Summary
From its absurd amount of fan art, music remixes anddoujin spin-offsalone, Touhou Project has cemented its legacy. Every so often, Team Shanghai Alice’s sole member Zun finishes another Touhou Project game and shows up at Comiket. Launches are frequently marked by record participation, and the series has garnered a devoted fanbase.
But getting into a series with 19 mainline games alone can be a daunting task for newcomers. Here is every Touhou game from worst to best, including which are essential, and which are mere curiosity pieces.
19Highly Responsive To Prayers
Touhou 1
Released in 1997 on the PC-98, the first Touhou differs greatly from what the series would later become. It’s more of a Breakout clone than a shoot ‘em up, featuring horizontal movement and block-breaking gameplay.
With its stiff controls, Highly Responsive To Prayers feels outdated; Zun wouldmove on from this genrequickly. The one thing its sequels retained is a bomb mechanic, though one that wasn’t effectively implemented. However, its branching pathways and art design are still an impressive effort from a young developer.
18Phantasmagoria Of Dim. Dream
Touhou 3
Although this game continues Touhou Project’s evolution, and allows the series’ second mascot Marisa to be playable, it’s fairly non-essential. The versus mode is a welcome addition, featuringsplit-screen gameplayfor two players, but the bullet hell mechanics had yet to be refined.
The RNG system is also a divisive factor. Some fans love it, some hate it, but it’s there, and it will not be kind to an inexperienced player. This one is best left alone until you’re more familiar with the series, and ready to dive into the deep cuts.
17Phantasmagoria of Flower View
Touhou 9
After three excellent games in a row, no one wanted this. No one wanted Zun to go back to Touhou 3’s gimmicks. Come to think of it, no one wanted him to make another game with Phantasmagoria in the title. But Zun is as Zun does, and Touhou 9 is the result, bringing back the gameplay system of Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream for the worse.
The only reason Touhou 9 edges out Touhou 3 as a better game is because of polish borne of better hardware. Otherwise, it’s just as hard to recommend. At least it introduces Aya as a new character.
16Story Of Eastern Wonderland
Touhou 2
Touhou 2 is more ofan important game than it is a good one: after all, it introduced the vertical shoot ‘em up gameplay the series is known for, and introduced new characters who became just as beloved as the mascot Reimu.
Yet the Touhou gameplay we know and love still had yet to be polished. Touhou 2 is limited, but accessible. If you simply must start with one of the PC-98 entries, and don’t want to go with Touhou 5 for whatever reason, this is a good starting point.
15Ten Desires
Touhou 13
Ten Desires doesn’t have the excuse of technological limitations, nor does it possess any unique aspects to make up for its overreliance on gimmicks. A difficulty higher than Lunaticdoes not make the game more interesting; it simply cheapens Lunatic mode.
Everything seems to have been done out of misguided hope for a bigger appeal. The game is slower and easier, yet its mechanics encourage fast-paced play. It just feels like a drag overall. Like a scrolling wallpaper, Ten Desires is interesting to look at for a while and utterly forgettable.
14Undefined Fantastic Object
Touhou 12
The mechanics are novel, but Touhou 12 is kind of disappointing overall. Maybe it had to happen: Zun loves experimentation, and here it just didn’t land. The soundtrack, while good, is more forgettable compared to previous entries.
The UFO system encourages risk-taking behaviour, but just ends up being annoying. The game doesn’t penalize you if you die or use spell cards, so take from that what you will.
13Unfinished Dream Of All Living Ghost
Touhou 19
Even if this game lacks the dreaded word Phantasmagoria in its title, it retains the gameplay that defines some of the worse entries in the series. However, it’s the most polished of the unfortunate Phantasmagoria trilogy.
As of yet, Touhou 19 is the latest mainline game in the series, and overall represents a trend in the series to appeal to newcomers and play it safe. We can only hope that the next time a Touhou title comes out, it’s a little more interesting.
12Mystic Square
Touhou 5
The fifth and final PC-98 entry is a polished, fun experience that brings together the characters who’ve starred so far, while introducing fan favourite Alice Margatroid. Barring some technical limitations, it’s not much different from the Windows entries.
It’s also a fair bit easier than its predecessor, so it won’t scare off newcomers. It still manages to hold up some two decades after its release. The only problem is obtaining it legally, as the PC-98 entries stopped being sold in 2002.
11Lotus Land Story
Touhou 4
Easily the best of the PC-98 titles, Lotus Land Story is where Touhou really came into its own. The bomb and scoring system were refined; a new feature was implemented whereby you could deploy a bomb at the moment you got hit, functioning as a last resort when enemy bullets threatened to cut your life into pieces.
There are only two playable characters in this one, compared to Touhou 5’s bigger roster. But they’re Reimu and Marisa: fan favourites and definitive mascots, with their classic shooter gimmicks. Reimu has a wide, weak hail of bullets, while Marisa has a more focused, powerful spread.
10Double Dealing Character
Touhou 14
The gimmick of Double Dealing Character is shot selection. Otherwise, it’s a fairly standard entry in the series: high quality, good music and three playable characters - Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya - but there’s nothing to make it really stand out.
Perhaps it was creator burnout, but Double Dealing Character represented a slowing down of the series’ relentless pace. Coming out two years after Ten Desires, but while Double Dealing Character is a return to form, it’s not a second golden age.
