Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

{{main|Touhou Project#Gameplay}}

File:Embodiment of Scarlet Devil gameplay.webm

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up. The game offers two playable characters to choose from, each having two shot types. Reimu Hakurei is more agile and can cover a wide area of the screen with weaker attacks, whereas Marisa Kirisame is more powerful to make up for her narrower attack spread.{{Cite web|url=https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06man/index.html|title=東方紅魔郷 ～ the Embodiment of Scerlet Devil. Manual|language=Japanese|date=11 August 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020923053135/https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06man/index.html|archive-date=23 September 2002|access-date=29 July 2021}}{{sic}} The player can enter "Focus Mode", which slows the player character to allow for more precision when dodging projectiles. Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is the last game in the series that does not show the player's hitbox while in Focus Mode—this is remedied in Perfect Cherry Blossom.{{Cite web|url=https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th07man/index.html|title=東方妖々夢 ～ Perfect Cherry Blossom. Manual|language=Japanese|date=9 August 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030809231108/http://www16.big.or.jp:80/~zun/html/th07man/index.html|archive-date=9 August 2003|access-date=12 November 2021}} The player has the option to use bombs, which will grant temporary invulnerability, clear the screen of enemy bullets and deal immense damage; however, bombs come in limited supply, meaning they must be used cautiously. Bombs act differently depending on the character and shot type chosen. If the player is hit by an enemy bullet and uses a bomb within a six frame window, they can avoid losing the game. Unique to Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, the amount of time in which a player can perform this technique is decreased each time it is successfully done.Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil omake - Capturing and Hints ([https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th06/omake.txt/en English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118152612/https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th06/omake.txt/en |date=2021-11-18 }})

Bosses and minibosses appear at the end and middle of the game's stages respectively. Embodiment of Scarlet Devil is the first entry in the series to utilize the "Spell Card" system. Each boss in the game uses various attack phases, or Spell Cards, of which all are given a name, unlike the previous games' random attacks. These are used in a specific order depending on difficulty and character choice. Each Spell Card has its own countdown timer – defeating an enemy Spell Card before time runs out will grant a point bonus, and a further bonus is given if they are completed without any lives lost or bombs used. When a Spell Card times out, the boss switches to its next attack with no point bonus given. There are 64 Spell Cards in total, and they can be viewed in the "Score" menu once the player has encountered them.

Points can be acquired in various ways. The "Graze" system grants the player 500 points for each bullet they narrowly avoid. Shooting enemies and collecting point and power items that they drop on defeat will also increase the number of points. Points are deducted upon losing a life or deployment of bombs. Power items increase the player's shot power, giving it a larger cone of fire and potential for dealing more damage to enemies, and when at the maximum power of 128, the player can move to the top of the screen to collect all on-screen items at once. Collecting enough points will grant the player extra lives and bombs. The amount of lives the player starts with can be chosen in the options menu – the default is three and starting with less or more lives will apply a positive or negative multiplier to the player's score respectively. A "Play Rank" system also exists, which makes the game slightly easier if the player loses a life, and slightly harder if they score more points.

The game features six stages and four levels of difficulty – Easy difficulty prematurely ends the game after stage five, automatically granting the bad ending. Depending on difficulty, a positive or negative multiplier bonus is applied and given at the end of each stage. As with previous games in the series, an additional "Extra Stage" is unlocked in the main menu if the player completes the game without using a continue.{{efn|Continuing on any difficulty will automatically grant the player the bad ending on completion, preventing this unlock. The "Extra Stage" prevents continuing.}}

The Touhou Project is set in {{nihongo foot|Gensokyo,|幻想郷|Gensōkyō|literally "Land of Illusions" or "Land of Fantasy"|group=lower-alpha|lead=yes}} a region sealed from the outside human world and primarily inhabited by anthropomorphic {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} alongside a small number of humans.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Thus the place was called Gensokyo. And even now, as usual, non-human creatures and just a few humans lived freely with pride.}} One of them is Reimu Hakurei, the {{transliteration|ja|miko}} of the Hakurei Shrine located within the Great Hakurei Barrier which separates the two worlds. The main protagonist of the series, she is often tasked with resolving supernatural "incidents" caused in and around Gensokyo. Marisa Kirisame, the other main playable character of the series, is a smug human who has become a magician through sheer hard work and generally prioritizes self-interest and her own kleptomania over the interests of others. The player chooses either to play as Reimu or Marisa, who each have separate scenarios.

In Gensokyo, the sky becomes covered in red mist, blocking the sun in the middle of summertime, which becomes known as the Scarlet Mist Incident (紅霧異変). Reimu becomes determined to find the cause of the red mist, as if left alone, the mist would spread across Gensokyo's border to the human world.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=At the rate it was moving, the mist would reach past the shrine and descend to where humans lived. Gensokyo interfering with its peoples' lives would most likely cause Gensokyo to be eliminated by the hands of humans, too.}} Marisa hopes that the individual responsible for the mist would have valuable items to collect.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=When she realized that she couldn't see any of the lake all of a sudden due to the mist, the normal-witted girl thought that there might be something happening on the island floating in the lake. / ... / The girl set off as if there might just be something valuable to find. Or, rather, she actually went looking for it.}}

The player's chosen heroine observes that the mist is coming from the direction of the Misty Lake (霧の湖).{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=The sharp-witted girl, relying on her senses, set off in the direction of the lake.}} Travelling in that direction, she encounters the {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} Rumia,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Rumia: Is the person in front of me the edible kind?
Reimu: Have you ever heard the saying 'good medicine tastes bad?'}} and later the ice fairy Cirno,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Cirno: When you lose your way, it's because of the fairies.
Reimu: Oh, really? Could you show me the way, then?}} determining neither are related to the mist – instead, the Scarlet Devil Mansion (紅魔館), which seemingly appears from nowhere, is discovered to be the cause.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=In the very center of it all is an island, rejected by mankind simply because they could not live there. On that island is a mansion; one of few windows. Inside the mansion that knows neither day nor night, "she" was there.}} The mansion's guard, Hong Meiling;{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Meiling: I'm just a normal person who happens to be guarding.}} resident anemic witch, Patchouli Knowledge;{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Marisa: Seems like magic's your thing. Anything else you got up your sleeves?
Patchouli: (sob sob) I can't finish reciting the spells because of my anemia.}} and time-stopping maid, Sakuya Izayoi,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Sakuya: I am Sakuya, the chief maid. / ... / You cannot meet with my mistress. I can stall you for as long as it takes by stopping time.}} all attempt and stop the intruder from reaching the lord of the mansion, Remilia Scarlet, but fail. Remilia, a vampire,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Marisa: How many people's blood have you sucked up until now?
Remilia: Can you remember how many slices of bread you have eaten until now?}} states that she created the mist to block out the sun so that she could feel comfortable during the day. After defeating Remilia, if the player has not used any continues, the mist clears, and Remilia compromises with using a parasol in daylight.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Remilia: I brought a parasol with me.
Reimu: If a parasol is enough, what was the point of all this trouble?}}

A few days pass, and Remilia returns to the Hakurei Shrine to talk with the heroines, leaving care of the mansion to Sakuya.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Marisa: Hey, is it all right to just leave the mansion like this?
Remilia: It's fine; I left everything to Sakuya.}} However, a harsh storm brews around the mansion, and Remilia confides to the heroines that she cannot return to the mansion in this weather. Remilia then realises that Patchouli has cast a storm over the mansion to prevent Remilia's younger sister Flandre from escaping.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Remilia: That worries me. I won't be able to go back with things like that. / ... / Ah, that's right. I forgot about her. Patchouli is probably trying to stop her [Flandre] from getting out by making it rain.}} The heroine encounters Flandre in the mansion, where she claims she has been locked in the basement for close to five hundred years,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Flandre: I couldn't have done anything. I haven't gone out [of the basement] even once in the past 495 years.}} before Flandre offers to engage in a battle with the heroine. Upon defeating her, Reimu promises a future rematch between the two,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Reimu: I'll come play whenever you want. So please, don't come to the shrine.}} while Marisa simply taunts her with quotes from the poem Ten Little Indians.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=Marisa: A hanged corpse is pretty ugly. Why don't you do as the real song says?
Flandre: The real song?
Marisa: Wait, you don't know? She got married and then there were none...}}

After the release of the previous Touhou Project game, Mystic Square in late 1998, ZUN, creator and developer of the series, graduated from university. Mystic Square was intended to be the final Touhou Project installment with ZUN "sealing" his doujin activities – he had originally planned to stop with Lotus Land Story.{{Cite web|url=https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/music_old.html|title=上海アリス幻樂団|language=Japanese|access-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824164157/https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/music_old.html|archive-date=24 August 2021|quote=ZUN: This is "Dream Express" from Mystic Square. This song is full of all kinds of memories. I had planned on making Lotus Land Story the final game when I released it, and making it my farewell to my {{transliteration|ja|doujin}} activities after that Summer Comiket, but it sold a lot better than I expected.}} He would go on to work at Taito as a game developer, and also composed music for various games created by members of Amusement Makers, the publishers of the previous five Touhou Project games, like the Seihou Project. ZUN left Amusement Makers in 2001, but continued to work at Taito until 2007, meaning each Touhou Project game until Mountain of Faith was developed concurrently with ZUN's work at Taito, which include Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color, Bujingai, Graffiti Kingdom and Exit, as well as other games that were ultimately cancelled.{{Cite book|last=Szczepaniak|first=John|title=The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Gold Edition|date=4 August 2014|publisher=SMG Szczepaniak |isbn=978-0992926021}}{{rp|487–488}} ZUN would reenter doujin activities by establishing his own doujin circle, changing his developer team name from "ZUN Soft" to Team Shanghai Alice, although initially the circle was not meant to develop games. ZUN applied to Comiket 61 under the name as a music circle, but was rejected.{{rp|501}} ZUN would instead decide to develop a game before the next Comiket, reviving the Touhou Project series.{{cite web|url=http://www.4gamer.net/specials/shanghai_alice/zone_z.shtml|title=「東方」制作者インタビュー「シューティングの方法論」第1回 - ZONE Z|date=2005-12-09|work=4Gamer.net|publisher=Aetas|accessdate=3 February 2020|author=八重垣那智|quote=ZUN: The premise of the game was that I wanted to try to release something as a doujin again. I was planning to specialize in music, and when I applied as a music circle, I was not selected in the Comiket lottery. I thought, "I've already made a music CD. ......" I thought, "There's still time until summer," "Maybe I'll make a game next time," "Let's make a game," and I accidentally made Touhou Koumakyou.|language=Japanese|archive-date=2020-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413043420/http://www.4gamer.net/specials/shanghai_alice/zone_z.shtml|url-status=live}} An announcement was then made on ZUN's blog promoting the game.

{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center | quote =The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil brings things back to the starting point, by curbing the game systems that change the difficulty in obscure ways while at the same time pursuing the natural fun of dodging bullets.| source = ZUN's blog (2002){{Cite magazine|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-story-behind-the-touhou-sensation/|title=The story of the Touhou sensation|author=PCGamer|magazine=PC Gamer|access-date=17 July 2021|date=24 November 2014|archive-date=17 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717025315/https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-story-behind-the-touhou-sensation/|url-status=live}} | align = right| width = 30%}}

As PC-98 usage in Japan declined in comparison to Microsoft's Windows architecture around the late 1990s,{{Cite web|last=Crisostomo|first=Christian|date=2015-01-27|title=How the PC-98 Shaped Japan's PC Industry|url=http://vrworld.com/2015/01/27/pc-98-shaped-japans-pc-industry/|access-date=2021-11-15|website=VR World|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-11-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115073048/http://vrworld.com/2015/01/27/pc-98-shaped-japans-pc-industry/|url-status=dead}} Embodiment of Scarlet Devil marked the first time ZUN programmed a Windows application from scratch. As ZUN was more familiar with APIs and DirectX and was relatively unfamiliar with the application level, a lot of time was put into creating libraries and tools for the game. Some libraries were borrowed from the Seihou Project; Ponchi, a member of the Seihou Project's development team, is thus given a credit as "Program Support". As a result, little time remained to improve the game's presentation, and ZUN resolved to focus on improving the next game.Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil omake - Special Afterword: Shanghai Alice Correspondence Vol.1. 2002-8-11. ([https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th06/omake.txt/en English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118152612/https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th06/omake.txt/en |date=2021-11-18 }}) The game engine developed for Embodiment of Scarlet Devil would later be reused for the games Perfect Cherry BlossomTouhou Youyoumu ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom omake - Special Afterword: Shanghai Alice Correspondence Vol.3. 2003-8-17. ([https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th07/omake.txt/en English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118152605/https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th07/omake.txt/en |date=2021-11-18 }}) and Imperishable Night.Touhou Eiyashou ~ Imperishable Night omake - Special Afterword: Shanghai Alice Correspondence Vol.4. 2004-8-15. ([https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th08/omake.txt/en English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118152610/https://www.thpatch.net/wiki/Th08/omake.txt/en |date=2021-11-18 }}) In 2013, ZUN stated fragments of code from the game were still being reused in Double Dealing Character.{{rp|472}}

As Embodiment of Scarlet Devil would be the first release of Team Shanghai Alice and their first game created for a wider audience, ZUN felt that the game would need to leave an impression. This resulted in the game's Western theme, unlike most other games in the Touhou Project which feature predominantly Asian themes.{{Citation|title=神主ZUN、『風神録』についてかく話りき！|newspaper=Chara Mel|page=111|publisher=Ichijinsha|date=2007-11-10}} ([https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Chara%E2%98%86Mel/Mountain_of_Faith_interview_with_ZUN English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218155139/https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Chara%E2%98%86Mel/Mountain_of_Faith_interview_with_ZUN |date=2020-02-18 }}) This also allowed the game's plot to be contained within its own narrative – Embodiment of Scarlet Devil does not mention or feature any PC-98 era characters bar Reimu and Marisa. Now regarding his past works as juvenilia, the jump from PC-98 to Windows represented a "clean slate" for both ZUN and the series: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil essentially serves as a soft reboot.{{cite web |title=Archive of ZUN's responses on the former Gensou Bulletin Board, post from 2003/05 |url=http://gensou.s93.xrea.com/world/qa0301.html |website=幻想掲示板0301-0306 |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=14 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050909085157/http://gensou.s93.xrea.com/world/qa0301.html |archive-date=9 September 2005 |url-status=live|quote=Q: I don't know the old Touhou, but what happened to Reimu and Alice in the past?
ZUN: Basically, all the characters related to the story are starting from Touhou Koumakyou. I've wiped out the whole setting starting from Touhou Koumakyou, so it's like a new series. I hope you can think of it as a new series.}} ZUN has since remarked how the general theme and direction of the Touhou Project only started to come together during the development of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.{{cite web |author=Solamarle |date=2007-11-09 |title=Notes on ZUN's Genyou Denshou Lecture |url=http://www.gensokyo.org/archives/92#more-92 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819133107/http://www.gensokyo.org/archives/92#more-92 |archive-date=2009-08-19 |access-date=2009-07-10 |publisher=Gensokyo.org}} Some references are used from other material, mainly from the 1939 Agatha Christie mystery novel And Then There Were None for symbolism and dialogue in the game.

ZUN's general goal for Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was to avoid over-complication, and to let the player have fun simply dodging bullets. The Spell Card system was created by ZUN in 1999 while working on the Seihou Project, and was intended to be a means to identify bullet patterns with names as well as adding depth to his characters. ZUN further stated that Embodiment of Scarlet Devil itself was created for the purpose of introducing this system, and it has been featured in every game after.{{cite web|url=http://gensou.s93.xrea.com/world/qa0207.html#02112501|title=幻想掲示板0207-0212|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050408091352/http://gensou.s93.xrea.com/world/qa0207.html#02112501|date=November 2002|archive-date=8 April 2005|quote=ZUN: Touhou Koumakyou itself was created in order to include the Spell Card system. I thought that naming the attacks would make the boss character more unique, and that it would change the way bullets are conveyed in the text (...) This time [in Perfect Cherry Blossom], the WAV versions are going to be the original - in Touhou Koumakyou, I re-recorded [the soundtrack with the SD-90] after I made it with the SC-88Pro.}} ZUN also had interest during development in making a bullet hell game in which the player could switch between two characters easily during gameplay, as he believed there were few games that incorporated such a system. However, he felt that having playable characters that had not been previously introduced would be unnatural, and so this system was reserved until Imperishable Night, when he had determined enough characters had been introduced to the series. A demo version of the game, containing the first three stages, was also distributed online on June 10, 2002.{{Cite web|url=http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/new.html|title="Diary of ZUN's additions to the Touhou site up to 2005"|access-date=17 July 2021|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926105701/http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/new.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html|title=Team Shanghai Alice - Touhou Project 6th|access-date=19 July 2021|archive-date=15 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615041511/http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html|url-status=live}} ([https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/data/soft/kouma_tr013.lzh Direct trial download link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207135841/http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/data/soft/kouma_tr013.lzh |date=2022-02-07 }})

ZUN has stated his intention to re-release Embodiment of Scarlet Devil on Steam, but due to compatibility issues when running the game in full screen on Windows 10 or later, the frame rate does not have a limit, causing the game to move at abnormally high speeds and rendering it unplayable. A similar bug was known to ZUN upon the game's release. Fan patches to remedy this have since been released, but ZUN stated that he was unable to fix the issue himself, as he had lost the game's source code.{{Cite web|last=Yokoyama|first=Keiichi|title=東方ProjectのWindows向け1作目『東方紅魔郷』Steam版はリリースが難しい。ソースコードがないため|url=https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20200529-125704/|website=Automaton Media|date=29 May 2020|language=Japanese|quote=The Steam release of Touhou Koumakyou: the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, a Touhou Project title created by ZUN of Team Shanghai Alice, seems to be impossible due to the loss of source code.|access-date=18 December 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129034203/https://automaton-media.com/articles/newsjp/20200529-125704/|url-status=live}}

{{Listen

| filename = U.N. Owen Was Her?.ogg

| title = "U.N. Owen Was Her?"

| description = "U.N. Owen Was Her?" features sharp arpeggio patterns and unconventional time signatures. This audio sample contains the song's intro.
ZUN's comments on the song imply it was his favorite during the development of the game.{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=No. 15 U.N. Owen Was Her? Flandre Scarlet's theme. I liked this one the best out of the whole game. It depicts a devilish girl in an Oriental and mysterious way.}}

}}

The game's soundtrack was originally composed for the Roland SC-88 Pro sound module. However, ZUN decided to arrange and re-record the soundtrack in WAV format using a Roland Edirol SD-90 he had recently purchased, just before the game was released. As a result, two versions of the soundtrack exist; however the original MIDI files will only play correctly on an SC-88 Pro, meaning the WAV version of the soundtrack is by far the most recognised. ZUN has stated he was aiming to give the game's music a "brighter" feel over prior instalments by attempting to add jazz-fusion elements to the soundtrack,{{cite video game|title=Embodiment of Scarlet Devil|developer=Team Shanghai Alice|date=11 August 2002|platform=PC|quote=No. 13 Septette for the Dead Princess With this, I tried for a "This is the end!" feeling. I didn't want it to be regal or ominous, which is normal for a final stage, so I made it Jazz-Fusion based with a hint of loli... wait, that's not any different than normal. Its melody's easy for even me to get, so I like this song.}} and that Remilia Scarlet's theme "Septette for the Dead Princess" and Flandre Scarlet's theme "U.N. Owen Was Her?" were the songs he most thought of as representative of the game. "Septette for the Dead Princess" is a homage to Maurice Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess. The name of "U.N. Owen Was Her?" is taken from "U. N. Owen," a pseudonym used in Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. Quotes and references from the book are also used in Marisa's dialogue. In August 2021, the game's soundtrack was released on Spotify along with all later games in the series.{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/0jxiipQzJFK79TMLZCRIZ6?si=LJbUewP6SpmUSvgWh6_XAg|title=東方紅魔郷 ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. サウンドトラック|website=Spotify|access-date=21 November 2021|date=August 2021|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121020651/https://open.spotify.com/album/0jxiipQzJFK79TMLZCRIZ6?si=LJbUewP6SpmUSvgWh6_XAg|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Touhou Project#Reception and legacy}}

File:Comic Market 102 Day 2 Cosplayers (53329504124).jpg 102]]

Upon release at Comiket 62, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil sold considerably better than previous entries in the series. Because of this, initial circulation of the game was limited, later being sold through online CD retailers. In a 2018 retrospective review of the game, IGN Japan's Shin Amai named Embodiment of Scarlet Devil the best game of 2002, calling the bullet hell mechanics mediocre, but that the level design, music, and presentation's charm made the game a masterpiece that would go on to become one of the most popular Japanese games of all time.{{Cite web|url=https://jp.ign.com/rekidai-goty/26424/feature/goty2002|title=あの頃のゲーム、僕らのGOTY――ゲームとネットが本格的に繋がり始めた2002年の個人ベストゲームは？|website=IGN Japan|date=2 July 2018|accessdate=17 July 2021|language=Japanese|quote=[Touhou] is a franchise that is easily talked about due to the spread of secondary works and its cultural characteristics, but in fact, I feel that it has not received a fair evaluation as an STG (...) The mechanics themselves are mediocre, as you have to avoid the harsh barrage of bullets and sometimes use bombs to survive. However, this game is a masterpiece in terms of its level design, and the music and direction that go along with it, which determined how the series became one of the most popular of all time in the future. In particular, the beautiful barrage of bullets, music, and "spell cards" used in the boss battles became the seed for subsequent secondary works (...) the act of naming a particular mechanic from the side of the worldview is itself a part of video game design. When viewed from this perspective, "Touhou Koumakyou" is not just a well-made bullet-hell STG, but a work of innovative design.|archive-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705061700/https://jp.ign.com/rekidai-goty/26424/feature/goty2002|url-status=live}} In 2013, ZUN stated that Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was the overall best-selling Touhou Project game.{{rp|493}} The game has never been officially released in a language other than Japanese, but fan translation patches for the game have been created. ZUN does not plan to give any Touhou Project game an official English translation, stating that he has more faith in his fans to handle localization than a third-party company.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/touhou-16-released-on-steam|title=Touhou 16 shoots onto Steam|website=Rock Paper Shotgun|date=18 November 2017|access-date=15 November 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115140342/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/touhou-16-released-on-steam|url-status=live}}

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil has become known for its music. Cirno's boss theme "Beloved Tomboyish Girl" was later remixed by doujin group IOSYS into "Cirno's Perfect Math Class" in 2008, a song which ridiculed the apparently unintelligent nature of the character.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Scott |title=Celebrate 9.9 And 9th Anniversary Of "Cirno's Perfect Math Class" With Alternate Edition Music Video |url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/en-gb/anime-news/2017/09/09/celebrate-99-and-9th-anniversary-of-cirnos-perfect-math-class-with-alternate-edition-music-video |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718140545/https://www.crunchyroll.com/en-gb/anime-news/2017/09/09/celebrate-99-and-9th-anniversary-of-cirnos-perfect-math-class-with-alternate-edition-music-video |archive-date=2021-07-18 |access-date=2021-07-18 |website=Crunchyroll |language=en-gb}} Flandre's boss theme "U.N. Owen Was Her?" is notable for creating an Internet meme and spreading the popularity of the series in the West. It has been remarked that the 2008 viral video "Ronald McDonald Insanity" or "McRoll'd" which remixed the song with samples of Ronald McDonald was the first contact with the Touhou Project for thousands of Western Internet users – the two videos share over 21 million views as of July 2021.{{Cite web |last=Oxford |first=Nadia |date=29 June 2016 |title=Note Block Beat Box: Listening to U.N. Owen Was Her? from Touhou Project |url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/note-block-beat-box-listening-to-un-owen-was-her-from-touhou-project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110020151/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/note-block-beat-box-listening-to-un-owen-was-her-from-touhou-project |archive-date=10 November 2021 |access-date=10 November 2021 |website=USGamer}} It is also known for its use in the rise of the Black MIDI scene, which involve MIDI compositions that contain extremely high numbers of notes.{{cite web |last=Reising |first=Sam |date=April 15, 2015 |title=The Opposite of Brain Candy—Decoding Black MIDI |url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/the-opposite-of-brain-candy-decoding-black-midi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601182744/http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/the-opposite-of-brain-candy-decoding-black-midi/ |archive-date=1 June 2017 |accessdate=17 July 2021 |work=NewMusicBox}}

Unofficial anime have also been made for the game. {{nihongo|Fantasy Kaleidoscope ~ The Memories of Phantasm|幻想万華鏡}} by the circle Manpuku Jinja adapted the plot of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil to anime form,{{cite web |date=August 16, 2011 |title=Touhou-Based 'The Memories of Phantasm' Anime Streamed |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-08-16/touhou-based-the-memories-of-phantasm-posted-online |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708063751/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-08-16/touhou-based-the-memories-of-phantasm-posted-online |archive-date=July 8, 2012 |access-date=17 July 2021 |publisher=Anime News Network}} while characters from the game also appear in {{nihongo|Musou Kakyou: A Summer Day's Dream|東方二次創作同人アニメ　夢想夏郷}}.

• 2002 in video games
• List of video games considered the best

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th06.html}} {{in lang|ja}}
• {{IMDb title|id=7769224}}
• [https://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/top.html Official Team Shanghai Alice/ZUN website] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://touhou-project.news/ Official Touhou Project website] {{in lang|ja}}
• [http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Embodiment_of_Scarlet_Devil Embodiment of Scarlet Devil on Touhou Wiki]

{{Touhou Project}}

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Category:2002 video games

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Category:Bullet hell video games

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