Anyone looking for a game to kill time should look for this hardcore shoot-'em-up.
- Insane gameplay, just look at the amount of bullets
- Splendid soundtrack
- Difficulty gives something for everyone, especially hardcore
- Great backgrounds
Negative
- Character models and dialogues need work
- The difficulty is unreasonable in any way you look at it
- Not enough lasting value
For what I know, Touhou has been stealing the hearts of many in Japan, but little impact outside of the country. I got this from the guy who self-proclaimed to be the only Touhou fan of my country, so far I agree. Touhou 7 is a vertical shoot-'em-up shooter which like its many predecessors does the same kind of gameplay like. The difficulty is insane like the gameplay, but it is a lot of fun if you can get through the challenging difficulty.
There is little story to be found. You can choose 3 characters to play with; Reimu Hakurei , Sakuya Izayoi, Marisa Kirisame, which all play differently in the way they shoot, and their special bombs which all have two, but you can only choose one. 6 stages to play through and 2 extra stages can be found. There is a story behind it, but there is to impact or good way the story is delivered, because you can just skip the dialogue at high speed. No cutscenes, just dialogues and character interactions, which are quite poor. The character models as well in the gameplay, as well in dialogues needed a bit more work. Stages are the same in the story mode, only the dialogues change depending on the character you choose. Depending on the difficulty the game changes, but even on easy this game is tough. And on the toughest of difficulty, you might be lucky to crawl through the first stage. Thankfully the game lets to continue a limited number of times after using all your lives in a stage. You can save your score after dying or finishing the game, and you can also save replays but you have to do it without getting the continue screen and press YES. If you do you won't be allowed to save your replay.
The gameplay is simple, but yet engaging, and really crazy. The game would have been too easy with just a few bullets, but Touhou is the kind of game that puts countless bullets on your screen, leaving you little space to maneuver and little time to think. Shooting with the Z button, X for bombs but since you move fast, using the focus button helps to move slower allowing you to dodge bullets easily. You are also allowed to shoot in a narrow lane to increase the damage in one spot. Stages are predictable and sometimes even the gameplay is predictable after a while. Levels consist of shooting down enemies, collecting points and power-ups, fight a mid-boss, and then fight the boss which will use spell cards which come in all sort of ways. Bosses are very difficult, the amount of bullets they shoot is insane. By not using bombs in spell cards the game gives you a bonus. Sometimes a sort of barrier protects you for a short amount of time, which can protect you once from any attack, but it lasts little, but it gives you a lot of points if you don't get hit at that time. A little bullet, no matter what kind of bullet it is, if you are hit you lose a life.
While the graphics aren't exactly impressive, there is still some charm to be found. Character interaction/dialogues need a lot of more work to them, and so do the character models. The backgrounds are fine, but unfortunately you won't have time to enough the backgrounds, you might consider yourself lucky to have that second to scratch your back. The bullets are colorful though. The soundtrack is the high point of the game, no doubt. The soundtrack is very catchy, and awesome if you ask me. There is no voice acting, or voices in the music. The sound effects are powerless because of the powerful music.
Most things said and done, Perfect Cherry Blossom is not for everyone. Anyone you likes shoot-'em-up and tough ones, might try find this game, I don't think it is an official game. The insane difficulty and gameplay are to please long time fans, but anyone playing it for the first time may not exactly catch the theme of the game. There is potential, and it could have been a better game if there was more emphasis on the graphics, but as it is, it is still a game worth playing for those who have time to kill.
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Graphics = 7.1
Character models and dialogues need more work and the backgrounds are good. The bullets will drive you nuts.
Sound = 8.5
The soundtrack steals the show; well it is the main attraction. No voice acting and because of the soundtrack, the sound effects aren't very impressive.
Presentation = 7.7
The menu looks cool enough, and the load times are fast. Now if only the character dialogues were better.
Gameplay = 8.0
Addictive, insane gameplay requires a lot of patience and precision. Little time to think with little space to move. The difficulty aims high for hardcore, but leaves little for beginners. The bosses are great, but too tough for some.
Story = 6.5
If not a fan you won't mind the story. 3 playable characters to play as. Each with her own shooting style. (By the way all characters are female here) Story mode is short and is the same, only the dialogue changes when choosing different characters.
OVERALL = 75 / 100
Anyone looking for a game to kill time should look for this hardcore shoot-'em-up.