C3X WORLD TOUR: WEEK ELEVEN

TOUHOU PROJECT

 

The Touhou Project series is a type of shoot ’em up games that popularized the bullet hell subgenre, which is characterized by having the player dodge a large number of projectiles that fill up the screen in complex, but more often than not predictable patterns. Unlike many shoot ’em up games with aesthetics based around spaceships and aliens, Touhou instead features a large cast of cute girls flying through the air, casting magic spells at each other. The series has gathered a huge following both in Japan and internationally, and have spawned a huge variety of fan works like artwork, doujinshi, spin-off games and derivative music works.

 

The games are made by Team Shanghai Alice, a one man team consisting of Ota Junya, also known as ZUN, who makes everything including the art, design, programming and music all by himself.

 

This pack of songs is meant to outline a journey of the series’ history, from the earlier games to the newer ones, and shows how the musical style of the games has been evolving over the years.

 

Setlist:

This hectic theme is the theme of the final boss you’ll find deep in Hell in the first entry of the Touhou series. This game is quite unlike the other entries of the series, and plays more like a Breakout style game than the bullet hell gameplay that Touhou eventually came to be known for. These early games were also made for the now since long discontinued PC-98 computer rather than for the modern PC, and the simple sound card of this type of computer is the reason for the “chiptune” like quality to these early tracks.

 

Japanese Title ~ English Title is a format that ZUN commonly uses for song titles, a tradition that first started in this second entry of the series. Hakurei ~ Eastern Wind is the theme for the first stage of the game and starts out slow and with a kind of dark athmosphere, but eventually builds towards an energetic climax. End of Daylight sets the mood for the second stage using FM synths to mimic the sound of birdsong.

 

Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream once again changes up the gameplay of the series, with two players engaging in a duel rather than one player going through a preset stage, a concept that would later be revisited for the ninth entry in the series. Sailor of Time is the theme for the battle against Chiyuri and is rather unique in the series’ music in that it features a short drum solo in the middle of the song. Maple Dream… is the theme for the (humorously short) staff roll of the game, and would later get a remix for the staff roll theme of Imperishable Night with Eternal Dream ~ Mystical Maple.

 

The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is considered to be the first modern entry of the series. It was the first to be made for the standard PC, and features a huge upgrade in graphics and sound quality. A Dream More Scarlet than Red is the title theme of the game, and subsequent title themes in the series all feature variations on the same melody that this track uses. (See Eternal Night Vignette ~ Eastern Night, Sealed Gods, and Mysterious Purification Rod later in this pack for examples.) Tomboyish Girl in Love is the theme for Cirno, one of the more well known characters in the series, often depicted as an idiot fairy with extremely high self confidence. Scarlet Tower ~ Eastern Dream… is the original track that the guitar solo heavy Reve of Mirrors authored by ghostbyob was based on.

 

Ultimate Truth is a short track used for the final stage leading up to the final boss of Perfect Cherry Blossom. A Maiden’s Illusionary Funeral ~ Necro-Fantasy is an alternative version of the extra boss theme Necrofantasia. It was composed first with Necrofantasia intended to be a darker and grimmer version of it.

 

Sakuya’s theme Flowering Night has one of the most well known melodies of the series, and is famous for the Night of Nights remix as well as a myriad of beautiful violin covers.

 

Mountain of Faith had a lot of themes based around nature and the connection to it, and so the music marked a bit of a departure from the strictly electronic style of music to one that incorporated more sounds of acoustic instruments. Most of the tracks are also rock inspired with guitars being featured more prominently.

 

Satori’s theme in Subterranean Animism is a hard hitting track that also features a certain aura of mystique. It features the return of blistering drum tracks from the earlier entries of the games, but also part of the more rock inspired set of instruments from Mountain of Faith.

 

The last track of this release is the title theme from one of the more recent games that clearly showcases how the instrumentation has gotten more varied for the newer entries, featuring acoustic guitars with reverb, a cool sounding bass guitar and a flute solo. The “title theme” melody isn’t featured as clearly this time around, but it can be heard in a rearranged version during the chorus.

 

But wait, there’s more…

I also took this opportunity to go through every earlier track by ZUN I’ve authored to bring them up to the same level of quality as my current releases. For some tracks this only meant some minor changes for the sake of accuracy or playability, but some of the earlier customs have been recharted almost entirely. A few customs have also received pro guitar and pro bass upgrades!

 

Touhou 01: The Highly Responsive to Prayers

ZUN – Eternal Shrine Maiden

ZUN – Oriental Magician

ZUN – The Legend of KAGE

Touhou 02: The Story of Eastern Wonderland

ZUN – Complete Darkness

Touhou 03: Phantasmagoria of Dim.Dream

ZUN – Strawberry Crisis!!

Touhou 04: Lotus Land Story

ZUN – Bad Apple!!

ZUN – Spirit Battle ~ Perdition Crisis

Touhou 06: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

ZUN – The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood

ZUN – U.N. Owen Was Her?

Touhou 07: Perfect Cherry Blossom

ZUN – Border of Life

ZUN – Necrofantasia

Touhou 08: Imperishable Night

ZUN – Eternal Night Vignette ~ Eastern Night

ZUN – Illusionary Night ~ Ghostly Eyes
ZUN – Stirring an Autumn Moon ~ Mooned Insect

ZUN – Song of the Night Sparrow ~ Night Bird

ZUN – Deaf to All but the Song

ZUN – Nostalgic Blood of the East ~ Old World

ZUN – Plain Asia

ZUN – Retribution for the Eternal Night ~ Imperishable Night

ZUN – Maiden’s Capriccio ~ Dream Battle

ZUN – Love-colored Master Spark
ZUN – Cinderella Cage ~ Kagome-Kagome

ZUN – Lunatic Eyes ~ Invisible Full Moon

ZUN – Voyage 1969

ZUN – Gensokyo Millennium ~ History of the Moon

ZUN – Flight of the Bamboo Cutter ~ Lunatic Princess

ZUN – Voyage 1970

ZUN – Extend Ash ~ Person of Hourai

ZUN – Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke

ZUN – Evening Primrose

ZUN – Eternal Dream ~ Mystical Maple

ZUN – Eastern Youkai Beauty

Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith

ZUN – Sealed Gods

ZUN – A God That Misses People ~ Romantic Fall

ZUN – Faith is for the Transient People

ZUN – Native Faith

Touhou 14: Double Dealing Character

ZUN – Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat