「 東方串 」
「 東方串 」
If there's one thing that makes Touhou Project feel truly special, it's the dōjin scene around it. What started as one developer's danmaku series grew into a massive creative playground where fans could take the world, characters, music, and ideas they loved and turn them into something completely their own. Over the years, that spirit has reached all kinds of games, consoles, engines, and wildly different styles, proving that Gensokyo can fit pretty much anywhere someone is crazy enough to put it. There's plenty to discover, so let's see just how far the rabbit hole goes.
東方幻想郷 〜 Lotus Land Story
東方幻想郷 〜 Lotus Land Story is the fourth Touhou Project game and one of the big turning points for the series, throwing Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame into a six stage bullet hell adventure after a strange power surge draws them toward a lake in the mountains. With two characters, four shot types, four difficulty levels, bombs, grazing, a surprisingly deep scoring system and an unlockable extra stage, it already feels much closer to the Touhou formula we know today, while still having that wonderfully retro vibe. And that's what makes 東方聖終儀 〜 TROUBLE LOTUS such a fun way to kick things off: instead of simply imitating the game, it takes Lotus Land Story and rebuilds its idea for the Genesis. It's an unfinished first build, covering the basic engine and Stage 1, and it's deliberatedly buggy and stripped down. Still, having Reimu in the Genesis with original style, sounds and graphics is pretty cool.
| 東方聖終儀 〜 TROUBLE LOTUS | |
|---|---|
| Base | SGDK |
| Category | Demake |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2021 |
| Updated | 2023 |
| Author | tboddy |
東方妖々夢 〜 Perfect Cherry Blossom
東方妖々夢 〜 Perfect Cherry Blossom is the seventh Touhou Project game, built around a deceptively simple problem: spring just refuses to arrive, so Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya head out to find out why, eventually crossing through snowy mountains, the Netherworld and the Great Hakurei Barrier before confronting Yuyuko Saigyōji. Mechanically, it takes the foundation of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil and pushes it further with three playable characters, two shot types each, the Cherry scoring system, the now iconic Spell Card battles and scoring system that can get deep here too, even when simply clearing it feels comparatively approachable. And then there's 東方老桜夢, a fanmade attempt to answer a wonderful question: what if Touhou actually ran on an NES? Rather than the NES-styled PC projects, this one is an actual NES port, complete with the original's six stages, Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya as playable characters, two shot types each, bombs, focus and four Spell Cards. Clearly, the NES's limited color palette makes it look like a downgrade compared to the original but squeezing a whole PC game into a freakin' 512KB cartridge is damn impressive.
| 東方老桜夢 | |
|---|---|
| Base | NESASM |
| Category | Demake |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2017 |
| Updated | 2024 |
| Author | KYOSKE |
Touhou DS
Touhou DS is a danmaku that was designed from the start to be more than just a little fangame: the goal was essentially to create a portable Touhou-style engine where people could make their own content. The game comes with its own stages and playable characters, and has options to six stages, selectable routes, difficulty options, unlockable stages, scoring and even deathbombing. The scripting system features stages, enemies, bosses, animations, conversations, music and other elements that can be controlled through Lua, while routes can be arranged into separate games or used for difficulty or extra stages content. You can also make your own custom games with it but neither I nor anyone else has been able to find anything.
| Touhou DS | |
|---|---|
| Base | BlocksDS |
| Category | Engine |
| Installation | Manual |
| Released | 2010 |
| Updated | 2024 |
| Author | Spuzkaizer asie |
Touhou Pocket Festival 〜Show of Scale〜
Touhou Pocket Festival 〜Show of Scale〜 is a tiny collection of minigames set during another festival in Gensōkyō, where characters from places like Youkai Mountain and the Human Village compete in ridiculous little events centered around the idea of «scale». Rather than trying to recreate a traditional Touhou shooter, the devs went for something much lighter: every minigame has its own controls and objective, so it really lives up to its name, it truly feels like a pocket festival. The game also did surprisingly well in the jam it was made for, placing 5th overall out of 67 entries, with especially strong scores for its concept and visuals. The median completion time is around 16 minutes and that's part of its charm since it knows exactly what it wanna be: a short colorful little Touhou party game you can pick up, mess around with and finish before it overstays its welcome.
| Touhou Pocket Festival 〜Show of Scale〜 | |
|---|---|
| Base | GB Studio |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2025 |
| Author | compactspice |
Touhoumon: Another World Revised
Touhoumon: Another World Revised takes Pokémon FireRed and drops it into the wonderfully weird world of Touhou, where Pokémon are replaced by Touhou characters known as Boneka. It builds on Aichiya Sanae's original Touhoumon: Another World, which was already known for expanding the story and adding a pretty massive amount of Touhou content but also had a reputation for brutal level spikes, awkward balance and some questionable design choices. Revised is basically the community looking at all of that and saying «Okay, let's fix this». The result keeps the mechanics while bringing in an updated cast reaching Touhou 14, 411 obtainable Boneka, better sprites, a custom type chart, Physical/Special split, reusable TMs, deletable HMs, day and night system and improved music. The devs also went out of their way to make the Boneka obtainable without trading, which is always a W.
| Touhoumon: Another World Revised | |
|---|---|
| Base | Binary |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2010 |
| Updated | 2026 |
| Author | Aichiya Sanae BluShell |
Touhoumon: World Link Revised
Touhoumon: World Link Revised does much the same thing with Pokémon Emerald, building on the original Touhoumon: World Link while giving its mechanics, encounters and progression a cleanup. It keeps the same foundation but adds the revised Boneka roster, modernized moves and abilities, the Physical/Special split and many reworked battles. The Battle Frontier and Contests were also specifically adjusted around the new systems while gym rematches, trainer teams and several maps received revisions of their own. Reception is pretty telling since fans who spent time with both Revised versions have singled them out as the best Touhoumon games. Between the two, Another World Revised feels like the more story focused adventure while World Link Revised leans harder into the Emerald framework and its postgame systems. Either way, these ain't just Touhou sprites slapped onto Pokémon, they're attempts to take one of the oldest Touhoumon generations and make it genuinely enjoyable to play today.
| Touhoumon: World Link Revised | |
|---|---|
| Base | Binary |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2010 |
| Updated | 2026 |
| Author | Aichiya Sanae BluShell |
ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ
ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ, as the name suggest, throws Touhou straight into the world of ＭＯＴＨＥＲ/EarthBound, and somehow the combination works way better than it has any right to. It starts with Reimu and Marisa going to visit Yūka before a strange meteorite crashes nearby, bringing an alien and a certain lost boy into Gensōkyō. From there, the game leans hard into the weirdness of both series, mixing Touhou's cast and setting with EarthBound's exploration, turn based battles, bizarre enemies, humor and plenty of references. It also has Easy through Lunatic difficulty and eventually adding subweapons, so there's more here than just a cosmetic crossover The soundtrack is another huge part of the experience with a surprisingly massive collection of arrangements combining Touhou, EarthBound, NES sounds and even other games. People who've played it tend to remember that mix fondly due to its fun weirdness packed with references, even if it bounces off some of its character relationships. It definitely has this early dōjin charm but that's part of why ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ feels so memorable.
| ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ | |
|---|---|
| Base | RPG Maker 2000 |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2009 |
| Author | S-tele |
| Translator | vgperson |
ＲＥＴＵＲＮ ＯＦ ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ
ＲＥＴＵＲＮ ＯＦ ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ picks up six months after the boy was driven out of Gensōkyō, but instead of simply doing the same thing again, it shifts the focus toward a new mystery. In the outside world, Ness and Paula are trying to enjoy some peace when Iku arrives with an unusual request, while underground, Satori and Koishi finally decide they've had enough of staying cooped up and head back to the surface. From there, the question becomes what happened to Gensōkyō after the events of the first game and what exactly is about to happen next. This sequel has a larger development team and you can tell, the translator even notes that you can jump into it without playing the original, tho the first game is recommended if you want the full context. So if ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ feels like someone discovering how much fun it is to mash these two worlds together, ＲＥＴＵＲＮ ＯＦ ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ is the point where that idea starts looking much more like a proper connected world.
| ＲＥＴＵＲＮ ＯＦ ＴＯＵＨＯＵ ＭＯＴＨＥＲ | |
|---|---|
| Base | RPG Maker 2000 |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2015 |
| Author | S-tele |
| Translator | vgperson |
ＴＯＵＨＯＵ－Ａ－ＬＩＶＥ
ＴＯＵＨＯＵ－Ａ－ＬＩＶＥ asks a pretty wild question: what if ＬＩＶＥ Ａ ＬＩＶＥ took place in Gensōkyō? It follows seven different heroines across their own stories, from Hong Meiling training under a new master and Mokō investigating kidnappings to Cirno chasing strength, Youmu trying to reclaim Hakugyokurō and even a Kedama and a nameless fox getting their own chapters. Each scenario has its own setting and gameplay gimmicks and once you clear one, you can choose which of the remaining stories to tackle next, making the structure feel surprisingly close to the original game. The recreation of ＬＩＶＥ Ａ ＬＩＶＥ's battle system is one of its biggest strengths and players have praised how much of the original's design it manages to reproduce inside RPG Maker 2003, while also noting some rough edges: bugs can pop up during combat, the final boss has some particularly nasty issues and certain chapters follow their ＬＩＶＥ Ａ ＬＩＶＥ counterparts so closely that the Touhou cast doesn't always feel like the most natural fit for their roles. Still, there's a huge amount of passion here with references reaching beyond Touhou and ＬＩＶＥ Ａ ＬＩＶＥ into games such as FINAL FANTASY, ＭＯＴＨＥＲ and SUPER MARIO RPG. At roughly 10 hours for a full playthrough, it's much closer to a complete RPG than a quick crossover experiment and watching 7 very different Touhou stories slowly come together is probably the best reason to give it a shot.
| ＴＯＵＨＯＵ－Ａ－ＬＩＶＥ | |
|---|---|
| Base | RPG MAKER 2003 |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2008 |
| Updated | 2012 |
| Author | Koki |
| Translator | vgperson |
Touhou Mario: Imperishable Night
I've been debating whether to put this one in the SUPER MARIO THREAD or here. Anyways, Touhou Mario: Imperishable Night drops the plumber into the events of Touhou 8, after someone replaces Gensōkyō's real moon with a fake one. From there, Mario travels through 6 main stages packed with yōkais, Touhou characters, custom bosses and plenty of bullet patterns with the hack gradually turning the familiar Mario platforming formula into something much closer to a Touhou boss rush. It also has an extra stage and additional postgame content while the difficulty is intentionally nasty, there are no lives, continues or saves, so dying means starting over, making save states pretty tempting if you're not here to suffer. The crossover is surprisingly thorough too, with custom graphics, Touhou music and even the SA-1 chip being used to handle the huge number of enemies on screen. Everyone praised how well the two series fit together despite their completely different gameplay, especially the soundtrack, atmosphere and boss fights. It can be rough but as a Touhou × SUPER MARIO experiment, this thing absolutely commits to the bit.
| Touhou Mario: Imperishable Night | |
|---|---|
| Base | Binary |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2012 |
| Updated | 2014 |
| Author | Wakana |
Touhou Emblem
Touhou Emblem takes the usual Fire Emblem formula and throws a huge Touhou cast into it, with a unique story of 26 chapters, a small route split and more than 50 playable characters. And unlike the homonymous first hack, it ain't just a sprite swap either: the hack reworks classes, weapons, skills and character stats around the Touhou cast, so characters can end up feeling wildly different from their Fire Emblem counterparts. The difficulty is also a big part of its appeal, with Easy, Normal and Hard options letting you decide how much suffering you're in the mood for; players have particularly praised its balance on the lower difficulties, while Hard can get properly nasty, I mean if you're playing on Hard, that's the point but this is straight up unfair. There are definitely other rough edges, including bugs and some hilariously exploitable characters and weapons but that chaotic balance is also part of what the community remembers about it so you can have a blast experimenting with absurdly strong units. The later Touhou Emblem Redux was planned as a near total rebuild with rebalancing, new graphics, revamped music, revised scenes and other changes but its development was eventually cancelled around Chapter 19 and the incomplete patch was released for anyone else to continue. So, for playing it, the original Touhou Emblem is the one I'd recommend: it's complete, polished enough to be genuinely fun and you can simply pick Easy or Normal if you actually wanna enjoy it.
| Touhou Emblem | |
|---|---|
| Base | Binary |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2021 |
| Updated | 2023 |
| Author | Rye on Speed |
ADDAṀ
ADDAṀ is a Touhou fangame for the Genesis that takes the idea of a shoot 'em up and makes gravity itself part of the challenge. Made in under 72 hours, you control a character through a series of strange maze like arenas where shooting isn't enough: you can jump, change your orientation and essentially flip the direction in which gravity pulls you, turning movement into a big part of the puzzle. The controls are deliberately simple but the movement gets surprisingly demanding once bullets, walls and changing gravity start piling up. I think a life system would be appreciated 'cuz if your health drops to zero, you have to start all over. But every single sprite is pretty, and even tho I'm not even into of lo-fi, I love the music. It uses the console's soundchip really really well, it's my favorite on the Genesis homebrew scene. And honestly, «Touhou gravity dungeon shooter» is such a good concept that it kinda sells itself.
| ADDAṀ | |
|---|---|
| Base | SGDK |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2024 |
| Author | tboddy |
Sovereign of a Dying Hell (Someone has to run this place!)
Sovereign of a Dying Hell (Someone has to run this place!) is a VN where Zanmu Nippaku is handed one of the worst jobs imaginable: basically running Hell. Set long before Gensōkyō was separated from the outside world, the story deals with the upheaval that created New Hell and left Former Hell behind, with Zanmu now acting as one of the most powerful figures in the new order. Her solution is the Oni Council, where problems facing Hell are brought up for discussion, debated and settled through votes. You play through those decisions, choosing how Zanmu handles each situation while spending her influence during votes by rapidly pressing buttons to push the result in her favor, make the wrong calls and future votes can become harder or even impossible to win. It only takes around 30 minutes but the branching decisions and multiple endings give you a reason to replay it and see where different choices lead, and yeah, the visuals are absolutely gorgeous: the devs went for a convincing PC-98 anime aesthetic with colorful backgrounds, expressive character art and little animated details that make the whole thing feel way more alive than you'd expect from a jam game. The judges agreed too: it ranked #2 in Visuals and #1 in Story/Writing, while players praised its art, political drama, multiple endings and surprisingly readable presentation. The one obvious weakness is the audio, there simply wasn't enough time to add music during the jam and everyone repeteadly points out how much a proper soundtrack could've elevated the atmosphere. Still, between its gorgeous art and weirdly compelling political drama Sovereign of a Dying Hell is exactly the kind of obscure little Touhou project that makes this whole rabbit hole worth exploring.
| Sovereign of a Dying Hell | |
|---|---|
| Base | SGDK |
| Category | Brand new game |
| Installation | Remote |
| Released | 2025 |
| Author | kasha.dev |
And that's a wrap on our little trip through this rabbit hole… for now! Gensōkyō has a funny way of pulling you deeper the more you look around and there's always another Touhou Project somewhere in the dōjin scene. So if you've made it this far, congrats! You're officially part of the problem. Until then, keep exploring, keep supporting the creators and who knows what you'll stumble into next.
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