Touhou Double Focus

Truly a Dark Souls of Touhou games. On a serious note, that is pretty much a 2D Souls like about greatest Tengu duet! Basicaly you controling Aya and Momiji, Aya is fast, can evade and has ranged attacks: Momiji is strong, has a shield to block attacks and can RUN (including wall running). Other than that it's your typical metroidvania-souls like game. Buy! Aquastyle makes great games, and this one is not an exception,

Alright, let us begin. Also, this will actually bring up another example of a Metroidvania in the Touhou franchise that does everything much better. Felt it was necessary to bring it up a lot in this review. The engine for Touhou Double Focus is alright. Stamina system is annoying, but could have been more fair if only skills and actual movement reduced it and not your standard attacks. Granted, your standard attack [i]is[i/] considered a skill, but hey. Exploration is tedious for the sake of being tedious, rather than in a way that is more creative such as Touhou Luna Nights. I know it is quite the pedestal to compared a perfectly rated Metroidvania to this one, but the bar is set so high due to Luna Nights also being an older game on Steam side, though not release side since Double Focus predates it by two years outside of Steam. So maybe Double Focus was just unable to understand how a Touhou Metroidvania was meant to work. Another thing too is that Luna Nights fully understood its fan base and my only real complaint with it would be that Cirno is missing from Boss Rush and, even for it being a Metroidvania, is very short. And lacks any kind of post-game past Boss Rush in general, no Hard Mode, a New Game+ where you get to keep your abilities or both. But, I digress. Double Focus' main problem is that the core game is pretty unbearable to trudge through and you really do feel like you are trying to beat it for the sake of beating it and nothing more. And what is even worse is that your controller only has a [i]chance[/i] to work, overall failing a lot of the time. [b]The game makes you sit at the intro every single time you boot it up, even if you try to skip with the keyboard instead.[/b] If I only had a small amount of time to play for a bit, for instance, I just have to accept it will not happen unless I have a full half-hour. And that is under the assumption my controller decides to work correctly in any of those boots. If it does not, the half-hour is wasted doing nothing. I do not care to play with keyboard, especially over how awkward it is and lacking any way to remap it (another plus for Luna Nights having this option). To summarize, I will notice everything good and bad about Double Focus, designated by symbols: + Charm of the Touhou franchise is overall intact with how characters talk to each other. At least, good enough where I enjoyed a lot of the interactions, short as they were. + This also includes subtleties in the menu, such as the adorable sprite adjustments to the sprites whenever Aya has lower health or Momiji does. I enjoy that they look mad at one another depending on who has the lower health. + This is not something I intended to put as a separate note, but feels it deserves it anyway. Being able to hold down to continuously fall through multiple platforms is great and I feel like this should be a standard convention in any platformer. + The art style looks cute in the cutscenes and overall works when being used for stills. - Grammar errors are more noticeable than a lot of other Steam games I have played. - The aforesaid intro being unskippable. This feels like a detrimental flaw in an opening sequence that is [b]four minutes long.[/b] - To add onto that, you will reboot it multiple times if your controller is not read. I tried multiple controllers to clarify mine just had issues maybe, but I realized it worked perfectly fine in Steam and is still within the XInput type, so it makes no sense it should have issues at random. - As previously noted, it does work properly in cutscenes, but in movement, the art style is rough. From Momiji's awkward tail loop you can count the frames on to the very unnatural way characters move, something feels off about it. If I had to give any animation credit [strike](and temporarily break the norm of the "cons" section)[/strike], it would be that Momiji's run animation looks very adorable and the most natural looking out of any other animation in the game. I recommend this game to nobody. If you are a Touhou fan, go play other spin-off games. If you are a Metroidvania fan, you will still not find much enjoyment in Touhou Double Focus and are better off dabbling with other attempts at it such as Hollow Knight. If you were gifted this game and already accepted it, play it so your friend does not feel bad, maybe under the influence as well so that you can get more of a kick out of it. If you desperately want to play a Touhou game in the vein of the Metroidvania genre, go play Touhou Luna Nights. You will get much more for your buck, the price tag is within the range of Double Focus and you will feel much happier with what you paid for. On top of that, it has a significantly better engine, breathtaking remixes and I put it higher up on my own list than even Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. And if you want a more lengthy one, Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony is just around the corner and is a remake combining the original and sequel together. Both much better options than Touhou Double Focus. Though, Scarlet Symphony does have a feel much closer to traditional Castlevania. Avoid Touhou Double Focus at all costs if you respect the Metroidvania genre.

It's a fun metroidvania game. However, there's nothing really new here : you explore areas, find items defeat enemies and bosses. The one interesting mechanic is its portal system where you can lay down some portals almost anywhere for fast travelling. You have a set amount of portals you can use and you can only save in the main area so putting portals requires some thought. Also the character switching mechanic is fun to use but it doesn't really make anything unique. Despite being a short game to complete, it has a LOT of charm put into it. The overall presentation is superb. There's a surprising amount of touhou characters and references you can find. There is an incentive to explore and find everything in this game. The animations really add a lot in this game. It feels so good seeing unique animations for every characters in the game, how they move, how they attack or how they are defeated. Soundtrack is also very solid, by the way. If you're a fan of metroidvania games, I recommend this game. If you're a Touhou fan, its a must buy!

Everything about this game is heart attack inducing adorable as well as having rather solid game play and that same old Aya ya all know and [strike] hate [/strike] love (the tutorials are a little lack luster though. How was neko supposed to know Momiji can run up walls)

I want to enjoy this one, because it's a Metroidvania Touhou game, a genre that I like a lot, but a lot of factors are holding this back for me, which end up being more a miserable experience than a positive one. - First main problem is the keyboard binding, there is no way to rebind menu control, so you're stuck with the awkward WASD and K L for select and cancel throughout even after rebinding your character controls. Since there is a lot of inventory and map screen navigation required throughout the game, it becomes a real struggle in the long run. - Secondly is the clunky character control, perhaps I'm spoiled by other similar titles of this genre, but there is no animation cancelling in this game, meaning once you're doing an attack, you are commit to it, leaving you very vulnerable. Not even the backdash button cancel it. - There is also the difficulty, there are these armor enemies in the first area of the game that hit you very hard and knock you back quite far, potentially off to the previous screen. Cheap enemy placements where you do a blind fall, only to be greeted with a sword in the face, or get pummeled by lightning attacks from enemies off screen as you enter. - The first boss is also very brutal with her heavy-hitting attacks, spikes in the arena you fight in, as well as a projectile stream attack that can easily drain your health from full to none thanks to the fact you don't gain any i-frames from getting hit whatsoever. - No save points anywhere other than the very beginning room, you can set up portals for two-way travel, but you can only set up one portal per area, so effectively one save point per area. - Healing items can only be obtained through one-time map placements or random enemy drops, there are no shops in this game. If you can stomach through these problems, then perhaps you will more easily find enjoyment in this game, but for me, I just can't accept this one, sadly.

Its good fun for a weekend. Its pretty janky and difficult in some areas as a result of that. horror hardcore mode is pretty tough on the difficulty scale. it gets very 'jinsei owata' very fast.

The good: - The characters all look nice. - Artwork in cutscenes looks great. - Sound effects are decent enough. The bad: - Music is absolutely degrading to listen to. - Controls are janky af. - This game didn't hide my taskbar when I played it in full screen. - Enemies have INCREDIBLY predictable patterns only having like one attack they perform. - The combat is frustrating in very weird ways and for all the wrong reasons. - This game is VERY unpolished. - Backgrounds look very stock and redundant.

Only played about 10 minutes and then had to stop. I will be continuing because it seems really fun but holy hell, dont buy unless you have a controller. I clearly need to get one because there is no way to change menuing controls and the default keyboard controls are really bad. Come on Aquastyle, this is a Touhou game. You should know that Arrow keys for movement and ZXC for actions is the standard for every non mouse keyboard control scheme ever. Having to swap back to tapping K to advance text every 5 seconds after remapping my entire control scheme to work like im used to is not fun.

Play only if you like funny art and funny touhous. Only continue playing for kisume and more funny touhous. I like the funny ones. Game isn't that good though but the boss fights are def the highlights. Remember to take pictures of everything for funny touhous. Give kisume funny containers for she is the funniest touhou

its very easy to me give a review right now with so little time.. is a bad game in terms of interface, really is a pain.. and its a gameplay so normal that at average is a bad experience.. yup cute game but very bad game made...

Good fangame with a lot of charm. Really recommend for Touhou fans. Standalone game however, it has a lot of issues (be warned). Turn on the respond option in the settings since there is only one save point in the main hub and this game is pretty unforgiving with how little or lack there of iframes exist. One enemy with a few projectiles will murder your health bar, sending you back to the save point. With the respond option, the game becomes more enjoyable and less stressful (especially the final boss). Upgrades are unique and its got some element of build options. You'll beat it in 2-4 hours and 100% in 4-6 hours easy. It aint Luna Nights, but its still decent. Overall, a fun Touhou Metroidvania

found no bug on this game while i play this. sometimes the control is annoying but you will get used to it. dont be a child who always want anything easy overall this game is a cute difficult game. (the dev really like make fun of kisume lololol) great soundtrack and good at shocking the player with traps 8.5 i can say cant believe i rage quit on this cute game many times

there is no quality of life settings such as rebinding controls or ability explanation on what aya or momiji can do at the start of the game but hey borderless windowed mode exist so thats a plus, but i would recommend you either pick this game up on 60% or more off than full price

A fun little Touhou game. + Cute artstyle + Cute character voices + Fun gameplay - Character movement is kinda slow makes it hard to dodge enemies' attacks My score: 8/10 My gameplay stream: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3xNhoXurod5dT7VwGFmDPSBG1Nq3BKP

A boring game I have to say. It feels like Metroidvania. Specifically, It's probably inspired from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin: swapping two player characters, stages are separated. It also focuses on puzzle... or more like finding a sequence of places to visit in the correct order to unlock a new area, or figure out the strategy to deal with the boss. My biggest complains is combat is so boring and annoying. The player movement is clunky as hell so it's almost impossible to avoid damage. Attacking method is also boring. and there is only three shortcuts! I still haven't find a single save point inside the stage so if you accidentally die, you have to re-explore the same place you've already did. I stopped playing after I beat the first stage and the middle of the second stage and stopped playing because it's so boring and game system is annoying. I don't recommend this game. Also, what's the point of difficulty setting? I see no difference between easy and normal.

A rather short romp, under an hour if you know what to do, but it's a very polished product and the graphics are very cute.

[h1]My Touhou Metroidvania can't be this cute[/h1] I got this game for free on the PS4 when I bought Genso Wanderer and loved it so much I bought it on Steam as well to support the developers. It is not a perfect game by any means, but it does many things right and what it succeeds with it excels at! Right of the bat the game catches your eye with its cute characters and colourful backgrounds. AQUA STYLE always nail the presentation and this is no exception. The world is on the smaller side for a Metroidvania, but it is jam-packed with things to discover and exploring it is a joy in and of itself. It is honestly impressive how many Touhou characters they managed to fit into this short game while giving them all room to shine. This is in no small part thanks to the outstandingly expressive animations, it all feels lovingly crafted. The boss battles are another highlight: each feeling unique, and while a bit gimmicky, showcase the characters' powers and personalities. + Outstanding presentation: Beautifully drawn, well animated characters. An extremely adorable visual-design. Voice acting and a musical score that do their job with a few outstanding tracks. + Lots to explore and discover: Tons of characters to find and interact with, some as enemies or bosses others who will help you in the form of skills. + Two playable characters to swap between who play drastically differently. Momiji can run up walls, block attacks and dish out big damage up-close. Aya can dash through enemies and can attack from range. + A bestiary of sorts to fill out with Aya's camera. Some shots require specific requirements to be fullfilled! + Wacky humour that might make you chuckle. [spoiler](To crawl into tight spaces, Shinmyoumaru sits on Momiji's head and controls her like Ratatouille.)[/spoiler] + A nonsensical story to match, presented in cut-scenes and still images. I especially like what they did with the Final Boss. + Loveable cast of characters: As much as Reimu and Marisa are the "main characters" of Touhou, it's nice to see someone else get the spotlight for once. Aya and Momiji are a great fit for this game and also [u]Byakuren is in it![/u] I love this game, but it is not without its flaws and to downplay them would be a disservice to anyone reading this. The game has some pretty serious difficulty spikes. Touhou games are generally difficult and that's part of the charm, but here it's less of a fair challenge to overcome and more of frustrations with the game's design. While exploration is a lot of fun, combat does feel rather stiff. This is due to the game not controlling as smoothly as many contemporaries. It's also a short game with limited replay value. A Boss-Rush mode or New-Game+ would help alleviate this. - Questionable level-design and bad enemy placement. There are enemies who can attack you from off-screen with little warning. - Some hitboxes feel a bit iffy as well, forcing you to block or dodge projectiles rather than outright avoiding them both of which drain stamina. - Stamina drains way too quickly and is a resource used by essentially every action you perform. This leads to a lot of waiting around which kills the pacing. - Movement in general feels a bit floaty and stiff. It's hard to describe but you can definitely feel it. This is further exacerbated by the lack of animation-cancelling. - A rather short game that lacks replay value. No New-Game+ or Boss-Rush. I do recommend Double Focus to Touhou fans as I think most of them could overlook these issues for the outstanding presentation and world this game offers. However, a more general Metroidvania audience might have too many gripes with the gameplay to appreciate the game's pros. I really wish this game got a sequel to tighten up some of its weaknesses and further improve on what this game did right!

I can only recommend this on a deep sale, like I nabbed (50% off, about 6 bucks USD) and if you REALLY like the dynamic between Momiji and Aya. It's short, it's charming, and it's reasonably fun. However... The difficulty spikes are kind of genuinely and actually insane. The final boss (unless I'm missing something) takes less-than-chip damage from your attacks and can drop you in about two seconds. And that's with a decent amount of the upgrades. Some enemies can drop you in a single hit, even when exploring early-game areas with late-game upgrades. The challenge is all over the place in this game and holy shit Aquastyle please get more playtesters for your next outing.

I dont like this game. but i like wolf&fairies dress-up

Playable Momiji, what else could you ask for? On top of that its pretty simple but really cute game.

momiji :)

Momiji a cute!!!

Momiji MC less go

Fun

momiji

:)