Touhou 18: Unconnected Marketeers - Stage 5

[@broccoliiandcheese4491]

Megumu: Oh? You wanted your piercing lasers back? Well have them, *have them ALL!*

[@akenohononiku916]

Fun fact, any other playthroughs you do after completing this will offer you the rainbow Chimata card, which removes all your current cards in exchange for getting all the rare cards in the next shop for free With that in mind, you might think that it's absolutely worthless if you buy it here, as there is no shop in the next stage, but it actually has a very strange effect if you do buy it after beating Megumu Chimata remarks on you having her card before the fight, with the character complaining about it being a worthless scam (kinda true considering how it was used) You then get a completely different ending after beating Chimata, and after that, also rewards you by allowing you to choos 3 initial cards for any subsequent 1ccs for all difficulties As for how I know this, I just read in the wiki that you get a different ending if you go through stage 6 with the Chimata card, and I was curious and wanted a bit of a challenge (stage 6 is unfortunately one of the easiest stages in the game, especially with Reimu) and managed to discover that I can now pick 3 initial cards for any new 1ccs I do in the future Very helpful for Lunatic players

[@bitzibaerlie]

It is also strongly hinted at in the game. The alternate ending achievements say something like "Throw a certain card into the final boss's face to achieve an alternate ending". If you use build-up cards like giving lives over time, the final stage will not be very difficult, since those specific card effects linger even after losing them. No point to build up fire power if you are gonna lose it anyway, but you can create a comfortable life stack with full bombs and power for the final stage instead.

[@therunawaygirl5096]

I asked Omega 'bout this, asking if he was gonna show the Alt Ending. He said he wasn't going to... So that means y'all will have to see by yourselves! Also, if you don't find the card, you need to do a 1cc clear first. Easy counts to this

[@gypsysprite4824]

Btw, for the record (and likely more for the viewers), despite her theme's name and her designation as a "great tengu", Megumu is NOT tenma. the great tengu are more or less the managers, and they geerally answer to Tenma

[@neetamoori8690]

Remember Fox and Falco? 4:32 This is them now, feel old yet? But seriously, is refreshing to finally know about Aya's boss (Even though Tenma is still a mystery), Better yet since the last fangame had one as well

[@thekidsatno80]

I love how Tsukasa is doing the Fox Gang hand symbol. It makes it feels even more like they're bootleg Fox and Falco.

[@opjm8664]

Iizunamaru: Did you think you were immune to my copyright infringement, Marisa?!

[@foxxbaker]

Underated comment

[@lunarrain1567]

3:31 the one whose also have cosmic theme, no less. Funny that with Megumu we now have three different character in the series to use star and laser combo for their signature damaku, this time empathize on fire points star formation and the concept of star fire.

[@moodu.m.a1888]

I know two of the star laser users but who’s the third

[@lunarrain1567]

@@moodu.m.a1888 Marisa , Clowpiece and Megumu.

[@GarryDumblowski]

@@lunarrain1567 Wouldn't Mima count too or does she not use enough lasers

[@Xenomorthian]

​@GarryDumblowski that gets into pc98 canonicity territory but I do think mima counts

[@hjt091]

Tsukasa, if the whole "betrayal is good" thing didn't make it clear, is the Worst. Tube foxes (which she is) have the power to bring wealth and business success to their owners but in return they inflict curses and drain away vitality.

[@DoctorNovakaine]

It would be hilarious if one of these games had one of those "you'd best go search farther for the mastermind" and it turns out one of the earlier bosses was the mastermind and was lying out their ass to misdirect you, and then you have to go chase them back down.

[@RealPhantasm]

I imagined something similar myself.

[@amanojaku4252]

Doesn't that happen in WNSP?

[@KirbyLinkACW]

Congratulations, I now instinctively drop everything to watch your newest videos.

[@tyriquecoleman3794]

A reminder that according to one of ZUN's interviews, Megumu uses her tripod as a blunt instrument. She just goes around clubbing people with it (usually her Crow Tengu subordinates)

[@Iris_Descent]

0:31 So you thought it was like Para's upgrade, huh. Would make it not worth it considering you still lose money when you die, unless you're using Tewi's Lucky Rabbit's Foot. oh hi Sonic and Tails Tsukasa's nonspell can also be misdirected to the left to make life easier. (Note: misdirecting to the right does not work, as she turns the first wave to the left.) On Lunatic, it is recommended to time this nonspell down, but not out completely, as Tsukasa will immediately run away if you time it out, but she stays around a tiny bit longer when properly defeated. This is to minimize the spam from the yin-yang orbs after she goes away. ...ok, I know you're playing as Marisa, the straight-forward shot, but please, there's a much easier way to do Megumu's opener. Just stay to the sides when each wave is fired to misdirect the waves all the way over there. Meanwhile, Megumu's 2nd nonspell may not seem like much, but on Lunatic, it's one of the worst patterns in the game. The stars have really wonky movement, and there's more of them. It's so random, it's like Greatest Treasure lite. (Nazrin's Stage 5 spell from UFO, for the unaware, infamously known for its randomness that this pattern's is similar to.) Interesting way to do her 3rd spell that I didn't think of before. That spell becomes a lot tighter on higher difficulties too. Final spell is weird on higher difficulties. The only glaring difference is the circle of stars that's a lot denser. Anyway, insert joke of "goddamnit ZUN, you really sniped Kaisendo twice with one character" (sniped the Great Tengu for the crow tengu in general, and gave her the name Megumu - we'll also get to that later in the Extra Stage, don't worry)

[@codexmarsema9866]

People have mentioned that whatever Megumu is holding, that looks like a tripod. Guess she's also doing photography. Wonder what her camera would look like - like one of those bulky professional ones?

[@supreme_xenon]

It's confirmed she is carrying around a telescope because her ability is involve with stars

[@codexmarsema9866]

@@supreme_xenon Ah, that's what it is. ...Explains the stars, ofc.

[@ifune]

It's also confirmed that she hits people with it

[@lunatic0verlord10]

6:30 Well at least Misumaru has the excuse of having CREATED Reimu's orb. Megumu's only excuse is having star magic.

[@spencertang5155]

It would be kinda interesting to see if she made marisa’s mini hakkero, gave it to rinnosuke, then Marisa obtained it

[@Xenomorthian]

​@spencertang5155 people tend to forget rinnosuke designed the hakkero as a space heater and stove as a gift to marisa because its incredibly useful to have as a girl living on her own for the first time It's only because marisa is a weirdo who would immediately disassemble it and reverse engineer it in order to turn it into a flamethrower that it became what it is

[@ironcube1282]

3:15 Ah yes, Blue Aya. My favourite Touhou character.

[@firegenius991d7]

it amazes me how you literally got hit once during the ENTIRE megumu fight i can't even capture the first spell as sanae T_T also yeah backdoor destroys final boss kek

[@winterdragon2004]

We haven't seen what's this gods deal is yet, but from what I can gather this whole incident started as a means to get a quick buck? Thats... oddly refreshing considering how big these incidents have been getting in both canon & fanon. It's nice not having to worry about some big mafia war in another world, or a cataclysmic meteor hurdling toward Gensokyo for once

[@minhkhangtran6948]

Abit of a spoiler, but for that god it's much more important than that. She's essentially pulling the stunt that Sanae's god done back then with Mountain of Faith, to get enough faith on herself to survive, because her authority have been noticeably weaken in the outside world.

[@AdamChan318]

Another way of dealing with Megumu's first nonspell is to move side to side, streaming the stars to one side and running through the gap on the other side, it's pretty safe even on lunatic (but it might take Marisa/Sakuya more time)

[@Iris_Descent]

It really doesn't matter how much time it takes anyway. It's a nonspell, so even if you want all spells (or, say, using Sannyo's Dragon Pipe), that doesn't matter, you don't lose out on anything. And in the end, if you don't lose any resources, the better.

[@Evilmon2]

If you do this while also poking up a bit when you bait, you'll bait all the lower stars on the far side up as well, letting you safely zip along the bottom of the screen every time.

[@korohacker]

Say, is this your first clear of the game? There's one other card you can pick that will do something in stage 6, but it's not in the list given. I've only ever gotten to stage 4 on Normal, so I've never seen stage 5. Looking at this... yeah, don't think I'll ever 1CC Normal any time soon, cards or otherwise ahah. I do feel like I can handle Iizunamaru's laser spellcards though, which is odd since I swear quite a few players are as traumatized by her laser spam like with Misumaru's balls. Speaking of, that final spellcard of hers is a good reminder that not all the bullet-cancelling cards are effective, since everytime I used them to make a path, the lasers would just continue to regenerate and pichuun'ed me. It's one main reason why I avoided any of the active cards on my playthrough. Design-wise, love them both. With Tsukasa, it's ironic how one of the simplest and purest designs for a character in a hot minute belongs to such a twisted youkai. Iizunamaru's getup feels like what one might wear in a JRPG, with that blue-and-white colour scheme and that shoulder armor. I even tried to replicate that look in an MMO I played, Guild Wars 2, but they don't have full dresses in there, which is a shame

[@AOGood]

You're gonna get that No Miss achievement, aren't you? Rooting for ya! Past you, I guess?

[@supreme_xenon]

Megumu is not the Tenma we always think of, she is just the leader of Crow Tengu. Maybe in the future we will see the leader of Wolf Tengu?

[@LuwuciVoiceWorks]

I was hoping you of all people would have some tip for card 58 and her final card (Clear and Tranquil Wind and Moon) with the piercing lasers. I've been running it repeatedly on spell practice and it's just so difficult to move into the very tiny gaps you can get cornered in. The best I could come up with so far was to take note of the color of the first laser and counting on the wall it makes opening up towards the end but *you're* just able to move to the exact pixel you want.

[@ZeidoriHirekina]

*Meanwhile, somewhere from the the Yokai Mountain...* *The Great Tengu, Suitokuin (aka the Overly-Chummy Boss from Tri-Focuser):* The heck did I just sensed into from the side of the mountain.

[@shtj6761]

I'm a bit bummed Omega doesn't do as much commentaries for the stage portions. I find the persistent yellow fireballs and the rice cracker walls pretty difficult.

[@Eeveeolite655]

Haven't decided whether i like her boss theme or Momoyo's more, both are just great.

[@snowyarticuno]

Yeah Eiki's card is really great if you can build up a stock pile of money. I was experimenting with it as starting equipment in my Normal 1cc attempts but I feel it's best towards the end of the game rather than up front; though that's obviously dependent on shop stock. Especially since the last stage has no shop, you can really rake in the dough and that's an easy couple lives....assuming you get there and dont die a bunch (coughcoughcough) Though, and maybe you mentioned this last time & I forgot, it doesn't work like Erin's card (which does the same thing, but with bombs): you MUST have at least 200 for it to go off. Which I was bummed about at first until I remembered oh yeah duh that would be Infinite Lives since everything throws chump change at you.

[@Petrico94]

Time for Blue Aya. I don't really like Hatate's look but I figure you could look for inspiration for character designs besides Reimu. I do find it funny when laser patterns line up in a pattern so that it can feel like they're shooting every particle around Marisa except her. Also this is like the second time a mastermind has been a stage 5 boss (Seija in 14DDC), she is just a business partner who thought they'd make more but I found it interesting it's not just a direct underling. Only other example that comes to mind if Orin who's wants to help guide the way but is also a hardass (welcome to hell). I like Tsukasa has similar patterns to Ran, nice call back and makes me wonder what patterns are inherent to a yokai race and which are made their own. Cirno is just bad, I think it needs to fire faster to make up for it being so wide and random, I don't think it's even worth getting close for it. You can get better uncommons for your booster like Shanghai doll who will hit when the boss is up. Blue Aya offers two rares, Spirit Power just sounds bad especially when you already have a save for 200 gold, but the Barley Rice balls are a great starting item to quickly get up to full, it may also be helpful if you just barely squeezed by Aya and are at low attack. I wouldn't use it with Tsukasa's card but mostly because I don't want to rely on bomb spam

[@Joshthepikachu2123]

Reminder that Ran Yakumo's final spellcard is "Descent of Iizuna Gongen"... That aged well since Iizuna Gongen is the boss here

[@akenohononiku916]

Next up, the tragic god that's kinda born from the current situation

[@TythenK]

I was hoping to you see you bop and move Marisa around to Megumu's theme!

[@youdonotcare]

Blue Aya time

[@okguy167]

Ah, the uses of Pebble Hat. This card has similar uses in 100th black market.

[@therunawaygirl5096]

Wait, you've never seen the conversation between Megumu and Tsukasa? It always happens after beating Megumu...

[@prizmastarz742]

Fuck yeah new omega video

[@Jann75]

Blue Aya

[@steveluvscows2490]

Ah, yes. Blue Aya. Also, Tsukasa's a Tube Fox.

[@bag2359]

5:07 She really just said "Lol no"

[@lunatic0verlord10]

3:29 I know. That's hilarious.

[@kienphucnguyen2001]

And now we’re facing megumu, the main antagonist.

[@IllusionistsBane]

Blue Aya? I heard some people calling her and Tsukasa "Sonic and Tails".

[@donipamungkas5370]

note editor : you mean wasting his money

[@Levonshi]

This is my worst stage 5 boss of all time I literally had to bomb on every single spellcards

[@psychicfire8232]

To be honest stage 4 is FAR harder than stage 5. You having difficulty at this stage is most likely result of playing as Marisa, which is probably the worst character by a considerable gap. She also is pretty bad at managing the enemies for this stage (the whole game, honestly).

[@Wizzard220]

The fairies b4 Tsukasa are easy to kill and route the fireballs. Tsukasa herself fires aimed shit, so misdirect to the side. The spam after her is a crapshoot. Megumu's 1st and 3rd cards are tiresome and her 2nd life bar is lottery (stars are random and the lasers can wall depending on movement). Eiki's card is nice~ stage 6 Marisa is painful..

[@ninjapuppy1257]

Can someone please explaine Tsukasa to me. I do not understand her.

[@moved_...]

Marisad vs blue aya

[@goodperson656]

Blue Aya and one tailed Ran

[@ssjcrafter8842]

Your tactic for Megumu's first non seems horrible, and I hope for Marisa it's not due to lacking firepower for the normal tactic Normally, it'll be better to go to between the star "pillars" at the right, then once the stars go towards you you move through and wait a bit at the middle, then go to the left and repeat(obviously you can decide to go to the left first as well) Also second non isn't crisscrossing, it's just the shape then it becomes random dodging

[@kizunechao279]

Yo, I'm early!

[@KyoukoShrine]

May I use some footage for my next video? owo