Рет қаралды 78
Game: luyuu.itch.io/...
Companion game: espeon78.itch....
Touhou Pride Jam 4: itch.io/jam/to...
Of the entries to the last 3 touhou pride jams I've played, this one stood out the most to me. I rather liked it. The art, sound design, and of course the writing came together to tell a truly wonderful story, I would say. I really liked the way everyone's relationships were built up and established. I believe that folks that know almost nothing about Touhou could still find enjoyment from it, and it truly does feel sincere in its storytelling.
00:00 start
0:03 Former Part
29:12 Latter Part
1:06:19 Epilogue
1:18:46 Credits/Afterword
Spoilers ahead for those that read the description before watching the video:
I appreciated the way the chapters were split. It may sound basic, but with the very different foci of the former part, latter part, and epilogue (i.e. Kana and Kotohime and establishing their relationships with Eientei, the relationship of Kaguya and Mokou, and Kotohime herself), it could have very easily felt jarring. The splitting of the chapters, and Kotohime's transitional monologues, made it feel rather natural in my opinion. Speaking of Kotohime, I just genuinely appreciate the representation; so commonly are folks that aren't allo forgotten, and I'm glad she's here.
For a bit, I thought Mokou's change of heart (much moreso than Kaguya's) felt a little bit sudden. Indeed, being able to enjoy one's company under specific circumstances does not necessarily wash away centuries of trauma and hatred, but I still really liked the way it was done. It really does feel as though an effort is being made by both Kaguya and Kotohime does reach her, and Kaguya's "confession," for want of a more descriptive word, was a rather powerful scene. However, especially with the way I happened to read Mokou's relationship with Keine and her lines on "when Keine dies" [moreso as a necessary precondition for her openly expressing affection for Kaguya, rather than an instance in which she would be particularly vulnerable and receptive], it did feel a bit sudden to have Mokou agree with Kaguya and reciprocate her affections (instead of, say, taking a few nights to consider her own feelings and try to understand herself better).
Also, on the "confession" scene, I thought the interstitching of the spellcard battle was really effective. It was a tad jarring my first time through, as I did not expect having to do any kind of sudden bullet hell at 2AM, but I liked it. I'm also pretty terrible at the spellcards, but I would still appreciate it if there were a bit of an easier way to replay them. I do imagine there's probably some absolutely terrifying Japanese Arcade players who would be able to No Miss all of the spellcards with at least relative ease.
The Epilogue was interesting; I'm not quite certain what to make of it. I'm not the most well-versed on PC-98 canon beyond a few fun facts and the existence of various characters, so I'm unclear if Kotohime's quest for soul-searching was meant to reference or acknowledge anything in particular. That said, it still feels quite sensible and well-done; it's only natural that after so many years of helping others find themselves, that she would want to do the same. And while I was surprised by the state of her house the first time, it was still foreshadowed by Kana's reactions and interactions with Kotohime.
Apologies for the essay, I simply don't have anywhere else to record my thoughts. If you haven't already, please do check out the game or it's companion game, and if you rather liked it, then do go ahead and leave a positive comment/review for the devs. Also, do yourself a favour and go ahead and check out the 4th Touhou pride jam.