Touhou: Mystia's Izakaya | AspreyFM

Today I'm looking at perhaps the comfiest Touhou Fangame ever created. Take control of Mystia Lorelai as you run her Izakaya earning money to perform her very own Concert someday, however in the process, our little Sparrow finds herself the sole hope of Gensokyo! How does a day in the life of Mystia go? Let's find out!
The Game: store.steampow...
Thumbnail by: / youzikk
Cirno Portrait by: / rakkidei
Mokou Art by: / moiwool
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[@WatcherCCG]

"Kirby in a kimono" will never NOT be the funniest way to describe Yuyuko.

[@AspreyFM]

Hi read this before you comment about DLC 3. I made this video months ago, back when DLC 3 was freshly announced. As you probably already know, DLC 3 is out and available in English, and it's very very good. Also, as this game updates, some of the information becomes outdated, which is honestly a good thing, since most of those changes are addressing complaints (not difficulty-based ones I have), so the game becomes better as a whole. Aside from that, big thanks to KK for allowing me to use the games assets for Mystia and Kyouko to make a special thumbnail for this video! KK is the main Dev of the game, and his Twitter is linked in the description, so check it out, it's currently teasing DLC 4 characters!

[@potetopancakes]

edit / nvm i was thinking of a different channel is this a reupload? i feel like i remember this existing

[@labrys1608]

The curse of "The incomplete thing being completed while you're working on the video" STRIKES AGAIN!

[@blux_cross]

We're going to get another DLC already? LET'S GOOOOOO!!!

[@emperortoho]

when you edited the comment i think you unpinned it on accident

[@blux_cross]

@@s955120 just when I thought it's over with DLC3 So we're going to get 5 DLC in total huh, that's so awesome

[@spaghettiking7312]

Mystia's Izakaya is the divine incarnation of sublime and perfect cuteness in this world. One would think humanity would be limited in creating such cuteness, but Mystia's Izakaya proves that we still have many frontiers to surpass.

[@GensouChronicle]

Never heard of this game before. Maybe I should try it.

[@chitzz]

You definetly have to try it, its very good

[@SatterSam]

Yeah! And maybe review it to give your thoughts on it while your at it! :-)

[@smollilnub3644]

An old reply but he made a video before AspreyFM did lmao hes just trolling

[@reale_ly]

Seeing your VODs for this game is actually what brought this game to my attention and what ultimately resulted in me doing touhou translations seriously instead of a hobby. If you hadn't played this game and KZbin hadn't recommended your channel to me, I don't think I'd ever have met kk or even be here as a touhou translator, and for that it'll always hold a special place in my heart, even if I myself don't particularly enjoy the management portions. Nice to see you finally cover it in a video.

[@victim7065]

Mystia izakaya's writing changed my perception on mystia so much that I bought a mystia sukusuku plush. The soundtrack is quite nice overall so I highly recommend buying the soundtrack dlcs instead of listening them off of youtube as a show of support

[@mimigami5580]

Mystia is cute.

[@azure3354]

Yes

[@chitzz]

Yes, she's in my top 3 fav characters

[@blobeuxmin4453]

Yes

[@comdnoive]

I love Mystia uwooogh 😭😫😭

[@abrahamrangel2326]

Cute silly birbrain

[@white_tower_cat]

This is for some reason my entry to the Touhou franchise

[@MasterAsra]

It's a pretty good entry to the franchis ngl

[@dickysatria7268]

We got new meat for our Lord Ran Ran Ruu

[@lazydelibird]

It’s the better ways of entering touhou

[@decalcomanie123]

I'm really glad you loved this game as much as I did. (literally watched your entire like 85 hours of stream VODs lmao) As someone who's been playing this game since day 1, I have so much to say about this game, especially as a Chinese player. This game is one of the extremely few China-developed games that receive near perfect reviews ever, and even rarer is that it's the only Touhou fangame I know that many with no knowledge of Touhou would pick up and have a grand time. Moreover, as confirmed when the dev KK responded to my Steam review, the game is heavily inspired by a 2001 Chinese game called Sword and Fairy Inn, where the gameplay is very similar to this, and easily stood out as a unique and classic game in the 00s. Touhou Mystia's Izakaya was such a nice refresher of the good old memory and the nostalgia really hit me. Aside from that, the art and music in this game is so next-level incredible that it easily shows just how passionate the dev team is towards their project. Unlocking new dishes and areas, talking to characters and learning their quirks and backstories, figuring out the optimal dishes, everything is just always so fun. In Chinese when you serve Yuyuko something horrible she says something like "It would seem this proprietress tastes better" and it always makes me laugh, as someone who gets the reference. What's crazier to me is that I've spent like 10 DOLLARS on this game including DLC, in exchange of roughly 300 hours of playtime, surpassing even Stardew Valley. I remember ceremonially playing this game on Christmas and New Year by putting on the corresponding outfits and themes. When the Izakaya is closed, watching the tables gradually emptying until the last guest finishes and leaves gives me a strangely nostalgic feeling that I can't quite explain. (I took a screenshot where it's just Suika sitting there on Christmas past midnight finishing her Tofu and Sake, and I really love the vibe it gives off) It's such a magical game I can't recommend enough.

[@aereonexapprentice7205]

No word will be able to describe the amount of mental whiplash when i connected the dot that green reimu stems from green mario joke, a joke as old as time from a funny italian man. Also wow kneecap breaking too, that's double classic.

[@veto_5762]

Tbf breaking her kneecaps is pretty mercyful compared to being hit by a train

[@zewhatyouwannasay]

I’ve just gotten back to playing this game, it holds a special place in my heart. It’s the only fan game I refuse to watch on Asprey’s VOD channel because I want to avoid any spoilers. It’s so comfy, the music is wonderful, the characters funny, with easy gameplay and such a comfy atmosphere. This game was a core part of my introduction to Touhou and is I consider it the best Touhou fan game I’ve played yet. So happy to see a video about it!

[@CrystalChris21]

The developers were cooking fr fr!

[@fhornmichaelmac]

On top of being an impeccible fangame, I think Mystia's Izakaya does something unifying for Touhou as a series that's worth talking about, even as just an unofficial fanwork. (LONG comment incoming) Over the course of 25, almost 26 years, Touhou's has become a rather disjointed series, with a lot of disparate parts or pieces that go against other pieces. ZUN just kinda does what he wants with the series most of the time, so even after he made Gensokyo its own consistent place, there's a bunch of lore and characterization things throughout the series that are contradictory or difficult to reconcile. Reimu's highly competent in FS but is super bumbling in WaHH. Nitori was humanity's "sworn friend" in MoF but is a conniving businesswoman thereafter. Aya's scruples as a reporter come and go. The Lunarians were unbeatable, too powerful to put into a game, but where defeated in LoLK, where you fight and defeat the people who beat them. Sanae was too powerful to be a playable character until she wasn't. The source of sake in Suika's gourd was a beetle until it sucked up all the evaporating sake in Gensokyo and became Miyoi's home. CDS's characterizations exist. The list goes on. This is compounded by the fact your first impression of these characters is likely not going to be ZUN's due to official Touhou's general inaccessibility, even to this day -- especially if you're not Japanese. Even putting the high difficulty of the games aside, the earliest Touhou game you can buy on Steam is Touhou 9, which still goes for $15, AND you need a 3rd-party translation tool to play it in a non-Japanese language. As a result, these days you're far more likely going to experience a fan-work of Touhou first before you experience anything official. Characterizations in those are often refracted from canon and can vary widely, and elements in them may be relics from another time before ZUN chose to do something completely different from them. All this leads to an endless cacophany of people arguing with each other that they're not enjoying Touhou "properly." There's arguments about everything, from how much Touhou you have to consume to no longer be considered a secondary, to fanon versus canon shit, to people asking themselves whether the series should be gatekept from normies (it should not). The discourse is a mess, and super off-putting for anyone with a casual interest in what the series is about and interested in giving it a cursory look. What Mystia's Izakaya does is bring all of Touhou together -- ALL of it, from the popular games of the first Windows trilogy, to the faith saga, to later games like 16 and 17.5, to the print works and albums, to even the PC98 games -- into one enjoyable, well-written, cohesive, super-accessible, and close-to-canon package. I don't think this makes it a bulls-eye panacea to the inconsistencies and inaccessibility mentioned above; there's only so much a fanwork can do on its own. It does, however, create a welcoming and consistent entry point that allows newcomers to springboard to either official works or other fanworks without much trepidation. It's low price point and easy but satisfying gameplay make it a good game for anybody who likes those old restraunt Flash games to pick up and play, lowering the barrier of entry. Since the characters in TMI hew so closely to their ZUN counterparts, to the point where even the liberties taken feel appropriate, you can get a sense of who everyone is and not feel too much culture shock when going to a bullet-hell or print work or doujin of your choice. And finally, because it draws on characters both popular and obscure, it encourages newcomers and even some veterans to explore aspects of Touhou outside of their comfort zone, rather than just stick to the stuff they've seen in memes. It's different to, say, Luna Nights, which takes the already-popular SDF cast + Nitori and stuffs them into the shape of a Metroidvania -- quality in its own right, but not as in service of the brand. Mystia's Izakaya, on the other hand, feels built from the ground up to be both organically Touhou and encompasing of Touhou, which makes it both a great game for diehard fans and a great unofficial entry point for newcomers. Anyway, as somebody whose first real introduction to the series outside of memes was this game, I'm really happy that Mystia's Izakaya has seen such success. I look forward to the rest of the DLC, and I wish the dev team and translators all of the success in the future.

[@literallyjustchickensandwich]

Dude this is so well articulated, and I fully agree

[@Sparkfox-]

0:24 Obligatory Green Reimu joke lol So happy to see your complete video on this game, after watching so many of your VODS with it - The VODS were also actually what alerted me to the existence of this absolute treasure of a game.

[@abrahamrangel2326]

8:04 no joke i literally gave marisa dark matter and she went "meh is average..." Then i gave her unpopular food and she got angry lol, i think meiling and chen are the only customers that gave me a punishment spell card not counting the collaboration ones

[@sheepcommander_]

actually Marisa and Rumia have both given me punishment spell cards before LOL

[@abrahamrangel2326]

@@sheepcommander_ nuuu what did you feed rumba to make her angry?

[@sheepcommander_]

@@abrahamrangel2326 It was at the very beginning, I think I probably accidentally gave them one of the tags they hate before I knew they hated it LOL

[@abrahamrangel2326]

@@sheepcommander_ poor rumba i bet it was the fake bear meat because its expensive, it surprises me she doesnt mind vegetarian food tho

[@lazydelibird]

@@abrahamrangel2326So cabbage rumba is fake?!

[@jaysanj152]

The best thing about this game is that not only it's as close to an actual decent open world Touhou game with a good amount of roaster to interact with,it also shares a surprisingly lore accurate map design and layout of Gensokyo and i am happy that it's getting expanded and opened through DLCs. I am sure there are other fan games that probably did the same but i think so far this game did a solid A+ when it comes to the design structure overall. Ahhhh....what'd i give to play a Xenoverse like Touhou game where your Custom character gets transported to Gensokyo and you gotta make a living out there by doing chores and explore various landmarks on Gensokyo and so on.

[@lasaintepoutine]

I love this game so much, everything about it is perfect. It’s so cute and cozy and the art is sublime! It makes you appreciate less popular characters and the dialogue and interactions are super fun. It also makes you hungry!

[@LushieTilde]

This game is so cheap yet I got 70 hours in it (so far, haven't done DLC 3 yet). I haven't even played a game like this since 2010! Absolutely worth trying out.

[@ironmaster6496]

I just love how full of personality this game is, once again the fans manage to create their own unique world and turn a secondary to minor character (Mystia in this case) into a really interesting and funny one. Great review Ashprey

[@rogersquarepants]

Mystia's Izakaya is two years old since its early access by now, and I have to shout out to the developer team's dedication on polishing its calm and soothing experience. Aside from the characters, the background music, especially the izakaya ones, are top notch, as they express the local aesthetic to the players. Their DLC BGMs are also top notch, and could blend you into the environment very well as you listen to them. Give them a try if you could!

[@Hijiri_MIRACHION]

1:28 If Yuyuko is Kirby in a Kimono, would that make Yuuma Kirby in a Dress?

[@blockeontheleafeon]

Wonder what type of Genre would fit Wriggle? Maybe a Puyo-styled Puzzle Game where you have to match differently colored fireflies?

[@lazydelibird]

Maybe a pikmin style game with bugs?

[@blockeontheleafeon]

@@lazydelibird That could be fun too and definitely fits her as well.

[@divertedgamer1050]

Dude i will buy a pikmin style wiggle game. No contest.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

@@divertedgamer1050 Nice.

[@juncheok8579]

Hell yeah, I love this game sooo much, it has so much charm and surprising amount of lore

[@jasminasytek4342]

I have a lot of interest in touhou despite only ever trying one game in the main series and giving up quickly. So after coming across your channel I watched all the videos, but this game caught my attention in particular since you mentioned that characters were so well-written. I bought the set with all the DLCs and fell in love instantly. The writing is fantastic, the art style is beautiful and gameplay itself is really really fun. It was what i've been wishing for for all the years I wanted to interact with touhou but couldn't really handle the bullet hell genre. Now I'm waiting for english translation of the 4th DLC and being very excited. Thank you for introducing me to this gem!

[@landydot6296]

Game’s so good it made mystia my favorite character

[@abrahamrangel2326]

Cant say the same but made me like other characters more, i forgot how cute buggy and ruma are and tenshi got higher on my list

[@quentc]

Reimu when Mystia says the ticket is free: :)

[@noesunyoutuber7680]

"Reimu, do you like all this screaming 'punk' stuff?" "Not really, but I do like things I don't have to pay for."

[@LinkThinks]

As somebody with no real ties to Touhou (besides throwing chainsaws at Reimu in Luna Knights), I picked this game up on a total whim due to the glowing Steam reviews and the good looking pixel art and was absolutely blown away with how fun and addicting it is. The day to day gameplay loop is just so fun and well paced that it's easy to find yourself wanting to play just one more day. Getting to learn a bit about Touhou's setting and characters has been more enjoyable than I expected, and has really made me want to take a stab at the mainline titles. Playing with the DLC also means there's an absolute glut of content and I appreciate that it unlocks as you go through the main story. Also had to buy the soundtrack because it bangs. My biggest gripe with the game is that Hyper Mode, or more specifically the throwing powerup, is simply waaaaay too good, to the point that as soon as I got the option to choose whether to bring a staff member I immediately dropped Kyouko and literally never felt punished by not having the extra staff. Granted, getting to freeze time and lob dishes across the restaurant is super fun still, but I do have to wonder if the game would be more entertaining if this powerup was nerfed and you needed to get down and dirty in the dining room. It would certainly keep things more hectic. And like you mention, while time and resources feel pretty strict at the beginning, it doesn't take too long before you have a massive stockpile of most ingredients. And yeah, I never saw a punishment spell card besides the forced ones, which honestly had me wondering what they would do, haha. My minor nitpick with the game is that the level 3 izakaya is the same in each area, which really makes them feel less special compared to the 1-2 izakaya where you're actually out in the open. Oh hey, you mentioned this complaint too! This is what happens when you write your comment early. Great video!

[@lazydelibird]

Yeah the infinite serving range is so damn good that I kinda choke my orders sometimes because it spoiled me and never bothered to remember how the seat order works. I only ever had Kyouko for me because it gives me full focus in the dishes.

[@divertedgamer1050]

I have been putting this game off as a switch version is perfect for this game. Ive talked with the devs and they said that the switch version will have a in game achievements. Ver excited for this games future and the future of what the devs will do next. Very good review asprey.

[@qoxx]

got into this game knowing nothing and i mean _nothing_ about touhou. i have over 130 hours in it. it's that good.

[@seireiart]

I have to try this game soon enough. I really love the artstyle so much 🥰💞

[@MasterMetallix]

Rumia is Bane from The Dark Knight Rises: born in darkness, molded by it.

[@xenoham]

I played Mystia’s Izakaya when it came out in English right away. I love it and highly recommend it.

[@Octav2000]

My favourite fan game it’s just really good

[@Octav2000]

Also this game is getting a switch port!

[@UlterRimz]

Наконец то Дилан выпустил видяшку по Мистии, ждал ее еще с октября прошлого года (с выхода перевода второго длц). Одна их тех тохо игр, которую ты продал мне на первом стриме (другая это lost branch).

[@grenate2255]

ive waited for this

[@kevinnazareth9983]

Thanks, have really been lookin for some fun touhou games to play, cant wait!

[@kalinstonerna5525]

As a strong-willed man I proudly have 100+ hour in this game

[@spaghettiking7312]

Gigachad.

[@TXFlyveon]

Same.

[@danteshi]

Mystia is cute that's all the reason to play this game

[@SatoworiKowomeiji]

SO TRUE

[@IzFanArt69]

cute artstyle

[@user-qi3ip3lg2l]

glad to see this video!

[@manu987nc7]

Kirby in a kimono😂😂😂

[@goldensilver530]

Finally, the long awaited video on -scam artist simulator- Mystia comfy game

[@abrahamrangel2326]

Yooo im gonna replay the game again give some ideas for challenges i can do to make it more insteresting, like no using a certain cookware through the whole game or for a certain amount of time (in game weeks) or not making dishes with a specific tag

[@lazydelibird]

This may be a cruel challenge but what about not getting any high bond level on any character? Like only bond level 2 is allowed. I wonder if that’s possible

[@matthewmcmullan4832]

good game

[@happyverychaos]

"Green Reimu"

[@hominhmai5325]

NEW DLC LETS GOOOOO

[@manu987nc7]

Green reimu😂😂😂

[@purevdorjdolgoon816]

Is this mobile game