Rainbowsphere

Ohcrap! I was late on the news! It seems that this coming Reitasai would be expected enough for the next Touhou game on the notch, aside from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody by Tasofro.

The Demo Title Screen

Here’s the translated page from Zun’s blog entry, courtesy of Gensokyo:

[Touhou Chireiten ~Subterranean Animism~]

As always, 300 yen.

Since it’s a demo, I didn’t want a huge fanfare, so I’m announcing it quietly.

As always, the demo will be three stages, with no Practice Mode and no Extra Stage.

Story:

“With the spouting of geysers, the spirits of the Earth emerge. Reimu and Marisa are fine with it, but the youkai can’t allow this. Sluggishly, they go underground, to the source of the disturbance. Sealed deep within the earth are youkai with a detestable ability… what will the pair do this time?”

…or something like that. Same as always.

This time around, you can chose youkai you like. I tried to create the feeling that Reimu and Marisa are borrowing power from the distant earth above. Up until now, there hasn’t been much difference in playing style between characters, but this time, chosen youkai have different abilities that seriously impact playing styles, so players should be able to see the pros and cons of using different characters clearly.

Since actively engaging and destroying enemies will make playing a lot easier, this might be the first time where playing at a higher difficulty might actually be more simple.

Depending on what youkai you choose, the dialogue might change into something like rapid-fire stand-up comedy.

On the technical side, I’ve added the option of changing window sizes. If your computer is good enough, your window can be about twice as large as normal. In addition, you can also adjust input sensitivity and a host of other options.

Screenshots:

The demo will be up for free download after Reitaisai 5.

Judging from the screenshots, we can make a few guesses:

1. Graze is back.

2. Faith, or some other third item, will make an apperance.

3. There seems to be something similar to a cellphone signal strength meter in the corner. Perhaps this denotes the extent to which Reimu or Marisa can be aided by her youkai partner above ground.

3. Two new bosses. The two spell cards are “Trap Sign [Capture Web]” (2nd screen) and “Flower Bloom [Envy Towards a Dazzling Man].” (3rd screen.) Names can’t be made out.

4. Two different power meters, set at 4.00 and 8.00 respectively.

5. MoF bomb mechanism will probably be used.

Currently no set release date.

And the news was up at the end of April! Argh! That 13-day internet blackout did it, and it’s frikkin’ retarded! I hate it!

RAGE TIEM! WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

Ah, well, no use crying over spilt milk. Moreover, SWR is also a viable game to expect, though I do hope it’s less crappier in interface compared to IaMP (which is really better IMO), and it’s still possible at this rate and time. It’s been delayed for how long, updated for how much, and it still falls short to what IaMP players seek in a Touhou fighting game: a good set of rules to play and kick ass with. No wonder 80% of the people I talk to say they preferred IaMP over SWR just because the set interface isn’t that good, and the button and move designations hardly compare to versatility. And I thought I was alone!

Anyways, back on topic, TH11 looks like it’s going to rock, but the MoF interface that’s planned to be implemented kinda discourages me. It’s hard to use bombs that decreases power everytime you use it, all the more if a boss ain’t going to be affected. To cut it short, it’s going to be another round of power-decreasing lifesavers. But what piqued me is the enhanced power meters. Player-Youkai power, perhaps? Then if it’s so, what does the cellphone meter on the corner explain?

Sigh… I was late in news. But if Enjoy April Fools comes up as a viable title to play, I can live with it. Damn moonland bastards…