Touhou

[Shade]

By the way, I like how the item drop from stage 4 mid-boss Nue apparently works. DisplayYou get an extend or bomb depending on which kind of UFO you're carrying, right?

No. You get a 1up (the only one in the entire game, not counting the EX stage) if you manage to "capture" Nue's attacks (treat it as a survival spellcard - in other words, you can't kill her in the orb state, but you shouldn't die or bomb). If you die or bomb, you only get a bomb instead.
Meaning that the higher the difficulty you're playing on, the less likely you'll get the 1up, as her pattern is random and sometimes not very possible to dodge.

(Similarly, you get a Full Power item if you "capture" midboss!Nue's attacks in Stage 6, but only a large power item (which is worth 1.00 power) if you die or bomb.)

[octagon]

I need help with Double Spoiler. Of all those ridiculous level 9 cards, DNA's Flaw seems the most reasonable but Koishi keeps kicking me in the face. How exactly does this spell's pattern work? Her cards are horribly erratic.
I don't have anything from level 8, 10 or 12 either... I think I don't like level 8 - those suns are just rude, not to mention DAMN CAT -
I'll probably try to get "Evacuation Along the Steep Path" in level 10 done, and Nue's "Red Cloak, Blue Cloak" card seems doable as well, I just need to train my reflexes.
11-1 was surprisingly okay and fun.

[Shade]

I haven't played Double Spoiler, can't help ya with that.
Koishi is ridiculous enough in SA (say hi to the hardest EX stage in Touhou history while not getting any Extends), though, so I can imagine how hard she'll be in Double Spoiler.

[octagon]

So I unlocked the Extra stage. It doesn't seem too bad so far - if I wasn't exhausted from the unlocking process, I could probably beat the three extra scenes required for the Spoiler stage.
I found unlocking the extra stage incredibly hard and tedious... for me, the aptly-named "Bell of Avici ~ Infinite Nightmare" has become what "Treasure Sealed Off" became for DeceasedCrab.

Though some of [DATA EXPUNGED]'s spellcards are rewardingly hilarious...

EDIT: I cleared all but one of the Spoiler stage's spellcards. Frustrating, but fun.

[octagon]

My concentration, reflexes and bomb-sense seem to be inversely proportional with my technical skill at and knowledge of a given Touhou game. I could probably 1cc PCB, MoF or IN on Normal by now, if not for my gradual loss of the ability to pay attention to bullets. Just how am I supposed to improve if any Touhou session ends with making a trainwreck out of stage four or five, ragequitting and hating myself?

[Shade]

Don't play to win. Play to have fun.

And even though I'm saying that, I haven't really touched any main Touhou game since I died to Flandre's very final spellcard while she had less than 20% of her HP left. I'm utterly frustrated.

Maybe you should try something different for a while? New Super Marisa Land, for example, is loads of fun and nowhere near as hard as the SHMUPs (although still challenging).

[Agent of Dread]

That one sounds extremely amusing.
If you're looking for something completely different, try reading through Katawa Shoujo (adult content or no ). It seems like something you could a) empathise with and b) really enjoy.
Oh whoops that makes me a thread derailer.

[octagon]

Isn't that game ludicrously hard? I vaguely remember watching Raocow's videos of a Reisen and a Yukari fight, which were ridiculously unfair, requiring you to do multiple almost pixel-perfect dodges per second, combined with slippery Mario physics... Or was that Super Marisa World?

[Shade]

Or was that Super Marisa World?

Must be, because Yukari doesn't even appear in New Super Marisa Land in the first place, and Reisen only appears in the form of a Reisen suit that works a bit like Yoshi's flutter ability in Yoshi's Island.

[octagon]

I think, I'll try it, then - danmaku physics aside, it sounds like a really fun game.

How can Byakuren, Miko and their followers have spellcards, by the way? They were sealed long before the creation of the spellcard system...

[Shade]

I think, I'll try it, then - danmaku physics aside, it sounds like a really fun game.

There's no danmaku in New Super Marisa Land.
You seem to be thinking of the wrong game.

How can Byakuren, Miko and their followers have spellcards, by the way? They were sealed long before the creation of the spellcard system...

Because they're just pro like that.

[Agent of Dread]

Stage 4 of Perfect Cherry Blossom = Giant 'screw you, player'.

[Shade]

Yeah, it's very long even by Stage 4 standards, and the Prismrivers are among the hardest Stage 4 bosses.

[Agent of Dread]

The amount of spam you have to deal with between Lily White and the boss is simply inhumane, especially as Miss Marisa 2-bombs.
Magic Missile is soooo worth it, though.

[Shade]

The amount of spam you have to deal with between Lily White and the boss is simply inhumane

Actually, the fairies that spam a ton of blue/red bullets and then go away are trivial if you use streaming techniques. The red ones are aimed a bit differently than the blue ones, but all this changes is at what point you need to sidestep.

And yeah, Marisa A is great if you don't bomb too often. My highscore with her is almost 620 million points.