KOUMAJOU DENSETSU II

Koumajou Densetsu II - Yougen no Chingonka (English: Legend of Scarlet Devil Castle II - Stranger's Requiem) is the direct sequel to (Comiket 76), a castlevania based game developed and published by Frontier Aja which was released at Comiket 79, on December 30, 2010. The game features fine artworks drawn by famous mangaka and illustrator Akira Banpai who previously included a fair portion of both Vocaloid and Touhou subjects.

One of the best game features is the support of professional seiyuu (voice actors) such: Miyuki Sawashiro (Saeko Busujima, High School of the Dead), Haruka Tomatsu (Princess Hitei, Katanagatari), Rina Sato (Mikoto Misaka, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun) etc. The BGM's probably is not much as the original game, but adds perfect atmosphere. During Winter Comiket 81 (2011) Frontier Aja released Koumajou Densetsu Premium Pack. A fully updated re-release of two games in one package with additional artworks and abridged version of the soundtracks.




THE STORY



Sometimes after the event of the first game, Sakuya returns to the Scarlet Devil Mansion only to find the mansion empty. Yukari Yakumo then appears before Sakuya and gives a clue about where Remilia is. She sets out to look into Yukari's clue along the ruins of the Hakugyokurou. There, she discovers a rebuilt Scarlet Devil Castle built around youkai chery blossom tree, the Saigyou Ayakashi.



GAMEPLAY REVIEW



The first Koumajou was critized for weak gameplay mechanic, poor balance and the fact that Reimu could fly indefinitely. The sequel features similar gameplay to it's predecessor but more tactical. It's linear and straightforwardly where player advance through stage, defeating enemies with a boss battle at the end of each stage. Koumajou 2 also features a checkpoint which usually located in the halfway segment between stages. The biggest noticeable change is that game switches roles from the Shrine Maiden Hakurei Reimu, to the Head Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Sakuya Izayoi.



Sakuya plays much like Alucard in Symphony of the Night, or Soma Cruz in Dawn of Sorrow with Julius Belmont in Aria of Sorrow, but with limited flying ability. Sakuya is quick, agile and very precise with her knives. Statistic example include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive; magic points, a blue bar below hit points to perform special action (such as flight, throwing multiple knives, etc); and soul points, a red orb used for sub-weapons. Sakuya can holds a maximum of 999 souls.

Koumajou 2 is played using the keyboard or gamepad, and the default keyboard controls are as follows:



Left and right key

Move Sakuya accordingly on the ground and midair



Up key (on the ground)

Take a stance



Down key (on the ground)

Crouch



Z

Slash knife horizontally. Can also be done midair



Up + Z

Continuous knife slashes but consumes MP with continues use. The range is much larger than normal slash but weaker damage. Can also be done while running or midair.



Down + Z

Knife slash angled downwards Usefu for killing shorter enemies.



X (ground)

Jump



X (midair)

Flight. Sakuya float and move in the air until either running out of MP or being hit. By Pressing directional keys will cause Sakuya to move slowly in that direction.



Down + X (ground)

A backward dodge. By pressing Z by while doing so will prompt Sakuya to backflip and throws two knives.



Down + X (midair)

A diving kick diagonally forward.



C

Subweapon. These subweapons can be used either on the ground and in the air. If using a summon, the summon partner will spawn at player position. Maximum 3 weapons can be carried over in a stage.



V

Switch partners or subweapons.



Space

Pauses the game.



Another game feature is a scoring system. Normally, the player will gain points when killing enemies. But if player meet certain criteria at the end of a stage, there are certain bonuses are awaits:



TIME

Player awarded points for clearing the stage as quickly as possible.



SOUL

Player collect souls by killing enemies or destroying objects. The more souls left at the end of the stage, the bigger the bonus.



LIFE

The more HP at the end of the stage, the bigger the bonus. If player beat a level with full health, 15.000 points can be obtained.



NO MISS BONUS

When complete a stage without dying, 30.000 points can be obtained.



When the game sucessfully completed, a couple of omake episodes and Phantasm stage are unlocked. Phantasm stage is similar to EX mode in the first game, but the difficulty is harder than hard mode. In this mode Remilia is available as summon partner. At the cost of 60 souls, she will throws her powerful beams, hitting anything in its path for large damage.



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