12 Reviews:
PlutoTheThing
This review is based on a 100% clear
Even if not everything in this game is that well executed, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of the charm games like this have. A lot of the screens, especially in the 2nd half of the game, feel like they have a decent bit of creativity, with each screen often bringing a new idea. In particular I'm a big fan of the third stage which is mostly based on cycles, it reminds me a lot of Charr which is always a good thing. The bosses are fine, the final one of course has the bug but if you know what causes it, it's easy to avoid. The fights aren't anything too special, I definitely feel like the platforming steals the show a bit. With that being said if you do the extra, there's a cool touhou inspired schmup sequence, and this is really fun, maybe my favorite thing in the game even, so I'd recommend giving it a shot. Obviously not a game for everyone but there's definitely fun to be had.
[1] Like
Even if not everything in this game is that well executed, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of the charm games like this have. A lot of the screens, especially in the 2nd half of the game, feel like they have a decent bit of creativity, with each screen often bringing a new idea. In particular I'm a big fan of the third stage which is mostly based on cycles, it reminds me a lot of Charr which is always a good thing. The bosses are fine, the final one of course has the bug but if you know what causes it, it's easy to avoid. The fights aren't anything too special, I definitely feel like the platforming steals the show a bit. With that being said if you do the extra, there's a cool touhou inspired schmup sequence, and this is really fun, maybe my favorite thing in the game even, so I'd recommend giving it a shot. Obviously not a game for everyone but there's definitely fun to be had.
Rating: 7.7 77
Difficulty: 67 67
Sep 11, 2024
BloggerOP
The game is actually decent without 3rd boss and final boss. Final boss has a fatal bug on the fourth switch so that's nice. To avoid the bug, wait a bit after landing on the ground, then shoot the button. (I'm not 100% sure if this works.)
[1] Like
Rating: 5.5 55
Difficulty: 72 72
Jun 18, 2023
SMOrc
Русский:
С 3 уровня игра становится очень сложной и неприятной для прохождения. Финальный босс вообще без комментариев...
English:
From level 3, the game becomes very difficult and unpleasant to pass. The final boss has no comments at all...
[1] Like
С 3 уровня игра становится очень сложной и неприятной для прохождения. Финальный босс вообще без комментариев...
English:
From level 3, the game becomes very difficult and unpleasant to pass. The final boss has no comments at all...
Rating: 2.5 25
Difficulty: N/A
Jan 28, 2023
xva
this game is a bit of a mess, it has a lot of ideas and a lot of stuff that simply shouldn't go together or is poorly executed. there's little to no continuity between the stages and they all just feel like random amalgamations of ideas that Tokoroten thought would be interesting but couldn't find an organic way to include them in his games. this leads to a lot of questionable balancing, odd gameplay and the rare good idea or two
the first stage hasn't got a lot going on, it's just some basic needle, some cycles and a few traps. at the end of the first stage, there's a long platform section which I will admit is very fun. granted, you can skip the hardest part of it by doing what is essentially one (1) apple align. the first boss isn't anything special, but the stage that comes after it IS. the first gimmick of the game: low gravity. this gimmick is quite fun actually and is utilized in an interesting enough way. however, this will later be abused and will become very annoying. by this I mean that it will be come THE reason why the final boss is such a pain and/or feels like a gamble. the boss here is a pretty simple avoidance. for some reason all of the bosses are stickmen. I suppose Tokoroten ran out of character designs or just doesn't care (not that I particularly mind, I find them somewhat charming). everything up to here is pretty fun and enjoyable. if the game ended here, it'd be a solid 6.0
then comes stage 3. stage 3 is the turning point of the game, where everything becomes substantially harder and a few orders of magnitude more bullshit. the gimmick of stage 3 is cycles. cycles, cycles and yet more cycles. cycles that make you want to gouge your eyes out because of how precise and difficult they are. granted, the saves aren't too long, but the cycles are hard as all hell. these are legitimately nothing like I've ever played. these are some of the most precise and difficult timings I've ever seen in any fangame ever. most notable is the screen 2 last save. what in God's name is the last series of movements??? this water cycle is insanely, inhumanly unfair. you can't really ever tell what you're doing wrong, meaning you can't really do much about it. this continues for about 5 more screens by the way. granted, some of the later ones are debatably easier but that's not important right now. as for the second boss, it's one of those 'you just hope to get attacks which you can do damage to him on' bosses. there are some attacks which you can't reliably get damage in, so simply hope for the best!
the last stage is quite fun, it exhibits the most unique ideas and executes them the best. speed gimmick is fun and responsive, bubble isn't very responsive but it's quite iconic. the corners were very, very mean though. I couldn't find a slow way to do them, so I just kinda tapped direction keys and hoped for the best. this area of the game is also passable. I'd go as far as to say it's very innovative and unique granted its age
the final boss is a pain. everyone's said it and everyone knows it. it's one long save with a bunch of previous gimmicks thrown in. the time attack isn't that much of an issue until the very, very end where the boss has a real chance to catch up to you. there's some more unique ideas here, but they're gatekept by one very poorly designed gravity section. here is where the low gravity gimmick comes in: it's because of the low gravity. you have to do a series of some of the most uncomfortable, difficult-to-control movements you have ever seen. it just isn't fun, and having to do it several times (probably) isn't very fun either. it's very frustrating to die to the end, as I have three times. I even died once to the 2nd to last jump, how great! it's a unique idea but I highly dislike the way it's made, solely due to the one low gravity section and the gates at the end
this is the end of the main game, and you can choose to play extra which consists of two touhou fights. yet again, sort of poorly executed: your bullets are nearly opaque which makes reading bullets in front of you very difficult. this is where almost all of the difficulty comes from, otherwise it really isn't that hard of a touhou sequence. there are two sections, the first one being substantially harder but much shorter. it's necessary to point out that I'm bad at touhou. my brain can't process controlling something with 4 directional keys instead of 2 + jump (or at least not as well). the first section's hardest part is actually the green cherry that appears at the end. I'd recommend just spamming bombs. not at the boss, but at the green cherry as it's substantially harder to read. I found out you can hover around in the bottom left to be able to read stuff more easily, since your bullets won't cover what's directly coming at you. the second fight is chill and quite long, I enjoyed it much more than the first one. don't know how or why it ends with 2 stars still remaining, but that's fine. it has 11 phases and the last one is by far the hardest. thankfully it isn't too difficult, it feels much more manageable than the first boss
[0] Likes
the first stage hasn't got a lot going on, it's just some basic needle, some cycles and a few traps. at the end of the first stage, there's a long platform section which I will admit is very fun. granted, you can skip the hardest part of it by doing what is essentially one (1) apple align. the first boss isn't anything special, but the stage that comes after it IS. the first gimmick of the game: low gravity. this gimmick is quite fun actually and is utilized in an interesting enough way. however, this will later be abused and will become very annoying. by this I mean that it will be come THE reason why the final boss is such a pain and/or feels like a gamble. the boss here is a pretty simple avoidance. for some reason all of the bosses are stickmen. I suppose Tokoroten ran out of character designs or just doesn't care (not that I particularly mind, I find them somewhat charming). everything up to here is pretty fun and enjoyable. if the game ended here, it'd be a solid 6.0
then comes stage 3. stage 3 is the turning point of the game, where everything becomes substantially harder and a few orders of magnitude more bullshit. the gimmick of stage 3 is cycles. cycles, cycles and yet more cycles. cycles that make you want to gouge your eyes out because of how precise and difficult they are. granted, the saves aren't too long, but the cycles are hard as all hell. these are legitimately nothing like I've ever played. these are some of the most precise and difficult timings I've ever seen in any fangame ever. most notable is the screen 2 last save. what in God's name is the last series of movements??? this water cycle is insanely, inhumanly unfair. you can't really ever tell what you're doing wrong, meaning you can't really do much about it. this continues for about 5 more screens by the way. granted, some of the later ones are debatably easier but that's not important right now. as for the second boss, it's one of those 'you just hope to get attacks which you can do damage to him on' bosses. there are some attacks which you can't reliably get damage in, so simply hope for the best!
the last stage is quite fun, it exhibits the most unique ideas and executes them the best. speed gimmick is fun and responsive, bubble isn't very responsive but it's quite iconic. the corners were very, very mean though. I couldn't find a slow way to do them, so I just kinda tapped direction keys and hoped for the best. this area of the game is also passable. I'd go as far as to say it's very innovative and unique granted its age
the final boss is a pain. everyone's said it and everyone knows it. it's one long save with a bunch of previous gimmicks thrown in. the time attack isn't that much of an issue until the very, very end where the boss has a real chance to catch up to you. there's some more unique ideas here, but they're gatekept by one very poorly designed gravity section. here is where the low gravity gimmick comes in: it's because of the low gravity. you have to do a series of some of the most uncomfortable, difficult-to-control movements you have ever seen. it just isn't fun, and having to do it several times (probably) isn't very fun either. it's very frustrating to die to the end, as I have three times. I even died once to the 2nd to last jump, how great! it's a unique idea but I highly dislike the way it's made, solely due to the one low gravity section and the gates at the end
this is the end of the main game, and you can choose to play extra which consists of two touhou fights. yet again, sort of poorly executed: your bullets are nearly opaque which makes reading bullets in front of you very difficult. this is where almost all of the difficulty comes from, otherwise it really isn't that hard of a touhou sequence. there are two sections, the first one being substantially harder but much shorter. it's necessary to point out that I'm bad at touhou. my brain can't process controlling something with 4 directional keys instead of 2 + jump (or at least not as well). the first section's hardest part is actually the green cherry that appears at the end. I'd recommend just spamming bombs. not at the boss, but at the green cherry as it's substantially harder to read. I found out you can hover around in the bottom left to be able to read stuff more easily, since your bullets won't cover what's directly coming at you. the second fight is chill and quite long, I enjoyed it much more than the first one. don't know how or why it ends with 2 stars still remaining, but that's fine. it has 11 phases and the last one is by far the hardest. thankfully it isn't too difficult, it feels much more manageable than the first boss
Rating: 4.0 40
Difficulty: 75 75
Jan 27, 2025