Around the World! Taiko 3DS 3 Boss Battles

Spoilers warning ahead.

The third Taiko game for 3DS's Story Mode stars the Taiko siblings Don and Katsu traveling the world in order to help a couple of new companions: the sorceress Tia and the monkey-like creature Popokaka.

Emerging from a giant plate during a museum visit by the drum brothers, the two seek help as planet Earth's balance is in danger! Six powerful artifacts known as the Mystery Items are missing from their original locations and odd incidents are happening all over the world as a result, due to the items being originally used to seal the power of other-wordly, dragon-like creatures known as the Ryuumyaku, which inspired folklore legends all over the world across the ages. The mayhem has been caused by the actions of members from Hexaglia, a secret mage-powered society who seeks the Ryuumyaku's powers for their mischievous purposes.

The Mystery Adventure mode inherits the Story mode mechanics of Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken's adventure, with the return of Clash notes from Wii 2 (for random battles only), up to 8 different members to be employable for battles and the possibility to use magic to grant several perks to the whole party.

Twitter Snippets (29 July 2016) - The Conflict Between Aomori Nebuta and the Next Livestream

【告知】8/19(金)18時～「太鼓の達人公式生放送」にスペシャルゲスト「t+pazolite」さんが登場決定だドーン！ということは…!?生放送で一緒に盛り上がるドン♪放送ページ⇒https://t.co/ofw3UQbDOE pic.twitter.com/VNNlZcLI7q

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 29 luglio 2016

For some Twitter news from the Taiko Team, we have to roll back the clocks to yesterday for a selection of tweets that somehow escaped our sight.

Starting with the meatier news, we now have some more details to look forward to in the August '16 livestream such as its length (6 to 9:30 PM, Japan time), the fact that this will be yet another Taiko/Synchronica broadcast joint and that both portions will feature HARDCORE TANO*C composer t+pazolite as a special guest. We now have the link to the future broadcast, too!

【告知】どんちゃんのねぶたが青森ねぶた祭に登場します！
日時 2016年8月2、3、4、6日。各日19:10～21:00
詳細 https://t.co/7RF88NOjH5
運行団体「青森市PTA連合会」 pic.twitter.com/tVELWfO8Tc

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 29 luglio 2016

If you live in Japan and happen to be attending at the Aomori Nebuta Festival's parade, this next tweet is for you! Early this August, it'll be possible to spot some Taiko no Tatsujin-themed balloons, with Don-Chan in the outfit above being the main star.

新しいお便りがきました「みんなのおかげで、あと１難易度分の譜面をつくったら終わりまでこれました。ありがとうございました。ビーム爆発しろ（江東区 サラリーマン 男性）」

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 29 luglio 2016

For those who are waiting the Taiko port of the BMS-spawn song conflict, its mysterious notecharter wanted to leave a couple of brief messages about his job.

The so-dubbed 'Koto Salaryman-Man' declares his gratitude for being put in charge of the popular track, while also briefly expressing the struggles he/she had for making a chart capable of reaching 'a certain degree of difficulty' while following the rhythm (and trying to sing the song while working on it!). The last thing uttered in the 2nd message is a 'White Beam Explosion', so are we going to witness yet another hellish trademark cluster explosion at some point?

Twitter Snippets/Across Japan (July 30 2016): Eel Day Deja vu

Image Source

Today in Japan falls the so-called 'Doyo no Ushi' (土用の丑の日, lit. "Midnight of the Ox")... oh yeah, last year we also did this already. The picture is also the same as last year, so yeah.

Cutting the duplications, Unagi no Tamashii Rock will be available from July 30 through August 14, on both Japan Red ver. and Asian White ver. Catch it if you want to play it (again).

Song of the Week! 30 July 2016

Mobile gaming has been quite the chit-chatted topic in the last few weeks due to the rise of a certain mobile app in particular, so we decided to reflect this tidal wave with a 2-week feature about Taiko and mobile gaming!

For Part 1, today we're taking a look at a couple of mobile games whose most iconic themes have made their way into Bandai Namco's drumming franchise.

3DS3 Update (July 28 2016): A Midsummer Night's Update

There is so many new stuff there is no space for an intro... or am I just too under-interested of filler to make up stuff? Must be the heat.

DLC: Summer Break Anime Pack (August 4, 500 yen +tax)
 怒りをくれよ Ikari o Kure Yo
　　　「ワンピース フィルム ゴールド」より One Piece Film Gold
 超絶☆ダイナミック！? Chouzetsu☆Dynamic!? Console debut
　　　「ドラゴンボール超」より Dragon Ball Super
 スタートライン！ Start Line! Console debut
　　　「アイカツスターズ！」より Aikatsu Stars!
 いつも何度でも Itsumo Nando Demo Console debut
　　　「千と千尋の神隠し」より Spirited Away
 OLA!!
　　　映画「クレヨンしんちゃん オラの引越し物語～サボテン大襲撃～」より Crayon Shin-chan: My Moving Story! Cactus Large Attack!

DLC: WCS2016 Preliminary Pack (August 4, 300 yen +tax)
 トオリヨ Toori Yo Console debut
　　　テヅカ Tezuka
 輝きを求めて Kagayaki o Motomete Console debut
　　　Versus
 Choco Chiptune. Console debut
　　　Ancraft

QR Code Additions

• Hinokagutsuchi (ヒノカグツチ) (Short Distance Type)
  from CoroCoro Comics (July 15)
• Space Doguu (うちゅうどぐう) (Long Distance Type)
  from CoroCoro Ichiban! (July 21)
• Black Knight (ブラックナイト) (Magic Type)
  from Bessatsu TelebiGames Magazine Special Splatoon Issue (July 28)
  from TelebiGames Magazine September 2016 (August 1)
• Fierce Poison Grass (モウドクソウ)  (Magic Type)
  from CharaParfait (August 1)
• Outfit: Vacation (バカンス)
  from Midsummer Treasure Hunt Attack (look from participating store for posters)

Namco Taiko Blog (July 28 2016): August in Red ver.: Celestially Heroic

Paling in comparison with the four whopping collaborations and new songs for August 3's version update, here a small little news burst about August 1-2's additions.

DonChare Unlock Song: August 2016
 君のプラネット Kimi no Planet Arcade debut

Gift/Reward Shop limited outfit: August 2016
Hero (ヒーロー) (not to be confused with 勇者 which we sometimes translate as Hero)


Other than that there's not much else except asking you to stay tuned to the first DonChare of the version. Next week we take a retrospective with the Team on the song choices for WCS2016. Come back if you are interested.

Link to original post

First Video: Battle -Denkousekka-

 Battle -Denkousekka- (バトル―電光石火―) Puzzle & Dragons Cross (2/4/5/8; 364 notes on Oni)

The Japanese Midnight has come, and right at the end of this Wednesday are also the first videos of the battle theme from the latest couple of Puzzle & Dragons titles for the Nintendo 3DS.

Much like the previous P&D songs, it's quite the short challenge with 1/16 note clusters that can still bring on a fight with them. Watch out for the change of pace at the end!

Taiko Plus/STH: One Piece Film Gold Collaboration, the Full Details

Now that the Taiko x One Piece collaboration has been openly advertised by Bandai Namco in everything Taiko-related, it's time to frame the whole picture of what mobile players will get out of the event for their Taiko mobile app.

Namco Taiko Blog (25 July 2016): Taiko AC Red Game Version 1.10

Seven whole items to cover in this big update, whew! Let's see what's in the gift box for arcade players this coming month.

Taiko no Tatsujin x Rakuten Eagles

You know the marketing effort for Taiko is getting super heated up when it shacks up with a baseball team of all things!

Fukubukuro Gyouza Jiman Shoutengai no Uta Lyrics

Artist: Unknown

Taiko Plus/STH: GOOOOOOOOLD! One Piece Film Gold Collaboration

Not sure why it is not advertised on any game news sites or Namco's announcements, but tying in with the new One Piece movie is the movie-version theme song available on Taiko no Tatsujin Plus/Shinkyoku Tori Houdai for a limited time starting July 23, the movie's release date. The app's title screen also gets gilded with the movie's visual.

New Songs: July 23
 怒りをくれよ Ikari o Kure Yo (390 notes on ★6 Oni) NEW!
　　　「ワンピースフィルムゴールド」より One Piece Film Gold

Link to original post

Song of the Week! 23 July 2016

Hi all! This week we dive back into licensed songs for a bit and check out one which could easily fit into both the J-Pop and Anime genres.

Namco Taiko Blog (July 21 2016): August 19 Livestream, Red ver. Ranking Dojo Special

Having been teased first-hand on the WCS2016 Finals, this is the official announcement to the upcoming livestream deeper into the summer.

Date/Time: August 19 2016 18:00~
URL: In preparation
Who: Taiko Team members including Daifuku, Anne, Takemoto, Etou etc.
What:

• Test Stream/Talk Time
• Red ver. Ranking Dojo Special: Ranking Dojo returns for Red ver., and you get to catch first-hand and exclusive scoop
• Red ver. News Corner: in addition to Ranking Dojo, hear out on new collaborations and songs and then some

Link to original post

Red Drumming (13/07/16)

Last week has been a busy one on the livestream front, between the Red Version Launch broadcast and the thrilling conclusion of the World Championships 2016. If you've missed any of these events, we're still here to fill the gaps with the usual commentary and visuals... for real, this time!

Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS3 Story Mode Data: Costumes and Items

**Incomplete as of now. Do tell us if you have more information!**

Random: Don-chan in Yokai Watch 3

After being included for a special battle in Yokai Watch 2, Don-chan is back in the Level-5 RPG world of Yokai Watch 3 Sushi/Tempura for more battles with your new Yokai pals! Without getting into the specific Yokai Watch mechanics here, the battles appears to be available once daily. This reflects back to 3DS3 once again featuring Yokai Watch collaboration elements, similar to the 3DS2/YW2 tie-in.

After the battles, why not relax yourself with a minigame featuring a spinning disk-thing catching notes under the rhythms of Fuunshishi (using actual Kantan and Muzukashii charts)? (Wonder why Fuunshishi is getting so much attention lately though.)

Taiko Plus/STH: Touhou Invasion, Part 3!

We're still using this one, yeah

Let's cut the chit-chat: More Touhou Arrangement songs for the smartphone devices!

Gakkyoku Tori Houdai Adds: July 15
 Bad Apple!! feat. nomico
　　　東方Projectアレンジ Touhou Project Arrange / Alstroemeria Records
 ケロ⑨destiny Kero⑨destiny
　　　東方Projectアレンジ Touhou Project Arrange / Silver Forest

3DS3 Update: When the Song Go Marching Away

Remember how 3DS2 has a song preview bug? It is fixed on the way to 3DS3, probably having no relation to the sacrifice of 3D effects and one save slot. What it does give you is a new bug to play with!

Basically, if you press the MENU button during a song to go to the 3DS main menu then come back, the pausing apparently does not happen to the music and it will keep going. From here the bug goes two ways:

1. Resume before the song is fully played: the chart snaps back to where it should be, and whatever in between are counted as missed. If you have Auto turned on, you can make Mekadon fail a song and reveal that Mekadon does not have a failure spoken line or speech bubble set in the game.
2. Let the song finish playing: the chart goes on normally, letting you play pretty much normally except with the absence of the song.

This glitch actually has opened the possibility of a new challenge of playing despite music disappearing, or even without the drum sound either for maximum rhythmic trial.

(which is basically what you'd normally get by turning the system's volume OFF, but whatever)
In story mode front, like in 3DS2 Chapter 5 it is possible that you can lose the dinghy boat (i.e. your only mode of transport) in the cave, in 3DS3 Chapter 4 Don-chan can be stuck in one of the tents in Yamatai-koku. With autosave now available, falling into this hole of the map apparently is only solvable by force-quitting as soon as possible, or even delete and restart the whole story mode savedata if it is too late.

Remember the death spot!

Image courtesy of livestreamer REBCART @rebcartmusic

Kaze no Naka ni Su o Kufu Kotori Lyrics

Composer: Katsuro Tajima (田島勝朗)
Lyrics: adapted from Aiiro no Hiki (藍色の蟇) by Takuji Ote (大手拓次)
Vocal: Kaori Nishina (仁科かおり)

First Video: WCS2016 Conclusion Special: Amaterasu and then some

 天照 Amaterasu (858 notes on ★10 Oni) NEW!
　　　Tatsh a.k.a 世阿弥 Tatsh a.k.a Zeami
Let's preface with this: it is multiple folds easier than Yuugen no Ran, and champion Yosuga (second time now) can and have DFCed it on the first reveal. The teased exhibition song plays at over 200 BPM with mostly rather-long 16th streams and some scattered 24ths.

Amaterasu is coming to your local AC0R in a future update. (at least confirmed for Japan)



 VICTORIA (858 notes on ★10 Oni) NEW!
　　　Cranky
The third-place playoff features the first reveal of the unannounced composition by Cranky, on the same surprise factor as Yumeiro Coaster back in 2010. Highly mixed streams and inconsistent speeding patterns buries multiple places to easily break combos, like it did to minamitori (4th) ending with a -120 difference to iwagon (3rd).

Coincidentally it also has the same Oni notecount and rating as our other new song of the day. It is unsure if the all-ones KFM rating are just a placeholder or actually serious.

It is also announced here that Cranky's composition (with siromaru et al.) conflict NEW! will also hit AC0R soon. If you did not know it, we talked about its multiple previous appearances in other rhythm games in this Sympho-Neighbours feature.

Literature Review: On Taiko no Tatsujin Olympics Exhibition

In the new Literature Review format, we briefly summarize and link to a selection of editorial post (i.e. not press releases) like interviews with the team during events.

Remember when we preview about a Hong Kong shopping centre hosting a large-scale Taiko no Tatsujin exhibition featuring actual cabinets for free-play? Yeah, the Hong Kong person haven't got time for exclusive original report, but one day I swear.

In for the occasion, series producer Ken Nakadate and visual design lead Takehito Sasaoka travelled all the way to oversee the event. Some of Hong Kong's lifestyle magazine editorial got in touch with them and conducted interviews.

Coinciding with visit by top-class Hong Kong Donders, including WCS2016 Hong Kong representative Ghost, some of the reporters also got to talk to them on general Dondership and their rise to expertise.

The event still has one-and-a-half month to it, ending on August 31 2016. The pop-up merch store opens only on Fridays through Sundays.

Link to original post (Unwire.hk)
Link to original post (HK01)
Link to original post (Metro HK)
Link to original post (BK Milk, with producers) (with Donders)

Song of the Week! 16 July 2016

Long versions of original songs have always been a once-in-a-dime trait in the Taiko no Tatsujin series in general, ranging from less to more relevance thanks to either soundtracks and playable versions.

Although the latter aspect is seen more as a relic of the past these days, long versions of Namco Originals still keep popping up in some way or another! Today on our spotlight there's one of the latest songs following this trend.

Taiko no Tatsujin Red Ver. song list

Released on July 2016, Red Version is the 8th firmware board to arcade Taiko gaming 's third generation hardware model. Being labeled after a color, it's also the 6th main arcade iteration in a row to draw the inspiration for the title from the color spectrum.

Much like with White Version, this firmware came out with no actual new features at launch, by boosting the already-available track selection with new songs and collaboration events behind the horizon while expanding the customization options of Banapassport players as well.

Namco Taiko Blog (14 July 2016) - Red Version's First Update Livestream Details

Alongside the actual Red Version launch (which is occurring today!), we also have a blog entry by Etou which showcases some of the content that will be added in Red Version's first update, illustrated through the slides that have been shown during yesterday's Taiko Team livestream.

Taiko no Tatsujin Red Version update post

Red Version is upon us, and while we're giving the last touches to the new arcade firmware's song list page, have a gradual look at all the new launch songs in this update post!

Last update: Jul 14 | No of updates: 14 | No. of Songs: 579 
Key: Red = series debut; Blue = arcade debut

Quick Takeaways: July 13 Livestream

This post might be removed when the full coverage is ready. Meanwhile, feel free to contribute screenshots and information to help out!

World Championship 2016

• Finals grouping drawn: Image source
• Finals Exhibition Song: 天照 Amaterasu Tatsh a.k.a 世阿弥 Tatsh a.k.a Zeami

AC0 Red ver.

• crossbeats REV. Collab Campaign
• Macross Delta Collab Campaign
• Next update: designed title background, Summer Title Parts Gacha
• 3DS3 Collab Campaign: 5 songs from the game including Utsukushiku Sewashiki Danube Arcade debut, Tia & Popokaka and LindaAI-CUE Petit-chara by tickets

Synchronica

• New version update on July 21
• Otherwise no immediate news in relation to Taiko no Tatsujin

Game Music Showcase: God Eater

Started in 2009, the Bandai Namco-published God Eater series of games has been considered for a long time developer Shift's alternate take on the real-time action game series that focuses on a set of targets to take down, popularized by Capcom with the Monster Hunter series. In the God Eater games' world, the powerful Aragami beasts are destroying every living being that stands their way, and the player, as one of the series' God Eaters, is called to slay these vicious beasts with the use of special weapons that can morph in-battle for both close combat, ranged fire and shielding means in different ways.

God Eater songs had a shy outset in Taiko gaming, with the first ones of the series appearing in the 2nd Taiko generation's latter half. As the series got an increasing recognition during the Taiko generation transitional period, more tracks started to appear from both games and other multimedia sources related to the game series.

Twitter Snippets (12 July 2016) - Taiko V Version's Summer Discount

【告知】7月31日までの期間限定で「太鼓の達人 Ｖバージョン」（ダウンロード版）が30%OFFでゲットできるドーン！！夏だ！太鼓だ！セールだドン！詳しくはこちら→ https://t.co/JbuwoCoFw2 pic.twitter.com/tGJU2DpZLK

— 太鼓チーム (@taiko_team) 12 luglio 2016

While the DLC support for V Version for new content was ended last month, Bandai Namco wants to celebrate the game's 1-year-from-release mark by offering a 30% discount on the digital version's price. This is truly a first in modern Taiko gaming (excluding undocumented eventual local store sales, of course)!

This deal will end on July 31st.

Taiko no Tatsujin 3DS 3 (work-in-progress) fan-translation patch!

A few weeks ago, we have been informed of a brand new, fan-driven patch operation that is still going strong on GBAtemp.net as you're reading those lines. Now that we've finally cleared a good chunk of our blog backlog schedule, let's take a look at the latest project before we head into this Wednesday's Taiko Team livestream.

Shortly after the past translation work for Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken, tiduscrying is back at the helm of Team FULLCOMBO! for a number of patching operations concerning the latest 3DS title, with the major one being the game's English translation. The gameplay video above shows one of the earlier builds playing Night of Knights with the Auto modifier, but the most recent public release of the patch, which is 0.9 as of this post's publishing (link to latest version's demo video), is already covering the great majority of the game's menus and the first names for the Story Mode's characters.

Just like for the team's previous project, tiduscrying has expressed the will of working on the Mystery Adventure mode's dialogue translation in the future. Plus -just like for the 3DS 2 patch- this patch won't interfere with the game's current and future downloadable content (counting legit downloads, too)!

Click here to check the project's progress on GBAtemp.

Touhou Corner: Miscellaneous Origins Songs

On this page, we're listing all the custom Touhou Project arrangements that have been made about tracks that are not specifically coming from a Touhou game.

For the time being, the songs that are featured in this page are all arrangements of original songs that are coming from the so-dubbed "ZUN's Music Collection" album series. Currently the largest series among Team Shanghai Alice's official musical album cycles, each of the releases feature a selection of songs from former Touhou Project games coupled with both brand new arrangements and never-heard-before tracks from ZUN himself, all tied together by a background story being narrated by the author track by track in the enclosed booklet.

Touhou Corner: Double Dealing Character

Touhou Kishinjou (lit. 'Shining Needle Castle') ~ Double Dealing Character (東方輝針城 ～ Double Dealing Character) is the 14th Touhou Project game, released for the 84th Comiket on August 12, 2013. This is also the first title in the series to be available by digital download means as well as physical versions.

In Double Dealing Character, youkai creatures are in a state of rebellion, shortly followed by the awakening of several tsukumogami living in discharged/misused items of any sorts, These anomalies in Gensokyo also affect the main items of Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya, which decide to find out more about the ongoing delicate situation. The chosen heroine's search will lead to the Shining Needle Castle, where the inchling Shinmyoumaru Sukuna is firing up the revolt with the help of her Miracle Mallet, in the attempt to prove to Gensokyo the importance of the inchling population despite the very same Shinmyoumaru being told a deceiving background story for her population by amanojaku Seija Kijin.

ZUN's gaming concept for Double Dealing Character was to make a '2000s neo-retro danmaku shooter' that was simple enough to pick up and play without being defined by either retro or modern features. For that purpose, the game doesn't present any signature gameplay/scoring gimmick in favor of slight feature tweaks like point collection rules and item auto-collection. Once again after Undefined Fantastic Object, extra lives and bombs have to be collected in shards as part of enemies' drops.

The most notable piece of trivia about DDC -aside from its officially-licensed online distribution by Japanese platform Playism- is the fact that this is one of the first Touhou Project games to be officially distributed worldwide (in Japanese), also thanks to Playism. The game's global digital distribution was launched on May 7th, 2015.

Touhou Project: Fairy Wars

With the title 'Fairy Wars', we're referring to the so-dubbed '12.8' Touhou Project game: the spin-off known as Yousei Daisensou ~ Touhou Sangetsusei (妖精大戦争 ～ 東方三月精, lit. 'The Great Fairy War ～ Eastern Three Fairies'). Chronologically placed between the spin-off sequel to Shoot the Bullet and 13th main danmaku shooter Ten Desires, Fairy Wars was published by Kadokawa and sold at Comiket 78 on August 14, 2010.

The story told in Fairy Wars is actually a continuation from a special chapter that was included in the official Touhou Manga Strange and Bright Nature Deity's Volume 2, titled 'Great Fairy Wars'. During the Winter season, the Three Faeries of Light -Sunny Milk, Star Sapphire and Luna Child- were making a plan to terrorize the humans, which required some additional recruits to come to fruition. For that reason, they cracked ice fairy Cirno's house with a flag of the trio to invite her to join her cause. The act has actually destroyed the whole house, so Cirno took the act as a declaration of war from humans! The following Spring, however, forgetting the whole house-destruction situation, Cirno finds the Three Faeries of Light's flag in her new home among her stuff, leading the ice faerie to seek revenge against the trio, as part of her own 'Great Fairy War'.

FW is a danmaku shooter "freezing game", in which enemies are defeated with both regular projectiles and Cirno's ice-related abilities, being able to freeze any bullet that comes from the ice generated by the fairy; by making freeze chains with both her regular shots and the 'perfect freeze' bombs, Cirno is able to drive away her enemies, while at the same time making sure that her "Motivation" is running at high percentages for her to keep on fighting and not to be tired. As opposed to the regular Touhou games having 6 stages, Fairy Wars offers 6 different routes, with 3 different choices to make at the start and two routes to choose from at the end of Stage 1.

Being published by Kadokawa, the same company responsible of the aforementioned Touhou manga series's publishing, Fairy Wars is the first game not to feature art assets made by ZUN, who wanted the manga's artist -Makoto Hirasaka (比良坂 真琴)- to draw all of the characters's portraits in order to keep the consistency from the original manga's drawing style.

Touhou Corner: Undefined Fantastic Object

Touhou Seirensen (lit. 'Star Lotus Ship') ~ Undefined Fantastic Object (東方星蓮船 ～ Undefined Fantastic Object) is the 12th Touhou Project title. Developed alongside the series' third fighting game spin-off, Touhou Hisoutensoku, it was released together with said title at Comiket 76 on August 15, 2009.

Directly following the events of the previous main-line title, the many geysers caused in the events of Subterranean Animism have shot to Gensokyo's surface selected ancient youkai from their thousand-years sleep, together with an unknown flying device whose first dubbed name acts both as the game's title and as a nod to the conventional meaning of UFO, Unidentified Flying Object. According to the character and shot type chosen, one heroine between Reimu, Marisa and Mountain of Faith's Sanae Kochiya will travel Gensokyo for either finding out more about the mysterious construction, raid it for treasures or just exterminating yokai creatures in general. Regardless of the heroine chosen and her motivations behind the travel, it's soon found out that a group of the newly-awoken youkai is gathering artifacts mysteriously displayed as flying saucer UFOs to break the seal that has sent legendary human magician Byakuren Hijiri in a century-long sleep.

The main gameplay-related feature of the game is tied with the UFOs in the game, which can grant players certain advantages upon distruction in form of smaller UFOs that can supply extra points, life parts and bombs. Speaking of bombs, the 2nd-gen attack system for this game has been discharged in order to bring back the Spell Card Bomb system from former Windows titles, in addition to each of the playable characters being able to choose between two kinds of shots.

Diverging from the former Touhou games's Shinto-based feeling, ZUN developed Undefined Fantastic Object's story with Buddhism in mind, be it between the newly-introduced characters' backstories and the many references to Buddhist god Bishamonten. Another unexpected source of inspiration for the game's main theme and general enemy design is Taito, as the year prior this game's release was celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Space Invaders. As ZUN himself worked for a number of years at Taito as a musician, he put several nods to the Japanese software house that often range further than the mere UFO-like enemy looks and "Space Invaders-y" flying pattern formations, such as some of the game's new spell cards being titled after Bubble Bobble sequels Bubble Symphony and Bubble Memories among others!

Site Announcement: Lyrics Feature Request Poll Infinite

Hey guys! We are cutting short of the 2nd Lyrics Feature Request Poll to make changes to how we do Lyrics Feature Request Polls, because maintaining 16-song lists is hard.

Instead of having a massive 16-song vote, we are shrinking to fortnightly Twitter votes with 4 songs. The top voted song will receive a Lyrics Feature on the coming Monday. The remaining 3 songs will roll into the next voting plus refilling with a new song up for vote. Also to not let the less popular songs go to all the votes from previous voting rounds will be counted in all subsequent votes that it appears in.
Addendum (13/09/2016): If ties happen, priority goes to the earliest song added (i.e. the topmost tying choice, as newest songs are added from the back).

As always we are open to reader suggestions (keep them reasonable though, e.g. we are not doing typical J-POP or Anime lyrics), so you can just leave them in the comments or anywhere you reach us.

Now Voting For Lyrics Feature Release of: 2017/05/29 | Vote here

Choices:

 ベラボーマン Bravoman (+2)
竜と黒炎の姫君 Ryuu to Kokuen no Himegimi (+3)
 超絶技巧系少女 Chouzetsu-gikoukei Shoujo

Past Winners

2017/05/08:  ナツモノ☆ Natsumono☆

2017/04/19: 朱の旋律 Aka no Senritsu

2017/03/20:  ほうかご☆マジシャン Houkago☆Magician
2017/03/06:  シューガク トラベラーズ Shugaku Travelers
2017/02/22:  Diver

2017/02/13:  オーディオ de カッ！Audio de Ka!
2017/01/29:  super star shooter
2016/12/31:  レクイエム 怒りの日より Requiem from Dies Irae

2016/12/25:  おにぎりはどこかしら♪ Onigiri wa Doko Kashira
2016/12/07:  タイムトラベラー Time Traveler
2016/11/28:  どきどき☆どんちゃん騒ぎ Dokidoki☆Don-chan Sawagi
2016/11/16:  オール・イン・マイハート All In My Heart
2016/11/07:  電車で電車でGO!GO!GO!GC! -GMT remix- Densha de Densha de GO!GO!GO!GC! -GMT remix-
2016/10/31:  承認欲Q Shounin YokkQ
2016/10/24:  ブルちゃんのおや2 Buru-chan no Oya2
2016/10/17:  カラメルタイム☆ Caramel Time☆
2016/10/03:  深緋の心臓 ‐SCARLET HEART‐ Kokihi no Shinzou -SCARLET HEART-
2016/09/26:  平成太鼓街道～バチの女～ Heisei Taiko Kaidou ~Bachi no Onna~ (+2)
2016/09/19:  シシハゲマイ Shishihagemai
2016/09/15:  トオリヨ Toori Yo
2016/08/29:  リブルとラブルのマジカルファンタジー Libble to Rabble no Magical Fantasy
2016/08/13:  黄泉のイザナミ Yomi no Izanami
2016/08/02:  未来への鍵 Mirai e no Kagi
2016/07/25:  福袋餃子自慢商店街の歌 Fukubukuro Gyouza Jiman Shoutengai no Uta
2016/07/18:  風のなかに巣をくふ小鳥 Kaze no Naka ni Su o Kufu Kotori