Touhou Rhythm Carnival! Scarlet (Guide)

For Moriyashrine.weebly.com

A couple helpful hints before we get into the controls.

First off, this is a RHYTHM game. The visual cues are almost necessary to learn the games the first time, and are helpful later on, But if you ever have trouble you should try to focus on the music. Timing with the beat instead of when you think Daiyousei should jump is very helpful in her game, for example.

If you're having trouble with the timing, the only real way to improve is with practice. However, if you think the problem is with your computer, a small delay on input for example, try using the clock in Aya's room. It allows you to adjust the timing of your key presses.

On to the games, starting with Rumia's and going down. (The first minigame you can play is actually the second on this list.)
Also note that I have no idea how accurate these translations are, so don't come yelling at me if they're all wrong. The place I got them from was missing some as well, so I just made some up, marked with a * for your convenience.

Rumia Pakkun
Use the Z and X keys eat apples and dodge kedama, respectively. Some apples have an "M" on them. I do not know why. Eat them anyway.

Demon Squadron Sounanoka
Push Z in time with Cirno and Daiyousei. The simplest game.

Jump! Large! Step! Hop!
Push Z to jump off of ice pillars, hold it to skate on platforms. Listen to the trumpets in the background if you're having trouble with the timing. You'll want to start holding right when you land on a long stretch of ice and let go right as you reach the end. Timing is a bit tricky for some people, but as with all games it gets better with practice.

Frost K
Another one that only uses Z, but this one is a little tricky. You'll want to time it so the rainbow snowflakes converge right on the frogs. Grey frogs move slowly, red ones are quick. If you're having trouble, try to time your button presses with the third ribbit from the frogs. For you more visual people (even though I said visuals are bad), try to hit it right after they finish crouching down.

Close Call Misuzu
Only one button. You can guess which one it is. The visuals on this one are deceptive. Don't worry about when the knives start flying, pay attention to the sounds they make as they're placed. If you just repeat the timing of the sounds they make, you'll be fine.

*Kick Some Kedama
The first game on the list that uses the arrow keys! The arrows correspond to the direction of the kicks. Wacky, right? Anyway, the visuals on this one are deceptive too. Focus on the music and you'll be fine. Okay, maybe you won't be fine. It can be tough, even on hard mode. Your fluffy foes to make some nice sounds to help you with the timing, but there are tricky bits. Practice makes perfect.

Great Library Organized
Hit the Z key to put books away. The normal mode has nice little magic circles to help you aim, and by the time you get to hard mode you should be able to rely on the music enough to do without them. The challenge comes from the fact that Koakuma seems to like off-beats. There aren't really any hints to dealing with them, just keep trying.

Chant Rebeat
A strange deviation from the rest of them, this game doesn't really need any timing at all. Use the arrow keys to repeat the pattern made by the stones. You have to get the order right, but if you're a little off with the rhythm, it doesn't matter at all.

Holiday of Scarlet Devil
Hold Z and release to fill cups. Another one that's quite difficult to learn. Your eyes will tell you to let go of the button right as it gets to the red line. My advice? Ignore that line. It'll cause you more harm than good. If you time it perfectly with the music, you'll actually end up a little over the line more often than not. That goes for when you start filling too. You can get by on normal by just pressing the button as the cups pass under you, but in hard more there are a lot of spots where the maids overlap and you can't see the cups at all. Get used to working with the music and you'll be better off in the long run.

Maidsweeper
Push Z after time freezes to place knifes. There are no visual hints for the timing in this one, it only shows you how many times to push it. Don't hesitate after time stops, that's actually the first beat in the sequence. You'll want to time them all with the same amount of rest between them, there's no funky patterns to work with here. The timing is better learned than taught, just remember to keep a steady rhythm.

Remilia Pause
Z to pose for the foreground, X to pose for the background. It actually took me awhile to figure out how to do this one. You want to time your pose exactly with Aya's camera flash. Too soon and she won't take a picture, too late and she'll catch you off guard. As always, focus on the music for help. If you think normal is difficult, wait until hard mode. In that one, she'll sometimes pop up without warning!

*Danmaku aaaaaaa
Press Z to do a short dodge and hold X for a long dodge. At first, it'll just be small bullets and lasers. Press Z before a bullet hits to dodge it. Lasers will be thin at first, that's just a warning. Rely on the music for when to start holding X and release it. Unlike most of the other ones, the visuals are actually quite important here. You want to time with the music, but it's hard to determine when exactly to start and let go for the laser dodges without the small bullets flying around to guide you. Eventually more danmaku will be introduced along with a beeping warning sign. If it beeps a few times at a steady beat, wait for it to stop, then start pressing Z as many times as the sign flashed. As always, music helps. If it beeps and flashes rapidly, get ready for a steady steam of bullets. These can't be dodged individually, hold X to dodge them just like a laser.

Flandre March
This is the only game that requires Z, X, and the arrows keys (Except not really since you only need one arrow key). Pushing Z raises the left foot, and pushing any arrow key raises the right. X is used to stop. Since I can't read Japanese, I'll just go with the color of the text bubbles. Red is your basic march, stick with a nice steady beat. Yellow means a slower timing, keep a rest between steps. Blue is a 1 - 2 - 3 - rest pattern. Purple means stop, and that means the only time you'll push X. You'll notice there's some delay before you actually have to start marching in a new pattern, the commands are announced a few beats early so you know what's coming. This is NOT true for purple, you'll want to hit X on the next beat after you see it. If you're having trouble, try turning down the sound effects and leaving BGM, then play the game ignoring you Flandre and just focusing on the other ones.

*Lævateinn aaaaaaa
Z only. Push Z in time with the swipes. Normal ones have a small warning on the beat before. When text flashes twice above Flandre's head, she's about to start swinging on every off-beat and with no warning. Tricky to learn. When text flashes once, she's about to let off three swipes in quick succession. No advice here other than practice. I barely got silver on normal mode myself, and have yet to get any medals on hard mode. Good luck.

*???
This last one is pretty easy to figure out how to play, so I think I'd rather leave it as a nice little surprise.

-Skivin