Touhou: Azure Reflections - PC Review

Released as an enhanced version of a game originally published in 2012, Touhou Azure Reflections is now available on PC for all you fellow bullet hell aficionados out there. With some interesting gimmicks that will keep more veteran players entertained, or striving for score, and a story mode that can be easy enough for newcomers, Azure Reflections certainly paints a solid picture for the genre.

I believe I’ve used this phrase before, but the Touhou series, and generally other bullet hell styles as well, can usually be summed up as “the most colourful death you’ve ever experienced”, and Azure Reflections is no stranger to that. A sort of “retelling” of the events of “Embodyment of the Scarlet Devil”, local lazy and forever in poverty shrine maiden Reimu finds herself once again trapped in the mist of the Scarlet devil mansion. Is Remilia up to the same old tricks? Has the maid decided to host a revolt? Is Flandre going to beat you into next century? The first two maybe, the last definitely.

While the traditional Touhou titles are top down auto-scrolling shooters, Azure Reflections is a horizontal shooter, allowing you, and forcing you, to shoot both forwards and backwards in order to dispatch those annoying fairies (yes, Cirno too). While the standard fare is there, choosing a character (if unlocked) and shot type to help you get through the mansion to resolve the incident, there is a fancy little barrier system, where you can pull up a barrier to absorb bullets and then make a sort of bum rush at the enemy in order to return that absorbed damage. This is in addition to the spell cards that give you the bullet clearing/high damaging blast and your standard shot.

There are a few other changes to the standard formula, where you can actually take damage and recover your “hit point” as long as you don’t get hit within a time window after taking the first hit. This is a great system for newer players who need a little help learning the ropes (or those that aren’t as good at the games). Another interesting change for the newer or less proficient (like me) audience is that you can clear the storyline on easy. Yep, that’s right, you don’t get cut off for being a weenie this time, as long as you meet the other requirements (which they handily tell you if you fail to meet them). My biggest issue is trying to horde spell cards for no real reason. Probably because I want to earn the spell card bonuses. You can now also customize your appearance with accessories that you can purchase, which also happen to have effects attached to them, such as increasing the graze score bonuses. Are you all about the fashion, or all about the efficiency? Either way, there’s something there for you.

As can generally be found in the Touhou titles, the music is well done, with each character and stage having their own remix of the songs from the original Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil. The graphics are crisp and sharp in the standard anime style for the series, but come in multiple expressive variations. The neat little “cutscenes” during battles where the characters are duking it out are pretty cool too, and you can even unlock a model viewer and jukebox for music listening and character viewing.

While the title definitely feels easier compared to some, or most, of the other Touhou titles, that’s what the harder difficulties and self imposed challenges are for! Seriously though, any game that has a difficulty called “Lunatic” with the description “for crazy people” you know is gonna be like ramming your face at a brick wall. Although Azure Reflections is relatively easier, except the stupid bats, there was a lot I really enjoyed about it.

One of the aspects of the Touhou series as a whole that is also applied to Azure Reflections is how the characters interact with each other. Usually there’s a lot of rather un-serious banter, a couple of puns or gags, and occasionally a serious line or two. While most of this can get lost in translation, whether official or fan, I’m glad to say that the banter in Azure Reflections was well translated and doesn’t fall off the mark of what I’ve come to love and expect from the series.

As a whole, Touhou: Azure Reflections is a bit of a niche title. Most people I know aren’t super big fans of the bullet hell/danmaku style games, and those that will play them don’t necessarily recognize the Touhou franchise. That being said, what it offers is not only true to its roots, but also offers its own twist to keep things fresh and interesting. If you’ve got a hankering for colourful bullets, a masochistic tendency to watch yourself get shot down, a desire for an anime-esque scrolling shooter challenge, or a fancy soundtrack, you can’t go very wrong with Azure Reflections.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Unties Games
Publisher(s):
Souvenir Circ.
Genre(s):
Side-scrolling
Bullethell
Shoot 'Em Up
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Richard

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Azure Reflections - PS4 Review

The Touhou series of games can probably be summed up as the most colorful death you will ever experience in a game. Taking a bit of a change from the standard top-down danmaku/bullet hell/schmup, we get the side-scrolling fan game spin-off Touhou: Azure Reflections. Following the Touhou standard while still imparting it’s own charm, Azure Reflections is probably one of the best Touhou games for newer players to ease into, not to say it’s particularly easy on harder difficulties, but it certainly is more accessible.

The Touhou series of games, including their fan game spin-offs, have always been a bit of a personal favorite for me, not that I’m particularly great at them, but I certainly enjoyed them enough. Azure Reflections is a sort of retake on The Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil, an official Touhou title that was, incidentally, the first one I ever played. A red mist covers the land of Gensokyō, and it falls to the local shrine maiden and resident problem solver, Reimu, to solve the issue. And yes, that’s pretty much the description for both games. In Azure Reflections, both Marisa Kirisame (the ordinary average magician) and Cirno (the super last boss ice-fairy) can also participate in the resolution of this incident.

If you haven’t played a Touhou style game before, first let me say that they’re usually pretty difficult. Essentially, you will have an auto-scroller through a stage where you have to evade a seriously massive amount of bullets, and then you reach a boss, and have to dodge even more bullets. Thankfully, your hitbox is rather small, and you can change the settings to have it visible while playing, or just while slowly moving.

In traditional Touhou fashion, you have bombs that can clear bullets/enemies and damage bosses, and different shot types you can choose when starting a game. New for this particular instance, we have the side-scrolling mechanics of being able to shoot both forward and backwards. Additionally, you can now use a barrier-charge move, where you can activate a barrier to absorb bullets, and then use that absorbed power to do a dash attack at your foes.

Your barrier recharges naturally over time, although it will charge faster when performing grazes, which are basically getting close enough to the bullets that you can’t believe you didn’t get hit. While you can still power up your shot type with P items, they now hold a new purpose. By expending a portion of your P items, you can remove some of the bullets in the vicinity around you. Another change is that you aren’t instantly shot down upon getting hit. Instead, you get stunned for a bit, and another shot will bring you down if hit while stunned, essentially making you a two hit point wonder instead of one.

As is common in Touhou games, whether fan spin-off or not, the music is really great, as pretty much all of the soundtrack is remixed from the original Scarlet Devil soundtrack, and they were done really well. The graphics are nice and crisp compared to the old-school style, and the anime-style character portraits for the interactions were well drawn and had a lot more variation than I was expecting.

Speaking of the character interactions, I’m pleased to say that the often comedic banter that doesn’t really take much seriously is still an integral part of the game. Including accessories that you can purchase with in-game funds in order to adjust your character’s appearance or provide beneficial bonuses was a really interesting idea, meaning that you could purchase accessories that would increase your graze distance, reduce your stun time, or enhance or slow down movement speed. Or you could go the fashion route instead.

With a really stellar tutorial for introducing new players to the Touthou system, and veteran players to the new quirks, Azure Reflections is really easy to step into. While a lot of the game is unlockable through completing the story and capturing opponent spellcards (which is more or less a sort of  “challenge mode” during boss fights), neither are particularly difficult to do with a bit of practice, at least on normal difficulty, and there are always the harder difficulties with their own rewards for more seasoned players or those looking for a challenge.

Overall, Touhou Azure Reflections is a really great spin-off with its own fresh gimmicks and playstyles, with enough of a challenge for veteran players, while easy enough for new players to get into. With a solid soundtrack and interesting characters, a great beginner tutorial and some nice variation with accessories, Azure Reflections is a fine game if you’re looking for more Touhou in your gaming diet, or if you’ve been interested in getting into the bullet hell type games but have never known where to start.

Game Information

Platform:
Sony PlayStation 4
Developer(s):
Unties Games
Publisher(s):
Souvenir Circ.
Genre(s):
Side-scrolling
Bullethell
Shoot 'Em Up
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA

Source:
Provided by Publisher

Article by Richard

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Azure Reflections is now available now for PlayStation 4! - News

So the second Richard saw TouHou he was already sold. So for everyone else, Here's the newest TouHou that has released upon the PS4 for some fast paced Bullet Hell action!

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Azure Reflections, the vibrant, side-scrolling, bullet hell from Sony publishing label Unties Games and developer Souvenir Circ., is available now for PlayStation 4.

Embrace chaos in high-intensity levels. Pick one of three adorable characters equipped with spell cards, barriers and fashionable stat-boosting outfits then take on the onslaught of enemies.

Article by Pierre-Yves

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