There’s nothing quite like a good bullet hell game. Done right, it can be the perfect marriage of chaos and order, where lightning-quick reflexes, a constant sense of spacing and a bucketful of luck can be all that stands between you and a hell of bullets. Switch already has a handful of great examples to its name - including Danmaku Unlimited 3 and Sine Mora EX - but it now has another (and far more unusual) example in the tongue-in-cheek 'curtain fire' action of Azure Reflections.
A product of the two-decade-plus-old fan-made Touhou Project (which spans multiple mediums and genres and includes Touhou Genso Wanderer Reloaded and Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle among its number), Azure Reflections takes the basic principles of these super-niche Japanese bullet hell shooters and adds in a few extra touches to give you a little more options in the heat of battle.
As a horizontally-scrolling shooter, you can move around the screen with the left analog stick or the D-pad. Your basic movement speed is empoweringly fast, but it can also be a little unwieldy when the screen gets busy with fire. You can also hold ‘L’ or ‘-’ to focus and slow down your movement, perfect for slipping through a tiny gap of projectiles. Since you’re controlling a series of witch-like heroines who can float, you make for a much larger target on-screen. Thankfully, main character Reimu and co have a relatively small hitbox (represented by a series of chords hanging from their respective waists), but you’ll still need to watch where that vulnerable marker is because if you get hit you’ll get stunned. Get hit too many times and you’ll soon be down for the count.
You have a left and right fire button (‘Y’ for left and ‘A’ for right) so you don’t have to worry about which direction you’re facing when you start shooting. You can also press ‘X’ to pull up your barrier (to protect yourself with a shield when things get hectic) and ‘B’ to use a Spell Card. The former isn’t just defensive - you can also use it to absorb enemy fire to increase your score then strike a foe or boss to inflict lots of damage. The latter differ depending on the character you choose, but most help clear the screen of projectiles. They’re also great for saving your bacon just as you’re about to die.
Collectable green spirit signs (dropped by defeated enemies and bosses) can be spent on accessories. Annoyingly, you can’t purchase these between levels - which would have been a great way to empower players after a particularly gruelling fight - but you can purchase them from the Accessories page in the main menu. They’re not just a cosmetic item to personalise your favourite character, either. They add helpful buffs as well, such as a Devil Headband that provides a stronger Danmaku Rush and a Fox Mask that provides you with more starting lives.
There’s no denying that it will take you quite a while to get a hang of the speed and dexterity needed to master Azure Reflections. Don’t let its humorous dialogue and anime-styled character art fool you into thinking this is a cake walk - you’ll need to run through its tutorial a lot if you’re new to the sub-genre and even then it takes a while to really crack the balance of Spell Cards and Danmaku Rush. However, once you’ve mastered it there’s a powerful sense of achievement to be found in taking down a boss cleanly and using their own fire to rack up a huge score.
However, that hard-earned sense of achievement doesn’t last long as the game’s Story mode is frustratingly short. You can clear the entire thing, main and sub stages and all, in a couple of hours at most. Of course, the time taken to master the game’s mechanical intricacies will add a few more on top of this, but if you’re a curtain fire veteran you’ll likely find Azure Reflections' trip into the witchcraft battles of Touhou a fun yet ultimately brief experience. When you factor in a normal £20/$25 price tag, it’s a little light on content.
Conclusion
Azure Reflections is a fine addition to a small-yet-gradually-growing style of shmup on Nintendo Switch. With a handful of Touhou-related games already on the platform, this addition should keep fans of the project happy with its witty dialogue and pretty character models. However, with a vast library of shmups and bullet hell shooters already available on the console - and many offering far greater content and more accessible mechanics - Azure Reflections is (much like most Touhou titles) hard to recommend to anyone bar die-hard fans.
Comments 17
I did decide to pick this up a few days ago, I though it was good. The boss battles are really fun.
Danmaku unlimited 3 got a 9 in nintendo life review. I thought they werer similar games with Tohou being much more "japanese".
I want one of these games to be good, because I love all the fan art for the series I see online all the time.
No screenshots of the gameplay? Is the menu more fun than the shooting?
Did you guys gave it a low score because it's made by Sony?
@Galenmereth Where does it say that the large selection of shmups affected the game's score? He merely states at the end that he can't recommend this one given that there are loads of much better games in the same genre on Switch. If there were none he probably would have given it a 6 and said that it's far from perfect but is still cautiously recommended to fans of the genre as there aren't many other options on Switch.
@Heavyarms55 if you don't mind playing on PC, I would say try out Touhou Puppet Dance Perfomance, or Touhou Luna Nights. Those two looks excellent, and Luna Nights are accessible on Steam
Every franchise of shmups is different and, IMO, they're not freely interchangable. They each have different mechanics, scoring systems, etc. Just because there are 'other shmups' on the system, and because it has a 'short length' (heck, ALL shmups are short if you credit feed), doesn't mean that's all to it. Also, you can play at harder difficulties to extend the game's value. EDIT: To those just getting into shmups, you usually won't get the game's full experience unless you play on the hardest difficulty. And some games you won't see the game's 'True Last Boss' (and true ending) unless you do so, AND on a single credit! (but don't worry about that for now, just have fun until you get better) I'm not sure if this game has a TLB, this is a brand new Touhou game made just for the Switch. This is also the first Touhou I've actually played as opposed to just watching scoring runs, so it'll be fun to find out. Shmups aren't just one and done once you beat it, it's about getting better at them, that's what I'm getting at.
@Nincompoop Screenshots are randomized from a pool. Refresh the page to change them up. I got one game, one character, and one menu screenshot when I got here.
Eh, danmakus are moreorless a make-or-break scenario for me. I'm not opposed to that kind of genre, but Touhou is one franchise that I simply cannot get into in this department.
I'll stick with Genso Wanderer Reloaded on my Switch in the meantime.
What a terrible review.
I'm sorry, but 6 is a score that turns interested people away from a game (like @Heavyarms55 's comment shows), and the conclusion of the review does indeed sound negative, but the only real argument against the game seems to be that it's "short".
That's simply not true, actually most other good shmups are just as short or shorter and offer less modes and unlockables, this includes Nintendo Life's 9/10 rated games Ikaruga, Danmaku Unlimited 3, Tengai and Dragon Blaze.
I'm not saying Touhou Azure Refections is as good as these masterpieces (it isn't), but the arguments provided in this review make no sense, and when no reasonable flaw with a game can be
pointed out, the game really at least deserves a 7.
Maybe something like this wouldn't happen if you would let some reviewers focus on certain genres, Goncalo Lopes could get the shmups and Dom could get the fighting games and so on.
@EmirParkreiner @Heavyarms55 He also didn't really touch on the games actual length and replayability. Obviously bullet hell games are short, even the greats like the games he mentiones. (None of them definitely last more than 2 hours, so saying this game takes that long is a giant WTF).
But the goal of this game isn't just completing it. It encourages the player to beat the game in only one continue, because if you use one, you can't access the games last 2 levels. Something that newcomers won't know off the bat and will dismiss the game as "too short" with the levels given to you.
You also unlock an extra stage, which while only one stage, it tests your skills the its limits when your only trying to use one continue. Beating it is no problem, but can you do it the way the genre is intended with only one continue? That's the real challenge.
He also fails to mention unlockable difficulties, which further adds to the replayability and skill testing for seasoned bullet hell gamers. And believe me, Lunatic is tough even when you try to use continues.
Overall, this game has alot more value than what this reviewer leads on with. Scoring is the basic premise of all shmups and bullet hells, not just completing it. Come in with that mindset, and you'll most likely enjoy the game alot more. Personally I'd say this game deserves at least a 7, or 8.
And I'm not even a big Touhou fan.
Edit I just realized @masterLEON said almost the same thing, so that's at least 2 people that realize the genres potential more than the reviewer.
This game is $6 on the mexican eshop!!
And it is a very good game i don't understand the 6 rating, a game should be reviewed on it's own not compared to other eshop alternativas and receive a lower score only because there are other "better" games around.
It's polished, has a lot of replayability, looks great and the OST is really good.
@Galenmereth i agree with this comment a lot, this reviewreally comes off as unproffesional giving a low score without fully explaining why
Glad I always make it a point to read other people's comment and not just purchase based on NL's review. Got burnt before and never again. Anyways, this game sounds like it's got more variety and replayability than some of the better rated SHMUP so I'll be checking it out.
This does seem a rather odd review. The score, of course, but also the fact most of it reads more like a game description than a review. And very, very odd to call this short. It's a good length for a bullet hell and there is in fact an unusually high amount of replayability with: unlocking playable characters, extra level / difficulty, buying accessories, unlocking character models / music tracks, achievements, online scoreboards, and, of course, going for that 1cc.
I'd only give the game a 7, I think, but that's because of other flaws none of which are mentioned in this review: slightly uninspired stages / enemies before the bosses, confusing mix of bullets and pickups, poor implementation of scoreboards (both local and online), lack of clarity on some unlocks. I know we can skip the 'cutscenes' with '-', but I think there should have been an option to just turn them off, too, so you can play straight through the game.
Also surprised to see the game's mechanics be criticized over accessibility. I mean, if this was 1990, maybe, but compared to the likes of FIFA or any modern FPS, these are still very simple and, in fact, I consider the depth and tactical usage they offer to be one of this game's strongest plus points.
Agree with some others: this doesn't read like a review by someone who knows the genre. Shame.
@darkfenrir I could, but aside from Hearthstone on occasion, I don't really play on PC anymore. I totally could, my PC is fine, I just rarely use it for that anymore.
@Heavyarms55 Ah, understandable. I haven't searched much of Touhou fangames admittedly, so I can't share much except those two since I played one, and Luna Nights got 99% positive out of 600+ review on Steam.
I'll hope more of the Touhou good fangames will be ported to Switch since most of them are on Steam orz
This game is actually pretty good! (I bought it years ago, but here I am to leave a record that I liked it! lol)
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