Touhou: Phantasmagoria of Festive Effervescence (東方: 花火映塚 )

Phantasmagoria of Responsive Prayers, huh? An interesting concept on what might have been, if Team Shanghai Alice stuck with their initial gameplay loop. The How to Play didn't really prepare me and it wasn't until Keiki I really understood what I was trying to do other than dodge bullets and paddle balls. The ability to shoot to bounce the ball adds depth but is so unpredictable that it ends up more being a detriment. You want to time your shots to avoid the ball so a new trajectory doesn't send it where you can't paddle. Stage design ends up being very important in this. The Extra Stage  turned into an endurance slog through ten resets as it was purely just a race to empty the screen.

I can't get over how adorable the art is. What a cute style. The music was seemingly good, but that soundfont disagrees with my ears. I wish I had a friend on hand to try the multiplayer, as that is certainly where this game would shine.