{"id":127441,"date":"2025-08-09T12:02:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T12:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/?p=127441"},"modified":"2025-08-09T12:02:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T12:02:46","slug":"why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Gaming&#8217;s Most Influential Series Is a Game You&#8217;ve Never Heard Of"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >\u062c\u062f\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u062d\u062a\u0648\u064a\u0627\u062a<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/#What_Is_Touhou\" title=\"What Is Touhou?\">What Is Touhou?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/#Touhou_Was_the_Original_Face_of_Indie_Games\" title=\"Touhou Was the Original Face of Indie Games\">Touhou Was the Original Face of Indie Games<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/#Touhou%E2%80%98s_Journey_from_Indie_Fame_to_Internet_Icon\" title=\"Touhou&#8216;s Journey from Indie Fame to Internet Icon\">Touhou&#8216;s Journey from Indie Fame to Internet Icon<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/#Touhous_Influence_Extends_Beyond_Its_Fanbase\" title=\"Touhou&#8217;s Influence Extends Beyond Its Fanbase\">Touhou&#8217;s Influence Extends Beyond Its Fanbase<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/#Touhou_Is_a_Testament_to_Indie_Greatness\" title=\"Touhou Is a Testament to Indie Greatness\">Touhou Is a Testament to Indie Greatness<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>You&#8217;ve probably never heard of the <em>Touhou Project<\/em> series. Even if you have, there&#8217;s a good chance you haven&#8217;t played any of the games. Although the series has always been stuck in the confines of its cult classic status, <em>Touhou<\/em> has played a monumental role in shaping the modern gaming landscape, and many of your favorite games wouldn&#8217;t exist without it.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-touhou\">\n                        What Is <em>Touhou<\/em>?<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :67.567567567568%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.steampowered.com\\\/app\\\/3671710\\\/Touhou_Kinjoukyou__Fossilized_Wonders\\\/\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Team Shanghai Alice&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"811\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The main menu for Touhou Kinjoukyou \uff5e Fossilized Wonders.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C811&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3671710\/Touhou_Kinjoukyou__Fossilized_Wonders\/\">Team Shanghai Alice<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <em>Touhou Project<\/em>\u2014better known as just &#8220;<em>Touhou<\/em>&#8220;\u2014is an indie bullet hell series created by solo-developer Jun&#8217;ya \u014cta (known to fans as &#8220;ZUN&#8221;). The series originally debuted in 1997 on PC-98 systems with <em>Touhou Reiiden ~ The Highly Responsive to Prayers<\/em>, a mostly bog-standard <em>Breakout<\/em> clone with a few creative gameplay twists inspired by retro shoot &#8217;em ups. It wasn&#8217;t until the second game\u2014<em>Touhou Fuumaroku<\/em> <em>~ the Story of Eastern Wonderland<\/em>\u2014that the series&#8217; identity truly began to take shape.<\/p>\n<p>Beginning with <em>the Story of Eastern Wonderland<\/em>, most <em>Touhou <\/em>games have been frantically fast-paced and immensely difficult bullet hell shooters. Each entry has you flying through a series of challenging stages, shooting down waves of airborne enemies and narrowly avoiding bullets until you reach a boss fight at the end of each level.<\/p>\n<p>While you&#8217;re dodging bullets, you&#8217;ll also strengthen your own magical projectiles by gathering power-ups from defeated enemies. Fully-upgrading your firepower can turn some stages into a breeze, but it&#8217;s never enough to make any of <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s boss battles feel like pushovers. Every boss attacks with uniquely tricky bullet patterns that will test your reflexes and memorization. At various points during their fights, boss characters can also activate &#8220;spell cards,&#8221; special attacks that flood the screen with a continuous stream of bullets.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, you can also strike back with your own spell cards to obliterate a large chunk of their health bars. Later <em>Touhou <\/em>games introduced the &#8220;graze&#8221; mechanic, which allows you to raise your score by narrowly avoiding\u2014or &#8220;grazing&#8221;\u2014enemy projectiles. Some of the sequels have shaken up this formula with the additions of new playable characters and creative gimmicks, but you can always expect to find the same style of bullet hell goodness in each entry.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :75%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_438_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.steampowered.com\\\/app\\\/745880\\\/Touhou_Tenkuushou__Hidden_Star_in_Four_Seasons\\\/\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Team Shanghai Alice&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gameplay in Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_438_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_438_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/745880\/Touhou_Tenkuushou__Hidden_Star_in_Four_Seasons\/\">Team Shanghai Alice<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Unlike many earlier bullet hell games, <em>Touhou <\/em>places its world and characters at the forefront of each game. Every <em>Touhou <\/em>story takes place in the mystical land of Gensokyo, where humans and mythological creatures known as &#8220;youkai&#8221; live together in harmony&#8230; at least, for the most part. While the series features multiple protagonists, most <em>Touhou <\/em>games follow a powerful human shrine maiden named Reimu Hakurei, who frequently finds herself being dragged into various incidents to stop the youkai from stirring up trouble.<\/p>\n<p><em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s stories rarely take themselves seriously and often fit into a very formulaic structure: Reimu faces off against a roster of new characters and familiar faces in a series of bullet hell battles, occasionally drops blatant death threats (especially in the early entries; PC-98 Reimu was oddly bloodthirsty), and beats some sense into the big-bad at the very end.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their simplicity, the series&#8217; eccentric cast of characters and endlessly imaginative conflicts are always a joy to experience. Whether you&#8217;re following Reimu (or one of the other playable protags) as she stops a family of vampires from trapping Gensokyo in an endless night, investigates the sudden appearance of a mysterious UFO, or interferes in a war between an army of fairies and a secret society living on the moon, it&#8217;s surprisingly easy to get invested in the lighthearted adventures of <em>Touhou<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, the <em>Touhou<\/em> franchise has expanded into fighting games, rhythm games, and even a few photography-themed spinoffs. There&#8217;s a lot more to <em>Touhou<\/em> beyond the original bullet hell shooters, but its influence on gaming as a whole begins with the franchise&#8217;s earliest entries.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"touhou-was-the-original-face-of-indie-games\">\n                        <em>Touhou <\/em>Was the Original Face of Indie Games<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :62.034739454094%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_38_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"744\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The main menu screen for Touhou Fuumaroku ~ The Story of Eastern Wonderland.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_38_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_38_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C744&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The late 90s and early 2000s marked a rough time for indie studios and solo developers. In contrast to the 80s and early 90s\u2014which saw many small studios build themselves up through shareware and moderate successes\u2014the rise of game consoles and rapid commercialization of the gaming industry allowed AAA releases to easily eclipse lower-budget titles.<\/p>\n<p>During this time, indie game development began to seem less viable as a career. At best, self-published games were a potential gateway to being hired at a larger studio, but many solo devs pursued indie game development as a hobby, first and foremost. This was also the case for ZUN, who developed <em>Highly Responsive to Prayers <\/em>as a way to practice his programming and music composition skills while attending college. The series&#8217; PC-98 titles were only sold at Comiket Market\u2014a Tokyo-based convention where independent creators can sell self-published works\u2014with the first two games selling less than 100 copies, combined.<\/p>\n<p>However, <em>Touhou <\/em>quickly attracted a small fanbase with each new installment. Over the course of the series&#8217; PC-98 games, all five of which were released between 1997 and &#8217;98, the series&#8217; climbed from tens to hundreds of copies being sold per game. After a brief hiatus, during which ZUN graduated from college and began working at Taito, he returned to the series in 2002 with <em>Touhou Koumakyou ~ The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Besides being the first game released for Windows, the sixth game is also where ZUN refined <em>Touhou<\/em> into a masterclass in bullet hell design. Many fan-favorite levels, characters, songs, and game mechanics were introduced in <em>The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil<\/em>. The game went on to sell thousands of copies and helped cement the <em>Touhou <\/em>series as a true cult classic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :75%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_479_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A boss fight against Cirno in Touhou  Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_479_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_479_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <em>Touhou <\/em>certainly wasn&#8217;t the first indie game to see this type of success, though most of those other successes\u2014at least in Japan\u2014were dating sims or other types of visual novels. <em>Touhou <\/em>was an obvious outlier, which made it all the more surprising when it single-handedly revitalized the bullet hell genre, inspiring many games that modeled themselves after the series&#8217; unique mechanics and cutesy anime aesthetic.<\/p>\n<p>In many ways, <em>Touhou <\/em>was the underdog story that indie developers needed during the early 2000s. While it was far from a mainstream hit, the <em>Touhou <\/em>series proved to be much more successful than anyone would have expected from a solo-developed bullet hell shooter. A few years after <em>The Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil<\/em>, we started to see more games created by small teams and solo developers, such as <em>Cave Story <\/em>in 2004, <em>Darwinia <\/em>in 2005, and <em>Dwarf Fortress <\/em>in 2006. Between these releases, there were also hundreds of lesser-known indie games that never received the same level of attention as <em>Touhou<\/em>, but still showed that the series had inspired independent creators to break out of their shells.<\/p>\n<p>To be fair, <em>Touhou <\/em>wasn&#8217;t the only thing that helped spark the indie game resurgence. Around the same time, Valve launched Steam\u2014everyone&#8217;s favorite PC storefront\u2014and Flash games had just begun to populate the web. However, <em>Touhou <\/em>was the first major indie release of the 2000s to prove that passionate creators were still capable of making a name for themselves without the help of a larger studio.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"touhou-39-s-journey-from-indie-fame-to-internet-icon\">\n                        <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s Journey from Indie Fame to Internet Icon<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :67.754077791719%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_588_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/watch?v=FtutLA63Cp8\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;kasidid2&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"813\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A still from &quot;Bad Apple,&quot; a popular fanmade Touhou music video\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_588_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_588_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C813&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FtutLA63Cp8\">kasidid2<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> It&#8217;s not hard to understand why the <em>Touhou <\/em>series attracted a cult following in Japan, but the series&#8217; evolution into a global success is a lot more bizarre. None of the <em>Touhou <\/em>games were ever officially released outside of Japan, and most fans of the series have never even tried its games. That may sound confusing at first, but <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s popularity begins to make more sense when you consider the era of its release.<\/p>\n<p><em>Touhou <\/em>owes much of its success to the rise of internet fandoms. Ever since <em>The<\/em> <em>Embodiment of Scarlet Devil<\/em>, the <em>Touhou <\/em>series has been a magnet for fan art, song covers, online videos, and just about every other type of fanwork imaginable. As <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s online influence became more widespread, people unfamiliar with the series were drawn into the <em>Touhou<\/em> fandom thanks to the series&#8217; iconic characters and amazing soundtracks.<\/p>\n<p>It didn&#8217;t matter if they even knew about the original games; many early internet denizens were exposed to the series through its inescapable presence on forums and video-sharing sites like YouTube or Nico Nico Douga. In those days, it wasn&#8217;t rare for videos or songs you found online to somehow be connected to the <em>Touhou <\/em>fanbase. Personally, a video of someone playing &#8220;Night of Nights&#8221; (a boss theme from <em>Embodiment of Scarlet Devil<\/em>) on their phone&#8217;s keypad ended up being my gateway into bullet hell.<\/p>\n<p><em>Touhou <\/em>is one of the rare cases of a series&#8217; fanbase eclipsing the official releases. There are countless unofficial games, comics, anime adaptations, merchandise, and fan conventions dedicated to the <em>Touhou <\/em>series. Unless you are already familiar with the mainline series, you probably wouldn&#8217;t even realize that nearly all the most popular works associated with <em>Touhou <\/em>are entirely fanmade. Even <em>Touhou<\/em> games that received international console ports and videos with millions of views are usually made by fans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :56.25%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_841_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.steampowered.com\\\/app\\\/1229880\\\/Koumajou_Remilia_Scarlet_Symphony\\\/\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Frontier Aja&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Reimu fighting Patchouli in the fanmade Touhou game, Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_841_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740961_841_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1229880\/Koumajou_Remilia_Scarlet_Symphony\/\">Frontier Aja<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> While it often overshadows ZUN&#8217;s work, <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s fanbase is the series&#8217; greatest strength. It has brought more people into the series than the original games could have ever reached on their own, and allowed <em>Touhou <\/em>to explore all sorts of genres and different mediums. That&#8217;s not to disregard the official games\u2014they&#8217;re still going strong with <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3671710\/Touhou_Kinjoukyou__Fossilized_Wonders\/\">the 20th mainline entry<\/a> arriving later this month\u2014but much of <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s current identity and cultural relevance stems from its community. Today, <em>Touhou <\/em>embodies far more than a niche series of bullet hell games, and that wouldn&#8217;t have ever happened without its devout fanbase.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"touhou-39-s-influence-extends-beyond-its-fanbase\">\n                        Touhou&#8217;s Influence Extends Beyond Its Fanbase<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :56.25%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_200_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.steampowered.com\\\/app\\\/1989990\\\/Touhou_Crisis\\\/\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Brogrammist&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A boss fight against Sakuya in the fanmade Touhou Crisis.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_200_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_200_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1989990\/Touhou_Crisis\/\">Brogrammist<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> In the same way that <em>Touhou <\/em>once represented what indie games <em>could <\/em>be, it&#8217;s also become a shining example of what more game series <em>should <\/em>be. Part of the reason <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s fan community blossomed the way it did was largely due to its creator&#8217;s willingness to support fan projects. Unlike many modern game companies\u2014especially those whose names start with &#8220;Nin&#8221; and end with &#8220;Tendo&#8221;\u2014ZUN has always embraced the <em>Touhou<\/em> fanbase&#8217;s creativity, even allowing indie creators to monetize their fanmade projects based on the series.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, fans have been able to reimagine <em>Touhou <\/em>in other genres and concepts that the official releases probably never would. It&#8217;s also allowed other creators to turn their love for the series into original works unashamedly inspired by <em>Touhou<\/em>, including the massively popular <em>Undertale <\/em>and <em>Deltarune<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :74.976569821931%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_853_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.steampowered.com\\\/app\\\/391540\\\/Undertale\\\/\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Toby Fox&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1067\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bullet hell combat in Undertale.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_853_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_853_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1067%2C800&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/391540\/Undertale\/\">Toby Fox<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Today, many gaming companies are more protective of their IPs than ever before, even when it&#8217;s detrimental to the rest of the gaming industry. While it makes sense for them not to encourage cheap knock-offs or blatant bootlegs, it&#8217;s obvious that companies aren&#8217;t solely interested in protecting their reputation when they start attacking fan remakes like <em>AM2R<\/em>, competitors like <em>Palworld<\/em>, or entire fangame archives on websites like Gamejolt.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <em>Touhou<\/em>&#8216;s fangames include everything from kart racers, Metroidvanias, strategy games, dungeon crawlers, and light gun shooters, among many other genres. Many of these unofficial games have introduced new fans to the series, and it&#8217;s likely that <em>Touhou <\/em>would never have exploded in popularity if ZUN had adopted the same hostility towards his fanbase as Nintendo seemingly holds for its own. Fortunately, not everyone in the industry is as stubborn as Nintendo, and studios such as Bethesda and Valve have (mostly) supported mods and fangames such as <em><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/skyblivion.com\/\">Skyblivion<\/a> <\/em>and <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/362890\/Black_Mesa\/\"><em>Black Mesa<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"touhou-is-a-testament-to-indie-greatness\">\n                        <em>Touhou <\/em>Is a Testament to Indie Greatness<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" :56.25%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_744_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&lt;a href=\\&quot;https:\\\/\\\/store.playstation.com\\\/en-us\\\/product\\\/JP5905-CUSA49938_00-APP0000000000001\\&quot; rel=\\&quot;noopener noreferrer nofollow\\&quot; target=\\&quot;_blank\\&quot;&gt;Phoenixx Inc.&lt;\\\/a&gt;&quot;\">\n<figure>\n        <picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px)\" data- \/><source media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" data- \/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The main characters of Touhou Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT-.\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_744_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_744_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/picture><figcaption class=\"body-img-caption\"><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.playstation.com\/en-us\/product\/JP5905-CUSA49938_00-APP0000000000001\">Phoenixx Inc.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> Today, indie games are thriving like never before thanks to all the amazing releases that have replaced <em>Touhou <\/em>as the face of indie gaming. Likewise, fan games and heartfelt homages to specific series are still common, despite Nintendo and other companies&#8217; recent attempts to change that. But even after all these years, <em>Touhou <\/em>remains one of gaming&#8217;s most important series, even if it doesn&#8217;t always get the recognition it deserves.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, the<em> Touhou<\/em> series has become more accessible in recent years. The latest entries are all available on Steam, and most of the older games have received fan translations. Even if you&#8217;re not a hardcore bullet-hell fan, it&#8217;s worth trying out <em>Touhou <\/em>just to experience one of the most underrated series in gaming history.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;ve probably never heard of the Touhou Project series. Even if you have, there&#8217;s a good chance you haven&#8217;t played any of the games. Although the series has always been stuck in the confines of its cult classic status, Touhou has played a monumental role in shaping the modern gaming landscape, and many of your &#8230; <a title=\"Why Gaming&#8217;s Most Influential Series Is a Game You&#8217;ve Never Heard Of\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/why-gamings-most-influential-series-is-a-game-youve-never-heard-of\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Why Gaming&#8217;s Most Influential Series Is a Game You&#8217;ve Never Heard Of\">\u0625\u0642\u0631\u0623 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0632\u064a\u062f<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-games"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1754740962_Why-Gamings-Most-Influential-Series-Is-a-Game-Youve-Never.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}