I've recently gotten my hands on a new Touhou game released in Reitaisai 5. Touhou Hisouten, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and I must say it does not disappoint. The thing costs $20 and I think that's not bad for a game with so much win packed into a CD-ROM.

One of the first things that struck me when I first ran the game was the graphics. It was the awesome high-res theme and watercolor art that really gave me the feeling that I was really playing a Touhou game. Oh yes... I love how they continue the tradition of making the art an integral part of the game, giving the user the feeling that the game they are about to play is going to entertain them properly. Hell it did entertain me alright. The main menu has words that float from right to left, similar to the ones in Touhou 9 and 10.

Although I was slightly disappointed by the small number of playable characters available, I still enjoyed looking at the world-class art the game had to offer. Reimu in this picture is just absolutely stunning, and the level-headed Inaba continues to capture my imagination as she always does <3.

Of course, in this game, my favorite character isn't Inaba, but Marisa. Now, IMO, she is T3h RAWK. Her skills are the absolute awesomeness and completely suits my style of fighting. The yellow haired little witch has so many colourful skills up her sleeve it just leaves me wondering why she chooses to wear black.

For one thing, the Marisa Laser, I call it is the ultimate spellbreaker in the game. Instantly reaching the opponent once Marisa holds out her hand, once mastered, the opponent can never cast a nuke spell and live to tell the tale. The biggest reason her Laser is not that it reaches the opponent instantly however, Inaba can shoot her red laser too, but that it is so easy to use. You can practically aim it anytime, even halfway in the air! And it is my weapon of choice when I'm floating and the opponent has just launched a salvo of heavy damage missiles at me. All I gotta do is drop down to where she is, and then fire. Instant cancel.

Another one awesome skill, albeit slightly harder to reach is Marisa's Stars. This is without using the card by the way. She can unleash a flurry of stars that are pretty much guaranteed to hit for a knockback and knockdown. Another awesome spellbreaker skill for Marisa particularly against opponents that like to jump around and shoot a lot.

Other things I like about this game are how polished the indicators are. The spell indicators are nice little balls that get used every time I cast a spell, and the cards are a wonderful little addition to the fighting game. I can actually choose a card to use to gain an upper hand over my opponent, and having the choice actually gives me the ability to make it count.

One cool thing I discovered in the game though, was an enemy I hadn't seen in the 1 week I have been playing this game (yes. I played so much I forgot to blog) That shot teeth at me. So I called her the tooth fairy. She's a formidable opponent, with lightning reflexes and very wide-spread attacks, making her shots difficult to dodge. However, I managed to beat her because, fast as her reflexes be, they can never be faster than the time it takes for Marisa's Laser to reach her after casting a spell.

Of course, my loyalty will always lie with my beloved Reisen Udongein Inaba.

written by astrobunny \\