Let's Play Super Touhou Wars 2

[prof]

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The upgrade system has gotten a major overhaul! First off, it's much slicker-looking, and the weapon upgrades are on the same screen as the rest of the upgrades.



Second, special skills are no longer controlled by the Waifu Favorite Bonus system! Everyone gets them naturally as they level up, and everyone has more than one.

Reimu has two - Youkai Buster, an active skill that gives her a damage bonus against Youkai-type enemies for one attack, and Duplex Barrier, a passive skill that sometimes increases her attack power by 500 in exchange for 10 MP. I'll stick with the former for now.



In exchange, increasing somebody's Favorite Bonus level has two effects - increasing their max Power by 5, and giving them one free upgrade level in all stats.

Onward!



The road to Youkai Mountain! It's very pretty. Reimu thinks we should've had a picnnic. There is various small talk about food and autumn colors and sweet potatoes and stuff.



Ciro, meanwhile, is busy chasing Marisa's pet fuzzball around for unclear reasons.

Apparently it's stopped trying to run away from Marisa now.



We're headed to Youkai Mountain! Come to think of it, that's where Nitori lives. Maybe Marisa will get to see her again. Keine gives a bit of a lecture about Youkai Mountain, and how the various groups of youkai living there tend to be more territorial and xenophobic than usual. The youkai living on the mountain are very traditional youkai from olden times. Tengu, Kappa, and Gods.



As Cirno says, it's time for ADVENTUUUUURE

Chapter 17: The Mountain Where Gods Dwell

New system for deployments! Each character has a "cost", listed on the far right - in ithe lower left is the remaining cost worth of characters I can deploy. Since Keine, Alice and Cirno have a combined cost of 7, and I have 7 cost left, I can deploy a full team. For now.



So this is Youkai Mountain, huh? The view's great.

It is. The autumn leaves around the shrine might lose to the ones here.

I like the shrine more. It has baked sweet potatoes.

By that logic, anywhere with sweet potatoes is good. Why don't you try digging for some?

Hey, don't forget why we're here. We have business with Sanae Kochiya...
...huh?

Something smells delicious. Is that...

Oh man, I'm getting hungry again!

A fairy, eating from a God's garden? How absurd, how reprehensible!



...Although now that I look, I notice that not all of you are fairies.

I'd almost think there was some sort of autumn festival going on. I wonder who they are?

Who are they, suddenly jumping out like that?

They're not just here to pick a fight. Those are the two gods of autumn, the Aki sisters.

Gods? They smell like baked potatoes. Are they potato gods?

How rude! I am the harvest god...


Minoriko Aki
Symbol of Abundance and Plenty
Rank: I
Abundance: S
Plenty: S
Relevance: D

And this is my older sister...


Shizuha Aki
Symbol of Loneliness and Demise
Rank: I
Loneliness: S
Demise: S
Relevance: D

...god of turning leaves.

I had heard that Youkai Mountain was a place populated by many gods, but I didn't expect to see them so soon.

You were drawn here by the signs of bounty and abundance, were you not? This is the joy of autumn.

That's right, Minoriko... surely their goal in coming this far was to hunt for red leaves.
Autumn is beautiful. Who wouldn't want to search for such beautiful leaves?

How naive, sister... you just don't understand the hearts of humans.
The most coveted blessing of autumn is the tastes, not the sights. Nothing beats fresh, delicious potatoes!

Red leaves!

Potatoes!

...Hey, aren't gods supposed to be more imposing than this?

Well, there's gods, and then there's gods. How about we pretend we didn't see them?

Hey, we're not done with you lot yet!

That's right! This is the mountain where gods dwell. It's a dangerous place for the likes of humans.

A fact we are well aware of. However, we've come here because we have business with the Moriya Shrine at the top of the mountain.
Whatever dangers we know of, there are things we have to ask them.

Hmph! If you don't intend on showing us any respect, we won't show you any kindness.
Don't complain when you can't win against us!

They're some pretty cheap gods.

...That's a pretty reckless remark, but these gods don't seem interested in what we have to say.

That's fine by me. I've been waiting for something nice and simple to happen!

We are two of the myriad gods. In turning you mere mortals away here, we are showing nothing but compassion!
Blame your misfortune for meeting us, but we'll open your eyes with a little pain!



Victory Conditions
Minoriko defeated.

Defeat Conditions
All allies defeated.

Bonus Condition
Defeat Shizuha after Minoriko's Spell Card activates.



Another nice new feature: I can zoom in and out! Now I can see the whole stage at once.

Looks like seven fairies, four fuzzballs, and two gods.





The only change in my team from the last map is the recruitment of the strongest fairy!



Remember these guys? I'm not exactly sure what they are either, but they showed up as enemies in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, so here they are. They're kind of weak, but sturdier than your average fairy. By a bit.



This is why Keine's terrible evasion isn't such a serious problem - these fairies aren't even doing 200 damage to her.



Keine can do things other than sword people!



That smell seriously is appetizing.

Could you stop saying that over and over? I'm not something to eat.

Hey, it's a complement! Stop complaining.
It'd be better if I could taste this instead of just smelling it, though.

Freshly-harvested sweet potatoes make up my perfume.
I'm not going to let a shrine maiden eat me!





Weaponized giant sweet potatoes!





Yinyang to the face!



[ BGM - Silent Autumn Breeze ~ Human-Loving God ]

I've already dedicated myself to this, but a danmaku battle against gods might be a bit...

I warned you before. If you want to turn back, now's the time.

Don't act so cocky! If you're a god, then your power only extends as far as your faith!

?!

Oh, forgive me. I talked as if you were one of my students.

...





With her giant leaf bullet, Shizuha becomes the first enemy to do four digits of damage to Keine! Just barely.



I have to be careful attacking Shizuha - if I defeat her now, the battle mastery condition is lost.



And that's the last mook down!



Now, back to beating the crud out of Minoriko. She's quite weak, really.



So I get that you're autumn gods, but what kind of benefits do you get?

As a harvest god, I can draw delicious things from the earth with ease.

Whoa, really? Okay, I'm gonna worship you, so could you put some pumpkin squash in the field behind my house...

It's a little late to start worshipping autumn! If you want to reap the benefits, then properly tend to the field yourself!



And Minoriko's more or less down... but wait!



Ugh, n-not bad!

Sis! Are you okay?

[ BGM - Boiling Harvest Festival ~ Because Princess Inada Is Scolding Me ]

Of course I am! I won't die before I've burned the power of autumn into the eyes of these upstarts!
Now, behold my true power!



Baked Sweet Potato "Sweet Potato Room"



A spell card battle against gods, huh? This oughta be harder than fighting youkai.

We can't afford any mistakes. Do you remember the basic spell card rules?

Of course. Either keep away until the time limit, or defeat the enemy's technique within the time limit.
If we defeat it, we'll get points and experience, but sometimes we might want to cut our losses... isn't that right?

That's correct. You can see the number of turns remaining in the top right corner of the screen. Don't overlook it.
Also, spell cards can have a variety of special effects. Don't forget to check what it does by pressing A!


All clear. Let's get this spell card battle rolling!

It's our first Spell Card! This oddly-shaped special danmaku field has an additional unique effect that can't be avoided even by using focused movement. In this case, we lose 3 Power whenever we're attacked inside it. Pretty tame, but this is a stage 1 boss we're dealing with.



Her second lifebar is much longer at 12400 HP - nearly double what Cirno had altogether on the first stage.



Let's see what you can do, Minoriko!









Yikes!

(Some of you may reognize this attack from Gunbuster.)



But before we finish Minoriko off, we have important business with Shizuha!



Shanghai doll, go!





Battle Mastery complete.



Kyaah!

Sister?!

Minoriko, forgive me... I wasn't able to teach them... the splendor of autumn...

Th-This is a joke, right? Sis...

Sisteeer!

What a dramatic person. It's not like she died or anything.

I think it's a spirited performance underlying the subtle energy of autumn.

You're into that stuff, Keine?

Geez, making fun of us like this... now I'm seriously mad!
I'll show you the true power of autumn, including my sister's share!



She's mad now! Minoriko's power shoots up to 150, and she's out for revenge.



I admire her resolve! CLEARLY the only way to handle this is ludicrous, dramatic overkill.



Love Sign! Masteeerrrr Spaaaaaaaaaark!







See that? Danmaku is all about power!



And done.



Augh, I lost!

Well, that's how it goes. We're well-prepared for this sort of thing.

All right, tell us what you know about Sanae Kochiya!

And while we're at it, give us your best vegetables! A harvest god should have plenty, right?

Hey, now, don't get carried away. You can ask for that at the next harvest festival.

How dare you talk like that after raising your hand against a god? You'd better not complain, even if you incur divine wrath after this!

Are you trying to start another fight? Quit pretending you're cool!

Sh-Shut up! It would have been better for you to get hurt and turn back here!

Ah, she's off! She sure runs fast...

She's really got my expectations high there. It's gonna be tough going.

As I said, there's gods, and then there's gods.

Still, it's a shame that we weren't able to get any answers, even after meeting gods so early on.
It looks like we'll have to start climbing the mountain after all...

That's what I'm talking about! Let's go make our grand entrance!

That's what I was planning from the start. Let's hurry...

...!
Wait! Something's coming... there's a lot of them!

Whoa, that's a whole lot of tengu!




Momiji Inubashiri
The Petty Patrol Tengu
Species: Wolf Tengu
Rank: III
Loyalty: A
Ferocity: B
Swordsmanship: B

Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame. Just as I was told.




Aya Shameimaru
Traditional Reporter of Fantasy
Species: Crow Tengu
Rank: IV
Speed: S
Integrity: D
Work Satisfaction: A

You're bolder than I thought, invading our mountain.

It's that tengu from before... you've come out to meet us awful fast!

There's kappa here, too. Is that Nitori?




Nitori Kawashiro
Super Youkai Warhead
Rank: III
Courage: C
Ingenuity: A
Moisture Saturation: S

Marisa...

For them to amass so many people so quickly... this was a trap!

And we played right into it...

How nice of you to come.

Sanae...!



Welcome. This is the level of power that we possess.

"We"...?

That's right. Youkai Mountain and the faith of the Moriya Shrine. We've decided to cooperate.

You're working together...?


In other words, you're using the tengu by force. What a violent shrine.

No, we've united by our own free will to oppose the Hakurei Shrine.
You can see the power of the faith from this mountain clearly now, can't you?

Opposing my power...?

Who gives a damn? We won't surrender just like that!

That's as far as you go!



...?!
Nitori, what are you doing? Out of my way!

I can't. I can't really say I agree with everyone...
But you're making yourself an enemy of our mountain!

...Nitori...?

It's a shame, Marisa Kirisame. You're only one person, and there's no way you can hold more sway than all of us.
With this, you have no choice but to learn your place.

...

Tch! so this is what it means to go against youkai mountain?

Not just that shrine maiden, but we also have to make enemies of all the tengu, it seems.

So now you understand. This is the power necessary for Lady Yasaka to become the god of this mountain.
The truth is that the Hakurei Shrine simply can't compare to the power of our faith.

Yasaka... is that the name of your god?

Yes. If Lady Yasaka were to become the patron god of the Hakurei Shrine, I'm sure it would prosper.

I'm not really looking for a new god for my shrine...
Won't you shut up and listen to me for once?!

It's pointless, Reimu. We can't get through to them right now.

I'll ask you only once. Reimu, in order to save the faith of Gensokyo, hand over control of the Hakurei Shrine to us.
You'll be the savior of all of Gensokyo.

...

You'd better yield, Reimu. There's no way we can win here.

Fine. We'd better return to the shrine for now...

Stage Clear

Turns taken: 4
Spirit commands used: 3
Bombs used: 0
Battle Mastery achieved



After Reimu's retreat! Sanae thanks the gathered youkai for their help. Momiji, at least, was just doing her duty and repelling invaders from the mountain. Sanae, similarly, was acting in accordance with her god's wishes.



Aya reminds them not to let their guard down! After all, Reimu's group is known for gathering humans and youkai together. This may not be over yet.



Seeing the truth in this, Sanae asks Momiji to keep an eye on Reimu for now. Momiji says she'll hand-pick her best people to do it. Sanae leaves.



After Aya finishes teasing Momiji about her more dog-like characteristics, they get down to talking strategy...



Marisa's mad! Cirno's mad!

Alice and Keine aren't mad, they're plotting. Going against Youkai Mountain is even more serious than we had thought.



Reimu, shockingly, actually seems to be considering Sanae's proposal! Maybe joining forces with the Moriya Shrine is a good idea after all...



As the others try to talk Reimu out of her funk, an unexpected visitor drops by!



After some introductions, Yukari Yakumo gets to the crux of her argument, that what's best for Gensokyo is if Reimu continues to be Reimu. The Hakurei Shrine must remain independent.

This is an incident, and Reimu has a tool for resolving incidents. The Spell Card Rules.



In other words, it's just like last summer - solve the problem via danmaku, Gensokyo style. Gather some humans and youkai together and oppose that shrine!



Yukari leaves as mysteriously as she arrived, but the next course of action is clear. It's time to find some more allies!



It's time to split up. Cirno heads off to rope in her own legion of underlings, and Marisa drags Alice along to go visit a certain mansion.



As for the last two, Keine knows someone who could be of considerable help in this situation...

To be continued!


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