EPTBefore we go on to Stage One, however, there are some mechanics that must be gone over. Remember Perfect Cherry Blossom and Imperishable Night? Dangerous Star Sound has a combination of those two systems. Michael and I decided to call them "Chime Points" - they look like little silver sparkles. Every boss has a "final" spell card of sorts and if you collect enough Chime Points to fill the meter, you get to see it. The meter gets higher every level. You gain some Chime Points every time you defeat an enemy. If you remain focused for long enough, you start to collect extra Chime Points for grazing bullets. If you remain unfocused long enough, you start to collect extra Chime Points just for shooting enemies. Exactly like the system in Touhou Eight.
However, Chime Points have a bonus effect. Once you collect 3/4 of the Chime Points required to see the boss's final spell, you get an aura around you that lasts for ten seconds. If you are hit or use a bomb during these ten seconds, all bullets on the screen will be cleared and you will not lose a life or a bomb. HOWEVER, all of the Chime Points that you collected will be LOST and you will not be able to get enough back to see the boss's final spell. If, however, you hold this aura for all ten seconds, you get to keep your Chime Points, and doing this three times in a row (the pattern carries over between stages) earns you an extra life. Similar, but not identical to, the system in Touhou Seven.
And now finally on to Stage One!
We currently have no clever ideas for trash mobs on ANY of the stages so I will only be writing down the bosses - and minibosses - that appear. Whatever reason your character has for embarking on this journey, halfway through the first stage, you run into Daiyousei - and she's looking for Cirno. She fights you in order to try and make you help look for her. Since she is a miniboss, she only gets one spell card and that is "Spring Growth: New Flowers". It's basically expanding circles of yellow and green bullets shaped to look like flowers. It's nothing special. (It doesn't have to be - she's a miniboss) After defeating her, you continue on to the end of the stage, only to run into - Cirno?! This is the Stage One boss?
...Nope!! Right as Cirno prepares to fight you, Daiyousei flies out of nowhere and tackles Cirno off screen. That's when the true boss of Stage One appears and it's someone you all haven't seen in quite some time...
Elly! Yep, that minor character in Touhou 4 who nobody has seen since. (Why did we pick her? Because her theme song is AWESOME that's why!) Apparently Yuka heard about the waves that destroyed the shrine and was concerned that the source might damage her flowers, so she sent Elly out to find information. Elly has three spells; two normal and one final. First is "Mist: Years of Loyalty" which is a pretty easy card as long as you know what you're doing. It's a rain of fast-moving red bullets but the safe spots are easy to find - although they get smaller and smaller as the levels go up. Her second is "Bloody: Creeping Sickle" which is my personal favorite. She fires a huge bullet shaped like a scythe at you, aimed, but it moves really slowly so it's easy to avoid - just don't get caught in the pattern of bullets raining down! Her final spell, if you manage to collect enough Chime Points, is "Duality: Spinning Blades". She fires two crescent shaped bullets that rotate and very slowly move around while also firing out rings of bullets. It's essentially a much easier version of Flandre's "Counter Clock" card. Once you defeat Elly, Yuka will show up for some dialogue, and then it's on to Stage Two. ...But that will come next entry. See you all soon!
Currently listening to: "Bad Apple!!" - ELLY'S THEME~!
