Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (partially found early builds of shoot 'em up game; 2002): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (Correction of typographical errors)
 
(25 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{NeedingWork|lack of concrete references}}
{{InfoboxFound
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (trial version)</center>
|title=<center>Embodiment of Scarlet Devil Trial Ver</center>
|image=th6_22.jpg
|image=th6_22.jpg
|imagecaption=Title screen of Ver0.01, the earliest released trial build of the game.
|imagecaption=Title screen of Ver0.01, the earliest released trial build of the game.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
|datefound=21 June 2021 (Ver. 0.08+)
|foundby=[https://twitter.com/notrevenant Revenant] (Ver. 0.08+)
}}
}}
'''''Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil''''' (東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil; ''東方紅魔郷 lit. Eastern Scarlet Devil Land''), also known as ''"the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil"'', abbreviated as ''"EoSD"'', or simply referred to as ''"Touhou 6"'' by its fans, is a popular vertical-scrolling danmaku shoot 'em up game developed by Team Shanghai Alice (上海アリス幻樂団) in 2002. It is the sixth official installment of the ''Touhou Project'' and the first game to be released specifically for the Windows operating system, meant to serve as a break-off point from its PC-98 era.
'''''Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil''''' (東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil; ''東方紅魔郷 lit. Eastern Scarlet Devil Land''), also known as ''"the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil"'', abbreviated as ''"EoSD"'', or simply referred to as ''"Touhou 6"'' by its fans, is a popular vertical-scrolling danmaku shoot 'em up game developed by Team Shanghai Alice (上海アリス幻樂団) in 2002. It is the sixth official installment of the ''Touhou Project'' and the first game to be released specifically for the Windows operating system, meant to serve as a break-off point from its PC-98 era.
==Plot==
<blockquote>"During a peaceful summer in Gensokyo, an unnatural scarlet mist appears without warning and covers much of the land. It is strong enough to block out the sun, causing the affected areas to become dark and cold. Reimu Hakurei, a shrine maiden working at the Hakurei Shrine, and Marisa Kirisame, a magician, set out to find the source of the mist. Their search will lead them to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and to its eccentric owners..."<ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil#Story Game's story summary '''(CONTAINS SPOILERS)'''] Retrieved 07 Feb '21</ref></blockquote>


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==
The game primarily centers around bullets being emitted from enemies, and is up to the players to defeat all enemies by shooting whilst trying to avoid and pass between bullets thrown in their way. At the end of every stage there will be a boss, who will converse with the player, giving out details on what each game's story is about. The game is positioned vertically, with the player always facing upwards. The goal of the game is to defeat all of the bosses, in order to unlock the ending.
The gameplay is similar to that of the final game, where the player must avoid bullets being thrown from enemies in order to progress through the story and finish the game. Unlike the final build of the game, the Extra Stage and Practice Start are not unlockable. The game also prematurely cuts after the 3rd stage, similarly to every trial version of the main series games.
 
There are 4 available difficulties for the player to choose from: ''Easy, Normal, Hard,'' and ''Lunatic''. Each difficulty varies in the number of bullets fired by each enemy, rate of fire, variations in the bullets' pattern of movement, and the number and type of enemy Spell Cards used. <ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil/Gameplay Basic Gameplay of Touhou 6.] Retrieved 07 Feb '21</ref>
 
The players can choose between 2 playable characters—Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame—each having different traits: Reimu Hakurei has a wider range of attack, and good movement speed and attack power. Marisa Kirisame has a much smaller range of attack, but is relatively higher movement speed and attack power, when compared to Reimu.
 
Each game consists of 6 stages, each stage of which gets increasingly more difficult. 1 extra stage can be unlocked when the player manages to beat the game without continuing on Normal or any harder difficulty. The Easy difficulty cuts off after the 5th stage, making the game impossible to beat when that difficulty is chosen.


==Development and Release==
==Development and Release==
The game started development when Team Shanghai Alice's sole member ZUN waited for Comiket 62, after his failed attempt to register his group as a music circle for Comiket 61.<sup><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources" style="white-space: nowrap;">[''citation needed'']</span></sup> Later on, ''the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' was first announced by ZUN on his website on April 15, 2002, approximately three and a half years after the release of ZUN's last official Touhou installation for the PC-98, ''Mystic Square''.
The game started development when Team Shanghai Alice's sole member ZUN waited for Comiket 62, after his failed attempt to register his group as a music circle for Comiket 61.<sup><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources" style="white-space: nowrap;">[''citation needed'']</span></sup> Later on, ''the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' was first announced by ZUN on his website on April 15th, 2002, three and a half years after the release of ZUN's last official Touhou installation for the PC-98, ''Touhou Kaikidan ~ Mystic Square'' (東方怪綺談 ~ Mystic Square; ''東方怪綺談 lit. Bizarre Romantic Story'').


Being the first release for Windows, ZUN has written the engine for the game from scratch on his own using the DirectX API, along with some help from a few libraries from Amusement Makers. This engine will later be used for his following games, up until ''Touhou Kaeizuka ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View'' (東方花映塚 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View; ''東方花映塚 lit. Flower Reflecting Mound''), the last time the engine was used.
Being the first release for Windows, ZUN has written the engine for the game from scratch on his own using the DirectX API, along with some help from a few libraries from Amusement Makers. This engine will later be used for his following games, up until ''Touhou Kaeizuka ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View'' (東方花映塚 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View; ''東方花映塚 lit. Flower Reflecting Mound''), the last time the engine was used.


The first trial build was released on June 10, 2002, with revised builds being released after. Finally, on August 11, 2002, the full build of the game was released and distributed at Comiket 62, alongside the music CD ''Hourai Ningyou ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise'' (蓬莱人形 ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise; ''蓬莱人形 lit. Hourai Doll''). Patches for the full version were also released to fix bugs up until late November 2002, ending in ver1.02.h.
The first trial build was released on June 10th, 2002, with revised builds being released after. Finally, on August 11th, 2002, the full build of the game was released and distributed at Comiket 62, alongside the music CD ''Hourai Ningyou ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise'' (蓬莱人形 ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise; ''蓬莱人形 lit. Hourai Doll''). Patches for the full version were also released to fix bugs up until late November 2002, with the final post-release build being ver1.02h.


==Early Builds==
==Differences in the Early Builds==
At the time of development, the working title for the game was ''"Touhou Kouchakan"'' (東方紅茶館 ''lit. Eastern Scarlet Teahouse''), but was later changed into it's current name as ZUN didn't think it suited the story of the game.<ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Bohemian_Archive_in_Japanese_Red/Music_Columns#Shanghai_Scarlet_Teahouse_.7E_Chinese_Tea 東方文花帖 ~ Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red: 22: "幻想の音覚" (Translation)] Retrieved 08 Feb '21</ref> The gameplay of the trial versions and the final release remain the same. The only differences between the trial and the final release being that the trial prematurely cuts off after the player completes the 3rd stage of the game, and the extra stage is not accessible. Practice start, where the player can choose to play a specific stage they've unlocked, is also absent in the trial.
At the time of development, the working title for the game was ''"Touhou Kouchakan"'' (東方紅茶館 ''lit. Eastern Scarlet Teahouse''), but was later changed into its current name as ZUN didn't think it suited the story of the game.<ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Bohemian_Archive_in_Japanese_Red/Music_Columns#Shanghai_Scarlet_Teahouse_.7E_Chinese_Tea 東方文花帖 ~ Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red: 22: "幻想の音覚" (Translation).] Retrieved 08 Feb '21</ref> Additionally, there was originally going to be a 3rd playable character going by the name of ''Satuki Rin'' (冴月 麟), which was found in the ''東方紅魔郷.exe'' executable file close to Reimu and Marisa's lines of code.<ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Rin_Satsuki Satsuki Rin's page on the Touhou Wiki] Retrieved 22 Feb '21</ref> She was later cut from the game in its production due to time constraints.


The trial versions were released by ZUN on the official website for the game and were downloadable. The site also included screenshots from the earlier builds of the game, meant to serve as promotional images for the game. The screenshots of which shows that the builds were very different from the final release of the game. Interestingly enough, the earliest known build of the game going by ''Taikenhan ver0.01''(体験版 ver0.01 ''lit. Trial version ver0.01''), was posted on a separate page.<ref>[http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/data/html/th06.html A mysterious page hosting a dead download link for Taikenhan ver0.01] Retrieved 08 Feb '21</ref> The page seem to have contained several pictures that were later used for the current page of the game, also serving the same purpose.
The trial versions were released by ZUN on the official website for the game and were downloadable. The site also included screenshots from the earlier builds of the game, meant to serve as promotional images for the game. The screenshots of which show that the builds were very different from the final release of the game. Interestingly enough, the earliest known build of the game going by ''Taikenhan ver0.01''(体験版 ver0.01 ''lit. Trial version ver0.01''), was posted on a separate page.<ref>[http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/data/html/th06.html The page hosting a dead download link for 体験版 ver0.01.] Retrieved 08 Feb '21</ref> The page seems to have contained several pictures that were later used for the current page of the game, also serving the same purpose.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
<gallery mode=packed heights=200px>
File:th06_01.jpg|Earlier version of the player selection screen from one of the first builds of the game. The text on the bottom right translates to ''"graphics are a work in progress."''
File:th06_01.jpg|Earlier version of the player selection screen from one of the first builds of the game. The text on the bottom left translates to ''"graphics are a work in progress."''
File:final_char_select.png|Final version of the player selection screen. Differences from the earlier version is evident, with different filters and effects on the background and a much less polite line of text on the top.
File:final_char_select.png|Final version of the player selection screen. Differences from the earlier version are evident, with different filters and effects on the background and a much less polite line of text on the top.
</gallery>
Both pages contain download links for early trial builds of the game, with the current page containing download links for ''Taikenhan ver0.10a''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020806054454/http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html The official website for the game (Archived).] Retrieved 07 Feb '21</ref> to ''Taikenhan ver0.13'', and the other page containing the download link for ''Taikenhan ver0.01''. Back in June 10th to July 11th, 2002, ''Taikenhan ver0.02-ver0.09a'' was also downloadable from the official site,<ref>[https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/new.html Announcements from ZUN on his site.] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> but no backups of the page from that span of time was made and uploaded online. The images from earlier versions of the current page and of the hidden page were archived, with the exception of the images named ''th6_10.jpg, th6_11.jpg, th06_16.jpg, th06_17.jpg,'' and an unknown image found on the top of the page, it might just be the cover art for the game.
 
Unfortunately, the download links to all trial versions are dead, with the exception of ''Taikenhan ver0.13'' which can still be downloaded to this day. This makes almost all of the earlier builds of the game prior to ''Taikenhan ver0.13'' entirely lost, outside from a handful of screenshots.
 
Additionally, ''Taikenhan ver0.08+'' was included in the ''POWER CD-ROM'' set that was distributed alongside the September 2002 volume of ''DOS/V POWER REPORT'' (ドスブイ パワーレポート), a Japanese magazine published by ''Impress Japan'' (インプレスジャパン) focusing on home-built PCs, that had monthly issues until publication became quarterly, after its 300th issue in August.
<gallery mode=packed heights=300px>
File:dosv01.jpg|Cover of the September 2002 volume of DOS/V POWER Report containing Taikenhan ver0.08+.
File:dosv03.jpg|Page from the magazine featuring the demo.  
</gallery>
</gallery>
Both pages contain download links for early trial builds of the game, with the current page containing download links for ''Taikenhan ver0.10a''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020806054454/http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html Official website for the game (Archived)] Retrieved 07 Feb '21</ref> to ''Taikenhan ver0.13'', and the other page containing the download link for ''Taikenhan ver0.01''. Back in June 10th to July 11th of 2002, ''Taikenhan ver0.02-ver0.09a'' were also downloadable from the official site,<ref>[https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/new.html Announcements from ZUN on his site] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> but no backups of the page from that span of time was made and uploaded online. The images from earlier versions of the current page and of the hidden page were archived, with the exception of the images named ''th6_10.jpg, th6_11.jpg, th06_16.jpg, th06_17.jpg,'' and an unknown image found on the top of the page, it might just be the cover art for the game.
However, this version of the demo can only be played on the disc it's included in.<ref>[https://www.suruga-ya.jp/blog/?q=%E6%9D%B1%E6%96%B9Project%E3%80%8C%E6%9D%B1%E6%96%B9%E7%B4%85%E9%AD%94%E9%83%B7%E3%80%8D%E4%BD%93%E9%A8%93%E7%89%88%E5%8F%8E%E9%8C%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%80%8CDOS/V_POWER_REPORT%E3%80%8D2002%E5%B9%B49%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7_%E4%BB%98%E9%8C%B2CD_ROM%E3%81%8C%E5%85%A5%E8%8D%B7%E3%81%97%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%EF%BC%81.html Blog post about the discs in question (Japanese).] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> The disc was obtained by The Cutting Room Floor admin Revenant on June 21, 2021, and the files, including an lzh archive of the EoSD demo, were uploaded to the Internet Archive the next day.<ref>[https://twitter.com/notrevenant/status/1407113935002681346 Revenant's Twitter post about obtaining the DOS/V POWER REPORT CDs.] Retrieved 22 Jun '21</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/notrevenant/status/1407506447022317569 Revenant's Twitter post announcing the contents of the discs had been uploaded.] Retrieved 22 Jun '21</ref>


Unfortunately, the download links to all trial versions are dead, with the exception of ''Taikenhan ver0.13'' which can still be downloaded to this day. This makes all of the earlier builds of the game prior to ''Taikenhan ver0.13'' entirely lost, outside from a handful of screenshots.
Additionally, some time in October of 2002, ZUN stated in a reply in the former ''Gensou Bulletin Board'' (幻想掲示板) that an exclusive ''Tora no Ana'' (虎の穴) demo featuring a different version of the game's Extra Stage was also created and sent to several shops in Japan.<ref>[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/ZUN%27s_reply_to_messages_on_the_former_Gensou_Bulletin_Board_1 ZUN Gensou Bulletin Board 1 Q&A, October 2002 (Translation).] Retrieved 02 Apr '21</ref> This version has yet to be uploaded online, along with the other aforementioned builds.


Additionally, ''Taikenhan ver0.08+'' was included in the ''POWER CD-ROM'' set that was distributed alongside the September 2002 volume of ''DOS/V POWER REPORT'' (ドスブイ パワーレポート), a Japanese magazine published by ''Impress Japan'' (ンプレスジャパンが) focusing on home-built PCs, that had monthly issues until publication became quarterly, after its 300th issue in August.<ref>[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS/V_POWER_REPORT Wikipedia article on DOS/V POWER REPORT ''(Japanese)''] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> However, this version of the demo can only be played on the disc it's included in.<ref>[https://www.suruga-ya.jp/blog/?q=%E6%9D%B1%E6%96%B9Project%E3%80%8C%E6%9D%B1%E6%96%B9%E7%B4%85%E9%AD%94%E9%83%B7%E3%80%8D%E4%BD%93%E9%A8%93%E7%89%88%E5%8F%8E%E9%8C%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%80%8CDOS/V_POWER_REPORT%E3%80%8D2002%E5%B9%B49%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7_%E4%BB%98%E9%8C%B2CD_ROM%E3%81%8C%E5%85%A5%E8%8D%B7%E3%81%97%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%EF%BC%81.html Blog post about the discs in question ''(Japanese)''] Retrieved 10 Feb '21</ref> To this day, someone has yet to upload a playable version online without the use of said discs.
==List of Game Builds==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color:#f74c43" | Build Ver.
! style="background-color:#f74c43" | Release Date
! style="background-color:#f74c43" | Status
! style="background-color:#f74c43" | Notes
|-
|Ver0.01||Jun. 10 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Only screenshots from this build have been found
|-
|Ver0.02||Jun. 10 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.03||Jun. 12 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.04||Jun. 13 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.05||Jun. 14 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.06||Jun. 16 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.07||Jun. 18 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.08||Jun. 22 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.08+||Jul. 02 2002||[https://archive.org/details/dosvpr-0209<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>]||Also released in DOS/V POWER REPORT's 2002/9 issue
|-
|Ver0.09||Jul. 10 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Page and download were not archived
|-
|Ver0.10||Jul. 17 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Released to fix bugs; Download was not archived
|-
|Ver0.11||Aug. 02 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Included additions found in the final game
|-
|Ver0.12||Aug. 14 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Released to fix bugs; Download was not archived
|-
|Ver0.13||Aug. 25 2002||[https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>]||Can still be downloaded from the official site
|-
|Extra Trial||Pre-Oct. 2002||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>||Extra stage demo sent to some shops in Japan.
|}


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
File:Th06_00.jpg|Earliest known title screen of the game, and unused promo image, also featuring the text ''"graphics are a work in progress."''
File:Th06_00.jpg|Earliest known title screen of the game, and unused promo image, also featuring the text ''"graphics are a work in progress."''
File:Th06_02.jpg|An earlier version of stage 1, featuring a much greener forest background, a power meter that displays a bar instead of a number, and an 8-digit score counter, which has 9 digits in the final game. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_02.jpg|An earlier version of stage 1, featuring several differences from the final game. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_03.jpg|An earlier version of stage 1 boss ''Rumia'''s non-spell. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_03.jpg|An earlier version of stage 1 boss Rumia's non-spell. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_04.jpg|An earlier version of Rumia's ''Darkness Sign "Demarcation"'', instead saying ''Ofuda of Darkness "Demarcation"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_04.jpg|An earlier version of Rumia's ''Darkness Sign "Demarcation"'', instead saying ''Ofuda of Darkness "Demarcation"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_05.jpg|Another earlier version of Rumia's spellcard, going by the name of ''Ofuda of the Moon "Moonlight Ray"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_05.jpg|Another earlier version of Rumia's spellcard, going by the name of ''Ofuda of the Moon "Moonlight Ray"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_06.jpg|An earlier name for ''Reimu'''s spellcard, ''Ofuda of Spirits "Fantasy Seals"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_06.jpg|An earlier name for Reimu Hakurei's ''Ofuda of Spirits "Fantasy Seals"''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_07.jpg|Another earlier version of Rumia's spellcard, showing dimmer lasers. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_07.jpg|Another earlier version of Rumia's spellcard, showing dimmer lasers. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_08.jpg|This is an unused promo image.
File:Th06_08.jpg|Unused promo image.
File:Th06_09.jpg|This is an unused promo image.
File:Th06_09.jpg|Unused promo image.
File:Th06_12.jpg|An earlier version of stage 3, featuring the background for stage 4. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_12.jpg|An earlier version of stage 3, featuring the background for stage 4. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_13.jpg|Another image of an earlier version of stage 3, featuring the background for stage 4.
File:Th06_13.jpg
File:Th06_14.jpg
File:Th06_14.jpg
File:Th06_15.jpg|An earlier version featuring two different name formats for spellcards.
File:Th06_15.jpg|An earlier version featuring two different name formats for spellcards.
File:Th06_18.jpg|An earlier version of stage 3 boss ''Hong Meiling'''s spellcard, featuring a different background from the final version.
File:Th06_18.jpg|An earlier version of stage 3 boss ''Hong Meiling's'' spellcard, featuring a different background.
File:Th06_19.jpg
File:Th06_19.jpg
File:Th06_20.jpg|An earlier version of stage 3 boss ''Hong Meiling'''s spellcard ''"Rainbow Wind Chime"'', featuring a different color palette.
File:Th06_20.jpg|An earlier version of Hong Meiling's ''"Rainbow Wind Chime"'', featuring a different color palette.
File:Th06_705_01.jpg| This is an earlier version of extra stage boss ''Flandre Scarlet'''s spellcard ''Kagome-Kagome''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_705_01.jpg| An earlier version of Flandre Scarlet's ''Kagome-Kagome''. It is also an unused promo image.
File:Th06_705_00.jpg|A screenshot featuring a much more final version of the game.
File:Th06_705_00.jpg|A screenshot featuring a much more final version of the game.
</gallery>
</gallery>
==External Links==
==External Links==
*[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil Touhou Wiki page of the game.] Retrieved 07 Feb '21
*[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil Touhou Wiki page of the game.]
*[https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Touhou_Koumakyou:_the_Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil The Cutting Room Floor's page on the game's prelease build.] Retrieved 07 Feb '21
*[https://tcrf.net/Prerelease:Touhou_Koumakyou:_the_Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil The Cutting Room Floor's page on the game's prelease builds.]
*[http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html Official website for the game] Retrieved 07 Feb '21
*[http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html Official website for the game.]
==Reference==
*[https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS/V_POWER_REPORT Wikipedia article on DOS/V POWER REPORT (Japanese).]
*[http://kagipen.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-41.html Kagipen's blog post about ver0.08+ (Japanese).]
*[https://archive.org/details/dosvpr-0209 Internet Archive upload of the DOS/V POWER REPORT CDs.]
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Lost video games]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]

Latest revision as of 13:05, 21 May 2022

Th6 22.jpg

Title screen of Ver0.01, the earliest released trial build of the game.

Status: Partially Found

Date found: 21 June 2021 (Ver. 0.08+)

Found by: Revenant (Ver. 0.08+)

Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil; 東方紅魔郷 lit. Eastern Scarlet Devil Land), also known as "the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil", abbreviated as "EoSD", or simply referred to as "Touhou 6" by its fans, is a popular vertical-scrolling danmaku shoot 'em up game developed by Team Shanghai Alice (上海アリス幻樂団) in 2002. It is the sixth official installment of the Touhou Project and the first game to be released specifically for the Windows operating system, meant to serve as a break-off point from its PC-98 era.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of the final game, where the player must avoid bullets being thrown from enemies in order to progress through the story and finish the game. Unlike the final build of the game, the Extra Stage and Practice Start are not unlockable. The game also prematurely cuts after the 3rd stage, similarly to every trial version of the main series games.

Development and Release

The game started development when Team Shanghai Alice's sole member ZUN waited for Comiket 62, after his failed attempt to register his group as a music circle for Comiket 61.[citation needed] Later on, the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was first announced by ZUN on his website on April 15th, 2002, three and a half years after the release of ZUN's last official Touhou installation for the PC-98, Touhou Kaikidan ~ Mystic Square (東方怪綺談 ~ Mystic Square; 東方怪綺談 lit. Bizarre Romantic Story).

Being the first release for Windows, ZUN has written the engine for the game from scratch on his own using the DirectX API, along with some help from a few libraries from Amusement Makers. This engine will later be used for his following games, up until Touhou Kaeizuka ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View (東方花映塚 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View; 東方花映塚 lit. Flower Reflecting Mound), the last time the engine was used.

The first trial build was released on June 10th, 2002, with revised builds being released after. Finally, on August 11th, 2002, the full build of the game was released and distributed at Comiket 62, alongside the music CD Hourai Ningyou ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise (蓬莱人形 ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise; 蓬莱人形 lit. Hourai Doll). Patches for the full version were also released to fix bugs up until late November 2002, with the final post-release build being ver1.02h.

Differences in the Early Builds

At the time of development, the working title for the game was "Touhou Kouchakan" (東方紅茶館 lit. Eastern Scarlet Teahouse), but was later changed into its current name as ZUN didn't think it suited the story of the game.[1] Additionally, there was originally going to be a 3rd playable character going by the name of Satuki Rin (冴月 麟), which was found in the 東方紅魔郷.exe executable file close to Reimu and Marisa's lines of code.[2] She was later cut from the game in its production due to time constraints.

The trial versions were released by ZUN on the official website for the game and were downloadable. The site also included screenshots from the earlier builds of the game, meant to serve as promotional images for the game. The screenshots of which show that the builds were very different from the final release of the game. Interestingly enough, the earliest known build of the game going by Taikenhan ver0.01(体験版 ver0.01 lit. Trial version ver0.01), was posted on a separate page.[3] The page seems to have contained several pictures that were later used for the current page of the game, also serving the same purpose.

Both pages contain download links for early trial builds of the game, with the current page containing download links for Taikenhan ver0.10a[4] to Taikenhan ver0.13, and the other page containing the download link for Taikenhan ver0.01. Back in June 10th to July 11th, 2002, Taikenhan ver0.02-ver0.09a was also downloadable from the official site,[5] but no backups of the page from that span of time was made and uploaded online. The images from earlier versions of the current page and of the hidden page were archived, with the exception of the images named th6_10.jpg, th6_11.jpg, th06_16.jpg, th06_17.jpg, and an unknown image found on the top of the page, it might just be the cover art for the game.

Unfortunately, the download links to all trial versions are dead, with the exception of Taikenhan ver0.13 which can still be downloaded to this day. This makes almost all of the earlier builds of the game prior to Taikenhan ver0.13 entirely lost, outside from a handful of screenshots.

Additionally, Taikenhan ver0.08+ was included in the POWER CD-ROM set that was distributed alongside the September 2002 volume of DOS/V POWER REPORT (ドスブイ パワーレポート), a Japanese magazine published by Impress Japan (インプレスジャパン) focusing on home-built PCs, that had monthly issues until publication became quarterly, after its 300th issue in August.

However, this version of the demo can only be played on the disc it's included in.[6] The disc was obtained by The Cutting Room Floor admin Revenant on June 21, 2021, and the files, including an lzh archive of the EoSD demo, were uploaded to the Internet Archive the next day.[7][8]

Additionally, some time in October of 2002, ZUN stated in a reply in the former Gensou Bulletin Board (幻想掲示板) that an exclusive Tora no Ana (虎の穴) demo featuring a different version of the game's Extra Stage was also created and sent to several shops in Japan.[9] This version has yet to be uploaded online, along with the other aforementioned builds.

List of Game Builds

Build Ver. Release Date Status Notes
Ver0.01 Jun. 10 2002 Lost Only screenshots from this build have been found
Ver0.02 Jun. 10 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.03 Jun. 12 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.04 Jun. 13 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.05 Jun. 14 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.06 Jun. 16 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.07 Jun. 18 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.08 Jun. 22 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.08+ Jul. 02 2002 Found Also released in DOS/V POWER REPORT's 2002/9 issue
Ver0.09 Jul. 10 2002 Lost Page and download were not archived
Ver0.10 Jul. 17 2002 Lost Released to fix bugs; Download was not archived
Ver0.11 Aug. 02 2002 Lost Included additions found in the final game
Ver0.12 Aug. 14 2002 Lost Released to fix bugs; Download was not archived
Ver0.13 Aug. 25 2002 Found Can still be downloaded from the official site
Extra Trial Pre-Oct. 2002 Lost Extra stage demo sent to some shops in Japan.

Gallery

External Links

References