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Gameplay[]

Controls[]

Keyboard Controls are as follows:

  • The Arrow Keys are used to move the character
  • Z releases a short barrage of shots, it can be held down for rapid fire
  • X releases a bomb which clears bullets and deals damage. Bombs differ between characters.
  • Shift causes the character to slow and reveal their hitbox, it also tightens the spread of bullets, which usually increases damage output.
  • C causes a "season release" wherein the seasonal sub-weapon's power is depleted (amount differs per sub-weapon). A (non-moving) force field will appear around the player for a set amount of time and at a set size (depending on the sub-weapon) . Bullets that make contact with the release will be eliminated and turned into season points.
  • Esc pauses the game and opens the pause menu
  • Crtl skips through any dialogue (hold down)

Basic Gameplay[]

Hidden Star in Four Seasons plays like most other vertically-scrolling danmaku shooting game; always facing forward, dodging enemies and their bullets and facing a boos at the end of each stage.

There are four levels of difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard, Lunatic). Which each, the rate of fire, amount of shots fired, the amount of enemies, the amount of spellcards and the types of spellcards can change.

The player has to set out and travel through a total of 6 stages, all featuring midbosses as well as final bosses.

Once the game has been completed with certain conditions met, an Extra Stage will be unlocked for play using that character type.

Shot[]

The player's shot is their primary method of dealing damage. It can be powered up by collecting "Power" items (small, red boxes marked with a "P"). The "Power" makes out at 4.00, with the shot's strength increasing at 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 and 4.00. When you collect the smaller "Power" items, your power increases by 0.01.

Bomb[]

The Bomb is a player's method of getting out of a difficult situation. When activated using X (as described above), the bomb will cause damage to all enemies that get in it's path and clear all shots in the same respect (the size and damage of the bomb changes with each shot type). You begin with 3 Bombs whenever you start a stage or after you die. It is possible to collect "Bomb Pieces" when you defeat certain enemies etc. It takes 5 Bomb Pieces to create a bomb. You have a maximum of 8 Bombs, if this limit is reached and you go to pickup another Bomb or Bomb Piece that completes a set, that bomb will be wasted.

Lives[]

Whenever you start a game or continue, you start with 3 lives.

The hitbox for your character is fairly small, meaning that when a bullets makes "Contact" with your character, it likely wont make contact with the hitbox itself (which will be revealed when you hold Shift).

If you bomb immediately after being hit, you will death bomb, resulting in a bomb being used instead of a life. The window to do so is quite small and thus difficult to react to being hit within that time. With every successful deathbomb, your period for doing so will decrease, only being set back to normal once you have died.

In normal (not the difficulty) play, the player will be awarded new lives when they reach a certain amount of points. The amounts are as follows (in order from first to last): 5 Million, 10 Million, 20 Million, 40 Million (there are likely higher points required for further lives).

Upon the player losing all of their lives, the will be given the option to continue on from where they died as though they are starting a new game (with their high score set to what it was at the start of the run and the player's score set to 0) or to exit to the main menu.

Boss Battles[]

Making up a large portion of the game itself, Boss Battles play an intricate and large role. Boss battles are made up of 1 or 2 bosses that will use Normal attacks or (generally more difficult) Spell Cards. A boss battle usually consists of alternating between these two types of attacks.

Each boss has a set number of lives (indicated by the number of stars in the top left corner of the screen). Beating them all with result in the bosses defeat.

Furthering on Spell Cards, a substantial point bonus is awarded at the end of each if the player can beat them without losing a life or bombing before the timer runs out.

Also accompanying an attack is a timer. The timer can be different for every attack. Once it runs out, the boss will switch to their next attack regardless of where their health stands. Waiting for an attack's timer to run out will not grant any rewards.

Character Statistics[]

There are four characters to choose from, each with their own shot type. A short description is provided for each.

Chosen Sub-Weapon[]

There are 4 sub-weapons to choose from, each correlating to their respective original owner.

Spring

Based off of Reimu's shot

This sub-weapon will shoot small arrow-shaped bullets that home in on the target, because of this, they deal little damage.

Summer

Based off of Cirno's shot

This sub weapon creates a light spread of icicle-looking shots. They always shoot at the same angle regardless of the player's location.

Fall

Based off of Aya's shot

This sub weapon is forward-focused and shoots small yellow shots in quick succession dealing reasonable damage.

Winter

Based off of Marisa's shot

This sub-weapon is of simple design. It is made up of a single or multiple lasers lined up behind the character that all fire harmoniously, giving off a quiet high-pitched tone. This sub-weapon deals the most damage but has the least spread. It does not pierce enemies.

Screen Layout[]

Scoring[]

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