Marisa of Liartop Mountain

Marisa of Liartop Mountain is a creative narrative RPG that takes inspiration from tabletop adventures and interactive gamebooks, transforming them into a digital experience centered around the beloved Touhou universe. Developed by UnknownX and Alliance Arts and published by Alliance Arts, the game follows Reimu Hakurei as she embarks on a strange and unpredictable journey to locate the missing Marisa Kirisame. Rather than presenting a straightforward quest, the game constructs an ever-changing adventure where choices, chance, and strategy work together to shape the story, creating an experience that feels both familiar and refreshingly different from conventional role-playing games. The most distinctive aspect of the game is its reliance on branching narratives driven by player decisions and dice rolls. Every encounter, event, and challenge carries a sense of uncertainty, encouraging players to think carefully about their actions. The story unfolds like a fantasy adventure book brought to life, with multiple routes and outcomes that reward exploration and experimentation. This design gives each playthrough a unique identity, as different decisions can reveal entirely new scenario…

This game is pretty great if you're looking for a tabletop game. All of the scenes are built out of miniature-like pieces and figures but they're animated well enough that it's not boring. There are also multiple layers of narration from the actual narrator/"Dungeon Master" to the Scarlet Devil Mansion crew who are the "players" so there's a lot of dialog to make things interesting. I did find the third chapter a little annoying due to all the instant failure states. You keep going through these loops and keep having to roll for the same encounters which means you keep having to use the same dice over and over and they only have a certain number of uses. In other chapters you can use less efficient dice and risk getting a worse outcome but in chapter 3 using less efficient dice just means instant failure and you have to start the loop over. I did make it through so it's not impossible or anything but it was a bit annoying. Aside from that, though, it's a very unique game and I had some fun with it. Check it out, if tabletop games interest you.

This game is really amazing. It's a crpg with CYOA elements with a really unique custom dice system ala more recent mario parties where you can game rolls to get outcomes you want. Really cool stuff. The Touhou characters are pitch perfect and really add life to the story and RPG systems. Reimu, Remila, and Flan especially are endlessly fun with their commentary on events. Well worth checking out for CRPG or Touhou fans or anyone interested in checking out either at a beginner level

very amusing needs more sequel or story dlc(s), Can be improved into co-op game for the future

Touhou Tabletop RPG Character interactions are well-written, and I really like the MVP system. also the game handles balancing Chapters 3 and 4 really well by making it less dependent on stats. If you play a 2nd run you will also find out more about the story. 9/10

This going to be a no for me on a few things. The game has some nice graphics and art style using a diorama style presentation. The manner of the dice mechanics for adventuring is also a novel idea. But after a while the dice method becomes a one trick gimmick which gets old fast. There are different dice types you figure out real quick of what is needed for the chapter you are in. The chief complaint I had was trying to figure out what the story was all about. Firstly I had to research this game was included in a wider series called the Touhou Project. While I was able to learn more about said characters the overall rpg style narrative was all over the place. In the end I stopped caring to a point of just getting the gist of the chapter. This amounted to the following repetitive actions: go to place, defeat this boss, get this items, go here to give item, defeat unrelated things. Literally rinse and repeat. In short it was a neat idea but falls flat. The only saving grace is at the time I bought it, it was on sale. So unless you are a fan of this Touhou Project (whatever it is) or just like the appeal of cute anime girl style art, you should give it a pass.