Game:

Subterranean Animism (2008)

Duration: 8:13

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195

The Wind Blowing From the Thankless Land
~Fantastic Blowhole~

]|▬▬|[☯]|▬▬|[

Snow falls on the Hakurei Shrine in winter.
It had been destroyed by an earthquake before, but now it's back to normal.

One day, something happened to surprise the Hakurei Shrine's shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei.
That was the sudden appearance of a white pillar shooting into the air - a geyser - near the shrine grounds.

Normally, when something unusual happens, she goes to find out what happened and quickly bring the matter to a close, but this made her happy as much as it surprised her.
After all, the geyser would melt the snow and become a hot spring that would ease the fatigue of both humans and youkai from nearby.

Marisa "... isn't it dangerous to get too close to a geyser?"

Reimu "It could attract visitors to the shrine, so who cares?"
If a hot spring comes up then even villagers will come here, mark my words."

Marisa "Yeah, for the hot spring."

However, Reimu's hopeful observations were off the mark.
The geyser spewed forth more than just water for a hot spring.

One by one a series of grotesque characters appeared. Earth spirits - denizens of the deep underground.

Confused, the two girls wondered what to do about the geyser, so they decided to build a spa.
In fact, the earth spirits were quiet and kept to themselves. Most of them were simply ghosts who had finally been relieved of their ties to this world and allowed to pass on.
In Gensokyo, where youkai and ghosts ran rampant as a matter of course, the appearance of a few earth spirits didn't seem like such a big deal.

However, that decision by the shrine maiden bought the youkai's unhappiness.
There was a secret behind the appearance of the earth spirits about which Reimu and Marisa didn't have the slightest inkling of knowledge.

—— The Scarlet Devil Manor
The magician that lived in the Scarlet Devil Manor, Patchouli Knowledge, sensed danger in the appearance of youkai and earth spirits from underground.
In her readings, she'd learned that somewhere slept a power that was uncontrollable by the likes of the youkai from above ground.
She also knew that youkai shouldn't easily be able to enter the city that lay in the depths.

However, there was almost no-one she could consult with regarding this problem.
Losing her temper with Reimu and company, she grudgingly decided to consult with the youkai who was said to have been in Gensokyo the longest.

This old youkai, Yukari Yakumo, wanted the youkai to refrain from interfering in the affairs of the underground world.

Yukari "The underground world has different arrangements, so we can't act too overtly."

Pache "Well, the humans aren't going to do anything. At this rate we'll lose our initiative; is that what you want?"

Yukari "Hm, that's true... I suppose I have no choice, I can't let you all just do whatever you want again."

Pache　"What do you mean, again... ? In any case, will you do something?
You seem to know something about the underground."

Yukari "No, I can't do anything. Only humans can go to the underground.
Besides, this might be a trap to draw us in."

Yukari promised only to send Reimu to investigate, with youkai staying behind to act in a support role.

—— The sealed youkai awoke together with the violent geyser.
The memories of the earth began to awaken, and Gensokyo would probably regress into an older period from its history.

The youkai of the underground were cast into the depths because of their abominable powers.
It couldn't be a fortuitous thing for humans or youkai if they were to appear again.

The snow, slowly shining.
The palace, surrounded by beautiful colors.

She was there.

]|▬▬|[☯]|▬▬|[

Gugh... Let me put it to you simply... Subterranean Animism definitely lives up to its infamy as the hardest game in the series. Boss spells, attack options, and even the games mechanics are all against you MUCH more than usual here.

Like prior games for stage 1 all you need to do is collect [P] while zipping around to get used to your character. All the enemies float down pretty lazily so you're given plenty of chances to experiment.

Kisume is similarly simple, so long as you don't panic. Should you stay relatively still her attacks are mostly harmless but if she does spook you into recklessly dodging she can become more difficult.

Yamame also doesn't pose too much of a threat. She can surprise you a little if you're not paying close attention or not expecting what she can do. But it's nothing you haven't dealt with before.

Difficulty - Normal
Character - Marisa-Alice
Stage 1 - Fantastic Blowhole
BGM - The Dark Blowhole
Mid-boss - The Fearsome Well Spirit: Kisume
Boss - The Bright Net in the Dark Cave: Yamame Kurodani
BGM - The Sealed-Away Youkai ~ Lost Place

Spell Cards

4:45 - Cool Down
4:52 - Cool Down
4:58 - Cool Down

6:50 - Cool Down
7:09 - Trap Sign "Capture Web"
7:23 - Cool Down
7:35 - Miasma Sign "Filled Miasma"

Translation's courtesy of the Touhou wiki

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