RpNation

It's all good! I was curious because I've seen a lot of the artwork online for Touhou, but I've been trying to figure where the best place to start learning about it is? Or to even get the games?

You've come to the right place, my dude. Of course, any 2hufan worth their salt could also give you this info.
(Warning: essay ahead)


Anyone who browses the internet will find Touhou art at some point, most of the time without even realising it. It's ubiquitous. I myself fell into the rabbit hole when I saw a video about impossible video-game bosses a long time ago.

It's a series chock-full of cute girls, l o r e, and bangin' music.

Basically, the way you start getting into Touhou is through gradual osmosis instead of "play X game, then game Y after that".


As you might know by now, Touhou games are, well, hard. After all, it's primarily a bullet-hell game series (with the exception of a few spinoffs). It's up there with plenty of franchises that don't hold your hand. It took me dozens of hours to finally beat one of the games without a continue. Beating one of the games requires the player to practice, memorise attack patterns, and form good habits. That said, I personally think the games are really fun for both short bursts and longer sessions.

Even if that kind of gaming doesn't sound like your cup of tea and you'd rather focus more on the characters, lore, and world-building than the gameplay itself, I'd still suggest trying out one of the official main-series games before anything else. I'll then suggest a new "sample" for you to try out once you're ready to move onto something else.

There are currently 28 official Touhou games, with a 29th probably releasing this year. To get started with Touhou, you can legitimately just pick up any of the games since the stories are all self-contained "problem of the week" plots. There are subtle connections between some of the games where past events are referenced, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of any of those games. Also, each game tends to have a unique gameplay gimmick that shakes things up a little from the last installment.
[1/2]

I would suggest picking up one of the following games to start out with:

• Touhou 6: Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil - The first game in the "modern" era of Touhou games, but also has the most unrefined gameplay. Every character in this game is a popular character in both the eastern and western fanbases. The "theme" of this one revolves around the mystery behind a red mist that has made the residents of Gensokyo (the main setting: a fantasy land separate from the "real world") sick.

• Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Perhaps the purest example of a normal Touhou game. The gameplay is more refined than in 6, and the gimmick here isn't quite as intrusive as 8's. The "theme" of this one revolves around what's behind the disappearance of the entire season of spring in Gensokyo.

• Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - This is the game I recommend to most newcomers. It's the easiest for beginners to get a handle on the basics, but it's a challenge to complete nonetheless. There's a "time limit" gimmick in this game: depending on how well you perform on a stage, you can reduce how much time advances. To get a good ending, you have to complete the game before reaching this time limit. The "theme" of this one is a never-ending night that needs to be lifted from Gensokyo.

Just pick one of the games above to start out with, and I'll handle the rest!
[2/2]

I would say 8. I'm fairly bad at games.

You can download the game here:

Read the short prelude to the game translated from the manual here:


Let me know how it goes!

Also, some tips:

• Hold Z to shoot
• Press X to use a bomb, which clears all enemy attacks from the screen if you get desperate. Use these liberally, since if you lose a life you lose all your bombs for that life as well.
• Hold Shift to move slower.
• When you press Shift, you can see a little red dot in the center of your character. If this little red dot gets hit, you lose a life. Enemy attacks can hit your character so long as they don't touch the little red dot.

Thank you so much! I'll let you know how bad I do as soon as I can.

Alright. So, I played the first level in practice to learn the controls and did okay. Played the first level and got stomped. Came back and passed it and got the time bonus thingy. Same with the second level; cleared without being touched. Made it up to Marisa playing as Reimu/Yukari. Got destroyed.
10/10, can't wait to play more after work.

Vibes a little broken right now. I've got mild corona

No memeing?

No, actual corona. 'Mild' but still not too fun. Finished Imperishable Nights. I really liked it and have downloaded a few others, just not really energetic enough to play right now.

Holy shit, sorry about that dude. Hope you fight it off soon and have no adverse effects afterwards.

So, I've been getting better. It was a little worrying for a few days there, I ended up going to the hospital and I was ventilated for a bit. But I got released yesterday and am now under house quarantine. So, I'm okay, just a little tired still and I cough a lot.

Glad to hear you're feeling better. How are you since your last comment? Has your cough lessened?

It has. And I can taste food again. It's such a weird array of symptoms. I think I'm completely past it at this point, though

Here's to you getting back on your feet!
That's a cozy-looking Futo, by the way.

I ended up getting GensoWanderer on my switch since I've played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I thought Futo was funny and it seems people act like she's a low tier shitposter in fan art. Which is also funny to me, even if it's just a fandom idea.

Genso Wanderer is probably the best of the fan-made games you could've gotten on Switch. Perfectly portable and ready for quick bursts thanks to the quick-save option.

That game made me love Futo a whole lot more, as if her really cool boat wasn't enough to have her among my favourites already.

How far did you end up getting? I've only finished the second main story dungeon.