sorry for bumping this thread, but there aren't much threads about Phantasm Romance anyways. I do prefer Phantasm Romance, because it feels more arcade-ish (the stages require more movement from the player than Touhou games usually require, you don't micrododge attacks as often, and the pacing was quicker in PR), and has tweaked the Touhou formula (PR doesn't have collision detection on the fairies, the counterbomb time is IN-like, as to compensate for the game's difficulty, and the scoring system is simple, straightforward, and doesn't involve grazing or raising the value of point items). Also, not only are the patterns amazing to watch as you play through them, but dodging them as well would feel like if a newcomer tried to dodge Touhou patterns for the first times.
Also, the design effort put on maze stages, and the boss rush on EX4 before the final boss, and that boss herself.. the patterns are more awesome to watch and to dodge in PR than in CtC, imho.
Speaking of CtC, from someone who can't ignore scoring potential, having to graze and milk midbosses and bosses for points become a chore after a while. Sometimes, I'd get bored and just want this game to be over as soon as possible. (and my complaint about grazing is mostly that it requires execution for taking greater risks for increasing rewards which aren't fair enough to justify a needlessly lost life. Also, grazing sometimes implies memorization and strict paths, which help make an inflexible gameplay, depending on how it's implemented -- and that may explain the feeling that I'm doing a chore, whenever I have to sit and graze Meiling's patterns or the larger fairies' streams from SA's first stage. Grazing can be made a fun element, but most of the times, that won't be the case for either Touhou or CtC..)
