Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - I'm Gettin' Hungry, Hombre!
New update, new floor. Floor 14 feels like the exact opposite of Floor 13: while Floor 13 was a complex floor with no bosses, Floor 14 is a simple floor with lots of new boss fights. This is the first of a series of short updates with accompanying boss fight videos.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 17
It's been a wild past couple of floors, hasn't it? First Eientei, now that shopkeeper Rinnosuke. Still not quite trusting us, the Eientei folk chose to stay behind on Floor 12 and create their own fortified base. At least they've left the incident resolution to us, right? As for Rinnosuke, we're currently hot on his trail. Of course we're not content with leaving this matter up to him! So onward with our adventure!
Floor 14 has the strangest name yet! What is this suppose to mean anyway? The wonderfully kind and intelligent Aya Shameimaru informs me through her information networks that it's suppose to be a reference to Toshin Toshi 3, whatever that is. No matter, this place doesn't seem like much of a problem after the whole fiasco Suwako and Cirno put us through earlier.
This floor is the simpliest one yet in terms of layout. The entire floor is just one huge 16-by-16 grid of square rooms haphazardly connected to one another. But of course, the simpler the floor, the more annoying the enemies, right? I can see the numbers now: Manifested Knowledge with 12,000 MND. Crystal Cancer with 12,000 DEF. Bronze Golem with 66,000 HP. Looks like some difficult hurdles to overcome!
Luckily, the amazingly swift and powerful Aya Shameimaru was there to run circles around these foes! Where would we be without her? It took much effort and an enormous expediture of SP on our part, but we managed to wade our way through these tough foes.
But lo and behold, who should we run into but Yukari's best friend, Yuyuko Saigyouji!
Looks like she was the one behind the whole cat and ghost chase we had earlier. She had business with a certain black cat who had taken something important from the Netherworld. It'd certainly be discourteous of us to turn down a request from an old friend, right? That's definitely not something you should do in these types of games.
Something about some Knights of some Round Table? Sounds familiar. Certainly can't be foreshadowing, could it? Hahahaha!
Yuyuko certainly sounds like one of the stronger people to meet around here. This whole quest of her's to recover these dangerous knights only enhances her prestige. I wonder, if we're to succeed at this quest in her place, wouldn't that mean we'd have to be better than her?
Oooh, let's try that out!
It's no secret by now that I'm still not satisfied with the way our party's strength has been sluggishly proceeding. Someone like Yuyuko could assuredly give these folks a nice kick in the rear!
And luckily, despite the pleadings of Reimu, Yuyuko agrees!
'Course, Yuyuko doesn't want to help us out for free. She laughed and said she prefers to have her payment in food. I wonder what she meant by that...
~ Suika Ibuki
(This transcript was editted by the illustrious people at Bunbunmaru. Bunbunmaru, all the news that's fit to print! Subscribe today!)
Bonus! An alternate video of this segment's boss fight, showing you just how easy some things can be with just a little luck.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - The Other Fried Chicken
Another short update with an accompanying boss fight video:
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 18
Aya Shameimaru of the Bunbunmaru here, with today's top story:
EIENTEI REFUGEES HARASSED BY DELINQUENT PHOENIX
12F OF GENSOKYO'S STRANGE SPACE - Following their double defeat at the hands of the wayward shopkeeper Rinnosuke Morichika and the triumphant Gensokyo Expedition Team, the three displaced fugitives from Eientei, Kaguya Houraisan, Eirin Yagokoro, and Reisen Udongein Inaba, set up shelter on the 12 Floor of the strange space that has appeared in the skies of Gensokyo. Having failed to complete their original intention of sealing the space with the Sealed Chamber spell, Eirin requested the help of local shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei to construct a barrier to protect Princess Kaguya as she resides there until Eientei can be reconstructed. Eirin arranged every luxury for the princess: television, computer with internet access, heated kotatsu, and mandarin oranges. However, this only served to lure out criminal activity.
The culprit has been identified as Fujiwara no Mokou, a resident of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. A supposed health guru who runs a yakitori stand of ill repute, Mokou has been suspected of multiple fires that have devastated the bamboo forest. Not content with merely burning innocent birds and vegetation, Mokou has since sought to rekindle her vendetta against the princess of Eientei.
Fortunately, the intrepid Gensokyo Expedition Team arrived on the scene just in time to rebuff the fiery ruffian's antics. Reimu deftly defused the situation by convincing Mokou that Kaguya had no intention of fighting back, but this did not satisfy the bloodthirsty phoenix's desire for carnage.
Lacking any reason or provocation, Mokou chose to attack the Gensokyo Expedition Team. In a brief interview before the battle, she described her disregard for human and youkai life, making liberal use of terms such as "kill" and "burn up".
The criminal was subdued and arrested by the Gensokyo Expedition Team, and is currently awaiting a hearing before Judge Shikieiki. Reports shall be submitted to the Komeiji Psychiatric Ward to suggest for potentially committing such a dangerous individual.
Looks like Aya is trying to make herself look better in editing Suika's description of the events. I also wonder how Orin will affect the events?
__________________
Yet another Touhou fan in the playground.
I'm the strongest, but don't call me an idiot or I'll cyro-freeze you together with some English Beef. - Cirno Avatar by me, assassin8⑨
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Neko-Romancer of a Former Hell
A larger update for today. I just wanted to finish up Floor 14, so I crammed what I had initially planned for two updates into one.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 19
*YAWN* What a long day, Sis!
Yes, it's certainly been quite eventful. Let's head back soon, it's past your bedtime.
Aww...but I still have so much energy left! You never let me stay up!
And for good reason. You're still a growing girl.
Am not!
OK, that sounded awkward. Let's just move on to our day's exploits.
Even after our triumph over the ghostly princess, the 14th Floor was still replete with plenty of adversaries to test our mettle.
Yeah, but we totally made them go POP!
Indeed, Flan. The first of these to discuss is the Mandrake Sigil boss, the Dark Forge. A being of condensed magic, it wielded immense magical spells.
It was like Patchy! Except more evil and less boring, I guess.
Now now, that's not a nice thing to say about someone. Patchy can be plenty evil when she wants to be.
But it was just as squishy as Patchy!
Yes, I was a lot less of a challenge than the other battles we've had as of late. But of course, that was not all that was to be found on this floor.
Oh yeah! We also got to see Alice's dolls again!
I'm not quite sure what Alice's dolls were doing here as another Sigil boss, but I suppose we can extract a confession out of her later. However, it is undeniable that these behaved just as her earlier underlings did.
Their spells were exactly identical as before, but this time the three dolls attacked as one, cycling through their specialties in a predictible pattern. I wonder, did Alice model her dolls off of these foes, or were these somehow the product of her own creation, given new life by the Labyrinth?
Uuuu, that's complex, Sis! You're making my head hurt just thinking about it...
I suppose it's no use pondering these things when we had more immediate threats to worry about. There was, in fact, one more major threat on this floor that we had to overcome, which came with the conclusion to that debacle that Yuyuko had tried to resolve earlier.
Oh yeah, you mean that cat that stole the bodies of those dead knights? That's creepy...
As we had suspected, the culprit was none other than Rin Kaenbyou, or as she prefers to be called, Orin. We found the black cat from the former hell prowling this floor, performing some sort of necromantic ritual.
Sis, what does "neck-row-man-tick" mean?
Let's not talk about it this late, Flan. It'll give you nightmares.
Stop treating me like such a child! I can handle it!
I'll keep treating you like this if you keep throwing tantrums. Now, be a good girl and let me continue with the story.
Uuuu...meanie!
Under the pretense of resolving the whole Strange Space incident on behalf of her mistress Satori Komeiji, Orin claimed to have stolen the corpses of the knights to resurrect them as her own powerful undead army. Of course, we were skeptical of her story, so she decided to throw one such knight against us while she made her escape.
This Knight of the Round Table was stronger than the average foes we were used to facing, but still not enough to pose too much trouble to us. However, it did buy enough time for Orin to escape. If one such knight could give us this small amount of trouble, what could the remaining 10 do?
The cat wasn't very eager to keep playing with us, though. We tried chasing her for a long time, but when we finally got close, she threw another knight at us!
Yes, this floor's design does make it difficult to keep her pinned down. But after our second skirmish with her knight, we did come up with a plan to box her in. Our next meeting would not end the same way.
With nowhere left to run, Orin was forced to contend with us. Unfortunately, it appeared she still had the remaining 9 knights with her.
When she said "attrition", she wasn't kidding.
She just kept throwing more knights at us! How many toys did she have for us to break?
After defeating one more knight, she produced yet another without giving us a moment to catch our breath. It seemed she planned to wear us out completely before she made her next move.
It was so annoying! It's not fun playing the same game over and over again.
Recognizing that we could defeat her individual knights without much difficulty, Orin decided to step up her game by attacking us with two knights at once. This proved to be much more of a challenge.
And even after we managed to beat those two tin cans, more just kept coming! How many were there left at that point, Sis? Let's see, eleven, then to nine, subtract one, subtract another, subtract two...
I got so fed up with them, I just wanted to destroy them so badly! So I finally took out my secret weapon: my Laveatein wand!
You did a good job, Flan. And you can apparently do math better than a certain ice fairy we know. Your big sister is proud of you.
Thanks, but that stupid cat still had three more!
Well, at least we could take comfort in knowing she was out of tricks once we cleared those last three knights.
Yeah...but I was getting pretty tired by then.
As we suspected, the knights were all just a ploy to tire us out. How just like a cat, to toy with us until we were exhausted before going in for the kill.
The knights themselves may have been powerful, but Orin decided to use them to capture an even greater prize: ourselves.
She really scared me with what she said! Sis, is that what "neck-row-man-tick" means?
The two Sigil bosses on this floor aren't that hard. If you can beat Yuyuko or Mokou, you shouldn't have much trouble with these guys.
Dark Forge is pretty straightforward. It doesn't have much HP or defense, but it will cast some extremely powerful spells, including the dreaded Ether Flare. Don't be surprised if characters with low MND get killed by it, but it only has 240,000 HP, which isn't much for a boss at this point of the game (Yuyuko had over twice as much, and much better defenses to boot), so it's not too kill it before it can kill you, especially since it's not that fast and is somewhat more vulnerable to debuffs and status effects than most bosses. It's weak to Spirit and slightly resistant to every other element.
Triomagen is basically Alice's three dolls (Healing Light, Magical Light, and Beautiful Light) merged into one. It has a lot more HP than Dark Forge, but still not nearly as much as the Touhou character bosses. It's exceptionally fast, but luckily its attacks are very predictable. It has all the attacks that Alice's dolls had, but will always attack in the pattern of Magical Light > Healing Light > Beautiful Light. So it'll always use a moderate multitarget magic spell, then either Healing Prayer or Weakening Prayer, then a stronger single-target physical attack. Healing Prayer can heal around 70,000 HP in one shot, but it's honestly little more than an annoyance. Weakening Prayer is actually its most severe attack, I think, as cutting every stat in half can completely cripple a character. Luckily, it's only single-target, so you can just switch out and not worry about it anymore. Triomagen is weak to wind, neutral to nature, and fairly resistant to every other element; it's also fairly resistant to paralysis but more prone to stat debuffs. Since it will always use multi-target spell > support spell > single-target attack, you can safely switch in glass cannons into slots 3 and 4 after its multi-target attack, and not worry about being hit for a while. Characters with high MND, like Patchy, can safely sit in 4th position and never get hit by anything but the weak magic spell, since Triomagen doesn't have any multi-target physical attacks.
Yukari: You're strong...To take me this far...I wonder why an old shop's shopkeeper is able to control such amazing power?
Rinnosuke: Hahaha, it may be quite old, but I believe my shop is still younger than you.
Oho. I do like those kind of jokes, but too bad, I'm young.
Well, I didn't come here to exchange such jokes anyway. What I want to hear is why you, who's lived for so long, with such massive power and great intelligence, would do such a thing!
...No comment. It's good to keep a few secrets to be mysterious, mm?
Don't mess with me!
...
I don't care how cunning you are, I trusted you and the image you portrayed of having a deep love of Gensokyo...! Working with antiques seems to have decayed my judgment! This incident couldn't have been made by anyone but you!
It wasn't me exactly, but...I suppose saying that I'm not involved would be a lie, mm?
Trying to dodge it? However you look at it, you're deeply connected to it for sure. Since this incident occurred and you lost control, you were either a fixer or helpless...It's the latter, isn't it?
Perhaps, the reason you're so desperate...Is it related to those humans from the "outside world"...?
...!
Bullseye, it seems. Your face just stiffened.
How did you know about that?
I like to go to Muenzuka. The barrier is weak there. That's why I noticed this incident early. I know there are humans who came from the outside world. That's what I investigated the Hakurei Barrier for. Then, the barrier shook as if something passed through. But no one from the outside world can do such a thing. However, since you can...Coming to this conclusion was natural, was it not?
...
But why would you bring humans from the outside...It seems like investigating that would be interesting. Now now, I wonder what else will appear around here. If there's anything incriminating, you will pay.
...You want to go already? Since we're here, why don't we talk a little more? For example, about how you received such power...isn't that an interesting topic?
This power? ...Well, it's nothing to feel guilty about, but it wouldn't be fair if I left after all that talk. It's nothing interesting. It's just power given to me by Gensokyo to resolve this.
...Are you trying to mimic me with that vague reply? What kind of rhetoric is that?
As you created the incident, the items from the outside that flowed to Muenzuka multiplied tremendously, and something within took my eye...it was this.
That's...some science text?
A wave function diverges in Planck time intervals, creating many possibilities...What would best describe this "me", is a man who attained all the possibilities overlapping into one. And this "me" who contains all possibilities, can even use a magic base to perform quantum telecloning. This power flows within me...This is actually a thesis. All I did was follow the descriptions in the thesis. While the thesis is theoretically possible, the implementation of it is supposedly impossible, but...
In Gensokyo, where those who control time and gravity live, nothing is impossible. As long as the theory is sound.
That went over my head...Even so, something is quite odd. Indeed, it's quite odd that skill was actually founded and based in the outside world, and not Gensokyo. Things that aren't accepted in the outside, flow here...Is that a possible reason...
With the current incident, I would assume so. Not just the Hakurei Barrier, but the concept of time...And so, I will use this thesis, this power given to me to manage the incident...Don't you think that's why Gensokyo gave me this power?
...I had an inkling it was actually like this, but...You really do have a few screws loose in the head, huh. Someone with that kind of power is major trouble.
Hahahahahaha! Did that really come from you, the textbook example of what you said!? Ahahahaha! Hahaha...ha...ah, how funny. Are you quite satisfied? Now then, I shall be taking my leave.
Just you watch, I will resolve this incident quickly. You better prepare yourself.
...Now now, I must make sure I don't get too idle either. I must find them quickly...If it's now, there may still be time...
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - U.N. Owen...is one of us.
Why yes, I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie. Why do you ask?
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 20
*Sniff* Big Sister is always so mean to me, treating me like a kid!
Please understand, young mistress, Lady Remilia is only trying to look after you. She does this because she cares about you.
But she doesn't treat you or Sakuya or Patchy like this!
That's because you're special. You're her one and only sister.
I just wish everyone would take me more seriously...
Maybe they'll do so if you and I narrate this next segment? Come on, let's go.
The Fifteenth Floor loomed before us as an enormous cave of jagged tunnels and chambers. Not knowing where to begin searching for Yukari and Rinnosuke in such a large place, we took the time to pool our information and consider what to do next.
From the conversation on the previous floor, we knew this incident has something to do with humans from the outside world, although we didn't know how or why.
Hmm...maybe they're Yukari's friends, and she brought them over?
That might be, Flan, but they why aren't they with Yukari now? If Yukari had the power to do this all along, why didn't this kind of incident happen before?
Uuuu...I don't know, I can't think about these things well.
I think Reimu's right in assuming that both Yukari and Rinnosuke still have some sort of agenda to hide.
Patchy always tells me I'm not here to help them figure stuff like that out; I'm here to blow up whatever gets in our way.
She tells me something similar too, expect she expects me to be a punching bag for her to stand behind. Honestly, some people just don't respect you if you can't perform multi-variable calculus or explain Bernoulli's Principle.
What's that, China?
Um, it's nothing.
Well, they better understand that they still need us! With each floor, the baddies we see are getting much stronger!
That might be true. These new creatures we're fighting seem to have incredible defense, or magic resistance, or even both. It's getting much harder for our group to quickly and efficiently eliminate them before they get a chance to attack us.
But I can kill them all in one swing with my Laveatein! I'm the only one strong enough to destroy them all single-handedly!
Yes, but...
So why won't they stop treating me like a child? I think you and I should revolt.
What?
You heard me! We should stand up for ourselves and demand more respect! My big sis will learn that I'm not just some little pet to be protected!
Calm down, Flan. I don't think you've thought this through.
Will you join with me? I'll call you Meiling if you do.
Hmm...that's very tempting. But I love both you and Remi, and I don't want to see you two have to bicker. Don't you usually get along so well with her?
But...
It's OK, Flan. Sometimes we just don't get things our way. Part of becoming a mature person means learning to accept this fact. That's how I've had to endure all these years as the mansion's gatekeeper. You should listen to your older sister, because she wants what's best for you.
Even if it doesn't feel like it?
Yes. Now let's move on to our mutual problems.
Another set of magic seals hindered our exploration of this floor. Looks like we were in for more Sigil Bosses.
Eh, they're all so easy, I'm never worried about these guys!
Maybe from your perspective, perhaps, but I'm the one who usually has to take the brunt of their punishment.
Our first target was the Aster Sigil guardian, Hill Gigas.
That was a boss? It felt more like a walking punching bag!
Well, it was certainly a welcome easy opponent compared to some of the other enemies we've seen thus far. It felt like Suwako kept it paralyzed for the whole entire fight.
I'll say! That was the most disappointing excuse for a monster I've ever seen! And I've seen some pretty lame youkai.
Ah, but we shouldn't let our arrogance get the better of us. The second sigil guardian of the floor posed a greater challenge.
Its Huge Tremor Strike looked kind of terrifying...I'm glad I wasn't up in front when it used it.
That's why we try to keep you back, Flan. We don't want you getting in such dangerous situations.
Oh...but I just know I could have done so much damage to it if you'd only let me! Couldn't you have paralyzed it or slowed it down for me to do that?
Its strength seemed to come from its speed, or lack thereof. If we had slowed it down, it would have struck with far greater magnitude than it originally would. Or at least, that's what Patchy and Suika told me.
Well, I know I can handle it! You guys can keep running scared of these monsters, but if I were in charge, we'd be plowing forward with no fear!
Not everything will always go your way, Flan. Remi knows not to risk the safety of others on reckless ventures.
There you go again, always praising Sis. I'll show you I'm just as good as her!
Flan! Where are you going?
You'll see. I'll challenge Big Sis, and I'll win! I'll hit her so hard, she'll go SPLAT! against the wall!
I don't think anything good will come of this. Chances are, everyone else will stand with Remi.
Let them! I can take them all on!
Flan dear, please reconsider!
Will you stand with them too, Meiling?
I, uh...
Will you?
...Yes. I am still the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Mansion.
Both bosses shouldn't be that hard if you've been able to beat all the Touhou character bosses thus far. Great Stamp might still give you a slight challenge, though.
Hill Gigas is truly a joke of a boss. It has low paralysis resistance, so Suwako or any other character with a good paralysis move can keep it stunned for much of the fight. It only got off one attack against me that whole battle, a single-target DEF-ignoring move that does ~3000 damage and paralyzes its target. It's a strong move, but the Hill Gigas is just too easy to paralyze for it to matter.
The Great Stamp poses a greater challenge, although it's not necessary to defeat it to beat the game. Defeating it will unlock several treasure chests on Floor 16, though, which contain some very valuable equipment. The Great Stamp is slow with good DEF/MND, and it's completely vulnerable to debuffs but somewhat resistant to paralysis. It tends to use just 2 special attacks: the DEF-ignoring move that Hill Gigas had, and a very powerful multi-target physical Nature spell called Huge Tremor Strike. The latter is strong and can OHKO most weaker characters, but nature resistance combined with Reimu's group buffs/cures can go a long way towards nullifying it. While you may be tempted to lower its terrible speed even more with speed debuffs, take note that if you do, it'll upgrade to Huge Earthquake, an even stronger version of Huge Tremor Strike. Personally, I wouldn't advise using speed debuffs, as it's slow enough as is, and Huge Earthquake can randomly wreck even your tank. A high level and fully-buffed Tenshi might be able take it and switch in attackers during its huge delay, though, but that's rather risky. Feel free to debuff the Great Stamp's DEF and MND, though, to make this fight go quicker.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Scarlet Visionary
A short update for a fairly straightforward floor. Obviously, I'm more eager for the next part.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 21
Sakuya, how long has it been since we've started this expedition?
I've lost track, milady. Does each chapter refer to one day, or do they all intertwine somehow?
Oh well, it doesn't matter. Either way, it feels like we're nearing the end of our journey. How many floors do you suppose this place has?
Forgive me, milady, but I believe the bigger question is how many floors must we complete? I'd imagine there are floors that we do not have to venture to.
Nonsense, Sakuya! Everyone knows that the final boss is always on the final floor, so we'll have to go through every other floor first!
If that's the case, then why does it seem we're so close to the person we originally set out to find?
Hmm...I see what you mean. This whole floor looks like it was designed just for a climactic battle of some sort. This couldn't be the last floor though, could it?
I'd doubt it, milady. Why would a dungeon end on the number 16? It's such an arbitrary number.
I guess there's only one way to find out. Look, the stairs to the next floor are right there, near where we started, in that makeshift arena. Gee, what do you suppose is going to happen here?
Is that Yukari and Rinnosuke over there?
Indeed! Looks like we'll be able to end all this in one fell swoop after all!
Hold on a minute, mistress. It's never that easy.
A barrier created by Yukari? How predictable.
Maybe so, but this is certainly a huge bother. How do you suppose we get past this obstacle?
The same way we break through every other puzzle: by exploring the entire floor!
But this place looks huge! We're running low on time here, mistress!
Don't you have the power to control time?
Eh...
See? That was quick enough. You don't suppose that was the only one, was it?
Absolutely not. This place could never be described as "merciful".
Fine, let's move on.
It seems these switches are generally located at each corner of this floor. That would suggest a total of 4 such switches, does it not?
Well, at least this place has some semblance of logic to it. But I wonder...why would Yukari, for all her power, make a barrier that is this easy to deactivate?
You think this is a trap?
I'm not sure...but I think Yukari may want us to pursue her for some reason. I could never tell what that woman's thinking, though. I don't think anything she's planning will surprise me at this point.
Speaking of surprises, I'm surprised that our resident idiot ice fairy has actually proven herself so useful on these past few floors.
True, true. She is rather swift. When faced with so many speedy enemies, Cirno has been helpful with her ability to outrun them and freeze them down for the rest of us to catch up and mop up. Of course, she can't really do much to defeat any of these high defense monsters that are still besetting us.
But isn't that what we have the young mistress for?
Well, she does work quite efficiently.
How have you two been doing since her latest tantrum?
I hate to admit it, but maybe I've been a little too protective of her. She has certainly been carrying her own weight on this expedition.
So you two made up?
Of course. Near-death experiences only serve to forge greater bonds here in Gensokyo.
Well, looks like we're just about wrapping up this frivolous task. Think we still have time to catch up to Yukari and Rinnosuke?
Certainly, milady. The faster we get this over with, the faster we can return for our afternoon tea.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Thinking With Portals
All right! Finally, time for the moment we've all (or maybe just myself) been waiting for: the next climactic storyline battle! More plot revelation, more epic battle music, and more fun dialogue to write!
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Gensokyo - Chapter 22
Today is a dark day for my beloved Gensokyo. This world stands on the precipice of a madman threatening to change all that we hold dear. Perhaps the most infuriating part of it all is that I, the great Youkai of Boundaries, was powerless to stop it.
For decades, Gensokyo has been under the protection of my barrier. Intentionally, my barrier wasn't perfect: things from the outside world, the netherworld, the moon, and even Makai were able to pass through. These connections were an essential part of Gensokyo...but he doesn't understand that. Having obtained the power of Eientei's Sealed Chamber, that fool plans to seal away Gensokyo itself within its perfect walls.
To Rinnosuke, the prison of the Sealed Chamber is an acceptable price for Gensokyo's security. Of course, perhaps I'm not one to criticize. After all, even with all my power, this incident doesn't bode well for me, does it?
I suppose I do appear to be the villain here, but of course there's more to this story. Still, the arrogant man refuses to listen to me. Drunk on his self-righteous quest for the delusional safety of Gensokyo, he presses on to resolve this incident by his own methods.
There is still one more rogue piece on the chessboard, though: Reimu and her ragtag party. Despite their flaws, insecurities, and inability to get along amongst themselves, they have managed to fight their way up to this point. I had created a barrier to keep them at bay, but it seems they've even been able to undo that deterrant. Maybe I underestimated them...or maybe I wanted them to reach me. What could I possibly see in them?
Reimu's group has surpassed my expectations, but that is still not enough for me to put my confidence in them. One thing's for sure: if they cannot surpass me, they have no hope of defeating Rinnosuke and ending this incident.
Of course, I still have a stake in this incident. There is still one more secret I hold, the reason why I must personally end this. Neither Reimu nor Rinnosuke know what it's like to have such power, such pressure...that is why I must be the one to do this. If they want to continue their quest, then they must prove their will to be greater than my own.
I have an alternate version of the boss battle recorded for demonstrating the best strategy for this fight, which I'll post up later. It'll include the entire pre-battle dialogue too, in case anyone is interested.
Sorry for not updating in a while, but I'm pretty swamped this week with lots of stuff going on this weekend, and my need to prepare for a job interview next week. As an apology for the delay, here is the alternate video for my battle with Yukari, illustrating the safest ideal strategy for the fight:
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Sensei, Will We Have Cirno as a Snack?
Squeezing in some time for a new chapter.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 23
So...we're stuck together again?
Looks like it.
You'd think that after such an important point in the story, they'd have someone more serious narrate the aftermath.
You think I'm not serious? I can be deadly serious! Just watch me!
Yeah, right, whatever.
With Yukari Yakumo defeated and safely out of our way, our next target was the wayward shopkeeper, Rinnosuke.
He can't be much further! I can feel it!
Since we just beat a big major boss, that means we should have an easy time with the very next floor, right? I mean, that just makes sense.
I can't believe I'm agreeing with you, but I sincerely hope you're right. We really could use a bit of a breather after all we've been through.
I wonder why Reimu had us do this particular floor?
I hope it's not another math puzzle. Although, since the past three floors have all been fairly straightforward mazes, and easy ones at that, I'm imagine this place won't be too bad.
Hey, Suwako! What's that?
That's...oh no.
No, this can't be!
What?
Anything but this! Please, Reimu! I'll donate whatever you want to your shrine, just don't make me do this!
Do what?
A...teleporter maze.
You call yourself a goddess? Sure, you can threaten my life every half hour, but you're still scared of a teleporter maze? Didn't we go through one back on floor 7?
But that was 10 floors ago! These things are always much harder the deeper you go in a dungeon!
Yet we've been fine beating the past few floors, right?
But teleporter mazes are different! They render our map nearly useless, they require immense memorization and a strong sense of direction, and they're just so disorienting!
Ah, but I have a secret weapon for beating all mazes: just follow the left-hand wall until you eventually find the exit!
You idiot! That wouldn't work for a teleporter maze! Especially not one where multiple warp pads can lead to the same place! We could be trapped here for who knows how long!
So we have to spend a few extra hours wandering around, it's OK. It's not like getting lost in a maze could get us kil-WHAAA!
But that might do the trick.
What was that!?!
Looks like another enemy modeled after Alice's old dolls. Strange, how we keep running into these things.
Oh man, now it's a normal enemy? It's too fast and tough for me, and I can't even freeze it properly!
Yet that's not the one I'm worried about. These things are part of a matching set, after all.
Solid defenses and resistances to all elements, casts a very powerful shield over all our enemies, and lets them all act instantaneously. Yup, we're dead.
At least these are slow enough for me to freeze.
Then why didn't you?
Um...run away!
Ugh...at least we got away.
Yes, look at the Strongest of Gensokyo bravely fleeing from an immodest doll and a walking tin can. Surely we can all sleep soundly at night with you watching our backs!
Hey, even the Strongest gets in difficult situations at times! But my ice will always prevail!
Really? It hasn't been looking that way to me. In fact, I can think of plenty of things that you can't freeze.
Oh? Like what?
Like that spirit orb thingy floating behind you, about to eradicate you and everyone standing around you right now.
Ooh, glad that wasn't me. Of course, now I have to explain to Reimu why we must peel you guys off the floor.
Huh...*wheeze*...ugh...
What's that? You still want to keep going?
At least...these can...put up more of a fight...than your precious frogs!
Oh, you did not just say that! One dead fairy, coming right up!
Ice Sign "Midsummer Snowman"! Ice ball, roll away!
Hey! Come back here! I'm still not done rectifying the problem of your being alive!
Can't stop me now!
You don't even know where you're going! What makes you think you can just-
Well, that figures.
All right, we're done with this floor!
Oh no, you're still not off the hook yet! Fairy Hunting "Idiot Fairy Eaten By Snake"!
Ahh!!!
OK, now we're done. Just as soon as I finish the final touches on this map.
Nevermind. This thing is still useless.
~ Suwako Moriya
~ Cirno
A few notes on That One Level:
Spoiler
Floor 17 may well be my pick for the main game's Scrappy Level. Not only is it a teleporter maze that's much more complex than Floor 7's, but the enemies here are pretty ridiculous. The 3 Angelic Conceptions will drive you nuts. Angelic Conception - Battle is extremely fast, has very high HP, and can 1-shot weaker characters with strong physical attacks. Angelic Conception - Magic is still reasonably fast, resists all elements, and spams strong multi-target elemental spells. Angelic Conception - Holy is slow and vulnerable to status effects, but if you ever let it have even a single turn with other enemies on the field, Prayer of Supremacy will make you pay dearly. It grants a 100% buff to all enemies' DEF and MND, plus instantly fills their active guage. If you get a group of 3 Golden Knights and an Angelic Conception - Holy, and you fail to defeat 1-2 of the knights before the Angel takes its turn, expect a game over from eating 3-5 Iai Slashes in a row.
Aside from the Angelic Conceptions, the Golden Knights themselves have very high HP and defenses, making it tough to defeat them before they get a turn, especially if they come in groups. The other new enemy to be aware of is Spirit Crystallization. They have unbelievably high MND, so you're almost obligated to just use physical attacks on them. Unfortunately, they come in groups of 3, and most physical spells are single-target and still not strong enough to OHKO them. They're also immune to status effects on top of that. Finally, they posses incredibly powerful spells. Expect at least one casualty every time they attack, or even a full group wipe if you get hit by Dual Colorful Light without some high MND characters active.
Many players who have trouble with the significantly more difficult enemies on this floor opt to use Chen or Aya with lots of TP+ gear, and just run away from all battles while making a beeline for the exit. This is not a bad idea if you're having too much trouble with the Angelic Conceptions and Spirit Crystallizations, as Floor 18's enemies aren't quite as dangerous as these. Exploring the entirety of Floor 17 isn't necessary either, as there are no treasure chests or events to be found. However, since you're missing out on a whole floor's worth of experience points, don't be surprised of Floor 18's boss hands you a crushing defeat and forces you to level grind. Being a perfectionist, I ended up exploring the entire floor and fought every battle (including at least one or two game overs), so I didn't feel any need to level grind later.
Yet another annoying floor. The final stretch of the game sure can be taxing.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 24
Ugh...I was wondering which poor sap was going to get stuck narrating with you.
Oh now, don't be like that! After all we've been through, don't you think we've grown so much closer than the others?
What do you mean by that?
Remember that time years ago, when I intruded upon your home in Makai, committed mass genocide, and stole the ultimate power? Those were the days...
I have no idea what you're talking about. Is this another one of your lies?
Of course not~
Whatever. Let's just get this over with so we don't have to spend any more time together than we have to.
What an interesting name for a floor.
Yes, it's absolutely ripe for obvious references. Why am I not surprised?
The last floor was an utter nightmare to navigate. What are the chances that this one would be just as bad?
Oh, I'm positive that this floor shall be much easier to solve.
Really?
Of course not, dear.
Right, I have to remember to always assume the opposite of what you say...
So what's the implement of our torment this time? Winding mazes? Switch puzzles? Even more teleporters?
Looks like one-way corridors.
A lot of one-way corridors.
Oh, fantastic! So this time not only do I get to walk down narrow passages with a psychopathic youkai casually following behind me, but I get to accidentally backtrack a few dozen times as well? What could be better?
Why, I'm so glad you asked! Personally, my favorite part of visiting new places is discovering new creatures to play with.
Really? If I were a monster, I think I'd rather play with Flandre than with you. That would give me a slightly lower chance of dismemberment.
You know, I could use a pet guard dog or something. I haven't seen my old gatekeeper in ages...
Huh? You used to have one?
What do you think of this fellow? Very high defenses, and can hit harder than a truck, assuming Gensokyo residents know what a truck is.
Or what about these little guys? Not only do they have immense stamina, but they can level entire hills with their playful romps.
How can you be so cheerful describing how our enemies plan on destroying us?
Oh, but I haven't even gotten to my favorite ones yet! Big beefy guard dogs may be passable, but the best pets of all are those that make any intruder's skin crawl with horror. For example, do you know "The Black Ram of The Forest With A Thousand Ewe"?
Huh, and here I thought "Wonderful Shrine Maiden of Paradise" was a mouthful.
It's the ancient abomination of Shub-Niggurath, a grotesque embodiment of evil. An old acquaintance of mine, if I recall correctly.
Do you honestly expect me to believe that?
Do you?
Well...
The unholy spawn of Shub-Niggurath would make such amazing pets! Just imagine! A hideous mass of writhing tentacles protruding from a giant sac of eyeballs, reaching out and consuming your body and soul, sucking you into its dark and terrible abyss...
OK, can we PLEASE change the subject? You're making me even more uncomfortable than I ever thought you could.
And you call yourself a youkai mage? What kind of coward are you?
Look, there's a suspicious-looking teleporter. With any luck, it'll lead us to the exit. So can we just shut up and end this already?
Yeah...I think deep down, even I knew it was too good to be true.
Looks like we still have the pleasure of enjoying each other's company for a little while longer.
Someone please kill me now.
Maybe as we stroll through this familiar-looking corridor for the 17th time, we ought to consider what our inevitable and fast-approaching confrontation with the arrogant shopkeeper would mean?
As bizarre as that sounded, I think that's the closest you've gotten today to a normal conversation.
We now know that he plans to isolate Gensokyo even further with the Sealed Chamber spell after this is all over, but how is he planning to resolve this incident in the first place? Defeating Yukari didn't change a thing, so she can't be the one sustaining this place, no?
He may know something we don't about this incident, perhaps something about the humans from the outside world. Although, given his power trip, I don't think it'd be wise to let him deal with the humans alone.
Why not? I don't see why we can't let him resolve the incident for us.
I'm just afraid he'd be less merciful to the culprit than we would. Not all of us are bloodthirsty monsters like you, you know. At any rate, we still need to stop him from casting the Sealed Chamber spell.
We do?
Of course! Now quit freaking me out and help me decide where to go!
Actually, I was just considering how convenient it would be for Rinnosuke to complete the spell.
Huh? You're serious?
Imagine a Gensokyo free from conflict with the Lunar capital, with no more interruptions from Makai, and no further intruding mansions and shrines from the outside world. No more upstart newcomers to disturb my garden! Would that not be desirable?
You're...lying, right?
Hmm, maybe I should "accidentally" mis-aim Master Spark when we confront him...
Maybe you should just stay back at the mansion...
Oh, you actually believed me there?
Not saying I did, but...
How amusing! Well, I'll let you decide what was truth and what wasn't.
Reimu! Here, take the completed map! Now just let me go already! I can't stand this anymore!
Aww...and here I thought we were becoming such good friends.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Who Needs Fanservice When You've Got MANservice?
All right now, this is it! The penultimate storyline boss of the game!
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 25
Once, I was but a humble shopkeeper. Now, Gensokyo has chosen me to be its champion in its darkest moment. I've come so far already, endured so many trials. But more are yet to come.
Reimu's party has surpassed all my expectations. Initially, I had only needed them to distract Eientei while I obtained the Sealed Chamber spellcard. However, they've managed to press on much further, defeating even Yukari Yakumo. Along the way, they've learned much about my plans. If I hadn't found that one girl when I did, they'd be no farther from solving this incident that I...
But all that doesn't matter now. I will be the one to resolve this. Reimu and her friends are not reliable enough to complete this task. Only I have the vision to ensure Gensokyo's prolonged protection.
These girls think they can defeat me as I am right now, not knowing just how much stronger I've become. By the blessing of Gensokyo, I have enacted a seemingly impossible scientific theory, and tapped into the power of all my possible selves. With such a gift, how could they possibly hope to win?
I must succeed. It is the will of Gensokyo. I shall be vindicated by my beloved land!
Yukari: Now, answer the question. Did you end up finding "those girls"?
Ran: Those girls?
Remi: Who do you mean?
Yukari, you told me to "understand my own abilities." Now I understand what you meant...in the end, I and my abilities have their limits.
The limits of a person...is when the person himself decides that he "can't go on". I wonder, is your limit really that?
...I didn't answer the question, huh...whether I found "those girls". Come on out. It'll be okay.
Renko: Mr. Rinnosuke...
Reimu: W, wha...you're...Who's this?
Marisa: Oh boy. That gag at a time like this? Really though, I haven't seen her before too. Who are you?[/color]
Alice: Huh. A person the well-traveled Reimu and Marisa don't know? That can be both good and bad.
Renko!
Ehh!? How did you know my name?
Of course Reimu and Marisa wouldn't know who she is. This girl is Renko Usami. She's from the outside world.
The outside world!? Then, this girl is...
The human that Yukari brought from the outside?
Not quite. Though the outside part is correct.
Additionally, it seems like these girls weren't brought over by Yukari.
Eirin: What?
And "these girls"? There's more than one human that came from outside?
Yes, there's one more. She's called Maribel Han. I just call her Mari though. Mari has a weird power that lets her see borders. But recently, that power grew stronger and stronger...She could manipulate borders as well as see them.
Youmu: I see, and she used that power to come to Gensokyo.
Yep yep. But she gets lost easily. So since I can find out where I am easily, I went with her. Also, Mari's power grew so suddenly, and it started to feel really dangerous...She didn't seem to be able to control it at times. So, I decided I had to go too just in case, but...
If you're talking about it in that kind of way...
Could it be that this incident was created by the power of a single human from the outside world?
I don't know...I can't say for sure, but it's very much possible. Renko, please go on.
Yeah...Then, Mari used her power to go back and forth between the two worlds often. But as we traveled, both the barrier and Mari's condition started to worsen. We decided that it was too dangerous, and to stop using her power for a while, but as we tried to go back, Mari...It seemed like she lost control of her power. It felt like the space around Mari was being torn apart. That tear in space suddenly grew bigger in an instant, and it swallowed me up...
And then I found her while exploring, took care of her, and heard what she just told you all.
That an outside human could have powers better than that of Gensokyo's residents...
Well, that is rather surprising, but there's one more important detail. Yukari, why did you lie? You said you were the culprit, but you were doing damage control all the while. Why lie to that extent? If you didn't say that you were the culprit, it wouldn't have gotten this complicated. Though it did cover for me...
That's...
Well, since we know it now, there's no need to make a fuss over it, hey?[/color]
Marisa...
Marisa, this isn't the time to say things like that.
We beat up all of Eientei! We beat Yukari and Kourin too! Then after we beat them up, it turned out that all of them wanted to bring Gensokyo back to how it was before! And now we know the cause, everyone can help resolve it, then we have a happy ending. Isn't that all that matters?[/color]
...
...
Marisa, you're really...Honestly, that may be the best way to think. It's so something Marisa would say, though...hahaha.
Anyway, um...Renko, was it? Where did that Mari girl you mentioned go off to?
She should be at the core of the strange space, just ahead.
Huh, looks like the goal is just in front of us.
Let us make haste. There's not much time left. If we don't hurry, that girl's power may cause tears in Gensokyo and bring chaos...
...Although really, I'd like to know more about what your explanation didn't cover...Well, as Marisa said, it may well be best to resolve this incident first, then ask the questions later. Let's hurry. The path may be short, but our time we have left is too.
This is getting kinda weird, what with outsiders and all. Then again anything giving Rinnosuke significance is weird, i mean he's a man. In Touhou!
I actually like this game because it gives screentime to Touhou characters that people usually forget about, like Rinnosuke and Renko. Just because they haven't appeared in the games doesn't mean they don't need some attention. Plus they're pretty good playable characters.
It's kind of funny how character tiers in this game don't follow Touhou's actual power chart. I mean, Mystia is arguably top tier? That's just awesome. (Yes, I am a Mystia fan.)
This is getting kinda weird, what with outsiders and all. Then again anything giving Rinnosuke significance is weird, i mean he's a man. In Touhou!
You do realize that some males had more significance in a few games. Like Unzan from UFO, the closest thing to a man as a Touhou boss, and Genji from the PC-98 games.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - All the News That's Fit to Print
Here's another chapter, covering the biggest floor yet in the game.
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 26
GENSOKYO EXPEDITION TEAM REACHES 19TH FLOOR OF STRANGE SPACE
COVER STORY - Following the defeat of rogue shopkeeper Rinnosuke Morichika, the Gensokyo Expedition Team lead by Hakurei shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei advanced to the 19th floor of the strange space that had appeared in Gensokyo some time ago.
The exceptionally long name of the floor bears witness to the immense size of the area. Without a doubt, this was the largest floor to have appeared yet in the strange space, an enormous maze that seemed to sprawl on endlessly. Despite their successes on the previous floors, morale for the group was at an all-time low.
The team found the stairs to Floor 20 close by, but the pathway was blocked by a series of 4 magic sigils. Investigations now pending for the resolution of these sigils.
LOCAL MOBS INVENT NEW WAYS TO WRECK HAVOC
TECHNOLOGY - Two young upstarts native to the 19th Floor have displayed impressive creativity in the field of combat. These pioneering freespirits have garnered the attention of the Gensokyo Exploration Team.
The first is the invention the Polygoma - Custom, a machine capable of high speed and acceleration. Unlike earlier models first seen on the lower floors, this new model is able to harness its own immense speed to create powerful gusts of wind, giving it enough reach to cause damage over a much broader range.
The second is the successful implementation of cloning technology combined with stealth. Harnessing the untapped power of a 2-dimensional viewpoint screen, such a strategy allows for multiple identical beings to share the exact same space, making two creatures appear as one. Enemies would thus be tempted to use single-target attacks, not realizing that they are ignoring the second one standing exactly behind it, ready to counterattack. The flaw in the technology lies in brief and minor clues to the true dual nature of the creatures when hit with multi-target attacks.
The Kappa Academy of Science requests capture of both of these new technologies for further research.
NEW DRUG FOUND TO INCREASE MAGIC SUBSTANTIALLY
MEDICINE - While pursuing the first of the sigil guardians, the Gensokyo Expedition Team bore witness to a breakthrough in magical enhancement pharmaceuticals.
The Palm Sigil Guardian, Cosmic, demonstrated the power and efficiency of a new brand of drug, henceforth patented as "Strengten Jutsu". When questioned about the name, the creator insisted that the name brand was designed to cash in on the ninja fad popular with the young.
This potent concoction is capable of doubling an individual's raw magic power, with clinical test results displaying even greater amounts of effectiveness. The Gensokyo Expedition Team was gracious enough to volunteer for field test experiments during phase 2 testing.
Once the drug is approved by the GFDA, it is expected to be ready for commercial consumption in six to eight months. The primary objections to its approval come from distinguished pharmacist and physician Dr. Eirin Yagokoro, who expressed concerns over its long-term side effects.
GENSOKYO TRIUMPHANT OVER SIGIL GUARDIAN IN MARTIAL ARTS COMPETITION
SPORTS - The Acacia Sigil Guardian challenged the Gensokyo Exploration Team to a no-holds-barred martial arts match earlier today.
The challenger, a muscular four-armed fiend who called himself the Genocider, proved to be a formidable foe, demonstrating immense strength, stamina, and expertise in armed combat.
Despite the challenger's boasts, he was unable to topple a lone gateguard who managed to withstand all manner of punishment. Spectators marveled at the stoic tenacity of the individual.
Eventually, the challenger tired out and succumbed to the combined might of Gensokyo's representatives.
TALENTED YOUNG ARTIST'S WORK ON DISPLAY
ARTS - Visitors to Floor 19 were treated to a spectacle today when the Calla Sigil Guardian's impressive collection of artwork went up on display.
Rainbow Phoenix, the nom de plume adopted by this rising star in the art world, is known for her vivid use of color in her paintings, which evoke a strong sense of majesty and flavor. She is also widely praised for her rapid and seemingly tireless work pace, churning out masterpieces at an amazing speed.
Witness the fiery reds used in this flamescape.
Or the deep blues of this painting, meant to invoke the feeling of the frosty chill one feels when first stepping out into a blizzard.
The bright yellows in this painting have made it popular among Tengu art critics.
The lush greens of this landscape portrait are well-admired among conservationalists.
This mix of fuchsia and magenta give this painting a mystical, otherworldly feel.
Finally, the translucent turquise used here brings out the spiritual nature within all of us, reminding us of our common root here in Gensokyo.
These paintings will be on display all around Gensokyo in the upcoming annual art tour exhibition, before being auctioned off at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. All proceeds will go towards the repair, reconstruction, and maintenance of mansions around Gensokyo.
MAGIC STOCK PRICES SOAR AS SPECULATORS HOARD
BUSINESS - Following the earlier announcement on the revolutionary drug "Strengthen Jutsu", cutthroat speculators have begun buying up shares in magic stock all across Gensokyo. One such tycoon was the Laurel Sigil Guardian, the Great Intellect.
Some report that these speculators have resorted to threats and coercion to extort precious magic stocks from humble everyday investors, buying out entire groups at once. The rampant demand coupled with artificial scarcity has resulted in soaring prices for the meager remaining market shares.
Market analysts agree that current prices will not be able to sustain themselves. Already, many are fearful of the great crash that is predicted to follow this enormous boom.
As always, experts recommend guarding against sector collapse with a diversified portfolio containing no more than 20% of its funds in one sector.
~ Aya Shameimaru
Some gameplay notes:
Spoiler
The 19th Floor is big. Very big. Here's the map:
Scattered within this huge maze are the 4 Sigil Guardians. They aren't nearly as hard as Rinnosuke, Yukari, or Flandre, but you'll still want to exercise caution. Each specializes in a particular stat, usually with some strategy revolving around it.
Cosmic is arguably the strongest of them all, so I have no idea why I fought it first. Strengthen Jutsu is no joke; I think I hate it almost as much as I hate Djinn Storm. It doubles its user's magic stat, which technically will increase its damage by maybe 3-fold or more, after factoring in your MND. Bring characters with very high MND, or hope to luck out with Tenshi's Sword of Rapture and its 40% dispel effect. Also watch for mass paralysis and stat debuffs. Cosmic uses Mystic spells almost exclusively, except for one Spirit spell, so high Mystic resistance will help guard against its Strengthen Jutsu-enhanced spells.
Genocider has very high HP and attack, along with lots of defense-piercing and defense-ignoring attacks. High HP for your characters in the 1st and 2nd slots are a must here. It has no multi-target attacks, relying only on single-target and row-based non-elemental physical attacks. This means it's fairly safe to leave weaker characters in the 4th position.
Rainbow Phoenix is exceptionally fast, casting 2-3 spells for every turn your faster characters get. It will cycle through and cast every mid-tier elemental nuke in the order I have listed above. Since its attacks are very predictable, you can switch out characters when you know their weakness is coming up. High MND once again comes in handy, as the enemy's spells aren't that strong, but they hit very often.
Great Intellect is slow, but has incredible MND, forcing you to rely mostly on physical attacks. It tends to alternate between casting Destroy Magic and casting an extremely powerful multi-target nuke. The hard part is mounting enough of an offense after being hit by Destroy Magic while trying to survive its nukes. Destroy Magic is not Djinn Storm; it doesn't affect characters in reserve, so switch in a heavy physical attacker like Suwako or Yuugi, hit it hard, then switch out before the nuke or Destory Magic goes off.
Next floor is the last floor! Can't believe I'm almost done...
But it makes perfect sense! Especially since that's also the title of this game. And there's the unique background music that we've never heard before, and the bizarre purple overlay on the screen, and...
Wait...what? What do you mean by "game"?
You haven't figured it out yet? Haven't you been the one reciting tropes this whole time?
Just tell me what you know.
Well, I've had an inkling since we entered this dungeon, but it really started to hit me after I drank from the sake spring on Floor 5. I realized that this whole experience is part of a game of some sort.
And where did you get such an outrageous notion?
Because everything here runs off of numbers. For example, look at how you're equipped right now. Since you have naturally low SP recovery and status resistance, we gave you a ribbon and a bunch of recovery gear to cover your weaknesses. You also have relatively low HP, but you've got exceptional magic and mind stats.
Where are you getting all this from?
I can see it. The numbers, I mean. And I also know that this game is called "Labyrinth of Touhou", so the title of the 20th Floor was a dead giveaway.
Hmm...seems strange to believe, but I guess that would explain why everything in here matched with those tropes I've been reading about. And all along I thought it was just Truth In Television. Then again, I guess weirder things have happened.
I knew you'd believe me! But I don't know if the others would...
Well then, if this really is the Final Dungeon, what do we do now? Just go straight for the Final Boss?
Heaven's no, we'd get creamed! At times like these, the best thing to do to ensure our safety would be to do some level grinding.
Yup! The enemies on this floor give tons of experience points, several times as much as those of the past floors. But...
But?
They're all really strong. I mean, almost minor boss-level strong! You're smart, Patchy. You can help me figure these guys out, right?
That would be in my area of expertise, I suppose.
All right! With my ability to see stats and your bountiful knowledge of strategy, we'll win for sure! Let's start with this one.
Hellfire Demonsky, a powerful fiend who can strike with half a dozen consecutive Heaven's Lightnings each turn. With 376,000 HP, it can take quite a beating before it dies.
Also happens to be an Enemy Summoner who can summon other demons to aid it. And its Solar Light spell can cause severely heavy damage to all. It resists all elements except Cold and Spirit, which it's weak to. Too bad Cirno and Reimu don't offer much in the way of damage, even if they do specialize in those elements.
Ooh, looks scary. Let's see if we can find something easier to fight. How about this?
The Blue Comet SPT Ancient Soldier. It doubles or even triples its speed with each attack, eventually becoming so quick that it wipes out the entire party before our next turn. The challenge is to deplete its 332,000 HP before that happens.
It looks daunting, but its design makes it dreadfully weak to Fire. My Royal Flare would take out more than my fair share of its health. I'd say it's managable if we're prepared.
Good call! OK, what about this this one?
The Executioner. It has relatively low HP and defenses, but it possesses exceptional speed, and its attacks can be quite painful.
I wouldn't necessarily say that. Its heavy reliance on row attacks means we have a great shot of surviving with proper party setup, placing only tougher fighters in the front. Its weakness to Wind is easy to exploit, so as long as we can survive a single attack, defeating it shouldn't be too difficult.
Cool! This might be the easiest enemy on this floor, then. Although, I guess that isn't much. Much easier than this next one, at least.
The Diamond Knight is no joke! Not only does it possess extremely high defenses and resistance to all elements, but its Scourge attack is without a doubt the most powerful attack we've seen yet.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill, I suppose. It pains me to say it, but perhaps we have no choice but to sacrifice someone each time we choose to fight a Diamond Knight. Its low speed allows us to hopefully defeat it before it can one-shot a second person.
There's still more to go. This next one looks familiar.
Boasting incredible speed, the Norns follow the same attack pattern we've seen ever since Alice's dolls, alternating between physical, magical, and support spells. Despite being only one target, it attacks as often as three. The extra minions it comes with don't help, either.
Its attacks are fast, but not nearly as strong as what some of the other enemies on this floor are capable of. The quickest way to win is to exploit its weakness to Wind. Isn't that what your Throwing Atlas spellcard is for?
Yes, yes, of course. But I doubt it'd work against this last guy!
As the embodiment of lightning itself, Raijin's Expenditure is one of the toughest baddies here! Boasting an enormous 420,000 HP, the ability to chain multiple Heaven's Lightnings, and adding paralysis and stat debuffs to its already damaging attacks, this would definitely be a great challenge.
Exploiting its weakness to Nature would be vital to finishing it off quickly. Looks like Suwako will be needed once again.
Well, let's stop here for now. With all that strategy, I think we'll be able to get a lot stronger here! You know what'll come next after all the level grinding, right?
Oh, I can imagine.
Time for the Final Boss, is it?
All right, this is it! Come on, Patchy! The end is in sight, so let's do it!
~ Suika Ibuki
~ Patchouli Knowledge
A few short notes:
Spoiler
I chose to spend this chapter talking about the enemies on this floor, because you'll probably be spending lots of time here. Not only are you likely to be doing lots of level grinding here (as enemies give as much as 10x EXP compared to the 19th floor mobs), but you'll want to farm their rare item drops as well. Every new enemy here has a very rare but powerful item drop, many of which are unique and can only be gotten here. The unique ones are Flower Blade Kikuryusei (dropped by Executioner), Scourge (Diamond Knight), Armads (Raijin's Expenditure), and Divine Spirit Barrier (Hellfire Demonsky). Not only are they all very powerful pieces of equipment, but they're required for accessing later parts of the post-game content.
There was one more enemy that I didn't talk about, mostly because I found it kind of boring. The Exa Grain has 400,000 HP, but is really, really slow and weak to fire. If you let it get a chance to attack, it might wipe your entire party with Huge Earthquake. It has fairly high resistance to paralysis and complete immunity to debuffs, so you'll just have to race it with your most powerful attacks, just like with any other enemy on this floor. Treat all 20th Floor enemies like mini-boss fights.
I knew, i shouldn't have stopped drinking. I would have achieved enlightenment if i hadn't, understanding the workings of the universe. But stupid me had to decide that getting depressed and hanging out with boring people wasn't worth it.
Also these enemies look quite nasty to say the least.
Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - The Edge of Dreams and Reality
Spoiler
Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Final Chapter
In what seems like ages ago, I began this journey with a few companions. To be honest, I wasn't the most excited person for the job, but it was my duty as the Hakurei shrine maiden to resolve such matters. Regardless, we hiked through tranquil forests, gaping caverns, halls of metal, and even the bizarre reaches of space. And at last, we've come to the very center of this strange place.
Along the way, we've defeated both Yukari and Rinnosuke. In the end, though, both were trying to resolve this incident on their own. At first, I was kind of put off by them, but then I realized that they had something that fascinated me. Both were willing to give their all to solve this incident, not because someone else was forcing them to, but because they wanted to. Their love for Gensokyo motivated them to press on, even to the point of fighting us and each other. Looking back, I felt kind of guilty about my own motivations. Didn't I love Gensokyo just as much as they did? If so, then it was high time I started taking this journey more seriously.
I remember when I first started this journey, I felt such frustration and anger at whoever caused this incident. Whether it was Yukari or someone else, it irritated me to know that my peaceful lifestyle was being rudely interrupted by the actions of another. Along the way, I kept myself going by thinking about just what I was going to do to punish such an evildoer. But now, as I look upon the perpetrator of this incident for the first time, none of those feelings are present anymore. All I see is a scared girl, being torn apart by her own wild power. I felt no anger, no bitterness, just pity and sympathy.
Maribel's powers had grown immensely since this place was first formed. She could no longer hear us or see us, but her power lashed out at us all the same. She was a prisoner of her own magic spiraling out of control. I could scarcely believe that someone like this could exist in the outside world. The power of barrier manipulation...is this how Yukari started out as well? Perhaps the reason why she seems so keenly interested in this incident is because she saw herself in Maribel?
Maribel's unstable powers were formidable, but there was no backing down at this point. Yukari stood ready to send the two girls back to their world and to seal up this space, but first we needed to subdue Maribel. Our team may have felt some trepidation at this daunting task, but I knew in my heart that we would succeed. We've already been through so much, even if we haven't always gotten along. Despite harsh infighting, petty jealousies, and our own insecurities, we've still stuck with each other this whole time. I'm not the kind of person who'd ever say such a thing out loud, but deep down, I really did trust my allies- no, my friends.
There's really not much left to say. Once we're done, I'll be looking forward to a party at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but that's not the only reward here. I have to admit, saving Gensokyo is a pretty decent reward all by itself.
You made me so worried, yet all you could say is "mmmm"!? You idiot, you big idiot...!
Mmm, Renko, why are you shouting right in my ear when I just woke up...? Oh yeah...I think I was having a really bad dream...My power became really strong, and we used it to go and see lots of things...But because of me, we got swallowed up by a tear in a border...then, uh...what else was there...
Yukari: It's better if you don't remember. You shouldn't be seeing such things just yet.
Huh? Who are you, miss? Actually, where am I? Am I still dreaming maybe?
Eh? You actually only noticed that now?
I am...Hm, you could call me the arbiter of your dreams, I suppose?
...What the heck?
...Heheh, I was thinking that too. Anyway, Mari. Although you just woke up, don't you feel quite fatigued?
Huh, I do. That's weird. But I slept so long...
You should sleep a bit more. Don't get lost here again. And...your power. It's a very dangerous power. Don't treat it lightly. Make sure you realize this when you wake up. Now then, good night.
...Hey, Miss Arbiter of Dreams?
Yes?
One more thing...May I ask for your name?
...Yukari. Yukari Yakumo.
I see...What a strange name...
...Okay then, Ms. Yukari...Good night...
Mm, good night...And pleasant dreams.
...zzz...zzz...
...hey, Ms. Yukari...That conversation, you mean...
...
Uwah, what the heck? Ms. Yukari, what's this thing?
It's a gap to the outside world. Use it to go back.
...It's best if you hurry. The moment Mari's power calms down, this space will vanish. And this gap too, will...
Uwawawa, that'll be bad! We need to go quick! Okay...there! Geez, Mari, I didn't think you'd be this heavy...! Okay then, I'll be going.
Mm, take care of yourself. And Mari too.
Thank you to you all too! See you again!
Reimu: See us again? You mean you're coming back?
Marisa: I don't wanna see you again. Take all your troubles and go back to the outside already.
Ahaha, you and your jokes.
Er, I was quite serious...
Ehehe...Well then, everyone. Thank you for everything! I don't think we'll ever meet again, but...I hope you all stay happy! And take care of yourselves!
They're gone...
Now would be a fine time to reminisce, but it seems we don't have the time for that.
Patchouli: That's right. This space is slowly disappearing. Since the core is gone.
Remilia: Huh. Let's hurry back, then. I don't wanna get caught in the middle of this space.
Yeah. Now, we need to have a party back at the SDM.
Also, go clean up the Hakurei Shrine already.
Uweeh, don't say that...
Hey, hey! What are you all saying!
Oh, what's up, Remilia? Will you get lonely if I go back to the shrine?
of course not! I mean what you said before! You are all so impudent, just throwing parties at my place!
Hahaha...Being like that right after...They're all really...hahaha. Yet there's something radiant about it...Don't you think, Miss Arbiter of Dreams?
...
Hahaha, it was just a joke. Don't look at me like that.
...I've been thinking a lot. About why you hid the truth and put the blame on yourself, and wanted to solve it alone. That's really why, huh? You really were a good and obedient girl in the past.
...I have no idea what you're talking about.
Well, as you are now, anything you say is a red herring.
Hey, you two! Stop having your grown-up conversation and be sure to come to the party!
Haha, Remilia's already agreed to it as well!
Ran: She was coerced into it, more like...
Ahh, whatever! I'll drink like there's no tomorrow!
Sakuya: Ahh, this is bad, milady's starting to break...
...Mmph. Hahahaha...
Heheheheheh...Ahh, you all...Well, we've been invited. Let's participate this time.
Hmph, "this time"? You have no right to refuse, so hurry up and come already!
Yeah, yeah, you don't need to drag me.
All right, Reimu! It's time for us to go back!
Yeah. Back to our Gensokyo!
THE END
And so concludes this Let's Play...until I'm crazy and bored enough to tackle the mountain of post-game content that just opened up. Until then, this thread can be used for general discussion or whatever!
Nicely done! Don't know how you found the patience, honestly. I gave up by floor 9.
Also, I just went and finished one of the games in the series on Normal with no continues for the first time ever (PCB, in case you're wondering). Naturally, the extra stage dealt with any inappropriate smugness very quickly. I'm guessing the Plus Disk is similarly unforgiving here
-So, there is the Let's play topic:) I'm the one who found the game a several days ago and had a problem in the previous thread.-
I downloaded everything, rewrite the files with the Plus Disc, patch the game, install the english patch but it says the translation isn't finished. When I try again, it says "missing files" and I saw that the .exe file of the game is really disappeared. WTF O_O?
Is someone experienced the same? *start to download again...*
I have a problem with the game. I downloaded all that you said, followed the instructions as given, and started up the game successfully. I clicked New Game... nothing happened. What do I do? (nothing happened meaning it went from New Game, faded out, then went back to black, just as it started out.)
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Re: Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - I'm Gettin' Hungry, Hombre!
