![]() ![]() Dealing with unseen threats that constantly get the jump on you in a turn-based situation is just unfair. Dealing with new threats is part of the genre. The game allowing things to sabotage you from off-screen is also less than ideal. ![]() However, just one stray Danmaku bolt hitting a friendly amongst an angry horde of chibis is an instant KO. You could have a weapon that one-shots enemies. ![]() You could have all the answers necessary in the world. Unfortunately, the element of uncertainty in the game fluctuates its overall difficulty too much. Part of actually making it to the end of a dungeon is mastering this endless cycle and knowing how to be wise about spending. You can buy anything from food items, health boosts, improvements to your weapons, and more. They’re also useful because they provide you with the opportunity to boost your success rate. These give you a brief reprieve from the constant scampering and fighting. You’ll reach a variety of small outposts when you get deeper into the dungeons. Unfortunately, keeping your items on death is poor compensation for being shunted back to Floor 1 each time. Yes, it’s how things always work in this genre. However, it’s around the time you get invested in the game that education via death starts to grate. You might go ten or so levels before a death, but that isn’t much of a setback in the grand scheme of things. You’ll probably have a good few swings at the first dungeon without much incident. This is perhaps most evident in the levels directly after the tutorial concludes. The game is good at unintentionally lulling you into a false sense of security when it comes to difficulty. Really, it’s all about careful planning and strategy. They’re not really about dealing with the unexpected. Roguelikes are about balancing competing considerations and looking ahead. This is where one of Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded‘s shortcomings is clear – navigating RNG is no fun if the player’s constantly in the dark. Unfortunately, it takes more than the equipment to make a fisherman out of the player. The tutorial gets you acquainted with the bait and the tackle, and it’s good at that. The game gives you tools to succeed, but it doesn’t teach you how to fish. This is a title where you may hit a roadblock every 20 or so floors (in huge, tiered dungeons) that requires nothing but sheer grinding to get past. In fact, you don’t really learn how to use items effectively until defeat forces that knowledge upon you. Death is an important part of learning what not to do. Like any good roguelike worth its salt, it’s tough. It’s an endless slog towards the type of perfection that can only be achieved by the pain of death. However, the tale of Reimu Hakurei is more than just running around in the dark. Each staircase represents a tangible sign that you’re closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. The gameplay itself isn’t particularly difficult or complicated. Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded spits in the face of the gentle spirit of Nintendo’s efforts and calls you an idiot baby. While Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has stolen the hearts of younger generations, it’s an incredibly forgiving representation of the genre. It’s easy to forget about the wider issues at play because of the game’s laser-focus on what’s important: dungeon exploration. This isn’t so much a tale of bringing the One Ring to safety as it is about stopping Frodo from dying of scurvy. It feels like the most pressing of those is why your swarthy friend Rinnosuke is seemingly the Harbinger of Doom. You’ll have a lot of considerations when you take on the mantle of Reimu Hakurei. No, the confusion is in the moving parts that make the game what it is. There, you’re officially a roguelike master. This isn’t a slight on the tutorial design – that’s straightforward, demonstrative, and tells you how to punch things in the face. However, the rest of the plot is slightly muddier, and the way the game introduces you to concepts even more so. Sure, the item that got Reimu in trouble in the first place was nigh incandescent. Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded is deceptively light on narrative despite being saturated with dialogue. Well, it’s nearly impossible to get the game’s characters to shut up at any given time. Of course, hijinks ensue, which result in a dramatic casting-down of our heroine.Īpart from that core conceit, you really don’t get a lot to go on despite the fact that everyone has a hell of a lot to say. We enter as the hapless Reimu Hakurei, a hard-working shrine maiden who awakens a magical artifact through sheer carelessness. “Something shiny leads a foolish man (and here, a woman) astray” is a cliché, but it’s still effective. It keeps no secrets from the player, and its story is one that we’ve heard before. Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded is predictably over the top. ![]()
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