Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet (PlayStation 4) Review

If there was ever a chance to challenge family and friends to a true bullet hell fighter, Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet makes that dream possible. Finally, take control of the bosses from Touhou, and use their powerful spellcards to unleash their true power upon their opponent. It is enough to satisfy even the curious-minded.

The main part of Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet takes place in a 3D battle arena, where two fighters shoot bullets towards each other, with the ultimate goal to be the last one standing. The gameplay is simple, but difficult to master. Being a Touhou title, it won't take long before the screen is filled with a crescendo of colourful bullets of different shapes and sizes, as the fighters attempt to dodge them. A returning feature is the reward given for the fighters who can graze past the oncoming bullets.

Grazing a bullet will build up a power meter that can be used to enter the game's main course, the Spellcard mode. This mode introduces a 2D bullet hell mode, where the initiating fighter is the boss, while the opponent must try and take them down.

While this game style is fun, the difficulty definitely lacks, especially compared to the normal Touhou bosses. The defending player has too many large safe spots on the map, thus making it difficult for the opposing fighter to get many bullets in. Because of this, the spellcards feel like fan service towards the Touhou players.

While Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet is mainly meant to be seen as a multiplayer game, it contains several fun single-player modes. Story mode follows one of the girls on an adventure that's unique to each character. Arcade mode is a "fight-'til-you-drop" mode, and Boss mode, the mode for fans of traditional Touhou games, is where the player tries to survive an onslaught of spellcards.

The story is just as whimsical and filled with nonsense as can be expected from a Touhou game. Containing a lot of charm, this game shows great respect to the main source material, and adds to the feeling of being a Touhou title, while still standing on its own two feet by feeling unique and different to the main series.

Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet is easy to recommend to fans of the series; however, it should largely be seen as a multiplayer game. The AI is too easy to satisfy the needs of an avid Touhou player in the single-player modes, though it still offers plenty of fun for fans of the franchise.