Touhou Makuka Sai: Fantastic Danmaku Festival

95%
Game Brain Score Based on 355 reviews
  • music
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Touhou Makuka Sai: Fantastic Danmaku Festival Game Cover
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In "Touhou Makuka Sai: Fantastic Danmaku Festival" , players explore a mysterious aura enveloping Gensokyo and confront familiar and unfamiliar rivals in spell card battles. The game features keyboard and gamepad controls, including low-speed mode and spell card bombs. With a focus on the Scarlet Devil Mansion and its potential threat to Gensokyo, this vertical scrolling shooter offers a captivating story and intense battles.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

95%
Audience ScoreBased on 355 reviews
music48 positive mentions
stability3 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful graphics and well-designed bullet patterns, making it visually stunning.
  • The music is fantastic, with remixes that enhance the gameplay experience and keep players engaged.
  • The gameplay is addictive and rewarding, with a satisfying learning curve that allows players to improve their skills over time.
  • The game has issues with control mapping, making it difficult for some players to customize their controls effectively.
  • There are occasional bugs, such as losing control of the character or experiencing input lag, which can disrupt gameplay.
  • The English translation is often poor, leading to confusion in dialogue and story elements.
  • music81 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its quality, creativity, and ability to enhance the gameplay experience. While some tracks are remixes from the original Touhou soundtrack, others are original compositions that maintain a high standard, contributing to the game's engaging atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is described as fantastic, with a mix of electronic elements and nostalgic themes that resonate well with fans of the series.

    • “The music is beautifully composed and the gameplay is exactly how I imagined the original games to be. It's difficult, but the challenge keeps making me want to play more!”
    • “The music really brought memories back, while being different but equally enjoyable. I'm glad I got the soundtrack too.”
    • “The patterns are very creative and unique, the remixed soundtrack is great, and it's pretty cool that there are more playable characters than just two.”
    • “Music (mostly based off EOSD again) is not that impressive; not to say it's not good per se, but there weren't any tracks that had that 'wow!' factor that would be apparent very early on in most Touhou games.”
    • “I am very hard on this game because it is actually nice, but it's not a very good beginner-friendly Touhou, plus in my opinion it kind of fails as an EOSD remake, especially in the music department.”
    • “- music is disappointing even though I went in expecting lower than ZUN-tier music.”
  • gameplay35 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its fun and engaging mechanics, particularly the introduction of a combo meter that streamlines the experience. Players appreciate the beautiful graphics, music, and unique character designs, although some find the lack of explanations for mechanics confusing. Despite some repetitiveness, the challenge and satisfaction of mastering the bullet hell elements keep players coming back for more, making it a solid choice for both Touhou fans and newcomers to the genre.

    • “Making progress feels really satisfying, the gameplay is fun, the choreography of the enemy spellcards is beautiful and the music is amazing.”
    • “The gameplay feels nice and responsive, the music is well-made and when it comes to video games very little compares to dodging hundreds of bullets and killing a boss without being hit once.”
    • “A touhou game with smooth graphics (in comparison to the original ZUN games), exciting gameplay, and a soundtrack that will cause you eargasm.”
    • “Doesn't matter that the gameplay is repetitive most of the time; even if you get bored, you'll come back to the game eventually.”
    • “Well, the story is nonsense (grammar fault, even I, who am not a native speaker, can notice how the translation is), but it doesn't matter, and bullet hell is all about gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay mechanic of this game revolves around the combo gauge at the bottom left, that fills as you kill enemies.”
  • graphics25 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and high quality, featuring aesthetically pleasing character designs, vibrant in-game visuals, and impressive bullet patterns. Many reviewers note that the art style enhances the overall atmosphere, making it feel polished and reminiscent of official Touhou titles, while also providing a fresh take compared to earlier games in the series. However, some mention a slight blurriness in certain elements, which may be a stylistic choice rather than a technical flaw.

    • “Beautiful graphics, beautiful music, beautiful gameplay.”
    • “Not only are there good looking patterns of daimaku here, but the graphics are phenomenal and atmospheric.”
    • “The graphics of the game are another strong point; they look amazing, especially the character images, in-game graphics, and bullets.”
    • “Also everything on screen looks a little blurry, and it's not me or the resolution because the border and the menu look fine; I think it's just the art style.”
    • “The art style is neat, but everyone has EoSD nose syndrome.”
    • “Aesthetic very different from 6.”
  • story20 mentions

    The story in "Touhou Makukai Sai" is generally considered secondary to the gameplay, with many players noting that it can be confusing and lacks depth. While the prologue is essential for understanding the context, the narrative primarily unfolds in the last stages, featuring enjoyable character interactions and a mix of original and familiar elements from previous games. Overall, the writing quality is seen as lacking, but the game's charm lies in its characters and music rather than a compelling storyline.

    • “Still, I do think the story and characters are quite enjoyable.”
    • “I know, one does not play shooting games to read text or experience awesome plot twists, but... at least ZUN's dialogues were somewhat developed and profound, and would enrich Gensokyo's lore.”
    • “Each character has their own unique storyline and different dialog interactions; even Koakuma has her own boss theme.”
    • “Also, I have no idea what the story is lol.”
    • “The quality of writing of the story and character interactions is quite lacking.”
    • “Well, the story is nonsense (grammar fault, even I, who am not a native speaker, can notice how the translation is), but it doesn't matter and bullet hell is all about gameplay.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    Players find the game highly replayable due to its creative patterns, remixed soundtrack, and multiple playable characters. The inclusion of achievements enhances replay value, although some noted issues with the English translation. Overall, the game is recommended for its fun factor and replayability, with a score of 8/10.

    • “The patterns are very creative and unique, the remixed soundtrack is great, and it's pretty cool that there are more playable characters than just two.”
    • “I highly recommend it for the fun factor and replayability, and also recommend finding the other games in the series.”
    • “8/10 the game is fun and very replayable.”
    • “The inclusion of achievements really gave the game a lot more replayability for me, but they also highlighted the poor quality of the English translation.”
    • “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play it again; the story doesn't change, and the side quests feel repetitive.”
    • “While the game has a great initial experience, the lack of diverse endings and minimal changes in gameplay make it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd situations and unexpected twists, such as the player's amusing experience with a shower. Additionally, the presence of humorous grammatical errors in the English translation and a vague, abrupt ending contribute to the overall comedic effect.

    • “Funny story, I was having a shower and I was so confused because the shower was on but I wasn't getting wet. It turns out I was subconsciously dodging the shower droplets! Pfft, the shower is nothing compared to lunatic, lmao.”
    • “Has some funny grammatical errors in the English translation, and the good ending is very vague and abrupt, which made it hilarious.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is generally viewed as satisfactory, with character designs receiving mixed feedback; while the portraits may appear slightly off, the spell card illustrations are praised as exceptional and reminiscent of authentic Touhou characters.

    • “The character designs are okay, but the spell card portraits are fantastic.”
    • “This could very well be a valid canon Touhou character designed by ZUN, and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference (except for the art style, lol).”
    • “The character designs are okay, but the character portraits look a little off, while the spell card designs are fantastic.”
    • “The character development feels lacking; I couldn't connect with the characters on a deeper level.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Users noted that certain spell cards, such as Koakuma's sweeping attack and Sakuya's time-freezing ability, can be unexpectedly challenging, indicating that while the game is generally stable, specific mechanics may introduce moments of unpredictability.

    • “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without losing progress.”
    • “I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which severely affected my gameplay experience.”
    • “There are numerous bugs that disrupt the flow of the game, leading to frustrating moments.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players find the gameplay enjoyable but note that it can become tedious due to excessive grinding, often comparing it to average experiences in similar games.

    • “The actual gameplay is super fun but tedious, with average grindy elements.”
    • “Grinding feels like a chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding takes away from the overall enjoyment.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, suggesting that it offers a more fulfilling experience than outdoor activities. The recommendation highlights the game's ability to engage and resonate with its audience on a personal level.

  • atmosphere1 mentions

    Reviewers praise the game's atmosphere for its stunning graphics and visually appealing patterns, creating a phenomenal and immersive experience.

    • “Not only are there beautiful patterns of daimaku, but the graphics are also phenomenal, creating an incredibly atmospheric experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Buy Touhou Makuka Sai: Fantastic Danmaku Festival

Play time

23hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
2-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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