Is touhou suppose to be so goddamn hard?

[Mino ☆]

One thing that helped me get better in Touhou was to challenge myself and try new things. When I was a normal mode player, I thought Hard mode was impossible and never actually wanted to move up. But after a friend convinced me to try hard mode, I realized that it wasn't so bad, and that it was very approachable. Of course, play at your own pace. There's nothing wrong with the lower difficulties if that's what you're comfortable with.

Also. Don't fall into the trap of expecting true consistency on everything all the time. It's a bad habit I always take up and causes me to stop having fun while I play. We're human. We'll make stupid mistakes and have bad days. Sadly, this mentality is what caused a friend of mine to quit Touhou. He was actually pretty decent...

[leo412]

Alright, finally beat Double Dealing Characters on the second try with Reimu A.

But with 1 continues...

Basically in the second play, manage to play through stage 4 without loss of live, and GOD damn stage 5, the enemies start shooting like boss!

And the boss... OMG the inverted control, have to spam bomb.

Finally loss all the life in the place where stage 6 boss make you bigger...

[Zerviscos]

New to Touhou series, just started yesterday playing Double Dealing Characters.

Did you start playing DDC as your first game? If so, you don't need to play the PC-98 games first though, but I'd recommend you play atleast the first Windows game first, which is Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

First stage: :3 Not as hard as others said~ No problem~
Second stage:  Still manageable, lost one life
Third stage:  WTF

Play on Normal a few times if you want. Then go straight to Hard/Lunatic.
Frankly in my first Touho game, which was EoSD. I improved on Hard, then after 1 cc in Hard, went on to Lunatic.
After that every succeeding game in the series was pretty easy on the first few levels in Hard and Lunatic.  But I still will die in the games. I just try my hardest to get 1 cc.
If you think you can handle the stages on Hard and/or Lunatic, the problem only lies in the Bosses' spell card once you get the hang of it. It just requires some memory and prediction.

When I first play a new Touhou game now, I always start on Hard.
Only Touhou game I could never finish is the first one ever, which is Highly Responsive to Prayers. It's not like the Touhou you know, that's why it's hard.

If you want to have an easier play through. Use Reimu A or B. Either one's fine, since probably her unique feature, her small hitbox is what makes her rather easy to use, and can score some good Graze points.

[Cheez8]

Play on Normal a few times if you want. Then go straight to Hard/Lunatic.

Ha haaa, I don't know about this advice. If you're somebody who's dead-set on doing well or improving at every game they play, then maybe the advice is for you, but personally I don't see a problem sticking to Normal for a while. Or Easy, really, though I still hold that Easy generally doesn't present enough of a challenge for me to enjoy it anymore. If you're having fun playing through whatever mode you're playing on, go ahead and stick with it. If you feel like you're not improving enough to clear whichever mode you're on, challenge the next difficulty up for a while. You'll get better at the game and maybe start doing better on your usual difficulty.

Of course, this advice is more for if you want to have fun at whatever skill level you're at, and don't really care as much about how quickly you improve. It all depends on how you like to play. As somebody who sticks to Normal or Hard Mode most of the time (and has rarely actually reached any Stage 5 in Hard Mode) I can vouch that sticking with easier modes does not take away from the fun. Not until you get comfortable enough that a particular difficulty starts being too easy, at least, but I don't see a reason to rush that process.

[Sylian]

yep it is got to stage 2 on my first ten desires run (yesterday) now after 12 hours of non stop playing I can (sometimes) clear a normal mode ten desires run

[Zerviscos]

Ha haaa, I don't know about this advice. If you're somebody who's dead-set on doing well or improving at every game they play, then maybe the advice is for you, but personally I don't see a problem sticking to Normal for a while. Or Easy, really, though I still hold that Easy generally doesn't present enough of a challenge for me to enjoy it anymore.

Actually, what I meant to say was just improve a bit. Frankly playing some time even on just hard up until stage 3, which is usually the stage what most new "experienced"(new, but played quite a bit) players doesn't lose a single life, will improve them a lot. Stage 4 is likely the stage where'd they die often. Just play a bit on a harder difficulty, and then go back to normal, you'll see you've improved.

[Yuyu]

Alright, finally beat Double Dealing Characters on the second try with Reimu A.
But with 1 continues...
Basically in the second play, manage to play through stage 4 without loss of live, and GOD damn stage 5, the enemies start shooting like boss!
And the boss... OMG the inverted control, have to spam bomb.
Finally loss all the life in the place where stage 6 boss make you bigger...

That's not bad at all for someone who just started playing! Just remember to practice (especially the stages that give you trouble) and you should be on your way to a good ending soon. Don't be scared to experiment playing different characters or playing in different ways.  Also, don't worry too much about the difficulty level, just raise it when you feel ready. Having fun should come first.

For stage 5 when things get dense don't be too scared to waste your bombs because if you time it right you can get enough stuff back to make it worth it. Inverted controls aren't as scary as you think. Stay focused! For the first two attacks like that I suggest only moving left and right so there are less chances of getting confused with the controls. That way you only have to pay attention dodging in one direction and it's not as tough. I hope that made sense but it works for me. 

[Phoenix-P]

well i also thought that the game was too hard even for the first levels (then realized that my first game was Subterranean animism  :V and that it was a hard one), i died with parsee on her first spellcard..., after some time i was able to beat it on easy. there i realized how difficult bullet games are (or maybe it was because of being SA...)
then i tried playing Imperishable night on easy and i was able to pass through it swiftly, but now i'm still trying to win on normal without using continues (marisa or reimu, arrgh!!!). play in normal after clearing easy without continues and keep practicing! practice start helps a lot to improve too by challenging yourself
   

[Paz legalces]

Alright, finally beat Double Dealing Characters on the second try with Reimu A.

But with 1 continues...

Basically in the second play, manage to play through stage 4 without loss of live, and GOD damn stage 5, the enemies start shooting like boss!

And the boss... OMG the inverted control, have to spam bomb.

Finally loss all the life in the place where stage 6 boss make you bigger...

...wait a sec... is this normal mode because if so... you are pretty dang good for a first timer -__-"
I have been playing Touhou for years but took me 4-5 tries or so before I can achieve what you just stated (on normal mode)
...and considering Touhou 14 is one of the harder Touhou as well... dang, you are good  :V

[Sanger Zonvolt]

I used to think Touhou was hard, but then I played CAVE games.   :3

[Oh]

I used to think Touhou was hard, but then I played nuki-games.   :3

[Sakurei]

I used to think Touhou was hard, but then I played CAVE games.   :3

But Touhou is harder...

[Sanger Zonvolt]

But Touhou is harder...

Personally I find Touhou a ton easier.

[Drake]

Am I hearing talk about how Touhou is Too Easy? Because obviously Touhou is Harder.

[Oh]

Personally I find Touhou a ton easier.

poast you're scores

[Ghaleon]

People say to start with MoF and IN uz they are the easiest (though i only think IN is easy with reimu+yukari team)... I actually advise againt that since they can lead to some bad habits.

iN can condition you into deathbombing which is a bad habit since that is t a reliable strategy in many touhou games, and MoF is just bombs ahoy in general. pCB Sakuya also is this, dont do.

Personally I started with EoSD and i think it is a good choice. Its difficulty is pretty mid-tier, there are no bad habits to develop, and the lack of visible hitbox is actually a GOOD thing to get used to early since watching your hitbox is baaad.

[Tengukami]

I hate to say it, but if I recommended that someone start with EoSD, I would also recommend they use the re-texture patch (sorry ZUN).

[nintendonut888]

What would the re-texture patch do in terms of difficulty? Maybe it's just me, but I have no problem with the old sprites or the lack of visible hitbox. Heck, sometimes I act better in EoSD than other games because the graphics force you to instinctively learn your hitbox.

[Tengukami]

The re-texture pack doesn't add a hitbox if you don't want one; it just polishes up the art a bit. Not really sure it significantly affects gameplay difficulty, to be honest (if my own replays are any testament anyway >_>).

[Drake]

EoSD isn't pretty enough for a first game. If you're going in already willing to play a bunch then whatever, but if we're talking about introductions I think starting with EoSD is a terrible idea.

[Sakurei]

Start with PoDD lunatic. It teaches you all you have to know. As well as what you might hate about Touhou in the future. Perfect entry point.

[Tengukami]

Ultimately there is no one perfect beginner's game for Touhou that wraps up all the positive and challenging aspects of the series into a nice package. I think the best strategy is to make suggestions based on what you know about the person's ability in other, even dissimilar, video games.

Start with PoDD lunatic.

Or this.

[cactu]

I think EoSD is a fine starter game. Retexture patch isn't very good in my opinion since it makes bullets harder to read, but maybe that is just me.

[Star King]

EoSD was my first game, and I am now an addict. I don't see the problem.

[nintendonut888]

Iunno why there needs to be a "beginner game." If you're truly interested in Touhou, you'll probably be playing all of them, so naturally you'd try them all and see which ones click. That said, EoSD may be a good place to begin since it is relatively "basic" in terms of patterns and strategy needed outside the bosses.

Either that or HRtP, which is the first and therefore best game in all respects, including learning the mechanics you'll need in future games.

[Tengukami]

Either that or HRtP, which is the first and therefore best game in all respects, including learning the mechanics you'll need in future games.

[Oh]

Not playing EoSD first is like not watching the first episode first.

[Tengukami]

That would be so true if Touhou Project were a TV series.

[Oh]

But most people play for the story

[Kimidori]

Either that or HRtP, which is the first and therefore best game in all respects, including learning the mechanics you'll need in future games.

First Installment Wins obviously.

But most people play for the story

this.