ZUN, you absolute madman. You’ve been making Touhou games for 30 years now. 30 years! And yet, you keep going. You keep cooking. Now, the next release in the main Touhou Project series is on the way, and a demo for the game is fast approaching. Get ready, weebs, for the 20th Touhou title: Fossilized Wonders.
Introducing ‘Touhou Kinjōkyō: Fossilized Wonders’
News broke on April 12th, when ZUN turned to Touhou Yomoyama News to unveil the upcoming game. Team Shanghai Alice’s Touhou Kinjōkyō: Fossilized Wonders seemingly plans to return Touhou to a straightforward and standard bullet hell gameplay approach, with a focus on Hakurei Reimu and Marisa Kirisame as main characters.
Videos by VICE
According to a Google Translate version of ZUN’s announcement, players can expect eight “mysterious” stones to influence how the game is played. One screenshot shows Marisa in a “Stone Select” screen with a “Main Story Stone” available. Another mid-game screen states “Wonder Stone Appeared!” as Marisa is firing bullets. Early screenshots show a familiar vertical shooter approach with plenty of magical projectiles to dodge, although we know little yet about how those “mysterious” stones will change the way the game’s iconic bullet hell gameplay is played.
Either way, the stone system will likely have a major impact on how Touhou 20 works. The game’s demo, which launches May 5th, will only have three levels with a limited number of selectable stones. Unsurprisingly, the full release won’t come until Comiket 106 drops in Tokyo from August 16th to August 17th. So, yes, that means interested Touhou fans will have to wait a couple months before getting the chance to experience Reimu and Marisa’s latest adventure. Interested Touhou fans can expect to try the game on Steam, so no need to trudge through the smoldering remains of 4chan just to find a link to the game’s trial version.
The last main Touhou game came out in Summer 2023 during Comiket 102. That title, Touhou Juuouen: Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost, is available on Steam to download. In fact, many of the newer official Touhou Project games are hosted on Valve’s PC storefront. I’ll admit, it’s incredibly surreal seeing these games so readily accessible in today’s day and age. I remember when you had to be a true degen to even know what a Touhou is. Now? McDonald’s Japan is going viral for turning IOSYS’ yuri bop “Marisa Stole Precious Thing” into a commercial for fast food. Oh yeah, and I’m writing about Touhou 20 for VICE.
Anyway, check back in May for my preview of the newest of toehoes. I promise I’ll try my best, even though I am a games journalist.
More
From VICE
-
Google Nest Thermostat (4th Gen) – Credit: Google -
Screenshot: Starward Industries -
Screenshot: Bethesda Softworks -
DJI Mavic 4 Pro – Credit: Igor Bogdanov
