Touhou (Not so) Review (More like a how to win guide): TH15 (Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom)

TH15 (Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom)

Yep, as written above. Not so review, more like a "how to win" guide. I would tell how the mechanics works but for the plot.... it might take some time since I can't actually read Japanese character properly. 

Alright. Since I have skipped all the games from Touhou 7 to make it all the way here (just to make it stay fresh since it was just released just 2 weeks ago), there are some new mechanics that are introduced in the game and also some that was carried along in the previous ones. First things first. There are 2 mode that could be chosen for the story mode which is the point device mode and legacy mode. Point device mode is the is the new mode introduced to the series where the player will have only 1 life where once you got hit by the bullet, Poof.! Game Over. However, bombs can be stack easily in this game and also, the game can be continued at anytime (it is save able) and also, unlimited retries. On the other hand, Legacy mode is the same old mode as the previous games.

As for the old mechanics, The heroines will be required to collect specific item piece to obtain either Bomb or 1up piece. However, this game's new mechanics demands the player to prioritize on grazing bullets.... for survival. I'm not kidding. The more you graze, the more lives and bombs you can obtain. Another new mechanics where the stages are divided into distinct chapters so that the player's performance can be assessed. By the term "assessed" this is where the graze count, total percentage of enemies that was shot down, will be shown and the player can obtain bonuses such as extra points and extra life or bomb piece if the requirements are met. Based on my play through, at normal stages (not boss battles), collecting 200 graze will give the player a life piece (for legacy mode) or bomb piece (for point device mode). As for the boss battles, I'm not really sure so I will try to collect 250 graze so that I could also farm since this game is REALLY hard.

Ok, Now is my review and comments for the Heroines for the play through.

Reimu: Has homing bullets when unfocused (mild area of effect, AOE damage) which is good for stage clearing, might be difficult against bosses since she has low damage. Small hitbox makes her slightly harder to hit bullets. She will be strong for most stages but will have difficulty against Stage 4 boss.

Marisa: Extremely focused firing and high damage. Unfortunately, she has minimal AOE which makes her very hard for stage clearing and also hitting mobile bosses. She will be very strong against Stage 3, 4 and 6 boss but very badly countered at stage 2 and 5 boss.

Sanae: Very strong AOE damage and also target locking bullets. Extremely easy to clear stages but moderately hard on boss battle that can summon other enemies such as stage 4 boss since the target locking ability will be used to kill the minions instead of the bosses. Has very strong bomb and also long channeling time . Players can abuse it to collect graze as much as you can because during channeling period, Sanae is already invulnerable. 

Reisen: Moderate AOE due to wide bullet pattern and also moderate focused damage. She has a so-so damage but overpowered bomb. Instead of dealing massive damage, her bomb will clear bullets around her within a small radius and also activates 3 barriers where Reisen can hit bullet 3 times without dying. However, the drawback of this bomb is that her hit box was enlarged significantly and bosses in this game will throw in heavy danmaku so.... it will still bring a  big challenge. Oh wait. Her having large hit box, she can easily graze bullets so she will be the easiest to farm lives and bombs. I would use her due to high survivability

Below is the record of my game play stream from youtube

UPDATED: Extra stage cleared (sloppy win though)

Some spell cards are still hard to memorize but I managed to pass through half of them so... Enjoy my not-so-nice game play (It was hard man) Whew
Last but not least, Clearing the game in easy mode gives you the bad ending though it still unlocks extra stages.

Here is the link to the game

https://mega.nz/#!CcAVQShD!cxslVCfV3nCBsicR34BXuoEP7WVnOMDE8YAwvrJiUYU

That is all for this week. I will have finals this weekend until 3rd Sept so stay tuned for the next weekend. Bye~

Touhou Review: TH07 (Perfect Cherry Blossom)

TH07 (Perfect Cherry Blossom)

Here it is, the 7th game of the series and the 2nd game that was platformed on windows. The story now is about Gensokyo having an extended winter even though it is Spring. As usual The heroines went out to find out who is the culprit behind this. There is a new playable character introduced in the game which is  Izayoi Sakuya, the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. These girls have their own reasons to find the culprit which later stumble upon a familiar character, Alice Margatroid. Later the heroines were told that the cherry blossoms are being gathered by someone... which they don't know. Somehow, the heroine noticed that even up in the clouds have cherry blossom petals which later on finds the gate to another realm, Hakugyokurou. After entering the realm, there will be a decisive battle with the ones who  is collecting the springs from Gensokyo which is the gardener of Hakugyokurou, Konpaku Youmu. She is a half human, half ghost so her character design looks quite awesome, having a human body with her ghost essence accompanying her. After a decisive battle, The heroine avanced to the point where all the spring was collected and found a youkai cherry blossom tree, Saigyou Ayakashi. Over there, the heroine meet a ghost girl, Saigyouji Yuyuko. She stated that she wanted to revive the tree to make it bloom again where it will release the soul that was trapped within the tree. After the long battle (It is long), she was defeated and the soul trapped from in the tree somehow was released and it happened to be Yuyuko's soul but somehow got defeated as well. 

For the Extra stages (Yes. Stages) the heroines was told that Yuyuko's accomplice was the one that was behind the scenes for weakening the borders, allowing them to take away  the spring from Gensokyo. Her name is Yakumo Yukari, living in the borders of Gensokyo. However, her Familiar, Yakumo Ran, a kitsune will be the one facing the heroine instead of Yukari because she is still in her slumber. That is why this game has 2 extra stages. For the "phantasm stage" it will be the duel between the heroines and Yukari. She is considered as one of the strongest youkai in the series so.... plotwise, it will be one of the greatest battle between humans and youkai.

This game has special mechanics and also adopted mechanics from touhou 5 as well. First is the cherry blossom points. Upon collecting 50000 points, it will activate a barrier where the heroine is invulnerable for a short time. upon hitting a bullet in that state or pressing bob, the barrier will breaks and all bullets in the screen at the moment will be wiped out. However, if the barrier remains untouched until the timer goes out, the player will receive bonus point. Dying will halve the stack points. The mechanics that was brought from the past is  where collecting specific number of blue item piece gives 1Up. Lastly, each heroines have different default bomb counts. Reimu has 3 default bombs, Marisa has 2 while Sakuya has 4 (which also makes Sakuya the most broken one in this game).

Here is the video of the game play (I got 4 videos instead so... ):

Stage 5 Boss Youmu Konpaku. She uses sword as well

Stage 6 Boss. It is quite hard

Extra stage. She is a Kitsunemimi (Fox-eared girl)

Phantasm stage. Honestly, extra is harder

To me, this game reduces the strength of the bombs compared the previous game. Back in Touhou 6, bombing destroys most spell cards. This game, bombing is almost used only to clear bullets since it does not deal that much of the damage to the enemy. Other than that, the game is  not that hard except stage 4 and final stage. Oh yes. clearing the game on easy mode gives you the good ending unlike Touhou 6.

Here is the link to the game

https://mega.co.nz/#!eZgVHKiZ!P7v0imFG3k0kfdXEc9b72Q8PcHoQne5aJSUUEHWhstM

Ok, For the next review might take some time since it is not a damaku game but a 2d fighting game. It might take 2 weeks so stay tuned. see ya!

Break Blade: Best damage effects I've seen

Hey again everybody. Sorry for the long absence. I... had somewhat of a writer's block I guess. That's all I can say about me for not writing for well over a month. Oh well. At least I'm here now. I... will try to keep a regular upload for every Wednesday. I'll try. For now, let us look into this gem of the past, Break Blade.

Uh... again, for those of you wondering about the title there... Yes. This is the same show. Break Blade. Broken Blade. Its the very same show. I... think the title is a little bit of a direct translation of the japanese title and "Break Blade" is the official english title or something. Don't make such a big fuss about this. Heck even in the anime most of the people called the Delphine (that's the main character's mecha by the way) Broken Blade due to the shape of its horn. So there you have it. One confusion solved. 

This is the infamous black golem, Delphine. I can't really help but wonder what in the world was the creator of this mech was thinking. I mean really? A pointy back that doesn't actually have ANY combat or tactical advantage with the chance of the fin being stuck in the ground if the Delphine actually fell backwards due to some heavy impact (Hell I really think if it just fell down on its own the back would still get stuck in the ground). Other than that its really quite a fine mech. Good suspension system for its legs, some camouflage on the shoulder joints, hard inner torso frame to protect the pilot (I give this one credit. Simple, but important in my opinion) and it also have its own gyro stabilizing mechanism that balances the mech if it is knocked off either on its own or by enemies. Okay sorry for that... very unrealistic outlook on the Delphine. Moving on.

Break Blade is set in a world where everyone has the ability to manipulate "quartz" which is called "magic". In a sense its literally like electricity. They put the quartz in machine parts and such and manipulate those parts to make the machine work. The story focuses on events revolving around these four people. Rygart, an un-sorcerer (it means he can't use magic) who was heavily persecuted all his life and just so happens to befriend all these great people PLUS one hot bespectacled girl in a military academy. There's Hodr who is Krisnan's King, Sigyn who eventually became Krisnan's queen and Zess, the younger brother of a renowned Athens general. Just so you know... Athens is invading Krisna. Shit happens and suddenly Rygart is protecting Hodr and Zess is fighting Rygart. Sigyn... is the eyecandy for spectacles lovers like me.

Now what I would like to highlight in this anime is that if you look closely the damage art is so damn awesome. You can actually see the rust lines in the mechs (in the anime they call them golems but whatever) all the little chips due to prolonged usage and the damage due to the weapons is on a level that would make you think those gundam animators aren't really doing their jobs. It may not be able to challenge that "Blue Eyed Casval" 3D space fight at the intro of the movie but yeah to me its very very nice. There's also that classic melee handsome fight vibes in this anime that I like a lot. You don't really get these fights anymore these days. What's more, Rygart can't use the bolt guns as he can't manipulate quartz so his fights are always one of a kind. Hey. He's a civillian who doesn't even have the ability to manipulate quartz. If he screws up once or twice, you really ought to give him a break, you know.

I guess that's about it for Break Blade. Good mech fights and good concept with outstanding damage effects. If there's anything I don't like about this anime its that I have to read the manga to know the whole story and that I can't just wane away and watch the anime (yes I am that lazy. Someday maybe. Someday.) These are the two things I like most in the anime. Hodr's owl (So cute omg). And Hodr's wife. I. Want. Those. Ugh....

See ya guys next Wednesday.

P/S: Look at that. Those spectacles. Those... ugh.

Heads up for Touhou 15 Full Release (and mini review on its demo)

Hey guys, this upcoming Friday will be the day of the release of the latest title for Touhou Project which is Touhou 15: Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. It also  happened to be the on the same time around this weekend, which is the Comiket 88 dated 14/August 2015 until 16 August 2015.Yes. This weekend. What's new in this game is that there are long-awaited heroine to be in a danmaku game since the release of Touhou 8 which is Reisen Udongein Inaba. She is one of the bosses in Touhou 8 and also a playable character in later fighting game titles (which will be reviewed within this summer season)

She is a bunny-eared girl ^_^

Another good news is that the demo of the game has been released for quite some time so you can get it from here. The demo consists only the first 3 stages. However, on my opinion, this will be the hardest Touhou game on windows platform. I mean.... it is really really hard. I have played most Touhou games and also beaten most o hard mode and extra stages. But this, it takes extreme concentration just to pass the first 3 stages. I wonder how hard it will be to beat the rest of the remaining stages and also their extra stages.

I have 2 videos of the boss battles and... you guys be the judge if it is hard or not

First stage boss battle

Third Stage boss battle

Alright, that is all for the mini review. Stay put for its release i this weekend and. See you guys Tomorrow or the day after that for Touhou 7 review. Bye~

The fastest and the strongest

The fastest ship, Shimakaze and the strongest fairy, Cirno having a relay race together. The theme for this art is sports day. Both of our beloved characters are enjoying the race, as Shimakaze passing the baton to Cirno and aiming straight to the finishing line!

WIP Cirno

Cirno profile

Shimakaze profile

Blue colour version

Touhou Review: TH06 (Embodiment of Scarlet Devil)

TH06 (Embodiment of Scarlet Devil)

Ok, this is the sixth official touhou game and the first one that was released on the Windows platform. Not only that, the game now introduces new, improvised mechanics and also better audio experience than the previous one. As the player, you can now choose the window size to be in full screen or in windowed 640x480 mode and also BGM format which is in .wav or .midi. The other new mechanics is the focused shooting where the characters can shoot different type of bullets once the player presses shift for slowing the characters movement. Lastly, the item collecting  region. Upon getting Full power (by collecting 128 power up piece in total) the character can collect all the point piece, power up piece, bombs and also 1Up piece (if available on screen) just by moving the character to the top of the screen. It is risky to hover to the top of the screen where enemies pop out and also leave the player vulnerable to bullets so pick a good timing to collect. Being too greedy might end up losing one life. The controls are also the same as most touhou danmaku games but with additional button function which is the "ctrl" button where it freezes the game to 0 fps. Maybe this button is just to allow new players learn the movements and the behavior of the bullet, allowing them to learn to pass through difficult battles. Note that this will affect the score of the game play since there are penalty for slowing down the game. This is because the game has Fps counter on the bottom left of the screen and it starts giving penalty if the game runs below 60 Fps.

The story is quite simple where Gensokyo is suddenly being enveloped by a red mist (also known as the scarlet mist), blocking the sunlight from reaching the lands. The heroines (Reimu and Marisa) as the playable character will find the source of the anomaly which soon discovers the culprit at the Scarlet Devil Mansion which is a vampire named Remilia Scarlet. Each characters will show different endings so I suggest playing all the routes (though it is rather difficult for new players since the player can only see the good ending on Normal difficulty and above). Few days after the event (extra stage), the heroine once again visits the mansion and found out the place is quite... in havoc where the heroine will meet the little sister of  Remilia Scarlet, Flandre Scarlet. She was locked up in the mansion for about 495 years and never see human before so it is time for them to play.... a bit.

Below are the screenshots and videos of the game play.

Title screen

Self-proclaimed "Strongest in Gensokyo" she is quite strong once you played Touhou 12.8

 Clearing a spell card without dying or bombing gives bonus points

Stage 4 boss: Patchouli Knowledge. She is quite a difficult boss since it is a prolonged battle

Stage 6 boss: Remilia Scarlet. Her battle is quite intense. see the video below

Stage 5 boss game play. Imagine time stopping abilities in danmaku 

(Sorry for the sloppy game play since I was rushing when playing this)

Stage 6 game play

My old replay on Extra Stage. Enjoy

In my opinion, the game is not that hard. Though bullet density is higher than the previous ones, it is not as fast as before. However, for people who wishes to see the good ending, the have to pass through the normal difficulty. That is what makes it hard. I could still remember my early days of playing this game and struggling like hell on easy mode... just to see the bad ending. Like all other touhou games, practice and you'll make it.

Link to the game: (moriya shrine)

https://mega.co.nz/#!B193xZaK!qr6a7oOW2YEY9KBzS9BvdJbf-RV-yiDb4fJ6L6f6tVw

Since it is platformed on windows, after downloading the file, simply extract and play. For mac or linux users, wine could be solution (not verified whether it is able to play all touhou or not) but use it at your own risk.

I guess that is all about Touhou 6. Next review will come up next week. Bye

Reset Kalar scale figure

Recently, I've went to Tanygrisiau, North Wales for a geological fieldtrip. I've decided that I might as well take one of my figurine to have a nice photo session. Unfortunately, the harsh weather atop the mountains prevent me to took Reset Kalar for a nice trip up there. I've decided to travel to a nearby meadow and have a photo session of her accompanied by the beautiful greeneries instead. It turned out to be a great idea. Reset beautiful figure compliment very well with the green plants, and as a result I managed to took several lovely pictures of her.

"Alicesoft's most popular female character, finally joining the figure world!

Alicesoft ran a poll on their official website in order to select the most popular female character from their games, with the winner to be made into a figure! The mysterious Reset Kalar from Rance Quest took first place in the poll, and has now received her prize by being made into this lovely figure!

A special illustration by the series character designer, Orion, was made specially for the figure, which has now been faithfully transformed into a figure! She is posed with a cute expression across her face as she runs forward while elegantly holding her dress up. Pasel Kalar, the queen of Kalar, is also included as a small ghost to display together with Reset!"

source: Good Smile Company 

Now then, let's watch Reset happily enjoying the scene of the beautiful greeneries around her.