> "I don't, not immediately. It's simply something I found suspicious."
> Gently squeeze Rei'sen again.
> "Like, if one accepts the premise that this setting is Gensokyo itself dreaming, that doesn't also require accepting the premise that all of us here are who we claim we are, in regards to being representations of our 'real' selves. Any one or more of us could be plants trying to steer any of us that are truthful about who we are away from some unknown truth of this dream."
> Gently squeeze again.
> "I obviously can't say that's definitely or even probably the case, but once is an accident, twice is a trend, you know?"

> Frown.
> "...Why is it twice now that someone floating the question of why this is happening has led to someone else immediately try to send the conversation in a different direction?"

Touhou 18

Title: Rainbow-Crossed Gensokyo
The standard title theme. I like how the lead melody arcs up these really broad intervals which connects with the whole rainbow theming.

Stage 1: Shower of Strange Occurrences
ZUN's stage 1 themes never miss and this isn't an exception, the piano starts it off with a strong melody, while you have this almost EoSD stage 1-ish bass line throughout. The key change syncs with the background and gives you a wondrous "sunlight after the shower" feeling. I also like the little "pa-lings" the piano does at the top of each of its arpeggios, it's like raindrops pitter-pattering on the ground.

Mike: Kitten of Great Fortune
Short and sweet, the instrumentation is intentionally balanced and utilized to give "nyan nyan" vibes which is what it's supposed to do.

Stage 2: Cliff Hidden in Deep Green
If I had to pick a least favorite track over the previous few games it's probably this one. Not bad but not much to write about.

Takane: Banditry Technology
Also not much to write about, but this is one of the better ZUNtar melodies I think

Stage 3: Perpetual Snow of Komakusa Blossoms
I love this track. It's a major key, in a rare move for ZUN, and it's just a lovely and very singable melody. The final repetition of the main melody at the end of the stage (2:10-2:20) always gives me a really fuzzy, warm, and homely feeling inside. Which I guess doesn't really match all that well with the stage and plot, but it's more of a "I love Touhou" feeling.

Sannyo: Smoking Dragon
I think my favorite part of this track is the funky arpeggios in the background playing a riff on theme of eastern story. The TJD version makes this 30x better the original is still pretty good.

Stage 4: Abandoned Industrial Remains
I absolutely love the flamenco-style guitars in use. The flute also lends itself well to a feeling of "wind blowing through an abandoned mine". Overall it reminds me of something that you could play when on a nostalgic minecart tour of an abandoned mine.

Misumaru: Ore from the Age of the Gods
The climax (0:45) is balanced/mixed really well IMO, this would have been kind of a mess mixing wise if it were still DDC-era ZUN or before.

Stage 5: Long Awaited Oumagatoki
I am an absolute sucker for 5/4 tracks, but outside of that the main melody is really strong -- the way it reaches higher and higher, up to an octave each phrase, symbolizes the climbing of the mountain really well. The track then slowly develops into a fanfare under the stars during the final fairy formations at 2:25.

Megumu: Starry Mountain of Tenma
The repeated eighth notes in each measure of the melody are really nice, and lend the theme a very SNES-y retro vibe, which was what ZUN is going for.

Stage 6: Lunar Rainbow
The main verse gives HUGE PC98 vibes and I am all for it.

Chimata: Where is that Bustling Marketplace Now
Pretty controversial theme when it came out, and still somewhat dividing from what I can tell. To be honest, I didn't buy the theme fully either when it first came out, but I do understand better now the intended link between the theme and Chimata's character -- how it always tries to reach a climax but never really manages to do it, it's fighting hard for its life like Chimata herself is (and the world was, at the time of composition).
But one thing I do like is the "serious" part of it at 1:52, the percussion is tasty and the melody is catchy and balanced well.

Extra: Great Fantastic Underground Rail Network
My favorite extra theme in the series. It's in your face and intense with the guitar and chorus, but keeps the previous musical ideas from the mine by using the flute to drive the melody. The midboss section particularly epic -- it repeats the same musical idea twice for the first two midboss spells, and the second time (2:10) it holds the trumpet note in a fiery manner all the way to the phrase's conclusion into the third midboss spell, and onward into the almost trance-like loop as the gameplay reaches the post-midboss section.
There is so much to gush about with this track, it's my definite favorite in the game alongside Stage 3.

Momoyo: Princess Who Slays Dragon Kings
th18.mp4 ahem
Relatively arcadey style for ZUN, which makes sense given this entire character is a Mushihimesama in a CAVE reference. I like the "shiny and positive" main melody parts of the theme a lot, especially 1:47.

> Give Rei'sen a gentle squeeze, wherever our hands are on her now.

> "Sure, that might work. Though, now that I think about it, even if we're pretty confident about what is happening, we don't really know why, do we? Youmu floated the question earlier, but then Sanae diverted us to focusing on waking it up. I think it might be worth revisiting the 'why' before we try to end it."

As an upside, the characters on the recieving end have that as a big source of popularity for them. But yeah, writing like that is just a Japanese thing I guess, with stuff like manzai comedy and all that.