The Beginning of a Dark Age – And How We Can Resolve It

The release of Touhou Chouhatsuyou ~ Burgeoning Tresses of Longevity has marked the beginning of a dark age for us. Originally, the “Dark Age” was intended to refer to the Early Middle Ages of Western Europe where there was a time of economic challenges and fragmentation after the Roman Empire’s collapse. Nowadays, the term can be used to refer to any person or organization’s decline in whatever field and is essentially the opposite of a Golden Age. When they come out of a Dark Age and return to a Golden one, it is usually referred to as a “renaissance”.

In the past, Drillimation had produced many well-received titles, but Burgeoning Tresses of Longevity was unlike any other. When you take a hairstyle that was common in the past and a staple of Japanese popular culture and make it the central theme, you get this. This was the reason the game flopped critically. I’ve written many articles about this flop, and you can read them all right here:

The game came about after a failed venture with Atelier in Wonderland to adapt their album Touhou Tengyakushuu ~ Zenith of Antinomic Monarch. These plans came crashing down due to executive meddling. Drillimation wanted the album’s creator Melody Harmonia to direct but she would not direct games in any other genre besides visual novels. She also didn’t feel comfortable about the graphics choices that we made in the game’s prequel Touhou Meijinka ~ Song of Divine Tempest. That game used SNES-style graphics to be in line with the company’s low-cost model.

Because of this, and as of this day, no game adaptation of Zenith of Antinomic Monarch exists. She even put clauses stating you can’t adapt the album without her involvement. If you adapt the album without a contract, you will just get a nasty cease-and-desist letter in your mailbox since she is very aggressive in enforcing her copyrights. At least creating a standalone game inspired by the album would make you safe, and Burgeoning Tresses of Longevity was the result. It ended up becoming the final nail on the coffin, kickstarting the Dark Age of Drillimation.

There is a way to end the Dark Age. The only way to do so would be to accumulate greater reception by discovering new ideas and making sure they resonate well with the fans. Focusing on these opportunities can be a consistent way to trigger a renaissance. We could have that opportunity with Shining Shattering Sky ~ Reverie of Breaking Unreality or a future Touhou Project fangame that has a larger focus on story.

Daily writing prompt

Tell us about a time when you felt out of place.