Hello all welcome to my multipart review. I plan to( or attempt to) play through all the official Touhou games in more or less release order, and then give my thoughts on that particular game.
Even having been a fan of the franchise for a considerable period of time, most of my interaction with the series has been surface level and limited to fangames and nonofficial works. Overtime I gained more interest in the series and wanted to take a swing at the official games. It was then, upon participating more on the forums, that I got the idea for this little review; although, it might not be the most original idea, I felt it would be a fun little project.
and thus begins the first of hopefully many more posts on this thread.
The first game I decided to play was Touhou 8. The reason for starting with 8 rather than the first game is simple, I wanted to get used to the danmaku format before I threw myself into the wolves, and it was through some light research(a video) that I determined 8 was the best for beginners. I would love to cite my sources for such a conclusion but sadly I can't find the video.
Now review time!
It would be a lie to say that I didn't enjoy this game,
I have spent what feel like multiple days playing 8 and I have to say it is a lot of fun. It is a rare for a particular genre of game to capture my interest so intensely let alone one infamous for it's difficulty. I struggled a lot initially to gain any headway, but each attempt I got better and better, and I could tangibly see that I was improving. Which only got me more invested into the game. I started paying more attention to the story, learning the mechanics. All until I got my first clear. I can't even being to describe how rewarding it felt to beat Erin for the first time. Needless to say I enjoyed the gameplay and I believe I will be a danmaku fan for a long time to come.
But the gameplay wasn't the only thing I enjoyed. As mentioned prior I become more invested in the story and characters. Every character felt completely unique in design and personality; Although, some did stand out more than others, non overstayed their welcome in the spotlight. I definitely understand the hype with Reisen.
I personally thought the music in this game is fantastic and hope that them of enjoyability remains the same throughout all of the other windows generation games. I even might have found a favorite in Lunatic Princess, but that could change in the games to come.
I think my conclusion on this game is pretty clear, I loved it and look forward to returning to the modern danmaku format after exploring through the retro games.
On that note,
This has been Ballast, thanks for reading and stayed tuned for my adventure through Touhou: Highly Responsive to Prayers. I hope to see you there!