Touhou

[Agent of Dread]

Yay I played/finished IN. Marisa and Alice do painfully little damage compared to Reimu and Yukari.

That feel when capture Stardust Reverie, and the rofl when Master Spark.
Reisen's non-card stuff = FAST AHHH WHAT IS THISSS
Resien's card stuff = Epic

I still think Keine is ridiculous. .___.

[Shade]

Marisa and Alice do painfully little damage compared to Reimu and Yukari.

The Magic Team actually has the highest raw power in the game. It's just that their shot spread sucks really hard (Alice has literally none whatsoever), so you need to stay right below the boss or you'll completely miss it. The Border Team on the other hand has homing shots focused as well as unfocused, so their position in relation to the boss matters very little when it comes to dealing constant damage.

[Agent of Dread]

If I can get into the habit of bombing more reliably, I'll probably give Youmu/Yuyuko another shot, since their 'extra bombs' gimmick seems really helpful despite the... quirky... shot type Youmu has.
Also, I heard the 9th game is of a different sort to the others, could someone explain a little more in regards to that?

[Shade]

If I can get into the habit of bombing more reliably, I'll probably give Youmu/Yuyuko another shot, since their 'extra bombs' gimmick seems really helpful despite the... quirky... shot type Youmu has.

It's really not. The extra bombs really don't make up for the general lack of versatility Youmu has to deal with. Besides, you only get them if you're already down to two or less at that point. No serious player bombs on stage 1 or 2, so that means at most 3 actual extra bombs. Not worth it.

Also, I heard the 9th game is of a different sort to the others, could someone explain a little more in regards to that?

It's a VS game instead of the arcade type you're used to. It's difficult to explain; it's better if you just look up a video of it or something.

[Agent of Dread]

I'll do that when I'm not in class and slacking off, then.

[octagon]

Youmu's 'quirky' shot can be used more efficiently if you tap Focus shortly, switching to Yuyuko for a split second and thus resetting Myon's rotation so you can shoot in a straight line.

[Agent of Dread]

Oh, that's a good idea.

I was doing really nicely with solo!Youmu this afternoon (don't ask how she's unlocked; there were some scores already in the version I downloaded). Her focus gimmick and bombs are quite nice, but Marisa and stage 4 in general utterly destroyed me. I keep forgetting that there's a spellcard after Master Spark. xD

[Shade]

I got to Stage 5 on Hard with Solo!Youmu, but then I got Tewi-kicked (yes, again) on my last life.

The solo characters in general are pretty bad (except Marisa and Remilia, possibly, because they're just that good) simply for the reason that they cannot switch between shooting through familiars and shooting at familiars, making a handful of spellcards extremely difficult for them.
Although supposedly, Solo!Youmu is very good for scoring because her shortened phantom gauge allows her to change her method of gathering time orbs more quickly.

[Agent of Dread]

I played Sakuya/Remilia and I didn't see much promise in Remi's shot type... then again, this was one try.

I think the Stage 5 part that trips me up the most would have to be the segments between Reisen's spellcards, they can really catch you off guard if you're not totally focused, back against the wall.
The morphing-lattice card, though, was extremely epic, especially after I figured out how to stay alive within it.

[Shade]

I played Sakuya/Remilia and I didn't see much promise in Remi's shot type... then again, this was one try.

Remi's shot is epic because it rivals the Magic Team's in raw power, yet doesn't suffer from their problem of having to stay lined up with the boss at all times - as long as you keep the focus button pressed, Remi's familiar will stay where you put it, allowing you to "shotgun" the boss from across the whole screen.
Moving bosses force you to reposition your familiar a few times, but that's nowhere near as bad as having to follow every bit of the boss' movement ever.

I think the Stage 5 part that trips me up the most would have to be the segments between Reisen's spellcards, they can really catch you off guard if you're not totally focused, back against the wall.

Yeah, Reisen's non-spells are a dick move. They're like the complete opposite of her spells.

[Agent of Dread]

I also found Reimu threatening to 'shoot off [Reisen's] clothes' rather amusing. Talk about a Big Lipped Alligator Moment.
So the 10th game is UFO, 11th is SA, 12th I have no clue and 13th is Ten Desires, yeah? I have lots of playing to do before I get to be Youmu again after IN. .___.

[Shade]

So the 10th game is UFO, 11th is SA, 12th I have no clue and 13th is Ten Desires, yeah? I have lots of playing to do before I get to be Youmu again after IN. .___.

No, UFO is the 12th. The 10th is MoF.
But look forward to it, Youmu is pretty decent in TD. She rivals Reimu, in fact, who is probably the best character in TD (...like pretty much always).

[Agent of Dread]

Except in PCB, I hear.

[Shade]

Yeah... Reimu's terrible in PCB. :/

[octagon]

You're in for some other treats before; all of Subterranean Animism's shot types are exciting in some way, and Sanae and Marisa have pretty cool patterns in UFO.