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If you've already played a few of the games, I recommend reading the game manual. They aren't long to read, and you'll be sure the information is accurate (unlike watching Memories of Phantasm, which is made by fans and has a lot of made-up stuffs from "fanon". THe chronology is also all over the place in the anime. You go from 7 to 6 (flashback) to 12 (teaser) to 9.5 to 9 to 12.3 to 8 to 10. Few explanation as to who's who, I can only recommend to people already familiar with the games). Starting from Touhou 7, the game manual have more detailed background for important characters (a lot of which is not mentioned in the actual game at all. Mokou's story is way more complex in the manual than in the game). You can find the translation on the wiki if I am not mistaken. If not, you can find them on the translation site: https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th07#Outside_the_game. It's the characters settings.txt file (sometime, it's in the omake.txt file). Reading the mangas is fine. I don't have particular recommendation. Characters will pop-in and out, but you should be able to follow. After that, you could read the wiki, but personally I recommend saving this for last. While the wiki has a lot of information (including from obscure print-works), it's also the most boring way to discover the characters and the world.

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i installed megahack v5 then i had no internet then i uninstalled megahack v5 then the internet got back moral of the story: don't hack

I think Wild and Horned Hermit is the most suitable Touhou media as an introduction to Gensokyo and its characters while still telling a story of some kind. There a nice variety of arcs showcasing different aspects of Gensokyo observed by the hermit Kasen as its main character.

All cards on the table, I chose this soundtrack for listening solely for the alpaca/llama (how does one tell?) on the cover art. After a couple tracks, I determined it was worth planning a feature for, and here we are. Accredited to one José Ramón "Bibiki" García (quite the title), Arco is what I would describe as "western" in style, although I'm aware that the term is a bit out of date. The instrumentation for all but the high-energy tracks (presumably combat) is primarily that form of folk blending Spanish and American styles. I find it strange how I've not previously reflected on the ambiguity of distinct origin for this genre, and I wonder how much history lies behind it. Almost every piece relies heavily on acoustic guitar, though there is a notable presence of oboe in some tracks. On the other hand, the aforementioned high-energy pieces are tonally distinct from the rest of the OST, consisting of heavy rock with electronic elements. While these compositions exhibit the same degree of quality as the rest, I question the cohesiveness of the collection; some pieces integrate suitably, but others seem to contrast rather sharply with their surroundings. It may be that they work better in-game, but I'm not particularly interested in checking. On a final note, there is a selection of Spanish vocal songs scattered through the soundtrack. My habit is to seek translations of songs I can't understand, but I was unable to find a proper source for any of these. I'm including one anyway, as representative of the OST, but be aware of my lacking awareness thereof.

Upon hearing my answer, the Baku sighs a sigh of relief, like she was threatened to give me this offer, rather than accept it without violent concern. When I enter the courtroom, I am met with a face I haven’t seen before, but the name of the person that face belongs to is too familiar… Eiki Shiki, the Yamaxanadu of Gensokyo. “Heaven, Hell and Meido now reside in the same place, which is something that should be fixed”, one of the apparitions of a Yama says. “But the only place that can be used currently is the Netherworld, and they won’t have enough space to seperate the three places”, Eiki rebuts, “Old Hell has made its own kingdom; and the way to the only heaven I know of is not in control of the Netherworld.” “I understand your concern for the livelyhoods of other people, but they shall be ruined if you don’t fix it immediately.” The way this conversation sounds… It’s less like a dream and more like a conversation over the phone. I didn’t care enough to note any changes in temperature here, for dreams follow their own logic, but it can be that this place is… no, it’s not enough for me to distinguish that… “…I’ll try the diplomatic option first, but I don’t think the Gods of the Mountain nor the Kingdom of Old Hell will accept the proposal”, Eiki says. “When they don’t, you will attack them with everything you have, right?” “…Of course, ” And I wake up in the second Eiki’s mouth made another sound, so I could’ve maybe heard something more about the other Yamaxanadu there. Something is certain though: I have no time to waste and a mistress to warn of the impending danger. \------------------------------------------/ HP: 144 MP: 19 (-7) No crippled body parts Experimentation time! -> Though the poor soul who is going to be put into my experiment is going to be less than happy... Warn the Mistress. -> That is if she listens to it. Weaponize the vengeful spirits. -> Which is probably illegal at this stage but what other choice do I have? Attempt to negotiate a middle ground for the two sides of parliament. -> Only a united front can win a battle.

Going into this series, I was under the impression that Metroid was a franchise focused on action-adventure with a sci-fi theme. As I've listened to its music, however, I've come to realize it's far more focused on suspenseful atmosphere, which it has accomplished quite well. Where my expectation initially caused me confusion with Fusion (heh), my adjusted perspective enabled me to fully appreciate the soundtrack of Metroid Prime. Interestingly, Kenji Yamamoto from Super Metroid seems primarily responsible for this soundtrack, assisted by Kouichi Kyuma (I find this intriguing given how the other composer for Super Metroid worked on Fusion instead). While there is a strong focus on ambience, the music is not without progression and melody, albeit in subdued capacity. The balance is delicately maintained, and defines the soundtrack's identity in establishing the atmosphere. Higher-energy combat tracks do not betray this focus, being composed dynamically and otherwise in keeping with the general tone. Despite not having very many noteworthy motifs overall, I can recognize the quality of this soundtrack, and appreciate having experienced it with the proper expectations. Addendum: Upon further reflection, I realized how similar this music was to that of Subnautica, both installments. While clearly ambient, melodic progression is still central to the compositions, being able to fall into the background or provide satisfactory accompaniment according to the situation. I can't help but wonder if Chylinski and Prunty took inspiration from Metroid Prime, not necessarily for Subnautica directly, but perhaps as part of the development of their respective styles.