Touhou Tenreikyou ~ Rebellion in Purgatory

東方天霊墟 Rebellion in Purgatory
Developer(s)	Ziegs (t∣b∣c)
Publisher(s)	Ziegs (t∣b∣c)
Platform(s)	Windows/Steam
Genre(s)	Vertical Danmaku Shooting Game
Series	Touhou Project
Release Date(s)	Unknown
Mode(s)	Single-Player Story Mode

TouhouTenreikyouHeavenly Soul Ruins~ Rebellion in Purgatory (東方天霊墟 ~ Rebellion in Purgatory) is a fanmade bullet hell installment of the Touhou Project, in development by Shooting Star Studios. A "playable" demo is stated to be released in 20XX while the full version is planned to be released in 20XX on Steam with a retail version coming out later. It is a direct successor to Shooting Star Studios' previous Touhou fangame, Touhou Seihyokan - Unparalleled Divine Storm. Like said game, RiP is also a reimagination of an older concept, with new characters, designs, and more fleshed out ideas.

Gameplay

See also: Spell Cards

Controls

The game may be played using either a keyboard or a gamepad. Keyboard controls are as follows:

• The Arrow Keys move the character around
• Z causes a short barrage of shots to be fired; it may be held down for rapid fire
• X releases a bomb, also known as a Spell Card (presuming you have bombs left)
• Shift slows the character's movement and changes the nature of the character's shot; it generally makes your attacks more focused
• Esc pauses the game and brings you to the in-game menu
• Q returns you to the title screen when the game is paused
• Ctrl fast-forwards through any dialogue and replays
• Home or P produces a .bmp screenshot in the /snapshot directory (only works in 32-bit color mode).

Basic Gameplay

Like other Touhou Project games, Rebellion in Purgatory plays like a fairly typical vertically-scrolling danmaku shooting game, in which the player's character is always facing towards the top of the screen, shooting at anything that moves, avoiding and weaving between enemy bullets, and confronting difficult bosses at the end of a stage. These bosses have special attacks known as Spell Cards. Spell Cards are the bosses' special attacks, which consist of beautiful, intricate danmaku patterns that the players have to dodge. Clearing a Spell Card rewards players with score bonuses, but if the player dies or uses a Bomb during a Spell Card, the bonus will be lost. When the player auto-collects items, either by entering the point of collection (which is flying towards the top of the screen) or by using a bomb, they will get a bonus item if they gather enough points or power items all at once. The bonus item differs between a bomb piece (at least 20 points or powers items) or a life piece (at least 60 points or power items). Every 5th bomb piece is replaced with a life piece.

There are 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Lunatic. Each difficulty level features differences in the number of bullets fired by each enemy, rate of fire, variations in the bullets' pattern of movement, and the type of enemy spell cards used.

Screen Layout

The layout of the overall screen is typical for a Touhou Project shoot 'em up.

1. Your character
2. Player Score
   • Hi-Score: your highest score for the current character, type, and difficulty
   • Score: your current score
3. The number of remaining lives and bombs / The approximate location of the point of collection
   • Right numbers: fragments needed for an extra life / bomb
4. Player Status
   • Power: your shot power level, maxing out at 4.00
   • Point value: the maximum points achievable of the point items
   • Graze: the number of enemy shots that have grazed your hit box during the game
5. Enemy Status
   • Stars: the number of health bars the enemy has left
   • Middle number: the amount of time left before the enemy's attack spell fails (self-destructs)
   • Circular health bar
6. Spell Card Status
   • Title: the name of the spell card being used
   • Bonus: the constantly-updating value of the Spell Card Bonus
   • History: the number of times you have "captured" the spell card currently being used, and the number of times you have faced it.
7. The boss enemy
8. Spirit Boost gauge
   • Current level and remaining amount of Spirit Boost power

Shot

A character's "shot" is the player's primary method of attacking enemies. The shot's attack area and behavior varies depending on the character the player has chosen, as well as the player's power level/Spirit Boost level and whether the player is focused or unfocused.

Point of collection

Like previous Touhou games, there's a line near the top of the screen called the point of collection (POC). If the player moves the character at or above this line, all items on the screen will be drawn to them. As with Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith onward, players don't need to have full power or focus to use the POC, it is always available.

Bomb

Like its predecessors, the game features bombs (actually spell cards) with distinctive visual styles that differ between characters. A character's "bomb" is the player's limited-use method of getting out of difficult situations. A bomb's attack area, duration, and power varies depending on the character type the player has chosen, but it typically deals heavy damage to every enemy it touches, in addition to canceling out any bullets in the bomb's way, as well as automatically collecting every item on screen.

At the beginning of the game, the player will start off with 3 bombs. Extra bombs are obtained by collecting bomb fragments, which are dropped by boss attacks (as long as the player doesn't die or bomb) and certain enemies, and bomb items dropped by certain midbosses. Five fragments are required per bomb.

The player can carry up to a maximum of 8 bombs at a time. If they collect a bomb fragment when they already have 8 bombs, that bomb fragment will be lost. Like in the earlier Touhou games, dying will reset to the initial value of 3 bombs. Accumulated bomb fragments are preserved when the player loses a life. The counter is reset to 0 upon continuing after a game over, however. Additionally, there is a mechanic known as deathbombing. After being hit by a bullet, the player is given a very brief window of time to bomb and negate their death. The "death" sound effect will play, and the bomb will then activate.

Lives

The hit box for the playable character is smaller in comparison to their on-screen sprite, approximately only 5×5 in pixel size. If the player holds Shift, a colored dot will appear, showing the actual hitbox. If the hit box of a character comes into contact with the hit box of an enemy bullet, laser, or the enemy itself, then they have been hit.

The player starts off the game with 3 lives (that is, 2 extra lives). They can lose a life by getting hit by an enemy attack. In this game, the player's life stock is represented by a health bar with hearts. Extra lives are obtained by collecting 1up items, which are dropped by certain midbosses. A maximum of 8 extra lives can be carried at a time. If the player receives an extra life when they already have the maximum, that life will be lost.

Upon losing all their lives, the player is given the choice to continue right where they left off. However, if they do continue, their current score will be reset back to 0, plus the number of times they have continued. The number of bomb fragments will be reset to 0, they can no longer save a replay after continuing, and will reach the "Bad Ending" if they finish the game. They may continue up to 5 times in the regular game. The player cannot continue in the Extra stage.

Boss Battles

The main challenge and the main attraction that appears at the end of each stage. Each boss has multiple lives, which are represented by stars shown at the upper left of the screen. Bosses usually alternate between attacking normally and attacking with spell cards, switching once with each health bar. Markers on the health bar indicate the start of a spell card attack when the boss' health is depleted that far.

Normal attacks are typically incrementally stronger versions of the boss character's basic attack. Spell Card attacks bedazzle the player with combinations of complex patterns that often involve the use of projectiles and obstacles crafted especially for use with that Spell Card. If the player manages to defeat a Spell Card attack without getting hit or using any bombs, a substantial score bonus is rewarded for the feat.

Each attack is accompanied by a timer. When time runs out, the boss will switch to their next attack pattern even if their health bar isn't empty. Waiting for a boss character's attack pattern to self-destruct may be enough to beat them, but mere survival won't earn the player any score bonuses. The exception is when the boss is invulnerable for the duration of the spell card; in these cases the player will receive the bonus on survival. When fighting a boss, a position marker shows up on the bottom margin of the screen, indicating where the boss is on the horizontal axis. Since your target can be completely obscured by bullets or darkness at times, use this marker to help you aim your shots. The marker will dim when the boss is being hit, and will flash red when her health bar gets sufficiently depleted.

Spirit Boost

The main gameplay mechanic of Rebellion in Purgatory is based around collecting Spirit fragments dropped by enemies and bosses, similarly to Ten Desires (Touhou 13). This time around, however, Spirit fragments are used to fill a gauge known as the Spirit Boost, which appears as a flame-shaped silhouette on the right side of the screen. The more Spirit fragments the player collects, the more energy fills up the gauge. Filling it up completely levels up the player character, upgrading their shot attack. This can be done a total of 4 times, each upgrading the shot attack further, giving it unique effects that compliment the player's current power level.

Filling the gauge a 5th time will reset the gauge back to the default level, and will grant the player a Life Piece and a Bomb Piece. It should be noted that if the player does not collect enough Spirit fragments for a while, the gauge will slowly deplete itself, causing the player to potentially go back a level. Using Bomb attacks will drain the gauge even quicker for the duration of the attack as well. The incentive is to collect as many fragments as possible in short windows of time to temporarily strengthen the player's shot attack and grind for extra Life and Bomb Pieces.

Modes

Game Start

This is the main mode of the game, where the player first chooses one of the four playable characters and a shot type, and then proceed to play the main 6 stages in succession. Player characters will have dialogue interactions with enemy characters before battles, and they can be skipped by holding Ctrl. Like in past games, this mode features four difficulties, with the harder ones having more complicated danmaku and adding harder versions of the spell cards or even extra spell cards. The game's modes are:

• Easy - Lively: For weak spirits who are bad at bullet hells.
• Normal - Spirited: A nice difficulty for the average spirit.
• Hard - Ghastly: A pretty hard difficulty. It'll make your soul stronger.
• Lunatic - Demonic: Might as well sell your soul for this one.

Extra Start

Total chaos. Are you out of your mind!?

This mode allows the player to play the extra stage of the game, which is separate from the main story but still keeps important connections to it. It features its own difficulty, meaning that you can't choose difficulties for this, just your character and shoot type. It is unlocked after clearing the main stages without continuing.

Practice

This mode allows the players to play in already attempted stages. The player starts with all lives and maximum power for an advantage. The player doesn't need to clear stages in order to play them in practice mode, just attempting being enough to unlock them.

Spell Practice

This mode is similar to practice mode in a way. However, this mode is only for practicing spell cards. This allows players to select different spell cards on any difficulty as long as they have reached said spell cards during the main game. However, difficulty-exclusive spell cards such as the ones only playable in hard or lunatic mode, will only be unlocked once they've been reached in these difficulties.

Additionally, an unlockable feature known as Last Word Rush can be chosen here. Last Words are difficult spell cards in which bombs and lives are disabled, akin to the ones found in Touhou 8: Imperishable Night. The main difference is that these are unlocked by clearing the ones prior to each, making it a Boss Rush of sorts. However, in order to unlock this feature in the first place, the player has to capture every spell card in the main game (in Normal or higher difficulty) and extra stage. Last Word spell cards include the playable characters as well, just like in Imperishable Night.

Replay

An option that allows players to watch saved videos of their playthroughs.

Player Data

An option where players can check their battle history and records.

Music Room

An option where players can listen to the game's soundtrack. Aside from the title screen theme, all tracks are unlockable, and can be unlocked by playing through the corresponding stages and bosses.

Options

Choosing Options allows players to change the game's settings, such as: graphics, BGM volume, sound effect volume, switching between windowed or full screen, key configuration, etc.

Concept

The game focuses on the paranormal such as ghosts and zombies. It also takes inspiration from the Medieval Gothic aesthetic with some of its designs, and makes references to various folk tales regarding witches and ancient, dark magics believed to originate in the Hellenistic period.

Gameplay-wise, the Spirit Boost mechanic is loosely inspired by leveling-up games such as those in the RPG genre, where the player can level up and increase their strength or gain other benefits, although temporally.

Story

Main Article: Story

Many ghosts, zombie fairies and other undead beings begin showing up all over Gensokyo all of a sudden, and are starting to become very aggressive. At the same time, summer is unusually cold. The heroines go out to investigate and find the culprit, eventually finding out that all of the undead are rebelling against the afterlife, abandoning purgatory and migrating to Gensokyo to attack and do all sorts of pranks on the living.

Characters

Main Article: Characters

Playable Characters

博麗　霊夢 Reimu Hakurei		霧雨　魔理沙 Marisa Kirisame		魂魄　妖夢 Youmu Konpaku		魅魔 Mima
Shrine Maiden of Paradise		Ordinary Magician		Half-Human Half-Phantom Gardener		Spirit of Wickedness
Species	Human	Species	Human	Species	Half-human half-phantom	Species	Vengeful Spirit
Ability/ies	Capable of floating in the air	Ability/ies	Capable of using magic	Ability/ies	Capable of handling sword techniques	Ability/ies	Capable of haunting places

---

	Unfocused Shot	Focused Shot	Bomb
Reimu Hakurei	Homing Amulet Homing amulets shot out in a spread.	Persuasion Needle Needles fired straight ahead.	Spirit Sign "Fantasy Seal" Large orbs which fly around and home in on enemies.
	Specialty: Has a smaller hitbox. Reimu is rather weak, but she can attack almost everywhere on the screen. Spirit fragments slowly move towards Reimu.
Marisa Kirisame	Illusionary Laser Lasers shot straight forward, and in a narrow spread at 3.00+ power.	Magic Missile Slow, straight-moving missiles with a blast radius.	Love Sign "Master Spark" A massive front-facing laser. Marisa's movement is greatly slowed while firing it.
	Specialty: Slightly lower auto-collection line. Marisa is powerful but has a rather low spread. Auto-collection line becomes lower on higher Spirit Boost levels.
Youmu Konpaku	Sword Aura Sword slashes fired straight ahead from Youmu and the spirits trailing behind her.	Lotus Stance Slash A sword slash that must be charged up and travels further the higher the power level.	Voidness Sword "Slash Clearing the Six Senses" Unleashes a barrage of sword slashes around the entire screen.
	Specialty: During focused movement, the hitbox is extremely small. High speed on higher Spirit Boost levels.
Mima	Piercing Wide Web Crescent moon projectiles with a blast radius fired in a spread.	Moon Shower Locks the crescent moon projectiles' angle. Slow but powerful.	Evil Field "Spectral Chasm" Absorbs all bullets on screen.
	Specialty: Powerful, piercing spread but slower movement. Spirit Boost gauge's depletion is slower.

Enemy Characters

白鳥　千鶴 Chizu Shiratori (Stage 1 Midboss & Boss)		池田島　華荏瑠 Kaeru Ikedashima (Stage 2 Midboss & Boss)		シャーリー・ウルストーン Shirley Wollstone (Stage 3 Midboss & Boss)		蛍宮　幸子 Sachiko Hotarumiya (Stage 4 Midboss & Boss)
Crane Dancing to Eight Melodies		Frog Girl Searching for Love		Human Traveling Through the Dreams of Ghouls		Spirit of the Grudge Fires
Species	Yaotome (hand bell tsukumogami)	Species	Kaeru nyōbō (frog wife)	Species	Human (not native to Gensokyo)	Species	Haka no hi (grave phantom)
Ability/ies	Capable of causing others to dance	Ability/ies	Capable of manipulating temperature	Ability/ies	Capable of sensing the paranormal	Ability/ies	Capable of manipulating phantasmal flame
林　秀英 Xiuying Lin (Stage 5 Midboss)		コレット・デ・ラ・クロワ Colette de la Croix (Stage 5 Boss, Final & Extra Stage Midboss)		マーキュリー・ナハトシャッテン Mercury Nachtschatten (Final Stage Boss)		滝夜叉　黒姫 Kurohime Takiyasha (Extra Stage Boss)
Ghost of the Imperial Land		Undead Songstress		Bewitching Necromancer of Yore		Rattling, Chattering Skullgirl
Species	Ghost	Species	Hone onna (corpse woman)	Species	Ikiryō, but her living body is that of a Necromancer witch.	Species	Gashadokuro (giant skull)
Ability/ies	Capable of turning anything and herself invisible	Ability/ies	Capable of disguising things as beautiful	Ability/ies	Capable of commanding the undead, as well as spirits	Ability/ies	Capable of devouring souls

Music

Theme	Plays as	Composer
Falling Heaven, Rising Hell 落ちる天国、上がる地獄 (Ochiru Tengoku, Agaru Jigoku)	Title Screen Theme	Ichipa
Kagura Birds Above the Hakurei Shrine 博麗神社の神楽鳥 (Hakureijinja no Kagura Tori)	Stage 1 Theme	Yoiyami
Night Parade of a Hundred Demons 百鬼夜行 (Hyakki Yagyō)	Stage 1 Boss - Chizu Shiratori's Theme	Mafi
Lily Pad Leaping Along the Greenery 睡蓮の緑に沿って跳躍 (Suiren no Midori ni Sotte Chōyaku)	Stage 2 Theme	Ichipa
Kiss the Gallant Jiraiya, or Return to Stone! 勇ましい自来也に接吻をするか、石に還るか！ (Isamashī Jiraiya ni Seppun o Suru ka, Ishi ni Kaeru ka!)	Stage 2 Boss - Kaeru Ikedashima's Theme	Ichipa
Spiritual Paradise ~ Secret Garden Route 霊的園 ~ Secret Garden Route (Reiteki-en ~ Secret Garden Route)	Stage 3 Theme	Ichipa
Dreamwalking Girl ドリームウォーキングガール (Dorīmuu~ōkingu Gāru)	Stage 3 Boss - Shirley Wollstone's Theme	Larum
Matsue, the Forgotten Graveyard 忘れた墓場、松江市 (Wasureta Hakaba, Matsue-shi)	Stage 4 Theme	Mirai Morikawa
Tread Lightly on the Vengeful Fire ~ Forsaken Nirvana 復讐の炎を軽やかに踏め ~ Forsaken Nirvana (Fukushū no Honō o Karoyaka ni Fume ~ Forsaken Nirvana)	Stage 4 Boss - Sachiko Hotarumiya's Theme	Orange
Soul Harvest Tower ソウルハーベストタワー (Souru Hābesuto Tawā)	Stage 5 Theme	Lona
The Primadonna's Blinding Love 千両役者の眩惑愛 (Senryōyakusha no Genwaku Ai)	Stage 5 Boss - Colette De La Croix's Theme	Orange
Fallen Heaven フォーレンヘブン (Fōren Hebun)	Final Stage Theme	Mafi
Fantastic Tome of Walpurgis Night ~ Black Rose ワルプルギスナイトの素晴らしい本 ~ Black Rose (Warupurugisu Naito no Subarashī Hon ~ Black Rose)	Final Stage Boss - Mercury Nachtschatten's Theme	Mafi
Spirits Waltzing and Whirling Like a Starry Sky 星空のように舞う精霊たち (Hoshizora no Yō ni Mau Seirei-tachi)	Extra Stage Theme	SlowBro
Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre 魔女の滝夜叉とがしゃどくろ (Majo no Takiyasha to Gashadokuro)	Extra Stage Boss - Kurohime Takiyasha's Theme	Komainu
Living Dead Holiday リビング デッド ホリデー (Ribingu Deddo Horidē)	Ending Theme	Useless
Nirvana Dream ニアバーナードリーム (Niabānā Dorīmu)	Staff Roll Theme	Ichipa
Night of Everlasting Pandemonium 永遠の魔界の夜 (Eien no Makai no Yoru)	Last Word Rush Theme	Useless
Player's Score プレイヤーズスコア (Pureiyāzu sukoa)	Score Theme	ZUN

Trivia

• Similarly to Touhou 12: Undefined Fantastic Object, a game with an acronym that has a meaning (UFO), Rebellion in Purgatory's acronym also has a meaning that is related to the game's theme: RiP (which means rest in peace and is usually used for those who are now dead).
• The extra stage boss, Kurohime, is partially inspired by Skullgirls, a fighting videogame where the 'Skullgirl' is the main antagonist. Kurohime's title, and her being the real instigator of the game's events directly references this as well.