Author Topic: Touhou 16 「東方天空璋(とうほうてんくうしょう) ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons」 announced  (Read 294944 times)

A bit late to the party but here's my 2cents about this demo:

Gameplay: Kinda broken and unpolished tbh... but then again, ZUN has to balance not only the release gimmick, but also 16 shots. Its no wonder some of these things are a little overpowered... however if you don't use Releases (Which is how I plan to play the full version, in the case ZUN cant fix the broken Release thing), it actually plays decently and its kinda fun. Not Best Touhou game material, not even close, but it will hopefully turn decent-tier at least (So long as its at least a slightly better than TD I can get into it). Stage portions are kinda meh, ESPECIALLY Stage 2, it looks a lot like LoLK?s stage 2 and its also boring af.

Music: Ehh... its kinda there. Not much of a fan of this game's ost so far, sorry. Only 2 themes I actually really like are Nemuno?s theme and Stage 3 theme. Everything else is honestly kinda forgettable so far.

Best Newcomer/Bossfight: Nemuno, because her theme is among the best so far, I like her design, and is basically pretty cool for a Stage 2 boss... Don't particularly care about the other 2 bosses so far. That said, her nons are stupidly bland. I hope ZUN changes those nons in the final version, even though we all know that most likely ZUN wont change/will barely change the base game as it is now...


Overall... I think it will turn out to be a decent game. However if I am being honest, I expected a bit more from it. Then again, might be a bit unfair to it, because it has to compete with LoLK?s demo (Regardless of how the final game turned out, when LoLK?s demo came out, I was HOOKED to it. I really, really wanted the full version to come out to try the new stages!... Not getting quite the same feeling of urgency with this game?s demo).

R. P. Genocraft

  • Craftsman of absolute unpredictability
  • Boundary of productive and lazy
Am I the only one who likes Nemuno's nonspells? D:

Am I the only one who likes Nemuno's nonspells? D:

They're cool but it's slightly frustrating that not only their timers are abysmally small compared to other games' timers, but.  It's just plain streaming.  Even on lunatic you just have to go from one side to the other without even worrying about having to switch your direction because Nemuno herself stops shooting after a while.

I think the only one which doesn't do that is her midboss spell on lunatic, which keeps on shooting almost until the end of the duration.  Still pretty easy.

They're very cool looking, but from a gameplay perspective, they're really boring. 

Nemuno's nons are very much score things. In order to get the most points out of them you need to get up close, which is bad since it's an aimed pattern and that makes bullets fly all over the place. Since you can't really spam releases (there's a period where you're vulnerable but unable to release), so unless you get the timing down right the nons can turn into an undodgeable mess.

Of course, they're very silly patterns because they exist solely for score. It's almost like ZUN forgot that playing for survival is a thing with them :P
My name is Tres. It sounds like "Tray". Tressert is "Tray-zurt"; like Tres dessert.
I've cleared every touhou game on Lunatic, and beaten every extra except SoEW.
NMNB: MoF Hard, SA Extra, UFO Extra

You know, while I was thinking of a possible relation the 3 current bosses might have (reflecting on Reimu's dialogue), a thing came to mind:  They're all somewhat elusive/ignorable. 

Eternity's a fairy so most people simply disregard them, Nemuno is a mountain hag who often secludes herself so most people don't even know of her whereabouts, and Aunn tries doing her volunteer work while unnoticed. 

While I have no idea whatsoever what sort of connection to a youkai/plot point this all might make, the fact even the heroines mention a lack of a lead on the incident's resolution makes me wonder if this has something to do with it.

Plus, the game -is- called Hidden Star in Four Seasons, after all. 

HistoryoftheMoon

You know, while I was thinking of a possible relation the 3 current bosses might have (reflecting on Reimu's dialogue), a thing came to mind:  They're all somewhat elusive/ignorable. 

Eternity's a fairy so most people simply disregard them, Nemuno is a mountain hag who often secludes herself so most people don't even know of her whereabouts, and Aunn tries doing her volunteer work while unnoticed. 

While I have no idea whatsoever what sort of connection to a youkai/plot point this all might make, the fact even the heroines mention a lack of a lead on the incident's resolution makes me wonder if this has something to do with it.

Plus, the game -is- called Hidden Star in Four Seasons, after all.
My first reaction to reading this is... ninjas.

cuc

  • *
  • Probably won't respond 'til this mess is sorted o?
A bit late, but I think the 5th season could be a better fit for extra stage
Yes, you caught me redhanded sneaking speculation into the thread :3

You know, while I was thinking of a possible relation the 3 current bosses might have (reflecting on Reimu's dialogue), a thing came to mind:  They're all somewhat elusive/ignorable.
Good point. The very first thing I felt upon seeing the bosses was how amicable they are to the common people, which gives the whole demo the vibe of a neighborhood stroll. Swallowtails are everywhere in Japan; the mountain hag is a popular youkai, often depicted as a mother with her son Kintaro to symbolize motherhood; and you can see stone lions every time you walk by a shrine or Buddhist temple.
Touhou Fantasy News: twitter

game2011

  • mineiptXD
    • Supreme ??asual Dating Verified Women
Latest Horned Hermit chapter is a prologue to this game.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2017, 11:57:55 PM by game2011 »

Lebon14

  • 椛ちゃん、助けてぇぇぇぇぇ!
Latest Horned Hermit chapter is a prologue to this game.

aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
I want the translated chapter so bad now!

Interestingly,
Spoiler:
the new chapter of Wild and Horned Hermit is, as mentioned a prologue to HSiFS.  What's more, another curious fact is that cuc and I mentioned earlier that the incident might deal with the Tanabata festival and how a plot involving Tanbata kind of happened in Book of Star Mythology, the fangame.  Interestingly enough, the glowing bamboo at the forest of the lost in WaHH's latest chapter also appeared in BoSM's 4th stage too. 


While I'm not well versed in japanese mythology and culture, is there any mention in it about glowing bamboo?   It's a surprisingly strange coincidence, after all.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2017, 07:41:02 AM by Linnah »

Spoiler:

While I'm not well versed in japanese mythology and culture, is there any mention in it about glowing bamboo?   It's a surprisingly strange coincidence, after all.



Spoiler:
Well, in the tale of Kaguya, baby kaguya was found in a glowing bamboo, but, well, Kaguya was based of that already.
.

MANoBadAssGar Jr.

  • look at dat pose, look at dat face
  • GARDORABLE!

Spoiler:
Well, in the tale of Kaguya, baby kaguya was found in a glowing bamboo, but, well, Kaguya was based of that already.
.

Spoiler:
Mastermind the "adoptive parents" ? (lol, sorry i really want to say that). But the game not only taking place in Bambewb Forest of Lost right? it's all over the place.

Btw,
Spoiler:
it's funny how you put dot(.) after the /spoiler] pft lolol
Spoiler:

WaHH Chapter 40 -
Spoiler:
So bamboo flowers are blooming when it should only happen once every sixty years. Might as well bring up the sixty year cycle again. The three lights, the four seasons, and the five phases. I'm sticking to the idea of this being relevant. I guess all of nature must be affected.

Lt Colonel Summers

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Do not mess with a soldier
Spoiler:
Mokou chopping off one of those glowing bamboos with a bare-handed karate chop - which is even a clean cut - is what amazed me in that chapter...
There's nothing inscribed on the dog tag...

HistoryoftheMoon

WaHH Chapter 40 -
Spoiler:
So bamboo flowers are blooming when it should only happen once every sixty years. Might as well bring up the sixty year cycle again. The three lights, the four seasons, and the five phases. I'm sticking to the idea of this being relevant. I guess all of nature must be affected.
Could Stage 5 take place in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, then? If so, then Stage 6 would probably just take place in the sky. Alternatively, the BFotL could be the setting of the Extra stage. I doubt they'd mention an area in the prologue that has undergone a change without showing it in the game.

Fumi

  • Dragon of Seven Colors
  • Disaster in Takamagahara
Could Stage 5 take place in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, then? If so, then Stage 6 would probably just take place in the sky. Alternatively, the BFotL could be the setting of the Extra stage. I doubt they'd mention an area in the prologue that has undergone a change without showing it in the game.

It's pretty much confirmed Stage 4 will be on the Forest of Magic, because so far we have visited the "home" places of the protagonists which have been affected by their respective season (Cirno-Summer-Random fields, Aya-Autumn-Youkai Mountain, Reimu-Spring-Hakurei Shrine, Marisa-Winter-Forest of Magic), which in the prologue as mentioned by Marisa it's winter, though, it is curious to see the Bamboo Forest in the manga right before this incident, that Glowing Bamboo is of course unatural and must play some role, idk probably pulling out a BoSM where the forest appeared or the so called fifth season.

Am I the only one.. Maybe I'm getting old but I swear there is SO much clutter in this game it makes it confusing for me sometimes. Especially on the spellcard where bullets are coming from top/left/right at the same time and theres just so many seasonal items everywhere.

I literally played imperishable night, the clutter is so much more tolerable there... And I was surprised at how easier the game was too... but thats probably because i played the stages on lunatic thousands of times back 10 years ago.

Quwanti

  • Pixel stuff
The cover image just got added to Melonbooks.



There appear to be multiple characters on the image.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2017, 03:26:11 PM by Quwanti »

Tengukami

  • Breaking news. Any season.
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  • I said, with a posed look.
Yay, the Prismriver Sisters are back.

"Human history and growth are both linked closely to strife. Without conflict, humanity would have no impetus for growth. When humans are satisfied with their present condition, they may as well give up on life."

 Well that's new!  Either we're getting some weird Stage 6A/6B (maybe 6C?) like IN, or we'll have our first.  uh, triple, final boss battle in touhou history?

Curiously enough I'm surprised there's three people there since the game's, ya'kno, HSi--F--S

CyberAngel

  • Retired
* CyberAngel slaps Linnah with a stack of th12,8 discs

Anyway, I see... a picture frame? Or an open window? Curious.

* CyberAngel slaps Linnah with a stack of th12,8 discs

Anyway, I see... a picture frame? Or an open window? Curious.

Oh gosh, Fairy wars completely went over my head.  Granted, I was thinking only about 6-staged games and didn't even consider it, hahahaha!

Suspicious person

  • Just a humble wanderer
  • How suspicious~
That's quite the peculiar silhouette. Is that thing in the middle some kind of throne or something ? It's pretty hard to discern stuff, and the white spots and overall splashiness are certainly not doing any favors.

At any rate, I can totally see the newhus in this picture getting shipped among themselves or getting the family treatment in the future, haha.

... *impatiently checks calendar for C92*

is the center girl holding something in her hand?

cuc

  • *
  • Probably won't respond 'til this mess is sorted o?
Akiba Hobby's version is larger.

Sorry to rob you of the excitement of speculation, but...

An anonymous Japanese poster just casually googled "god, two people, accompany", and immediately hit on what looks to be the right image.


The characters very neatly fit the description for Matara-jin - I'm linking Japanese wikipedia, because while a number of English pages on him exist, they don't seem to contain the info relevant to identifying the silhouette. You can google the god yourself :D .

This is a mysterious and relatively obscure Buddhist deity, the patron of a Buddhist sect and a Shinto shrine of the Hata clan. He is accompanied by two servants, Teireita and Nishita, both holding sasa (a bamboo shrub) in the left hand, myōga ginger in the right hand. Together, the three symbolize three poisons: greed, hatred, and delusion. The Big Dipper is a part of their image.

This doesn't mean Matara-jin is the final answer on who they are, just he likely is an inspirations for their designs. If you look, you can find lots of opportunities for syncretism with Matara-jin, e.g. with Daikokuten (Shiva, but as one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods), as the secretary of Yama, and being called "Myojin of Silla", which associates him with Korea. Yeah, his identity feels like whatever random thing his small number of worshipers wanted him to be.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2017, 06:20:33 PM by cuc »
Touhou Fantasy News: twitter

PapilLionesskort

  • "Perfectly Immoral Moral Person"
  • Pretty much just lurking innocently

Nevertheless, have some concept art of how they might look like. (Apparently from /jp/)
Write or fight, same thing. You might as well come out swinging either way.<3 Just not too hard, as that's no fun.

Neovereign

  • Greatest Fairy
  • Everything will be daijoubu... hopefully
The middle figure kind of seems like it could be Lily from the top. I mean, despite already being in the game she hasn't been an actual midboss yet, has she? Seems too farfetched though. I wanted to believe at least...

Jimmy

  • Shameless spender
  • gaining big pounds
IT'S HERE

This is getting interesting. If there are really three separate characters on the cover, there either might be

- different routes after stage 5 a la Imperishable Night
- a final boss fight consisting of three characters
- a possible Phantasm stage , if they're the bosses of the last stages (stage 6, EX, and PH)

All just pure speculation of course, would be totally rad if one of those turns out to be actually implemented (of which I think the first two are more likely).

Now I'm genuinely hyped for what exactly the plot in HSiFS will turn out to be.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2017, 08:29:21 PM by Jimmy »
Normal 1cc: EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF, UFO, TD, DDC, LoLK Legacy, HSiFS, WBaWC
Hard 1cc: IN, DDC, HSiFS
Extra clears: MoF, DDC, HSiFS, WBaWC

Goals: Going Extra Hard!

Lt Colonel Summers

  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Do not mess with a soldier
Another reference to Korean Mythology after Komano's etymology?
Does that mean we are going to have our first ever Korean 2hu?
There's nothing inscribed on the dog tag...