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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil: Difference between revisions

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[[zh:东方红魔乡]]
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[[ko:동방홍마향]]
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Revision as of 11:43, 12 July 2016

東方紅魔郷 (とうほうこうまきょう)
the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
Developer

Team Shanghai Alice

Publisher

Team Shanghai Alice

Released

Trial: June 10, 2002
Full: August 11, 2002 (Comiket 62)

Genre

Vertical Danmaku Shooting Game

Gameplay

Single-Player Story Mode

Platforms

Windows 98/SE/ME/2000/XP

Requirements
  • Pentium 500MHz
  • 320MB hard disk
  • Direct3D
  • DirectX 8
  • 4MB VRAM
  • DirectSound
  • 32MB RAM


Touhou Koumakyou(Scarlet Devil Land) ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil) is a vertical-scrolling danmaku shoot 'em up, and is the sixth official game in the Touhou Project by Team Shanghai Alice's sole member ZUN. It is the first to be released specifically for the Windows operating system and the starting point for the current canon of the Touhou Project, being a "clean break" from the PC-98 era.

Gameplay

the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil features two playable characters to choose from, with two Spell Card types each. Reimu Hakurei can cover a wide area of the screen with weaker attacks, while Marisa Kirisame relies on her speed and power to make up for her thinner attack spread. The bombs show different behavior and damage depending on the character and type chosen.

Unlike its predecessor, Mystic Square, the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil comes with an "automatic item collection" feature, which allows you to collect all items on the screen by moving to the top of the screen if you are at full power, as well as a counter-bomb system, which allows you to avoid a fatal hit by using a bomb immediately.

Though there are six total stages in the main game, playing on Easy will end the game after Stage 5.

Concept

ZUN's general goal when creating the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was to remove the systems appearing in newer shoot' em ups, which he thought overly complicated the games, and to let the player have fun simply dodging bullets.[1] When he started creating the game it was first named Touhou Kouchakan (東方紅茶館 lit. "Touhou Teahouse"), with the stage 3 theme being in reference to the name. However, ZUN felt the name didn't match the game's story so eventually it got changed. [2]

As the first Windows game, the engine was written from scratch using the DirectX API - with help from a few libraries from Amusement Makers - and ZUN apologizes for the seeming lack of creativity with things like grunt enemies, citing a lack of manpower while concentrating on building up libraries and tools himself.[3] The engine would later be used for the games Perfect Cherry Blossom, Imperishable Night, and Phantasmagoria of Flower View.

The game's data files shows the name "冴月麟" (Satsuki Rin) near the other playable characters. Associated with her are the attack types 花符 (Flower Sign) and 風符 (Wind Sign). These suggest that this girl was planned as a playable character, but got scrapped during the process of making the game. When asked about it, ZUN didn't remember her. [citation needed]

Story

During a peaceful summer in Gensokyo, an unnatural scarlet mist appears without warning and covers much of the land. It is strong enough to block out the sun, causing the affected areas to become dark and cold. Reimu Hakurei, a shrine maiden working at the Hakurei Shrine, and Marisa Kirisame, a magician, set out to find the source of the mist. Their search will lead them to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and to its eccentric owners...

Music

Seventeen tracks in total were included in the game. They were in .wav format, marking a significant step up from the FM synthesis ZUN used for the PC-98 games. However, the game itself included an option to play the music through a MIDI device, and later games would continue to do so until the full version of Phantasmagoria of Flower View.

ZUN was aiming to give the music a "brighter" feel over the PC-98 games by attempting to add jazz fusion elements to the tracks. He goes on to say that Septette for a Dead Princess and U.N. Owen was her? were the songs he most thought of as representative of the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.[3] Incidentally, these two songs are among the tunes most popular in the fandom.

Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17 and U.N. Owen was her? would later appear in the music album Dolls in Pseudo Paradise, with the former being the original version of the track.[4] Shanghai Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea would also be arranged for Changeability of Strange Dream, and Locked Girl ~ The Girl's Secret Room for Retrospective 53 minutes. U.N. Owen was her? was also arranged for a CD extra that came with the first volume of Strange and Bright Nature Deity, where it was redone to carry a more suitable tone for the manga.

In addition, Tomboyish Girl In Love would later be arranged in Phantasmagoria of Flower View retitled Adventure of the Lovestruck Tomboy.

Press

the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was first announced on ZUN's website on April 15, 2002, approximately three and a half years after the release of Mystic Square. At this time, it was being developed under the name "Eastern Scarlet Teahouse" (東方紅茶館 Touhou Kouchakan); it was changed to the current name afterwards. Beginning with an early trial version on June 10, 2002, the trial versions went through a number of revisions until the game's final release at Comiket 62 on August 11, 2002. Patches would be released up until late that November, ending on version 1.02h.

In addition to its normal release, ZUN also released an exclusive Extra stage demo to doujin shops such as Tora no Ana and Akibaoukoku. In this version, the last part of the boss is much harder.[4]

Staff

ZUN — Programer, Graphic Designer, Music Composer

Ponchi (pbg) — Program Support

Special Thanks

ant
fang
and All Test Players
and you...

Reception

The characters of the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil continue to be some of the most popular ones in the Touhou Project. In particular, Sakuya Izayoi has consistently been in the top 4 in the Touhou Popularity Contests held by the Japanese Touhou Wiki since its inception after Comiket 63. Remilia Scarlet and Flandre Scarlet continue to be well-loved characters, as well. In addition to the ever-popular Septette for the Dead Princess and U.N. Owen was Her?, songs such as Shanghai Alice in Meiji 17 and Shanghai Scarlet Teahouse ~ Chinese Tea gained much recognition.

External links

Official

Unofficial

References

  1. Embodiment of Scarlet Devil: Afterword — "Touhou Koumakyou brings things back to the starting point, by curbing the game systems that change the difficulty in obscure ways while at the same time, pursuing the natural fun of dodging bullets."
  2. ZUN (11 August 2005). "幻想の音覚" (in Japanese). 東方文花帖 ~ Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red: 22. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Embodiment of Scarlet Devil: Afterword
  4. 4.0 4.1 ZUN's reply to messages on the former Gensou Bulletin Board 1