Catholic Game Reviews was provided with a code for Touhou Danmaku Maze by the developer, Ice Fall Creative, and was asked to follow these guidelines for this article:

-This is a first impressions article, not a review, as the game is still in early access. 

-That the article be delayed if Ice Fall Creative believed they could address any criticisms presented.

-That our criticism be fair and constructive (we wouldn’t want to bully Cirno, now would we?).

On Cirno Day, September 9th, I came across a video from Touhou youtuber, Megapig9801, covering a new fangame called Touhou Danmaku Maze. The prospect of another Cirno fan game was quickly intriguing and I decided to reach out to the team at Ice Fall Creative for a code in exchange for press coverage and they agreed. So before diving into the game proper, thank you to Cir9 and the rest of the team for providing us with this opportunity! 

Story

Follow the inevitable shenanigans that ensue when Cirno and Daiyousei decide to create a business selling water-flavored snow cones – a venture that will surely go well! Guide her as she sells at famous locations from the world of Touhou such as the Misty Lake, the Human village, and even her attempt to solicit at the Harukei Shrine.

Gameplay

Touhou Danmaku Maze is a Pac-Man like game where you go around a stage collecting ice crystals to beat the level. However, this isn’t just a game with a Touhou aesthetic added to it, but rather it fully embraces its source material by adding elements from the mainline shoot ‘em ups to make for a really unique experience. Not only is the player tasked with collecting ice crystals, they also have to dodge danmaku (bullet barrages) for exhilarating gameplay. It’s not just danmaku, but spell cards too, as each phase of a stage can drastically alter the gameplay. In Marisa’s stage, she goes from following you around on her broom trying to knock Cirno down to using potions that are similar to the bombs from Bomberman. Each boss also has a final phase where the real joy for Touhou fans will come, but at the request of the developers I won’t spoil anything. 

In relation to the gameplay, I mentioned to the devs that it didn’t feel good to go back to the main menu after completing a level and that it would be better to go back to the world map so that the player could get back to the gameplay faster. They responded that this was something they had been thinking about, and it would be addressed in a future update, and now today when you complete a level, you are taken back to the world map. Thank you, Ice Fall Creative!

Art 

Character art is really expressive, and can immediately be felt from Cirno’s sprite in gameplay, as seeing her become faster and more excited as she collects ice crystals helps the player immerse themselves into the gameplay. Important characters have slight redesigns that help them standout from their appearances in the mainline titles. Cirno and Dai get sunhats, the neat detail is that their iconic bows are on them! To expand on what was mentioned earlier in the gameplay section, the Touhou elements present are respectful to their roles in the mainline games. Bombs are used to transition to the next boss phase. New boss phases have the screen flash with splash art and have the name of a spell card appear. This level of intentional integration is highly appreciated. Seeing the stage art transform as the gameplay evolves also is really neat. An example is the first stage when Cirno is training with Dia, and to shake things up, literally, she borrows a spell card from Tenshi and causes an earthquake. The map is transformed from their icy home in the Misty Lake to a desolate wasteland. The artwork put into boss attacks is also very good, examples include the exciting energy put into the slots that decide your next obstacle in Reimu’s stage or the eeriness of the shadowy clones of Cirno that Keine sends after you in Marisa’s stage. 

Music

Building on the series’ reputation for excellent soundtracks, Touhou Danmaku Maze features a diverse musical landscape. The score ranges from the adrenaline-inducing electric guitar of the main menu to the calming oriental guitar of the human village stage. Similar to Destiny and Pokemon, these tracks evolve during gameplay, transitioning from mellow and calm to fast-paced and intense, creating a strong sense of progression and focus. As Cirno is the protagonist, her character theme is prominently remixed throughout the game’s levels, alongside other character themes from the mainline Touhou games. 

Value

For the price of $10, you can get a game that can be beaten in about an hour, however given how fun the gameplay is, the player will naturally want to spend more time trying to sharpen their maze skills. This is where the real meat of the gameplay loop will come from as players are rewarded trophies that are based on their speed of completion, the amount of times they were hit, and their final score. I personally have been trying to get gold on every stage on the hard difficulty, still getting there though, i’m not that good. Beyond my personal experience, I also believe that the level of polish and passion put into the gameplay, art, and music described earlier also greatly justify the price. My only real gripe comes from the End User License Agreement which doesn’t ask anything crazy of the player, but it always stings not having as much ownership of your games as possible, especially since indie titles aren’t known to include EULAs. Despite having expressed my justification for the price, this will lead me to subtract a point from the game’s score due to my bias against EULAs. If you do decide to check out the game, please make sure to read and accept the EULA before playing. Lastly if you are interested in further exploring the discussion of digital ownership, check out this article by fellow writers SaintWaffles and Catoons on copyright. 

Faith Connection

Moving on, because this is a game that centers around Cirno starting a small business, and the developers being indie devs, the connection can be made to the Church’s emphasis on the local community. The Church teaches that power should be in the hands of as many people as possible rather than focused in the hands of a few people. Chesterton applies this idea to commerce and says that you should shop at your local stores, rather than at chains, because you can reasonably know the people you are supporting versus some far off entity. He also mentions that local businesses are more open to your criticism, as you can reasonably punish a small business owner if you feel they are starting to implement unjust practices. I would also like to tie this into what Pope Leo recently said about if you want something to change, you should do what is reasonably in your power to accomplish it. For example, If you see that there is lots of littering and the city isn’t taking care of it, perhaps in your free time you decide to pick up as much as you can. This also reminds me of what ZUN, the creator of Touhou, said about creating the games you want, but don’t see made. Indie games often feel as if they are bursting with passion and creativity in comparison to Triple AAA titles that can feel souless, just another game to make the investors happy. To end this article, here is a reflection provided by the National Catholic Reporter from the late Pope Francis to reflect upon: 

“[Small businesses]… don’t appear on the world’s richest and most powerful lists and, despite the difficulties, they create jobs, fulfilling their social responsibility.” “[They are] the ones that invest in the common good instead of hiding their money in tax havens. They all dedicate an immense creative capacity to changing things from the bottom up, from where the best creativity always comes from.” “With courage, with effort, with sacrifice, they invest in life, creating well-being, opportunities and work.”

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