Touhou 18 Normal 1CC Sanae
I streamed this game on Day 1 with no knowledge, and, well, that stream didn't go well. But that's not a big surprise. First, I had no idea what the cards did, due to them not being translated yet, and they're a big part of this game; this game seems balanced around them (the same way LoLK is balanced around Pointdevice mode). Second, it takes time to learn any new shmup. I was worried I would have a lot of trouble clearing this game, but here we are.
The only game that took less time was LoLK on Pointdevice mode, which I cleared in about 4 hours of playing over the course of 2-3 days about two weeks ago. I get why people say the game is hard, but I'm much more acclimated to masocore games that present you with very difficult but short challenges than I am to games like Touhou that demand a consistent level of play with few mistakes for a long period of time. I liked LoLK a lot. There is no replay to upload, sadly, in Pointdevice mode. I do intend to take on the extra stage though.
I've never played as Sanae before but she seems good in this game.
Here's a breakdown of the cards I picked, and why:
Slot 1: Esteemed Authority (Toyosatomimi no Miko's card.) This is a very strong ability that erases a big majority of the bullets on the screen over the course of a few seconds, and has a pretty fast cooldown for how strong it is. It is NOT a panic button the way a bomb is; it must be used preemptively. Still, this card was a huge help.
Slot 2: Law of the Survival of the Fittest (Saki Kurokoma's card.) Makes your shot stronger, which is, uh, obviously very useful. Not much else to say.
Stage 1: Lucky Cat with Good Business Skills (Mike Goutokuji's card.) This gives you more cards to choose from between stages. I don't tend to take it if there's anything better available, but there wasn't.
Stage 2: Yamawaro Shopping Technique (Takane Yamashiro's card.) The description says you can buy cards for slightly cheaper, but the prices seem to be halved, which is a DRAMATIC reduction. Still, I don't like taking shop-related cards, and this is the SECOND one I ended up buying, so again, this was only taken for lack of anything better being available.
Stage 3: Sutra of Dharmatic Power (Byakuren Hijiri's card.) Makes bombs significantly stronger, and decreases the cooldown on active cards. Given how much I rely on bombs and Esteemed Authority, the value here is clear.
Stage 4: Death Avoidance Elixir (Eirin Yagokoro's card.) Yet again, not a great pick, but I didn't have any better choices. It is far better to use bombs than to rely on this card, especially when you have Sutra of Dharmatic Power. Bombing makes you invincible for a decent amount of time, wipes out most enemies and massively damages bosses, and only consumes one bomb; the Elixir consumes two bombs and only erases bullets in a medium-sized area around you. It sucks, but it's damage control for when I fail to bomb. Apart from how well this card pairs with the Gluttonous Centipede, I don't think this card is good. Just learn2bomb.
Stage 5: Phoenix Tail (Fujiwara no Mokou's card.) This was a no-brainer; I needed the lives. I'm very lucky this one was available, as it made my run.