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ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 8: Dr. Latency's Freak Report We're getting into the entries that were still relatively recent releases when I first encountered the series, and as such were less propagated on the outer fringes of the fandom. As such I didn't encounter a lot of these tracks until I'd already familiarized myself with the main body of preceding works, resulting in me approaching them a bit differently. It's difficult to quantify the effect this has had even to now on my perception of these pieces, and ultimately I don't believe it worth the effort to do so. The Childlike Duo's Naturalis Historia strikes me as an especially well-designed piece, even for ZUN, and serves to me as potent example of his undiminished skill over time. I choose Schrödinger's Bakeneko as my second, even though I can't shake the feeling I've heard its motif somewhere else in the series. Strange Creators of Outer World Vol. 2 While an odd and minuscule release relying completely on remixes, I wouldn't advise passing this over. For some reason, I vastly prefer this version of Last Occultism ~ Esotericist of the Present World, despite its alterations being relatively minor. Perhaps it's the more drawn-out intro emphasizing the tension, maybe it's the slightly lowered tempo allowing the piece to develop better, possibly it's just something in the production quality that I can't put a name to; regardless, this is the definitive version of the piece as far as I'm concerned. Also in this collection is Akiyama's Retribution for Eternal Night ~ Pipes and Fiddle., one of his most unique works in the series. ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 9: Dateless Bar "Old Adam" Similar to volumes six and seven, eight and nine seem to be connected to each other thematically. Unlike the previous titles, however, I think the musical style is significantly divergent between the two. Where volume eight was more focused on atmosphere, volume nine features more intense arrangements (I might make a comparison to the difference between stage themes and boss themes in the main games). The two major exceptions to this are the first and last tracks in the album, though moreso the latter than the former. Old Adam Bar maintains the energy of the previous album with slightly more casual twist, and it makes sense to me that this would be the more popular track. That being said, I sometimes think I prefer Hangover of Bedfellows Dreaming Differently, which contrasts more strongly with the rest of the album as a more staff-roll-esque epilogue to it. Touhou 14.8 ~ Urban Legend in Limbo: PS4 Expansion Yes, I'm cheating. I don't recall seeing anyone else referring to this arguably unprecedented phenomenon of the series as its own unique sub-entry, but as far as I'm concerned it matches all the prerequisites, right down to having its own small soundtrack. And what a soundtrack! None other than beatMario a.k.a. COOL&CREATE of Night of Nights fame provided a remix of Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon in his signature quasi-nightcore style, transforming the serious mood of the original into a crazy roller coaster that still manages to hold onto the sinister tone of its motifs. It suits the melody and theme perfectly, and remains one of the most unique tracks in the franchise. Honorable mention to Unknown X ~ Occultly Madness, ZUN's third take on the motif with just enough stylistic edits to completely transform the piece (seriously, why can't more of ZUN's self-arrangements be more like this or Speed Fox?). Forbidden Scrollery Vol. 6 Again, entries like this are what throw the viability of this format into question. There are three tracks, two of them are arrangements, and neither of them are significantly altered. Likely Bibliophile with a Deciphering Eye would stand out even among more impressive company, but in this context it hardly seems fair. Nevertheless, it's an underappreciated piece, and I won't pass up the opportunity to highlight it.

About time I get back to this. Touhou 14 ~ Double Dealing Character The "Second Modern Era" opened with some experimenting on ZUN's part with new instruments. I don't particularly mind the electric guitar sample itself, nor even its general usage in this soundtrack, but I believe its presence influenced the structure of the compositions in a way which I don't particularly appreciate, specifically in the boss themes of the first half. I don't believe it's the motifs themselves; I've heard great arrangements of them all that establish the better potential they contain. For some reason, I just don't enjoy their original forms. Thankfully, this is only true for these specific tracks. Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat may be more a concept piece, but for all that it's one of the more unique themes of ZUN's repertoire. The extra-stage boss has been often been used by ZUN for more unorthodox arrangements; the results don't always manage to distinguish themselves significantly, but when they do, they often become among the more iconic in the series. On the other hand, Inchlings of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess is as by-the-book as one could ask for, with all the benefits the approach can reward when utilized properly. Touhou 14.3 ~ Impossible Spell Card ZUN's spin-offs feature shorter soundtracks as a rule, and this game began a trend of buffing them out with reused tracks from recent games. Since older pieces are often remixed for newer entries in the series, this used to confuse me as I tried to distinguish between the two. Once this distinction has been made, however, it's easy enough to pick out a favorite. For me, that one is Romantic Escape Flight; I know Cheat Against the Impossible Danmaku is the more popular track, and deservedly so, but I've always preferred its equally high-energy but slightly less ominous twin. Touhou 14.5 ~ Urban Legend in Limbo This entry included community arrangements in its soundtrack, not as a replacement for Akiyama's contributions but as a supplement to them. In my opinion, this was a brilliant idea, both for encouraging community production and for ensuring musical variety in the series. That being said, I can't say any of these official fan remixes impressed me that much. They're perfectly serviceable and enjoyable to listen to, but I ultimately find I appreciate Akiyama's compositions more, even as he reuses elements from his work (and perhaps even because he does this so well). Bell of the Antipodes is my personal favorite, with Occult a la Carte being a close second. ZUN also contributes an especially noteworthy piece, but I have reason to refrain from relating it to this entry. Touhou 15 ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom What do you think I'm gonna pick? To be fair, there's a lot of great tracks in this album from beginning to end, and I can easily understand someone struggling to choose favorites from it. But for me, there's no competitor to Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart; I may enjoy listening to other pieces more, but no composition of ZUN has impressed me more on an artistic level than this track. It may seem a bit unfair to name The Sea Where the Home Planet is Reflected as a second, given it uses much the same melody, but I can't help but appreciate its presentation and atmosphere. As great as I consider the rest of this soundtrack, these two are the ones I keep coming back to. I've got to stop there for now, this still takes too long.