Phantasmagoria Trues

幻想浪漫紀行 ―Phantasmagoria Trues― (Gensou Rouman Kikou, "Fantasy Romance Travel Log") is a Touhou fan game made by Len in Danmakufu 0.12m. It is a remake of his earlier game Phantasm Romance containing an overhauled game system, three game modes, and an extra stage. Version 1.0 was released on 30 August 2011, with version 1.1 adding the Terminus stage. Version 1.2 was released on 1 April 2013 and introduced Simple mode, a system which is based on that of Phantasm Romance.

The gameplay is mechanics-heavy. Other than the trademark Touhou mechanics such as graze and point of collection. The gameplay revolves around a RED gauge similar to DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Black Label and a dynamic multiplier that can affect the gameplay. Additionally there is also a hyper system in most game modes.

For replay videos, visit the Video Index.

Controls

Phantasmagoria Trues runs on dnh 0.12m. So it is mainly played with keyboard.

• Arrow Keys: navigates the menu and moves the character.
• Z: Causes a short barrage of shots to be fired; hold it down for autofire.
• X: Releases a bomb.
• Shift: Dedicated focus button. Slows down player movement and concentrates shot.
• C: User key. Can be set to hyper release.

Other controls

• Backspace: Resets script. The fastest way to restart the game with the same shot type.
• Escape: Pauses the game. 1st option resumes, 2nd option returns to dnh main menu, 3rd option returns to script select.
• Space: Fast forward. Avoid it during gameplay. Additionally it doesn't work well with Vpatch. So run the dnh program in isolation to fast forward through replays.

Setup

Please check the following page in Moriya Shrine. It offers a premade package that contains dnh 0.12m, vpatch for less input lag and better resolution, and added sound effects + sprites. On the player's side. They need to run Vpatch.exe in japanese locale. This can be done by changing region settings in the control panel or using a program called Locale Emulator.

Tuning

Phantasmagoria Trues Tuning menu

Once the player runs the script. The main menu has an option called Tuning. It should open this menu:

• Trail Mode: Setting to true will make the game easier but disable alternate routes and the final stage. Always set it to false unless the player wants to familiarise themselves with the game mechanics.
• Zone: Setting it to Select gives the player an option to select zone before starting a run. Setting to Standard, Advanced or Unlimited will instantly start a run in the preferred Zone(For clarity, game modes are called Zones).
• Light Mode: Reduces effects for performance if set to true.
• Release: Sets the hyper release key to either shot(shot needs to be pressed twice), bomb(X key) or user(C key). Only applicable in Zones with a hyper system.
• Play Music: Self-explanatory.
• Simple Mode: Setting to true completely changes the game and removes most mechanics. Thus, making the game much more straight forward and simple.
• Data Reset: Hold the shot key to reset progress and scoreboard.

If the player wants to adjust window size. They can open vpatch.ini file in notepad and change Width and Height to their liking.

Gameplay

Phantasmagoria Trues plays like a run of the mill danmakufu script. It spans 6-7 stages and at the end of each stage the player fights a boss. Depending on the Zone selected. The enemy patterns and spellcards will be different. Additionally 2 out of 3 Zones have a hyper system.

HUD

HUD during gameplay

• 1: Player sprite. Hitbox is a red dot. It is considerably smaller than a typical Touhou hitbox. So the graze box is also smaller.
• 2: Current zone display. Shows Whether Trail Mode is on or not.
• 3: Item Border. Also known as Point of Collection. Going above the line collects all item on screen. The PoC line is always displayed even during gameplay.
• 4: Score, Lives, and bomb count. The player can build up to 15 lives and 8 bombs max. Extends are still gonna be rewarded when the player reaches max lives/bombs.
• 5: r.E.D Gauge. Each notch increases the density and speed of the bullets. It increases by collecting point items and decreases by collecting multiplier items.
• 6: Extend Gauges. Shows the player's progress until they receive an extend. The game uses quantity extends rather than score extends. Red Gauge is for lives and Green Gauge is for bombs.
• 7: Graze Gauge. Shows progress towards a Graze Spiritual Strike. For the sake of simplicity. It will be called Graze Explosion or Graze Cancel.
• 8: BASE and Multiply values. BASE increases permanently by collecting point items. Multiply increases by collecting multiplier item and can increase or decrease, capping at 999.
• 9: Multiplier Gauge. It is retained by collecting items or shooting. If it's empty. The multiply value drops.
• 10: RATEx is a permanently increasing sub-multiplier. BASE and RATEx are exclusively related to score.
• 11: Item count. Blue number displays no. of point items while the yellow number displays no. of multiplier items collected.

Shot Types

Phantasmagoria Trues uses the default Danmakufu 0.12m shot types. They are most similar to Touhou 7 ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom Shot types. Though, The Shot Types Were rebalanced in version 1.2:

Shot Type	Damage(boss damage)	Bomb Damage	Notes
ReimuA	0.85x(1.0x)	1.6x	Homing. The worst Shot Type in the game.
ReimuB	1.0x(1.0x)	1.0x	Spread needles. Sufficient but compared to marisa Shot Types, it is lackluster.
MarisaA	1.65x(1.3x)	1.6x	Narrow splash. The best Shot Type in the game.
MarisaB	1.5x(1.15x)	2.5x	Piercing. Not as good as MarisaA but stronger than Reimu Shot Types.

Reimu holds 3 bombs while Marisa holds 2 bombs.

Items

Item	Name	Description
	Point Item	Rewards score. Progresses Lives extend Gauge.
	Multiplier Item(Rate Item)	Increases multiplier. Value doubled whether its converted from a point item or not. Progresses Bomb extend Gauge.
	Hyper Point Item(Hypoint)	Rewards score and 3 frames of invincibility(stacking). Every 10 hypoints increases Graze Gauge by 1. Does not progress any Extend Gauges. This item isn't applicable to Standard Zone.

r.E.D Gauge

r.E.D Gauge with details.

Starts at zero upon starting a run. It is increased by collecting point items or hyper points. And decreases by collecting multiplier items. The rank does not affect bosses and cannot be adjusted during them. But can be adjusted after defeating a boss even after stage clear. The game gives the player time to collect the last chunk of items however they need after the boss's last spell card.

The bullet density goes as follows:

r.E.D Gauge %	Density & Speed
0% - 49%	1x
50% - 79%	2x
80% - 99%	3x
100%	4x

The notches inside the gauge are rough estimates of each density level. A good indicator of 4x density is the thin red line on the far right of the gauge. This is important as the difference between 3x and 4x density is 1%. Meaning the slightest degradation of rank can be detrimental.

Graze Gauge

The Graze Gauge fills up after the player grazes 200 times. Once it's filled. A rainbow circle(cancel area) expands and stays on for 4 seconds and produces 100 point items. If the multiplier is above 800. It produces 200 point items. During boss non-spells. The graze cancel produces multiplier items and doesn't increase the Rate. The items produced appear spontaneously close to each other. Meaning that the positions are random but not 100% random as the next item will always spawn close to the previous spawned items. This can have minimal affect in the player's route depending on the context.

Graze cancel in action

Hyper System

Applicable only to non-Standard Zones. Once the player hits 999x multiplier value. Hyper system automatically activates. Forming a large yellow ring around the player sprite.

Zones

There are 3 different Zones in Phantasmagoria Trues. All zones share the same 6 stages but with major differences. Such as alternate routes, different enemy patterns. And completely different bosses.

Zone	Hyper	Unseen Areas	Revenge bullets
Standard	No	Yes	No
Advanced	Yes	Yes	Hyper only
Unlimited	Yes	No	Always(Trail mode off)

Keep in mind, enabling Trail Mode will prevent the player from entering the final stage and unseen areas. Terminus(Extra stage) follows the same rules as Unlimited Zone.

Extend thresholds

Each zone has different extend thresholds:

Zone	Life extend(Point Item)	Life extend increment	Bomb extend(Multiplier Item)
Standard	1400	50	1000
Advanced	1000	100	1400
Unlimited	1200	50	1400
Terminus	1500	150	1500

Note that converting a point item into a multiplier item doubles the value e.g. The player has to convert 500 point items in Standard Zone to receive a bomb extend. Additionally, 1up and bomb items cannot be collected via Point of Collection.

Unlockables

Unseen Area 1

• 1cc either standard or advanced.
• The zone that was 1cc'd then has to be played from stage 1 to 3 without using more than 1 bomb during bosses.

Unseen Area 2

• Choose the right route in stage 4.
• Pass through UA1 or avoid losing more than 3 resources(lives & bombs combined) against Area 4 boss.

Unseen Area 3

• Pass through UA2.
• 15 Spellcards have to be captured by the end of UA2.
• If the player didn't pass through UA1. Then they should have 500,000 BASE in standard zone or 700,000 BASE in advanced zone. Additionally The multiplier should be at 999x. This condition is not possible in Simple Mode as there is no multiplier.

Terminus

• Defeat Mima(Standard or Advanced 1cc).
• Defeat Shinki(Standard Unseen or Unlimited 1cc).
• Defeat Alice(Advanced Unseen 1cc).

There is a code to unlock Terminus before fulfilling the above conditions. When in the main menu. Hold the C key for 15 seconds.

Miscellaneous

• In Unlimited Zone. Shinki has an additional TLB spellcard. It can only be encountered in a real run and when the player's BASE is above 900,000.
• To unlock Area 1 to 5 in practice. Clear them on any difficulty.
• To unlock Area 6 or Unseen Areas. Clear them on all difficulties.

Scoring

Phantasmagoria Trues has shared parallels with Takumi's Giga Wing Series. Instead of a single multiplier. There are three variables to exponentially increase. the multiplier, a dynamic value that starts at 1x every stage and can reach up to 999x. Base, which dedicates the score received from all sources. It starts at +10,000(+500,000 in Terminus). And finally the Rate, which acts as a sub-multiplier that starts at 1.00. Both Base and Rate can be raised indefinitely.

Multiply Value

The multiply Value(seen on the bottom right outside the play field), only increases through the multiplier item. When the player stops shooting. a purple aura forms around them. Any point item that enters this aura is converted and auto-collected as a multiplier item. If the point item was converted, it increases the multiplier twice the amount. So if 100 multiplier items where converted. that will increase the multiplier by 200x. Score is multiplied by the multiplier value squared for all sources of points except clear bonus. The multiplier also activates hyper upon reaching 999x(See Hyper System).

Base and Rate

Base is the value above the multiplier in the HUD. It starts at +10,000, and increases by collecting point items. If collected manually, it increases by +10. If collected via Item Border(Point of Collection). It increases by +20. Hyper points will always increase Base by +20. Rate on the other hand increases through the following actions:

• Spellcard capture(+0.10)
• Graze cancel during stages(+0.05)
• Hyper release(+0.01 for every 100 revenge bullets)

Base and Rate are both equally important. However, increasing both efficiently is a challenging task to accomplish.