Touhou Kishinjou: Double Dealing Character

About

"Touhou Kishinjou: Double Dealing Character" is a bullet hell game where you dodge enemies' attacks and defeat bosses at the end of each stage to clear it. The story follows Reimu, a shrine maiden, whose holy broom has started moving on its own, causing mischief among the spirits. When the spirits start acting up and causing chaos, Reimu takes up her weapon to restore peace. The game features classic shoot 'em up mechanics with a variety of items and special abilities to help you progress.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Touhou Kishinjou: Double Dealing Character screenshot

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 228 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

The game features a phenomenal soundtrack, with memorable tracks that enhance the overall experience.
The point collection mechanic encourages aggressive play and strategic routing, making gameplay engaging and rewarding.
Double Dealing Character is beginner-friendly, providing a good entry point for new players to the Touhou series.

Some mechanics, like screen flipping and hitbox scaling, can feel unfair and disrupt the flow of gameplay.
There are significant balance issues with certain shot types, making some characters feel nearly unplayable.
The visibility of bullets in certain stages can be poor, leading to frustrating and unfair deaths.

gameplay
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
4%
The gameplay in "Double Dealing Character" is characterized by a unique point collection mechanic that rewards players with health and bomb pieces, encouraging aggressive playstyles and strategic risk-taking. While some players appreciate the engaging mechanics and polished presentation, others criticize the game for its unbalanced and sometimes frustrating elements, including glitches and overly simplistic patterns. Overall, the game offers a mix of fun and challenge, appealing to both casual and experienced players, though opinions on its execution vary widely.
- “Resource collecting is tied to the point-collecting gimmick and your skill in capturing spell cards, which offers great risk-reward gameplay.”
- “Double dealing character is one of the better Touhou games in my opinion: the mechanics for getting extra lives are rewarding and really fun, the bosses are interesting and fair in terms of difficulty (Seiga at stage 5 can get really tricky though), and the soundtrack is catchy as always.”
- “Despite lacking originality in some areas, Touhou 14 excels thanks to its exciting gameplay, great music, and excellent second half.”
- “Worst entrance in the series, boring and unimaginative, has a bare minimum of gameplay that makes up a Touhou game and that's it.”
- “So there's no real merit in playing it; better to play PCB or UFO or some other game - it would have everything that DDC has, and in addition some special gameplay.”
- “Extremely gimmicky similar spell cards to the point that they all kind of blend together, and the new mechanics for collecting bombs/lives is a bit too punishing as it's more risk than reward since you have to hang out near the top of the screen more than you do in any of the other games.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
26%
5%
The music in "Touhou 14: Double Dealing Character" is widely praised as phenomenal, with many tracks being memorable and some considered the best in the franchise. Reviewers highlight the use of natural-sounding instruments, which create a unique atmosphere that stands out from previous entries, while the overall soundtrack remains catchy and engaging. Despite some opinions suggesting a decline in quality compared to earlier games, the music is consistently regarded as a strong point of the game.
- “Music is phenomenal; there is not a single track that is bad. Almost all of them are extremely memorable, and the final boss theme in particular might be one of the most beautiful songs in the entire franchise.”
- “These more natural and 'earthy' instruments are consistent throughout the game, making the feel of the soundtrack stand out in comparison to most of the series, focusing more on execution and tone rather than bombastic melodies or insane pace that other soundtracks are known for.”
- “Despite lacking originality in some areas, Touhou 14 excels thanks to its exciting gameplay, great music, and excellent second half.”
- “Similarly with the soundtrack, I don't have that many positive feelings for DDC's story and cast.”
- “These more natural and 'earthy' instruments are consistent through the game, making the feel of the soundtrack stand out in comparison to most of the series, focusing more on execution and tone more so than bombastic melodies or insane pace that other soundtracks are known for.”
- “Its setting surrounds this musical environment and this idea around affected powered weapons.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The story of "Touhou Kishinjou ~ Double Dealing Character" revolves around a social uprising in Gensokyo, where the weak seek to overthrow the strong, though the narrative struggles to fully explore its themes of revolution and manipulation due to the game's format. While the plot is praised for its polish and self-contained nature, many reviewers feel it lacks depth and effectiveness, suggesting that the ambitious themes could have been better developed. Overall, the story is seen as a serious and philosophical attempt that doesn't quite reach its potential.
- “This game isn't the most notable on the surface, the patterns aren't as absurd as others, the difficulty isn't as looming as some, the gameplay mechanics aren't as in-depth as others; however, it excels at polish in gameplay feel, presentation, and has the best self-contained plot in the series.”
- “Touhou Kishinjou ~ Double Dealing Character tells the story of a social uprising in Gensokyo, where the weak gain power in an attempt to rule over the strong, but behind the scenes, not everything is as it would appear.”
- “I believe that ZUN really wanted to tell a proper story of how revolutions and salvation-seeking people in general are taken advantage of by power-seeking opportunists, but because of its format as a game and Touhou's general themes, his ambition could not be fully accomplished.”
- “Similarly with the soundtrack, I don't have that many positive feelings for DDC's story and cast.”
- “But I think that he really should've developed the themes of the revolution-focused story much more, because otherwise, it's simply not effective.”
- “I believe that ZUN really wanted to tell a proper story of how revolutions, and salvation-seeking people in general are taken advantage of by power-seeking opportunists, but because of its format as a game, and Touhou's general themes, his ambition could not be fully accomplished.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by low-key production tracks that effectively complement their respective sections, with particular praise for the "primordial beat" which utilizes Raiko's signature drums to create a powerful and thunderous ambiance during the extra boss encounter.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and whimsical elements, particularly highlighted by the recurring motif of "funny feesh," which adds a lighthearted and amusing touch to the overall experience.
- “Funny fish.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized due to numerous glitches, unbalanced mechanics, and frustrating boss encounters, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
- “Extremely unbalanced and abusable mechanics, glitches left and right, obnoxious bosses, and more.”