Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic Beginner’s Guide

If you’re playing Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic for the first time, it can be quite difficult. The screen is full of bullets, and at first it may seem hard to control your character, and you’ll likely die many times while getting used to the game.

You don’t have to become the master of Touhou before starting the game. If you want to get off to a good start, then you should first learn the controls, use Focus mode, save your Bombs for difficult situations, and most importantly, don’t panic when the screen gets crowded.

Here’s my full beginner guide that can help you to reach a high score in a single go.

Choose New Instead of Classic

When you start the game, you get options to choose between New and Classic.

For a first playthrough, New is the best choice. Classic is the original 2002 version, and it has old visuals, while New adds modern improvements that make the game easier to play and practice.

If you prefer the older music, you can still listen to the original soundtrack through the game’s soundtrack option.

Touhou Koumakyou Controls

The default keyboard controls are:

Hold Z while playing.

To achieve accurate movement, press and hold the Shift key. When you focus, it will slow your character down and display the small hitbox in the middle of your character.

The game also supports WASD and alternate keys:

• WASD — Move
• J — Select/Shoot
• K — Cancel/Bomb
• L/Space — Focus
• ; — Skip text

Controller support is also available.

What are those Numbers on the Screen

The right side of the screen shows many important things.

Score is your current score. It is more than just a number because reaching certain score levels gives you extra lives.

Player shows your remaining lives. You can gain additional lives from some boss drops or by reaching score milestones.

Bomb shows how many Bombs you have. Your Bomb stock resets when you die, so unused Bombs are lost.

Power controls your shooting strength. Red Power items increase it. Also, when you reach maximum power, the bullets on the screen are cleared.

Graze keeps a count of the bullets that pass very close to you. It may increase your score, but there’s no need to take unnecessary risks just to raise it.

Points are the blue items. Collecting them increases your score.

By moving towards the top of the screen, you can gather the items. Although the game allows you to collect items in the upper section of the screen, this is risky since you have less space in which to react.

There is also a small red glow near the bottom when a boss is on screen. It helps you see where the boss is without constantly looking upward.

Pick a Character and Shot Type

Reimu and Marisa both have two shot types. The choice mainly changes how you play.

Reimu

Reimu is slower and focuses more on consistent movement.

Spirit uses homing shots. They automatically target enemies but deal less damage. Her Fantasy Seal Bomb also follows targets.

Dream fires forward and deals more damage than Spirit. Its Evil-Sealing Circle Bomb can clear the full screen.

Marisa

Marisa moves faster and is suitable for a more aggressive playstyle.

Magic fires straight ahead and focuses on damage. Stardust Reverie sends stars around Marisa when you use the Bomb.

Love uses powerful piercing shots that fire forward. Master Spark creates a large laser that covers a wide area in front of Marisa.

There isn’t a single correct choice here. Pick the character and shot type that feels comfortable.

Select Easy Mode

Don’t feel embarrassed when starting on Easy.

Touhou is difficult, and Easy Mode is there for players who need time to learn the basic movement and bullet patterns. You won’t see the final stage on Easy, but that doesn’t matter when you’re still learning the game.

The remake also lets you use Challenge Mode, which gives you unlimited lives.

In Standard Mode, if you run out of lives, the run will end unless you use a Continue. Challenge Mode lets you keep playing while tracking your deaths.

For a newbie, Challenge Mode can be useful because you can play later stages without restarting the entire game.

The usual condition in Standard Mode is a 1CC, which means you have to clear the game without using a Continue. In Challenge Mode, the goal is to finish with fewer than five deaths at Normal difficulty or above.

Use Focus Mode

Hold Shift when you can’t read the bullets.

Your character will move slowly in Focus Mode, which gives you better control when you need to slip through small gaps.

It also shows your hitbox. The white circle gives you a visual idea of where your character can be hit, but the actual hitbox is even smaller.

You don’t have to stare directly at your character while dodging. Look slightly ahead of her and watch where the incoming bullets are going.

Don’t Panic When the Screen Fills With Bullets

This is probably the most useful advice for a new Touhou player.

A screen full of bullets looks dangerous, but you usually don’t need to dodge every bullet you can see.

Focus on the bullets that are actually moving toward you. Many bullets are far away or moving in patterns that won’t reach your position.

Stay calm and make small movements. If you start flying across the screen because you see a wave of bullets, you can easily move into another bullet.

Hold your position when possible and look for the opening in the pattern.

Use Bombs Before You Die

Don’t save every Bomb for some perfect moment.

If an attack becomes too dangerous and you don’t trust your movement, use the Bomb. A Bomb that you use can save a life. A Bomb you carry into a death is gone.

At the same time, don’t use Bombs for every difficult pattern. You still need to learn how to dodge.

1. Try to dodge the attack.
2. If you lose control or the gap becomes too dangerous, Bomb.
3. Don’t wait until the bullet is already touching you.

Bombs can also be less useful for dealing damage than you might expect because some bosses cannot take damage during certain Bomb effects.

Try Streaming

Streaming is one of the most useful movement techniques in Touhou.

Instead of making large movements, slowly move in one direction. Bullets aimed at your position will follow your movement and pass behind you.

When you reach the edge, quickly move through the opening created by the pattern and start moving back.

You can practice this by making small left-and-right movements instead of constantly crossing the entire screen.

Don’t Stay at the Bottom All the Time

The bottom of the screen may feel like the safest place, but it also limits how much room you have to move.

Try staying a little above the bottom instead. Around one-quarter of the way up can give you more space to react while still keeping you away from most threats.

You can move lower when you need to, but don’t trap yourself against the bottom edge.

Use Spell Practice

The New Classic version has a Spell Practice option in the main menu.

It lets you practice Spell Cards from bosses you have already encountered.

Spell Practice gives you one hit and no Bombs, so you have to learn the attack itself.

This is especially useful when one boss attack keeps ending your runs. Practice it a few times, learn the bullet movement, and then try it again during a normal run.

Keep Playing

Touhou is heavily based on execution.

You can read about every bullet pattern and watch someone else clear it, but that won’t replace actually moving your character through the attack.

You will die. A lot.

That’s normal. Each attempt teaches you which attacks are causing problems and where you need to improve.

You can also try harder difficulties later to practice reacting to more complicated patterns. You don’t need to clear Hard or Lunatic just because you can select them.

Score Can Give You Extra Lives

Score is useful because when you reach certain score milestones, they give you extra lives.

You can get extra lives at 10 million, 20 million, 40 million, and 60 million points. The score requirement can make a big difference during a run, so don’t ignore scoring.

The blue Point items are one of the main ways to raise your score.

Graze also contributes to your score, but you shouldn’t force yourself into dangerous positions just to graze bullets.

What Is a 1CC?

You will see the term 1CC often when talking about Touhou.

It means 1 Credit Clear — finishing the game without using a Continue.

When you die, you can use Continues to keep playing after losing all your lives, but they reset your score and give you Full Power pickups.

You don’t need to worry about getting a 1CC on your first attempts. First, learn the stages and boss patterns.

When Should You Move to Normal?

Once you can comfortably clear the earlier stages, you can go for the Normal mode.

If you can clear Stage 5 in Standard Mode, then it means you’re ready to take Normal more seriously.

Normal also gives you access to Stage 6. Clearing the game on Normal or higher without continuing can then lead to the Extra Stage.

I’ve also created a guide on How to Unlock Extra Stage in Touhou Koumakyou TH6: New Classic using a cheat code, so make sure you also check this guide too.

Take Breaks

Touhou can get annoying when you die to the same attack again and again.

If you feel yourself getting angry, stop for a while. Relax a bit and come back with a clear head.

You don’t have to prove anything by playing through a bad session.

And don’t worry about what difficulty other players use. Easy, Normal, Challenge Mode, or higher difficulties are all valid ways to play.

What’s important is learning the game at your own speed and enjoying it.