Ten Desires's soundtrack is one of ZUN's most experimental, and divisive, in the franchise. It also happens to be one of my absolute favorites. It goes in a more trance-heavy direction that I absolutely love, and paved the way for a more techno-centric feel for the next few installments (which I also happen to be quite partial to). Ten Desires has such a distinctive and comfy soundfont that makes for a unique sounding game in all the right ways.
Spirit Of Avarice
Easily one of the best title themes in the series, only second to one we'll get to very short. It's less intense like the PC-98 ones and more exciting, fast-paced, and catchy. The grumbling bass, groovy piano riffs, and brisk percussion make for a real banger of a track.
5/5 Stars
Night Sakura Of Dead Spirits
At The End Of Spring is a high bar, but Night Sakura Of Dead Spirits comes impressively close to topping it. It's so peaceful and pretty, from the soft piano opening to the comfy saxophone lead to the trance-heavy instrumentation. It's an amazing song already, but Ten Desires's stellar bass elevates it to something truly special. I can't understate how much I love this game's soundfont.
5/5 Stars
Ghost Lead
Ghost Lead is nonstop ZUNpets from start to finish, and I've definitely heard of some finding the track too loud because of it. Personally, I don't really care, this track slaps either way. The melody is catchy and intense, the ZUNpets are powerful, the bass is once again immaculate, and that faint acoustic melody in the background really holds the song together. It makes for my personal favorite of the Stage 1 boss themes.
5/5 Stars
Welcome To Youkai Temple
I love how jumpy and off-kilter this track is. The main verse is bouncing all over the place making for a really atmospheric and tense Stage 2 theme. The ZUNpet/flute chorus is also stellar, super ethereal and enrapting, but the highlight for me has to be those jumpy synths in the background. Once again, Ten Desires' soundfont is so good that it manages to elevate a track all on its own.
5/5 Stars
Youkai Girl At The Gate
This is often regarded as one of the more forgettable boss themes, and yeah, I can kinda see it. It's pretty short, but I do still love the main melody and how dark it is. The pan flutes that pop up every once in a while give the track a lot more flavor, and repeat after me, the bass is really freaking good.
4/5 Stars
Let's Live In A Lovely Cemetary
My second favorite Stage 3 theme behind Gensokyo The Gods Loved, it's so comfy and calming. The piano intro is absolutely ethereal, the main melody is so cheery and catchy, and the decision to use flutes and woodwinds as the lead instrument makes for a track that's just plain pleasant on the ears. But despite that, the fun and bouncy instrumentation keeps the song moving as a brisk pace, especially when the chorus comes around. As I've been saying, I think Ten Desires is the best-sounding Touhou soundtrack, and Let's Live In A Lovely Cemetery is probably the best example of what I mean by that.
5/5 Stars
Rigid Paradise
Despite being considered one of Ten Desires' best tracks, Rigid Paradise has always come across as the sole weak point for me. It goes for a spooky Halloween vibe not unlike Satori Maiden, but it just doesn't feel quite as catchy or well-composed as that one. However, I don't dislike this track either, I can at the very least admit that the chorus is amazing and carries the song quite a lot with its great ZUNpet usage.
3/5 Stars
Desire Drive
The easy fan favorite of TD's soundtrack, Desire Drive is every bit as good as people say it is. There is so much to praise here, from the blisteringly fast pace to the addictingly catchy melody to the echoing percussions to the stellar piano solo. It's an amazing song on its own but it's even better in the stage proper as the background speeds by and enemies show up by the dozens, it's so empowering. Desire Drive is easily one of the best Touhou songs and a track unlike anything else in the franchise.
5/5 Stars
Old Yuanxian
Old Yuanxian always kinda felt like a Pokemon battle theme for some reason? Like it's so frantic and fast-paced, throwing so many instruments into the mix while still sounding perfectly coherent. You got flutes, heavy synth, pounding bass, insane piano, all culminating in one triumphant and intense head-banger of a chorus.
5/5 Stars
The Hall Of Dreams' Great Mausoleum
What a stunning theme, so ethereal and calming. The way Great Mausoleum builds throughout is masterful, starting off with a comfy focus on piano before adding in energetic percussion and UFO saxs to give the track a bit more energy. I also have to give praise to the beautifully echoey trance mix, probably my favorite in the game.
5/5 Stars
Legend Of The Great Gods
While not one of the craziest Stage 5 boss themes, Legend Of The Great Gods sounds suitably rustic and historic due to its usage of violin and almost broken-sounding synth. The main melody is pretty good, but it's the muted instrumentation and brisk background riff that really make it for me.
4/5 Stars
A Small Desire's Starry Sky
The best Stage 6 theme before Voyage 1969, this track takes Ten Desires' unique techno sound and brings it into borderline rave territory. That pulsing beat is so catchy and intense, giving the track so much gravitas befitting a final stage, but on top of that, there's a godly synth-heavy verse with one of the most flat-out epic melodies and a powerful saxophone chorus to cap off the track. It's not super long but I can listen to A Small Desire's Starry Sky for hours, it's criminally underrated.
5/5 Stars
True Administrator
Speaking of underrated, True Administrator is given a lot of flack for not really having a super powerful ZUNpet chorus to cap it off like all the other final boss themes do, but I think it's great. It may not be as obviously climactic as in some other games, but True Administrator feels powerful and climactic in subtler ways. From the tense and energetic opening riff, to the heavy electric guitars, to the dramatic main violin/sax melody, to, of course, that soaring high note that caps off the track.
5/5 Stars
Youkai Back Shrine Road
Definitely one of my favorite extra stage themes, it's such a bop. It's fast-paced, exciting, those piano chords are immaculate, and that ZUNpet chorus is super catchy and hummable, especially near the end. But on top of that, I love how grimy it sounds, from the icky-sounding instrumentation to the muted synths.
5/5 Stars
Futatasuiwa From Sado
Continuing this hot streak, here's one of my favorite extra boss themes too. Futatsuiwa From Sado fits Mamizou so damn well, it's so carefree and upbeat while still having a hint of menace to it. The instruments are on point too, with a blend of ZUNpets, flute, shamisen, and that lovely Ten Desires bass making for an absolute treat to the ears.
5/5 Stars
A New Wind At The Shrine
Leave it to the Ten Desires soundfont to once again liven up the Theme Of Eastern Story. This would've been your average ending theme if it weren't for that amazing deep bass beat, giving the track way more energy and drive to it.
4/5 Stars
Desire Dream
I mean, it's Desire Drive again but a bit slower and lower-pitched, and with the bouncy synths from Welcome To Youkai Temple thrown in. Did you think I wouldn't love this one?
5/5 Stars
As for the characters in Ten Desires, they're once again pretty alright. Not one of the strongest casts in the series, but like with UFO, it has some of my absolute favorites.
Kyouko Kasodani
You probably saw this coming from my Mystia review, but I adore Kyouko for pretty much the same reasons. On her own merits, she's a fun and memorable second boss with a likable personality, cute design, and fun fight. But it's the fact that she teams up with Mystia to form a punk band that really elevates her for me, it's just such a cool and adorable bit of canon that I can't help but love. I do prefer Mystia for her design, theme, and the lamprey stand, but Kyouko isn't far behind.
5/5 Stars
Yoshika Miyako
I'm not a fan of Yoshika. Sorry, I know she's popular, but it's not that deep. Ultimately, I'm just not really a fan of zombies (even though she's technically a vampire? Jiang Shis are weird). I won't deny Yoshika is a well-designed Jiang Shi, but that doesn't really mean much when I'm not big on the archetype to begin with.
2/5 Stars
Seiga Kaku
I never really found Seiga super memorable outside of one specific aspect: How shamelessly evil she is. Seiga is the cruelest member of the Touhou cast by far, a manipulative hermit who treats Yoshika like a pet and will cross any line to get people to convert. There are no sympathetic sides to Seiga, and she's not even likably evil at that. For some, this makes Seiga repulsive, but for me, it's the one thing keeping her interesting.
3/5 Stars
Soga No Tojiko
Too bad I can't say the same about Soga, as since she's a mini-boss, there isn't really much to her outside of being a ghost, which inevitably means she'll be compared to Mima. I think Soga is okay, her design is solid and the lore of her dynamic with Futo is pretty fascinating, but there really isn't much else to her.
2/5 Stars
Mononobe No Futo
One of the most interesting things about the Taoists in this game is the fact that they were revived after over a millennia, and the differing ways in which they adapt. Where Miko flourishes in her new time period, Futo kinda struggles a lot. Her inability to adapt to modern times means she sticks with a conversative mindset and has a bit of trouble communicating since she's still speaking in archaic Japanese. It's a classic fish out of water scenario, which I do find super endearing. Also, boat.
4/5 Stars
Toyosatomimi No Miko
Miko is a very fun main antagonist with a lot to love. Her design is sick, her rivalry with Byakuren is a ton of fun, her laid-back nature despite her status is likable, and she does a much better job of adapting to her new time period than Futo does. And on top of that, her origin is easily the most fascinating since that of Kaguya since Miko is in fact a gender-swapped reincarnation of the legendary Prince Shoutoku (to put it in perspective, that's like our Joan Of Arc). The hilarious implications of the fact that Miko chose to reincarnate as a girl is just the icing on the cake.
5/5 Stars
Mamizou Futatsuiwa
After thirteen games, we finally get a goddamn tanuki, and holy cow did Mamizou live up to all that hype. Out of all the "prankster-type" characters in Touhou, Mamizou is my favorite (a high bar considering Tewi and Luna Child exist). She's cunning, clever, smug, and immensely likable due to her laid-back nature. You can tell ZUN is partial to her too since she played pretty big roles in both the fighting games and Forbidden Scrollery. On top of that, her design is great, always love to see some glasses rep especially in a series that doesn't have much of it.
5/5 Stars
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