Touhou: Double Focus

Touhou: Double Focus is a Metroidvania-style action-platformer set in the beloved Touhou Project universe. Players take on the roles of two distinct characters, Fumino Fumika and Yumeko Fumiko, as they explore a non-linear world filled with challenging combat and vibrant anime-inspired visuals. The game blends traditional Touhou elements with a fresh take on exploration and character-switching mechanics, offering a unique experience within the series.

Touhou: Double Focus: Review

Introduction

In the vibrant, ever-expanding universe of the Touhou Project—where ZUN’s bullet hell shooters birthed a sprawling ecosystem of fan creations—Touhou: Double Focus stands as a fascinating anomaly. Released by doujin developer Aqua Style at Comiket 87 in 2014, this Metroidvania adventure breaks from the series’ danmaku roots to offer a charming yet flawed journey into a magical book. Its 2017 console localization by NIS America, bundled with Touhou Genso Wanderer and later released as a standalone title, presents a unique case study: a niche fangame that captures the series’ spirit while struggling under the weight of its own ambition. This review deconstructs Double Focus not just as a game, but as a cultural artifact—a testament to Touhou’s enduring influence and the challenges of translating doujin brilliance to mainstream platforms.

Development History & Context

Aqua Style, a studio with a history of Touhou experiments like Touhou: Genso Wanderer, conceived Double Focus as a deliberate genre pivot. The team aimed to capitalize on the burgeoning Metroidvania revival of the mid-2010s while staying true to Touhou’s whimsical lore. Technologically, the 2014 PC release was a lean affair, built for commodity hardware with a focus on sprite-based efficiency. The shift to PlayStation platforms in 2016–2017 posed new challenges: porting required optimizing the game for Vita and PS4 hardware, resulting in frame rate dips and touchpad-based menu navigation that felt awkward on DualShock controllers.

This release occurred against a backdrop of rising Touhou fandom in the West, driven by localized efforts from NIS America. However, the game’s niche status—doubly constrained by its doujin origins and Metroidvania mechanics—meant it reached primarily dedicated fans. Aqua Style’s vision was clear: create an accessible “entry point” for non-shooter fans while rewarding series devotees with character depth and secrets. Yet, as critic Colin Milliken noted, the game’s execution was “more of a curiosity than a revolution,” caught between the creativity of doujin development and the polish expected in commercial releases.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Double Focus’s plot is disarmingly simple, serving as a vehicle for gameplay and character interactions. At Suzunaan, Gensokyo’s mystical bookstore, the reckless crow tengu journalist Aya Shameimaru ignores warnings and opens a cursed book, pulling herself, Momiji Inubashiri, and others into a “Book World.” Here, logic bends, and fairies play dress-up as villains. The narrative’s strength lies in its characterization: Aya’s brash impulsiveness contrasts with Momiji’s cautious pragmatism, their dynamic evolving from forced cooperation to genuine partnership.

Dialogues, delivered mostly in Japanese text bursts, infuse humor and lore. Quests for trapped Touhou characters (e.g., retrieving a lost hat for Cirno or deciphering ancient text for Kosuzu) enrich the world, though some assume player familiarity with obscure Touhou lore. Thematically, the game celebrates collaboration—swapping characters mirrors the theme of unity—and storytelling itself. The Book World, a self-aware “story within a story,” toys with narrative tropes, with NPCs often breaking the fourth wall. Yet the thin plot (“escape the book”) and repetitive banter keep it from soaring, as RPGamer’s review quipped: “It’s a Touhou Metroidvania. Hard to describe it any better than that.”

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Double Focus’s core innovation is its dual-character system. Players seamlessly switch between Aya (ranged, wind-based attacks, mid-air hovering) and Momiji (melee, wall-climbing, shield defense). This creates intriguing puzzles: Aya’s hover might reach a ledge, while Momiji’s wall run could unlock hidden areas. However, the system is undermined by a punishing stamina mechanic that depletes with attacks, dodges, and abilities, forcing tactical pauses.

Combat is a mixed bag. Basic attacks feel weighty, but enemy variety is sparse—mostly fairies in costume-themed variants. Boss fights, though, are highlights, featuring recognizable Touhou foes like Letty Whiterock, whose patterns demand mastery. The skill system adds depth but frustration. Skill books unlock active/passive abilities (e.g., Alice’s doll summons or Reisen’s hypnotic shot), but equipping them is clunky. With three skill slots per character and no quick customization during combat, players often stick to basics.

UI design is divisive. The PS4’s touchpad menus (swipe up for settings) are unintuitive, and the lack of directional cues exacerbates exploration. Yet the portal system is brilliant: placing a portal before a boss fight saves backtracking, though limited portal books force strategic placement. Enabling respawn in settings (a hidden feature) transforms the game from frustrating to fair, turning “return to save point” drudgery into manageable challenge.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The Book World’s themed areas—a gothic castle, a sandy desert, a fairy-tale forest—are visually distinct but thematically underdeveloped. Secrets like breakable walls and hidden passages reward exploration, yet the world feels smaller than advertised. Aqua Style’s art style prioritizes charm over detail: chibi sprites with exaggerated proportions evoke Super Metroid, while backgrounds adopt a watercolor-storybook aesthetic. Fairies, the primary enemies, shine in playful designs—e.g., a “princess” fairy with a tiara and wand—though their repetition dulls impact.

Sound design is similarly inconsistent. The soundtrack, composed by Aizawa (Hachimitsu-Lemon), blends jaunty melodies with ambient tracks but lacks memorability. Boss battles redeem this, featuring iconic Touhou themes like “U.N. Owen Was Her?” to elevate encounters. Voice acting is minimal, confined to cutscenes and grunts in gameplay, but Japanese performances capture Aya’s sass and Momiji’s calmness.

Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Double Focus earned a mixed 60% on Metacritic, with critics divided. Hardcore Gamer lauded its “quirky Metroidvania” and replay value, while Video Chums called it “held back by sheer mediocrity.” Common complaints included stiff controls (PS Vita version), a steep difficulty curve, and short length (3–5 hours). Yet praise for its art style, character charm, and portal system was nearly universal.

Commercially, it thrived as a bundle with Genso Wanderer, exposing it to wider audiences. Standalone sales were modest, with Steam reviews later shifting to “Mostly Positive” (74%) post-2021 re-release. Its legacy is niche: it expanded Touhou’s genre diversity but failed to innovate within Metroidvania conventions. As a doujin ported to consoles, it exemplifies the “Play, Doujin!” initiative’s successes (introducing Touhou to new players) and limitations (technical roughness). It remains a footnote in the genre’s history—enjoyable but not influential.

Conclusion

Touhou: Double Focus is a game of duality: ambitious yet constrained, charming yet flawed. Its dual-character swapping system offers brilliant moments of synergy, while the stamina mechanic and UI quirks undermine them. The art and sound dazzle with Touhou’s signature whimsy, yet the world and combat feel unremarkable. For series fans, it’s a worthwhile detour—a compact, character-driven adventure brimming with Easter eggs. For general players, it’s a harder sell: its difficulty and brevity demand patience, and its rough edges deter newcomers.

Ultimately, Double Focus succeeds not as a landmark title, but as a love letter to Touhou’s community. It captures the series’ ethos—creativity within limitations—and honors its characters. As Aqua Style envisioned, it’s a “brief challenge for a few hours” that rewards perseverance. While it may not soar the heights of genre classics, its dedication to teamwork and exploration makes it a curious, endearing artifact in Touhou’s ever-growing galaxy.