Th075/omake.txt/en

--- ○東方萃夢想　(Touhou Suimusou: Eastern Gathering Reverie) ～ Immaterial and Missing Power

Afterword   Shanghai Alice Correspondence vol. 5

Team Shanghai Alice Leader ZUN 2004/12/30

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======================================================= • 0. Omake ("Bonus"/"Extra Content") Afterword's Table of Contents

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• 1. Omake ("Bonus"/"Extra Content") Afterword • 2. Character Creation Notes

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======================================================= • 1. Omake ("Bonus"/"Extra Content") Afterword

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Greetings, from one's whose ratio of saying "nice to meet you" is decreasing steadily even in real life, ZUN.

But this time there may be more people to who I am saying "nice to meet you" than for Imperishable Night. This time it's Touhou Suimusou (IaMP), Touhou Project Volume Number 7.5. Though I get the feeling "What's with 7.5 being released after 8", this isn't the numbering order of release, but rather the order of canon. The plot of this game happens between Perfect Cherry Blossom (Winter to Spring) and the time of Imperishable Night (Early Autumn). Eventually, the "game of the summer" started to feel more like a game coming in winter, right?

Now then, this time the quaint and happy friends of Gensokyo will experience a dance of gushing blood and guts, a drama of love and hate! Yeah right... it'll just be the usual slow and loose story type of game. But don't think the action will be slow or loose, that's not the case.

If you saw and played it you'd understand, but it's not really going to be a hand-to-hand fighting style. Actually it won't be hand-to-hand at all. As far as the vast majority of the game's contents are concerned, I had determined to go to my absolute limits to not speak complaints and criticisms of the product, but (That's a lie, I'm just saying that) up to a point I was sort of kind of under a kind of impression that this wouldn't turn out to be a hand-to-hand fighter. (Laugh) Would that be ok? A hand-to-hand fighting game? ^^;

This time I setup the scenarios and character design, the skills and spellcards, and also some of the music and the graphics, but the most number one most difficult part was the general task of editing and supervision... or something like that...

Just what the heck is editorial supervision anyway, it's extremely seductive and enchanting. I can produce things about 6 times more comfortably if I just did it by myself. After some thinking, something feels wrong about relegating the minor details and judging the contents one by one. Of course, I obviously didn't really say anything about relegating the work of scenario creation.

But, if I were the supervisor then I can decide what is the best. Considering that people make doujin games because they desire to make games, and that Tasofro came to me and said they want to make a Touhou game, it would've been wrong for me to simply say "make this game". I wanted to let the developers at Tasofro do whatever they wish, so it was important for me to create an environment where they could do things the way they wanted. Entrusting the game development to an on-site superintendent, I want it so that the supervisor can create an environment where the on-site superintendent can fully realize what he wants to create.

Therefore, this time I only did the parts that would get in the way of the on-site superintendent, the Touhou elements such as character personalities, the general skillsets, the story and the stages. Insofar as was possible, I took on the workform of entrusting more to Tasofro and granting them freedom. (That's also a lie, I seriously bothered them non-stop... ^^;)

I don't think the supervisor wants to be like an avid game enthusiast and fall into the trap of criticizing the game for small system faults, and say "I'm the one who created this!" when he only contributed with his mouth. (Even as I say this I am poking people over small details and falling into the aforementioned trap--; but I'm also someone who's an avid game enthusiast so...)

In the end, games are the creations of the designer. I didn't do so much as only providing the opportunity called "Touhou Suimusou".

At odds with the above section, this time I am also one of the developers in addition to editorial supervision. I am in charge of things like a portion of the scenarios, the music, the system graphics, the labels, the game container's cover design, and such. On my part, I simply became one who has work entrusted onto me, becoming one of the developers. For that reason, it is not wrong to say I am one of the people who created this game.

Up until the end, the scenarios were almost like supplemental materials, I feel it'll be ok whether they're there or not... ^^; Speaking of which, I don't understand the meaning of this, but to put it simply "We didn't know who the real culprit would be, in the beginning we didn't know what would come about, but an strange and unearthly aura is filling up the air. Moreover, for some reason 'every three days we repeatedly had a banquet happen'" and that's the story. Yeah, we didn't know.

Because when connecting to the core of the story, the characters seemed almost without meaning, we didn't know what kind of ending we would make. But then, surely there wouldn't be something like a profound meaning involved, right? Only something that was exceedingly thought over ... "Humans are such disagreeable things, right?" that kind of story.

With regards to the music, I wrote music for a boss fight. Clearly, I had mixed the wrong kind of music in, or so I thought. Even though the other songs were arrangements of my songs, my additions felt out of place somehow. Maybe arrangements change the original songs somehow. I would notice those minute changes, even if it were only in a single place. The melody, the tone color, the chords, so on and so forth and I thought "this music won't do, eh". I wondered where my resolve was, why did I use this thing, whenever I heard it, the song title, the length, even if I thought about it briefly, the details piled up into a great heap. To say nothing of fitting the music into a video game... It reached too far into my inner self for some reason.

Nevertheless, even though this game isn't really about beating people to a pulp, the feeling of getting to play a Gensokyo game of Menko is pretty good, right? It would be the number one most uncomfortable feeling to have adorable characters engage in hand-to-hand combat, but no one really goes all out. Truthfully, if they really went all out, then both the "strikers" and the "struck" would be suffer great pain, right?

It feels good that this time it didn't become a boisterously rough exchange of strikes. Reimu and Marisa and the others beating up youkai bare-handed is not really something I'd like to see but... (Laugh). If I had to say, then the ability to endlessly, repeatedly and pointlessly attack is also a fitting kind of charm and allure for Gensokyo, isn't it?

Because this is, up to the very end, the girls playing around (a group activity) "Why is that sometimes it's a knockout if they eat a single bow, but this time they can eat a ton and still be ok?" for the sake of not having to talk things over. The banquet time is nearing, so there will be plenty of "guts", surely.

Kuu, I can't get enough of guts.

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======================================================= • 2. Character Settings

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•The Lovely Shrine Maiden of Paradise 博麗霊夢 （はくれいれいむ） Hakurei Reimu

Species: Human Residence: Hakurei Shrine Abilities: Can fly to a certain degree

The usual Hakurei Shrine maiden. Without ever carefully thinking anything over, living each day one at a time. Speaking of Shrine maiden-like behavior, the weather on the porch is quite fitting for drinking tea.

The owner of an extremely simple way of thinking, when it's time to get mad, she gets mad, when it's time to laugh, she laughs. With such a straightforward and honest personality, regardless of whether she were a human or a youkai, she would be quite charming and attractive. Because of this, the shrine always has various visitors gathering.

Whether it's martial arts or black magic, there is a lack of knowledge (actually a complete lack of knowledge), but with her Heaven-granted genius to cover her, she's insanely formidable. That's a position that most people can't conceive of. She can warp, she can home in, but her true self only plans to move straight ahead. The crafty shrine maiden.

•An Ordinary Magician 霧雨魔理沙（きりさめまりさ） Marisa Kirisame

Species: Human Residence: The Kirisame residence with the Forest of Magic Abilities: Can use magic to a certain degree

An ordinary magician. In the Forest of Magic that humans rarely approach, this is a secluded home where everyday, the study of magic continues.

Her personality is: she hates to lose, this leads to some bad points, but the cause of this is because she's straightforward. No matter where she goes, she causes trouble, but in all honesty, there are many things that can cause trouble.

One reason for her seclusion within the forest is that people don't come so often. Because she doesn't want any miscreants intruding on her research, she has the attitude of "if I want to meet someone I'll go out myself". Something resembling a personal cellphone can be seen hanging. Somewhere else, a lot of trouble is being made. Where could she be calling?

She has power and speed, but martial arts isn't her strong point. It can't be helped that she would have some seriously quick and mobile techniques. She is covered by being surrounded with powerful magic.

•Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion 十六夜咲夜（いざよいさくや） Izayoi Sakuya

Species: Human Location: Scarlet Devil Mansion Ability: Controlling time

A maid who works and lives in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She does a maid's duty perfectly: cooking, cleaning, washing, babysitting, knife throwing, etc. Her position is chief maid.

Her personality seems perfect and elegant, but sometimes she shows a more spaced-out side. The reason she works so quickly is probably because she stops time to do it, though ...

She also specializes in physical attacks. Probably even more so than at suspicious tricks like danmaku. This is why she uses throwing knives in her danmaku. In addition, she likes magic that doesn't have tricks to it, so she proactively adopts it into battle. I can't help feeling this point is the odd acts.

•Half-phantom Gardener 魂魄妖夢（こんぱくようむ） Konpaku Youmu

Species: Half-human Half-phantom Location: Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld Ability: Fighting with her swords

A gardener who works in Hakugyokurou and lives there. She's half-human and half-phantom, half-dead and half-alive, half-phantom and half-reality, and altogether half-baked. Yet she has two swords.

She applies herself as hard as she can to anything and everything, but it hardly ever pays off. Compared to the quirky cast of characters that inhabits Gensokyo, her all too straightforward personality is very easy to understand.

She's very good at fighting arts for someone so half-baked. She's also quite good at magic for such a half-baked character, and actually has a good sense of balance between the two. Using the Roukanken and Hakurouken, which were said to be forged by youkai, she can cut through enemies and ghosts and bullets and people's worries. The things she can't cut through are next to none.

Roukanken (the longer one) has the power to kill ten ghosts in one slash. Hakurouken is said to be able to cut through people's confusion, but of course, both of them can also kill living humans.

•The Unmoving Great Library パチュリー・ノーレッジ Patchouli Knowledge

Species: Witch Residence: Scarlet Devil Mansion Ability: The ability to use magic (mainly elemental magic)

A witch who has settled down in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Unlike the mistress of the house, she is not weak against sunlight; however, she does not go out much. She spends her days in a library where the sunlight cannot reach. This is so that the books won't be damaged, but the unhealthy atmosphere is bad for her health.

She doesn't have a very proactive personality, but rather always walks her own path. However, she is always interested where knowledge is concerned and will proactively go and try to acquire it. She does everything by the book, but still makes a lot of mistakes.

Although she is quite skillful, her complete lack of physical fighting ability can't be helped. She pretty much never attempts to directly punch or kick her opponent. She makes up for this with her knowledge of a great variety of powerful magic. She's more at ease using magic than trying to attack physically. Dividing the magic she uses according to the days of the week is a secret hobby of hers, but no one has realized this.

•Seven-Colored Puppeteer アリス・マーガトロイド Alice Margatroid

Species: Magician Location: Moderate sized house in the Forest of Magic (has no specific name) Ability: Use of Magic

A pure magician. While her appearance is almost identical to humans, she is not one. She is a kind of so called humanoid youkai.

Her house is crammed with a lot of dolls. The sight is so spooky that it scares rare visitors away. The house of dolls is strangest even in the forest of the bizarre. It's no wonder that they tend to run away from there.

Her personality is uncaring towards others, and tends to be obsessed with magic. She pretends that she has a strong attitude, but actually she is kind of a coward in her heart.

She is quite average in melee fighting. Both her physical strength and magic powers are average. Instead of that she has very high dexterity, which enables her to control many dolls as if they're living beings. That dexterity shines even among all of Gensokyo.

•Eternally Young Scarlet Moon レミリア・スカーレット Remilia Scarlet

Species: Vampire Location: Scarlet Devil Mansion Abilities: Manipulation of fate

Master of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She looks young, but she's actually a vampire who's over 500 years old. Weak against sunlight, she has to take a parasol if she wants to go out in the daytime.

Her personality is somewhat childish, and she's got maids who are basically at her beck and call, so she can be as egotistical as she wants. She's immensely powerful, so she can really kick up a fuss.

Faster than the eye can follow, strong enough to crush boulders, powerful enough to manipulate demons, she's so strong it's almost not fair, so she doesn't care much for subtle technique. She may be weak against sunlight, but she has a pretty strong constitution, so as long as some bit of her still remains, say, a little bat, she can regenerate any time. She's dreadful to have as an enemy, but she's not exactly the sort of person you'd want as a friend, either.

•The Ghost of Flawless Immaculate Beauty 西行寺幽々子（さいぎょうじゆゆこ） Saigyouji Yuyuko

Species: Ghost Location: Hakugyokurou in the Netherworld Ability: Ability to the extent of manipulating death

A cheerful ghost maiden who won't go to Heaven and lives in the Netherworld. She can't remember when she died, because she's been dead for a long time. The reason why she can't rest in peace is that she must have left her regret in the human world.

She's so carefree that she often acts tricky. Because of this, the straightforward Youmu is always troubled by this princess. But to tell the truth, she loves this nation outside of Gensokyo from the bottom of her heart.

She's not good at physical attacks before and after death. Like other ghosts, she's always floating. She moves smoothly like a curve. You'll find yourself being defeated all of a sudden since her attack is too mysterious.

•Border of Phantasm 八雲紫（やくもゆかり） Yukari Yakumo

Species: Youkai Location: Unknown Ability: Manipulation of boundaries

A youkai living in Gensokyo. As these letters (妖怪) tell, she is dubious and suspicious. It's said that she lives in a mansion located at the edge of Gensokyo, but nobody knows where it really is. For some reason she knows a lot about the outside world too. That makes her very suspicious.

Her personality is hardly understandable, but everyone agrees that it's not something pleasant. Many people don't want to meet her, if possible. Usually, only Reimu bothers to deal with her.

Her fighting style is completely different from a human's measure. It's neither fast nor heavy-hitting. It is uncertain whether she is really tough or not. Her attitude makes you think as if you're being teased by her, which is really irritating even if you manage to defeat her.

However, no one can match her in sincerely caring about Gensokyo, and loving it with all her heart.

•Forgathering dream, illusion, and pandemonium 伊吹萃香（いぶきすいか） Suika Ibuki

Species: Oni Location: Some hidden country occupied by oni (currently she's living somewhere in Gensokyo) Ability: Manipulation of density

There are supposedly no oni in Gensokyo, but this girl insists that she is an oni.

Oni are generally jolly and love to drink, feast, and compete with humans in any kind of contest, from simple melee to drinking games. When they find a human that they like, they tempt that human into challenging them in any way the human desires. Should the human lose, they are abducted.

The oni find these games to be great fun, but humans don't appreciate the nature of that fun. Put simply, humans cannot compare to an oni's level of ability. Humans could enjoy themselves as much as the oni if they tried to reach the power level of their opponents, but they don't. Worse still, humans attempt to destroy the oni with underhanded tactics.

Abduction by oni used to be a symbol of human fear, which was the oni's reason for being. In a way, that fear was necessary to the human race... Yet, the humans selfishly put an end to it.

The oni, growing weary of being duped and killed repeatedly, abandoned humans for all time and moved to a place beyond human reach, or so the legend says. In any case, the oni have not been seen since.

This girl insists that she is an oni.

She is certainly jolly and loves drinking, and likes feasts so much that she has them every 3 days. The reason for that is given in-game, so I won't mention it here. But to tell the truth, she wants to restore the relationship between humans and oni. Now why did that fail...? That's also mentioned in-game, toward the end.

As mentioned above, Suika is jolly and drink loving. Innocent and simple-minded. She raises an upbeat atmosphere in a crowd, but when you're alone with her, you'll gradually become irritated by her childishness.

Her ability allows her to control density. She can gather and scatter whatever she desires. By gathering people's sentiments, they will have parties; by scattering herself, she can become as mist. The strange mist that brought about the events of Immaterial and Missing Power was none other than herself, in very thin form. Her ability does not produce some unseen power; she can gather and scatter only that which already exists, but the process occasionally transforms one thing into something completely different. It's kind of close to creation in that way. The long lost power of the oni is truly exceptional.

Her physical ability is outstanding as well; her strength, speed, and mystic power all far exceed that of a human's. Her sole weakness is her small stature, but she compensates for that in many ways. Since she loves competition against humans, she is quite tough even when she is drunk. That is to say, the more drunk she is, the tougher she becomes. Or rather, there's hardly a time when she isn't drunk.