Touhou Hisōtensoku
Encyclopedia
is a versus fighting game in the Touhou Project
game series. The game, by Twilight Frontier
and Team Shanghai Alice
, can be played as a standalone game or as an extension to the previous fighting game Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
. In the Touhou Project overall, it is labeled as the 12.3rd Touhou game.
Characters from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody can be made playable in Touhou Hisōtensoku if the player also owns that game on the same computer. The imported characters have new moves and new winning dialog in the arcade and versus modes, though they do not have a storyline associated with Touhou Hisōtensoku.
Cards fall into three categories: System Cards, Skill Cards, and Spell Cards. System Cards include bombs (like in Immaterial, knocks the enemy back), weather change, and other miscellaneous options. Skill Cards upgrade special attacks to do more damage, allow the player to gain alternate special attacks, or both. Spell Cards are powerful attacks that automatically work once activated. Proper assembly of card decks according to the player's style is key to mastering the game, since the decks limit what the characters can do during a match.
A departure from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody is the personalized System Cards, each associated with a character. These replace the System Cards of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
Exploring the Forest of Magic, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and the subterranea, the heroines face many challenges and obstacles in their pursuit of a mystery that's far deeper than it first appears.
only did parts of the game while Twilight Frontier did most of the game-making. ZUN, besides overseeing the whole development, also provided the storyline, new character designs, spell card names, and three new music tracks for the game. The full version was released at Comiket 76 on August 15, 2009.
Touhou Project
The , also known as Toho Project or Project Shrine Maiden, is a Japanese dōjin game series focused on bullet hell shooters made by the one-man developer Team Shanghai Alice, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part...
game series. The game, by Twilight Frontier
Twilight Frontier
Twilight Frontier is a Japanese doujin game developer. They are noted for making high quality derivative works of other games.-Productions:...
and Team Shanghai Alice
Team Shanghai Alice
is a one-man Japanese dojin game developer specializing in shoot 'em ups. The team's only releases thus far have been the Touhou Project games and related merchandise.-Games:*The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil...
, can be played as a standalone game or as an extension to the previous fighting game Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
is the second versus fighting game in the Touhou Project, and is the spiritual successor to Immaterial and Missing Power by Twilight Frontier and Team Shanghai Alice. In the Touhou Project overall, it is labelled as the 10.5th Touhou game, though the game was first planned to be numbered 9.8...
. In the Touhou Project overall, it is labeled as the 12.3rd Touhou game.
Gameplay
Touhou Hisōtensoku stayed true to its predecessors in that it retained most of the Immaterials basic system and moves. Projectiles are still the main attack feature, grazing is still an effective way of evasion and the changing weather affects every match. In addition, Touhou Hisōtensoku added some new spellcards and weather system for the characters to turn the tide of battle. Touhou Hisōtensoku also provides built-in support for multiplayer games over the internet like its predecessor.Characters from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody can be made playable in Touhou Hisōtensoku if the player also owns that game on the same computer. The imported characters have new moves and new winning dialog in the arcade and versus modes, though they do not have a storyline associated with Touhou Hisōtensoku.
Card deck system
Mostly identical to Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Touhou Hisōtensoku allows the player to assemble a "deck" of 20 cards. Cards become available for in-play use as the player deals or receives damage. New cards for can be obtained through various actions in gameplay (such as defeating an opponent).Cards fall into three categories: System Cards, Skill Cards, and Spell Cards. System Cards include bombs (like in Immaterial, knocks the enemy back), weather change, and other miscellaneous options. Skill Cards upgrade special attacks to do more damage, allow the player to gain alternate special attacks, or both. Spell Cards are powerful attacks that automatically work once activated. Proper assembly of card decks according to the player's style is key to mastering the game, since the decks limit what the characters can do during a match.
A departure from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody is the personalized System Cards, each associated with a character. These replace the System Cards of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
Weather
The weather changes during a match, which subjects the two combatants to some handicap according to the weather, as listed below. There are no weather effects in the Story Mode, unlike in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. Five additional weathers are introduced in this game, along with modifications of some old ones.| Weather | Associated with | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Temperament Temperament In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned... 気質 |
N/A | No effect until the timer reaches 100. |
| Sunny 快晴 |
Reimu Hakurei | Border Escapes are free, flight cost is halved. |
| Drizzle 霧雨 |
Marisa Kirisame | Spell card damages increase. |
| Cloudy 曇天 |
Sakuya Izayoi | Decreases spell card cost by 1. |
| Azure Sky 蒼天 |
Youmu Konpaku | Special attacks can be canceled into other special attacks. |
| Hail 雹 |
Alice Margatroid | Spirit Orb Recovery speed is doubled, increases damage of bullet-type specials. |
| Spring Haze 花曇 |
Patchouli Knowledge | Players cannot use any melee attacks, though Special melee moves still can be used. The delay in spirit recharging after an attack is removed as well. |
| Dense Fog 濃霧 |
Remilia Scarlet | Inflicting damage on an opponent restores a small bit of health to the player. |
| Snow 雪 |
Yuyuko Saigyouji | Hitting an opponent will cause her to lose some of her card gauge. Cards lost this way are returned to the player's deck. |
| Sunshowers 天気雨 |
Yukari Yakumo | Incorrectly blocked melee attacks result in an instant guard crush. |
| Sprinkle 疎雨 |
Suika Ibuki | All special moves and Skillcard moves are upgraded to Level 4. |
| Tempest 風雨 |
Aya Syameimaru | Maximum Airdashes/Flys allowed increased by one, characters can high jump cancel their melee attacks. |
| Mountain Vapor 晴嵐 |
Reisen Udongein Inaba | Spellcards in reserve are hidden with a "?" |
| River Mist 川霧 |
Komachi Onoduka | Normalizes the distance between opponents. |
| Typhoon 台風 |
Iku Nagae | Characters gain superarmor and will not enter hitstun, and also lose the ability to block. |
| Aurora 極光 |
Tenshi Hinanai | Cause a random weather effect. |
| Calm 凪 |
Sanae Kotiya | Hitting the opponent will cause a healing spotlight to fall on the player. |
| Diamond Dust ダイヤモンド ダスト |
Cirno | Groundteching is disabled; knocked down characters take damage from standing up. |
| Dust Storm 黄砂 |
Hong Meirin | Attacks induce counter hit state. |
| Scorching Sun 烈日 |
Utsuho Reiuzi | When high in the air, power increases, but health lowers gradually. |
| Monsoon 梅雨 |
Suwako Moriya | Attacks induce groundslam/wallslam. |
Plot
A mysterious giant is seen wandering around Gensokyo. It can suddenly appear and can just as suddenly vanish seemingly without a trace. Everyone who sees it becomes curious and wonders about the truth behind this strange sight. Sanae Kotiya, Cirno, and Hong Meirin each have their own fears and dreams about the giant, and each sets out in pursuit of this roaming behemoth.Exploring the Forest of Magic, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and the subterranea, the heroines face many challenges and obstacles in their pursuit of a mystery that's far deeper than it first appears.
Characters
As a standalone game, Touhou Hisōtensoku only features 9 characters total (Including the Giant Catfish). Combined with the characters from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, the game has a total of 20 characters.- Sanae Kotiya - The mikoMikois a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...
of the Moriya Shrine. She's one of the persons who noticed the Hisōtensoku rampaging around Gensokyo. - Cirno - The Ice Fairy of the Misty Lake. She thought the giant thing she saw was the great yokai Daidarabocchi.
- Hong Meirin - The Gate Guardian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She dreams that the Giant Catfish is the giant shadow and the one wanting her powers to come back to the earth and cause destruction.
- Reimu Hakurei - The mikoMikois a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...
of the Hakurei Shrine. - Marisa Kirisame - A magician living in the Forest of Magic and played a prank on Cirno.
- Utsuho Reiuzi - The operator of the nuclear facility in the Hell of Blazing Flames.
- Patchouli Knowledge - The resident bookworm of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
- Alice Margatroid - A puppeteer magician who also lives in the Forest of Magic. She was experimenting with Goliath-sized puppets, which caught Cirno's attention. She is the last boss in Cirno's Route.
- Suwako Moriya - One of the Goddesses of the Moriya Shrine and the last boss in Sanae's Route.
Development
Like with Immaterial and Missing Power and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, ZUN of Team Shanghai AliceTeam Shanghai Alice
is a one-man Japanese dojin game developer specializing in shoot 'em ups. The team's only releases thus far have been the Touhou Project games and related merchandise.-Games:*The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil...
only did parts of the game while Twilight Frontier did most of the game-making. ZUN, besides overseeing the whole development, also provided the storyline, new character designs, spell card names, and three new music tracks for the game. The full version was released at Comiket 76 on August 15, 2009.