. Phantasmagoria Of Flower View
I wasn't sure if I'd like Phantasmagoria because of how different it is. Rather than being a standard level-by-level shmup, it's more like a fighting game crossed with a bullet hell. You have to shoot down fairies and projectiles and launch attacks at your opponent, who of course does the same to you. It's definitely not a perfect game, having a charge shot means you can't just hold down the Z button to shoot, the AI is inconsistent, and the projectiles can get pretty random, but I had a really fun time with this one. It's chaotic as hell, and it manages to merge stage and boss gameplay in a surprisingly natural way. And the final two opponents, Komachi and Shikieiki, are genuinely really great bosses, especially Shikieiki whose "police fairies" were a very cute touch. There's a bunch of multiplayer modes that I can imagine being pretty entertaining, the soundtrack is great, the cast of characters you can play as is fantastic, Flower View is just a really fun entry in the series if you can adjust to its unique style of gameplay. Screw Lily White though.
11. Mountain Of Faith
The second Windows generation is my personal favorite era of Touhou, at least on an aesthetic level. The music was at its best, the casts were iconic, the fanbase was at its peak, everything about the fighting games leave me so nostalgic... but it did make some odd choices gameplay-wise. Being the first game made in the ZUN's second Windows engine, Mountain Of Faith establishes a lot of the stuff I love and don't love about the generation. Let's start with the positives, though. Compared to its predecessors, the controls in MoF are smoother, the backgrounds are prettier, items are easier to collect, and you can use the Point Of Collection line whenever you want. Layout-wise, it's pretty damn solid, with some memorable bullet arrangements like Sanae's stars and waves and the waterfall forms in Stage 4. On top of that, MoF also has one of my favorite casts, one of my favorite stories, and a beautifully lush autumn atmosphere. With a short length and reasonable difficulty (though still tougher than 7 and 8), it's a very comfy entry to go back to.
However, MoF also introduced some of this generation's more divisive features, like infinite continues that reset you at the beginning of the stage and bombs being tied to power. The pros and cons kinda depend on the time. The infinite continues help if I want to push my way to the end but aren't great if I just want to do a quick run, and while the bombs aren't that bad in this game due to the buffer and their ability to collect items, they work noticeably better in the stages than in the boss fights. On top of that, the lack of grazing, poorly-balanced Kanako fight on easy mode, and the existence of MarisaB (which, granted, I absolutely love) give off a slight unpolished feeling. Mountain Of Faith is a nostalgic game and I love everything about its presentation, but gameplay-wise, it has enough little issues to prevent it from being one of my absolute favorites.
10. Hidden Star In Four Seasons
While I've made it clear that I think ZUN's recent soundtracks have declined a bit, his recent games are some of the best the series has ever been. Super polished, perfect difficulty, and boasting some of the finest mechanics of them all. Hidden Star In Four Seasons gives each of its characters unique weapons based on the four seasons, and with four characters, that adds up to a whopping 16 combinations, absolutely wild in terms of customization. This seasons mechanic even gets used to great effect in the final boss fight with Okina, who has her own attacks based on the four seasons and even steals your own season for her final spell, essentially winning and becoming the extra stage boss. Okina's final fight is phenomenal, so good in fact that it kinda makes you forget that the rest of the game is pretty basic. While there are some pretty great bosses earlier on (Aunn, Mai/Satono), HSiFS remains pretty easy and doesn't really pick up in difficulty or complexity until Stage 5. Hidden Star In Four Seasons is a good game with loads of customization and an amazing finale, but it's not one that really sticks with you.
9. Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom
Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom takes the series in a new direction, ditching the arcade style progression for Touhou's equivalent to Super Meat Boy. LoLK is the hardest game in the series, but its new Pointdevice Mode checkpoints you throughout the stage and for every spell card so lives aren't really a thing. This allows ZUN to go absolutely nuts with the bullet patterns and I love it, with Clownpiece in particular being one of my favorite fights in the series for just how bonkers it gets. LoLK's atmosphere and tone is also particularly great, with an extremely dark story, one of the most personal character conflicts thanks to Reisen's subplot, and an incredibly intense soundtrack. The highs Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom reaches are soaring, but it does fall off pretty hard near the end sadly. I've made it clear that I am not a fan of Junko. She's an underwhelming final boss story-wise, and easily my least favorite boss in the series due to her bland micrododge-heavy pattern. Thankfully, Hecatia does pick up some of the slack... if it weren't for fucking Junko coming in to get involved at points. My other gripe is that there's still an arcade-y mode in Legacy Mode for a game that's obviously not designed for it, but I mean, it's not like I have to play it. Still, I love most of LoLK and it's a testament to how good most of the game is that I can look past one of the franchise's lowest points.
8. Double-Dealing Character
In terms of its story and cast, Double-Dealing Character hands down my favorite. I adore every single character here, from the Grassroots Youkai Network, to the musical instruments, to the fascinating Seija and Sukuna. The story takes a slightly darker turn without feeling un-Touhou, and we even get a great followup in a certain spinoff that I put farther up the list. I'd also argue DDC has some of the best moment-to-moment gameplay in the series, with a lovably busted weapon lineup and an incredibly clever mechanic where you can gain Bomb and Heart pieces by using the Point Of Collection line. It turns gaining resources into an entirely skill-based task, and is so engaging yet simple that I'm stunned no other game does this. As far as the rest of the game goes, though, DDC is fun but definitely a bit uneven at points. This is easily the most gimmicky entry in the series and while I do like a lot of its more experimental design choices (Sekibanki's heads, the Tsukumo fights, Seija), there are definitely a few spell cards that I find a bit annoying (You Grow Bigger, Kagerou's Pounces). Still, even with a few rough spots, Double-Dealing Character is a criminally underrated entry in the series that deserves more praise for all the stuff it does right.
7. Ten Desires
Look, I know Ten Desires has its issues. Resources are hard to come by as compensation for the slower-than-usual bullets, spirits staying where they are forces you to go to the top of the screen or near a boss, Trance Mode activates upon death rather than on command, and everything about Yoshika sucks. But despite all that, there's just something about Ten Desires that really works for me. For starters, while the bullet patterns are pretty slow and easy, they're consistently creative and memorable, especially in the boss fights. As a matter of fact, Yoshika aside, Ten Desires has one of my favorite boss lineups. While 12 and 14's gimmicks can be a bit much at times, 13's gimmicks are consistently really fun and inventive, from Kyouko's sound walls to Seiga using Yoshika as a shield to Futo's boat. Stage 4 onward in general is probably one of the best second halves in the series, with a fantastic final boss fight with Miko ending things on a high note. On top of that, Ten Desires also brings back the Spell Practice mode, and its weapon lineup is especially inventive, with the highlight being Youmu's unique sword-based weapon. But what really elevates Ten Desires for me is the ethereal presentation. From the eerie green/blue color palette, to the hauntingly beautiful backgrounds, to the trance-heavy soundtrack, Ten Desires's entire aesthetic is an absolute vibe. Ten Desires may be a bit easy and flawed, but it's one of the Touhou games I just have the most fun with. It's just so comfy.
6. Wily Beast And Wicked Creature
He did it! ZUN fixed the UFOs! Wily Beast And Wicked Creature introduces the Animal Spirits mechanic which is similar to the UFOs but fixed pretty much every issue I had with them. There's now a buffer of two extra slots so there's a bit more leniency in the spirits you grab, the spirits boost your power or defense rather than give you resources, and not getting matching spirits will still give you a defensive barrier (hey, they fixed Trance Mode too!). It's the perfect example of how much better rewarding someone for playing well is than punishing someone for playing badly. And on top of that, the less gimmicky and slightly simpler bullet patterns mesh far better with the animal spirits. But this mechanic doesn't trivialize the game either, WBaWC is still a tough cookie and enemies have higher HP stats to counterbalance the absolute power trip that is using the animal spirits. As a whole, WBaWC is just a balls-to-the-walls Touhou game in all the right ways, with a gritty aesthetic, bombastic weapons and spirit-related special attacks, and a final boss so spectacular and blood-pumping it had me fist-pumping the air by the end. Easily one of the most pure fun entries in the series.
5. Perfect Cherry Blossom
Perfect Cherry Blossom was the first Touhou game I ever played, and man, what a first impression. While Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil was fun but unpolished, Perfect Cherry Blossom pretty much perfects the formula and offers the purest bullet hell experience in the entire series. The supernatural border gimmick only ever adds to the gameplay, giving more leniency to newcomers and a higher score opportunity to veterans. The difficulty curve is on-point, and the bullet patterns are as thoughtful as they are beautiful, punishing rash decision-making while still being entirely fair. The visuals and atmosphere, marking the border between winter and spring, are absolutely stunning too, aided by one of the most ethereal soundtracks in the series. But most of all, what makes Perfect Cherry Blossom stand out is how many memorable moments it had. The sheer shock I had at watching Chen spin around at the speed of sound, Alice taking out her dolls during the boss fight, that lengthy fourth stage that often had me pinned to the wall, Youmu's time stop and her last stand, Yukari's Boundary Of Life And Death, and of course, Yuyuko's final spell that I accidentally walked away from during my first playthrough because I forgot it existed. I've beaten and even 1cc'd harder Touhou games, but nothing felt more satisfying than getting my revenge on Yuyuko. Perfect Cherry Blossom is a phenomenal entry in the series, and the game I will always recommend to new players first.
4. Impossible Spell Card
Out of all the photo spinoffs, Impossible Spell Card is far and away the best in pretty much every aspect. The main premise is that Seija is wanted after the events of DDC and is pitted against spell cards that are seemingly impossible, so she's forced to cheat by using a variety of items she had stolen, from Aya's camera, to Yukari's umbrella, to Reimu's orb. Figuring out which item is most effective for each spell essentially turns ISC into a puzzle bullet hell of sorts. There's so much replay value here, since the game keeps track of how many items you've beaten a spell card with, you can level up the items to be even more effective, there's the first achievement system in the series, and a skilled player can even beat all of ISC without even using the items to begin with. This feels like the perfect iteration of the photo concept, between integrating shooting, shortening the stage lengths over Aya's games, the puzzle elements forcing you to think through each spell card a bit more thoroughly, and how the impossible spell card gimmick means ZUN couldn't just settle for reusing spell cards, he had to build them around ISC's gameplay.
But the amazing gameplay isn't even the tip of the iceberg here but Impossible Spell Card's presentation is stellar. The UI is slick, the soundtrack is gritty and fun, and the story is hands down my favorite in the entire franchise, and a big reason why Seija is my favorite Touhou character. It's both a fun John Wick-esque wanted story and a surprisingly personal exploration of how Seija's amanojaku nature affects those around her, culminating in one of the most emotionally confusing endings I've ever seen, a perfect fit for the Seija game. I'm not huge on most of the photo spinoffs, but Impossible Spell Card is so well-crafted that it stands up with the best the series has to offer.
3. Imperishable Night
Imperishable Night is simultaneously one of the most accessible games in the series, and one of the least accessible games in the series. On one hand, this is a very easy Touhou game, one of the few that I've been able to actually 1cc. On the other hand, it has a lot of systems at play that can leave a newcomer confused. That's why I was a bit split on it initially, but once I tried to learn the game and realized just how much it offers, I've grown a lot more fond of Imperishable Night.
Imperishable Night's time points system involves you trying to get close to enemies and bullets to give yourself more time to get to the final boss, with skilled play netting you way more "continues" than you would in any other entry in the series. Despite this, IN in particular does a lot to incentivize the player to not use continues, most notably by locking its second final boss behind it. Due to its easy difficulty, I'd say Imperishable Night is the perfect game for practicing 1cc runs, only aided by the existence of the incredibly fun Spell Practice mode. Of course, this game also has the awesome team system where you get to play as four teams of two characters at once, and when you add in the multiple paths, Imperishable Night might just have the most content of any Touhou game. And that's not even getting into the game itself which is also fantastic. While not super challenging, Imperishable Night has a lot of incredibly fun and memorable boss fights and setpieces, like Mystia's darkness, the Reimu/Marisa fight and chase, Reisen's lunatic eyes, and Eirin's inventive positioning-focused bullets. There's never a dull moment, no stage or boss drags too long, this is a perfectly paced Touhou game. And the night-time atmosphere is phenomenal too, with one of the best soundtracks in the series and some really striking music/stage-syncs. Imperishable Night has so much going on and it's so easy to revisit and play a round of. While I did have my gripes with it at first, it's slowly risen up to be one of my personal favorite entries in the series.
2. Unconnected Marketeers
I was not expecting Unconnected Marketeers to be one of my favorite Touhou games, but damn, this is amazing. Unconnected Marketeers nails pretty much everything in terms of gameplay. The bullet patterns are memorable, pretty, and fun to dodge. The difficulty is perfect, tough but fair. It's so well-calibrated that it's the only entry in the series where I feel like I went into some sort of flow state while I was playing it, pulling off dodges and manuevers that I didn't even think I was capable of. I even managed to 1cc this one somehow? And the bosses, holy shit the bosses. Every single boss in UM is spectacular, with memorable and varied attack patterns that are a blast to figure out. Misumaru's ying-yang orb spam is the highlight, but Megumu's lasers are a close second, and the final boss Chimata's penchant for homing attacks puts Junko to shame (while also being way more fun, of course). The level and boss design of Unconnected Marketeers is masterful, and I haven't even gotten into the main mechanic yet.
Unconnected Marketeers takes a page from roguelikes by introducing a Card mechanic, where you can purchase a variety of cards in a shop in between between stages. These cards can buff your stats in a variety of ways, but you can also buy an extra life or bomb if you're more focused on surviving. Money for the shop replaces the blue point items, which I'm pretty content with since they're usually not too useful if you don't go for score, and you get a unique selection of cards each time you play. This gives UM an insane amount of customization and replay value since each playthrough is different and the game keeps track of all the cards you've bought. It should be obvious by now that I love Touhou games that give you a lot of customization, so I adore the cards. It's a blast to experiment with different cards to see what builds work for me, and seeing all of the easter eggs and references to past games on the cards themselves just make me happy. Is it broken? Sure, there are totally some builds that will let you destroy the game completely, but that's all part of the fun. With top-notch stage and boss design, perfect difficulty, an incredible new mechanic with a huge amount of customization and replay value, a lovely rainbow-themed aesthetic, and one of the best stories and casts we've gotten in years, Unconnected Marketeers is the complete package, and a new high point for the Touhou series.
1. Subterranean Animism
Subterranean Animism is a brutal game. It has made me scream, swear, and rage quit, but it is also undeniably the finest game ZUN has ever made, and one of the greatest bullet hells of all time. More than anything, it all comes down to how brilliant and inventive the bullet patterns are, with spell cards and enemy layouts so maze-like and complex that they feel more like puzzles to solve than simple bullets to dodge (now do you get why ISC is one of my favorites?). There's the boulders in Stage 1, Yuugi hanging around in Stage 3, the ghosts that encourage you not to shoot in Stage 5, and that's just in the stages! The boss lineup is absolutely stellar, easily the strongest in the series, from Parsee's tracking bullets, to Yuugi's shields, to Satori's lasers and nostalgic spell cards, to Orin's respawning ghosts, to Utsuho's giant suns (probably my favorite final boss despite also being one of the hardest), to Sanae and Koishi's grids. It all makes for an endlessly engaging experience. But even outside of the bullet patterns, SA does so much else right. It brings back the partner mechanic from Imperishable Night, the weapon lineup is one of the most unique and off-the-wall in the series, the life system strikes a good balance between fair but not cheesable, and grazing is used as the basis for the scoring system. Sure, SA does bring back some of MoF's features like the bomb and continue systems, but the rest of the game is so impeccably crafted that I'm willing to look past it. And on top of all that, the presentation is stellar, from the myriad of unique and haunting biomes that keep the subterranean setting feeling fresh, to the top-notch character lineup, to hands down the series' best soundtrack. Subterranean Animism is ZUN's magnum opus on pretty much every level, slick, brutal, ambitious, inventive, and always a ton of fun.
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