HOME | DD

ShadowNCS — GS51: Season Finale

#okina #touhou #cirno #gensokyosweets #okinamatara #touhouproject #tannedcirno
Published: 2017-08-27 12:02:25 +0000 UTC; Views: 3002; Favourites: 47; Downloads: 2
Redirect to original
Description Previous: #50: You will remember our names!
Next: #52: Nagging Judge of Paradise

-----

In Touhou 16, all of the possible final spells take one key aspect of their representatives and use it against the player.
With Autumn, Aya's speed is taken and translated into movement.
With Winter, Marisa's lasers are used.
With Spring, Reimu's... does Reimu use a lot of circles or something? Or delayed projectiles, for that matter?
With Summer, Cirno's simpleness is used to create a seemingly random and chaotic shot pattern.
However, what if we took this in a different route?

Sorry for the title. But I couldn't resist the urge of making a pun with season. And considering Okina is the final boss…
That, and THIS TIME, I'm actually going to start with my mini-arc! I promise! …

Regarding the comic itself: Whoo! Low angle shots finally work! And the high angle shot in the last panel also looks okay.
Could it be that I'm finally improving? Nah, I must have been lucky. xD

I recently got a new graphical tablet, so I tried out some more stuff with pen pressure.
I don't know if it's super noticeable or not, but either way, I like my new tablet. ^^
And despite being bigger than my old one, it wasn't too weird getting used to the new size.

Junko 2.0 > Junko

, Okina (she doesn't have a PLZ account) ©
Related content
Comments: 32

sylthvestre [2024-05-26 08:04:56 +0000 UTC]

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to sylthvestre [2024-05-26 17:54:56 +0000 UTC]

👍: 1 ⏩: 1

sylthvestre In reply to ShadowNCS [2024-05-27 15:43:50 +0000 UTC]

👍: 1 ⏩: 0

ShadowFrost1 [2017-09-25 21:34:22 +0000 UTC]

I retract my ailve statement, I just suck at keeping up
And what a genius Cirno is really!!
Should've had this for 9/9 xD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to ShadowFrost1 [2017-09-26 09:58:22 +0000 UTC]

I wanted to say, the last two months have been my most active ones on dA in years.

Of course, Cirno has been fooling everyone all this time for this very moment! This must have been clearly it!
... or she just got lucky.

It's become somewhat of a theme for my Cirno day pictures to make her cosplay something or someone, so I wanted to continue this trend. But true, this picture was done fairly close to Cirno day, wasn't it. ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

XGluon [2017-09-24 17:57:18 +0000 UTC]

Okina: "This is even worse than my own sub-weapon...which I hope nobody steals and uses against me."
(According to Aya's route, the subweapon you're forced to use for the Extra Stage is actually Okina's own power.)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-09-26 09:46:54 +0000 UTC]

Cirno: "YOINK!" *steals the sub-weapon*

Do you mean the "this power I used is ultimately yours" line that Aya says?
I read it as "the power of using the door on one's back [...]", which is what the characters use to call the power of the seasons, not specifically using the power between seasons.
Though to be fair, I like the Extra Stage sub-weapon. Mostly because it allows for some unique (in Touhou anyway) stage design.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-01 18:31:46 +0000 UTC]

Yes, that's what I was referring to.
I was also referring to the fact that the rest of the sub-weapons are smaller versions of their corresponding "main seasonal weapons".
*Spring(Reimu): Yin-yang orbs
*Summer(Cirno): Ice crystals
*Autumn(Aya): Crows
*Winter(Marisa): Mini-hakkeros
The Extra Stage sub-weapon, however, doesn't look like any of the heroines' options, which means that it's a smaller version of someone else's options.
Plus, in the original Japanese version, the line that corresponds to Aya's "this power I used is ultimately yours" line is "そしてこの力は貴方の力です"("And this power is your power".)
But either way, the line doesn't refer to the options themselves.
And Cirno's route also raises the possibility that the Extra Stage sub-weapon belonging to Eternity Larva. (The prestory states that the rightful season at the time is summer, and so the reason why it was summer in Stage 1 was because Eternity Larva's back door was cancelling out the seasonal abnormality).

Either way, I personally don't like the Extra Stage sub-weapon.
Mainly because Okina says that gap between seasons is the time where "world loses its vitality entirely".  I can't help but interpret that as meaning "in exchange for granting immunity to Okina's 'ejection' trick, the Extra Stage sub-weapon eats away at the heroines' life force".  Even in Marisa's route, she says "I don't think it'll work out very well in the end", implying that there are dire consequences to using the power of the gap between seasons!
(However, Aya says the vitality lost is that of the four seasons themselves, and in Cirno's route Okina says that it's where "the lifeforce of fairies is at its nadir"(which means that the "eating away at life force" deal would only apply to Cirno if she was an ordinary fairy, which she is not).)
Otherwise, it's because the weapon itself is an incredibly watered down of Marisa's "Patchouli Support" weapon from SA that only has the rear fire formation.
Since the score ranking screen labels it as "Full", you'd expect it to be more...for lack of a better term...versatile.

Plus, even though it IS useful during the stage, it's not really all that useful when actually fighting Okina.

Either way, since the subweapons themselves ARE weaker versions of the main weapons, it means that whoever the Extra Stage sub-weapon belonged to is only good at attacking behind themselves. *XD*

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-02 12:31:06 +0000 UTC]

In regards to Eternity, my guess for why she has a door to the state in-between seasons is that she is, as a Butterfly Fairy, a fairy of metamorphosis, considering that butterflies have to go through various stages until they reach their final form.
And metamorphosis could be considered to be the state of being in-between the original and final state.

That said... I think the form of the seasonal options is just gameplay mechanics and shouldn't be considered too much. After all, every person had a back door during the incident, so there's hundreds of people who correspond to any one season. The only reason the options took their specific shapes (and got their respective user's shot type) was because ZUN wanted to highlight which playable character corresponds to which season, rather than going with generic season representing designs.

I interpreted the "I don't think it'll work out very well in the end" line more as "You have found a way around my forceful ejection trick, but you're still weaker than me. So, in the end, you will still lose."
And in regards to Cirno, fairies are the representation of nature, and when nature (showing itself through life(force)) loses all of its power, so will the powers of fairies be gone. So Cirno is affected by the backdoor more than any other heroine, but it still shouldn't be life threatening. I think.

It's true, Patchouli's SA weapon gave the player a lot more versatility, but at the same time, in SA, the stages weren't built around this versatility, as Patchouli's weapons were the only one providing it. So yeah, you could shoot to the sides, behind you, or anything you want, but personally, I only ever used spread and focus modes because that's all I ever need.
In the meantime, HSiFS'S Extra Stage is built around the ability to shoot behind you and makes good use of it.
Does this make the HSiFS Extra Subweapon better than Patchouli's? Of course not. But its potential to shoot backwards is used to its fullest, which I appreciate. ^^

As for why it's not too useful against Okina, from a gameplay perspective, you have to keep in mind that you can use your options as mini bombs to clear some projectiles. But since it is a boss, you'll have a hard time getting your options back (outside of finishing a pattern), meaning that, if the game forced you to shoot backwards for the majority of a pattern, you'd be screwed if you ever perform a season release.
The only way the subweapon could be made more useful during the fight against Okina is if the regular shots of the characters could also go behind the player, so you can ensure that you can always hit Okina, but then the subweapons would lose their gimmick again. xD
Although had the subweapons the versatility of Patchouli's in SA (or had at the very least a forward shooting mode), then that problem would also be circumvented (even if the idea of the options is that you have a door at your back).

Even if you're only good at attacking behind yourself, at least that means nobody can ever land a surprise attack at you. Clearly the sign of the strongest (strategist)!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-02 15:53:34 +0000 UTC]

You have a point.

But still, on a related note, it would have been nice if you could use that weapon outside the Extra Stage.
Even though it would break the game's story if you did so.
...On the other hand, "breaking the game's story" would yield a Parallel Ending like in TD.

Either way, with the seasonal border, Okina was defeated, and really all that's left to do in order to completely wrap up the seasonal incident is just defeat all the other rampaging fairies; a simple task for the heroines. *XD*

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-03 13:38:40 +0000 UTC]

It would be interesting to see the Extra subweapon outside of the Extra scenario, yeah. Though it probably would be minimally useful, considering most enemies appear at the top of the screen. But maybe it'd be more useful than I expect it to be, especially in the hands of a good player.

Poor fairies. All they do is having some fun by spreading danmaku!
... yeah, let's destroy them.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-14 16:29:07 +0000 UTC]

Yeah.  Compared to past incidents, HSiFS' "clean-up" is going to be a piece of cake in comparison.  Maybe this is a sign that we're going to get a sequel to Great Fairy Wars?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-15 14:45:47 +0000 UTC]

It's possible, and I wouldn't mind it.
Though Cirno was part of the previous main game already, and a Fairy Wars game without the Three Fairies of Light seems kind of weird.
All we can do is wait and see.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-15 16:52:23 +0000 UTC]

Yeah.  Even if it doesn't come, a "complete wrap-up" of HSiFS' story will inevitably come.
(Looks like I derailed the original discussion topic; something I tend to do.  Sorry.)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-15 22:11:14 +0000 UTC]

Now that I think about it, "Visionary Fairies in Shrine" would probably deal with the events of HSiFS at some point, considering its protagonists are fairies. Which reminds me that I still need to read the most recent couple chapters of it.

Don't worry, getting off topic is one of my specialties as well. ^^
Why limit yourself to one topic, when you can talk about and discuss various topics.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-21 21:37:29 +0000 UTC]

Anything that'll give HSiFS' story a proper conclusion is fine with me. (Even though the post-battle conversation(at least in Reimu's route) is meant to do that, just like in LoLC.)

Glad to see that you're fine with it.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-23 18:21:13 +0000 UTC]

In before its conclusion will be Touhou 17, instead.
I mean, we need to see more sages of Gensoukyou, after all.

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-12-30 18:37:23 +0000 UTC]

Actually, I found out that chapter 42 of "Wild and Horned Hermit" serves as the proper conclusion to HSiFS' story.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2018-01-03 18:03:40 +0000 UTC]

*really needs to catch up with the manga*
Makes sense, though.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-27 15:33:26 +0000 UTC]

Yeah.  Almost forgot that HSiFS is only just the first installment in a new story arc.  *XD*
(Considering how the upcoming "Antimony of Common Flowers" is going to wrap up the "Occult Ball" story arc(which also includes "Urban Legend in Limbo" and "Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom"), HSiFS is clearly the start of a new story arc.)

And I agree with us needing to see more sages of Gensokyo.  It's possible that Tenma(leader of the tengu in Gensokyo) is a sage due to sharing a common ancestry with Okina, but that's just me speaking.  I wonder if "Visionary Fairies In Shrine" will introduce a new one?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-10-29 18:39:24 +0000 UTC]

The Three Fairies manga are mostly used to showcase a more mundane side of Gensoukyou (which is something CoLA was supposed to do, but with Rinnosuke never leaving his shop, didn't really happen), so I don't think that any important characters are going to be introduced in this manga.
Heck, the one time Yukari appeared in the Three Fairies, all she did was testing the fairies if they weren't too powerful to live in the old tree behind the Hakurei Shrine. A very mundane side of Gensoukyou. ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-10-30 00:11:28 +0000 UTC]

I see.  But still, one must wonder what events in HSiFS will lead to the events of Touhou 17. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-11-01 20:20:31 +0000 UTC]

There's only one way to find out.
*gets his time machine ready*
Darn, it's out of fuel again.

My guess is that, since Okina wanted to contact the other sages (if her words towards Marisa are to be believed) with her ruckus, the next game will have another sage responding to Okina by causing an incident of her own.
Or Yukari will be fooling around again. Because she needs to remind people that she's still an active character even inside the games.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-11-08 18:48:17 +0000 UTC]

I'd prefer the former; helps maintain a story arc.
(Also, I must wonder if TH17 will have two Extra Stages(or seven stages normally AND an Extra Stage), to compensate for the heroines not facing an extra opponent after Okina was defeated for good.)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to XGluon [2017-11-11 16:54:27 +0000 UTC]

While I doubt that we ever get another Phantsm stage, it would kind of fit if ZUN really goes for including more sages, as the only Phantasm boss existing so far is a sage.
Also, don't forget that this isn't the first time we had an already encountered character reappear as an Extra boss (Rika in SoEW), or a character appearing in two consecutive stages (Yuuka in LLS). ZUN does what he wants, and doesn't compensate for anything.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

XGluon In reply to ShadowNCS [2017-11-14 03:10:21 +0000 UTC]

Yeah.
(The whole "character appearing in two consecutive stages" thing applies to Sakuya in EoSD, Youmu in PCB, and Kanako in MoF as well.  Orin took it a step further, appearing in THREE consecutive stages in SA!)
But still, the heroines not fighting somebody new after Okina's true defeat just feels a bit empty.  I mean, sure Junko wasn't completely defeated in Stage 6 of LoLC, but even so LoLC's Extra boss fight was primarily against Hecatia.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Before we all get thinking about TH17, we've first gotta see how the Occult Ball Trilogy will get wrapped up in "Antimony of Common Flowers".
Plus, AoCF will obviously have least one all-new character.  If it gets two all-new characters, THEN HSiFS' Extra Stage will feel less empty to me.  (It's kinda like how SWR had two all-new characters(Iku and Tenshi) as opposed to just one like normal, but UNL didn't have any all-new characters(excluding the Giant Catfish).)

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Tasoittaja [2017-08-27 23:49:02 +0000 UTC]

This is why she is the strongest

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to Tasoittaja [2017-08-28 11:22:24 +0000 UTC]

She's told us so many times, and this is what took you to believe her?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

StarForce97 [2017-08-27 15:17:46 +0000 UTC]

If you add Icicle Fall to the attack, that could be victory right there...unless I'm proven otherwise.

Great work on this! Angles are pretty difficult to get right, but you seemed to manage it okay.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to StarForce97 [2017-08-28 11:20:58 +0000 UTC]

Icicle Fall makes everything stronger. Except for another icicle fall.

Thank you! ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

mricarus [2017-08-27 14:15:27 +0000 UTC]

Cirno is a genius! She planned this fifteen years in advance!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ShadowNCS In reply to mricarus [2017-08-28 11:20:04 +0000 UTC]

Exactly. What's a measly 15 years for an entity that can (potentially) live forever?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0