In this post, we will tell you everything you need to know before starting Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic – the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, especially if this is your first time playing a bullet hell or danmaku game.
Touhou can look absolutely overwhelming when you first see the screen fill with bullets, lasers, enemies, and effects. However, once you understand the basic controls and learn what you actually need to pay attention to, the game becomes much easier to approach.
The most important thing to remember is that you are going to die. Probably a lot. That is completely normal. These games are designed around learning patterns, improving your movement, and slowly getting better through repeated attempts.
In this beginner’s guide, I will explain which version you should choose, the controls, what the information on your screen means, which character and shot type you should start with, and some important survival tips that can help you survive your first danmaku runs.
Touhou Koumakyou New Classic Beginner Guide – Controls
When you get Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic – the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, you have access to two versions of the game:
- New
- Classic
For most new players, I recommend choosing New.
The Classic version represents the older version of the game, while New has been modernized to better match the standards of later Touhou Project games.
Classic is important for players who enjoy the original experience, but if you have never played a Touhou game before, New is the easier place to begin.
There is also a soundtrack option in the menu if you want to listen to the original versions of the music that fans have enjoyed for decades.
Basic Controls
The game does not spend much time teaching you the controls. It follows a more traditional arcade-style approach, so it is useful to know the basics before starting.
Menu Controls
- Arrow Keys – Move through menu options
- Z – Select
- X – Cancel
In-Game Controls
- Arrow Keys – Move your character
- Z – Shoot
- X – Use a Bomb
- Shift – Focus
- Esc – Pause
- Ctrl – Skip text
You should generally keep Z held down during gameplay so your character continues firing.
The game also supports controllers, although keyboard controls are commonly used for Touhou games.
Understanding the Information on Your Screen
When you enter a stage, you will see several pieces of information displayed on the right side of the screen.
You can safely ignore your score when you are first learning. Instead, focus on understanding the resources that actually affect your run.
Player – Your Remaining Lives
The Player value represents how many lives you have left.
You can gain additional lives through certain items dropped by bosses, although these are less common. The more reliable method is collecting enough blue Point items.
Every extra life requires more Points than the previous one.
Bomb – Your Emergency Resource
Your Bomb stock tells you how many bombs you currently have.
Bombs can be obtained from enemies, although you should not depend on getting them at exactly the moment you need them.
One very important rule is this:
Bombs you do not use before dying are lost.
Your Bomb stock resets when you die, so there is usually no reason to sit on a Bomb while you are about to get hit.
If you feel trapped or panic, use it.
A Bomb that gets used is always more valuable than a Bomb that disappears with you.
Power – How Strong Your Shots Are
Power determines the strength of your attacks.
You increase your Power by collecting the red items dropped by enemies.
Once you reach maximum Power, every bullet currently on the screen disappears.
This can provide a huge amount of breathing room during a difficult section, so collecting Power items is always useful.
Graze – Near Misses
Graze increases when bullets pass very close to your character without actually hitting you.
For beginners, you do not need to worry much about this because it is mainly connected to score.
Do not risk your run trying to intentionally graze bullets when you are still learning basic survival.
Points – Blue Items
The blue boxes are Points.
Collecting enough of them eventually gives you another life.
The amount required increases every time you gain an additional life, so extra lives become progressively harder to earn.
Collecting Items From the Top of the Screen
You can move toward the top of the screen to collect all available items on the field.
This is useful, but it is also risky.
The top position leaves you much more exposed to incoming attacks, so do not automatically rush upward without checking what is happening around you.
There is also a small red glow near the bottom of the screen when a boss appears.
This helps show the boss’s position in case you cannot constantly look toward the top of the screen.
Start on Easy Difficulty
Despite the jokes and memes you may hear about Touhou difficulty, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting on Easy.
These games are difficult by design, and every experienced player started somewhere.
Easy mode gives you a chance to understand the mechanics, learn how the characters move, and get comfortable reading bullet patterns without immediately throwing yourself into the most demanding version of the game.
You do miss access to the final stage, but you are not expected to clear everything on your first attempt anyway.
My advice is simple:
Start on Easy and learn the game.
There is no prize for making your first experience unnecessarily painful.
Choosing Your Character and Shot Type
After selecting your difficulty, you can choose between Reimu and Marisa.
Each character has two shot types.
There is no single choice that is objectively correct for every player. The differences mostly come down to playstyle.
Reimu
Reimu is the slower and more consistent character.
She is generally suited to players who prefer controlled movement and reliable attacks.
Reimu Spirit – Homing Attack
The Spirit shot type uses Reimu’s famous Homing Amulet style.
Her subshots automatically track enemies, making it easier to deal damage without perfectly positioning yourself underneath every target.
The downside is lower damage.
Her Bomb, Fantasy Seal, also homes toward enemies and lasts for a relatively long time.
This is a comfortable choice if you are new to bullet hell games and want to focus more on survival.
Reimu Dream – Forward-Focused Damage
Dream uses a more direct forward attack.
The Persuasion Needle deals more damage than the Homing shot, but it only fires forward.
You need better positioning to make the most of it.
Her Bomb, Evil-Sealing Circle, does not last as long as Fantasy Seal, but it can clear the entire stage.
If you are comfortable staying positioned beneath enemies, this is a stronger direct-damage option.
Marisa
Marisa is faster and encourages a more aggressive style of play.
She feels closer to the traditional arcade bullet hell experience, where speed and offensive positioning become more important.
Marisa Magic – Straight Damage
Marisa’s Magic shot uses a straightforward damage-focused attack.
Her Magic Missile-style subshot fires directly forward, similar to Reimu’s focused needle attack.
Her Bomb, Stardust Reverie, fires stars in multiple directions and clears threats around her.
This is a good choice if you like aggressive forward damage but still want a useful defensive Bomb.
Marisa Love – Piercing Laser
Love is one of Marisa’s most recognizable styles.
The Illusion Laser is very powerful and can pierce through enemies, but it only fires directly forward and has no wide range.
It also fires intermittently until reaching full Power.
Her Bomb, Master Spark, is a massive laser that covers a large area directly in front of Marisa.
It also lasts for a very long time.
If you enjoy aggressive positioning and want huge forward damage, this is one of the more interesting options.
What About Standard and Challenge?
Standard provides the traditional experience.
If you are new, I would not worry too much about Challenge until you understand the basic game and feel comfortable surviving the normal stages.
The most important thing at the beginning is learning how the game feels rather than immediately chasing the hardest available mode.
The Most Important Danmaku Advice: Do Not Panic
If there is one piece of advice I would give every new Touhou player, it is this:
Do not panic.
Yes, the screen can look completely ridiculous.
There may be hundreds of bullets moving everywhere, but you usually do not need to worry about every single one.
A large number of bullets are not immediate threats to your current position.
Instead of trying to process the entire screen, focus on what is directly ahead of you and where you can safely move next.
Look Ahead of Your Character
You may feel tempted to stare directly at your character.
Instead, try looking slightly ahead of them.
This gives you more time to see incoming bullets and react before they become an immediate problem.
Your character will still be there.
The goal is to read the path in front of you rather than reacting after the bullets have already reached your position.
You Are Going to Die, and That Is Fine
Danmaku games are naturally difficult.
You will die repeatedly while learning patterns, and that does not mean you are playing incorrectly.
Every attempt teaches you something about enemy attacks, boss patterns, movement, and where you should position yourself.
If you become frustrated, take a break.
Come back later with a fresh mind instead of forcing yourself through more attempts while angry.
There is also nothing wrong with using continues or pausing the game.
Your goal as a beginner is to learn.
Use Your Bombs
New players often save Bombs for the perfect emergency.
Then they die while still holding them.
Do not do that.
Use Bombs when:
- You feel trapped.
- You are unsure whether you can dodge the pattern.
- You panic.
- The screen becomes too difficult to read.
Even if you use a Bomb earlier than necessary, it still provides value.
A Bomb you use can save your life.
A Bomb you die with disappears.
Since Bombs are restored when you die, there is even less reason to hoard them during a dangerous situation.
Use Focus Mode for Precise Movement
Holding Shift activates Focus mode.
Focus mode slows your character down and makes precise movement much easier.
It also shows your hitbox through the small indicator around your character.
Your actual hitbox is extremely small compared to the size of the character sprite.
This is one of the most important things to understand when learning bullet hell games.
A bullet can look dangerously close to your character without actually hitting your real hitbox.
Focus mode helps you take advantage of that small hitbox and move through tighter spaces.
Do Not Always Sit at the Bottom of the Screen
Many new players immediately move to the very bottom and stay there.
This can actually make things harder.
When you remain completely at the bottom, you reduce the amount of space available for movement.
I personally prefer staying around one-quarter of the way down the screen.
This gives me room to move backward when necessary while still keeping enough distance to react to incoming patterns.
You do not need to copy that exact position, but try experimenting with different areas of the screen instead of treating the bottom edge as your permanent home.
You Can Adjust Lives and Bombs
The settings allow you to increase the base stock of lives and Bombs.
If you are completely new to danmaku games, this can make your early attempts more manageable.
There is nothing wrong with using the available settings while you are learning.
You can always challenge yourself more later once the controls and bullet patterns start feeling natural.
When Are You Ready for Normal Mode?
A good sign that you are ready to move toward Normal difficulty is beating Stage 5.
That does not mean you need to become perfect before trying Normal.
It simply gives you a useful progression point.
Normal mode opens access to Stage 6.
If you clear Stage 6 without using a continue, known as a 1CC (1 Credit Clear), you can unlock the Extra Stage.
The Extra Stage is where you will encounter one of the more popular characters in the Touhou series.
Classic Guides Still Apply
Because this version remains a faithful remaster of the original game, guides and information created for the Classic version can still be useful here.
That includes:
- Boss strategies
- Spell Card information
- Character mechanics
- Stage routes
- General gameplay advice
However, I would recommend experiencing the attacks yourself before reading a complete walkthrough for every pattern.
Danmaku games are heavily based on execution.
Knowing what an attack does is helpful, but you still need to learn how to move through it yourself.