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Afterword   Shanghai Alice Correspondence vol.1
Afterword Shanghai Alice Correspondence vol. 1








                Team Shanghai Alice Leader ZUN
                Team Shanghai Alice Leader ZUN
                               2002/08/11
                               2002/08/11


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moe artist for those who are danmaku moe.
moe artist for those who are danmaku moe.


These days, the independent and commercial shmups have
The quality of commercial and doujin shmups nowadays
been slowly, but silently, evolving at a rate that was
has evolved to a level that years ago used to be unthinkable,
unthinkable only a few years ago.
even if it did so quietly.


However, to narrow the scope to only danmaku shmups, I'm
However, when it comes to danmaku shooters, I can't help but be
feeling a bit dissatisfied with the direction that it's currently
dissatisfied with the direction that they're currently headed. I think
headed. The main issues are the rapid inflation of difficulty,
the main issues are the rapid inflation of difficulty, excessive bullets,  
games that have only a lot of bullets, effects that are fancy and
effects that are fancy and beautiful, but are not easy on the eyes;  
beautiful, but are not easy on the eyes; and games with new
and games with new systems that don't require dodging bullets.  
systems that don't require dodging bullets. That is my opinion.
Many of them are fun to play, but in some instances there's
Many of them are usually fun to play as games, but even
this feeling of "Dodging bullet is not fun, bullets are a natural part
though that might be fine as it is, in some instances it might
of a shmup." If they don't try to find dodging bullets fun, why not
give the impression that "Dodging bullets is not fun; of course
remove enemy bullets and then rethink shmups? That's what I think.
there are going to be a lot of bullets in an shmup." If they don't
try to find dodging bullets fun, why don't they try to reconsider
why they would play a shmup if the enemies' shots were gone?


That's the reason why I'm calling this a Late 20th century
That's why in EoSD I returned to the basics, toned down the difficulty,
style, 21st century shmup. One thing that I would like to clarify
avoid weird systems and pursued the core fun in bullet dodging. My intent
that I did not feel some nostalgia to the games of the late 90's
was to take the core essence of danmaku like it was in its early days and
and say: "Yup, shmups back in those days were the best." And decide
make the game look how I think the essence would look in the 21st century.
to make a new game. (^^; If I were to say something like that, I
That is why I call this a 21th century extension of the 20th century.
wouldn't be making a new game, I'd be buying them.  
Don't get me wrong, I don't feel nostalgic for the game of late 90s
and say: "Yup, shmups back in those days were the best," cause in
that case why not just buy the game? I wouldn't bother with making new ones.
"Yup, not just with shmups, but with everything, I want to find
"Yup, not just with shmups, but with everything, I want to find
the joy in trying new things."
the joy in trying new things."
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number of bullets than usual. (sweat)  
number of bullets than usual. (sweat)  
"It's not simply OK to have a ton of them!" would be a phrase that
"It's not simply OK to have a ton of them!" would be a phrase that
I would like to hear from those who play it. (lol)
I would like to hear from those who play it. (oh)


To those who think STGs need to have a unique system,
To those who think STGs need to have a unique system,
fancy graphics, a sense of exhilaration, moe characters, or voices
fancy graphics, a sense of exhilaration, moe characters, or voices
(Are there even those kinds of people(^^;?), there are commercial
(Are there even those kinds of people(^^;?), there are commercial
or other shmups that are better-made and this game would probably
or other people's shmups that are better-made and this game would probably
not be suited for you. (Hey)
not be suited for you. (oh)


Obviously, to those who decided to play, there's no need
Obviously, to those who decided to play, there's no need
Line 112: Line 111:


         This time, I personally think that the last boss and extra
         This time, I personally think that the last boss and extra
boss theme's were created to be representative of the game, and I
boss themes were created to contrast each other, and I quite like
quite like them both.
them both.


         This has nothing to do with the game, but I also released a
         This has nothing to do with the game, but I also released a
music CD at the same time as this game. It's filled like songs like
music CD at the same time as this game. It's filled with songs like
the ones in this game, so if you even like this game's music a
the ones in this game, so if you even like this game's music a
little bit, please give the music CD a listen. However, it's almost
little bit, please give the music CD a listen. However, it's almost
entirely high-tempo songs, so you might find yourself considering
entirely high-tempo and depressing songs, so it's suitable mostly
that the best way to throw away your life is to hang yourself.
for those who are planning to throw away their lives by hanging themselves.


         I consider it a genre-free CD, so it isn't suited for people
         I consider it a genre-free CD, so it isn't suited for people
who get hung up on categorizing all music into genres. Certainly.
who get hung up on musical genres (the rules). Certainly.




Line 136: Line 135:
   ―― Ev-en-so, are you going?  Yes  ->No<-
   ―― Ev-en-so, are you going?  Yes  ->No<-


         There haven't been any shmups released since Dodonpachi
         There haven't been any shmups released since DaiOuJou,
Daiohjou, yeah? I've gotten to the second loop, but I've already
yeah? I've gotten to its second loop, but that's where game beats
given up on that. (^^; (I use A-type Leinyan.) I can't even 1cc
me. (^^; (I use A-type Leinyan.) I can't even 1cc Progear because
Progear after 2-5 tries, so beating Daiohjou's second loop is going
of stage 2-5, so beating DaiOuJou's second loop is going to be
to be impossible by my estimate (Due to physical limitations).
impossible by my estimate (Due to physical limitations).


But making a danmaku shmup after so long was just as fun as ever.
But making a danmaku shmup after so long was just as fun as ever.
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its old-fashioned quality is part of its artistic essence. While kabuki
its old-fashioned quality is part of its artistic essence. While kabuki
was once pop culture, it is now considered fine arts in the present
was once pop culture, it is now considered fine arts in the present
world. During the brief wine boom, some people may have become true
world. Similarly, once the wine boom ends, wine connoisseurs can truly
wine connoisseurs. And like how the techniques used in Blazing Star
enjoy it. And like how the horizontal shmup on the MVS system, Bla[zing]
showed up later in other horizontal shmups...
Star, is treated like a craftsman's work...
         When people who just think that shmups are outdated no longer
         When shmups end up being forgotten by the general players, it
exist among those who play games, when there are only true danmaku
might be the time to search the true depth of danmaku, by those who are
connoisseurs, I think that might be the best era for those who are
truly danmaku conoisseurs.
truly seeking to make genuine danmaku.


Shmups only wanted to be a single game since its inception.
Shmups are one of the earliest genres to exist.
For that reason, it might just be a little bad karma. (lol)
For that reason, it might just be a little bad karma. (laugh)




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   Reimu: A shower, huh.
   Reimu: A sudden shower, huh.
   Marisa: Unusual at this time.
   Marisa: Unusual at this time.
   Remilia: But I can't walk in the rain.
   Remilia: But I can't walk in the rain.
Line 271: Line 269:
   it was clear enough that the sky was unnatural just by
   it was clear enough that the sky was unnatural just by
   looking outside.  
   looking outside.  
   Fierce rain and snow hailed only a single deep area of Gensokyo.
   Fierce rain and thunder was only in a single deep area of Gensokyo.




   Remilia: Oh?  
   Remilia: Oh?  
             It seems the rain is only falling around me.
             It seems the rain is only falling around my mansion.
   Reimu: Looks that way, maybe you've been cursed?
   Reimu: Looks that way, maybe you've been cursed?
   Marisa: She was cursed to begin with.
   Marisa: She was cursed to begin with.
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   So without any advice, here are the character back stories.
   So without any advice, here are the character back stories.


  ○Eternal Shrine Maiden
  Hakurei Reimu


  Ability: Able to fly, and to manipulate natural spirits.




  The protagonist.


  Chronologically this title is not too far from the previous
title, thus her age stays the same as before.


  Unintentionally, she is a shrine maiden. Or rather, she is
a shrine maiden only because the Touhou series has become the
"Shrine Maiden Shooting Game" series. It feels like the cart
has been placed before the horse to me.
  This time, her outfit is not overly intricate like typical
shrine maiden clothing, but has become quite simple and only
remotely resembles that of a shrine maiden. Is she really a
shrine maiden?


  She's more like "You red & white girl!" in my opinion.






  ○The Strange Magician
  Marisa Kirisame


  Ability: Manipulation of magic




  This girl is also one of the protagonists.


These two
(Marisa and Reimu) are the heroines of the Touhou series.
  Marisa has a very contrarian, uncooperative personality,
and she really is a pretty bad person. Although she's human,
she remains distant from other humans. It's questionable as
to whether she really is human, but she is.


  This time she's wearing something resembling an apron, so
it's hard to tell if she's a magician or what.






  ○Youkai of the Dusk
  Rumia


  Ability: Manipulation of darkness




  Stage 1 boss. A youkai.


  She is of no importance to the story, and isn't up to
anything in particular in her life.
  The ribbon tied to her hair is actually a charm; she can't
touch it even though there have been times when she wanted to
take it off.


  There is no evidence of her ability in the game, but in
truth, places around her are always as dark as night.


  Total of 3 card attacks.




  ○Ice Fairy of the Lake
  Cirno


  Ability: Manipulation of cold




  Stage 2 boss. A girl of snow.


  Her intellect is not very developed. She's just a child. To
Reimu and Marisa, she's nothing more than a plain idiot.
  She likes playing tricks and often toys with frogs. She
freezes them instantly, then watches them revive as they thaw
in the water. She tends to fail one out of every 3 attempts,
however, and the poor amphibian shatters to pieces.




  Total of 4 card attacks.






  ○Chinese Girl
  Hong Meiling


Ability: Manipulation of Ki




  Stage 3 boss. A Chinese-looking youkai.


  Her clothing is colorful and somewhat traditional. She is
the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and prevents
intruders from beyond the lake from reaching the mansion. She
is by no means a special character, but she is the first
character that has something to do with the main story. Even
if that something happens to be merely mentioning the Mistress.




  Total of 7 card attacks.






  ○The Girl of Knowledge and Shadow
  Patchouli Knowledge


  Ability: Manipulation of fire, water, wood, earth, metal,
sun, and moon




  The 4th stage boss. She is the friend of the young mistress
and is a witch who has lived for 100 years. The "One-week Girl".


  Her weak constitution makes her poor at physical combat, but
she makes up for that with her sheer variety of magical
attacks. Patchouli's ribbon is not a holy charm, but rather an
accessory that boosts magic power.


  Since she's a genuine witch, her magical power is terrifying.
However, because of the asthma she was born with, she often
cannot recite the spells. She also seems to have a vitamin A
deficiency.
  Maybe her windowless library room is dusty. No, obviously,
it's very dusty. But, since she spends all her time near books
she considers them a part of herself, and cannot stand to be
separated from them. This is how she has spent about 100 years.


  Total of 21 card attacks.






  ○Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion
  Sakuya Izayoi


  Ability: Manipulation of time




  5th stage boss. Plays the role of a human maid about 10~20
years old.


  That power of hers distances her from the human race. She has
given up trying to relate to ordinary people.
  She does not care about honor or power; she thinks so long as
it earns her dinner, being the Scarlet Devil Mansion's maid is
fine.


  She is the chief of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's maids and
cleaning staff, and always takes advantage of her ability to stop
time when working.
  (If she cleans when time is stopped, it won't raise dust.)


  Due to the nature of the mistress of the house, it is arguable
whether she serves the role of maid or babysitter, but in any case,
she is in charge of most of the affairs of the household.


  Total of 9 card attacks.








 ○Eternally Young Scarlet Moon
  Remilia Scarlet


  Ability: Manipulation of Fate




  The final boss. She's been the mistress for about 500 years.


  She doesn't clarify this herself during the game, but she is
a vampire. She blanketed Gensokyo with a magic mist in order to
prevent sunlight from reaching her. Although she has been alive
for 500 years, her personality is that of a selfish child.
  She is respected by most youkai, but her charisma doesn't stem
from her personality; rather, it comes from the fear that they
have for her kind. She has one younger sister; nothing else is
known about her family.


 
  She is a light eater. In other words, she can drink only a little
 
blood at a time and must leave the rest behind, so the humans off of
 
whom she feeds become a bit anemic, but usually stay alive. Due to
 
that fact, she is never able to increase the number of her kind.
 
  She often spills more blood than she consumes. The spilt blood
 
dyes her dress a deep scarlet, which is what gives rise to her
 
title, the "Scarlet Devil".
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


  She swears that she is a descendant of Tepes, but nobody is
  She swears that she is a descendant of Tepes, but nobody is
Line 479: Line 549:




====================================================================
4. Music Comments
====================================================================
 A sound is only recognized as a song when it is given a name.
 What has no name may be nothing more than an accidental harmony of noises.
 Here are thus my (supplementary) comments on the song titles.




  ♪1. A Dream that is More Scarlet Than Red
  The song for the title screen.
  Normally, I would title it “Touhou Koumakyou” like the game, but
  since the melody sounded so lonely I didn’t. (^^;
  This time “scarlet” is the keyword. There are lots of scarlet shades put in.




  ♪2. A Soul as Red as an Oni's Lantern
  A soul that’s as red and round as a hōzuki floating in the
  darkness of dawn.
  It’s just a common ball of fire.  A hōzuki is a seasonal flower
  and its meaning is “trickery”.
  Even though I say seasonal it’s going to be sold at the summer
  Comiket so the season is summer. There could be people buying it
  at the winter Comiket too…




  ♪3. Apparitions Stalk the Night
  “Yoh-Ma-Ya-Kou” it sort of sounds like somebody from Bhutan
  Since the isn’t an image of dead heated fights yet, something
  that feels fresh.
  Is a demon that's not a Yohma not strange?




  ♪4. Lunate Elf
  The elf that’s referred to here is not the one with the pointy
  ears but the fairy.
  There’s no meaning to this.
  Is a fairy that’s not a Yousei not strange?




  ♪5. Lovestruck Tomboy
  I wanted to make a stupid sounding song so I started by making
  the tile sound stupid.
  The sound of the words and the look of the characters are a bit
  stupid.
  Despite that, I mixed in an exotic piano melody to it and
  a personal "moe-moe".




  ♪6. Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea
  I wanted Chinese sounding but it didn’t end up too Chinese.
  (Sweats)
  I haven’t drank black tea in a while. But black tea made of
  blood is very sinful.
  Well, the tea that Remilia and such are drinking is really just
  human blood.
  Can I really call that tea?




  ♪7. Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17
  I wonder how Shanghai was back then ?
  Meiji 17th year is the year of the Sino-French war.
  Even with other places in other countries, there’s no city that
  suits the name of such a “Mato” .
  And “Mato” is not a short form of “Makai city – Shinjyuku”




  ♪8. Voile, the Magic Library
  I think it’s a legitimate idea to have libraries that specialized
  in grimoires.
  Its fantasy land all of a sudden. Well, I meant it to be fantasy
  from the start.
  Voile is just a proper noun and doesn’t have much of a meaning.
  Although it does have a meaning in French or something. (Laughs)




  ♪9. Locked girl ~ The Girl's Secret Room
  Locked girl, a locked-away girl. It has nothing to do with Key.
  She’s a unhealthy girl who loves the shade.
  By the way, there isn’t much meaning to killing people in locked
  rooms is there.
  I could probably do suicide in a locked room.




  ♪10. The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood
  It’s an easy title to understand. Easily understandable is a good
  thing.
  Rather than saying maids or Jochuu, I prefer saying Komadukai.
  Generally speaking, most people think of a young woman when they
  hear “a maid”.
  (What general is that?), but an actually useful maid would
  probably be around 30~40.




  ♪11. Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial
  The clock that appears in the novel “Yomizu hirasaka Yamiyo
  kouro” by Fujiki Rin.
  I would like to know what kind of clock a lunar clock is. (^^;
  The hard rock part is the lunar part.
  There’s an instrument called a Theremin in that novel, but I found
  out about a year or so ago what that was. (^^;
  Even if the house was rich, would a Theremin be something found
  in a house of the Meiji era?




  ♪12. The young descendant of Tepes
  Tepes meaning Vlad Tepes.
  He’s famous for being the model of Count Dracula.
  From what I hear, he impaled twenty thousand captives and stood
  them by the road…..
  Although Remilia isn’t his descendant.




  ♪13. Septette for the Dead Princess
  I tweaked a certain famous classic song’s title and made it the
  title.
  It has nothing to do with that song though.
  To top it off, the music isn’t even a septette, only the feeling.
  (Sweats)
  In the first place, nobody’s dead and who’s the princess?




  ♪14. The Centennial Festival For Magic Girls
  Something like a thanksgiving festival that’s done every hundred
  years.
  I wonder what’s for harvest. (Laughs)




  ♪15. U.N. Owen was Her?
  This is U.N. Owen (Una Nancy Owen).
  Only people who understand it understand please. The original is
  quite old. (About 70 years ago?)
  The reason why the name is this, thinking in terms of why the
  name is written in roman letters, is because Flandre is an
  unknown being.
  The ninth spell card is a parody of that.




  ♪16. An Eternity that is More Transient than Scarlet
  It’s a remix sort of thing of the tile so the name is similar.
  Although red doesn’t really feel transient. (^^;




  ♪17. Crimson Tower ~ Eastern Dream
  Now that I think of it, I used to title songs in a
  Japanese ~ English format...
  Anyways, I tend to put “whatever Dream” to staff roll themes, so
  once again.(^^;








====================================================================
5. Capturing and Hints
====================================================================


I thought I'd write hints on how to clear the game, but it's
incredibly hard to beat this kind of game on written advice so I
kind of skimped. (Laughs)


It might be better to read these one at a time.


-The requirements for a small enemy to drop power-ups (large).
Most enemies have a set item to drop, but some of them are random.
These enemies drop items in certain orders.
If you defeat as many of them as possible before they escape, the
cycle of items they drop moves faster and you’ll get big power-up
items faster.
But the order of things that an enemy drops is set at random between
the range of 0~3 enemies worth.


-Parts where more enemies can appear.
Generally, if you beat the mid bosses of stages other than stages 3,
6, and EX, there will be enemies to fill the spot.


-The grazing of lasers is once per every 12 frames, only about 5
times per second.
Don’t rely on laser grazing too much and try grazing other bullets
too.


-About death bombs.
If you death bomb, the time it gives you to do so gets shorter every
time.
Once you die the time is reset.
Even if you have good reflexes don’t trust it too much.


-About full power mode.
Even if you can pull in items at full power mode, it doesn’t mean
you’ll get the most points possible.
If the items are close to you when you pull them in and they are
collected by the bottom part of your character, you might not get
the maximum value from them due to the location.
It’s the same thing if you went down right after you started drawing
them in.


-About star items
If you get it during bombs the point for it is 100, but there are
times when you get it after a bomb ends.
In this case, you still get the point for it, so if you move away
from the item at the end, you’ll get a bit more points.


-About points for hitting enemies
There are points for hitting enemies. Even if you hit characters
that are invincible, you'll still get some points.


-Dying on boss battles.
If you power down from full power mode in boss battles, you’ll see
power up items as you get further in the battle. If you wait for a
bit so that the boss spits out more bullets, then get the items to
reach full power, you’ll gain a bit more points. But if you didn’t
die, the power ups will turn into point items so there’s not much of
a point to die on purpose.




-Rumia’s normal attacks seem to be random, so they are random.
But there is a certain rule, that the first attack is always the
same and no two attacks repeat one another, so it shouldn’t deviate
too much.


-About Patchouli’s spell cards.
There are no random parameters involved in it.
She will use different cards depending on the player, and weapon.
As long as you use the same character, she’ll use the same cards.


-About the bats in Remilia’s 4th attack.
On the 4th attack, she’ll spit out lots of bats, but these are just
for show and affect nothing.
They don’t even have hit boxes.


-In Remilia’s final form and Flandre’s spell cards
Reimu’s bomb “Fantasy Seal” will circle around the player and won’t
go away. This is not a bug, and at this time if you use a bomb the
boss turns in to a bat and loses its hitbox.
Since Fantasy Seal is a homing bomb it loses a place to go.


-About Patchouli’s “Royal Flare”
The bullets are perfectly the same every time. Just memorize the
pattern.


-About Patchouli’s “Philosopher’s Stone”
You can’t destroy the books around her, so aim for Patchouli
herself.


-About Flandre’s 9th attack.
Only for this attack, if you don’t die and don’t use a bomb you can
still get a spell card bonus even if you time up.


 
-About Flandre’s last attack.
 
The difficulty will change with how much health she has remaining.
 
Also, the attack will get crazier as the time runs out.
 
Health is easier than time so try defeating her right off the bat.</pre>
 
{{SubpageCategory}}
 
{{LanguageCategory}}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
</pre>

Latest revision as of 17:41, 7 September 2023

-------------------------------------------------------------------

○東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.


Afterword Shanghai Alice Correspondence vol. 1




                Team Shanghai Alice Leader ZUN
                                2002/08/11

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Spoilers are present, so for people who haven't cleared
  the game, read at your own discretion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  But it's just extra writing. Shooting games don't really
   have that many spoilers in the first place.


====================================================================
0. Omake Afterword Table of Contents
====================================================================

 1. Omake Afterword
 2. Extra Story
 3. Character Snippets
 4. Music Comments
 5. Capturing and Hints


====================================================================
1. Omake Afterword
====================================================================

	Nice to meet you, this is ZUN. For those who have already
met me, then this isn't the first time we've met. This C62 Summer
Comiket is my first time as a participant. I hope you enjoy the
games I make from now on. In some sense, I suppose this would be
considered my maiden game?

	Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is a game made by a danmaku
moe artist for those who are danmaku moe.

	The quality of commercial and doujin shmups nowadays
has evolved to a level that years ago used to be unthinkable,
even if it did so quietly.

	However, when it comes to danmaku shooters, I can't help but be 
dissatisfied with the direction that they're currently headed. I think 
the main issues are the rapid inflation of difficulty, excessive bullets, 
effects that are fancy and beautiful, but are not easy on the eyes; 
and games with new systems that don't require dodging bullets. 
	Many of them are fun to play, but in some instances there's
this feeling of "Dodging bullet is not fun, bullets are a natural part
of a shmup." If they don't try to find dodging bullets fun, why not
remove enemy bullets and then rethink shmups? That's what I think.

	That's why in EoSD I returned to the basics, toned down the difficulty,
avoid weird systems and pursued the core fun in bullet dodging. My intent 
was to take the core essence of danmaku like it was in its early days and
make the game look how I think the essence would look in the 21st century.
	That is why I call this a 21th century extension of the 20th century.
Don't get me wrong, I don't feel nostalgic for the game of late 90s
and say: "Yup, shmups back in those days were the best," cause in
that case why not just buy the game? I wouldn't bother with making new ones.
"Yup, not just with shmups, but with everything, I want to find
the joy in trying new things."

	The difficulty is downscaled a bit, but there's a greater
number of bullets than usual. (sweat) 
"It's not simply OK to have a ton of them!" would be a phrase that
I would like to hear from those who play it. (oh)

	To those who think STGs need to have a unique system,
fancy graphics, a sense of exhilaration, moe characters, or voices
(Are there even those kinds of people(^^;?), there are commercial
or other people's shmups that are better-made and this game would probably
not be suited for you. (oh)

	Obviously, to those who decided to play, there's no need
for reasons to enjoy the game. (^^;
These things should only be considered to those who make (and
especially to those who sell) the actual games.


	Still, to those who feel like the characters are too
small, the backgrounds are too monotonous, or a lack of variation
in the small fry, this is not due to any particular insistence, but
due to a simple lack of manpower. Please forgive me (sweat).
Starting next time, I hope I am able to improve little by little as
I become accustomed to it. (As if it's anyone else's business (^^;)

---------

  ―― Made With Love So it's All Right

        By the way, how do you like the music?
I intended to make it about three times as bright as usual, and
since I haven't seen it in game music recently, I added some jazz
fusion to it. I wanted to make it unusual and give it qualities of
"This is what I think about when I think of game music!" yet I
wanted to avoid the atmosphere that is so prevalent in game music a
little bit.

        ...But it's more like I didn't make anything BUT those kinds
of songs. (Even with as long as I've been composing...) If I were to
sum up the melodies in a single word, I guess I'd say "old"? I don't
think "nostalgic" quite has the same meaning, anyway. (^^;

        This time, I personally think that the last boss and extra
boss themes were created to contrast each other, and I quite like
them both.

        This has nothing to do with the game, but I also released a
music CD at the same time as this game. It's filled with songs like
the ones in this game, so if you even like this game's music a
little bit, please give the music CD a listen. However, it's almost
entirely high-tempo and depressing songs, so it's suitable mostly
for those who are planning to throw away their lives by hanging themselves.

        I consider it a genre-free CD, so it isn't suited for people
who get hung up on musical genres (the rules). Certainly.


In any case, it makes me want to play a stringed instrument.
Like an erhu. (That came out of nowhere!)

(Translator's note: Another leftover from Rin Satsuki?)


---------

  ―― Ev-en-so, are you going?   Yes  ->No<-

        There haven't been any shmups released since DaiOuJou,
yeah? I've gotten to its second loop, but that's where game beats
me. (^^; (I use A-type Leinyan.) I can't even 1cc Progear because
of stage 2-5, so beating DaiOuJou's second loop is going to be
impossible by my estimate (Due to physical limitations).

But making a danmaku shmup after so long was just as fun as ever.

 Actually, when I released Mystic Square I thought "Danmaku
shmups have already just about reached their peak." I suppose I was
somewhat mistaken. Among the countless number of games, there are two
large divisions. One group is games made to be widely accepted, and
the other is made for a small fraction to greatly enjoy. For business
(so they can put food on the table), the former is absolutely
necessary. Of course, danmaku shmups fall into the latter. Enthusiasts
choose them for the sake of the genre alone.

        I think that almost everyone considers shmups to be an
outdated genre based on the fact that they are rarely released anymore,
and it's likely that not too many more shmups will be. If you or the
people around you say that they're not fun in magazines or on the
internet (or in your own thoughts), then it may very well be that many
more people who also think shmups are outdated.

        The fact is that they are old-fashioned. However, I think that
its old-fashioned quality is part of its artistic essence. While kabuki
was once pop culture, it is now considered fine arts in the present
world. Similarly, once the wine boom ends, wine connoisseurs can truly
enjoy it. And like how the horizontal shmup on the MVS system, Bla[zing]
Star, is treated like a craftsman's work...
        When shmups end up being forgotten by the general players, it
might be the time to search the true depth of danmaku, by those who are
truly danmaku conoisseurs.

Shmups are one of the earliest genres to exist.
For that reason, it might just be a little bad karma. (laugh)


---------

  Getting back to the main topic...

---------

  ―― As a beginner, I apologize

        Changing the subject, this was the first time I've made a
Windows program of such a large scale. I've hardly done any
programming in Windows, so the code might be rather clumsy. m(_ _)m
However, in truth, working in an environment with things like API
and Direct X is so much of a blessing. I barely had to touch
anything low-level (like with the hardware), and I made a program
that runs on the surface.

        Since this time I had to construct libraries and tools from
scratch, I ran out of time for making a lot of things, but for now
just about every part of the development environment is in order.
That means that for the next game I plan on improving the quality
(especially on the production side).

        I received an archive from Mr. Punch from Amusement Makers.
Thanks to him, I was able to save a lot of time into putting 
together the essential parts of the game, so I am grateful for that.

        I think that from now on I have to make the compressed WAV
files loop. In dealing with making the WAV and the MIDI files loop
indefinitely, I found that the MIDI playback routine in particular
had a lot of bugs. Sorry for the inconvenience. m(_ _)m



---------

―― As for the next time

        What should I do? Actually, I do have the resources I need
to make the second Touhou Project game in the future. However, I
would personally like to see if I could make a completely different
game. I have made a plan for a new series (although it's no
different from Touhou (sweats) ). Well, for now I'll see if I can't
make more Touhou Project games for a little while longer. (^^;

        I think I'm certain it will probably be a shmup, but there
is such a short amount of time between the summer and winter
Comikets, so it'll be tough. No, I'm serious.
        And to make things worse, I won't be able to continue
making it due to being busy at work. (sweat)

In any case, please continue your support if you like my games.
m(_ _)m





====================================================================
2. Extra Story
====================================================================

   The backstory of Extra Stage.

      Touhou Koumakyou (Scarlet Devil Insanity) ~ Sister of Scarlet.

   Good weather graces Gensokyo today.
   Peace was supposed to grace Gensokyo today.
   The young girl clad in black felt uneasy today for some reason,
   and therefore headed to the shrine.


   Marisa: It's so hot, I'm gonna die here.
   Reimu: If you die, I'll feed your corpse to the birds.
   Remilia: My, it'd be fine if you'd let me take care of that.
   Marisa: That's a definite no.


   For some reason the scarlet devil was there, 
   yet it was the usual.


   Marisa: Is it alright to leave your house so much?
   Remilia: I leave it to Sakuya, so it's fine.
   Reimu: Chances are it's not fine, so go home now.


   At that moment, a frightening clap of thunder shocked the three.


   Reimu: A sudden shower, huh.
   Marisa: Unusual at this time.
   Remilia: But I can't walk in the rain.

   After a few moments have passed, rain did not visit;
   it was clear enough that the sky was unnatural just by
   looking outside. 
   Fierce rain and thunder was only in a single deep area of Gensokyo.


   Remilia: Oh? 
            It seems the rain is only falling around my mansion.
   Reimu: Looks that way, maybe you've been cursed?
   Marisa: She was cursed to begin with.

   Remilia: This is troublesome, 
            in this state I can't possibly return.
   Reimu: Or maybe they made it so you can't head home?
   Marisa: You've finally been kicked out.

   Remilia: Rather than making a situation where I can't head home, 
            it's more like...
   Marisa: ...Making a situation where something can't get out?
   Reimu: You've been kicked out after all.

   Remilia: Either way, I can't go back. 
            What should I do about my meals? (Meals = Humans)
   Reimu: I might as well go check it out.
   Marisa: Sounds like fun.

   And so, the two left the scarlet devil to take care of the 
   shrine while they headed towards Remilia's mansion.

   Remilia: Ah, that's it, I forgot about that.
            Patchouli is definitely trying to stop her
            from escaping (with rain).

   The devil tilted her head and leaned her cheek against
   her right hand.

   Remilia: This is troubling, neither I nor her can move in rain...


   Rain will not allow even a single part of devils to walk.




====================================================================
3. Character Snippets
====================================================================

   So without any advice, here are the character back stories.

  ○Eternal Shrine Maiden
   Hakurei Reimu

   Ability: Able to fly, and to manipulate natural spirits.


   The protagonist.

   Chronologically this title is not too far from the previous
title, thus her age stays the same as before.

   Unintentionally, she is a shrine maiden. Or rather, she is
a shrine maiden only because the Touhou series has become the
"Shrine Maiden Shooting Game" series. It feels like the cart
has been placed before the horse to me.
   This time, her outfit is not overly intricate like typical
shrine maiden clothing, but has become quite simple and only
remotely resembles that of a shrine maiden. Is she really a
shrine maiden?

   She's more like "You red & white girl!" in my opinion.



  ○The Strange Magician
   Marisa Kirisame

   Ability: Manipulation of magic


   This girl is also one of the protagonists.

These two
(Marisa and Reimu) are the heroines of the Touhou series.
   Marisa has a very contrarian, uncooperative personality,
and she really is a pretty bad person. Although she's human,
she remains distant from other humans. It's questionable as
to whether she really is human, but she is.

   This time she's wearing something resembling an apron, so
it's hard to tell if she's a magician or what.



  ○Youkai of the Dusk
   Rumia

   Ability: Manipulation of darkness


   Stage 1 boss. A youkai.

   She is of no importance to the story, and isn't up to
anything in particular in her life. 
   The ribbon tied to her hair is actually a charm; she can't
touch it even though there have been times when she wanted to
take it off.

   There is no evidence of her ability in the game, but in
truth, places around her are always as dark as night.

   Total of 3 card attacks.


  ○Ice Fairy of the Lake
   Cirno

   Ability: Manipulation of cold


   Stage 2 boss. A girl of snow.

   Her intellect is not very developed. She's just a child. To
Reimu and Marisa, she's nothing more than a plain idiot.
   She likes playing tricks and often toys with frogs. She
freezes them instantly, then watches them revive as they thaw
in the water. She tends to fail one out of every 3 attempts,
however, and the poor amphibian shatters to pieces.


   Total of 4 card attacks.



  ○Chinese Girl
   Hong Meiling

Ability: Manipulation of Ki


   Stage 3 boss. A Chinese-looking youkai.

   Her clothing is colorful and somewhat traditional. She is
the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and prevents
intruders from beyond the lake from reaching the mansion. She
is by no means a special character, but she is the first
character that has something to do with the main story. Even
if that something happens to be merely mentioning the Mistress.


   Total of 7 card attacks.



  ○The Girl of Knowledge and Shadow
   Patchouli Knowledge

   Ability: Manipulation of fire, water, wood, earth, metal,
sun, and moon


   The 4th stage boss. She is the friend of the young mistress
and is a witch who has lived for 100 years. The "One-week Girl".

   Her weak constitution makes her poor at physical combat, but
she makes up for that with her sheer variety of magical
attacks. Patchouli's ribbon is not a holy charm, but rather an
accessory that boosts magic power.

   Since she's a genuine witch, her magical power is terrifying.
However, because of the asthma she was born with, she often
cannot recite the spells. She also seems to have a vitamin A
deficiency.
   Maybe her windowless library room is dusty. No, obviously,
it's very dusty. But, since she spends all her time near books
she considers them a part of herself, and cannot stand to be
separated from them. This is how she has spent about 100 years.

   Total of 21 card attacks.



  ○Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion
   Sakuya Izayoi

   Ability: Manipulation of time


   5th stage boss. Plays the role of a human maid about 10~20
years old.

   That power of hers distances her from the human race. She has
given up trying to relate to ordinary people.
   She does not care about honor or power; she thinks so long as
it earns her dinner, being the Scarlet Devil Mansion's maid is
fine.

   She is the chief of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's maids and
cleaning staff, and always takes advantage of her ability to stop
time when working.
   (If she cleans when time is stopped, it won't raise dust.)

   Due to the nature of the mistress of the house, it is arguable
whether she serves the role of maid or babysitter, but in any case,
she is in charge of most of the affairs of the household.

	  Total of 9 card attacks.




 ○Eternally Young Scarlet Moon
  Remilia Scarlet

  Ability: Manipulation of Fate


  The final boss. She's been the mistress for about 500 years.

  She doesn't clarify this herself during the game, but she is
a vampire. She blanketed Gensokyo with a magic mist in order to
prevent sunlight from reaching her. Although she has been alive
for 500 years, her personality is that of a selfish child.
   She is respected by most youkai, but her charisma doesn't stem 
from her personality; rather, it comes from the fear that they 
have for her kind. She has one younger sister; nothing else is
known about her family.

  She is a light eater. In other words, she can drink only a little
blood at a time and must leave the rest behind, so the humans off of
whom she feeds become a bit anemic, but usually stay alive. Due to
that fact, she is never able to increase the number of her kind.
   She often spills more blood than she consumes. The spilt blood
dyes her dress a deep scarlet, which is what gives rise to her
title, the "Scarlet Devil".

  She swears that she is a descendant of Tepes, but nobody is
certain whether she is truly related to the Vlad "Dracula" Tepes.
   Well, let it be known that she is not.


	     Total of 10 card attacks.




 ○Sister of the Devil
  Flandre Scarlet

   Ability: Destruction of anything and everything


	  The Extra Boss. Also the Mistress's younger sister.

  She is a vampiric magical girl and has been the Scarlet Devil's
younger sister for about 495 years.
   She's kind of nuts and isn't usually allowed out of the cellar,
but she usually doesn't try to let herself out.

  She really respects her older sister Remilia, but her raw
destructive power far exceeds that of her sister's. Although she
is usually docile, her insanity makes it difficult for others to
understand her.

  When vampires attack humans, they generally try to take their
prey alive so that they can suck its blood afterward, but Flandre
has always been fed with cooked dishes, so she doesn't know how to
properly attack a human. Whenever she tries to attack a human, she
can't control herself and blows them away without leaving a spot of
blood.

   Perhaps she can't tell that her daily meals are made from living
   humans
   Her meals look like such harmless foodstuffs as cake and tea,
   after all...



   Total of 10 card attacks.




====================================================================
4. Music Comments
====================================================================
 A sound is only recognized as a song when it is given a name.
 What has no name may be nothing more than an accidental harmony of noises.
 Here are thus my (supplementary) comments on the song titles.


  ♪1. A Dream that is More Scarlet Than Red
   The song for the title screen.
   Normally, I would title it “Touhou Koumakyou” like the game, but
   since the melody sounded so lonely I didn’t. (^^;
   This time “scarlet” is the keyword. There are lots of scarlet shades put in.


  ♪2. A Soul as Red as an Oni's Lantern
   A soul that’s as red and round as a hōzuki floating in the
   darkness of dawn.
   It’s just a common ball of fire.  A hōzuki is a seasonal flower
   and its meaning is “trickery”.
   Even though I say seasonal it’s going to be sold at the summer
   Comiket so the season is summer. There could be people buying it
   at the winter Comiket too…


  ♪3. Apparitions Stalk the Night
   “Yoh-Ma-Ya-Kou” it sort of sounds like somebody from Bhutan
   Since the isn’t an image of dead heated fights yet, something
   that feels fresh.
   Is a demon that's not a Yohma not strange?


  ♪4. Lunate Elf
   The elf that’s referred to here is not the one with the pointy
   ears but the fairy.
   There’s no meaning to this.
   Is a fairy that’s not a Yousei not strange?


  ♪5. Lovestruck Tomboy
   I wanted to make a stupid sounding song so I started by making
   the tile sound stupid.
   The sound of the words and the look of the characters are a bit
   stupid.
   Despite that, I mixed in an exotic piano melody to it and
   a personal "moe-moe".


  ♪6. Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea
   I wanted Chinese sounding but it didn’t end up too Chinese.
   (Sweats)
   I haven’t drank black tea in a while. But black tea made of
   blood is very sinful.
   Well, the tea that Remilia and such are drinking is really just
   human blood.
   Can I really call that tea?


  ♪7. Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17
   I wonder how Shanghai was back then ?
   Meiji 17th year is the year of the Sino-French war.
   Even with other places in other countries, there’s no city that
   suits the name of such a “Mato” .
   And “Mato” is not a short form of “Makai city – Shinjyuku”


  ♪8. Voile, the Magic Library
   I think it’s a legitimate idea to have libraries that specialized
   in grimoires.
   Its fantasy land all of a sudden. Well, I meant it to be fantasy
   from the start.
   Voile is just a proper noun and doesn’t have much of a meaning.
   Although it does have a meaning in French or something. (Laughs)


  ♪9. Locked girl ~ The Girl's Secret Room
   Locked girl, a locked-away girl. It has nothing to do with Key. 
   She’s a unhealthy girl who loves the shade.
   By the way, there isn’t much meaning to killing people in locked
   rooms is there.
   I could probably do suicide in a locked room.


  ♪10. The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood
   It’s an easy title to understand. Easily understandable is a good
   thing.
   Rather than saying maids or Jochuu, I prefer saying Komadukai. 
   Generally speaking, most people think of a young woman when they
   hear “a maid”. 
   (What general is that?), but an actually useful maid would
   probably be around 30~40.


  ♪11. Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial
   The clock that appears in the novel “Yomizu hirasaka Yamiyo
   kouro” by Fujiki Rin.
   I would like to know what kind of clock a lunar clock is. (^^;
   The hard rock part is the lunar part.
   There’s an instrument called a Theremin in that novel, but I found
   out about a year or so ago what that was. (^^;
   Even if the house was rich, would a Theremin be something found
   in a house of the Meiji era?


  ♪12. The young descendant of Tepes
   Tepes meaning Vlad Tepes.
   He’s famous for being the model of Count Dracula.
   From what I hear, he impaled twenty thousand captives and stood
   them by the road…..
   Although Remilia isn’t his descendant.


  ♪13. Septette for the Dead Princess
   I tweaked a certain famous classic song’s title and made it the
   title.
   It has nothing to do with that song though.
   To top it off, the music isn’t even a septette, only the feeling.
   (Sweats)
   In the first place, nobody’s dead and who’s the princess?


  ♪14. The Centennial Festival For Magic Girls
   Something like a thanksgiving festival that’s done every hundred
   years. 
   I wonder what’s for harvest. (Laughs)


  ♪15. U.N. Owen was Her?
   This is U.N. Owen (Una Nancy Owen).
   Only people who understand it understand please. The original is
   quite old. (About 70 years ago?)
   The reason why the name is this, thinking in terms of why the
   name is written in roman letters, is because Flandre is an
   unknown being.
   The ninth spell card is a parody of that.


  ♪16. An Eternity that is More Transient than Scarlet
   It’s a remix sort of thing of the tile so the name is similar.
   Although red doesn’t really feel transient. (^^;


  ♪17. Crimson Tower ~ Eastern Dream
   Now that I think of it, I used to title songs in a
   Japanese ~ English format...
   Anyways, I tend to put “whatever Dream” to staff roll themes, so
   once again.(^^;




====================================================================
5. Capturing and Hints
====================================================================

I thought I'd write hints on how to clear the game, but it's
incredibly hard to beat this kind of game on written advice so I
kind of skimped. (Laughs)

It might be better to read these one at a time.

-The requirements for a small enemy to drop power-ups (large).
Most enemies have a set item to drop, but some of them are random.
These enemies drop items in certain orders.
If you defeat as many of them as possible before they escape, the
cycle of items they drop moves faster and you’ll get big power-up
items faster.
But the order of things that an enemy drops is set at random between
the range of 0~3 enemies worth.

-Parts where more enemies can appear.
Generally, if you beat the mid bosses of stages other than stages 3,
6, and EX, there will be enemies to fill the spot.

-The grazing of lasers is once per every 12 frames, only about 5
times per second. 
Don’t rely on laser grazing too much and try grazing other bullets
too.

-About death bombs.
If you death bomb, the time it gives you to do so gets shorter every
time.
Once you die the time is reset.
Even if you have good reflexes don’t trust it too much.

-About full power mode.
Even if you can pull in items at full power mode, it doesn’t mean
you’ll get the most points possible.
If the items are close to you when you pull them in and they are
collected by the bottom part of your character, you might not get
the maximum value from them due to the location.
It’s the same thing if you went down right after you started drawing
them in.

-About star items
If you get it during bombs the point for it is 100, but there are
times when you get it after a bomb ends.
In this case, you still get the point for it, so if you move away
from the item at the end, you’ll get a bit more points.

-About points for hitting enemies
There are points for hitting enemies. Even if you hit characters
that are invincible, you'll still get some points.

-Dying on boss battles.
If you power down from full power mode in boss battles, you’ll see
power up items as you get further in the battle. If you wait for a
bit so that the boss spits out more bullets, then get the items to
reach full power, you’ll gain a bit more points. But if you didn’t
die, the power ups will turn into point items so there’s not much of
a point to die on purpose.


-Rumia’s normal attacks seem to be random, so they are random.
But there is a certain rule, that the first attack is always the
same and no two attacks repeat one another, so it shouldn’t deviate
too much.

-About Patchouli’s spell cards.
There are no random parameters involved in it.
She will use different cards depending on the player, and weapon.
As long as you use the same character, she’ll use the same cards.

-About the bats in Remilia’s 4th attack.
On the 4th attack, she’ll spit out lots of bats, but these are just
for show and affect nothing.
They don’t even have hit boxes.

-In Remilia’s final form and Flandre’s spell cards
Reimu’s bomb “Fantasy Seal” will circle around the player and won’t
go away. This is not a bug, and at this time if you use a bomb the
boss turns in to a bat and loses its hitbox.
Since Fantasy Seal is a homing bomb it loses a place to go.

-About Patchouli’s “Royal Flare”
The bullets are perfectly the same every time. Just memorize the
pattern.

-About Patchouli’s “Philosopher’s Stone”
You can’t destroy the books around her, so aim for Patchouli
herself.

-About Flandre’s 9th attack.
Only for this attack, if you don’t die and don’t use a bomb you can
still get a spell card bonus even if you time up.

-About Flandre’s last attack.
The difficulty will change with how much health she has remaining.
Also, the attack will get crazier as the time runs out.
Health is easier than time so try defeating her right off the bat.