Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context VideoGame / DanmakuAmanojakuImpossibleSpellCard

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/touhou14point3boxart.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Impossible? Come on, [[TemptingFate it can't be that hard]]...]]
3
4''Danmaku Amanojaku ~ Impossible Spell Card'' is a video game created by Team Shanghai Alice for Windows computers in 2014. It's [[GaidenGame the 14.3th videogame installment]] in the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' franchise.
5
6After the events of ''VideoGame/TouhouKishinjouDoubleDealingCharacter'', the amanojaku troublemaker Seija Kijin has been collecting some of [[EvilWeapon the tools that were corrupted by the dangerous energies of the Miracle Mallet]]. Alarmed, someone places a bounty on Seija's head, and many {{youkai}} set out to claim it. Seija's opponents are no longer interested in [[DuelsDecideEverything a civilised duel]], so they wield [[GameBreaker illegal Spell Cards designed to be impossible to dodge]]... but they're not the only ones willing to cheat, and Seija will use every trick in her new arsenal to snatch victory.
7
8The game has a similar overall structure to ''VideoGame/TouhouBunkachouShootTheBullet'', being [[BossGame divided into groups of short "scenes" instead of stages]], but with more conventional gameplay. Seija can equip one of nine "cheat items", each with a GameBreaker power, and later can equip a second item for a passive ability.
9
10A single-stage "Score Attack" edition of the game named ''Danmaku Amanojaku Gold Rush'' was playable at Tokyo Game Expo 2014, where Seija uses the Miracle Mallet to convert Reimu's bullets into coins (similar to the gameplay of ''[[VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei Fairy Wars]]''). ''Gold Rush'' is non-canon and has never been publicly released.
11----
12!!This game provides examples of:
13* AchievementSystem: With upside-down trophies, naturally.
14* ArmoredButFrail: In scene 4-2, Seiga hides behind her sidekick Yoshika, who can take a lot of damage. However, Seiga's own health is laughably low, and the Spell Card can be trivialized by [[spoiler: getting right on top of Seiga's head before the spell begins]].
15* AutoRevive: The "Substitute Jizo" item grants Seija multiple lives.
16* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: Mamizou tries to convince Seija to surrender by telling her that her exploits will soon be in {{tengu}} newspapers, where some of Gensokyo's most powerful figures will take notice of them.
17* BeyondTheImpossible: Seija is being hunted by humans and youkai who are "cheating" by using spell cards that are considered impossible to dodge. In normal gameplay, you counter this with magic items that also let you "cheat", however, to get the highest rating, you have to forsake the artifacts and dodge the "un-dodgeable" spells on your own.
18* ChargedAttack: When equipped in the main slot, the "Miracle Mallet (Replica)" can be swung as a powerful melee attack that takes a few moments to charge.
19* CombatPragmatist: On both ends. Everyone breaks the Spell Card rules in a bid to finally take out Seija, who evens the odds with a variety of "cheat items" that let her bypass enemy danmaku in unconventional ways.
20* DrawAggro: When equipped in the main slot, the "Cursed Decoy Doll" item can make itself the target of enemy attacks.
21* DualWielding: Seija can't equip a sub-item until she encounters Mamizou, who suggests she try holding items in both hands at once.
22* EffectiveKnockoff: One of Seija's equippable items is a plastic replica of the Miracle Mallet. While there aren't any indications that it can grant wishes, it's still a useful tool in her arsenal.
23* EvilWeapon: The "cheat items" gained their enhanced powers from exposure to the Miracle Mallet, like the protagonists' corrupted weapons in ''Double Dealing Character''. Though rather than making Seija more aggressive, [[AnimateInanimateObject Raiko]] claims that they're crying from how poorly Seija treats them.
24* EvolvingWeapon: As the player clears more scenes with the same item in the main slot, it will level up and become more powerful. If a scene is cleared ''without'' using an item it counts towards every item at once.
25* ExploitingTheFourthWall: One of Seiga's scenes has her using her ability on the sides of the screen to TeleportSpam.
26* FlawlessVictory: This game will recognize if you can beat an attack without cheating (although some passive effects can still be used), and the AchievementSystem has a secret achievement for players who beat every attack that way, with the description basically being ZUN asking people who got it to tell him in-person about it.
27* FourIsDeath: The enemies of the fourth day are Yuyuko (a ghost), Yoshika (a jiang shi who's closer to being a zombie), and Seiga (a necromancer).
28* GodzillaThreshold: Everyone is so serious about defeating Seija that they've all decided to break the Spell Card rules. Even ''Reimu herself'' gets in on breaking out the illegal spells.
29* HitboxDissonance: Equipping the "Bloodthirsty Yin-Yang Orb" in Seija's sub-slot makes her hitbox smaller, similar to its owner.
30* InvincibilityPowerup: The effect of the "Nimble Fabric" and "Ghastly Send-Off Lantern" items. The Fabric's invincibility is very short but has multiple uses, making it function like a [[ActionCommands dodge maneuver]].
31* ItemAmplifier: When equipped in her sub slot, the "Miracle Mallet (Replica)" boosts the power of Seija's main item.
32* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: This game is what happens when the combatants in a WizardDuel ''stop'' following this.
33* MirrorBoss: Two spell cards are based on things the player can do:
34** Reimu's "Persuasion Needle" is based on her normal shots in games where she's playable - a rapid-fire stream of needles in front of her, combined with homing orbs. The stage title is "Normal Shots Are Scary, Huh?"
35** Stage 4-7, "Wall-Phasing Wormhole," has the boss [[WrapAround wrapping around]] the stage borders, similar to the Umbrella item. The stage title is "Enemies Have Freedom Too."
36* NeverTrustATitle: Despite the game being called ''Impossible Spell Card'', it is actually possible to clear every single scene without using items. [[DownplayedTrope However]], many of them are absurdly difficult, to the point that managing to do so is the final achievement of the game and the flavor text says you should go tell ZUN himself about it.
37* NoPlotNoProblem: Being programmed over the course of a few days, ''Gold Rush'' has no plot and features Seija wielding the real Miracle Mallet (which should be [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield impossible]]). ZUN says [[MST3KMantra not to think about it too hard]].
38* PowersAsPrograms: Due to being [[EvilWeapon corrupted by the Miracle Mallet]], each cheat item lets Seija wield some of the powers of its original owner.
39* ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst: Seiga resorts to her "cheat items" in response to the other characters using illegal Spell Cards.
40* SelfRecoverySurprise: Mokou's final Spell Card, "Fire Bird -Legend of Immortality-", is deceptively straightforward with a small life bar, only getting moderately tougher if you drag it out. Deplete the life bar for the first time, though, and Mokou resurrects in a violent shower of bullets before resuming the Spell Card.
41* SmartBomb: Both the "Tengu's Toy Camera" and "Four-Foot Magic Bomb" are capable of clearing bullets from part of the screen - the former works like the gameplay of ''VideoGame/TouhouBunkachouShootTheBullet'', while the latter is planted on the screen and detonates a few moments later. Equipping the Magic Bomb as a sub-item will also add a minor bullet-clearing effect to Seija's main item.
42* SpreadShot: The effect of "Cursed Decoy Doll" when equipped as a sub-item.
43* SprintShoes: The effect of the "Tengu's Toy Camera" when equipped as a sub-item.
44* {{Teleportation}}: The power of the "Bloodthirsty Yin-Yang Orb" when equipped as her main item.
45* VillainProtagonist: The game has you playing as Seija, the true BigBad of ''Double Dealing Character,'' as she fights off everyone trying to claim the bounty on her head.
46* WrapAround: The "Gap Folding Umbrella" item lets Seija teleport from one edge of the screen to the other. Unlike other examples of this trope in the series, she can do this on the vertical edges of the screen as well, rather than only the horizontal ones.

Top