[Let's Play] Touhou Gensoumaroku: The Devil of Decline~Matsuri!

[Validon98]

Yeah, still haven't learned Benevolence Wall. On anyone.  :fail:
Also, I'm coming close to ending this game except for expansion stuff, and I want to put this to a vote now so that I can mentally prepare for this. After this, do you want me to continue on directly with the expansion, or do you want me to switch to another game? Here's a list of what I can do:

Genius of Sappheiros
Phantasmal Summoners (I haven't finished the game, so it'll be partially blind)
Sengoku Gensokyo
Final Fantasy IV
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (it's the only one I can run on my computer, because I don't trust PS2 emulators. I do own the game!)
Other???

Let me know so that I can prepare for that.

[Serela]

Expansioooooon.

[Hanzo K.]

I say expansion, then Sengoku. It'd help my playthrough, I know that much.

[Validon98]

I'm not calling the vote quite yet, but I am letting you know that the next update is already screenshotted. Yeah, the second one went a lot faster, considering I didn't really have to grind. Please watch warmly...

[Validon98]

Three Demonic Pillars- Part 2: Xia Zhuli

So, let's deal with the hardest of the three originally second! That makes perfect sense!



So, we went from six hours left to three. We don't have much time left...



Welcome to the Temple of Blood! Population: Xia and a lot of monsters. Shall we proceed?



Our only new enemy is a Papapulus (that's probably spelled wrong). It's weak to Fire, but it's just as annoying as the White Sharks from earlier, plus they have Tentacle, which is pretty dangerous.



I didn't screencap it quickly enough, but Suika learned Quick Break. As in one of the best Slash skills ever. Why? It treats the enemy as if it had a level lower Slash resistance than it actually has. Which pretty much makes it a very powerful attack.



They've got blood here too. What is this, the Black Dream Tower from Valkyrie Profile?
I can't believe I didn't make that parallel when I was at the actual tower earlier.
The Black Dream Tower gives me the shudders. If I remember right, it was made of corpses. Ugh...



Glad to know people still think TPKing me is a great idea.



This area is the shortest of the three, I think. Hang on a second, I want to raise the levels of the Bulbul and the Oshirasama at least a little.
Fun fact: the Oshirasama is a reference to Shin Megami Tensei, like the Dekurabia.



Comet Assault Slash. It's somewhat powerful and has Slayer against beasts and insects. Okay then.



You see that? That's after fighting three Elite Mind Flayers and a Beholder. The Beholder got killed early, there were two Elite Mind Flayers left, one somehow died, and everyone got paralyzed. But Mokou tanked the last Elite Mind Flayer's Mind Blast and normal attacks, did not get inflicted with Instant Death, recovered from Paralysis, and took down the last Elite Mind Flayer.
Mokou, you are the badass of the party. Screw Meiling. Screw Suika. YOU are the badass.
Enough with that. Let's go kick Xia's ass.



Three guesses, and the first two don't count.



Hey there Xia, how's it going? Good?



Mokou, still in Badass Mode, goes up and demands sacrifice.



Xia notes that she kind of wasn't really excited about their little plan in the first place, and that she's the "good one." What, you don't want a second Makai?
Despite that, of course, she's still going to try to kick our ass.



Uh, no, sorry. We have our badass poses, and you don't.



Your badass pose isn't as good as ours.



Those things look like they would hurt. A lot. The strategy is the same as before, except this time I have Quick Break, which does some decent damage against her. With Mokou having Decoy and herself and spamming Physical Defense, she can tank everything. And if Xia uses Diamond Dust, Water Jammer will just lower that damage.



Weirdly enough, she only uses "Dancing Spray of Blood" and not her new Spell Card during this fight. The name of that card is Catastrophe "Descent into the Maelstrom." It's pretty much a stronger version of "Dancing Spray of Blood."



Timing, I hate you sometimes.



Yeah. Physical Defense is awesome.
I manage to beat her without too much difficulty, compared to the amount Otoha gave me.



So, still faceplanting, huh?



Apparently Xia thought we were soft. For once I'm with Nitori, despite how much she's pissed everyone off (Diamond in the Rough doesn't help matters).



She didn't think we were this powerful, but she states we're still no match for Angra. We'll see.



Let's keep going!



Two down, one to go.



We only have two hours left, though. Time is running out. Next time we take on Chloe, and then we finish this.

Summary:

Treasure: Orichalcum Shard, Gold, Sekuretto Aparrel, Orichalcum, Makai Lodestone, Adamantite Shard, Mirror Shield, Red Dragon's Broadaxe (Byakruen)

Skills: Quick Break (Suika), Meteor Zapper (Meiling), Comet Assualt Slash (Meiling), Cold View (Bulbul)

Passives: -25% cost of field effects (Murasa)

Recipes: Necklace of Strength III+, Anklet of Protection III+, Launch Goggles III+, Gale Boots III+

Synthesis Done: Mystleteinn (Patchy)

TPKs: 2 this update, 40 overall
Frustration: Almost there...

[Serela]

Moh Shovuu (Shovaeu? I don't know how to spell it at all.) THE BIRD SHIKIGAMI FROM STRATUM ONE are also Shin Megami Tensei references.

[Validon98]

Moh Shovuu (Shovaeu? I don't know how to spell it at all.) THE BIRD SHIKIGAMI FROM STRATUM ONE are also Shin Megami Tensei references.

...Uh, any reason for the capital letters? I do remember where the Moh Shovuu is from in terms of which stratum, I just didn't know it was a SMT reference. I don't exactly play it a whole lot.
Anyways, the next update has been completed as well. The next update after this one will be the finale. Wow.

[Validon98]

Three Demonic Pillars- Finale: Chloe Gripper

And then there was one. Well, it's time to deal with the former shinigami herself, Chloe. But first, grinding!



And TPKing. That still happens.



Kind of barren around your temple, Chloe.



Of course, it's Chloe, so...




I went back to the final area to grind more, and more shit happened. Wonderful.



Uh, a Queen Flayer? Really? Ididn't get one in my first playthrough. Not that I care, but it's kind of nice, I guess. It starts with Energy Hand, Rainbow Ray, and Energy Riot. It provides 50% resistance to Light and Dark, weakness to Pierce, and a 5% chance of causing Instant Death with normal attacks. Sorry, no.



Out only new enemy here is the Midnight. They are pretty much just stronger versions of Darknesses from earlier.



See this Great Demon? I killed it. Barely.



Hmm... the door's locked. But how do I get to Chloe?




Just memorize which of these lights are on and which ones are off. Then go on the other side of the room and turn the corresponding ones on.



I'm out of jokes for this.



So, Chloe, you're the last one. I've already beaten your friends. Now, you can come quietly or I put you down.



Yeah, I remember you said if we come back, you show no mercy. Well, we're back. And we're a lot stronger.



Our badass poses are still the same, but that doesn't mean anything!



Let's do this!



Chloe here pretty much is the same as she was when we had that fake fight with her earlier. So, she'll use stuff like Abyss and Full Moon Revenge. Like with Xia, I'll use Decoy on Mokou and spam Physical Defense. However, if she pulls out "Causer of Ruin" or her other card, I've got Benevolence Wall, and Suika can use Aegis Defense (if Mokou hasn't already applied Little Legion to herself). I made the Durandal for Meiling and put Shou on Patchy for both Absolute Justice and Holy. There is no way she'll be able to bust out her Dark stuff.



Still, I could try to somehow negate Full Moon Revenge on the turn I cast Professional Vacation. It still hurts.



Star Hand. Critical. Look at the Land. That is awesome.



I was doing so well...



Completely different TPK.



This is Holy+Whatever the name of the Magic Attack up buff is plus huge tilt towards Light.
We get her after a couple of resets.



So, that takes care of you.



She admits defeat honorably. Well, thank you, I guess. Can you go call Angra off then? No? Damn.



She says that compared to Angra, her power is is only that of a baby. Okay...



Well, doesn't matter to me! Let's take down Angra!



Yikes, one hour left. This'll be a close call.



Some sort of magical energy is flowing about now that all three gears are on. That means that Angra is at her weakest. However, we are not going for her right now. Next time, we finish the necessary grinding and deal with Angra Mainyu herself. So tune in next time for the two-part finale...

The Devil of Decline- Part 1: Angra Mainyu

I'm so uncreative with titles, aren't I?

Summary:

Treasures: Orichalcum Shard, Damascus Steel, Adamantite Shard, Minstrel Chainmail (, Mokou), Adamantite, Dragon Slayer (Mokou), Gold, Iruminsuru Guarder (Suika)

Skills: Hourai Jewel (150 power all-targeting magic spell with your choice of Fire, Water, Earth, or Electric, Kaguya), Breakthrough (Increases chances of landing status effects, Murasa), Holy (200 power single-target Light spell, Shou), Quick Break (Meiling), First Strike (Garubangoru), Benevolence Wall (covers all allies, Mining Village), Temple Crash (Byakuren), Face Smash (Kanako), Comet Assault Strike (Mokou)

Passives: +10% Critical damage (Yuugi), +1% Critical chance with Fire spells (Flandre)

Recipes: Evasion Muffler III+, Keen Pendant III+, Barrier Earrings III+, Rosary of Fortitude III+

Synthesis Done: A. Muscle Suit (Suika), Adamantite, Orichalcum, Durandal (Meiling), Keen Pendant III+ (Patchy)

TPKs: 5 this update, 45 overall
Frustration: It all ends soon enough.

[Serela]

All of 'em all at once, hah. Nice slew of updates! Final boss hype~

[homing curvy laser]

slow

It starts with Blood Sword, which works the same way it does in Final Fantasy II (depends on the max HP of the target, I think), and absorbs the damage, as well as Shield Bash, which has power proportional to the amount of defense the shield has (which would be nice on Mokou) AND sets the shield's activation rate to 100%, ensuring it blocks any attack that turn. It also boosts the power of HP draining attacks (such as Sucking Blood or Drain Touch) by 10% and boosts the amount of HP absorbed by 25%. Sorry, I don't care enough.

"Okay here's a shikigami with a lot of good things! I don't care about him".
I laughed. You should've mentioned the decent boost in STR the guy gives, too.

Ah geez, a Great Demon. Just like the Lesser Demon and Infant Demon from before, it knows Dark attacks andis generally a pain in the ass to deal with.

I. HATE. YOU. SO. MUCH. Most (if not all) monsters around this part of the game have a capture rate of about 1.49%, if I'm not mistaken. Do you know how many tries it took until I got him? 357. If my calculations are correct, the chance of that happening hovers around 0.5%. Still easier than a card drop in RO!  :colonveeplusalpha: Also, no I will never grind for a Yukkuri. I remember checking Twitter for D rank shikigamis after I finally got him, and apparently I beat the previous unlucky record owner by 4 battles. Sadly enough, Twitter appears to have gotten even worse than the usual and doesn't show search results older than a week anymore, so I can't see if I still hold the world record.

Elite Mind Flayer

I remember that my strategy in one of my playthoughs to beat them was giving Remilia a good spear, Gapuin and spamming Tentacle whenever one of them showed up. It killed them in one hit most of the time, but it wasn't enough when there were more than one...

OUT~Devil of Chaos

And then you get to the final bosses, remember how they're going to be annoying and get blown away by the music. This is the best song I was talking about in that other post, oh boy it's so amazing.

[Serela]

I. HATE. YOU. SO. MUCH.

You probably thought he recruited it, didn't you? I'm preeeeeetty sure that's just an image of him encountering one by itself! XD

[Validon98]

"Okay here's a shikigami with a lot of good things! I don't care about him".

It's called "I don't have anybody to put him on, because everyone else is min-maxing." Shield Bash would be great on Mokou, if during boss fights she wasn't spamming Physical Defense. And from Final Fantasy experience, drain attacks suck no matter what game you play (unless it's Osmose, which is good).

I. HATE. YOU. SO. MUCH.

Did you think I actually recruited him? Ahahahahaha... no. Not even. No way. I've only beaten him once. Yeah, I'm not recruiting him.
I have recruited the King Yukkuri in my first run of the game because I grinded off of them so much (it was within the first thirty or so, I think). I got the drop even earlier. That is the one time the RNG liked me.

And then you get to the final bosses, remember how they're going to be annoying and get blown away by the music. This is the best song I was talking about in that other post, oh boy it's so amazing.

It's my favorite version of OUT of all of the ones I've heard. GoS's is okay, but not really as intense. The version for the Clock Towers of the End is okay too. The Phantasmal Summoners version I can't hear except in the soundtrack I ripped from the game myself (go not having a Twitter), though it is good, and I've never heard the original OUT originally made by Hachikuma. But then you come to this version...
None of the other ones really matter (though if someone knows where the original OUT is, I'd like to give it a listen).

EDIT: Since no one else has voted, I've made up my mind about what I'm doing next. I will move onto the expansion, but parallel to that I will be LPing Sengoku Gensokyo. So I'll be working back and forth between the two games. After I finish the main game of DoD, I'll start working on Sengoku Gensokyo, then probably go back and start the expansion.
I still need to work on some real life stuff for a couple hours, and then I'll see what I can do to finish this up. Then I need to figure out how I'm doing Sengoku Gensokyo, because it's such a different game from DoD, for those who haven't played it before. It'll be fun, I hope.

[Validon98]

Well, the finale has been screenshotted. I feel disappointed in myself for not screenshotting more of the final boss fight, but what can I do? I can only do so much...
So, I'll get that up in a while. I have some real life stuff to take care of first. And then afterwards, we begin Sengoku Gensokyo and the expansion!

[Hanzo K.]

Sweet.

[Validon98]

The Devil of Decline- Part 1: Angra Mainyu

It's all come down to this. All of our battles. All of our struggles. Everything we've done over the last 27 (in-game) hours has come down to this. Let's bring this fight to the one pulling the strings herself, Angra Mainyu.



Here I get Final Anchor, a field effect that lasts two turns. When it ends, all enemies are damaged based on the caster's DEX. It cannot be resisted. It is flat damage. It is awesome, and it's saved me on more than one occasion. This shall be one of our greatest weapons against Angra.





Three TPKs from grinding. You also missed the part where four King Yukkuris used Face Smash in a row on the first turn each, though I actually barely managed to kill the last one of them. I really hate Face Smash.
Offscreen, Meiling learns Bandit Pursuit and Yuugi learns Benevolence Wall. Momiji also gains a +25% boost to the defense of the currently equipped shield. Now the Aegis Shield has 125 defense rating instead of 100!



My levels right before I march in to fight Angra. This is lower than I originally intended. I simply don't care anymore. Let me know if you guys have beaten Angra at a lower level than this.
Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things in Gensokyo!



This certainly is the final area, Mokou.



That's not good.



Crap, she knows we're here.



Why hello there, Angra. Last time we personally met was, let's see, eleven hours ago? You issued your ultimatum. We issued ours. You came here instead of settling things immediately. Time for payback.



Or you could smile. Honestly, you're not doing much to frighten me.



I don't know where her little bed/chair/whatever went. I simply don't care.



Keine?



Angra remembers her, but it's not really an "oh crap" thing or anything for her.



You look like a confused puppy with that expression, Angra. You're losing badass points and earning... uh... cute points, maybe? I really don't know.



Okay, I take it back, you're not cute. You're a terrifying demon from Makai.



Pretty much the actual conversation was her explaining her plot a second time, including the details with Keine, of course. I don't really need to repeat it.



And then she says that the whole shikigami thing was "natural selection." So, through manipulating and observing the history of Gensokyo, you've selected certain people to become shikigami and others to stay normal? Uh, I'll buy it for now, but I personally am getting confused.



Uh...
She says later that this is a gift from her. After all, what's a final boss fight without an awesome other dimension to fight in?
Weird, it's almost as if she wants us to fight her...



Whatever the case, we're here Angra.
And Gensokyo's Purpose and Final Moment plays. It's our seventh and last remix of Shanghai Teahouse~Chinese Tea. And it's heroic as all hell.



Sunny Milk might just be a fairy, but she's come a long way (story-wise), and she's not going to let her friends down!



Fujiwara no Mokou has been in Gensokyo for a long time. Immortality does that to you, of course. And she's not going to let you tear it apart!



Sanae Kochiya is a shrine maiden of Gensokyo. Despite the fact she's still somewhat of a newcomer, it's her role as a shrine maiden of Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya to resolve incidents!



Nitori Kawashiro is a scientist, and history is a precious thing to a person of learning. She won't let you destroy it!



Keine Kamashirasawa is the one you kidnapped from the beginning. It's time for her to reclaim her power as a were-hakutaku and restore Gensokyo!



And finally, Hong Meiling. She is the underdog. The one everyone picks on. The one whose name everyone forgets. To them, she's China. But to you, she's Hong Meiling, the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion! She will not let you destroy Gensokyo!



OUT~Devil of Chaos plays for this fight. Kickass music for the win!
As for the fight itself, Angra is weak to the basic elements, for whatever reason. She'll use some physical and magical attacks, as well as put up a shield that reflects magic. So don't use magic. The fight is rather simple enough (though I reset a few times because I forgot how to do this a few times).



This can't be good.



YugenMagen, is that you? Also, that's the same spell circle from the beginning of the game. Well, considering she probably was the one to make them...



OWW.



75% Resist to Mystic+Benevolence Wall+Aegis Defense=Tanking Spell Cards like it was no thing. That was Great Devil "Eruption of Damavando." It attacks 5 times randomly.



After reducing her to 0 HP, she starts laughing. Are you enjoying this? I'm kicking your ass!



Oh, she hasn't had to try to fight in 342 years. This... isn't good, is it?



Now I'm a bit worried.



Uh...



I'm trying to think of what Maleficent says in "Sleeping Beauty" and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, but the quote escapes me.



I'm going to file this one under fanservice. Also, the true final boss music plays here. Ominous. Okay, the hands and the head are separate enemies. The hands will do some attacks and will resurrect the head if I kill it first. So, I have to go after the hands to make things simple.



I really didn't want a lesson in demon anatomy. I really didn't. Ugh...



I think this was from Quick Break. Go Suika!



Oh shit...



I can't see shit. What's going on?



Oh look, the power of 75% Mystic resistance and Aegis Defense. That was "Vendeidado Vinaya." That would deal 1000 damage split between each of my party members normally.



I think that was Magic Storm, or something like that. It actually didn't do too much damage. Huh.





Patchy, keep blowing things up.



Damn it, she brought her hands back.



That still freaks me out. I got the last hand through the power of Falcon Slash. That skill has served me well as the finisher of bosses.
Oh, and Suika learned Emperor's Slash. Okay then.





It's over. It's finally over.

To be continued...

[Validon98]

The Devil of Decline- Finale: Decline of the Devil



Well then, that's it!



We won! Standard incident resolution procedure must follow. You will fix things. Now.



Surprised? You shouldn't be.



So, what's it going to be?



She admits defeat. Well, that's a start!



Huh? Why are you bowing?



She calls in the Three Demonic Pillars. So, guys, how's it going?



They all say they're sincerely sorry. Uhh...
Okay...
Wait, you guys are demons. From Makai. Why are you apologizing? Isn't it in your nature to be destructive? Wasn't your plan to turn Gensokyo into more territory for you to hold?



This is an unusual English phrase in the midst of the dialogue, but whatever.



So wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE.



This was all... a game!? A lie!? A joke!? To relieve your boredom!? Everything!? The towers, the castle, everything was only there to add to the dramatic effect!? As fun!? As a joke!? There was no real danger!? You LIED!?



I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU DO NOT PLAY FALSE INCIDENT WITH ME! TENSHI DID THAT ONCE, AND I RIPPED HER TO SHREDS! COME HERE, YOU FOUR! I'M GOING TO EXTERMINATE YOU AND SEND YOUR SORRY ASSES INTO THE DEPTHS OF HOKKAI, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!



Damn it, they escaped, saying they want to meet us again sometime. Oh, that'll be the day.



Yeah Mokou, I'm pissed off too. They were never going to destroy Gensokyo in the first place. Damn it, that was a complete waste of 28 hours.



Meanwhile Keine fixes everything. Hell yeah!




What did you three do to piss off Cirno?



And you two are fighting... *sigh*



Uhh...



What, afraid of the dark, Kogasa?



Yuyuko, how hungry are you?



Hey Sakuya. I never recruited you, mainly because much like the Peri, you were severely nerfed. Maybe I'll fix that in the expansion.



Remilia gives Meiling the reward of having a room in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, while Sakuya is forced to live in the dog house instead, as punishment for becoming a shikigami. And then because Patchy heard a rumor about Meiling claiming herself the master of the SDM while Remilia was out (whether that was true or not I have no idea), Meiling loses that reward. Thanks a lot, Patchy.



Be careful, Medicine. Her umbrella is loaded.



Tenshi drags Iku to do... something. I don't want to know.



You pervert.



Hey guys, how's it going.



"Whee, I'm going to go exploring the surface again!"
So, anyone else read Do the Right Thing? Koishi is... interesting, in that fanfiction. I recommend it.



Apparently Ran has been checking out the situation in Gensokyo.



Uhh...



Chen, you look so cute!



Sorry, they had to wake you up, Yukari.



And she just gaps in things to hurt you. Of course.



After discussing the incident for a little, Yukari goes back to sleep. Not a surprise.




They said Yukari sleeps way too much. I wonder where they'll end up.



Hey, Rinnosuke! Kourindou's back, huh?



Oh, hey Alice!



Uh...



Hey guys, how's it going?



Why are all the tengu pissed off at each other? Aya and Hatate I know, but Momiji?



Of course she's lecturing her.



Uh... they're talking about stealing Byakuren's clothes...?



Ichirin, you disturb me, sometimes. Unzan too.



Nue, you don't have to sit over in the corner. You might not exactly be a Buddhist and you sort of almost messed up Byakuren's unsealing, but it's all okay now, right?



You don't have to be a loner. I understand you're the Nue of the past, but there's people here in Gensokyo you can be friendly with.



Apparently, Nue has noticed that there's some sort of connection between Byakuren and the Three Demonic Pillars. Hmm?



Apparently Byakuren and the Three Demonic Pillars are old friends from the time Byakuren was in Makai. She says they were a little troublesome, but they're good at heart. Huh. Well, they seemed sort of nice. Granted, they were playing one of the greatest practical jokes ever right there, which pisses me off, but I guess I can get over it. Maybe.



And then they all fight over which one of them is the favored disciple of Byakuren.



Nazrin and Shou, you're smart about getting out of there before the argument goes sour.



The Phantom Ensemble is back at last!



Heck, even the Giant Toad wants to listen!




Suika broke the rock, but she's not feeling so well. You too drunk, Suika?



Mokou, why are you in Eientei?



That's more like it.



Well Reimu, it's been a long day. I'm just as tired as you.



Uh...



Gee, that wasn't expected at all.



They're having a feast to celebrate incident resolution like everyone else.



Uh, you CAUSED the incident! You don't have a feast to celebrate it afterwards! We have it, you just come to it to see how things are going!



Reimu decides to join, but the carpet is burning. Apparently, it's much cooler to them than the fires of Makai. I didn't even know Makai had fires.



Angra tells Reimu that even though they did not take Gensokyo as their territory physically, they now consider it they're home, so it is their territory, technically. So technically speaking, they did what they set out to do originally, which was to relieve their boredom.




And of course, they leave Reimu with the mess.



And the Touhou-style ending, of course.



Uh, look, I know this is your home now, but Reimu doesn't have to get you breakfast. Honestly, you befriend a bunch of demons, and they start taking your food.



So, uh, are you going to return to Makai?



Apparently not. Reimu's worried that people are going to be afraid of them. I mean, they are demons. It's not going to be pleasant running into them, I think.



"All clear! As expected!"



And that does it for Devil of Decline! We're all done!
Or are we?
Now that the Three Demonic Pillars and Angra have stopped the incident and befriended the people of Gensokyo, what happens now? Is some other character we haven't met yet prepared to make a move. And who is that smiling in the background of the title screen?
Find out next time when we begin the expansion for Devil of Decline!
And don't forget to watch for the beginning of Sengoku Gensokyo!
I wasn't expecting people to be too interested in this LP, but it's been great so far, and I look forward to doing future LPs. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably wouldn't have kept doing this. Let me know how the LP was. If there's anything I can do to improve things, I'll take them into consideration.
This has been Validon98, and thanks for reading!

[Ikari]

Congratulations!

Your LP was amazingly entertaining. Your clever and funny comments made it all the more awesome. You're great at that!

I'll be following your LPs from now on~

[Hinacle]

The Devil of Decline- Finale: Decline of the Devil

Wai wai wai. Soo, what the hell are the expansion villains planning then?! Oh geez, I'm confused about the expansion now. This seems like a good time to play through it again~!

I have no complaints about this LP. The pacing was good and your commentary was great. Overall it was a nice experience.

Also for Sengoku Gensokyo you can do what this LP did: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9516642

E: Oh damn. I wanna play Sengoku Gensokyo again now. Oh well, it was a fun game.

[homing curvy laser]

You probably thought he recruited it, didn't you? I'm preeeeeetty sure that's just an image of him encountering one by itself! XD

I was actually talking about the monster :V I'm afraid of my next playthough after the translation patch comes out because I don't want to need 300+ kills to get anything that isn't a yukkuri.

Angra!

What? Absolutely no mention of how the hand with the eye loves spamming something that reflects your magic attacks back to you? Also, her theme isn't something as amazing as the one for the final boss of GoS, but it always comes back to my mind every now and then.

As for the LP, good job! Maybe I'll feel motivated to go back and finish the expansion after I see you doing it. Hopefully, I guess

[Validon98]

Thanks for the positive comments, guys. Much appreciated. Sadly, I won't be able to start anything for a while. Real life has finally decided I don't need to have fun for a while. So sorry about that. If I'm lucky, I'll be back starting in February. If I'm extremely lucky, I might be back even earlier.
Don't worry, I'll start those two LPs then. Even a hiatus won't slow me down forever.

[marukyuu]

Great LP, I enjoyed reading it from start to finish. Looking forward to your Sengoku LP!

[Validon98]

So then, we haven't done anything with Devil of Decline in a while, huh? Let's remedy that, shall we?

EX Prologue: History Always Repeats



We get asked if we want to move onto the expansion or go back to before I fought Angra. Obviously I'm moving on.



Looks like a nice day in Gensokyo.



All of the villagers seem to be happy. Granted, they are a little shaken by the recent incident, but they're fine now.



Is that really a guy with an afro? Seriously? I don't even think that's a reference to Defiant of Shrine Maiden.



Don't mind them, they're just three youkai who happen to be insanely powerful. Don't mind them at all.



Reimu comes in from the back, complaining about a hangover. How bad did you drink last night?



Of course. They left their stuff here, didn't they? She complains about how much the Three Demonic Pillars and Angra drank. She literally thinks to herself "Do they have livers of iron?"



Don't bend that too...



...hard. Looks like you need a new gohei, Reimu.



The Yakumos show up, and Reimu says that her terrible day is now gotten even worse. Come on, how annoying is Yukari?
Considering my other LP, very annoying.



Yukari lets Reimu know that everyone else in Gensokyo is fine. No complaints  anywhere.



Reimu, of course, tells her that she has been miserable, thanks to the Three Demonic Pillars. Honestly, I wish they had a shorter title I could refer to them by.



With the mysterious voices from nowhere! I've heard way too many of those recently!




Oh, hey Angra. You sort of left a mess last night.



Chen freaks out. It's okay, Chen, she's a nice demon.
Ahahahahaha, I'm sorry, I can't believe I just said that. What an oxymoronic statement!



Angra is angry at Reimu for being angry at her. Or something like that. I don't think she likes your complaining, Reimu.



And then she leaves. Well, that was pointless.



As Reimu starts to "Ugigi" even more (which I assume means extreme anger), Ran feels something. What is it?



Uh... why are you fading away? No, don't tell me...



...That's got to be pretty uncomfortable.



Sakuya too! You mean to tell me...



Mokou's just chilling with Nobou, I guess. Hey, where's Biotopos? Shouldn't she be hanging out with you guys?



Nobou?



He completely disappeared! What's going on?



Are you guys still fighting over who was most useful during the main game?



There goes Murasa.



Ichirin and Nue as well... this is affecting the same people as before...



You okay, Ran? Actually, I shouldn't say that. You look pretty bad.



Damn it, Chen as well. This is bad.



What!? Ran disappeared!? That didn't happen last time! What's going on? Why are they being spirited completely away?



Then an earthquake starts. No, you can't be serious...



No.



No.



No.



No.



No.



The World of Chaos... it's back. Reimu wonders if Keine had anything to do with this. Well, considering it was her power that did this last time...



Akyu wonders the same thing, but Keine replies it isn't her. Mokou runs off after this, probably to inform everyone of what's going on. Well, the four main characters already know, but they need to know it's not Keine's fault. But whose fault is this? Angra's?



Xia herself is confused. They stopped their incident. Why has it come back?



Hmm?



Otoha! Any answers? I believe she says after this that it isn't Angra's fault. Then, whose is it?



Three guesses.



Chloe! Well, the gang is almost all here, but do you have any inkling as to the situation?



She notes that everything is the exact same, but the Doomsday Clock itself is expelling some feeling of malice or evil. Please don't tell me we're having a repeat of Genius of Sappheiros's expansion.



Who's there?



No. No no no no no. It can't be. Mima? What are you doing here?



They don't know her, however. Otoha deduces that she must be the one who caused the incident, which Mima confirms. And then Otoha says Mima has a small brain. Way to go, Otoha.



Apparently, Mima is doing this is restore the pride of demons. But you're not a demon, Mima.



Apparently the Three Demonic Pillars ashamed the rest of Makai by creating the incident but not going through with it. I guess Mima figured such a good idea couldn't go to waste.



Well, too bad. The Three Demonic Pillars live here now, and they won't let you destroy Gensokyo!



So, are you ready, Mima? A new song called Sparks Scatter plays for this cutscene here. Not bad.



Energy Storm, I think. Good job, Otoha!



And a Tsunami from Xia.



And Shikigami's Scythe from Chloe. Can't you guys just bust out your Spell Cards and be done with it?
I didn't captured it properly, but Mima hits Otoha with Rainbow Ray, knocking her down. Crap.



Cosmic Liner!? That's not good.



And Abyss as well. Uh, guys? I don't think this is going well...



Well, they're screwed.



What the!? Demon Tempest? At least, I think that's Demon Tempest. It might be something else.



Can it be?



Mima, apparently you don't know exactly who you are dealing with here.



Angra! You could have come at least a little earlier.



She literally says she is going to make Mima feel one hundred times the pain she has caused Chloe, Otoha, and Xia. This'll be good.



Death Zapper!



Her Last Word!





Damn, Angra. You really should have come earlier.



Mima?



I have no comment.



A Spell Card!?



This doesn't look too bad...



I take it back.



Shit. That was "Twilight Takedown," by the way. Don't tell me I have to deal with that Spell Card later.



I'm worried now. Really worried.



Retreat, retreat!



You guys can really jump. Can't you just teleport, though?



Touhou Gensoumaroku Matsuri- The Devil of Decline Festival.
That was quite an opening.



So, uh guys? We kind of have the World of Chaos back. We have to do something.



Of course, Meiling (and Reimu as well) wonder if Angra has anything to do with this. Well, she doesn't.



Speak of the devil, and she'll appear.



Uh, hey Angra. Everyone kind of thinks this is your fault.



She's kind of wounded, guys. I don't think she had anything to do with it.



This she confirms by saying she was fighting the one who caused the incident.



Whoops, sorry!



At least Byakuren knows healing.



Angra explains the situation to the others.



I forget what Meiling said to deserve this. I don't think burning someone is a good way of dealing with them, Angra.



Poor Meiling. Anyway, Angra explains that while she is in charge of a poriton of Makai, Makai is an infinite area. There are plenty of regions she doesn't know about, and that means that the chances of someone from Makai being stronger than her are likely.



Reimu calls her weak or something. I'm not sure.



That makes two burnt people. Byakuren and Yukari, you guys are next, I assume.



Uh, I forget what causes her to do that.



Whatever the case, we have to go take down Mima!



Angra agrees! So, I guess that means we're on the same side this time.



She says she feels responsible, because she caused the original incident, so she's going to take down Mima... by herself? Uh...



Angra...



Wait a minute. Incident resolution is our duty. You want to help? That's fine. But you play by our rules.



Angra agrees! So, it's up to the five of us, huh?



I don't know how much time we have, but with the five of us, surely we can take care of Mima. But what happened to the Three Demonic Pillars? Where will we go to find Mima? How bad could things possibly get? Find out next time where we still don't do any actual gameplay and keep going through cutscenes!

[Hinacle]

Oooh, so that was the plot, huh?
Looking forward to the rest of the expansion since it gets really good later on~ It's a lot better than GoS Expansion imo.

[Validon98]

So, I haven't done much of anything for either of my LPs. So guess what? I'm going to fix that. Right now. With more Devil of Decline. Hell yeah.

Fourth Stratum- Part 1: Demons in a Winter Wonderland

I didn't talk about Angra last time in terms of her stats. She has some good MP, STR, and AGI as well as some pretty good DEX and INT, which means she's a Red Mage of sorts, similar to Utsuho. Unlike Utsuho, she isn't nearly as squishy, and her Last Word is pretty good (it's the one she showed off in that cutscene earlier, for those who are wondering). For once, I'm going against my min-maxing tendencies and replacing Byakuren of all people with her. Sorry Byakuren. Your Last Word doesn't make the cut, I'm afraid.



Upon returning to the shrine, Meiling stops. Hmm?



Uh, Meiling?



I'm just as confused as you guys are.



Huh, Rinnosuke's missing. I think they mention something about him going on a business trip or something. Whatever the case, the cauldron's still there, so we can still synthesize stuff if necessary.
Anyways, before we look for Mima, there's something we need to check out back at the Clock Towers of the End. I'm assuming story-wise Angra's dragging everyone else there for whatever reason. Okay then.



So, yeah, Angra? Why'd you bring us to Xia's tower?



I never screenshotted this properly during the main game.



Xia! But wait, you're in shikigami form. I guess you weren't as lucky as Angra in terms of finding help.



I think Yukari or someone insulted Xia. I don't think angering her is good for your health.



Why am I not surprised? Xia agrees to come with us to stop Mima. In terms of what she's got, she has Tsunami, "Dancing Spray of Blood" (it's a 120 power all-targeting Water spell with a chance to cause Instant Death, like when she used it against us). She also provides a 75% resistance to Water, immunity to Freeze, and 1 MP regen. She's going on Patchy, because she's essentially a mage-type shikigami.
Let's see if Chloe's home at her tower!



Holy crap, Chloe! It's us, you know!



Thankfully, she realizes its us and backs off. That's sort of disturbing, you know. I highly doubt that's how a shinigami would act. If, you know, you still were one.



Angra, it's plainly obvious she isn't looking good. This was a state of existence you practically invented. I don't think Chloe likes it too much.



I think Yukari insulted her too. I guess Yukari's replacing Nitori for "character who doesn't know when to shut up."



And Chloe is ready to go! She's got "Causer of Ruin" (parallel power column attack with chance of inflicting Instant Death) and Shinigami Scythe. That surprises absolutely no one. She also provides 75% resistance to Darkness, immunity to Instant Death, and +10 attack. To Meiling with ye, very useful demon!
That makes one more.



I'm starting to wonder if the save points/healing circles were made by these guys. That doesn't remind me of Chrono Cross at all!



Otoha, we're leading a bunch of angry lolis on a quest to murder a green-haired wizard spirit thing. Will you join us in order to bathe in the... ectoplasm, I guess, of our great enemy?



I'll take that very ominous look as a yes!



More insulting going on, directed at Angra this time. Something about her being beaten by us. Otoha, we beat you too.



Angra, we're not in the best place for fighting! Plus you're level one right now. I'd doubt that'll go over well.



I wonder if Otoha was trying to have some fun by making us argue like that. Or something. I'm not exactly sure. Plus Deranged hasn't gotten to the expansion files, as far as I know. So I can't exactly say what happened here for sure.
Anyways, Otoha is more physically-bent than you would assume. "Wings of a Nightmare" attacks all enemies and might inflict Shock, and it's actually physical. She also has the almighty Fast Strike, which means that I don't necessarily have to have Aya on Patchy anymore for just that ability! She also brings 75% resist to Electric, immunity to Shock, and +10 Evasion. I'm putting her on Suika, though I might switch her with Chloe later on.



Meiling, I didn't know you can go down stairs sideways.





So satisfying to see it being used on enemies instead of me. Though to be honest, I sort of used Water Wall to tank this attack nigh-constantly. I hope I can show off Xia's second Spell Card when I get it (and I will get it much, much later on).
Anyways, where do we go to look for Mima?



Right in that staircase on the Third Stratum! There's a chest up there if you've input an expansion-exclusive code. But I haven't. So I can't open it. Oh well.



I thought it was summer. Well, where I am it's January (though it's January everywhere unless you don't use the Gregorian calendar, for whatever reason). And freezing. Because I live up north.
Enough about me. This area has Alice in Wonderland as a theme! I like that song despite the fact that the stage it plays in is a bullshit stage. Mystic Square, sometimes I really hate you, even if you are a good game.
In terms of story, Angra mentions that she pretty much left this area unfinished because she was tired while making the first three strata. Mima must have found what Angra didn't include and made a Fourth Stratum out of it. This'll be interesting, I guess.



I really don't want to mess with Angra right now. That evil chuckling is kind of unnerving.



Thankfully Reimu is here to remind us we actually need to go do stuff in order to resolve the incident. So yeah, let's go!



I took the picture a second too late, but yeah, five hours already. I still don't know how much time we have, though.



You can barely tell that the Clock Towers of the End come down here. Does that mean we have to go in them again? Well, I know, but I'm not saying anything. Anyways, the Fourth Stratum has a lot of underground tunnels we need to use in order to progress. So, let's get on that, shall we?



Before I say anything about the enemies, have an awesome Magus Night remix as a battle theme. Fitting considering I just unlocked Extra on Fairy Wars today. I don't know how I powered through the last three routes, but I did!
As for the enemies, we have the classic Creeper from Minecraft. Why the hell there are Creepers here, I don't know. I think one of the developers liked Minecraft or something and added them in. They're weak to Fire, immune to Light and Dark like all Artifact Spirits, and can sacrifice themselves to murder you like all good Creepers do.





I love having Otoha on my team.




Same with Chloe.



Oh look, a new enemy. It's a Strong Makai Cactus. It's weak to Fire and Slash, and I think it might still use Porcupine like its weaker cousin from back on the Second Stratum. So kill it quick.



I'm not exactly sure what to call that. It's appearance reminds me of Ahrimans from Final Fantasy, but we sort of have Ahriman in our party. So they'e just Evil Balls or Evil Eyes. They cast the basic elemental spells, which means they're pathetic.



This is the beginning of the Underground Tunnel, if I'm translating the area name right. But that's it for today! What awaits us at the end of this tunnel? Are there any other familiar faces we've yet to see? Will it take me a while to update again? We'll see next time.

Summary:

Treasure: Makai Lodestone, Demon Illusion Gem, Damascus Steel (drop), Aviator Gem

Skills: Para Zapper (Chloe), Power Suction (Dark attack that drains from all enemies, Otoha)

TPKs: 0 this update, 0 overall
Yes, I'm resetting the TPK counter for the expansion. I guess it's for a comparison with the main game. Will it kill me more than the main game or not? I hope not.
Frustration: None. Getting back into the swing of things with some not too bad enemies.

[Hinacle]

Fun Fact: Having

Spoiler:

Mima

in your party causes her to say some lines during the recruitment scenes for the 3 demonic pillars.

[Serela]

You already have Melon-chan, right? Input 24789066 and you'll keep Melon-chan, and be able to open that chest for Lemon-chan, too.

She doesn't carry anything partiiiicularly good until like, lv80, though, but at least she has an mp reduction passive and nifty debuffs. Ah well. Not really that interesting apart from having the best all-up buff, but lv80 is a pretty high level requirement.

...and yes, Angra's LW is pretty damn strong. If I correctly understand how damage addition from proficiencies and level-affected skills work, it's actually a significant difference if you level her Mystic proficiency, too.  The damage is halved on bosses, but it's so strong that it's still great to use on them; in turn, it totally wrecks any randoms.

[Validon98]

If I correctly understand how damage addition from proficiencies and level-affected skills work, it's actually a significant difference if you level her Mystic proficiency, too.

Hence why I put PC-98 Marisa on her. Even if she doesn't get to act, she'll be leveling her Mystic proficiency nigh-constantly. Hopefully it'll go up pretty quickly as I head through the next area.

[Ikari]

Nice, I didn't expect the 3 demonic pillars-lolis to become equip-able shikigamis!

Aside from that, I've been thinking from day 1 that every single enemies in any of strawberry bose games are completely random and that they never, ever make any sense whatsoever, but I think those creepers sealed it for me. Only one thing is left for me to say, and that is lolwhat.

[Validon98]

Aside from that, I've been thinking from day 1 that every single enemies in any of strawberry bose games are completely random and that they never, ever make any sense whatsoever, but I think those creepers sealed it for me. Only one thing is left for me to say, and that is lolwhat.

Well, a lot of them are references to random things like SMT and so forth. But yeah, a lot of them are straight-up weird. You can thank Hachikuma for that.
Then again I've played a lot of RPGs with some strange enemies in them. Earthbound, Dark Cloud 2, Persona, Kingdom Hearts to an extent... yeah, people think of some strange things to fight.

Nice, I didn't expect the 3 demonic pillars-lolis to become equip-able shikigamis!

This is Gensokyo. Defeat Means Friendship is practically law here, even in the fangames.

[Ikari]

Well, a lot of them are references to random things like SMT and so forth. But yeah, a lot of them are straight-up weird. You can thank Hachikuma for that.
Then again I've played a lot of RPGs with some strange enemies in them. Earthbound, Dark Cloud 2, Persona, Kingdom Hearts to an extent... yeah, people think of some strange things to fight.

Yeah, I assumed a LOT were references (I even caught a few). Speaking of which... Seriously, the mining village or something monster/shikigami makes no sense; I laughed when you first encountered it.

This is Gensokyo. Defeat Means Friendship is practically law here, even in the fangames.

Sadly, Gensokyo is also the land of ''You shall fight someone once, and it shall become a background character forever." I'm glad they gave them a concrete role without making them party characters (which would be doing a bit too much). They look like really good shikigamis too.

Also I can't help but wonder where Sunny Milk is. She is best party member  :derp: