Touhou 14 ~ Double Dealing Character - Stage 6 Lunatic Perfect (MarisaB)

I remember after MoF stage 6 LNN saying I'd go for this then I sorta stopped after getting 2m with ReimuA. Back 3 and a half years later aaaaand.... this stage sucks.
Feels like the gimmick is trying to make you as uncomfortable as possible at all times. The routes on the stage portion are a bit tight and pretty awkward the whole way through and the boss also has this issue with almost every pattern being pretty uncomfortable micro, timing and routing challenges. I'd say the only patterns on the boss I actually like are Shining Needle Sword and the final, but they're just alright, nothing amazing.
First two patterns have disgusting variance. Opener I slept on for a while because usually it won't challenge you whatsoever but occasionally it decides to be dumb. The way it fires is awkward too, I don't really get how to read it sometimes. Thorny Path is also shit, either being a clean path with no awkward green bullets or one that moves away from the middle and likes to change directions multiple times. Feels like I could learn more there but idk it's tough.
2nd non exists, 2nd spell is just uncomfortable and that's it, 3rd non is shit, 4th non is okay but Shimmy can hug the wall sometimes which is very cool.
Messed up the penult route like I knew I would, but I like that the spell is pretty okay to just capture normally after that by misdirecting the bundle offscreen.
You Grow Bigger is a fucking abomination and my new least favourite pattern in the entire series. I knew its issues vaguely before but now that I've experienced it... yeah this pattern is something. If you don't already know, Sakuya and Marisa's hitboxes are scuffed on this pattern, extending slightly past the red part of the hitbox, so if a bullet so much as breathes next to it, you just die. What's worse is it has slight rng as well, where the kunai paths might tilt slightly left or right, making the final dodge at the end either a breeze or completely stupid. Can't think of a pattern that makes me more stressed.
The stage does have some good ideas and I think my opinion lightened on a few of the patterns, but honestly this was pretty disappointing. I like the rest of the game though, strangely.
Not necessarily the hardest stage so far; I can see others having an easier time than I did, especially if these kinds of patterns are your thing, but yeah I guess sometimes these challenges hit you where you're weakest. Learning experience for the future.

[@cyroke_stg]

gg

[@allenko1122]

Congrats! That final rng was a bit scary.

[@unovi8141]

Yeah there was one green I was really slow on reading, honestly surprised I caught it in time and didn't panic enough to mess up the movement. And thanks!