Touhou 13 ~Ten Desires~ DEMO edition

So I was waiting for the delayed Reitaisai to take place on May 8th, the demo for the new Touhou suddenly popped out. At least it was sudden for me. Let’s see what it has for us!

Firstly the gameplay became a bit simpler compared to UFO’s. Which I must say I don’t mind at all, as fun as it was at first, it became as annoying later on to maneuver through the bulletspam and catch just the right UFO in time. The only thing I’d like to mention is the trance mode, which we can enter by collecting enough orbs OR we automatically go trance when we get hit. Why not spam some hardcore danmakus before we let out our final breath huh? So far I like it. The normal mode is much easier than usually, but hard mode gave me quite the challenge, and have to see the killer stages.

Now the game itself.

There are four playable characters this time around, Reimu, Marisa, Sanae and Youmu. Have to say I love (playing with) Youmu. So glad she became a playable character at least.

The game’s theme is obviously what’s beyond the grave, as the name “Shinreibyou – Divine-Spirits’ Mausoleum of the East” indicates.

Stage 1: There’s no real midboss here, just some kind of a nameless ghost/orb/whatever. And as for the boss…it’s Yuyuko-sama! I was quite surprised, though that wasn’t the last time while playing the demo. Good to see her appear, even if just as a stage 1 boss. Stage BGM is called Shiryou no Yozakura (Yozakura of the dead), quite calm, and fitting for the underground, that’s all. The boss theme (Ghost Read) is a bit ominous, but I didn’t like it in particular.

Stage 2: There’s a fresh new girl who we have to face both as the midboss and the boss; she’s called Kasodani Kyouko. She has a very cute design, (liked her fluffy ears, though I can’t figure out what animal or whatever it belongs to). She seems to be set on sweeping the dust from eyesight. Stage BGM is Youkai tera he youkoso! (Welcome to the youkai temple!) it’s playful and has an underwordly feel to it. The boss theme (Youkai girl at the gate) is the most “badass” boss theme as far as the demo goes. I liked it.

Stage 3: Here was another surprise, Kogasa Tatara as the midboss! (she finally managed to surprise someone, I guess). Though have to say I couldn’t make out why she was here in the first place. (Sanae beat her to death? Naw, not likely). The BGM has the same feeling as Stage 1′s, but it’s has a strong traditional-japanese sound. I liked it the most among the stage themes. And then there’s our boss, Miyako Yoshika. She’s a zombie, we could expect one to appear, but I liked it. A cute zombie girl doing the zombie pose! Oh, she also regenerates by her wisps, so going for spellcard bonus can be a pain in the ass. Her theme is Rigid Paradise, it really feels like we’re being invited to a mausoleum, my favorite theme of the demo by far.

That’s it so far, I hope we’ll be seeing the full game in the next Comiket as planned, it’s a very fun Touhou to play, and my guess is that the girls appearing later on will be fucking badass.