Absolutely breathtaking, Gensokyo in Minecraft

[SpAc3man]

Never heard of it. Did a quick Google and I still don't even and what is this I don't get it.

That exactly.

If you are going to introduce something that is obscure or outside the Escapist's view of usual interests you should give us a brief rundown/introduction so you don't end up embarrassing yourself by assuming we all know about something but don't ever talk about it here. It's far cooler to show off your pop culture knowledge that extends beyond the norm by being a hipster about it. Not being the lame kid that is into something no one here really knows about.

 

[Owlslayer]

I`ve heard about it, and I´ve seen quite a lot of videos, but i haven`t played the game, tho I´d like to try it out. Also, i have no idea what lore the game has... Tho i do recognise a few spots in that video.
So, yeah. I guess it`s rather impressive, tho I think I´ve seen a few maps that are even more impressive. It`s quite wonderful what people make in that game.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

C'mon you guys.

How do you seriously not know about an obscure game/anime thing that's popular in Japan?

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Hate to break it to you but most people find anime dumb, if not childish, and judging from your blatant and pretentious reactions, I can assume you fall in this same category.

Oh, come on. I don't agree with the OP, but this is just plain ad hominem and just as stupid as her "Y'all must be trollin', you can't possibly be gamers if you don't have Danmaku references, LOL" comment.

I've watched my fair share of "classic" Anime, but I wouldn't say that defines me as an Otaku. Ghost in the Shell has value because of the themes that are explored in it, not because it's a Japanese production. Ninja Scroll has value because it's an effed-up piece of ultraviolence, not because it's Japanese in origin. Shit, I could stretch it and say we're all unconscious Otakus.

Remember all the awesome cartoons from the eighties? Everything we watched as kids? So many of them are El Cheapo Studio Toei contract jobs, it's not funny. The Real Ghostbusters, The New Dennis the Menace, Inspector Gadget - all made by the same swell guys who brought us half hours of guys screaming their lungs out while swathed in haloes.

Ox Tales? Different studio, same basic concept. I'm guessing some of our friends from the Netherlands will know about the "Boes" series of cartoons (some of them raunchier than others), but they might not know that a deal was brokered between Saban and Telecable Benelux. The result is extremely European in concept and utterly Japanese in its execution.

So no, not all Westerners find Anime dumb, and a lot of us grew up with Anime without being even vaguely aware of it. Not that this validates the OP's professed surprise, however, as Touhou is still very much a niche phenomenon. It's easy to have the impression that Touhou is a huge thing when fansites and YouTube allow for such a strong concentration of accessible related material, but the truth is Danmaku games are definitely an acquired taste.

I know a guy who literally was our Schmup expert back in high school, but you couldn't force him to touch a Danmaku with a ten-foot pole. They're the Demons' Souls of the top-down shooter category - schmups for blokes who like to stare at the pretty colors or who like it when their hitbox is actually smaller than their character's actual sprite.

 

[LilithSlave]

Hate to break it to you but most people find anime dumb, if not childish, and judging from your blatant and pretentious reactions, I can assume you fall in this same category.

Touhou isn't an anime. Anime is the Japanese word for animation. Touhou is the most famous game(series) in Japan. And among the most famous worldwide. This is also a gaming forum and Japan has likely made close to half or more video games that even exist. And thus, the so called "anime aesthetic" has been very influential. So much as to even inspire Western video game developers to sometimes use it.

I don't think that most people have a strong opinion about Japanese or any other animation one way or the other. Do you really think that most people think that animation is dumb based upon its national origin?

I prefer not make assumptions that would make me more of a misanthropist that thinks I have very little in common with "normal people". Likewise, I think perhaps you might be engaging in wishful thinking yourself. Either way, the Escapist is gamers, not most people. And from the look of it, a particular kind of gamer and subset of gaming culture. Certainly looking at the ratio of topics people tend to talk about, and how a good portion of best selling games are talked about, I doubt the Escapist is a sample of the "gaming majority". The best selling console this generation was the Nintendo Wii. And "most people" you claim think "anime(Japanese animation and national aesthetics) is dumb", would be most interested in the Nintendo Wii. It is also likely that the majority of people still think that "video games are dumb" and "for children". Maybe with the exception of "casual gaming". And yet the Escapist doesn't much talk about the Nintendo Wii.

Also, I find the assertion that anything influenced by Japanese manga aesthetics is "anime" and that most people have such an aversion to anything remotely anime styled in video games, rather implausible considering some of them have been rather successful and sold millions of copies. Many of the most successful games period, are aesthetically Eastern. Touhou isn't an "anime thing" at all. It's a slightly retro gaming thing(scrolling shooter instead of FPS) and an internet meme just like My Little Pony. And arguably as big. Just one of the fanvideos, Bad Apple, having several million views.

And are you calling me "dumb and childish"? Yes, definitely sounds like wishful thinking. I think you're projecting your wishful thinking onto the general populace. Well, after a couple of threads here, I do wish more Escapist users were open minded toward anime and Japanese aesthetics. You can say what you want about my opinions of the culture of this site and what it has become. But things threads like this getting a lot of responses being negative towards anything remotely Japanese getting a lot negativity towards it and its fans does not improve my opinions.

It's one thing to disagree on how popular it is. But many are acting like "anime" or "manga" or "Japanese" is negative and niche thing does not impress me. You can believe that Touhou isn't as big of a meme as I think it is, certainly. But "niche" is by no means a negative thing in the first place.

Hey hey...psssst. Tell you a secret.

It's a doozy.

Spoiler

Not everyone plays shooter games.

AMG right?

You feel it appropriate to call me condescending after saying something as condescending as this?

 

[hakureireimu]

The point is fan participation. The touhou fanbase is huge; if you haven't heard of it, I'd say you're missing out, but whatever. The POINT is that the original bullet hell shooting game with bad character art spawned entire worlds, stories, plots, music, art, characters, all MADE by the FANS. Sure Modern Warfare Generic Shooter 500 has a lot of players, but what do they do? Sit around, shoot people in a game, and curse a lot. Whereas with Touhou, most of the world is made by the FANS, not the single original programmer. Fans aren't just enjoying others' creations, but actively participating in what they love.

Sure, you say. Wow/Middle Earth is more impressive, you say. But those are just carbon copies, for the most part. A monkey can take something and copy it, given enough time. But this is designed, this is ART. Like some people have mentioned, the games themselves only had scrolling backdrops, so where did this Gensokyo come from? The world is reconstructed from millions (dare I say, billions?) of fan work, story that make up the world, and even then decisions had to have been made. Where to put this? what does this look like? does this go against canon? Plus, it looks like most of it was made by hand, whereas with WoW/Middle Earth, you can just get a 3D model and pixellize it. Impressive at a glance, maybe, but the amount of effort and LOVE and DEDICATION just can't compare to this.

 

[endtherapture]

Tbh I would say that most famous shooter ever was something like Call of Duty, or Doom, or Half Life.

It's definitely not one of the most popular games in the world otherwise I'd have heard of it.

 

[lunavixen]

I have no idea what Gensokyo is, but that's an amazing minecraft display

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

That's... nice?
I've only heard of Touhou thanks to my frequent visits to TvTropes but even if I accomplished the impossibility of being able to legally acquire a copy which has a plot understandable in English, the whole "Bullet-hell" thing would turn me off the whole idea anyway. I like my anime, I like games which set out to be difficult like Mega Man, Ghouls and Ghosts and Metal Slug but the Touhou games take hard difficulty to obnoxious levels.

Edit: Fuck, I helped resurrect a thread which died months ago. Dammit!

 

[hakureireimu]

Is two months a necro here? It's not like this is half a year, or a year old.

 

[The_Lost_King]

What exactly is uh... Genmoko, Genymoko or what ever this is?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Touhou is the most famous game(series) in Japan.

No, it's not. Most famous indie game maybe, but I'm pretty sure Dragon Quest is the most famous/popular game series in Japan. But even Zelda has /got/ to have Touhou beat.

And among the most famous worldwide.

This can stand. It's a big series, it's just not as big as you're saying it is. At the end of the day, it's a bullet hell game. It may be the biggest, most popular and well known bullet hell game in history, but it's still a part of a niche genre, one that's just about dead in the West. Going on a forum primarily populated by Westerners and expecting everyone to know about a game in a genre most of them have only heard of, not played an example of, is getting a bit silly. Getting angry about it is ridiculous.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Touhou is the most famous game(series) in Japan.

No, it's not. Most famous indie game maybe, but I'm pretty sure Dragon Quest is the most famous/popular game series in Japan. But even Zelda has /got/ to have Touhou beat.

And among the most famous worldwide.

This can stand. It's a big series, it's just not as big as you're saying it is. At the end of the day, it's a bullet hell game. It may be the biggest, most popular and well known bullet hell game in history, but it's still a part of a niche genre, one that's just about dead in the West. Going on a forum primarily populated by Westerners and expecting everyone to know about a game in a genre most of them have only heard of, not played an example of, is getting a bit silly. Getting angry about it is ridiculous.

about to sum up and agree with this, i had heard of touhou like i was finding out about some 15 billion year old dead language, i had to actively search it out to even remotely find stuff out on it, rather than having most meme's/games shoved down your throat. and as mentioned, it is in one hell of a niche genre and the game's hardcore fanbase (as you have shown OP) are borderline cult, something the average person wants nothing to do with, probably why most people have either avoided it or don't care to play the game.

 

[shrekfan246]

Is two months a necro here? It's not like this is half a year, or a year old.

It's a necro when the OP of the thread isn't even still actively visiting the website anymore.

I remember seeing this the first time around, it became a clusterfuck pretty fast and I could've sworn I posted here, but I can't find anything... maybe I decided not too after reading the first two-three pages.

Snip

Hell, you did post in this the first time around.

 

[TrevHead]

Ah the Touhou fanbase a curious mix of bronie types and a subset of hardcare shmup fans, who other shmup fans love to hate, because they are generally crazy and tend to take the limelight away from other shmups. It's was often common to see ppl on YT calling every shmup a touhou clone even 1942 FFS.

Anyway the main things any escapist needs to know is:

1) It was born out of a series of quirky bullet hell shooters, which make a half decent gateway into the genre, although imo Jamestown and Deathsmiles are much better for noobs and give a better picture of what the genre is like as a whole.

2) Whatever oldschool Japanese game you can think of you can bet you arse theres a Touhou Doujin clone of it. Most are bad, others are worth playing, the main interest would be for platformer / jump and shoot fans on this site, some include shmup styled projectiles that are quite difficult.

 

[hakureireimu]

Guys, you keep missing the point *sigh* (It is a sharp and narrow point, I admit)

Touhou is a niche bullet hell game. ...Sure, I guess. But we aren't really talking about the game, here, we're talking about the community and culture.

Here's a analogy that kinda works. Imagine LotR was simply the Hobbit. A short story written by a dude. Imagine that everything else (The trilogy, all other side works, the movies, the merchandise, the games, the map, the language, the lore) was made by fans. But of course, there are still people who haven't heard of LotR. So they google it and say, "Oh, it's just some niche fantasy short novel."

Some mythbusting:

1) Touhou is hard.
Not really. By modern video game standards, maybe, but then modern gamers are spoiled. Demon's Souls would've been an easy game back in the day. Touhou is considered one of the easier bullet hell games.

2) Touhou is a niche Japanese thing.
Not really. And here it's important to make a distinction for America because they have a really weird anti-Japan/weeabo sort of thing going. Japanese culture is very big globally, especially the kind that often gets lumped into the anime/otaku category. You often find Spanish/French/etc. fan translations of videos and games before English ones. Is it niche? Maybe. But with the Internet, what's considered niche depends on where you go and who you ask.

PS sorry about the necro, then
PPS Gensokyo is the world in Touhou
PPPS Yes, we're somewhat of a cult. It's called CULTure. Yes, we're crazy, but in a good way =)

 

[TrevHead]

^ Yeah Touhou is a massive entity in the Otaku & Japanaphile parts of the net, to some inside the community it can seem crazy that no one has heard of it.

As someone who has enjoyed the games and to a lesser extent the music thats Touhou but isnt a fan, it seems batshit crazy to me, With the inside jokes and memes I can only imagine how weird Touhou fans would look like to ppl encountering just the fandom without knowing the games or knowledge of doujinshi.

 

[80Maxwell08]

snip

Hell of a necro.

I see lilith never came back again.

Check her last post. She was asking for other forums to go to. I guess she found that promised land on the internet.

Honestly I may have actually looked at the game at some point but if she's anything like the fanbase then I can't avoid it hard enough.