【Touhou Project】 A full-scale simulation RPG traveling through Gensokyo! The story is structured by interweaving past works, making it recommended even for those seeing Touhou Project for the first time from this work! Gensou Shoujo Taisen is now on sale!

“Simulation RPGs seem somehow difficult.” Gensou Shoujo Taisen: DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is something I want people with that exact impression to touch. The stage of this work is Gensokyo, a mysterious land where not only humans, but also yokai and gods live together. It is a full-scale simulation RPG where you lead a large number of companions to face various incidents arising there. The points you can enjoy are truly diverse: strategy in moving units on the battlefield, training elements to grow characters to your liking, battle animations that delight the eyes, and a grand story connecting multiple Touhou Project works into one. Rather than merely pursuing victory or defeat, the ability to savor the sensation of “traveling through Gensokyo with these companions” is an indispensable charm when talking about this work.

The basics of the game follow an orthodox simulation RPG format where you control allied characters placed on a map and aim to clear stages while fighting enemies. Where to move allies, who to pit against enemies, in what order to attack. You defeat enemy forces while accumulating each and every decision, basically advancing to the next stage by annihilating the enemy. You might think “Then wouldn't it be tough if you aren't used to strategy games?”, but in addition to a mechanism where you can choose difficulty levels, tutorials are also substantial in this work. Because even people playing the SRPG genre for the first time can proceed while understanding the rules, it is not a work where complex knowledge is suddenly demanded. Beginners can capture stages while carefully learning basics, and experienced players while thinking about tactics. It is designed so you can enter battles in Gensokyo matched to each player's experience.

How are the strategies thought out on the map depicted in actual combat? This is also a highlight of Gensou Shoujo Taisen: DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER. When a battle with an enemy begins, different animations unfold depending on the weapon used, allowing you to see various attacks such as slashes, shots, and strikes. Furthermore, what warrants attention is special moves using “Spell Cards.” With the addition of a gorgeous single blow different from normal attacks, combat changes into a direction as if characters are truly fighting set in Gensokyo, rather than a mere exchange of numerical values. You use your brain during the time thinking of tactics and moving units, and once attacks start, this time you enjoy animations. Because the move chosen thinking “Alright, let's finish with this attack” returns as a flashy direction, the sense of accomplishment when a strategy succeeds likely feels even larger.

In games where companions increase, there are times where “In the end, I always end up using the same members,” but in this work, the time spent thinking about who to raise itself becomes a major enjoyment. Playable characters number a grand total of over 70. Just that alone provides the fun of thinking about lineups, but in the “Intermission” prepared between stages, you can freely customize skills and equipment. Furthermore, because each character possesses a “Personal Skill” holding different characteristics, it does not mean it is over simply by comparing stat values and lining up strong characters. There is room for trial and error asking “What would happen if I combine this ability and that character?”, allowing you to assemble different strategies depending on the lineup. Thoroughly training a beloved character to make them the star of the battlefield is good, and studying compatibility between abilities to find powerful combinations is also good. Precisely because there are over 70 choices, completely different units are completed for each player.

In character games, the fun of using favorite characters and strength in capturing stages sometimes become separate. However, in Gensou Shoujo Taisen: DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER, because training and customization elements such as skills, equipment, and personal abilities are prepared, the interesting part is being able to reflect the feeling “I like this character, so I want them to be active” into lineups and tactics. Of course there is also the fun of pursuing powerful combinations, but efficiency is not the only correct answer. Assembling a unit centered on favorite companions, and devising ways to fight so those members can be active—that too can become a fine capture method. Between a player thinking “Who is the strongest member?” and a player deciding “I will definitely never remove this character,” ways of fighting will change even on the same stage. Precisely because there are free training elements, you can search for your own answer.

The central figures of the story are two people: Reimu, a shrine maiden, and Marisa, a magician. Because it features a mechanism where part of the story changes depending on which one you select as the protagonist at the start of the game, it can be said that the player's own story has already begun from the initial protagonist selection. Even with the same Gensokyo as the stage, impressions received change depending on whose perspective you follow events from. If after clearing once you become curious asking “If I chose the other one, how would this scene have been depicted?”, the enjoyment of starting a journey again with a different protagonist is also born. By preparing Reimu and Marisa, two people holding different personalities, as entrances, it is a structure where you can feel changes by choice, rather than just chasing a single story.

In terms of story as well, this work has a major feature. That is depicting as one grand story by reinterpreting and reconstructing each event while interweaving various Touhou Project works. Because worlds and episodes that existed for each work cross over on the single stage of “Gensou Shoujo Taisen,” people who know the original works can enjoy discoveries like “Connecting this element in this way, huh.” On the other hand, for people who were not knowledgeable about Touhou Project until now, it features content that can be enjoyed as an entrance to touch various figures and settings. Reassembling them so they can be savored as a single long feature rather than simply tracing events of past works in order is the point, and as companions increase and the story expands, interest toward the world of Gensokyo itself naturally deepens.

When you want to know more about the world of “Gensou Shoujo Taisen,” you will want to turn your eyes to things other than combat and story. Included in this work are a character encyclopedia and a glossary, allowing you to deepen your understanding about characters and the world while confirming settings in “Touhou Project.” People knowledgeable about the series can enjoy it as materials to look back on knowledge, and people who say “I know the name, but am not well-versed down to settings” will find it helps in learning the worldview. If you look up characters you became curious about during the game in the encyclopedia or check unknown words in the glossary, the level of understanding the next time you advance the story will also change. In having reading materials prepared to know Gensokyo itself rather than functions solely for capturing the game, crafting aiming to have you thoroughly enjoy the world of this work can be felt. And another thing that cannot be overlooked is the music. Prepared in this work is a music room containing over 200 songs, allowing you to thoroughly enjoy BGM separately from gameplay. The figure of over 200 songs alone is quite a volume, but being able to listen again later to songs that remained impressive while advancing the story is delightful. Game music is a mysterious thing, where just by hearing a song, events during play such as “That stage was tough” or “That scene was impressive” can revive together. Beyond reading stories, thinking of strategies, and training characters, you can immerse into the work's world from the direction of music as well. If utilized together with the character encyclopedia and glossary, you can enjoy the lingering afterglow of “Gensou Shoujo Taisen” even after putting down the controller.

With elements this abundant, you might feel “Is it aimed at people who have known Touhou Project for a long time?” However, in addition to difficulty selection and tutorials being arranged, because you can also learn settings from the character encyclopedia and glossary, it features content easy to enter even for people touching “Touhou Project” with this work as a trigger. Of course, knowing each work and character lets you savor the reconstruction of the story and relationships between characters more deeply, but there is no need to understand everything from the start. Rather, encountering unknown characters and going through the process of looking up “What kind of existence is this person?” is also one way to enjoy. Learning characters while playing, knowing terms, touching music, and before you know it becoming well-versed in Gensokyo itself. The point of functioning as such an entrance is also a feature unique to this work.

Gensou Shoujo Taisen: DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is neither a work where over 70 characters simply appear, nor a game where you merely gaze at flashy combat directions. Taking a royal road SRPG moving allies on a map as a foundation, it packs in diverse battle animations, special moves via Spell Cards, skill and equipment customization, personal skills for each character, stories changing through Reimu and Marisa, a story crossing over multiple Touhou Project works, plus encyclopedias, glossaries, and a music room where you can enjoy over 200 songs. Whether for people who want to thoroughly think of the next move, people who want to make favorite characters active to the limit, or people who want to deeply enter the story of Gensokyo, it is a work where each can find a different way to enjoy. The words “traveling through Gensokyo” are not a mere stage setting, but become the very experience of knowing companions, training them, and understanding the world while fighting together. It is a full-scale simulation RPG that makes you want to settle down and challenge such a long journey.