Touhou Fearless Frogslayer

When I first saw this game on my timeline, I was really captivated by the art. It looked clean and charming and a result I added it to my wishlist. I picked it up on the summer sale and thought hey, it looked like a short game and I’ll give it a shot.

Well, I sat down tonight after a long day out, and played it not only from start to finish, but also 100% the game.

Now granted, it “is” a short game. Just from playing the story without thinking about achievements it took about 2 or so hours? It took me another hour to get the last remaining achievements, well specifically just one that required a hitless clear of a boss, but honestly it was just a really fun 2 hours.

To summarize what the game basically is, it’s a short adventure game interspersed with some fights in the style of a JRPG with dodging elements. The combat system while not complex is enjoyable and the dodging elements adds a bit of interactivity. The difficulty also isn’t so punishing that you have to dodge EVERY move, but for some bosses (and especially for the no hit achievement), you do want to learn some of the moves to avoid sources of damage. There was one boss that did give me some trouble, but it was fun because some of the moves had interesting ways of mixing up the dodge system and it was intuitive enough to figure out without being told explicitly.

My favourite part of the game though is just the presentation of well… everything! The dialogue portraits, the battle sprites, Cirno running around with her girlfriend Daiyousei, the music in every scene, but what I absolutely loved is Cirno’s notebook after each battle. Just as an example:

There’s something about all the little comments Cirno writes about each enemy that really made me smile, and her journey was just fun to play through.

I’m talking a lot about this game despite it being short, but it genuinely surprised me with how much fun I had with it haha. For a few dollars, it was absolutely worth the price.