Clearing Mountain of Faith's Extra Stage No-Miss No-Bomb with Marisa C in My First Bullet-Hell Shooter

The character used is Marisa Kirisame, whom the commentator introduces as "familiar by now from 'Yukkuri Marisa,'" and the equipment is "Magic User." With this equipment, the options can be set in place when you switch to focused movement. The commentator explains that thinking about where to place the options is the real appeal of this shot type.

There are also convenient shot types with homing attacks. They chose this equipment anyway because it was their first time seriously playing an STG, so they wanted a shot type that seemed likely to build up their fundamental skills.

In the first stage section, they demonstrate concretely how to use the options. First, they attack the fairy in the center with the options while slipping to the left and wiping out the fuzzballs. Then they again leave the center to the options and clear out the right side this time. When fuzzballs fly out from both sides, they handle the right side with the options and the left side with Marisa herself. By moving the options as needed, you can deliver powerful attacks from a position separate from your character, and the commentator remarks that, used well, it becomes a shot type that "can reach even the hard-to-reach places."

Marisa is making her way along the approach to the Moriya Shrine. The Moriya Shrine suddenly moved from the Outside World into Gensokyo, and the setup is that Marisa has come to find out what it is really about.

Appearing as the midboss is Kanako Yasaka, the god of wind and rain who moved here along with the shrine. The commentator explains that Gensokyo has a culture of using spell cards for duels, which allows disputes even with gods and youkai to be settled relatively peacefully. Kanako challenges Marisa according to this custom as well.

The early spell cards are said to be on the easy side. The first can be dodged with only left-right movement, and the second with only up-down movement. The third is modeled on the Omiwatari of Lake Suwa, with bullets piercing through vertically. You sway left and right to dodge while also paying attention to the position of your options, and take her down quickly.

After Kanako is defeated, a gentle stretch of stage continues for a while up to the shrine's main hall. The commentator candidly states that, with few attempts under their belt, they don't yet know the proper way to move here. The enemies around here only fire bullets aimed at the player, so they say they just kept moving and brushed them off sloppily. They didn't pay attention to score this time, but they also mention that once they get used to the game, playing for score seems like it could be fun.

Once a large swarm of fairies passes by, the final boss appears. According to the commentator, the Moriya Shrine has two gods. The one who publicly gathers faith is Kanako Yasaka, but Kanako is a foreign god who came to the Suwa region later. The one actually enshrined in the shrine was the native god, Suwako Moriya. Suwako uses a total of 10 spell cards, with unnamed nonspell attacks in between.

Opening Celebration "Two Bows, Two Claps, and One Bow": Its name comes from the common etiquette for paying respects at a shrine, and it is said to evoke the start of a battle with a god. As soon as you hear the first sound, move quickly to the blue side, and then just repeat the motion of slowly moving back. The commentator recommends adjusting your options during the pre-fight dialogue to a position where three of their shots hit, since this makes the phases around here end in an instant and gives you an advantage.

Native God "Lord Long-Arm and Lord Long-Leg": Back up as far as you can in the narrow space and slip between the blue rice bullets while making fine adjustments. Using diagonal movement lowers your horizontal speed, which makes fine adjustments easier, they say. After the following nonspell, the enemy moves toward the bottom, so release focused movement and move your options over.

Divine Tool "Moriya's Iron Ring": When the rings close in, all you have to do is move to an open spot. To the question of why a shrine would have iron rings, they add that the Moriya god is apparently said to have used an iron ring in battle. After that, the enemy returns to the top, so reposition your options at the top as well. Dodge the aimed attacks by moving slowly.

Source Sign "Jade of the Loathsome River": Adjust your options' position while waiting for the river to flood, and get through it by moving down and then up. Moving quickly at full speed at the moment you slip through creates gaps between the aimed bullets, which works in your favor, they say. They explain that the name comes from the flooding of the Itoigawa River, an area known for producing jade. After the nonspell, move your options to the bottom.

Frog Hunt "The Snake Eats the Croaking Frog": Dive into the gap that opens up somewhere at the bottom of the screen and circle around, and the pattern settles down. It is a proverb meaning that a frog gets swallowed by a snake because of its croaking, and the commentator remarks that it's "just like the Reiwa-era internet." Once you're through, return your options to the top and prepare for the next card while dodging attacks by sidestepping back and forth.

Native God "Seven Stones and Seven Trees": Lasers in seven colors rain down along with round bullets that the commentator likens to "Poifull" candies. Get between the lasers and slip through the gaps in the round bullets.

Native God "Kero-chan Braves the Wind and Rain": The commentator introduces this as a relatively difficult and visually beautiful spell card. At first glance, it looks packed solid with bullets. But if you look at just the rice bullets, or just the glowing bullets, each pattern on its own is thin. The commentator's approach is that if you dodge one type at a time, you'll notice there are surprisingly many gaps.

The green bullet pattern is the last nonspell, and after it come three spell cards in a row.

Native God "Red Frogs of Houei Four": This is a so-called survival spell, where you can't deplete the enemy's health and must keep dodging until time runs out. The dodging is simple: just move a little each time Suwako charges at you. Once you've used up the space all the way to the right edge of the screen, use the left side next. Partway through, the enemy increases to two, but what you do stays the same. Since you're just moving a little each time you hear the sound, the commentator says you might as well watch the frogs in the background while waiting for time to run out.

"Suwa War ~ Native Myth vs. Central Myth": Another survival spell begins right after. The commentator explains that it depicts the battle between Suwako and Kanako, and talks about the game's background in the meantime. Having lost the battle, Suwako came under Kanako's wing, and from then on the two gods formed a strange partnership. However, as science advanced, people's faith declined. Because gods lose their power when they lose faith, they moved to Gensokyo to try to rebuild in a new land. This scheme is said to be the origin of the incident depicted in Mountain of Faith.

While they are talking, the spell gets down to 30 seconds remaining, and the gentle bullet pattern gains momentum. Until about 20 seconds remain, they waited at the left edge of the Tenryu River, dodged the large orbs, and returned to the left edge again, repeating this. From then on, you can no longer return to the left edge. So they move toward the center, travel back up to the upper center, and let the white large orbs pass by. At the end, red aimed bullets close in, so they evade them while moving down the river, and time runs out.

The last one is Curse Sign "Mishaguji-sama." The pattern is just crossing bullets repeated over and over, which they call very simple. The only option is to keep making small dodges at the very bottom of the screen. The commentator says that once you've made it this far there's nothing left to explain, and it's purely a matter of willpower dodging, and they defeated Suwako while keeping the no-miss, no-bomb run intact.

The story concludes with Marisa discerning the true identity of the god sleeping in the Moriya Shrine and defeating Suwako in a danmaku duel. She proposes throwing a party for party-loving Gensokyo, and peaceful days return.

They say they took on a bullet-hell shooter this time with the theme of "playing more games I've never experienced." Until now, the commentator had only watched the original Touhou games, but they say that trying it themselves let them appreciate its appeal even more. They conclude that the gameplay, music, characters, and dialogue were all wonderful, and that they had a genuinely fun time playing.