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💥

A fun, vaguely nostalgic game. The fact that it was made in Game Maker 4.0 is super cool — I know it's not something I'm supposed to care about from the perspective of a player, but there are a lot of things I adore in video games that I'm technically not supposed to care about. I struggled to actually serve the ball a lot of the time, both on Windows 95 and on Linux under WINE, but that may have been a skill issue (I wouldn't know if 0.1a fixed anything in this regard). Still, I enjoyed it~

>rate game
That's not a verb I recognise.
>freeze game
You can't see any such thing.
>freeze interpreter
You can't see any such thing.
>fuck
That's not a verb I recognise.

Unfortunately, I can't `push frog`. Due to this grievous inaccuracy to the source material, I can only give this game a 4/5.

All I had to do was run was `chmod -x ./Celeste64`. After that, you can either double click `Celeste64` in a file manager (if supported) or type `./Celeste64` in a terminal to start the game.

Installing the game systemwide might take more effort, since it seems like this was made to be a portable installation. Possible steps include:

• Patching the source code to read resources from `/usr/local/share/celeste64/` instead of `./Content` and rebuilding the game
• Moving the contents of `Content` to `/usr/local/share/celeste64/`
• Moving the game executable to `/usr/local/bin/`
• Ensuring all libraries are installed correctly (especially `libFosterPlatform.so`)
• Writing a .desktop file

Super fun and vaguely nostalgic~ The game occasionally interpreted my circles as triangles, but that's probably a problem on my end ^^;

Cute little game! The controls were solid, albeit a bit slippery (though that may've been because my PC was having performance issues?), and the main mechanic was cool, if a bit macabre. There aren't many levels (unsurprising, given the quick turnaround time), but what is there is fun, and I'd love to see this idea expanded upon in the future.

Unfortunately, it'll be a while yet, largely thanks to my poor time management skills. I'm still working on a game I hoped to enter into this year's Touhou Pride Game Jam, but after that I'll get right back to work on this game. I don't have an ETA for either, unfortunately.

I should probably put up a progress report, though... it's been over half a year ^^;

Thank you so much!!

I recently invited a friend to play this touching grass quest. I know I already posted a review during the jam rating period, but a few things stood out to me on the second go around:

• Three months out, I still think the writing is nothing short of stellar. It's hard to believe this game was written in a month, let alone two weeks. Furthermore, now that I've been freed from the chains of bias against the ship in the Latter Part, I honestly can't say that it's the weakest part in the game for me. I don't think I can say that about any part.
• I don't know if this was intentional, but the story was extremely accessible. I've introduced my friend to bits and pieces of Touhou's lore before, but as far as I'm aware, this is the first substantial bit of Touhou content she's ever seen. While there are a few in-jokes throughout the story ("podding" comes to mind), most of the characters' backstories and personalities are explored so thoroughly that she was able to understand (and thoroughly enjoy) everything that was going on. I never would've expected to be able to talk to her about Touhou in depth before introducing her to this game, but now we're discussing Kaguya and Mokou's dynamic and backstories as if she was a longtime fan. I can't even begin to explain how incredible this is to me.
• And talk we did; this game, especially the epilogue, led to literal hours of discussion about its characters, dynamics, and themes. I think with her help, I was finally able to understand (at least one interpretation of) the epilogue. ROT13:

Xbgbuvzr unq chg gur fcbgyvtug ba ure sevraqf, gelvat gb yvir ivpnevbhfyl guebhtu gurz, nyy gur juvyr fvqryvavat urefrys. Vg rira trgf gb gur cbvag jurer gur tnzr pbzcyrgryl qrgnpurf sebz ure va snibhe bs Xnthln ng gur raq bs gur Ynggre Cneg. Jvgu n yvsr fb shyy bs sevraqf, vg frrzrq yvxr fur zhfg'ir unq dhvgr n shysvyyvat yvsr. Va ernyvgl, gubhtu, ure yvsr jnf pbyq, qnex, naq rira fgntanag. Juvyr fur fhccbegrq zbfg bs ure sevraqf, fur jnf artyrpgvat creuncf ure zbfg vzcbegnag pbzcnavba: urefrys. Ure bja yvsr jnf snyyvat qbja nebhaq ure, ohg fur qvqa'g pner. Fur pbhyq znxr qb vs vg zrnag orvat noyr gb znxr ure sevraqf unccl.

Va gur raq, nsgre Zbxbh ivfvgrq ure va gur Sver Ebbz, fur svanyyl ernyvmrq gung fur pbhyqa'g nssbeq gb yrg guvatf pbagvahr nf gurl unq. Fur qrpvqrq gb ohea ure enzfunpxyr, fgntanag yvsr gb gur tebhaq fb fur pbhyq svanyyl fgneg zbivat sbejneq naq fgneg svthevat bhg jung vg jbhyq zrna gb yvir yvsr nf Xbgbuvzr. Abg nf "Xnan'f ebbzzngr" be "Xnthln'f jvatjbzna" be rira "guvf fgenatr guvat V pnyy n cevaprff", ohg nf urefrys.

Vs guvf vf n inyvq vagrecergngvba naq abg whfg zr orvat fvyyl, gura V'q yvxr gb oevat hc bar zbzrag va cnegvphyne. Glcvpnyyl, va gurfr fbegf bs fvghngvbaf va svpgvba, punenpgref hfhnyyl yrnir gurve byq yvirf oruvaq jvgu naljurer sebz dhvrg erfbyir gb bhgevtug oenirel. Ubjrire, nf Xbgbuvzr ohearq ure byq yvsr gb gur tebhaq, fur zragvbarq gung fur pbhyqa'g fgbc pelvat. Guvf, V guvax, vf jung frcnengrf Gur Yvggyr Enoovg Cevaprff naq gur Ubhfr bs Rgreavgl sebz bgure fgbevrf. Zbivat ba sebz jung lbh'er hfrq gb, jung lbh'ir tebja pbzcynprag jvgu, vf qvssvphyg. Irel srj pna unaqyr n fvghngvba yvxr Xbgbuvzr jnf tenccyvat jvgu oeniryl. Va gung zbzrag, rira gubhtu fur unq nyernql qrpvqrq gb zbir ba, rira gubhtu fur nyernql unq gur erfbyir gb trg gb xabj urefrys orggre, fur jnf qrnguyl nsenvq. Va n jbeyq svyyrq gb gur oevz jvgu frrzvatyl vafvaprer nqivpr ba frys-ybir, vg'f nyzbfg zvaq-oybjvat gb frr fhpu n enj, haebznagvpvmrq erfcbafr (cha unys vagraqrq) gb fgnegvat ba gur wbhearl gb frys-npprcgnapr. Vg'f whfg bar yvar, ohg gurer'f fb zhpu zrnavat gb vg guebhtu guvf yraf gung vg anghenyyl fgnaqf bhg.

To close this off, I know this might seem a bit odd (and perhaps a bit corny), but I can't thank you enough for making this game. Both times I've played this game have resulted in critical personal revelations, especially after my friend and I discussed it in depth. I think I can honestly say that playing this game has changed my life for the better, which is nothing short of miraculous.

I often find myself unintentionally combining the challenge of playing STGs with the fun of not thinking and the thrill of not looking where I'm going, so it's nice to see a game where that's the canonical way to play!

This is perhaps one of the best quests for a cookie I've half-seen yet! The music was beautiful, and the storyline was as intriguing as ever. I mean, I wouldn't call it an eye-opening experience, per se, bu[collapses on the floor, dead, covered in stab wounds from a half-forgotten source]

the best part of Suika's Massive Meal was when she said "IT'S EATIN' TIME" and got her ass beat by Yuyuko because I suck at video games

This game is incredibly charming all-around! The artstyle, music, and gameplay are all superb. The only real issue I noticed was that the game couldn't be maximized, which led to me clicking outside the window and defocusing the game in my haste to digest food. Other than that, this is a pretty solid entry!

It seems like Cunningham's Law applies to game jams too: the best way to get people to play your jam entry is to make a game with an objectively incorrect title. As one of the few people whose favourite Prismriver is Merlin, the moment I saw this game's title, I was honourbound to figure out why someone would post such libel. To my surprise, I was met with a charming little game starring everybody's favourite poltergeist trumpeter, thus revealing this game's true nature: a deceptive ploy to convert everyone to the Merlin fanbase.

Jokes aside, even as a basic prototype, this is pretty nice! The artstyle is absolutely adorable, and the 2.5D aesthetic vaguely reminds me of the first Paper Mario game. The mechanics don't seem to be fully implemented, unfortunately; I couldn't possess anyone, but I could pick up and toss the person in front of the shrine. I was able to steal the Yin-Yang Orb, but placing it in the "IN" bag locked Merlin in the holding state, preventing her from taking anything else. However, what does work shows promise, especially given the short turnaround time, and I'd love if this concept was elaborated on further!

Overall, while the current build is indeed pretty simple, it definitely has the potential to be incredible if it were fleshed out into a full game.

Thanks! I think that line may have been the one I struggled with the most, so it's nice to see that people liked it!

Thanks for playing! I think the reasons behind the dialogue density are twofold. First, since I didn't trust myself to be able to do anything too big in the first place, I only scoped for one stage with a fairly decent amount of dialogue. Typically, I'd try to spread the dialogue out a bit more, maybe even across stages. However, considering the fact that I didn't have much time and still managed to have to squeeze a lot into post-jam updates, the only thing I could've done here is cut down on some of the dialogue (or just scrap the danmaku half of the game entirely, but I wanted to have some sort of substance for those who don't really care for the story).

This leads to the second reason: unfortunately, because of Junko's semi-archaic, overdramatic way of speaking, her dialogue is almost damned to be too complicated. This makes for a wonderful foil to Hecatia's more casual diction, but can be rather painful to squeeze into such a short game. It might've been better if I had Hecatia talk more often thank Junko, though their personalities seem to lend themselves better to the arrangement seen in-game. Fortunately, I can probably fix this easily for future games by using characters that are a little less talkative.

I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. The writing in this touching grass quest was simply outstanding. To wit, the latter part was the weakest part of the game for me (I'm allergic to TeruMoko), and it still made me smile, laugh, and even tear up.

The epilogue nearly floored me. Almost every line hit hom— erm, hard. Spoilers, ROT13: Nsgre frrvat Xbgbuvzr'f ivfvba rathysrq va synzr, erzvavfpvat gung fur'q ab ybatre unir ure pbyyrpgvba, V jnf n ovg pbashfrq jura ure sevraqf jrer rkcybevat ure hafpngurq ubhfr. Vg gbbx zr n zvahgr orsber V ernyvmrq... Wrfhf Puevfg, qvq Xbgbuvzr whfg frg urefrys ba sver!? V qrsvavgryl jnfa'g rkcrpgvat gb frr n znva punenpgre qvr va n wnz tnzr (bhgfvqr bs zl bja artyvtrapr), rfcrpvnyyl abg ivn fhvpvqr. V pbhyq or pbzcyrgryl jebat, ohg...

The only possible flaw that I noticed was that Kotohime seems to go out of the way to avoid sharing her name (the game's title uses a direct translation of her name, as do many of the characters, her dialogue boxes are labelled "me", and she leaves to go not use the bathroom when Mokou asks her for it), but she was fine with plastering it all over her newfangled "video game" thing. Is the implication that "Kotohime" is just a title, and that she has no real name?

Thank you for playing! The reason v0.1.0 is inaccessible is because it's absolute garbage (and probably crashes on Windows anyway). The stage on v0.2.0 and below was actually recycled from a previous fangame, which had a much smaller playfield, so it's not entirely surprising that the patterns are too easy. This also means it wasn't designed to fit around the dialogue, so the pacing is completely off the walls. v0.3.0 replaced the stage with an original one. While it's still fairly easy, it should at least feel more like a ~stage 2 rather than a tutorial level and should have slightly better pacing.

The hitbox display and boss tracker are just things I haven't gotten enough time to implement yet. Shot types are far from final; both Hecatia and Junko currently have the same shot type, but they should have a narrow and broad shot, respectively. This should add at least a little more depth to the switching mechanic, though it's still crying out for a more involved gimmick. I'll try to find one for the full version.

I'm glad you liked the soundtrack! As you might be able to tell, that was where all the (time) budget went ^^;. As for the name, it stems from a terrible pun. "Aro" is a common clipping of "aromantic", so the main characters of this game happens to be sagacious spirit, ducks, 'n aro. It also vaguely sounds like the idiom "[have one's] ducks in a row" (be well prepared/organized, which is quite ironic in hindsight).

This is a wonderful little game! I struggled a bit with Alice's second phase, but it was a pretty solid experience overall! The only possible issue I noticed was that you can come to a complete stop on the half-pipes, but that could easily be chalked up to Wriggle being an insect.

Thank you for playing! The PC-98 aesthetic unfortunately wasn't intentional; most of the playfield sprites were placeholders from a previous fangame. To wit, Meiling and Reimu are supposed to be Hecatia and Junko. Switching characters when bombing is part of a team mechanic ripped off borrowed-for-life from Len'en Reiretsuden ~ Reactivate Majestical Imperial. The character you choose (the active character) starts as the character you play as, while the other (the passive character) follows you below the playfield, scooping up items. You can swap between the two by bombing or dying. While point items collected by the passive character only give a minimal amount of points, power items collected by the passive character give double power. Unfortunately, there's nothing more to the system than that since I didn't have time to expand it. I probably should've put this in the readme in the first place ^^;

I have noticed that Marisa's patterns are a bit too easy (especially her spell cards), so I'll try to buff her a bit. I do agree that it seems weird for Marisa to confuse love-in-general and romance, as her infamous "love sign" series of spells would imply that she's an expert on the subject. I probably should've swapped Reimu and Marisa's roles, but at this point, it's probably too late to change it. That's what I get for writing the story at the last second ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Regardless, I'm glad it wasn't too ducked up!

Thank you so much!

Thank you! Both games use the same custom engine. The stage does change with respect to difficulty, but only because the stage design was recycled (planning to fix that today or tomorrow ^^;). I think Junko and Hecatia actually have the same shot type right now (both being Meiling's shot type from Devil's Emergence), which is also slated to change.

Neat little game with adorable graphics! Loved seeing Jade get more and more comfortable with himself as time progresses. The level design was a bit labyrinthine, which made navigation a bit stressful, but otherwise the game was fairly intuitive and played pretty well!

The most canon-accurate "Meiling sleeps on the job" joke since Hisoutensoku.

Beri cute game! The Chirny boss seems pretty unforgiving, but there seems to be a way to beat her easily (ROT13'd): Vs lbh xrrc znfuvat fcnpr, lbh pna fvzcyl syl hc gb gur grzcrengher qvny qhevat ure vagebqhpgbel phgfprar. V'z abg fher vs guvf vf n tyvgpu fvapr vg'f ernyyl ba oenaq sbe Xbvfuvr.

The artstyle is really cute, and the first level shows promise! Unfortunately, I seem to get stuck at the first cutscene (after finding the bed in the carrot-background world), even on the Windows build (I'm running Wine, which might affect things).

Edit: The Linux build has been fixed! The game's pretty fun all around; the main mechanic is fairly solid, and the level design is fairly forgiving. My only real gripe is that I wish it were longer, but such is the nature of jam games.

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I feel the "traps" tag should be removed. While likely intended to be used on games which feature tricky puzzle elements, such as Syobon Action, the word has long since (ca. 2015 or earlier) become a slur used against transgender women and crossdressers (implying that they're "trapping" men into having sex with someone who is supposedly also a man). Indeed, some games are using this tag for this exact purpose. This tag is detrimental to the itch.io community, as it may (read: will) cause transgender allies, both buyers and sellers, to leave the site.