Ranking Every Touhou Game

Summary

• Touhou’s legacy is cemented through fan art and music remixes, with record game launches and a devoted fanbase.
• Getting into the 19-game series can be daunting for newcomers, with games ranging from essential to forgettable.
• Standout titles like Imperishable Night and Mountain of Faith show the series’ evolution and offer unique gameplay experiences.

From its absurd amount of fan art, music remixes and doujin spin-offs alone, Touhou Project has cemented its legacy. Every so often, Team Shanghai Alice’s sole member Zun finishes another Touhou Project game and shows up at Comiket. Launches are frequently marked by record participation, and the series has garnered a devoted fanbase.

But getting into a series with 19 mainline games alone can be a daunting task for newcomers. Here is every Touhou game from worst to best, including which are essential, and which are mere curiosity pieces.

19

Highly Responsive To Prayers

Touhou 1

Released in 1997 on the PC-98, the first Touhou differs greatly from what the series would later become. It’s more of a Breakout clone than a shoot ’em up, featuring horizontal movement and block-breaking gameplay.

With its stiff controls, Highly Responsive To Prayers feels outdated; Zun would move on from this genre quickly. The one thing its sequels retained is a bomb mechanic, though one that wasn’t effectively implemented. However, its branching pathways and art design are still an impressive effort from a young developer.

18

Phantasmagoria Of Dim. Dream

Touhou 3

Although this game continues Touhou Project’s evolution, and allows the series’ second mascot Marisa to be playable, it’s fairly non-essential. The versus mode is a welcome addition, featuring split-screen gameplay for two players, but the bullet hell mechanics had yet to be refined.

The RNG system is also a divisive factor. Some fans love it, some hate it, but it’s there, and it will not be kind to an inexperienced player. This one is best left alone until you’re more familiar with the series, and ready to dive into the deep cuts.

17

Phantasmagoria of Flower View

Touhou 9

After three excellent games in a row, no one wanted this. No one wanted Zun to go back to Touhou 3’s gimmicks. Come to think of it, no one wanted him to make another game with Phantasmagoria in the title. But Zun is as Zun does, and Touhou 9 is the result, bringing back the gameplay system of Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream for the worse.

The only reason Touhou 9 edges out Touhou 3 as a better game is because of polish borne of better hardware. Otherwise, it’s just as hard to recommend. At least it introduces Aya as a new character.

16

Story Of Eastern Wonderland

Touhou 2

Touhou 2 is more of an important game than it is a good one: after all, it introduced the vertical shoot ’em up gameplay the series is known for, and introduced new characters who became just as beloved as the mascot Reimu.

Yet the Touhou gameplay we know and love still had yet to be polished. Touhou 2 is limited, but accessible. If you simply must start with one of the PC-98 entries, and don’t want to go with Touhou 5 for whatever reason, this is a good starting point.

15

Ten Desires

Touhou 13

Ten Desires doesn’t have the excuse of technological limitations, nor does it possess any unique aspects to make up for its overreliance on gimmicks. A difficulty higher than Lunatic does not make the game more interesting; it simply cheapens Lunatic mode.

Everything seems to have been done out of misguided hope for a bigger appeal. The game is slower and easier, yet its mechanics encourage fast-paced play. It just feels like a drag overall. Like a scrolling wallpaper, Ten Desires is interesting to look at for a while and utterly forgettable.

14

Undefined Fantastic Object

Touhou 12

The mechanics are novel, but Touhou 12 is kind of disappointing overall. Maybe it had to happen: Zun loves experimentation, and here it just didn’t land. The soundtrack, while good, is more forgettable compared to previous entries.

The UFO system encourages risk-taking behaviour, but just ends up being annoying. The game doesn’t penalize you if you die or use spell cards, so take from that what you will.

13

Unfinished Dream Of All Living Ghost

Touhou 19

Even if this game lacks the dreaded word Phantasmagoria in its title, it retains the gameplay that defines some of the worse entries in the series. However, it’s the most polished of the unfortunate Phantasmagoria trilogy.

As of yet, Touhou 19 is the latest mainline game in the series, and overall represents a trend in the series to appeal to newcomers and play it safe. We can only hope that the next time a Touhou title comes out, it’s a little more interesting.

12

Mystic Square

Touhou 5

The fifth and final PC-98 entry is a polished, fun experience that brings together the characters who’ve starred so far, while introducing fan favourite Alice Margatroid. Barring some technical limitations, it’s not much different from the Windows entries.

It’s also a fair bit easier than its predecessor, so it won’t scare off newcomers. It still manages to hold up some two decades after its release. The only problem is obtaining it legally, as the PC-98 entries stopped being sold in 2002.

11

Lotus Land Story

Touhou 4

Easily the best of the PC-98 titles, Lotus Land Story is where Touhou really came into its own. The bomb and scoring system were refined; a new feature was implemented whereby you could deploy a bomb at the moment you got hit, functioning as a last resort when enemy bullets threatened to cut your life into pieces.

There are only two playable characters in this one, compared to Touhou 5’s bigger roster. But they’re Reimu and Marisa: fan favourites and definitive mascots, with their classic shooter gimmicks. Reimu has a wide, weak hail of bullets, while Marisa has a more focused, powerful spread.

10

Double Dealing Character

Touhou 14

The gimmick of Double Dealing Character is shot selection. Otherwise, it’s a fairly standard entry in the series: high quality, good music and three playable characters – Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya – but there’s nothing to make it really stand out.

Perhaps it was creator burnout, but Double Dealing Character represented a slowing down of the series’ relentless pace. Coming out two years after Ten Desires, but while Double Dealing Character is a return to form, it’s not a second golden age.

9

Hidden Star in Four Seasons

Touhou 16

Touhou 16 marked the first official Steam release in the series, with a game that returned to basics. The four playable characters represent the four seasons. Otherwise, it’s the same shmup with a bizarre storyline that you would expect.

There’s not much to be said about Touhou 16: it’s substantial, but not incredible. A safe, middling entry that served as a good-enough Steam debut.

8

Wily Beast And Weakest Creature

Touhou 17

Wily Beast continued to make the series easier to access legally and on official platforms; it even incorporates achievements. Once again, however, it’s playing it too safe. Any improvements over its predecessor are incremental.

The game features an easier version of Touhou 12’s UFO gimmick, and is considered the least challenging title in the series by Zun himself. This made it a bit too simple for longtime fans. In a series that’s known to confuse newcomers, alienating the core fanbase isn’t a good thing.

7

Unconnected Marketeers

Touhou 18

Unconnected Marketeers continues Touhou Project’s recent trend of playing it safe after its previous two entries, and with it, a mild decline. That isn’t to say it isn’t a good game though: just that it doesn’t compare to the absolute smash hits that came out in the 2000s.

At the end of each stage, you’re allowed to purchase a power-up or extra life based on how much currency you collected from the enemies you obliterated. That’s about all that Unconnected Marketeers brings to the table.

6

Imperishable Night

Touhou 8

Imperishable Night continued the streak of stellar games for the third time in a row, off the back of the sixth and seventh entries. With its partner mechanic, Imperishable Night has a large roster of playable characters and different endings.

However, it’s not the most rewarding game in the series. Unlike Touhou 7, where the comparative ease makes the game more accessible, Touhou 8’s lack of difficulty makes the game’s few flaws stand out.

5

Mountain Of Faith

Touhou 10

Mountain of Faith is one of the more mainstream titles in this niche series, and a suitable comeback after Phantasmagoria of Flower View. The bomb and score systems were once more revamped, becoming more forgiving.

Mountain of Faith represents something of a rebirth for the series. Following three well-received titles that catapulted the series to cult favourite, followed by a disappointing ninth entry, it reinvigorated Touhou Project for years to come. It also has the best soundtrack in the series, and that alone cements its place

4

Legacy Of Lunatic Kingdom

Touhou 15

Touhou 15 had a lot to prove, coming after two subpar entries in the generally high-quality series. It did so with style and grace, focusing on the mechanic of grazing – almost, but not quite, getting hit.

There is a new Pointdevice mode with checkpoints, though it takes away your lives and gives you a small penalty for having to restart. Fans who prefer the older lives system will be relieved to hear that they can still play that way in Legacy mode.

3

Subterranean Animism

Touhou 11

Touhou Project relies on gimmicks every now and then, and Subterranean Animism has one of the best ones. There’s a boss marker at the bottom of the screen, and when you face a boss that’s buried under bullets – or darkens the screen – it’s all you can rely on to make sure your shots are landing.

Subterranean Animism ramps up the difficulty, but it’s the good kind. Overall, despite being occasionally imbalanced, it’s an extremely fun game.

2

Embodiment Of Scarlet Devil

Touhou 6

Zun had initially planned to end Touhou Project with five games, all for the PC-98. We should thank our lucky stars he didn’t: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is the game that made Touhou famous. The focus mechanic was implemented here, and the series never looked back.

Touhou 6 also introduced some of the series’ most popular characters: Sakuya, Remilia and Flandre. Add some catchy music into the mix, and you’ve got a game that has aged beautifully.

1

Perfect Cherry Blossom

Touhou 7

Perfect Cherry Blossom isn’t quite as popular as Embodiment of Scarlet Devil or Mountain of Faith. However, it’s easily the best one. Its unique bosses, stellar gameplay, introduction of a visible hitbox, and accessibility to newcomers without alienating hardcore fans combine to make it the best Touhou game there is.

If you want to get into Touhou, this should be your pick. If you’re ready to master Touhou, this should still be your pick – it’s the most fun entry point for a one credit clear.