Touhou 15.5: 東方憑依華 (Eastern Blooms of Possession) ~ Antinomy of Common Flowers

[OrbOrigin]

So, this game is going to put emphasis on characters that were never being playable in a fighting game before. (Or even if I'm wrong, these characters never appeared in a fighting spin-off).
So, I decided to make a quick list for everybody. Especially if you have trouble reminding yourself of names. I also excluded canon characters with poor to no fighting abilities (ex.: fairies (except Clownpiece), Kosuzu, Rinnosuke...) or characters that never meant to be anything (ie. Daiyousei, Koakuma, etc.)

Rumia
Flandre Scarlet
Letty Whiterock
Chen
Lyrica Prismriver
Lunasa Prismriver
Merlin Prismriver
Ran Yakumo
Wriggle Nightbug
Mystia Lorelei
Keine Kamishirawawa
Tewi Inaba
Eirin Yagokoro
Kaguya Houraisen
Medecine Melancholy
Yuuka Kazami
Eiki Shiki
Shizuha Aki
Minoriko Aki
Hina Kagiyama
Momiji Inubashiri
Sanae Kochiya
Kanako Yasaka
Suwako Moriya
Kisume
Yamame Kurodani
Parsee Mizuhashi
Yuugi Hoshiguma
Satori Komeiji
Rin Kaenbyou
Utsuho Reiuji
Nazrin
Kogasa Tatara
Minamitsu Murasa
Shou Toramaru
Nue Houjuu
Hatate Himekaidou
Kyouko Kasodani
Yoshika Miyako
Seiga Kaku
Soga no Tojiko
Sekibanki
Kagerou Imaizumi
Benben Tsukumo
Yatsuhashi Tsukumo
Seija Kijin
Raiko Horikawa
Seiran
Ringo
Doremy Sweet
Sagume Kishin
Clownpiece
Junko
Hecatia Lapislazuli
Watatsuki no Toyohime
Watatsuki no Yorihime

Yuugi never appeared as a playable character in a fighting game. Let that sink in.
Also, I consider Clowpiece strong enough as a fairy to be worth playing. Cirno isn't though.

Feel free to let me know if I made a mistake (I'm sure I made one somewhere).

In terms of roster characters, I would like to say the complete cast of ULiL (including Reisen) will appear in this game. But considering the game sets between LoLK and yet to be announced 16th main game, we can expect some of LoLK cast will appear in this game; such as Doremy, Sagume, Clownpiece, Junko and Hecatia. Sagume in particular will involved in this incident, considering all the mess during ULiL was her fault. Granted, she doesn't want to involve some of Gensokyo inhabitants until she had no choice but to spark the Urban Legend clash, and in Reimu's final scenario,

Spoiler:

she secretly using Sumireko as a proxy to regain Lunar Capital Occult Orb to allow Lunarians escape from Junko's wrath

. But things become less interesting without one or two newcomers join the party, with one or both newcomers will be the perpetrator of the incident. Apart from that, we can expect some veterans like Sakuya, Youmu, or Sanae will appear too. Just like HM with Ichirin, Nitori and Koishi; and ULiL with Kasen and Mokou, we can expect another minor character will join the party in AoCF. Who knows if some minor characters like Yuuka or Keine will involved? Well, only time will tell.

Hmm, that's possible. There could be a list of playable characters and a list of assists, instead of outright tag team.

Regardless if its an outright tag team or one versus one with assist, it's about pair versus pair after all.

[Reu]

Who would be the strongest duo, from the villagers's point of view?
I mean, aren't those lines coming from them?



Part of me wants someone from pc98 to return, just someone though.
Just because it would be interesting.

[game2011]

Part of me wants someone from pc98 to return, just someone though.
Just because it would be interesting.

Orange, she is finally freed after being sealed away by Reimu for a long time.

[PK]

Who would be the strongest duo, from the villagers's point of view?
I mean, aren't those lines coming from them?

The Dragon God should be one of the two, then?
The second one might be one of those youkai or individuals that no human (including the not-so-normal ones) should be able to compete with.
Honestly, there are too many characters with superpowerful abilities to actually decide without falling into a infinite power level debate. Of course, i don't expect them to know about Hecatia or even Yorihime as individuals.

[Nebulae--Addict]

Another completly unrelated topic.

I'm pretty hyped for AoFC you don't know how

[MANoBadAssGar Jr.]

The Dragon God should be one of the two, then?
The second one might be one of those youkai or individuals that no human (including the not-so-normal ones) should be able to compete with.
Honestly, there are too many characters with superpowerful abilities to actually decide without falling into a infinite power level debate. Of course, i don't expect them to know about Hecatia or even Yorihime as individuals.

Oo, Dragon God in a form of little girl, i like that idea. But i don't think gensokyo ready yet.

edit : could it be........ Rin Satsuki are actually the Dragon God!? you know, like how chinese dragon and qillin are relatives.......
or
Rin Satsuki is the daughter of the Dragon God! and now this is her tale of how she ascend from a qillin to become the Ryujin II !
Holy sh*t! the resurrection of circle-cut-exclusive, butchered character!

[~Shin Kuroi~]

Oo, Dragon God in a form of little girl, i like that idea. But i don't think gensokyo ready yet.

edit : could it be........ Rin Satsuki are actually the Dragon God!? you know, like how chinese dragon and qillin are relatives.......
or
Rin Satsuki is the daughter of the Dragon God! and now this is her tale of how she ascend from a qillin to become the Ryujin II !
Holy sh*t! the resurrection of circle-cut-exclusive, butchered character!

[why are you so cute]

hmmm... i wonder how rin's gameplay would play out, given that we are pretending that she somehow returns which i very highly doubt.

[Helepolis]

How is a character going to return who has never appeared?

[~Shin Kuroi~]

How is a character going to return who has never appeared?

ZUN could potentially use her for something since she was unused in EoSD. i doubt he will, but i can't deny that there's a chance, even though it's miniscule, of it happening.

i was just wondering how Rin would play out as a character if she was in a fighting game, ability wise and gameplay wise  :smokedcheese:

[Komeiji11]

Hmm... Maybe I'm way off base with this but I've been thinking about the past few Touhou games and noticed they all had something to with "identity"

HM: Kokoro awakening her self-identity as a youkai
DDC: Weak youkai trying to cast off that identity and attain ones with more strength and prestige
ISC: Seija reaffirming her identity as an Amanojaku through-and-through
ULiL: Characters adopting urban legends closely aligned with their identities
LoLK: This one's kind of iffy but it seemed to be making the distinction between Lunarians and Earthlings clearer, or maybe even the 3 worlds of Hecatia, and then there's Reisen who now considers herself an Earth Rabbit

And now there's antinomy and possession, a mixing and replacing of two different but somehow merging personalities. I don't know I thought it was something worth thinking about...

[Drake]

Identity is a fundamental part of a youkai's existence (you might say it is their existence), so it's no coincidence that themes of identity (of youkai specifically) show up all over the place.

[andykhang]

Every game of Touhou is about identity one way or another though. That's kinda the point of Spell Card fight, and of Youkai in general.

[OrbOrigin]

Does anyone here talk about the gameplay features?

[andykhang]

And we can't really talk about it if even the demo isn't out yet. So yeah...

[Drake]

The game has nearly no information released about it, most of which is ambiguous-Touhou-plot-introduction. All we can tell is that the Occult system is continuing in some form and the ULiL characters are playable.

[Maple]

Who would be the strongest duo, from the villagers's point of view?
I mean, aren't those lines coming from them?

The Dragon God should be one of the two, then?
The second one might be one of those youkai or individuals that no human (including the not-so-normal ones) should be able to compete with.
Honestly, there are too many characters with superpowerful abilities to actually decide without falling into a infinite power level debate. Of course, i don't expect them to know about Hecatia or even Yorihime as individuals.

What if that hypothetical character isn't actually one of the higher tiers of power levels, but rather someone that intentionally spreads rumors about her own strength?

"The strongest two have joined forces."
"Something bad might be in store for us humans."
"An opponent who cannot be bested by anybody alone?"
Ludicrous rumors are circulating, seemingly out of the fear in human villagers' hearts.

If i where to make a guess of who would create rumors for their benefit, uh, huh, Seiga and Kogasa? Those are the first that come to mind, the first because of personality and the probably tag-team/assist character gameplay could do something with Yoshika, and the other because of her bread-and-butter of scaring people.

[Serela]

If Kogasa ended up being a character that would be amazing, both because I'd play the shit out of her and also because pfft wow.

It's possible the final boss won't end up being the rumored strongest duo (and is moreso just responsible for the incident itself), I suppose. The thought that the duo is actually only RUMORED to be incredibly strong, therefore using the urban legend incident to make them so, is interesting.

[Komeiji11]

I suppose what I meant was that there seems to have been more of an emphasis on identity in more recent games. Yes, you can find these things in the other games but they never really played a story role until now. 6-9, incident happens from some big bad with some type of motivation, Reimu solves it. 9 is the only exception to this. 10-13.5, religious arc that focused more on that religious sects making their way into Gensoukyou and their "incidents." Really nothing threatening was going on but our heroes thought it was strange and investigated. And from 13.5 to now someone's idea of identity plays some big role in the stories. I don't mean like Remy is a vampire so she does vampire things, but that someone is trying to change/discover/come to terms with their identity and that's where my previous post came from.

[~Shin Kuroi~]

hey, hey, i've been meaning tew ask this. sorry for changing the topic so much.

but, do you guys think, that, maybe, just maybe... they would of fixed the netplay issues this time? and had it at least as good as the netplay that soku has? that's my biggest concern with this game. i really hope that it doesn't have terrible netplay this time.

also, happy holidays!! please have a good day and be safe.

[SuperVehicle-001]

All we can tell is that the Occult system is continuing in some form and the ULiL characters are playable.

The Occult system? But aren't the occult balls gone?

[legwan-w-spioszkach]

Heh, a new game has been announced long ago and I didn't comment on it. Oh well.

From the go I'll say that I don't like fighting games. At all. It's a cliched, ignorant disinterest simply because I don't play them. I guess that's the opinion of the most shmup players, and vice versa, fighting game players don't mind shmup at all. Yeah, Touhou should stick to a single genre. HONEST OPINION.
From what have been announced I suspect that there will be some stasus quo shakeup, but probably a minor one. I have to watch the events of the game due to myself writing Touhou game concepts that are actually supposed to fit canon chronology somewhat, and that the 2017 canon game have possibilities to null some things.

And for wishful thinking, I hope to see Parsee playable - simply because her canon appearance is limited. And, for some reason, Prismrivers - they are mostly forgotten nowadays and their appearance would be flat-out funny. Haha.
And no Mima. Unless radically redesigned to be a new character overall. Yeah, I would like to see Windows!Mima as a practically new character.

[Marron]

And for wishful thinking, I hope to see Parsee playable - simply because her canon appearance is limited. And, for some reason, Prismrivers - they are mostly forgotten nowadays and their appearance would be flat-out funny. Haha.
And no Mima. Unless radically redesigned to be a new character overall. Yeah, I would like to see Windows!Mima as a practically new character.

Ah, please, don't talk about Parsee, I've succeeded to maintain my brain to think that she will never be playable, it helps me to deal with the pain. :V

[legwan-w-spioszkach]

Parsee with coarse language, intimid behaviour and true jealousy in place of somewhat odd talks that were included in SA back in 2008.
Given they being retconned with how the actual jealousy demons would cry would be neat B).
It would be actually quite in-canon. Powerful persons like Yuugi, Yuyuko or Eiki have little desire and/or need to come in and kick heroines' asses, while underpowered-but-civilised youkai like Wriggle, Letty or Sekibanki would look out-of-place beating everyone down the road.
Parsee, however, would be perfect. No real sense about how Gensokyo - or any civilization, for that matter - works, and a huge story potential that would be more or less impossible to replicate with any other character.

But, again, I said i won't play fighting games :V.

[Drake]

The Occult system? But aren't the occult balls gone?

System was the wrong word, sorry if that was misleading; it's just that at the core of AoCF is the continuation of the unresolved urban legend incident, so that's one of the only other leads you'd have to the mechanics. The mechanics haven't even been solidified yet, as ZUN has said during the Play,Doujin party. Unabara then joked that it's because ZUN would discuss the system with them while they drank and say "this is nice, I like it" but then at the next meeting go "never mind it's bad after all".

[game2011]

What if that hypothetical character isn't actually one of the higher tiers of power levels, but rather someone that intentionally spreads rumors about her own strength?

If i where to make a guess of who would create rumors for their benefit, uh, huh, Seiga and Kogasa? Those are the first that come to mind, the first because of personality and the probably tag-team/assist character gameplay could do something with Yoshika, and the other because of her bread-and-butter of scaring people.

Problem is neither of them are major enough to play big roles.  It's more plausible to think of more important characters in the series.  I remember when someone thought Rin (from SA) would be the main antagonist, or a major one, of TD, because one of the stages take place in a cemetery, so the plot involves Rin digging up corpse and letting lose divine spirits as a result...

[Serela]

Seiga literally had her own game, and was a stage 5 boss (and plot-wise was sort of more important than the stage 6 boss, being the actual mastermind), so she's definitely "major" enough to get a role like semifinal fight in a fighter. Of course, the final boss will be new, because this isn't just an expansion pack like 12.3 where we fought Suwako and Alice as final bosses instead.

Seiga spreading a rumor about herself to gain power sounds like exactly what she'd do and reasonable enough to happen, so I wouldn't be surprised if she's in the fighter. Oh god, a reversed movement status effect attack...


edit:oh.

oh.

seiga/seija AUGH AUGH AUGH

[legwan-w-spioszkach]

seiga/seija

I would like to see them team up.
No, really.
and Aoki for good measure

[Marron]

I would like to see them team up.
No, really.
and Aoki for good measure

Well, the two of them are wicked, it's not like they don't have anything in common.

[Maple]

You know, if there were rumors about Seija being a powerful individual, i suppose that then she would try to be a contrarian (as usual), and make herself really weak, below generic Fairy-tier.

[Branneg Xy]

Don't get what you're trying to say...

(SMALL EDIT)I am very sorry  :smokedcheese: to have left replies unattended . My brief post(text from Prologue of https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Antinomy_of_Common_Flowers ) "An opponent impossible to defeat by anybody alone?""Ludicrous rumors are circulating, seemingly out of the fear in human villagers' hearts" The gist of it  all (previous at https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?action=posthistory;topic=20471.0;msg=1305221) is that a Powerful(or Empowered by Rumours or Aided by them) SINGLE VERSION FINAL BOSS(ES?) which are not meant for players could possibly give to PROTAGONIST DUOS New Approaches depending on how one handles the Final Battles and the Investigative Battles .New approaches MIGHT include a  playable-in-story   DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE FINAL BOSS(ES?) that would be in a pair with another or more likely alone but as if she was in one;remember my fallacy is: it all lays on the New Gameplay and on  most of the Cause and Consequences of the Incident.However a sort of basis for it is noticeable from UNL/Soku ....Perpetrators and Accomplices were to be dealt with during the story in Gensokyo-Style  but in Touhou 12.3 ...  New Developments! !Culprits and Causes,fully or partially, are this time DIFFERENT VERSIONS standing out from from SWR and IaMP : version 2 "Overwhelming NPC Final Boss" and  version 1 "Challenging mostly-Regular Boss"( Giant Catfish,Goliath Doll/ Suwako and Utsuho ) .Moving on from UNL/Soku to Hopeless Masquerade and to  TH 15.5/AoCM please notice the New Development  of  Perpetrator and Accomplice(Culprits and Causes) from NPC TO PLAYABLE STORY MODE alongside New Developments on the gameplay mechanics.

This lenghty one to MANoBadAssGar,to whom I give thanks  for his post and appreciation , was taking its time to EDIT  https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php?action=posthistory;topic=20471.0;msg=1304986  but I did not write an EDIT warning8I will get to it) seeing that is possible to notice it at the bottom of each post.In fact it is  :wikipedia: fan theorizing,analysis and comparison  with lots of cross-checking, cross-references from Touhou Canon ,very advisable to read piece by piece -> [CHRISTmas Title!  Lenghty and Detailed so you can read piece by piece if you are so inclined,Thanks!]

edit:
--->>> An observation new for me but presented way before me in this topic:  Hecatia and Junko are the first and  only "Final Boss" Duo ,they are just right before Touhou 15.5,Reisen (PS4 Urban Legends in Limbo) Story Mode has vague hints tying to them from Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom... Other ties,even more interesting and solid :dragonforce: : Printworks of Forbidden Scrollery but also Wild and Horned Hermit ,as long we read and compare those that  were a Prologue or Post-Story /In-Beetween to the Urban Legends an Lunatic Legacy ... a Template for the Mechanics and Story by Zun is possible,at least generic details;by the way,  discoveries around and more AoCF are able to be made a mite easier: Zun  kindly gave us  new directions and insights .Sweet!Sweeter: artists who have collaborated (oooh    ! at the New Improved-Style Covers)or are have a bond.Where?  https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Strange_Creators_of_Outer_World.A new topic for the Official magazine is already here in the forum to participate.