【Touhou Project】Dash around Gensokyo in isometric view! Control 8 characters and dominate command battles! Touhou Shoujo Tale of Beautiful Memories is now on sale!

“What would it feel like if I could freely adventure through Gensokyo?”—“Touhou Shoujo Tale of Beautiful Memories” is a work that feels like taking that imagination and dropping it directly into a game. This work is a pseudo-3D action RPG set in Gensokyo in isometric view intricately expressed in pixel art, where you proceed by making full use of various actions such as running, flying, hopping, and shooting. The world built like a miniature garden is not merely a path to head toward a destination, but a stage for adventure that makes you want to take a detour thinking, “What is over there?”. The combination of a field with a sense of three-dimensionality and nostalgic pixel art is also truly impressive, possessing a warmth reminiscent of retro games while being nimble when actually moving. You can fully enjoy the sensation of running around the mysterious world called Gensokyo with your own hands.

Just because enemies appear on the field does not mean you strictly have to fight them head-on. If you think, “I don't want to fight right now,” you can quickly evade with dashes and jumps, and conversely, if you are in the mood to think, “They're in the way, so let's defeat them,” it is also possible to fire shots and attack from long range. Thanks to this degree of freedom, the interesting part is that movement itself is unlikely to become a monotonous task. And if you make contact with an enemy, you enter a command battle this time. However, it is not just choosing commands and gazing at results like general RPGs. Pressing buttons with good timing, charging power to attack, and other operations by the player themselves affect the battle situation. There is a unique response of “Even though it's a command battle, it's properly doing action!”, becoming a system where you can even enjoy ingenuity to fight efficiently.

For people who thought, “By the way, is it a game where you control only Reimu?”, there is a pleasing answer. Controllable characters are not limited to Reimu Hakurei. A total of 8 girls appear, adding Koishi Komeiji, Tenshi Hinanawi, Sakuya Izayoi, Yukari Yakumo, Reisen Udongein Inaba, Nitori Kawashiro, and Doremy Sweet. Moreover, it is not that simply the appearances change, but because each possesses unique weapons and techniques, differences in the feel of battle are born depending on who you use. The design that makes you want to test, “How can I fight with this character?”, will be a major charm for people who like Touhou Project characters. Not to mention the fun of moving a favorite girl, choosing a character different from usual and searching for new maneuvers is also a way to play unique to this work.

If expressing “Touhou Shoujo Tale of Beautiful Memories” in a word, one would want to call it “a work where fun from various games is packed into a box called Gensokyo”. Moving freely with nimble action on the field, combining command selection and player operation in battles with enemies, and further following a fantastical drama while selectively using girls full of individuality. Without leaning on only a single way of playing, the feature is that multiple funs of exploration, combat, and character operation connect at a good tempo. If you start thinking, “Since it's a pixel art RPG, is it an old-fashioned work?”, you might be surprised by its game nature that is more active than expected.

Not a Gensokyo to gaze at and enjoy, but a Gensokyo where you run by yourself, jump by yourself, fight by yourself, and advance the story—there lies the charm unique to “Touhou Shoujo Tale of Beautiful Memories”. Cutely drawn pixel art, a field in isometric view that can be felt three-dimensionally, command battles incorporating action, and 8 controllable characters. Through each element combining, it is finished into a work where you can taste nostalgia and freshness at the same time. “Just walking through the Touhou world is not enough. I want to run around with all my might!”—For such a person, diving into this small yet dense Gensokyo will be fully worth it.