Subterranean Animism

Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism (Japanese: 東方地霊殿 ～ Subterranean Animism; lit. "Eastern Palace of the Earth Spirits") is the eleventh main game of the Touhou Project bullet hell scrolling shooter video game series by Team Shanghai Alice. The game was released on August 16, 2008, during the 74th Comiket.

Gameplay

Subterranean Animism is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game in which the player has to navigate through a total of six stages, while killing enemies and dodging their projectiles. Each stage contains two bosses, with large amounts of health and complex attack patterns called spell cards, that the player must defeat before advancing. The player can also use their own spell cards, which clear the screen of bullets and give temporary invulnerability, using the same system from Mountain of Faith wherein usage of a spell card will consume some of the player's shot power, which is replenished by picking up power-ups from killed enemies. However, unlike Mountain of Faith, the player spell cards in Subterranean Animism offer different properties depending on the player character.

The player gains points by killing enemies, collecting point items, capturing spell cards, and, of particular importance in Subterranean Animism, grazing bullets. The player will receive one extra life upon collecting 5 Life Pieces, one of which drops after each spell card beaten without losing a life.

ZUN has said that he believes Subterranean Animism is one of the more difficult Touhou games, suggesting that the game's Hard Mode is comparable to Lunatic in other installments, and that not all players should expect to clear the game on the higher difficulties.