Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Nov 28, 2021

  Part 3, please.
• matohin

  Oct 1, 2022

  I know some people say this in their reviews, and here I run into it again for the first time - I don't actually think this game is bad per say, and if I could pick, I would rather have a neutral review, but alas, Steam does not have that. This game isn't bad by any means, but it's not great, either. First of all, on I've beaten this game on Normal 1cc, first try, with a ton of resources left. The first time I died was in the final stage - this is not how those games should be. And what did I die to? A gimmick pattern (The weird midboss transformation spell) that I haven't realized you could even shoot, leading to me trying to time it out and dying. After that I've also died to a few of the final boss' patterns, but I still had a ton of resources left. In my opinion, this game doesn't really have the right balance - it vomits complex patterns at you straight from the get go, as even the first stage boss alone is more intimidating than almost any official Touhou first stage boss. That is nice, but most of them aren't actually difficult, and the rest you can just bomb through because of how much resources the game gives you - which is where a lot of the gimmick patterns seem to come in. The hard to notice "bridges" of enemies appearing up your ass in Stage 4, quite a few of Ran's spellcards (besides, why the hell is Ran a part of the main run, anyway? A timeout spellcard in Stage 5 is a bit odd - usually, Stage 5 bosses are fast-paced, but tough encounters that are similar to the stage itself - putting Ran as the fifth Stage boss might not be as much of a difficulty spike as it might sound, as this is definitely an easier Ran than in PCB Extra, but it's still a bit of an odd choice), the Yuyuko soul stealing card and that stage 6 midboss card I've mentioned before. Those are the main things that were intimidating on my run - and I didn't even know how to deal with most of them, so I had no idea if they were actually hard or I just didn't get them - turns out, aside from Ran's final and Yuyuko's soul steal, they aren't that hard, either. But there's no problem in an easy game - the problem is how the game gets to that point. The game suffers from PCB's issue... except in an even worse fashion. The game feels LOOOOONG, even longer than PCB. And as I've said before, there's a lot of gimmicky patterns. What I did not mention is a whole load of gimmick bullets - sheep, wings, skull barrels, just about everything you can imagine. And most of their hitboxes are... questionable. Not in a way that is particularly a pain to dodge, but in a way that is not very nice to understand. And remember when people complained about Ten Desires having shiny bullets to an absurd extent? That was true, and it just so happens to be true for this game, too. It actually becomes a challenge to comprehend some of the patterns visually - not as in, they're hard to dodge, but as in, they're hard on my eyes. On the other hand, PCB barely even had that - there were quite some visibility issues in Stage 4, yes, but even the unique bullets like butterflies prioritized the orb aspect of the bullet more than the actual butterfly - to the point where I barely even realized it was a butterfly originally. Here, there's literal bullet butterflies that glow. Why? It really feels like due to not having any limitations, the developers just decided to make whatever bullets they wanted - rather than doing what ZUN did in his earlier works and use the simple set of bullets with occassional additions to make patterns that are pretty without being confusing. The easiest example to bring up is the stage 3 midboss spellcard in EoSD - simple, efficient, looks like a flower, cool. Here, the example would be, say, Stage 6 boss' pre-final spellcard. It's a tree - except that it's not just a laser tree, it also has more neon plastered on it than a riced Honda Civic and butterflies fly out. Sheesh. However, not all is bad - the main mechanic of the Cherry Barrier is also basically the main way to get resources now. As I am not particularly knowledgeable about how it actually works, I'll just say that it felt satisfying to use during gameplay - it seems like the more you manage to keep the barrier up, the more you will get resources. It feels natural to use and didn't feel like a gimmick at all, and it was easy to understand - similar to the original barrier, but way more useful for gaining resources. Having a bar show the amount of cherry things needed to power up the barrier and also how long it will last is a great addition, too. And indeed, as gimmicky as it can sometimes be, the game is plain fun, even if a bit too long and easy compared to even actual PCB. And the sound effects are really nice too, for the most part. There's just one more problem - the aesthetics are... very, very questionable. First of all, most of the music is very over the top, but I can't even remember most of it, which is not good. It feels like it was made for the game, and, as such, only works within the game. The exception is Stage 3's theme and boss theme - those are oddly different from the rest of the soundtrack and I really liked those. Second of all, the character portraits are very bouncy in animation upon activating a spellcard and have all this cool effects, blah blah blah... they look like mobile gacha characters. I've never understood this obsession with making Touhou girls "sexy" - sure, you can say ZUN's original art is a goofy mess, but that wasn't unintentional - look at his PC-98 box art or PC-98 ingame character portraits. It's very hard to call those bad and there's way less actual mistakes than his Windows works - and yet, there's still not even a trace of what this game's characters look like. If I had to describe, the way Touhou characters should look is closer to Kirby characters - goofy faces, memorable color palette and silhouette, some funny quirk, done. This game adds too much on top of those basics, and I don't really think that was a good idea. Third, the actual changes to the events of PCB are very, very weird. For some reason, Letty, Prismrivers and Youmu are gone - it makes sense as to why Youmu is gone, as she was promoted to playable now, but what was the reason behind the other two? The others get replaced by a new character and Lily White - Lily's alright, her patterns are decent, but the Prismrivers were one of the best Stage 4 bosses in the series, so this wasn't really a good trade. The new character is unmemorable past that gimmicky spellcard from Stage 6, so that wasn't a good trade, either. And while I personally like the Alice in Wonderland spin on Alice, it's not particularly the most in-depth or clever, either - in fact, quite the opposite. I suppose it sort of makes sense, though, given that Mystic Square's EXTRA Stage music was titled "Alice in Wonderland", but there it was done in a far more interesting way, in my opinion. Also, why the hell did Stage 2 and 6 get turned into pretty generic oriental places? Stage 2 in particular - the original was a beautiful sight, even if it was done using the most primitive of shapes and textures, it really had a memorable feel. In this, it's just a generic mansion interior. Overall, this game is mixed - if you're looking for a plain relaxing Touhou game, this is a good idea. If you're looking for a shoot-em-up, this is still a decent pick, as it's not really expensive. But if you're looking for a PCB remake or something that is more focused on being fast-paced and difficult, like I was expecting, it's better to buy another game. Once again I'd like to state that I don't think this is bad, but alas.
• Loli

  Oct 2, 2022

  yuyuko
• dor3k

  Nov 2, 2022

  Really well done reimagining of Touhou Perfect Cherry Blossom, features 4 playable characters with differing shot types as well as 4 game difficulties along with 2 extra modes. The main game consists of 6 stages which take quite a long time to finish for a shmup, around 40 minutes. The selectable difficulty along with different playable characters allows for both newcomers and veterans of the series to have something to work towards and to have fun at any skill level. The bullet patterns are pretty well done, being really satisfying to figure out and not feeling too unfair. Although there are some gimmicks, which are par for the course for Touhou games, they don't feel frustrating expect for one notable pattern, I'm sure you know which one if you've played the game. Overall the enemy and bullet design is on the stronger side of SHMUPs. All in all I think the game is a bit on the tamer side of the danmaku games, you get a lot of resources as well as the cherry border functioning as a shield which tanks one hit for a brief moment, allowing you to bomb through the harder patterns as much as you want. The graphics are also nice, but the bullets sometimes blend with background elements and effects making for some hard to read patterns and frustrating moments, which is pretty standard for Touhou games sadly. The music is decent, it has some nice moments but it isn't as memorable as some other SHMUP OSTs. but there aren't any super weak moments either . Highly recommended if you like danmaku games or touhou franchise.
• Luis0413

  Aug 5, 2023

  ⠀⠀⠀⣠⠤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⡜⠁⠀⠈⢢⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⠋⠷⠶⠱⡄ ⠀⢸⣸⣿⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡴⠫⢀⣖⡃⢀⣸⢹ ⠀⡇⣿⣿⣶⣤⡀⠀⠀⠙⢆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡪⢀⣤⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣸ ⠀⡇⠛⠛⠛⢿⣿⣷⣦⣀⠀⣳⣄⠀⢠⣾⠇⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣽ ⠀⠯⣠⣠⣤⣤⣤⣭⣭⡽⠿⠾⠞⠛⠷⠧⣾⣿⣿⣯⣿⡛⣽⣿⡿⡼ ⠀⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⠻⣿⣿⣮⡛⢿⠃ ⠀⣧⣛⣭⡾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⣿⣷⣎⡇ ⠀⡸⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⢿⣷⣟⡇ ⣜⣿⣿⡧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⣿⡜⡄ ⠉⠉⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⢀⣞⠡⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡝⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣿⣿⣹ ⠀⠀⢸⠁⠀⠀⢠⣏⣨⣉⡃⠀⠀⠀⢀⣜⡉⢉⣇⠀⠀⠀⢹⡄⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⡾⠄⠀⠀⢸⣾⢏⡍⡏⠑⠆⠀⢿⣻⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⢰⠈⡇⠀⠀ ⠀⢰⢇⢀⣆⠀⢸⠙⠾⠽⠃⠀⠀⠀⠘⠿⡿⠟⢹⠀⢀⡎⠀⡇⠀⠀ ⠀⠘⢺⣻⡺⣦⣫⡀⠀⠀⠀⣄⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢜⣠⣾⡙⣆⡇⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⡿⡝⠿⢧⡢⣠⣤⣍⣀⣤⡄⢀⣞⣿⡿⣻⣿⠞⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢠⠏⠄⠐⠀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠳⢤⣉⢳⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⡠⠖⠉⠀⠀⣠⠇⣿⡿⣿⡿⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⣠⡀⠀⠈⠉⢢⡀⠀ ⢿⠀⠀⣠⠴⣋⡤⠚⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠙⠛⠛⢿⣦⣄⠀⢈⡇⠀ ⠈⢓⣤⣵⣾⠁⣀⣀⠤⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡤⠶⠤⢌⡹⠿⠷⠻⢤⡀ ⢰⠋⠈⠉⠘⠋⠁⠀⠀⠈⠙⠳⢄⣀⡴⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠂⠀⠀⢀⡇ ⢸⡠⡀⠀⠒⠂⠐⠢⠀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠤⠚⠀⠀⢸⣔⢄⠀⢾⠀ ⠀⠑⠸⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⢈⡗⠭⣖⡒⠒⢊⣱⠀⠀⠀⠀⢨⠟⠂⠚⠋⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠘⠦⣄⣀⣠⠞⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠀⠳⠤⠤⡤⠞⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
• gamedeal user

  Mar 19, 2019

  Here it is, Fantastic Danmaku Festival Part II, the appropriately titled sequel to one of the best Touhou fangames ever created, Fantastic Danmaku Festival; does it live up to its predecessor? Let's find out -- actually no, I'm going to tell you right away: OH LAWD JESUS YES IT DOES If I had to use one word to describe this game it would be "gorgeous". Every aspect of this game screams this. The character artworks are beautiful, the graphical effects are pretty, bright and colourful (sometimes overwhelmingly so), the backgrounds are amazing, the danmaku patterns and even the shape of the bullets are some of the prettiest to look at I've ever seen, the music is LIT and even the sound effects are pleasant to listen to, to the point you never get tired of hearing them... and all of this is shaped in a very elegant oriental style that could come from no other place than China. As for the gameplay, being essentially a remake of Perfect Cherry Blossom, it has a very similar cherry point / supernatural border system, where collecting pink items increases the pink meter that when full activates a temporary shield and a temporary autocollection of items. If I were to describe the difficulty I would say "average" in comparison to other games like this, having only played normal mode for now, it's challenging enough without being overwhelming. The hardest part is definitely not getting distracted by the beautiful patterns, lol Overall I can't recommend this game enough, it's incredibly cheap for the amount of quality and polish it offers, I struggle to believe the price is that low. Whether you're a fan of the series or even slightly interested in danmaku games, push that beautiful green purchase button with no hesitation. Buy it, play it, [strike]spend more than 2 hours in the music room without even trying to unlock the achievement[/strike], love it.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 23, 2019

  Touhou STG fangames are a force to be reckoned with. Fans constantly pour their heart and soul into creating new art, bosses, patterns, and music to continue everyone's enjoyment with the series. Fantastic Danmaku Festival is a series of STG fangames originally aiming to remake the oldest Windows games in the series, EoSD and PCB. The first game came out in 2014 and turned heads with its aesthetics, art, and music. This time, however, they pulled out all the stops. The art is stunning, the visuals are elegant, the performance is smooth, the music is good, the danmaku is fun. For being a game that was supposed to just be a remake of PCB, this game is very daring. It diverges from the traditional cast, uses many new musical and thematic elements, and Yukari even [spoiler]goes full Lovecraftian in extra[/spoiler]. This game has redefined the standard against which all other Touhou fangames (and perhaps even main games) evaluate themselves, at least in terms of visuals and production value. I've never seen a fangame that has animated spell cut-ins or has used 3D backgrounds in such an effective manner as stage 4. The music and visuals in stage 6 truly stand up to the name "Fantastic Danmaku Festival". I wouldn't be surprised if fangames in the future take a few cues from this one, I'd love animated spell card cut-ins to just become a thing in the future. Very highly recommended game if you have enjoyed any Touhou-style STG.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 28, 2019

  Great Touhou game, reminds me old good times playing touhou 7. Game is really well made, spellcards have interesting paterns. Just get it... Now.
• gamedeal user

  May 10, 2019

  Easily the best Touhou fangame to date, and the perfect continuation to FDF1, the music, design and art style are perfect! Personally I love PCB, so this game holds a special place for me, it gives me nostalgia~ Also Lily White now has sweets! I recommend it 100%
• gamedeal user

  Jun 29, 2019

  Easily one of the best Touhou fanmade games there are. The first one was already superbly beautiful, but this? Simply perfection! Like I mean, my god; animated?!?! What else do you even want more than this, even the spellcards are amazingly well-thought and beautiful. For example Yuyuko's battle, it revolves around one theme and I really liked the part of taking your soul back! tfw: can't even beat yukari after 20 hours.