Author Topic: Touhou 16 「東方天空璋 ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons」 Report Completed!  (Read 77956 times)

Helepolis

  • Charisma!
  • *
  • O-ojousama!?
Excluding ending screens and/or ending dialogues, all other spoilers are okay to post. Thank you for cooperating until this moment.
  • Make sure you're aware of the forum rules.
  • Have a drink (non-alcohol if you're underaged!!) and enjoy!



Bugs, patches, news, other information from ZUN will be listed here:
  • Current known version is 1.00 Comiket C92 release.
  • Confirmed bug: Easy Difficulty - Stage 5 - Spell Cards #5 and #6 are bugged. Finishing off Satono will not capture the card but continue it and if you next take down Mai, the game will crash. To capture the card, you're forced to take down Mai first. This doesn't seem to be the case for Lunatic mode. Other difficulties are unknown.



Touhou 16 「東方天空璋 ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons

Introduction
It is summer! No wait, it is autumn? Winter? S-spring!? What is happening? Touhou 16 is happening! Dear Touhou fans, ZUN has blessed us yet again with a brand new danmaku game. Some people might have forgotten about it, but it has been over two years since the release of Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. We've already been informed quite a lot about this game by our hard working fans and forum members. So definitely a shout out to you for providing information, translations, tracking news and more. My gratitude is endless. All right! Let us see what ZUN has provided us this time?

Gensoukyou's seasons are out of control! The fairies are running rampant. This has yet another incident which needs to be resolved! Swiftly! "Isn't it kind of hot you bastard"
  • Arrow keys - controll directional movement of your character.
  • Z button - Fires your main shot.
  • X button - Declares and fires your spell card. Or simply 'bomb'.
  • Shift - Your movement becomes slower and your hitbox will appear.
  • C button - Releases your season depending on your season gauge.

C button!? As if pressing X wasn't hard enough for many people. Now you have another button. And what the hell is this season thing anyway? Read on!

The Four Seasonal Player Characters



Four girls have decided to set out to get to the bottom of this incident. Wait a second. what happened to their looks? Is this because of the seasons being out of control?
Hakurei Reimu - The Hakurei Shrine area seems to be in full spring, with cherry blossoms blooming. She is wearing her usual clothes. My god, the size of that Gohei could poke your eye out from the entrance of the shrine yard
Cirno - Our cheerful fairy seems to have gotten a tan. Well, it is summer technically in Gensoukyo. Isn't she cute with that sun flower as ribbon?
Shameimaru Aya - The tengu reporter has been writing furiously about this incident. She is dressed in autumn colours because Youkai mountain is experiencing autumn. Autumn!! not fall!!
Kirisame Marisa - The Forest of Magic is fully covered in snow. Marisa trying to keep her warm with. It seems Perfect Cherry Blossom all over again. Wait, Marisa-san, aren't those latex gloves?

We already know from the trail version that each girl comes with her own main shot using Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Next to your main shot you can select a sub weapon. Your sub weapon isn't directly available at start. Neither you will get it if you press shift (focus mode). In order to power it up, you need to collect season items. Too complicated already? Do not worry. Everything will be explained. For those interested, here is a list of Kanji to help you out with the seasons:
- (Haru) Spring - Green - Reimu
- (Natsu) Summer - Aqua - Cirno
- (Aki) Autumn - Red - Aya
- (Fuyu) Winter - Blue - Marisa


Example screenshot: Reimu's main shot is spring 夏 and supporting with winter 冬. In the second screen you can see little snow flakes, these are season items.

For some girls in this game, focussing doesn't necessary changes your shot type. For example: Sanae's unfocussed shot was frog bombs and homing snake shots in focussed mode. For some girls, focussing in this game will usually provide a tighter or more direct shot with your familiars. Keep in mind that none of this applies for your sub weapon.

Girl ―――――Main shot ―――――Familiar shot ―――――Focus mode ―――――Bomb ―――――
ReimuStraight amuletsHoming flower pletalsConcentrate on targetFantasy Seal Blossom
CirnoIce spikesScattering ice shardsDecrease scatteringSun Flower Pinwheel
AyaWind slashesSpread wind shotsPiercing wind shotsHurricane
MarisaMagic missileSpread frozen laserStraight lasersMaster Spark Frozen

Player Spell Cards (bomb)
Reimu's Yin Yang balls have turned into flowers. They will follow her while rotating around her, doing damage and shortly after homing in on enemies and exploding. Very flowerful.
When bombing with Cirno, a pin wheel will appear at her last location. Cirno can freely move while the pin wheel clears bullets and does damage.
Aya's spell card is most weirdest out of the four. A continuous gust of wind will appear at her last location doing damage. The most interesting thing is its behaviour. If you move left and bomb, the wind will slowly move towards the left. If you weren't moving, the wind gust won't move either.
When it comes to Marisa, you know that ZUN will deliver her a fitting effect for her bomb. Behold, 「Master Spark Frozen」. ZUN, I forgive you for giving Marisa a dull face in the previous game

Sub weapon and release effects
As mentioned in the introduction, the C button will release your season. You collect season items by shooting at enemies or bosses. Each season has its unique item appearance: pink flower petal, green leaf, red maple leaf, and blue snow flake. Depending on the level of your season, you will get ① more support familiars and ② exluding Cirno, a greater effect when releasing it. Oh and by the way, releasing your season does not render you immune. I made this mistake by rushing into Nemuno as Cirno while using my season and she turned me into shaved ice.
Spring: supports with mini yin yangs firing homing flower petals. When released, instantly clears bullets within a radius. The higher the level, the bigger the radius. At maximum level, the entire screen is covered.
Summer: supports with mini ice diamonds firing ice shards in a spread pattern. When released, creates a stationary ice circle with a fixed size and fixed duration clearing bullets and doing damage for its duration. Each usage costs ~90% of your current season gauge.
Autumn: supports with mini crows shooting wind slashes. When released, creates a brown fixed size circle which follows the player while giving increased movement. Bullets within are cleared and damage is done to enemies.
Winter: supports with mini hakkeros shooting straight lasers. When released, creates a stationary ice circle. The higher the level, the bigger the circle and longer the duration.

Most interesting to note about it is Cirno's and Marisa's season release. For Cirno, the circle has a fixed size and duration, regardless of your season level. Each usage depletes around 90% of your season gauge. Marisa on the other hand starts with a small circle and short duration and significantly increases size and duration.


The Girls Causing Trouble



Music, sound, look and feel
The moment you start the game you're welcomed by Reimu and her very long gohei. I personally think Shinmyoumaru's powers had some effect on that. The music kicks in and it sounds very cheerful and bright. Only after being exposed to the game several times, you can start to feel that the music takes you through the glory of four seasons. Based on the earlier games, ZUN is definitely trying to deliver us new dynamic menus and colourful images. But what ever he does, he always keeps the core Touhou elements in there; such as the difficulty selection. Also nice touch with the large character silhouette in the background.

Right, let us roll with one of our heroines! You're immediately thrown into the first stage where the action immediately begins. No time to view the beautiful background (which is improving with each game). Thankfully I am playing Easy Mode so I have plenty of time and space to take note of a lot of details. And those details are all over the place. If you paid attention in the trial version, you're transitioning between seasons. A beautiful mountain view in stage two coloured in beautiful autumn colours, as if it is Mountain of Faith all over again. Mysterious and dark shrine area, full of blooming cherry blossoms. The hot summer skies and evergreen fields. Hence Marisa''s opening line where she is complaining and swearing became famous. And many fans love her for that. Speaking of love for Marisa. Did you know ZUN gave her a new Master Spark? Master Spark Frozen. FROZEN!!.



Sorry Cirno, even if your sunflower pinwheel looks very cool, you cannot surpass the flashy Master Spark Frozen.

Each stage also has its own fitting sound track and enemies. Green fairies in the summer stage, pink dark fairies during spring and ice blue fairies, throwing cold danmaku at you in the fourth stage where finally a cheerful but quite skilled opponent awaits you. During this battle, you'll be surprised by her talents and spell cards. I definitely got  surprised and again turned into shaved ice. And as if that wasn't enough, in the next stage, even on easy mode, the difficulty seems to suddenly spike up. During my battle with Satono and Mai, I really wanted to stick that leaf and bamboo stick they're holding in their back doors for not letting me take screenshots in peace. Oh, and did I mention the major smug this game contains? You don't believe me do you?


How about you two take those things you're holding and sho-(ry


Battle of the smug. Girls are now Trashtalking, please watch warmly.

All in all, I would say: Impressive smug faces girls. But the true smug of LoLK cannot be surpassed. CHANG'E, ARE YOU LOOKING!?


Conclusion
I seriously cannot stop wondering how ZUN always seem to "1up" his game when it comes to beauty. At some point you're wondering when he is going to stop producing these games. But guessing from the story line, the character development, the resolved incidents and of course the music, we can definitely expect a few more releases in the future.

Of course there are some things to be said about the game mechanics he implemented. First of all, it seems we've returned back to the plain get-x-score-for-the-next-extend. Bombs are still collected through bomb pieces. In comparison to the previous shooter, LoLK had the unique Point Device system which fit with the story line. In HSiFS, the story line is somewhat straight forward. The main focus seems to be on season items and you're encouraged to utilize it in order to make your life easier through out the higher difficulties. Sadly, I cannot tell whether this adds an interesting dimension to scoring or not.

All in all ZUN has taken the season theme very seriously and is reflecting it from stages one to four. We're offered beautiful images, introduction a new "house hold" (with very very interesting stories). Take my advice: Launch the game in Easy mode and go explore. Listen. Look. Feel. Did you notice Nemuno's sword gleaming during her attacks? Did you notice the fairies slowly appearing from the cold fog in stage four? Did your pupils dilate each time Okina launched a spell card? Did you complain and swear about the weather?

Touhou is more than just a bullet hell shooter in my opinion. It is a story to tell, a movie to see, a book read, a music CD to listen. And lately also, with much surprise, an even more wider spreading culture.

なんだよ楽しいじゃねーか、このヤロー

--Helepolis




« Last Edit: August 20, 2017, 06:57:09 AM by Helepolis »

cuc

  • *
  • Probably won't respond 'til this mess is sorted o?
ZUN posted a view of his booth.

Side sash description:

Quote
桜を見ながら西瓜をわり、紅葉を見ながら鍋をつつく
こんな季節に誰がした!

イレギュラーでシーズナルなシューティング幻想!
Quote
Viewing cherry blossoms while cutting up watermelons; gazing at red leaves while picking up food from hotpots.
Who could have caused such a season!?

An IRREGULARLY SEASONAL Shooting Fantasy!
Touhou Fantasy News: twitter

Phantasmal

  • I'm good at breaking the forum rules on accident..
*shaking with anticipation* :o

Also, isn't the newest episode of Hifuu Club Activity Record also on the way?

The countdown begins. Looks like I'm gonna have something to look forward to seeing soon. I'm interested in both the characters and how the other stages are like in a visual and gameplay perspective.

New screenshot from, presumably, the back of the game's case showing a new boss' pattern (can't really make much of the sprite, as always)


One thing to notice about the screenshot is that it seems that
Spoiler:
the bug involving Winter options hasn't been fixed, though this screenshot might've been taken before it was.

HistoryoftheMoon

The following text is considering a spoiler as it speculates about images on the back of the game's case that show content we have not yet seen.

Spoiler:
I downloaded that image and zoomed in on the boss. From my perspective, she looks like she has big, empty eyes and is holding onto some kind of sunhat on her head. (Could be totally wrong, it's like assigning shapes to clouds.) My current guess is some kind of ghost or zombie with a spooky design. Of course, I'm looking at a heavily pixelated image that is also partially covered by Marisa's shots, so I'm probably wrong.

Yuki-onna though?

Meanwhile, the spell card background looks like some kind of spiraling dragon. I like the design. Also, what's with that attack? Is it just random dodging yellow talismans? I guess we'll have to wait.

-Post edited a couple of times to add more speculation, and finally edited to include the pre-spoiler text-
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 02:20:02 AM by HistoryoftheMoon »

Here's a shot of the back of the CD case, with the aforementioned boss screenshot and a screenshot of one of the new stages in the corner:

HistoryoftheMoon

The following text is considered a spoiler, as it speculates content from the back of the game case that shows off areas of the game we have not yet seen.

(I'm just going to label my spoilers so that people can know whether they should hover over them or not.)

Spoiler:
That picture makes the (presumably) stage 4 boss look even more like a zombie. Also, I am not looking forward to dodging those winter fairy ice walls. I can barely dodge things coming from one direction, thank you.

Aeteas

  • Nonsensical
Spoiler:
Meanwhile, the spell card background looks like some kind of spiraling dragon. I like the design. Also, what's with that attack? Is it just random dodging yellow talismans? I guess we'll have to wait.

Spoiler:
My guess is that the spiraling things spawn bullets in place which start flying outward after a second or two, so by the time the bullets get to you, they'll all be clumped together in a near-wall. Good thing I'm not a no-release player.

Ohhhhh daaaang someone on Weibo already got their hands on a copy and posted all the bosses. This is the fastest it's happened in years, I think.
Spoiler:

Spoiler:
Stage 4 boss is a jizo statue magician, Stage 5 bosses are Matarajin's servants, Stage 6 and EX boss is Matarajin. I can't read Chinese for beans but apparently the Matarajin lady is one of Gensokyo's sages? I also dunno how the characters' names are read but the kanji are posted there too.

edit: (hardly a spoiler -->)
Spoiler:
...ZUN was right about the art from Stage 4 on looking a little wonky :V
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 02:33:43 AM by gilde »

game2011

  • mineiptXD
    • Supreme ??asual Dating Verified Women
Spoiler:
Aaaaand we still ended up with only 4 characters, assuming that the final boss is indeed also the EX boss.

And what's so creepy about stage 4 boss?
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 02:34:39 AM by game2011 »

Failure McFailFace

  • I'm h...a...p...p...y...
  • Impor
Ohhhhh daaaang someone on Weibo already got their hands on a copy and posted all the bosses. This is the fastest it's happened in years, I think.
Spoiler:

Spoiler:
Stage 4 boss is a jizo statue magician, Stage 5 bosses are Matarajin's servants, Stage 6 and EX boss is Matarajin. I can't read Chinese for beans but apparently the Matarajin lady is one of Gensokyo's sages? I also dunno how the characters' names are read but the kanji are posted there too.

Spoiler:
seems like that prediction was correct
1cc Easy: DDC (all) | 1cc Normal: UFO (SanA autobomb),  DDC (ReiA, SakA) , LoLK (Sanae PD)| EX clears: DDC (MarB Ultra) | Puzzle Games: StB: 10-X, DS: Hatate unlock, ISC: All clear

Spoiler:
And what's so creepy about stage 4 boss?

There was never anything 'creepy' about the bosses; basically ZUN said on a stream that the game's story may be kinda weird and curveball-ey compared to what most people might be expecting. Some western fans misinterpreted his phrasing as saying 'ooo it's gonna be grimdaaaark' which, nah

Phantasmal

  • I'm good at breaking the forum rules on accident..
I think they're fake. If you look closely at the bottom right of
's face,
it's a bit jagged. ZUN wouldn't let that slide. Also, the "effects" wouldn't be a solid color.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 02:46:05 AM by Phantasmal »

HistoryoftheMoon

The following text is considered a spoiler as it is speculating about the boss sprites.

Spoiler:
Whoa. Yes, this betrayed my expectations, because it's exactly what we expected. Was that ZUN being meta or just all a misunderstanding? First of all, the stage 4 boss isn't creepy, which I am content with. She honestly looks a little boring, design-wise... like an ordinary priest or noble, idk. It probably makes sense though. Second, I expected the two side figures to be very serious and stern, for some reason. Turns out they're prancing around with bamboo. Huh. Finally, the final boss being the EX boss... is disappointing, to be honest. Also, for some reason I expected the final boss to have some kind of "come at me!" pose. Guess not. It all looks a lot less... serious... than I was expecting. Huh. Guess we'll have to wait for the actual story to see how this rolls.

Any idea what the weird mirror and/or frame are? Neither of them look like a scepter.

Edit: these are almost assuredly real.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:22:40 AM by HistoryoftheMoon »

Names and abilities for the bosses in the above posts:
Spoiler:
Narumi Yatadera, ability to use magic (mainly life control magic). Satono Nishida (the pink one), ability to draw out mental energy via her dancing. Mai Teireida (green one), ability to draw out life energy via her dancing. Okina Matara, ability to create a door on the back of anything? I think? Don't quote me on any of these right now

Also there's screenshots starting to roll in from the coolier uploader. (Look, don't touch; some jokester started uploading joke screens back in LoLK's case):
edit:
Spoiler:
The bosses are definitely real. Mai's the Stage 4 midboss and pops in for the pre-boss conversation. The dialogue portraits look waaaay better at full resolution imo.

Probably in a minute or two I'll be busy transcribing stuff from screenshots and won't be able to keep up w/ posting here but O Well
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 02:56:02 AM by gilde »

CenturyEgg

  • Gentle older sister types are the best!
    • My world cosplay account
Oh god, the designs are many kinds of amazing as usual. Can't wait to give the game a spin for the music.

And as a cosplayer, why Zun why

HistoryoftheMoon

Spoiler:
Wait, MAI comes back?!

EDIT: Oops, you mean the new Mai character, not PC-98 Mai. I only have myself to blame for this sense of betrayal.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 04:54:23 PM by HistoryoftheMoon »

Drake

  • *
please stop

A Colorful Calculating Creative and Cuddly Crafty Callipygous Clever Commander
- original art by Aiけん | ウサホリ -

Spoiler:
Wait, MAI comes back?! From PC-98?! This is big news!
Spoiler:
I dunno if you're joking or not but I mean Mai as in Mai Teireida, the green Matarajin servant. Speaking of whom, she pops up and basically just sics Narumi on you like 'hey your powers are like supercharged right now, go get her' and Narumi's like OH MAN IS THAT REIMU??? IM GONNA FITE HER i don't know if she even notices that mai is there lol

edit: Whoops your edit pre-empted me, sorry

edit 2: Bah the coolier uploader crapped out on me. I may have made a mistake in providing the link to the uhhh wow, 129 people currently viewing this thread. Or maybe my internet's just finicky. Either way, whoopsy
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:08:41 AM by gilde »

HistoryoftheMoon

False alarm, there are no PC-98 characters returning.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 04:54:38 PM by HistoryoftheMoon »

Fulisha of Light

  • Also known as Felis-Licht
  • Light and Day Aeon ~C☆
Spoiler:
I'm not sure how to completely feel yet until I hear what the story's about.:ohdear: I feel rather disappointed atm though, I was expecting something entirely out of left field.

Drake

  • *
Spoiler:
Stage 5 boss and Stage 6 themes are pretty sick

The final boss changes locales to the previous stages after every card

A Colorful Calculating Creative and Cuddly Crafty Callipygous Clever Commander
- original art by Aiけん | ウサホリ -

Spoiler:
The final boss changes locales to the previous stages after every card

Spoiler:
Ohhhhh that sounds so stylish. Based on this and some of the dialogue I've seen so far (i got cut off but im reopening the coolier uploader now after restarting my comp) I'm expecting the 'weird curveball some-people-might-not-like-it' thing ZUN talked about means that the final boss is Actually A Bigtime Dramatic Plot Lady for once??? hmmmMmmMm

e: n/m on the coolier thing it's still not workin. o well ( .w.)

e2: vvvv I HUNGER FOR LIVESTREAM!! TO NICOVIDEO I GO
e3: on second thought i wanna see the stages in order so i'll wait for one of the upcoming ones to start
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:33:31 AM by gilde »

KaiserKnuckle

  • You better stop,
  • and think about what you're doing
    • Music interests and whatnot
I'm watching a livestream of a Lunatic run. I'll be posting details as it plays. SPOILERS OBV

Spoiler:


STAGE 4: White Blizzard Out of Season
-Not in the Forest of Magic. Apparently in the sky?
-Many enemy fairies need to die since they WILL travekl to the bottom
-Whoops missed the midboss typing this LOL
-Bamboo chick is really animated
-Goddamn yes the statue girl's theme
-Nonspell: Amulet lanes you need to cross through
-Spell 1: Yellow amulets spawn increasingly close to you and twist
-Missed spell 2
-Spell 3: Rising fireball bullet clusters that fall back down

STAGE 5: Into Crazy Backdoor
-Really weird dimension literally full of doors. So the S6 boss's power is literal? The post-midboss background effects show that the doors open into the other stage backgrounds/season locations?
-Really nice, somber stage theme
-Works kind of like Stage 4's fairies with the waves you need to kill before you get sniped by aimed bullets from the bottom of the screen, except with lasers as well
-Midboss: Fast AF crisscrossing green amulets oh jesus
-Post midboss fairies flood the screen with blue bullets, so you NEED to use releases here or die.
-Other big fairies fly in across the screen doing the same.
-Bosses: Bamboo chick shoots fast crisscrossing amulets, non-bamboo girl shoots slower creeping ones
-Missed spell 1
-Spell 2: green bullets creep from the top of the screen and scatter in semirandom directions
-Spell 3: Same, but also turn into aimed arrowhead backshots when they hit the bottom of the screen
-Spell 4: Curvy lasers and amulets

STAGE 6: Hidden Star in Four Seasons
-Stage BGM is in katakana and is super spooky sounding
-Multiple death fairies with charge effects who spew resources when dead
-Background is really cool; black void as you approach opening doors into other dimensions
-S6 boss is super cool looking with her sprite!!
-Nonspell: volleys of kunai bullets (think Hecatia) the kunais per spell are colored after each of the serasons, apparently
-Her cool S6 boss thing is that the doors open into other backgrounds per spell; we go through the Spring (S1) Autumn (S2) Spring (S3) Winter (S4) stage backgrounds.
-Spell 2: Fireballs from all directions
-Nonspell 3 is literally BOWAP wtf
-Spell 3: Same as S3 final spell, but fireballs turn into aimed bullets at the top
-Spell 4 Dark bullets which lighten up when approaching you
-Spell 5: Falling bullets from the sides bounce back upwards into gravity bullets
-Final spell: Remember that one boss from the 199X games with the lasers that constrict your space? It's that plus with thick bullet rings, then other bullets as the boss's health goes down

« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 03:30:26 AM by KaiserKnuckle »
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

Drake

  • *
Spoiler:
Eternity

A Colorful Calculating Creative and Cuddly Crafty Callipygous Clever Commander
- original art by Aiけん | ウサホリ -

WishMakers

  • Myouren's IT Guy
  • printf("h*ck");
Spoiler:
I heard during the last spell of Stage 6 releases are disabled.
Return of Eastern Wonderland! Made by a PC-98 fan FOR fans!
1ccs: SoEW (N), LLS (N), MS (N), EoSD (N, H), PCB (N), IN (N, H), PoFV (N, 5 char), MoF (N), SA (N), UFO (N), TD (N), DDC (N), LoLK (N), HSiFS (E, N, L), WBaWC (N)
Extra: EoSD, PCB, IN, PoFV, MoF, HSiFS, WBaWC
Scoring: HSiFS Easy (PB: 1.1b), Barrage Musical Hard (PB: 28.?b)

Lebon14

  • 椛ちゃん、助けてぇぇぇぇぇ!
Spoiler:
Eternity
Was it really fixed
Spoiler:
or left as "Etarnity" (and various other inconsistencies)
?

Drake

  • *
Spoiler:
Easy 1cc seems to unlock Extra


"Fifth season" predictions were entirely true as well! -> EX Stage

You get a Fifth subweapon, it shoots behind you. And appropriately for those paying attention, the release itself is like Summer but it also moves backwards lol

EX gives so many extends
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 04:05:47 AM by Drake »

A Colorful Calculating Creative and Cuddly Crafty Callipygous Clever Commander
- original art by Aiけん | ウサホリ -