In which games playing Easy modo == incomplete content?

[Vilikusan]

Greetings,

I'm quite new to Touhou, slowly improving my skills and perception in Normal/Hard/Lunatic gameplays, but as I started from EoSD, I almost never play on easy.
– First reason is similar to learning how to play chess: if you can choose between very skilled opponent and someone with skill similar to you (which is very low, as you just start learning), it's best to choose very skilled one. Against stronger opponent you learn quicker, you can analyse his/her actions, or just copy them, to improve your own strategic thinking, while against someone weak you both could just keep using "near random" moves, without much of improvement. This is why I often practice on Lunatic for some time, then try playing normal.
– Second one is that in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, easy mode is limited to only 5 stages, thus you cannot learn the whole story, and you won't really unlock too much by beating it. After that (playing EoSD), whenever I start new game, I always give my first try on Lunatic, then advance downwards to Normal.

Is EoSD (Touhou 6) the only game, which limits it's content if played on easy, or there are more Touhou games like that?

Also, Someone on reddit said (last comment):

Whatever you do, do not start on Mountain of Faith on easy mode.

but there was no explanation why not to do that. Does it also ends too soon, or limits some endings, or something else that downgrades gameplay experience?

I'm asking just from curiosity, as I usually try to play in more challenging difficulties, so I can improve myself. But if I'd ever want to complete some game on easy first, so I can learn the story faster, knowing about limitations will be crucial

[Emerald Mint]

Similar thing applies in Touhou, where Easy/Normal are better for practicing scoring tactics, just like being able to find forks, pins, skewers and forced mates against casual/intermediate players. And after analysing and comparing your replays, you'll be able to find spots to improve.

Easy won't unlock the Extra mode in most games or the alternative ending on th13 for example, so limited to some extent.

[AJS]

There are quite a few cases in which certain spell cards from some bosses are outright omitted in Normal or Easy mode, so you would be missing those.  Some spells even change in nature significantly at higher difficulties.  In addition, as Emerald mentioned, you usually won't be able to unlock the Extra Stage by 1CC-ing Easy mode in most games, with a few exceptions.

That guy most likely told you not to play Mountain of Faith on Easy mode because the final boss's final spell card is notorious for being harder on Easy mode than Normal mode because the bullets' decreased speed makes them clump together more.

[Ghaleon]

As mentioned, you need to play normal to unlock extras in more games but I don't know which exactly. EoSD is in fact the only Touhou game where Easy is flat out missing an entire stage though (unless the newest one does too, haven't played it yet).

I don't really consider spellcards missing to really be a factor because sometimes easier difficulties have ones other difficulties do not have either. IIRC the prismriver sisters had a unique attack or two on easy..and there are plenty of games where there aren't even said spellcards on normal either

[Phasm]

Greetings,

I'm quite new to Touhou, slowly improving my skills and perception in Normal/Hard/Lunatic gameplays, but as I started from EoSD, I almost never play on easy.
? First reason is similar to learning how to play chess: if you can choose between very skilled opponent and someone with skill similar to you (which is very low, as you just start learning), it's best to choose very skilled one. Against stronger opponent you learn quicker, you can analyse his/her actions, or just copy them, to improve your own strategic thinking, while against someone weak you both could just keep using "near random" moves, without much of improvement. This is why I often practice on Lunatic for some time, then try playing normal.
? Second one is that in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, easy mode is limited to only 5 stages, thus you cannot learn the whole story, and you won't really unlock too much by beating it. After that (playing EoSD), whenever I start new game, I always give my first try on Lunatic, then advance downwards to Normal.

Is EoSD (Touhou 6) the only game, which limits it's content if played on easy, or there are more Touhou games like that?

Also, Someone on reddit said (last comment): but there was no explanation why not to do that. Does it also ends too soon, or limits some endings, or something else that downgrades gameplay experience?

I'm asking just from curiosity, as I usually try to play in more challenging difficulties, so I can improve myself. But if I'd ever want to complete some game on easy first, so I can learn the story faster, knowing about limitations will be crucial

Well on easy mode in Mountain of Faith, after beating the final boss even if it's a 1CC, you will get the bad ending, in which Reimu or Marisa are beaten.

[Sakurei]

It's funny that you guys say things like

Easy won't unlock the Extra mode in most games or the alternative ending on th13 for example, so limited to some extent.

and

you usually won't be able to unlock the Extra Stage by 1CC-ing Easy mode in most games, with a few exceptions.

when the reverse is true! by my count, there are more games where you can unlock the extra stage with easy mode than not. By my count, it's 5 games where you need to beat normal mode, but 7 for easy mode.

EoSD, MoF, SA, UFO and TD unlock only with normal mode, if I'm not wrong, but LLS, MS, PCB, IN, PoFV, GFW and DDC unlock with easy mode as well. I don't know about SoEW, but I suspect Karisa, Kirby or Zil could know. Feel free to correct me if I got something wrong though, I'm actually not completely certain on some of those things

Another thing is: Copying other people's move in chess is bad! You need to understand the intention behind the move for it to make sense, and from there you may be able to derive similar situations in the future and use moves having a similar effect, but with completely different looks. If chess was as simple as copying moves from better players, I would be world champion.

[Nerios]

EoSD, MoF, SA, UFO and TD unlock only with normal mode, if I'm not wrong, but LLS, MS, PCB, IN, PoFV, GFW and DDC unlock with easy mode as well. I don't know about SoEW, but I suspect Karisa, Kirby or Zil could know.

Like in EoSD, Lotus Land Story locks you out of Stage 6 if you play in Easy mode. Story of Eastern Wonderland extra stage can be unlocked with any difficulty, but requires 1CC the game on all 3 shot types.

[Nolegs the Cat]

That guy most likely told you not to play Mountain of Faith on Easy mode because the final boss's final spell card is notorious for being harder on Easy mode than Normal mode because the bullets' decreased speed makes them clump together more.

I like how everyone forgets about Stream of Otensui on easy, despite the fact it's harder then Mountain of Faith is :V
Okay, fine. Passable with 1, max 2 bombs. But still.

Anyway... if you can only do easy, you aren't ready for the extra stages anyway. Not being mean, just saying.

Also.

This is why I often practice on Lunatic for some time, then try playing normal.

Honestly, that's... kinda like punching a brick wall when you're trying to punch apart plastic.
Yes, playing above your skill level is good. But don't overdo it, really - practicing on the harder normal/modes or easier hard modes will be nowhere near as frustrating, and you'll probably improve much faster because of it.
Your choice, though.

[Sakurei]

Like in EoSD, Lotus Land Story locks you out of Stage 6 if you play in Easy mode. Story of Eastern Wonderland extra stage can be unlocked with any difficulty, but requires 1CC the game on all 3 shot types.

My favorite is when I make a fool of myself. But if you can unlock SoEW, then it still stands at 7 games you can unlock with easy mode and 6 you need to clear normal mode or higher. So I suppose my general point still stands. Thanks for correcting me though.

[TresserT]

My favorite is when I make a fool of myself. But if you can unlock SoEW, then it still stands at 7 games you can unlock with easy mode and 6 you need to clear normal mode or higher. So I suppose my general point still stands. Thanks for correcting me though.

PoFV hardly counts as an extra stage, and a lot of people forget about PC-98. As far as Windows goes, there are more instances where you have to beat normal to unlock extra.

[Sakurei]

saying that people forget about the pc-98s is absolutely no argument, though. that doesn't say anything about the games themselves, but onoly that you all people have awful memory and forget that the best 2hu is, in fact, a pc-98.

PoFV should count as well. it may be different from a traditional extra stage, but it is still labelled as such and you have to unlock it too. I mean, if we just randomly exclude extra stages, then we might as well remove suwako because her stage is literally a sleeping pill in game form.

[TresserT]

saying that people forget about the pc-98s is absolutely no argument, though. that doesn't say anything about the games themselves, but onoly that you all people have awful memory and forget that the best 2hu is, in fact, a pc-98.

PoFV should count as well. it may be different from a traditional extra stage, but it is still labelled as such and you have to unlock it too. I mean, if we just randomly exclude extra stages, then we might as well remove suwako because her stage is literally a sleeping pill in game form.

I'm not trying to argue, I'm just explaining why people say "you have to beat the game on normal to unlock extra". I love PC-98. Though I would be willing to argue that PoFV doesn't count.

[Tengukami]

I have a semantic issue with saying playing Easy Mode means you get "incomplete content". Apart from the more or less 50/50 split between Easy and Normal 1cc's when it comes to unlocking Extra, the stage is called Extra; not Final. "Extra" implies it's in addition to the complete whole. Like when you order a pizza and ask for "extra cheese", you're not getting the complete amount of cheese; you're getting more than a complete pizza would normally have.

And that's apart from how this subject usually kinda skates close to elitism (not that the OP is doing that).

Spoiler:

/easymodeplayer

[Abraham Lincoln]

1ccing the easy mode of DDC unlocks the extra stage for some unknown reason.

[Mero]

It's been already said that Easy mode unlocking Extra is not a rarity, though I guess it is odd that DDC unlocks it in such a straightforward way, just 1cc on Easy and that's that.
Other games where you can unlock Extra through Easy mode usually have a secondary condition to compensate for it:
SoEW: clear with all shots
IN: clear both final A and B
PoFV: see all endings (except Eiki and Komachi's I think)
GFW: clear all 6 routes

I actually didn't know Easy unlocked Extra in MS, so that's news to me. In PCB, it's kind of obvious Phantasm was the main attraction for Extra mode, and it has a secondary condition: capture 60 different spellcards. And it required you to play across all modes (I think you can do it without going into Hard and Lunatic, though)