So how is UFO's reception?

[Drake]

I made a piano thing for it that sounds really messy. It's a great song.

[Cadmas]

My brother says Zun Copypastaed Captain Minamitsu Murasa's head onto Nue. Which I thought was funny.
The only character I didn't care for is the tiger, Shou. Actually I think I dislike Shou more than I do Reisen.

Music wise I really don't see why people are complaining. Stages 1-4 are great, stage 5 is meh,
Boss 5 is forgettable, stage 6 is as well, then cosmic mind comes and everything is better.
Nue's theme doesn't sound like U.N. owen at all to me.

Game play wise. I haven't gone through the game yet. Waiting on the English patch.

[Drake]

I dunno, after playing stage 6 fifty thousand times trying to unlock stage practice for Hard, I find it's a great concept, but the sheer amount of the same waves over and over again is boring and just lures you into a screwup.

[Zengeku]

So far i'm enjoying the game a lot. The music is magnificent as always but i'm not too fond of the new characters post Stage 2. Then again, i wasn't too hot for the SA characters until some months after so i'll give the new ones some more time.

As for the danmaku. ZUN have read my mind and figured that the animated bullets are my hate-bullet because of how shiny they are. Makes it difficult for me to concentrate on them compared to the more simple bullets of the past. Then ZUN decided to put them all over the place.

Also, i don't like the final boss. Fucking Fantastica is cheap (at least IMO) and i don't like her final spellcard either. Its pretty cool how she pulls of Shinki's laser attack though. Kind of like Okuu's mega flare resembles something Shinki do. Or am i the only one who notices Mega Flares resemblence to a Shinki attack?

Overall i'd give the game 9 out of 10. Its not as good as most other Touhou games but certainly still very entertaining and bound to fill up a lot of space in my gaming time table.

[MCXD]

Gameplay-wise, I thought it was pretty damn fun on both Easy and Normal. From what I've seen on Hard and Lunatic though, I can see why people are screaming "Bullshit" to half of the stuff which is going on. (Kogasa lol, Stage 5 lol) - But that doesn't affect me, and I think this is one of the better games in the serious. I just hope that ZUN goes back to IN/PCB/MoF with his Danmaku in the next game instead of pulling extremely gimmicky stuff like UNZAN and ANCHORS since I don't mind those tricks except some traditional danmaku would be nice now after two gimmick-heavy games.

Music I love. Love, love, love (mostly). I don't understand why people hate the Stage 5 theme, since although its a bit repetitive, its EXTREMELY EPIC especially when coupled with the stage, and music-synced. In-fact, there are only two songs in the entire game I don't like. Stage 2 Theme and Stage 3 Boss Theme. I also share Benny's thoughts on Cosmic Mind.

Characters... uh, honestly they aren't as good on a whole as his previous games. The cast, especially the later half, is pretty forgettable. I DON'T see what's so cool about Neu, I don't even like her boss fight (although her song is cool). Byakuren, Murasa, Nazrin and Kogasa are pretty much the only cool characters in my opinion, and not overly so. Disappointing here, but hey, what can you do.

Overall, UFO is awesometastic with me, minus a couple nitpicks in the music and character department.

[Flay_wind]

1cc'ed on Easy (was kinda easy) and Normal (was kinda like SA if not harder.).
So...  I liked it.
Music just sounds beautiful, can't find another word for it.
Nice art. Very fun and creative danmaku.
The only real minus is that i can't see anything behind power&point items/ufos and stuff.

[Hieda no Aya]

He definitely did something different with the music this time, and whatever it is just doesn't work well on me, though there're still a couple songs I like.

I'm not sold on most of the characters yet either, but of course that seems to always take a while. (I thought Nue's design was really underwhelming, but I warmed up to her after seeing that she attacks with freakin' UFOs and learning that she's basically a huge troll.) The story is fascinating and troubling, and I don't think there's any way I can make a real judgment on it without seeing the endings translated, although obviously everything works out fine in the end.

But damn, this game is fun as hell to play!

[Letty Whiterock]

Characters...I didn't like so much. The only ones I liked were Captain Murasa and Nue, as well as Nazrin, Kogasa, and Unzan (and Ichirin, I guess). The other two...I really didn't like.

You're saying "I didn't like the characters much. I only liked two of the seven characters, as well as three more of the characters." You didn't like the characters yet liked FIVE of the SEVEN characters?

[Suikama]

He definitely did something different with the music this time, and whatever it is just doesn't work well on me, though there're still a couple songs I like.

I'm not sold on most of the characters yet either, but of course that seems to always take a while. (I thought Nue's design was really underwhelming, but I warmed up to her after seeing that she attacks with freakin' UFOs and learning that she's basically a huge troll.) The story is fascinating and troubling, and I don't think there's any way I can make a real judgment on it without seeing the endings translated, although obviously everything works out fine in the end.

But damn, this game is fun as hell to play!

He went a little to far in trying to make some of his melodies more... melodious. Basicially there are way to many notes in the melodies most of the time, which makes then a lot less distinct or memorable comapred to other stuff like Marisa's theme.

Either that or they're really repetitive like Shou's theme.

[Peachems]

Pfuh. I love Shou and her lazors~

[An Odd Sea Slug]

UFO is merely okay in my opinion, definitely not awesome-tastic. The UFO gimmick is annoying, even on easy mode, does not really work too well in a fast paced danmaku game. The music... I like Touhou's music from the very start up to MoF, and SA's music eventually grew on me. I find UFO's music however, to be rather sub-standard. The only songs I really like are on stages 1, 2 and 6, the rest I'm finding rather forgettable, even after multiple listens, and I can't see this music growing on me like SA's did.

Stage 5 is horrible. Dying to shit I can't see as the bullets blend in with the cruddy background. The only new characters I like are Nazrin, Kogasa and Byakuren. Murasa is alright I guess (she should really thank her memetic badassness), but Ichirin, Shou and Nue do absolutely nothing for me despite the fact that Nue comes with zettai ryouiki and Shou comes pre-shibari'd.

I really hate the battles with Ichirin and Shou as well, over-use of toothpick lasers that my eyes simply can't track properly, and in general, more nerve-racking than they really need to be. I'd rather fight Parsee, and I hate her battle with a passion. The other bosses are far more entertaining, but even they have their argh moments (the finals for Kogasa and Murasa, along with Byakuren's terribad yellow worm laser attack).

So for the second game in a row, I'm in the minority. I find UFO to be average at best, with below average music and underwhelming character designs (in the cases of Murasa, Nue, and Shou that is).

[Doomsday]

overall, i liked UFO. the bullet patterns in early stages seems a little too random for my liking but it turned around in the later stages, which i was happy about. music-wise i thought this has some of the best original ZUN tracks of the series to me. this single handedly made Stage 5 of this my favourite Stage 5. the only real gripe i had was that i didn't find any of the characters overly awesome. they weren't bad by any means, i just didn't find them overly awesome, like how i felt about Utsuho.

so yeah, another enjoyable release. time to wait for the next one

EDIT: oh, and i forgot the UFO system. thats another gripe i had, that its overly gimmicky. its unique but thats all i can give it. i'd much rather him kept the system from SA in this one.

[GreenJR]

The game is simply brilliant, my favorite of the series.

I know I'm probably with the minority by stating how much I love the UFO system.
It is very unique and can be very helpful in almost all occasions, such as when getting lives or bombs. The music was great, especially in the 4-EX stage range, I absolutely love Cosmic Mind. The cast was pretty nice, I personally like Syou a lot, but nothing to scream over. All in all, this game is one of the better of the series.
 

[Slaves]

I know I'm probably with the minority by stating how much I love the UFO system.

i love it too, brah.

although i must say that stage 4 repeadedly kicks my ass, and i haven't been able to clear it more than twice.

[Sen]

The game is simply brilliant, my favorite of the series.

I know I'm probably with the minority by stating how much I love the UFO system.
It is very unique and can be very helpful in almost all occasions, such as when getting lives or bombs. The music was great, especially in the 4-EX stage range, I absolutely love Cosmic Mind. The cast was pretty nice, I personally like Syou a lot, but nothing to scream over. All in all, this game is one of the better of the series.

UFO system is amazing. It's possible to max out both lives and bombs by the time you reach Murasa if you can manipulate UFOs properly (particularly Flashing UFOs).

[Menorah Jams, Pham]

... I hate the UFO mechanic... I guess I'm a traditionalist.  I do like the fact that Zun's style has improved mucho, and I'm hoping that Nazrin gets shooped into some Steamboat Willie screens down the road.

[Nachtwanderlied]

character designs are terrible

nue looks like ZUN vomited out several body parts of characters into one

[Drake]

nue looks like ZUN vomited out several body parts of characters into one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nue

cool story bro

[Nachtwanderlied]

just because she's based off of a horrilbly ugly legend doesn't mean she's a good design

[Suikama]

Been listening to the UFO soundtrack a bunch. It's definitely grown on me for the most part.

The stage 4 theme Interdimensional Voyage of a Ghostly Passenger Ship is probably one of if not the best stage theme in the game. The intro and melody in general is pretty upbeat and memorable. Only part that doesn't stand out so well is the beginning of the section where the beat slows, but it quickly picks again.

Murasa's theme Captain Murasa is pretty standard. The trumpets at the beginning just scream "lol ZUN" but the piano is a nice addition. It does sound a bit like Nazrin's theme though since it uses the same guitar and uh... whatever that high pitch sounding instrument is.

The stage 5 theme Interior of a Makai Provincial City is a but repetitive, but it's pretty intense at times. Listening to the track on high volume while playing stage 5 indeed gets pretty intense as ZUN says. It's definitely one of those tracks taht grew on me after listening to it for a bit.

Shou's theme The Tiger-Patterned Vaisravana is really repetitive but I like how it builds up from the beginning where there's only one instrumnet playing the melody, then it gets a bit more chaotic. Kinda fitting while you dodge those CURVY LASERS FFFFF.

The stage 6 theme Fires of Hokkai is awesome in general. One of the few songs with a more atmospheric feel rather than simply being melodious. The melody itself is really tense and overall is just a really fitting theme for stage 6.

Byukuren's theme Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind is an overall nice theme. People say it doesn't really work as a last boss theme, which is most likely because it lacks the tension and intensity of the other stage 6 boss themes. Still it's quite a fitting theme for Byakuren considering her character.

The extra stage theme UFO Romance in the Night Sky is one of my favorites. People say it's kinda lighthearted for an extra stage theme, but I love it's rappid yet occasionally irregular beat. Also I love the little evil laughs here and there, especially the one in the middle that syncs up with Kogasa's appearance. Although later in the song the laughs start to sound more like a squak but meh.

Nue's theme Heian Alien starts off kinda weak. That synth sound is pretty old school sounding, although it may have been intentional considering her pixelated spellcard background and the general "space invaders" theme. Still it gets chaotic really quickly, which is pretty fitting for an EX boss. The melody does sound a BIT like UNOwen, since both like to play around with dissonance. Despite all of this it's still a great theme for an extra boss.

tl;dr
Best new themes: Stage 4, Stage 6, Extra Stage, Nue's theme
Good themes: Stage 5, Byakuren's theme
Okay themes: Shou's theme, Murasa's theme

[Slaves]

character designs are terrible

nue looks like ZUN vomited out several body parts of characters into one

nice trollan brah

[Nachtwanderlied]

it's the truth, brojohn

[Drake]

Holy youkai jesus some of the piano arranges are just too kickass.

http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1209.mp3
http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1213.mp3
http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1215.mp3

[Zengar Zombolt]

Holy youkai jesus some of the piano arranges are just too kickass.

http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1209.mp3
http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1213.mp3
http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1215.mp3

Oh god, these are so beautiful I want to cry.

[Shizzo]

*New on the forum* Hiya guys! o/

I pretty liked UFO, and I haven't seen anything that really bugged me... apart from the fact that it's impossible to see on some spellcards with MarisaA due to her shiny-shiny options (Especially Murasa's Penultimate spellcard, those blue bullets disapear when they're near my lazers..)

The UFO sistem was amazing, I can choose wich way to beat the stages (AKA, Bombspam |o/)

I just thought that the Extra stage (Especially Nue) was kindda easy...

I had no problems with any spellcard, with the exeption for the Rainbow UFO one (*Used to bomb Hina when she started usng Biorhythm*)

Anyways, just another thing... Why do people draw Hijiri with the top of her hair in purple color? o-o  I always thought that gradient purple was the light comming from her scroll, that is purple on the top... and on the left it's greenish, and her hair on the left has a soft green color too, right?  o.o

[Sapz]

Holy youkai jesus some of the piano arranges are just too kickass.

http://cid-07da917b47ecfbee.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/MP3%201/th1215.mp3

This is amazing. @_@

[RainfallYoshi]

Anyways, just another thing... Why do people draw Hijiri with the top of her hair in purple color? o-o  I always thought that gradient purple was the light comming from her scroll, that is purple on the top... and on the left it's greenish, and her hair on the left has a soft green color too, right?  o.o

I've thought the same thing. I always assumed that the purple was just lighting, it seemed way too random for her to just have a purple shade on the top of her hair.

Glowy scroll and a sunset on her stage so, I'm going with the fact that her hair is just one color.

[Gambit]

It's awesome.

Almost all of the boss themes and stage themes are well done. The only two stage themes that didn't feel spectacular were the stage 2 and 5 themes. Kogasa?s theme is still my favorite boss theme from UFO even after hearing all the others but Byakuren?s and Captain Murasa?s theme are equally good. Ichirin's and Shou's themes were so-so to me and they are also the only characters that I didn't particularly like.

The UFO system is tolerable, albeit a bit annoying that it is the only method for gaining lives or bombs, especially since trying to grab the right color is hazardous once the screen becomes cluttered with items and bullets. 

[Bananamatic]

Best boss themes IMO are Nue's followed by Shou's....

And yeah, Marisa's things are WAY too bright......combined with the constant point item floods, well....."can't see shit, cap'n"

[Sodium]

The only two stage themes that didn't feel spectacular were the stage 2 and 5 themes

Wat.