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Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream/Gameplay

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Title screen of the game

This article describes the overall gameplay and background information for Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream.

Gameplay

Controls

The game may be played using either a keyboard and/or a gamepad. Single Player controls are as follows:

Movement Shot Bomb Pause
General Keyboard: R,T,Y,F,H,V,B,N

Arrow Keys: ↑,←,→,↓
Numpad: 7,8,9,4,6,1,2,3
Gamepad: ↑,←,→,↓

General Keyboard: Z

Gamepad: B

  • Causes one shot to be fired; it must be tapped for rapidfire b/c holding the key charges the Spell Gauge.

General Keyboard: X
Gamepad: A

Esc pauses the game and brings you to the in-game menu

Multiplayer controls are as follows (the pause button works the same with Esc throughout):

If both players need to use the same keyboard
Movement Shot Bomb
Player One – General Keyboard: R,T,Y,F,H,V,B,N

Player Two – Numpad: 7,8,9,4,6,1,2,3

Player One – General Keyboard: Z

Player Two – Left Arrow Key ()

Player One – General Keyboard: X

Player Two – Right Arrow Key ()

Key Vs. Joy (Regardless whether the key player is P1 or P2, same with the player who has the gamepad
Movement Shot Bomb
Joy – Gamepad: ↑,←,→,↓

Key –

  • General Keyboard: R,T,Y,F,H,V,B,N
  • Arrow Keys: ↑,←,→,↓
  • Numpad: 7,8,9,4,6,1,2,3
Joy – Gamepad: B

Key – General Keyboard: Z

Joy – Gamepad: A

Key – General Keyboard: X

Basic Gameplay

Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream is considered to be a competitive vertical danmaku shooting game, in which two characters engage in moderate danmaku gameplay within individual and separate play areas (aka. split-screen). Upon meeting certain conditions, players are able to unleash a variety of character-specific Spell Attacks upon their opponents in an attempt to whittle down their remaining health points, in a manner not unlike a VS. puzzle game such as Puyo Puyo.

There are 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Lunatic. Each difficulty level features differences in the quantity and velocity of base bullets that appear on-screen, as well as in the resilience of AI opponents. Additionally, each difficulty level features specific initial Spell Attack levels.

In Story Mode, the player will face 9 individual opponents, where the boss will become more capable of dodging danmaku as the game proceeds; these king of bosses are computer artificial intelligence. The game also features a Match Play Mode, in which the player may face off against opponents or compete against other human players (i.e. having a P2), as well as observe CPU vs. CPU matches for humour. Having this mode in lunatic will likely be time consuming to watch. The game doesn't feature an Extra Mode.

Shot

A character's "shot" is a player's primary method of attacking stage enemies and a boss attack. The shot's attack power is equal for all characters, regardless of their Attack Power rating and appearance in their bullet's sprite.

Bomb

A character's "bomb" is a player's limited-use method of escaping difficult situations, equivalent to the spell card of the Windows era. Despite their varied appearances, every character's bomb is identical and has the same power and duration (roughly 3 seconds). A bomb will not only make the player invincible, but will clear the field of bullets and enemies, and will continue to keep the field clear for as long as it is active. Boss attacks aren't instantly destroyed by bombs, though they will take heavy damage. At the beginning of every round, you are granted two bombs. Once a bomb has been used, there is no way to recover it until the round ends.

Your current bomb stock is displayed at the bottom-right corner of your field.

Spell Gauge

The Spell Gauge sits at the bottom of a player's segment of the screen and is a visual indication of a character's stored magical power. When the gauge fills to certain points as indicated, it's possible to unleash more powerful attacks than the usual, as well as influencing the opponent's field. The gauge is divided into four quarters, each of which is referred to as a level.

To activate a function of the Spell Gauge, hold the shot key to begin charging the gauge. When the shot key is released, a spell activates, dependent upon the location of the charge indicator on the gauge at the time of release. Individual characters charge the gauge at different speeds. However, trying to get the highest power possible is time consuming.

Level 1: Charge Shot
Level 2: Charge Shot   Level 2 Spell Attack
Level 3: Charge Shot   Level 3 Spell Attack
Level 4: Charge Shot   Boss Attack

The Spell Gauge can only be charged as high as its current fill level. The fill level increases when enemies, fireballs, or small white bullets are caught within the lingering explosion of an eliminated enemy or when fireballs are destroyed directly by the player's shot or Charge Shot. Enemies that were destroyed directly by the player's shot or Charge Shot will not increase the fill level, nor will bullets that were cleared by a bomb.

Charge Shot

The Charge Shot is a more powerful version of a character's basic shot. These attacks are often able to plow through multiple enemies in rapid succession and can destroy fireball enemies with ease. Charge Shots have no direct effect upon an opponent's field, but can play a critical role in creating destructive combos that unleash a myriad of firepower upon a hapless opponent.

There may be only one Charge Shot present within your field at any given moment. To ensure that this is true, the Spell Gauge may not be charged again until your Charge Shot has left the screen entirely.

Charge Shots alone do not decrease the Spell Gauge's fill level when fired.

Spell Attack
WARNING‼
You are forced to evade from...
’BOSS ATTACK’ Level #
Your life is in peril !! Be careful...

Spell Attacks are character-specific assaults initiated within an opponent's field, activated by charging the Spell Gauge to Level 2 or 3, respectively. When activated, a brief warning will flash within an opponents field, shortly followed by a veritable maelstrom of firepower. English text will appear in the troubled character's screen as shown on the right, where the hash is where the number level is as followed:

Level 2 Spell Attack

A Level 2 Spell Attack is initiated when a player charges the Spell Gauge to Level 2 before releasing the shot key. This attack consists wholly of small white bullets, which may be repulsed by a quick-thinking opponent. Careful timing of Level 2 attacks is crucial to successful play, as a poorly timed attack could yield disastrous consequences for the attacking player if it is successfully repelled.

Level 2 Spell Attacks decrease the Spell Gauge's fill level by 1 entire level.

Level 3 Spell Attack

A Level 3 Spell Attack is initiated when a player charges the Spell Gauge to Level 3 before releasing the shot key. Unlike the Level 2 attack, the Level 3 attack is comprised of bullets that can not be eliminated within the explosions of destroyed enemies. As this is the case, Level 3 Spell Attacks are generally more effective than Level 2 attacks, and can be fired without fear of repulsion by the opponent, though they come at a greater price:

Level 3 Spell Attacks decrease the Spell Gauge's fill level by 2 entire levels.

Boss Attack

When the Spell Gauge is charged to the maximum level (4) before the shot key is released, a Boss Attack occurs. In this situation, a manifestation of the player character appears within the opponents field and attacks independently of the player, or vice versa. The boss has a finite amount of health (specific to each character), and will be eliminated from the field after receiving enough damage. The Boss will also leave of her/its own accord if not destroyed within a certain amount of time, specific to the level of the attack itself (see below). If a competitor unleashes their own Boss Attack while the opponent's Boss Attack manifestation is active, said opponent's Boss Attack will immediately be canceled and they will have to withstand the other's Boss Attack instead.

Boss Attacks decrease the Spell Gauge's fill level by 3 entire levels.

Spell Levels

Displayed at the bottom of a player's field are numerical representations of the strength of that player's Spell Attacks and Boss Attacks, respectively. The initial Spell Levels are set per difficulty setting. In Story Mode, the base Spell Levels increase by 1 after every round, up to a maximum of 16.

Spell Attack Level

Shown at the bottom-left corner of a player's field in green, the current Spell Attack level determines the relative strength of that player's Spell Attacks. Higher level attacks involve greater numbers of faster moving bullets. Every time that the player fires a Spell Attack at the opponent, the Spell Attack Level increases by 1, up to a maximum of 16.

Initial Spell Attack Levels:

Easy    : 1
Normal  : 1
Hard    : 1
Lunatic : 1
Boss Attack Level

Shown at the bottom-right corner of a player's field in red, the current Boss Attack level determines the ferocity of a Boss summon's attacks and the duration of time that the boss will remain in an opponent's field after summoned. Every time that a player (either Player 1 or 2) initiates a Boss Attack, both players' Boss Attack Levels increase by 1, up to a maximum of 16.

Initial Boss Attack Levels:

Easy    : 1
Normal  : 1
Hard    : 1
Lunatic : 1

Extra Attack

Extra Attacks, or EX Attacks, are character-specific special attacks which are deployed into an opponent's field when enemies, bullets, and particularly fireballs are caught in an explosion. Enemies and fireballs which were destroyed directly by the player's shot or Charge Shot will not create EX Attacks.

Charge Max Ability

When a player has 0 bombs remaining in stock and a full Spell Gauge, pressing the bomb key activates a character-specific special ability, for a limited period of time (roughly 9 seconds). These abilities generally include a more powerful version of a character's basic shot and increased movement speed. Additionally, for as long as the ability is active, the player's character is impervious to harm.

While the Charge Max Ability is engaged, the Spell Gauge continuously drains. When the Spell Gauge reaches Level 1, or a quarter of its capacity, the ability phase ends and the character's behavior returns to normal.

Hit Combos

Defeated stage enemies leave behind lingering explosions that can damage and destroy other stage enemies. When multiple enemies are caught in the successive explosions of previous enemies, a combo counter appears in the top-left corner of the screen and displays the number of enemies currently involved in the sequence.

After a very brief duration of inactivity, the Hit Combo counter will reset to 0.

Spell Points

When enemies are destroyed or small white bullets are caught within the explosive radii of defeated enemies and removed from the field, Spell Points are accumulated by the counter at the top-left corner of a player's field, beneath the Hit Combo display (when visible). At certain Spell Point values, special attacks are launched at your opponent:

51200  : Boss Attack
300000 : Boss Panic (Level 3 Spell Attack)

After a brief duration of inactivity (no additional Spell Points are being added), the Spell Point counter will reset to 0. When this occurs, the Spell Points are added directly to your score.

Health

At the beginning of each round, both players have 5 health points, displayed as hearts at the top of their respective fields. When a player is "hit" by an enemy attack, a certain amount of health points are subtracted, anywhere from ½ to 3. When all 5 health points have been depleted, a life is lost. A player cannot lose a life when hit with more than ½, health points remaining.

The hit box the characters are quite small in comparison to their on-screen sprite, approximately only 5 pixels by 5 pixels in size. It's not clearly marked on the sprite, but it is possible to approximate its location through careful examination of the character sprite. If the hit box of your character's sprite comes into contact with the hit box of an enemy bullet, laser, or the enemy itself, then you've been hit.

Lives

You will start off with 3 lives. A life is lost when your health points drop to zero. The player is awarded extra lives upon reaching certain score totals. In Story Mode, extra lives are awarded at 10 and 20 million points.

Upon losing all the lives, the player is given the choice to continue on the round where they left off. If choosing not to continue, then it's game over, but if you do continue, your current score will be reset back to 0. You may continue up to 3 times.

Field Objects

Small White Bullets

The most basic of offensive projectiles, these small white bullets are generally easy to dodge, but can become extremely hazardous in large quantities. Their base movement speed is determined by the difficulty setting. Additionally, their speed slowly increases over the course of an individual round.

When small white bullets are caught within the lingering explosions of former enemies, they are removed from the field only to reappear at the top of the opposing player's field.

Spell Attack Bullets

More advanced projectiles, which appear only as a result of Spell Attacks, Boss Attacks, and EX Attacks. These are character-specific in appearance and movement speed, but cannot be removed from the field by enemy detonations.

Stage Enemies

Stage enemies come in a variety of sizes and colors. Their sizes determine the scale of the explosion that'll appear when they are destroyed. Their color is an indication of the number of normal shots that will be required to destroy them. When shot, their colors change in order to denote their current remaining health.

Red    : 1 Hit
Green  : 2 Hits
Blue   : 3 Hits
Purple : 4 Hits

The appearance of stage enemies is dependent upon the current area that a round is taking place at (character-specific). However, despite their varied appearances (Bakebake, Hoshizako, Haatozako, Cresent enemy), all stage enemies are practically the same.

Fireballs

Fireballs are created when large numbers of small white bullets are removed from the field due to the detonation of enemies (or other Fireballs). They appear at the top of a player's field and move in a straight-line downwards. Their speed is dependent upon the difficulty setting and the duration of the current round. They require a greater amount of firepower to destroy than normal stage enemies do, though Charge Shots generally destroy them instantly.

When Fireballs are caught within the explosions of regular stage enemies, they violently explode as well, allowing for increased Hit Combo possibilities. The collateral destruction (that is, not directly destroyed with a shot or Charge Shot) of a Fireball gives a large boost to the Spell Points counter.

When Fireballs are destroyed (in any way), they reappear at the top of the opponent's field. Blue Fireballs are newly created, while Red Fireballs have been bounced between the players' fields one or more times.

Character Statistics

Each character's got an alternative palette. To play as a character with her alternate palette, press the bomb key instead of the shot key to select her at the Character Select screen.

Reimu Hakurei

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: ***
Attack Power: *
Charge Speed: *****
Charge Shot: Hakurei Special Large Amulet (靈夢特製大型お札)
Charge Max Ability: Speed Up + Large Amulet Shot (スピードアップ + 大型お札ショット)
EX Attack: Descending Yin-Yang Orb (陰陽玉投下)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: All-direction shot from the front + 5-Way × 2 (正面から全方向弾 + 5WAY×2)
Boss Attack: Armored Yin-Yang Orb (アーマード陰陽玉)
Bomb: Soul Strike (靈撃)

Mima

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: ****
Attack Power: ****
Charge Speed: **
Charge Shot: Piercing Wide Wave (貫通ワイドウェーブ)
Charge Max Ability: Speed Up + Rapidfire Shot (スピードアップ + ショット高速連射)
EX Attack: Anti-Spirit Phantom Shot (反幽幻弾)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Omnidirectional Random Shot from Upper Right (or Upper Left) (右上(もしくは左上), から全方向弾乱射)
Boss Attack: Wild Phantom Spirit Dance (幽幻乱舞)
Bomb: Evil Field (イビルフィールド)

Marisa Kirisame

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: ***
Attack Power: ****
Charge Speed: ***
Charge Shot: Illusion Laser (イリュージョンレーザー)
Charge Max Ability: Illusion Laser (イリュージョンレーザー)
EX Attack: Rise Laser (ライズレーザー)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Symmetrical Pincer Shot (左右から挟み撃ち)
Boss Attack: Little Devil (リトルデビル)
Bomb: Galaxy (ギャラクシー)

Ellen

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: **
Attack Power: ***
Charge Speed: *
Charge Shot: Love Needle (ラブニードル)
Charge Max Ability: Love Needle + Shot (ラブニードル + ショット)
EX Attack: Magic Pendant (マジックペンダント)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Parallel Symmetrical Diagonal Shot (左右斜め上から並列弾)
Boss Attack: Psyche-doll (サイケドール)
Bomb: Splash Stars (スプラッシュスターズ)

Kotohime

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: ****
Attack Power: *
Charge Speed: ****
Charge Shot: Invincible Shield (インビンシブルシールド)
Charge Max Ability: Stronger Shot (ショット強化)
EX Attack: Non-directional Extra Bomb (無指向性エキストラボム)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Omnidirectional EEB (全方向E.E.B)
Boss Attack: Maniacal Girl (マナイカルガール)
Bomb: Princess Smile (プリンセススマイル)

Kana Anaberal

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: **
Attack Power: **
Charge Speed: *****
Charge Shot: Energy Noise (エナジーノイズ)
Charge Max Ability: Stronger Shot (ショット強化)
EX Attack: Soul Bird (ソウルバード)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Parallel Shot (並列弾)
Boss Attack: Poltergeist (ポルターガイスト)
Bomb: Mystery Circle (ミステリーサークル)

Rikako Asakura

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: ****
Attack Power: *****
Charge Speed: *
Charge Shot: Round Gear (ラウンドギア)
Charge Max Ability: Round Gear 2 (ラウンドギア2)
EX Attack: Homing Gear (ホーミングギア)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Pincer Shot (挟み弾)
Boss Attack: Science Believer (科学信者)
Bomb: Magic Science (魔法科学)

Chiyuri Kitashirakawa

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: *****
Attack Power: **
Charge Speed: ****
Charge Shot: Time Cutter (タイムカッター)
Charge Max Ability: Speed Up + Stronger Shot (スピードアップ + ショット強化)
EX Attack: Dimension Wall Cutter (次元断壁)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Player-Targeted Shot Random Fire (自機狙い弾乱射)
Boss Attack: Sailor of Time (セーラーオブタイム)
Bomb: Dream Clock (夢時計)

Yumemi Okazaki

Basic Performance
Movement Speed: *****
Attack Power: *****
Charge Speed: ***
Charge Shot: Dream Bomb (夢幻爆弾)
Charge Max Ability: Speed Up + Stronger Shot (スピードアップ + ショット強化)
EX Attack: Strawberry Cross (苺クロス)
Charge Lv2 and Lv3: Omnidirectional Bullets × 6 (全方向弾×6)
Boss Attack: Fantasy Legend (夢幻伝説)
Bomb: Magical Position of Science (科学の魔法陣)

Screen Layout

Th03ScreenLayout.png
  1. Remaining Health Points
  2. Hit Combo Counter
  3. Spell Points Counter
  4. Current Score
    • Lives Remaining (Story Mode – Player 1)
    • Wins (Story Mode – Player 2 (AI), Vs. Match Mode - Both Players)
  5. Player Characters
  6. Bomb Stock
  7. Spell Gauge
    • Left Side – Spell Attack Level
    • Right Side – Boss Attack Level
  8. Stage enemy (This been Hoshizako)

Scoring

Enemies

Destroying stage enemies will award you a very small amount of points, depending on the size of the enemy. It's only a few hundred per enemy and it's not a significant amount at all.

Spell Points

When enemies, small white bullets, or fireballs are caught within the explosive radii of defeated enemies and removed from the field, Spell Points are accumulated by the counter at the top-left corner of a player's field, beneath the Hit Combo display (when visible). However, after a brief duration of inactivity (no additional Spell Points are being added), the Spell Point counter will reset to 0. When this occurs, the Spell Points are added directly to your score. The Spell Point counter can never exceed 655,350.

Clear Bonus

At the end of each round, the player is awarded a point bonus based on their performance throughout the round. The bonus is calculated as follows:

Max Combo × 10000
Number of Spell Attacks × 100000 (there's no distinction between Level 2 & 3 attacks)
Number of Boss Attacks caused by Spell Points × 150000
Number of Boss Attacks reversed [by another Boss Attack] × 200000
Number of Boss Panic Level 3 Spell Attacks × 300000

The combined total is the awarded stage clear bonus. In addition, if the round happened to be the final round (Story Mode Only), the following is added:

Lives Remaining × 1000000

Endings

To view an ending, finish Story Mode on any difficulty, using a particular character. Continues are perfectly acceptable compared to other Touhou Project games.

Glitches

  • If you die when Rikako Asakura's Charge Max Ability is activated (like this), her gears will remain with her throughout the next rounds. (like this). While this is happening, Rikako cannot charge her spell gauge to perform spell and charge attacks. The only way to get rid of it is to activate another Charge Max. When it wears off, the gears will go away.
  • Marisa Kirisame and Chiyuri Kitashirakawa cannot shoot or bomb while using charge attacks.
  • If you try to activate the Charge Max Ability while you have partially charged the spell gauge, you'll cast a spell of the level you charged up to, which will deplete the gauge as usual, then you will go into Charge Max with what remains of your spell gauge, shortening the duration by roughly 3 seconds for each level of fill you spent on the spell attack.