Touhou Shmups

[TriezGamer]

I love fighting games. I love Touhou. I hate IaMP.

Pretty to look at, but the gameplay is horrible, IMO. Or maybe it's just not my style, I dunno.

[Ingemar]

Ah, well, it tries to retain elements of the SHMUP in fighting game form....










... and fails miserably.

Or maybe I'm angry because I can't get my gamepad to work for it?

[TriezGamer]

JoytoKey is your friend.

But the game still sucks.

[Godly Paladin]

IIRC, the Touhou games are shareware. For some fully-freeware games, check out these sites:

ABA Games
The first links under "Windows". rRootage and Gunroar are highly recommended.

Hikoza Chi
Maker of the godly Warning Forever and some other ace games.

None of this is to take away from the amazing Perfect Cherry Blossom, of course. But NO bullet-hell shmup thread can exist without props to Ikaruga, the finest game in the genre. There may be fewer bullets than the Touhou games, but the layout and artistic expression in the patterns is unmatched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PakV6602F24

EDIT: Almost forgot. This is a vid of the best shmup gamer in the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzhCa5l5AFA&mode=related&search=

[Alexander]

IIRC, the Touhou games are shareware. For some fully-freeware games, check out these sites:

ABA Games
The first links under "Windows". rRootage and Gunroar are highly recommended.

Hikoza Chi
Maker of the godly Warning Forever and some other ace games.

None of this is to take away from the amazing Perfect Cherry Blossom, of course. But NO bullet-hell shmup thread can exist without props to Ikaruga, the finest game in the genre. There may be fewer bullets than the Touhou games, but the layout and artistic expression in the patterns is unmatched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PakV6602F24

EDIT: Almost forgot. This is a vid of the best shmup gamer in the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzhCa5l5AFA&mode=related&search=

You forgot Radiant Silvergun dear sir. Be attitude for gains.

Also, thank you very much for the links. The more shumps the better! XD

I've downloaded all the games now and am currently working through them all on Normal Difficulty. So...very...enjoyable.

My favorite playable character is Youmu Konpaku, but I use Reimu Hakuri for the harder difficulties when there's little space to move around. My favorite non-playable character is Alice Margatroid. I really love her design and choice of clothes.

I've also been listening to a lot of fan made sound tracks at a mini-obsessed level. Most of them are piano works with violin mixed in.

[Godly Paladin]

I've never gotten to play Silvergun because I don't feel like downloading it and I can't afford a real copy. Ah, well.

What was the line before the boss? "There is no escape?"

Ikaruga is coming on in HD on Xbox Live Arcade, and rumor has it that Treasure might finally be re-releasing Silvergun the same way. Keep your fingers crossed.

[TriezGamer]

Just a clarification: The Touhou games are not shareware, though the majority of them do have demos available which can be freely distributed. The demos usually have the first 3 stages available (the full versions usually have 6 + some challenge modes).

[Godly Paladin]

Isn't the definition of shareware that the limited edition be freely distributable but the full version not be?

[TriezGamer]

No. By that definition, Unreal Tournament 3 would be shareware.

Freeware is software that is free to use.
Shareware is software that is free to distribute, but you're supposed to pay for it if you continue to use it.
Crippleware is shareware that is enforced through the removal of critical features if it is unregistered (usually with full functionality for a short period before the program becomes crippled)

In all three cases there is only one version of the program and they can be freely distributed.

Game demos are different from shareware and crippleware in that they generally are fully functional games with limited content in comparison to the full version of the game, and are designed to give you a taste of what the game is like without any hitches -- but demos are still separate from the full version. In shareware and crippleware, the full version and the trial version are the same program, and are based on registration codes in your computer's registry. As such, you can register them and still give them away: The person you give it to won't have a registered copy.

The full version of a game demo, however, is the full game -- a commercial product that, if shared, is copyright infringement.

[Ingemar]

Just a reminder:

Focused movement (a.k.a. holding the shift key) is your friend. Of course, don't abuse it...

[Alexander]

Just a reminder:

Focused movement (a.k.a. holding the shift key) is your friend. Of course, don't abuse it...

I'm guilty of over using it. My hands get really nervous when I'm under curtain fire.

Also, I've noticed a percentage bar that goes from -100 to 100% after you hold down shift long enough in Imperishable Night. I've never been able to figure out what it did however. Does it increase your power? Score?

[Ingemar]

Not exactly sure how it works, but if you are using a human/phantom duo (or, halfhuman/phantom in the case of Youmu and Yuyuko), the gauge shifts depending on how often you use which member of you duo. If you use your human/unfocused member, the gauge tends toward -100% whereas if you use your phantom/focused member, it tends toward 100%. (In Youmu's case, the negative scale only goes down to -50%, she being half ghost and all).

There's also the TouhouWiki for more info http://pooshlmer.com/touhouwiki

[Godly Paladin]

+5000 XP to Ingemar for that link.

[Ingemar]

Here's something I found. I'm sure Alexander will like it too:

http://shatyou.hp.infoseek.co.jp/IOSYS_tohootomebayashi_loving.swf

It's OK. I love you too.

[TriezGamer]

I've got tons of those from that group. They're awesome. That one in particular is one of my favorites.

[Ingemar]

I didn't know China had a website.

[CAAOutkast]

Touhou characters were in a Megaman-type game too,weren't they? I think the game was called "Megamari"

[TriezGamer]

Ingemar: Poor China. That's actually kinda depressing. ;-;

Christisright: Megamari, yep yep.

Like the ZUN's official Touhou games, it's RIDICULOUSLY difficult. Great music too.

[Ingemar]

[jaems-kun]

gah, I'm still trying to beat sentimental shooting, never mind toho. >.<

[Ingemar]

Sentimental Shooting? I'm sorry, but isn't that... ecchi?

[jaems-kun]

if you find 16 bit graphics sexy.

[RidleyofZebes]

*Proclaims to all the world his new-found love of Touhou*:grin:

[TriezGamer]

One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us, One Of Us...