Line #81 VideoGame/KoumajouDensetsu


1	[[quoteright:249:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8e90897947ec8f455c4ece6bd76368d7_249x350_7434.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:249: It's not as {{dark\|erAndEdgier}} as it looks, but it's [[NintendoHard twice as hard]].[[note]]On another note, you got your ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' in my ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''![[/note]]]]
3	''Koumajou Densetsu'' (''Legend of Scarlet Devil Castle'') is a ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''-styled[[note]]''Classicvania'', if you will[[/note]] series created by the doujin circle of Frontier Aja in 2009, with artwork by Akira Banpai.
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5	The first game in the series, ''Koumajou Densetsu: Scarlet Symphony'', features [[{{Miko}} Reimu Hakurei]] from the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' as its main character. The story: Gensokyo is covered in a scarlet mist... Again. Reimu Hakurei sets out to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, since that was where [[VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil the previous scarlet mist incident happened previously]], to fix this problem. Along the way, she meets Marisa Kirisame, who joins Reimu, and Cirno, who attacks Reimu at first, but eventually [[HeelFaceTurn ends up joining Reimu's party]]. Together they fight through the newly built Scarlet Devil Castle, guarded not only by fairies and the other usual inhabitants of the Scarlet Mansion, but also by enemies straight taken from the world of ''Castlevania'' like the [[GoddamnedBats Medusa Heads]], until they finally reach the mistress of the castle and discover [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments the shocking truth]]...
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7	For foreign players, Frontier Aja included in the v1.03 patch an English and French translation for the Story Mode.
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9	In 2010 it was succeeded by ''Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem'', which features voice acting by professional seiyuus, and Sakuya Izayoi, Remilia's head maid, as the main character. In this story, Sakuya has just returned to the Scarlet Devil Mansion only to find its inhabitants missing. Border youkai and overall {{troll}} Yukari Yakumo then appears before Sakuya and informs her that spring is late to arrive... Again! Sakuya travels to Hakugyokurou to investigate, where she discovers a rebuilt Scarlet Devil Castle built around the youkai cherry tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi.
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11	The second game builds around many of the concepts of the first, and adds more sub-weapons in the form of partners, most of whom replicate the sub-weapons found in ''Castlevania'' (for instance, Meiling launches herself at an upward angle, then comes back down not unlike the axe, and Reimu throws a yin-yang orb that travels like the cross). The gameplay is also more polished, with fewer cheap shots and better balance overall.
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13	In 2011 during Winter Comiket 81, Frontier Aja released the ''[[CompilationRerelease Koumajou Densetsu Premium Pack]]'', a fully updated re-release of ''Scarlet Symphony'' and ''Stranger's Requiem''[[note]](however, ''Stranger's Requiem'' was updated to v1.02a after the re-release)[[/note]] with an abridged version of the soundtracks, character artworks, and [[MediaNotes/BitmapsSpritesAndTextures sprites]] of the characters and enemies from both games in one package.
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15	On June 5th, 2021, it was announced that the first game in the series would be coming to the Nintendo Switch and Steam for the first time as ''Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony''. This release features a few new additions, including a [[EasierThanEasy Super Easy mode]], a Suika assist, and most notably, full voice acting. It released on July 29, 2022. On September 12, 2022, the game's sequel was announced and it too has been re-released onto the Nintendo Switch and Steam on December 14, 2023.
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17	See also ''VideoGame/TouhouLunaNights'' for a {{Metroidvania}} game based on the same franchise.
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19	----
20	!Alongside those the from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' and the original ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games, the tropes in these games are:
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22	* AmbiguouslyEvil: In the second game it's never explained whether [[spoiler:Remilia willingly went along with Yukari's plan in order to acquire more power for herself, or if Yukari [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed her]] or had the Saigyou Ayakashi [[GrandTheftMe control her]] in order to get her to go along with it]].
23	* AnimeThemeSong: The opening theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUY5XRA6IXU&hd=1 afraid]] from ''Stranger's Requiem''.
24	* AnnoyingArrows: Averted; Those arrows will ''hurt.'' Especially if loosed by Red Archer Fairies.
25	* ArtStyleDissonance: [[InvertedTrope An inversion of the normal use.]] The visuals are the only thing that's really any darker than the original ''Touhou'' games.
26	* AwesomeButImpractical:
27	** Sakuya's Stopwatch is useful in only a handful of situations.
28	** [[spoiler:Flandre]], after Stage 6 and [[spoiler:Remilia]], in Phantasm, as partners; the two are your heaviest hitters, the former dealing good damage in a wide circular area, the latter doing ''crazy'' damage in a spear shaped area. The disadvantage? They cost a lot of souls in order to summon them, when you can simply use a combination of your skills and partners like Meiling and Alice plus Sakuya's Knives to handle pretty much anything in the game. Doesn't detract from the "'''[[OhCrap Holy Shit!]]'''" factor the first time you summon them, though.
29	* AxCrazy: Flandre really went off the slope in the second game.
30	* BadassCape: Marisa in the second game.
31	* BerserkButton: Sakuya does NOT take kindly to anyone messing with her mistress.
32	* {{BFS}}: Flandre's Laevateinn doesn't look so intimidating at first glance at her sprite, right? Then she starts swinging around the gigantic laser blade. Also, Remilia's Gungnir is quite the spear. Apart from getting a design overhaul, it is larger (and rather heavy looking) than Remilia is on top [[BeamSpam of spawning lasers from its flight path]]. [[ShmuckBait Try getting hit by the attacks where those weapons are involved.]] Go ahead and see how much damage a direct hit will inflict. Hint: [[spoiler:You may lose as little as 40% (laser) to up to '''80%''' (direct hit).]]
33	* BlindIdiotTranslation: The first game was translated into English and French by Frontier Aja themselves. While the translation is for the most part readable and isn't anywhere close to the level of, say, ''VideoGame/ZeroWing'', it does have a few instances of this.
34	* BrutalBonusLevel: Both of the Extra Stages in general, but especially the second game's Phantasm stage, which introduces a host of new and annoying enemies. It's also quite long to boot.
35	* CallingYourAttacks: Marisa does this in the second game with her Master Spark.
36	* {{Crossover}}: Between ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' and ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''
37	* DarkerAndEdgier: The designs and settings look very grown up and dark. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope But the story and characterizations are every bit as nutty as its mainstream counterpart.]]]]
38	** The second game plays it pretty much straight, seeing as how [[spoiler:Remilia has fused with the Saigyou Ayakashi and is gathering fighting power to make a full bloom. Do note that it's already been established in Touhou canon that the Saigyou Ayakashi is the one truly evil thing in all of Gensokyo and a full bloom would be very bad. Flandre also goes to her fanon portrayals of being a genocidal, amoral maniac.]]
39	* DefeatEqualsFriendship: Cirno in the first game. Alice, Reimu, [[spoiler:and in the Phantasm Stage, Remilia]] in the second game.
40	** Subverted in the second game with Marisa. Sakuya ''tries'' to get her to help them after their battle, but she refuses and goes off to find something to pilfer in the castle. Instead, you get Alice, who WAS defeated earlier in the game.
41	* ElegantGothicLolita: Everyone's clothing takes a turn towards this.
42	* EliteMook: In the Extra and Phantasm stages. These are enemies with a palette swap. They not only attack a lot faster than the regular versions and take more punishment before going down, they do more damage and some of them gain new forms of attack altogether. The one enemy guaranteed to make you rage will be the new Elite Archer Fairies.
43	* EvilLaugh: Several bosses in the sequel. Surprisingly, [[spoiler:Reimu]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSV9_UGdHaY&t=6m56s has the most impressive one]]!!
44	* EnergyWeapon: ''And how!'' Many a ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' veteran would have a heart attack dealing with BulletHell in their {{Metroidvania}} as it is, but some of these bosses can throw enough stuff at you to start throwing ''you'' around as you take damage. Then you get to [[CuteWitch Marisa]] in the second game and have to deal with her [[BeamSpam laser barrage]]. And any encounter with [[{{Ojou}} Re]][[OurVampiresAreDifferent mi]][[ElegantGothicLolita lia]] ''cannot'' go on without her throwing Gungnir at you and you scrambling to get out of her insane range thanks to laser beams spawning at revolving angles from the spear's trajectory.
45	** Thought the above girls were bad enough? Once you finally struggle through [[BrutalBonusLevel the Phantasm stage]] and reach {{SuperBoss}} [[spoiler:Yukari]], her ''opening move'' will not only put the above girls to ''shame'', it will also likely elicit [[OhCrap the appropriate reaction]] from you. ''And she's barely getting started.''
46	* ExtraLives, OneUp: Shaped like Yukkuris! There's always one well hidden in each stage, but beware of the SchmuckBait mentioned below!
47	* {{Expy}}: [[JustifiedTrope Expected]], since these games are ''Castlevania'' with ''Touhou'' characters in place of [[Characters/{{Castlevania}} the usual ones]]. These are just some examples):
48	** Reimu: Of the Belmonts, but especially of Trevor and Richter.
49	** Remilia: Obviously, of Dracula. The second game adds on the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' shout-outs and also adding some of Dracula's moves to her attack pattern. [[spoiler:Subverted in the sense that she never meant to do any real harm to anyone. At least, out of her own will...]]
50	** Sakuya: In the first game, of [[TheGrimReaper Death]]. In the second game, of Alucard. Then subverted again; Sakuya, unlike Alucard to his father, is unquestionably loyal to Remilia. There's also her already-present expy to [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]].
51	** Patchouli: Of Sypha Belnaldes.
52	** Komachi: Of The Ferryman.
53	** Yuyuko: Of [[TheGrimReaper Death]], in the second game. Another Subversion; [[spoiler:she holds no loyalty to Remilia, and in fact may have been working to control her along with [[TheChessmaster Yukari]].]]
54	** Saigyou Ayakashi: [[spoiler:POSSIBLY of [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow Chaos]], given how it uses Remilia and makes her go OneWingedAngel, while in the original ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series, Chaos is the source of Dracula's power. They're also both ''very'' much {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, so there's that.]]
55	* FaceHeelTurn: In the second game, [[spoiler:Reimu is asked by Yukari]] to watch over the newly built castle in Hakugyokurou.
56	* FakeDifficulty: A criticism of the first game. There simply isn't enough room on the screen to display everything. As a result, it is not uncommon to walk right into a bird that suddenly appears out of nowhere '''''in the very first area'''''! Annoyingly, the action zooms out for boss fights. There is also the unfair "critical hits" that you take from enemies and bosses that you can't do to them. This is thankfully remedied in the second game.
57	** Though, not completely. Critical hits can still happen in the second game, but much less frequently. Still, getting blown down to near-death from full life after eating a [[spoiler:Gungnir]] to the face is particularly cringe-worthy.
58	* FastballSpecial: Ran, as usual, will throw Chen into the fight at regular intervals. Yukari throws Ran ''and'' Chen out as well.
59	* ForDoomTheBellTolls: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s25KYRvfaAY&feature=related Flandre's theme in the first game has this]]. Considering who you're dealing with, it's hardly surprising.
60	* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Remilia displays these when she [[spoiler:goes OneWingedAngel.]]
61	* GrandTheftMe: A possibility for why [[spoiler:Remilia]] went along with [[spoiler:Yukari's]] plan, this time the reasoning being that [[spoiler:[[WhenTreesAttack the]] [[EldritchAbomination Saigyou]] [[SealedEvilInACan Ayakashi]]]] possessed the former before the final battle. Given that [[spoiler:the Saigyou Ayakashi]] is closely related to another certain character with the power to invoke death, this also explains the whole [[spoiler:"acquiring the power to manipulate death whilst alive"]] thing.
62	* GratuitousEnglish: The chorus of the second game's FinalBoss theme, "Rose-Killing Literature/{{Carmilla}}".
63	-->''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGbyEzHlMo "Scarlet sky is falling down, bury me six feet under." (repeat)]]''
64	* HellishPupils: Flandre and Remilia, though it's much more noticable in the former's eyes.
65	* HitboxDissonance: Your hit-box is a lot smaller when flying. However, because you do much more damage with your regular attack on the ground, it's really only recommended that you use this to avoid enemy attacks rather than offensively.
66	* InsaneTrollLogic: What was Remilia's motivation for creating the Scarlet Devil Castle and releasing the Red Mist again? [[spoiler:Because she read a magazine about buried treasure near the "Red Castle" and wanted to dig for it, so she had Sakuya build the Scarlet Devil Castle and expected buried treasure to magically appear but she needed to work both day and night]]. Marisa calls her out for being an even bigger airhead than ''Cirno'' on that one.
67	* ItAmusedMe: Basically summarizes Yukari's actions; however, it seems to border on ForTheEvulz at times.
68	* KaizoTrap: [[spoiler:Yukari's]] special attack in the Phantasm stage of the second game. Even if you manage to kill her before she can disappear, it will continue to go on until you grab the crystal (and is more than capable of killing you in that time).
69	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Yukari in the second game. Made even more annoying by the fact that while you ''do'' get a boss fight with her, it's more of a WarmUpBoss in preparation for Remilia's final form, as her attacks are simple and she doesn't even use a special attack like all of the other bosses. She's just ''toying'' with you.]]
70	** [[spoiler:She doesn't even get her comeuppance in the Phantasm stage as the "plot" is completely unrelated to her actions in the main game and instead focus on her having invited the other girls for a Danmaku festival.]]
71	* LargeHam: Ran surely likes to put the hog derivatives in her lines in the second game. It's quite noticeable compared to the rest of the cast.
72	* LifeDrain: [[spoiler:Remilia]] gets props for being the sole ''Touhou'' boss to pull this on you yet, but will only do so in the second game; Getting hit by this thing results in losing a good third of your LifeMeter, accompanied by a discouraging life meter recovery for [[spoiler:Remilia]]. On Normal and below, dodging it is easy. Not so on Hard.
73	* MindControlEyes: Remilia sports these while channeling the Saigyou Ayakashi and forced to go OneWingedAngel.
74	* MoodWhiplash: The second game is very serious, but the Phantasm stage is about [[spoiler:fireworks]].
75	** Also in the first game where Remilia hid away after finding an ancient book, ordered Sakuya to build a red castle and lured Reimu and Marisa to come, all so that she could [[spoiler:have a treasure hunt]]... When she reveals this, the music stops playing and is replaced with bird tweets. After the situation is cleared up (in a sense) it ends with Cirno calling Remilia an idiot.
76	** The confrontation in II after the Reimu fight seems to be heading for a dramatic confession from Reimu about her motives, only to veer into a declaration from Reimu [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt that she quits]].
77	* NavelDeepNeckline: Yukari has a neckline that exposes all of her cleavage and a part of her stomach.
78	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Flandre in the second game.
79	* NintendoHard: It's the lovechild of ''Touhou'' and ''Castlevania''. What did you expect?
80	** The second game isn't that hard, however. Other than the Phantasm stage.
81	* NoArcInArchery: Subverted with the bow faeries in the second game, who are shockingly accurate with their arrows.
82	* NoblewomansLaugh: [[spoiler:Reimu, of all people, sometimes does this when performing her special attack.]]
83	* NoFairCheating: Reimu can fly indefinitely in the first game. Think you can use this to bypass many of the hazards in the wide open stages? Wrong. The top of these areas are often full of red puffballs that will chase you relentlessly if you get anywhere close to them. The second game alleviates this problem by limiting the amount of time Sakuya can fly.
84	* {{Omake}}: After you complete the second game, an item called "Omake" is unlocked. This consists of four skits featuring the characters in the game in a bit of comedic slice-of-life.
85	** In the game's CompilationRerelease, it includes the abridged soundtracks, illustrations, and sprites from both games.
86	* OminousPipeOrgan: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFNj0fAf_ZU&feature=related Remilia's]] theme in the first game has these together with a bit of ForDoomTheBellTolls.
87	* OneWingedAngel: Surprisingly averted in the first game. This being a Castlevania clone and Remi being Dracula's {{expy}}, some would expect her to turn into some ugly and absurdly powerful monster after beating her once. Instead, the second half of the final battle is a BossRush. The second game plays it straight, though. After beating Remilia [[spoiler:and Yukari]], she turns into some kind of giant monster cage with her inside, not unlike Dracula's throne in ''Symphony of the Night''.
88	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Subverted with the Scarlet sisters, since it's their natural eye color.
89	** Played straight with Sakuya just before the final battle where her eyes start to glow red.
90	* SchmuckBait: In the second game, you can get a 1up at the final stairway before Remilia by standing on the awning above the stage entrance. The 1up falls on top of you. You come across this same area again in the Phantasm Stage, but if you try the trick here, a huge doll head falls on top of you instead, resulting in a OneHitKill if it hits you. If you manage to dodge the doll head, however, an actual 1up will appear.
91	* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Marisa and Alice in the first game. Hilariously, in the second game, the whole reason Alice came to Scarlet Devil Castle is because she was worried about Marisa. And when Marisa leaves Alice behind as she leaves, the Scarlet Mansion residents express sympathy for Alice having been dumped.
92	* ShoutOut: Apart from the expected shout-outs to ''Castlevania'', there's also one that any ''Touhou'' fans well-acquainted with the series' memes [[LateArrivalSpoiler should have been expecting]] upon learning that you can use Sakuya's Stopwatch in the second game:
93	--> '''[[{{Meido}} Sa]][[NinjaMaid kuya]]:''' Uses Stopwatch "''Watashi no sekai...''" ("[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure My world...]]")
94	** The omake with Remilia and Sakuya ends with Remilia declaring Sakuya the winner of a contest to see who could alleviate her boredom the best, and upon the others expressing their disbelief, she launches into an adorable "[[Literature/ShakuganNoShana Urusai, urusai, urusai!]]"
95	* {{Superboss}}: Flandre in the first game, and [[spoiler:Yukari]] in the second. However, while the second game's BrutalBonusLevel is longer and harder than the first game's, Flandre is harder to defeat than [[spoiler:Yukari]].
96	* ThisIsUnforgivable: In the second game, by the time that Sakuya confronts Yukari during the final battle, she's plenty pissed off for what Yukari put her ''ojou-sama'' through, and she lets her know this in no uncertain terms.
97	-->'''Yukari:''' "Ah, I wonder if the air was too heavy for a vampire."\
98	'''Sakuya:''' "Yakumo Yukari... {{you\|Exclamation}}!"[[labelnote:*]]Just in case we're not fully aware of how pissed Sakuya is, the particular form of "you" she uses here is ''kisama''.[[/labelnote]]\
99	'''Yukari:''' "Hahaha... don't let yourself boil over yet. There's more to come."\
100	'''Sakuya:''' "I can't... [[ThisIsUnforgivable I'll never forgive you for this!]]"[[labelnote:*]]The Japanese Sakuya uses here is "''Omae wa zettai ni yurusanai!''" which basically means "I will absolutely not forgive you!" In other words: [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Yukari is in for one hell of an asskicking]].[[/labelnote]]
101	* ThrowingDownTheGauntlet: [[spoiler:Remilia]] in ''2'' does this in pure "What is a Man?" fashion.
102	* TimeStandsStill: As in the games these games are based on, this is Sakuya's main power. Time can be stopped for up to three seconds before resuming, though certain enemies are immune to the ability.
103	* TookALevelInBadass: You got it. No member of the cast has lost a bit of the sheer awesomeness they had in the original games, and in fact, they have gained some levels in badass ''looks''. Yes, even [[LittleMissBadass Cirno]] and [[BadassAdorable Chen]]. Made all the more apparent in both games' [[BrutalBonusLevel extra stages]], where '''''everything''''' Takes a Level in Badass.

Context VideoGame / KoumajouDensetsu