Subterranean Animism

Gameplay

Subterranean Animism features two playable characters, each with three weapon types representing a youkai assisting them from above ground. Like Mountain of Faith, collecting power items adds up to four "option" satellites around the character (or eight for the Marisa/Alice combination), which behave differently according to the character and weapon type, and can be sacrificed for a bomb effect. However, unlike Mountain of Faith, each bomb has a different behaviour, and some cause special gameplay effects to occur.

The scoring system is once again based on "grazing", the act of positioning the player as close as possible to the bullets without being hit, coupled with collection of two types of items dropped by enemies. Overall, the system resembles some of the core elements of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil fused together with the Tension Bonus System from the Shikigami no Shiro series. As such, the player is urged to actively graze at every possible opportunity in order to increase the point item value and not let it drop. Grazing large amounts of bullets in little time, thus filling the "communication gauge" on the bottom left corner, is rewarded by the temporary effect of autocollecting all the freefalling items at their maximum value, letting the player concentrate entirely on the act of dodging bullets.

Plot

On one wintry day, a geyser erupted near the Hakurei Shrine. Delighted at the resulting hot spring, the shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei paid no heed to the earthly spirits that came along with the geyser. In the Scarlet Devil Mansion, however, the well-read librarian Patchouli Knowledge grew concerned at the situation and sought Yukari Yakumo for advice. Since there had been an agreement that the youkai of the worlds above and below the ground should not disturb each other, the youkai above ground sent the human Reimu Hakurei or her friend Marisa Kirisame to the subterranean world to investigate this breach, while the youkai stayed behind and communicated with the humans via magical artifacts.

Descending toward the lowest levels of what used to be Hell, the heroines discover the cause and purpose of the spirit geyser. Utsuho Reiuzi, a hell raven, received the power of nuclear fusion from a mysterious god of the mountain (assumed to be Kanako Yasaka) by consuming the Yatagarasu. Misunderstanding what the god told her, she plotted to fan the fiery flames of Hell and burn the world above into a furnace. Utsuho's feline friend, Orin, worried about Utsuho's sudden change of character, set off the geysers to alert the world above. In time, the nuclear threat is neutralized and the heroines turn their attention to the mysterious mastermind behind the incident.

In the Extra Mode, the heroines pay a visit to the Moriya Shrine atop the mountain, but the resident gods are not there. There is, however, a peculiar visitor to the shrine, Koishi Komeiji, who climbed all the way up to the shrine without being detected. They decide to have a spar. Afterwards, an inhabitant of the Moriya Shrine explains their motivation: the mountain god Kanako Yasaka wanted to introduce a new form of energy to vitalize the mountain, dubbing the plan the "Mountain Industrial Revolution Project". Seeing that the gods meant no harm, the heroines disengage and go back to their daily lives.

Characters

Playable characters: The two human characters can each choose one partner from three yōkai associates remotely assisting from above ground.

Enemy characters:

Background characters: