What's with me and reviewing the second games in trilogies? Whatever it is, here's the second of the three ROCK MAIDEN games (which i will now just call Rock Maiden so it doesn't look like I'm shouting all the time). These three games are Touhou/Megaman combinations, featuring Reimu as our recurring protagonist (joined by Youmu in this game) and Kaguya as Dr. Wily.
![[Image: hqG2rEH.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hqG2rEH.png)
Naturally, being a Not-Megaman game, this is basically Jump 'n Shoot Miko. You have eight bosses in eight levels and you defeat them to gain their weapons, fighting your way through traditional stages with one of two characters (to start) and figuring out the weakness order. Then you go to Kaguya's Castle and fight through another five stages, ending with a boss rush and then a fight against Kaguya herself. You even get a Magnet Beam type upgrade after the fourth stage you clear, and collect energy and weapon energy tanks as you go through the game. Youmu is a bit different, getting a mix of new directional moves and weapons.
![[Image: NuPCJAS.png]](https://i.imgur.com/NuPCJAS.png)
Each stage has a unique theme, using a mixture of generic fairies and kedamas and actual Touhou characters for its enemies - sometimes even ones who were bosses in a previous or later installment. Aya and Cirno are enemies in 2 despite being bosses in 1, for example. The only real constants in this series are Alice and Marisa as allies and Kaguya as Doctor Wily... Not that that stops Kaguya from being playable in this game, hilariously enough! Yes, when you clear the game, you unlock Kaguya as a playable character, despite her being the main villain of all three Rock Maiden games. Sadly I don't know what her version of the final level is... yet!
![[Image: g1P97Fe.png]](https://i.imgur.com/g1P97Fe.png)
The powers in the game vary quite a lot, as they do in the originals. Ones for Youmu, for example, include a straight beam with some small side shots, or five shots in a radius. Learning the different shot types really makes life a lot easier in the Kaguya stages, which feel like they're built around the concept of using all your powers as you go. Really, the Kaguya stages are among the most impressive part, considering the way they replicate even the Megaman Wily Stage intros and have Kaguya in the UFO. I know Megamari did it too, but I just prefer Rock Maiden's style? I dunno. It's one of those things.
![[Image: grwzK0g.png]](https://i.imgur.com/grwzK0g.png)
Probably the biggest flaw in the Rock Maiden games is them being very, very big on "hey you can't see this coming until it's too late." Many times you'll run into an enemy along a floating platform that suddenly throws bullets at you, sending you into the abyss, or you'll climb up a ladder and get hit by bullets. I don't know if classic Mega Man does this since I've never played it, but I do think it results in a lot of trial and error gameplay. The stages are still solid, and once you learn them you can get through them reasonably well, but it makes it a lot harder than it needs to be.
![[Image: zRaO8Xx.png]](https://i.imgur.com/zRaO8Xx.png)
Aesthetic style status: beats Megamari.
THE VERDICT
Overall, this is... a pretty good game! I don't have classic Megaman for reference, but I definitely enjoy it more than Megamari for some reason. It's just solidly put together, and it's fun to learn each stage as you go. The trial and error aspect does get annoying at times, but I kept coming back and clearing each stage, and eventually I made it through as Youmu! Still wanna play as Reimu or Kaguya sometime, especially Kaguya for the Play As Wily aspect. 4 Reimus out of 5.
Naturally, being a Not-Megaman game, this is basically Jump 'n Shoot Miko. You have eight bosses in eight levels and you defeat them to gain their weapons, fighting your way through traditional stages with one of two characters (to start) and figuring out the weakness order. Then you go to Kaguya's Castle and fight through another five stages, ending with a boss rush and then a fight against Kaguya herself. You even get a Magnet Beam type upgrade after the fourth stage you clear, and collect energy and weapon energy tanks as you go through the game. Youmu is a bit different, getting a mix of new directional moves and weapons.
Each stage has a unique theme, using a mixture of generic fairies and kedamas and actual Touhou characters for its enemies - sometimes even ones who were bosses in a previous or later installment. Aya and Cirno are enemies in 2 despite being bosses in 1, for example. The only real constants in this series are Alice and Marisa as allies and Kaguya as Doctor Wily... Not that that stops Kaguya from being playable in this game, hilariously enough! Yes, when you clear the game, you unlock Kaguya as a playable character, despite her being the main villain of all three Rock Maiden games. Sadly I don't know what her version of the final level is... yet!
The powers in the game vary quite a lot, as they do in the originals. Ones for Youmu, for example, include a straight beam with some small side shots, or five shots in a radius. Learning the different shot types really makes life a lot easier in the Kaguya stages, which feel like they're built around the concept of using all your powers as you go. Really, the Kaguya stages are among the most impressive part, considering the way they replicate even the Megaman Wily Stage intros and have Kaguya in the UFO. I know Megamari did it too, but I just prefer Rock Maiden's style? I dunno. It's one of those things.
Probably the biggest flaw in the Rock Maiden games is them being very, very big on "hey you can't see this coming until it's too late." Many times you'll run into an enemy along a floating platform that suddenly throws bullets at you, sending you into the abyss, or you'll climb up a ladder and get hit by bullets. I don't know if classic Mega Man does this since I've never played it, but I do think it results in a lot of trial and error gameplay. The stages are still solid, and once you learn them you can get through them reasonably well, but it makes it a lot harder than it needs to be.
Aesthetic style status: beats Megamari.
THE VERDICT
Overall, this is... a pretty good game! I don't have classic Megaman for reference, but I definitely enjoy it more than Megamari for some reason. It's just solidly put together, and it's fun to learn each stage as you go. The trial and error aspect does get annoying at times, but I kept coming back and clearing each stage, and eventually I made it through as Youmu! Still wanna play as Reimu or Kaguya sometime, especially Kaguya for the Play As Wily aspect. 4 Reimus out of 5.
