Phantasmagoria of Flower View is a versus type shooter with Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya as initially playable characters, but the list adds on as the player progresses in the storyline. Playing as one of sixteen characters, you must battle your way through nine difficult encounters to uncover the truth behind an unnatural spring season.

The game most resembles Twinkle Star Sprites, where two equally matched characters fight head to head within individual and separate play areas. Upon meeting certain conditions, players are able to unleash a variety of character-specific Spell Attacks upon their opponents in an attempt to whittle down their remaining health points, in a manner not unlike a versus puzzle game such as Puyo Puyo.

ZUN's offering also features a Match Play Mode in which the player may face off against individual AI opponents or compete against other human players, as well as observe AI versus AI matches. With the netplay patch, multiplayer is also possible through LAN or over the Internet, although it has proven to be unstable, at best.

Name: Phantasmagoria of Flower View
Developer: Team Shanghai Alice
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 30MB

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Perfect Cherry Blossom features three different playable characters to choose from, with two different Spell Card types each. Reimu Hakurei can weave through the smallest gaps with ease, and her attacks deal low to decent damage, depending on which type you use. Marisa Kirisame relies on her speed and power to compensate for her thin attack area, but the amount of power she wields is very considerable. Sakuya Izayoi has even wider and more versatile attacks than Reimu, but can be quite tricky to use and maneuver.

Almost every part of the game is linked with the 'Cherry Meter'. Shooting enemies increases your Cherry points, bombing or dying decreases your Cherry points, and reaching 50,000 Cherry points gives you a temporary shield. The higher the Cherry Gauge becomes, the more points you gain from Point Items.

Press the shift key to slow down the player's movement, makes the collision box visible and changing the properties of your attacks. When fighting a boss, a position marker shows up on the bottom margin of the screen, indicating where the boss is on the horizontal axis. Since your target can be completely obscured by bullets or darkness at times, use this marker to help you aim your shots. The marker will dim when the boss is being hit, and will flash red when her health bar gets sufficiently depleted.

Name: Perfect Cherry Blossom
Developer: Team Shanghai Alice
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 10MB

Labels: shanghaialice

Shoot the Bullet is another excellent production by ZUN, described as a photography game rather than a classic shooter that the prolific developer is famous for.

There are only boss battles, but you can choose to play the stages in any order. The only way you can hurt your adversary is by taking their pictures. The number of photos required to defeat a boss is indicated at the top right of the screen, and battles get progressively harder after each picture is taken.

Pressing the X key slows down your character's movement. The Z key is assigned for snapshots, but requires a recharge after each use. Holding down the same button allows the player to move the camera crosshair around as well.

Extremely difficult, but surprisingly fun. Click here for more gameplay information. No demo available yet, but there's a list of games developed by him on this page which includes trial version downloads.

Name: Shoot the Bullet
Developer: Team Shanghai Alice
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 150MB

Labels: shanghaialice

Immaterial and Missing Power is the collaborative result of two acclaimed Japanese developers, ZUN and Tasogare Frontier. Even for a trial, there's a lot of replayability as four characters are made available for just about all gameplay modes.

To switch to full screen or change key assignments, you need to modify the config.exe file properties by right clicking on it. Select compatibility tab, check the first box and choose Windows 2000. The first check box in the configuration menu modifies your window setting.

You earn spellcards by inflicting damage to your opponent. Once the spellcard counter increases, the spell declaration mode can be initiated by pressing down twice and then the D button. To cast a spell, do a circular motion from down to front using the directional keys and tap the D button.

Most characters can launch projectiles by holding front and pressing one of the buttons. Moves are also conveniently listed in the character selection and pause menu as well.

Click on the small image to access the download page. Gameplay information can be found here.

Name: Immaterial and Missing Power
Developer: Team Shanghai Alice
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 110MB

Labels: shanghaialice

Imperishable Night is a vertically-scrolling shooter by ZUN which features a total of eight playable characters in pre-set pairs. The pairs work in tandem: one person fires when unfocused, while the other pops in and fires when focused, with a reduction in movement speed. The two attacks can be drastically different.

Pressing the shift key slows down the player's movement, makes the collision box visible and focuses the player's attack to make it more powerful by switching your character with her Phantom teammate. This function is essential for navigating through complex bullet patterns and defeating bosses more quickly.

There are 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Lunatic. Each difficulty level features differences in the number of bullets fired by each enemy, rate of fire, variations in the bullets' pattern of movement, and the number and type of enemy Spell Cards used.

In this system, the game starts at 11:00 pm, and 1:00 is added after each stage. If enough time orbs are collected in the stage, 0:30 is added for that stage instead. 0:30 is also added in the case the player decides to continue. If the time reaches 5:00 am before the end of the last stage, the player receives a Game Over.

Boss have multiple lives, represented by multiple health bars shown at the upper left of the screen. Bosses usually alternate between attacking normally and attacking with Spell Cards, switching once with each health bar. Colored sections on the health bar indicate the start of a Spell Card attack when the boss' health is depleted that far.

Each attack is accompanied by a timer. When time runs out, the boss will switch to their next attack pattern even if their health bar isn't empty. Waiting for a boss character's attack pattern to self-destruct may be enough to beat them, but mere survival won't earn the player any score bonuses. Some bosses that are invulnerable, hence you will be awarded a score bonus if you survive the countdown to zero.

When fighting a boss, a position marker shows up on the bottom margin of the screen, indicating where the boss is on the horizontal axis. Since your target can be completely obscured by bullets or darkness at times, use this marker to help you aim your shots. The marker will dim when the boss is being hit, and will flash red when her health bar gets sufficiently depleted.

Name: Imperishable Night
Developer: Team Shanghai Alice
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB

Labels: shanghaialice