- [1.About the game]
In this game, you play as living dolls, following the instructions of your master. (well, except Medicine)
It's a danmaku experience full of poisons and suffocation.
That means, this is a shooting game (bullet hell), where the screen is full of enemy
bullets which you have to avoid, and enemies which you have to shoot.
Your goal is to defeat the enemies and clear the levels one at a time, in sequence,
to solve the incident affecting Gensokyo.
- [2.Story]
gloomy and lifeless. But that is not the only problem: Children’s spirits have flooded out
en masse to possess nearby phantoms and fairies.
The source of these strange phenomena is the Nameless Hill, a forgotten land of sin.
These spirits have overwhelmed the lands, from the Sai no Kawara to Gensokyo, and the
miasma’s spread has taken the usual human incident resolvers out of commission.
In response, the sage Okina Matara held a discussion with the other sages of Gensokyo,
and sent out her two dancers to solve the incident. Meanwhile, in the Primate Spirit Garden,
Keiki Haniyasushin sent out her pride and joy –- Mayumi Joutouguu –- to investigate,
in the hopes of expanding her territory into Gensokyo.
As for Medicine Melancholy, someone who dwells in the Nameless Hill itself, she appearsto have set off on her own. In particular, she is conducting her affairs, in her own time,
separately compared to the others, as if with her own agenda in mind.
Thus, the four of them headed towards the Nameless Hill.
Coincidentally, all four of them are doll-like beings.
- [3.Controls]
Shot key (Z) : Shoot
Bomb key (X) : Spell card (bomb) (limited use)
Slow key (Shift) : Slow down your movement.
This puts your character in a focused state (focusing),
so your character’s hitbox and grazebox will also be visible.
Pause key (Esc) : Pause the game
User 1 key (C) : Perform a Spirit Release (explained later)
User 2 key (V) : Press and hold this key after the first text box of any dialogue scene,
to skip subsequent text boxes.
In-game, only Satono and Mai can use this key, to swap between each other.
Please see the “config.exe” file next to the game executable,
for reference and reassigning of the controls above.
Alt+Enter : Toggles between window mode and fullscreen mode.
Left Ctrl: Speeds up replays and the Staff Roll.
- [4.System and items]
Point item : These give you score, and also raise your M-Point Item Value.
The height at which you collect them is irrelevant.
Infant spirit item : Collecting this charges up your Spirit Release for use.
See the relevant section for further details.
Infant Spirit Meter : When spirit items are collected, the Infant Spirit Meter on the right
of the screen fills up. See Spirit Release for further details.
Heart’s Poison Meter : This is a meter of lily of the valley flowers (a.k.a. suzuran, or
convallaria majalis) on the far right. As you graze bullets, the
meter fills from right to left. Once full, it turns white, and
you unlock a Last Word, an optional end-of-level extra
attack. Last Words do not take away lives or bombs even if
you fail, so they are always beneficial to you.
- [5.Spirit Release]
Infant spirit items fill the Infant Spirit Meter on the right of the screen.
When it is full, you can use a Spirit Release with the User 1 key (C), and release the
infants’ spirits around you. This creates a shockwave attack that keeps you invincible,
and clears away enemies and their bullets, like taking candy from a baby.
Except you’re taking the babies... and you’re throwing the babies at enemies...
and the babies have long since passed away. (there’s no candy either lol)
There’s no candy, but each Spirit Release produces a free spellcard item (bomb) for you,
so use the Spirit Release proactively!
- [6.Miasma Promptuary]
Pink : Has a diamond texture. Collect it for an extra life! Oh, how refreshing!
Red : Staying inside for too long is dangerous; you will lose a life after 2 second.
Orange: These clouds fire out bullets, so stay far away.
Yellow : You’ll be immobilised as long as you’re inside it.
Green : You’ll move faster as long as you’re inside it, for better or worse.
Light blue : Totally safe; guides your way through poison. Can still visually distract you.
Indigo : A puff of pacifism. You won’t be able to shoot when inside.
Purple : Perhaps you’re already familiar with purple miasma; it slows you down.
It’s an old friend! But you have no camera to help you this time.
Use the Poison Lab found in the main menu to practice working with the poisons'
appearances and effects for yourself.
- [7.Advice for Novices]
Spirit Releases. Please look for the pink clouds and frequently use Spirit Releases! Pink clouds
have diamond textures, but there are also dangerous red poisons -- you must tell them apart.
If you see suspicious objects approaching, a basic strategy is Streaming and Restreaming.
Focus (press Shift), then slowly move sideways, thus gathering aimed bullets together behind
you, giving you space. When running out of space, do a quick dash in the same direction, wait,
and let the aimed attacks target your new location. Then you can stream back in reverse.
Remember to use spell cards (bombs) anytime you feel threatened; it’s wiser than wasting
all the bombs you currently have after accidentally getting hit. (The excess WILL be lost.)
- [8.Scoring]
needlessly, capture spell cards successfully, and collect point items, which do not change their
value depending on your height. Having lots of lives, spell cards, and point items ensures the
end-of-stage score bonus is higher.
Grazing helps, but is not single-handedly enough to greatly influence score.
Of course, you should ensure you graze enough to unlock the Last Word, in order to get its
spell card bonus and point items as well.
- [9.Flower Wreath of Death]
half a second. Using a spell card (bomb) during this time produces a deathbomb.
Deathbombs are almost identical to normal spell cards (bombs), but there will be an
additional flower wreath that expands outwards from you. Continuous damage is dealt to
enemies enclosed within.
Do note that deathbombs will always consume TWO spell cards. Only one spell card will
be consumed if you have exactly one left.
