An NES-style adaptation of the PC-98 game.
NOTE: If you want to download and play the demake, please click here to access its itch.io page.
Touhou 1: The Highly Responsive to Prayers was originally released for the PC-98 by Team Shanghai Alice in 1996. Drillimation Systems, the developer best known for the Chuhou Joutai series, ported the game to PC in the style of an NES game using the GameMaker engine in 2020, just in time for the franchise's 25th anniversary. It is the first game in the highly popular Touhou Project series.
The game is not a danmaku shooter like its eventual sequel, but a breakout-style puzzle game where players use a yin-yang orb to flip over tiles. The reason for its different style of gameplay was the original was a 'study project' for ZUN to practice computer programming.
Reimu Hakurei, the series' mascot, was introduced in the game. The main premise is Reimu jumps into Makai or Jigoku (localized as Aether or Nether in the demake), searching for the so-called angel of death who destroyed the Hakurei Shrine. The demake expands the backstory further, with the shrine getting destroyed during a civil war in Gensokyo.
The Highly Responsive to Prayers wasn't known to many players until the NES demake port released. Before that, Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is the game that formally introduced most players to the Touhou Project franchise. As a result of the demake, the game is now playable on modern machines without the need to configure an emulator.
In 2023, Drillimation released the source code for the game as a direct result of technical support for the game being discontinued. This repository is intended for GameMaker users wanting to develop their own Highly Responsive to Prayers-style game, or to improve upon its flaws.
This source code is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license (CC-BY-NC). Because the game itself is based on the first actual Touhou Project game, we have chosen to release it under that license. For proper use, please see Drillimation's Game Content and Brand Usage Rules.
Original: ©1995 Team Shanghai Alice. All rights reserved. Touhou Project is a trademark of Team Shanghai Alice.
NES Demake: ©2020 Drillimation Systems. All rights reserved. The Drillimation brand name and logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Drillimation Systems Co., Ltd.
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