Do you achieve a state of "zen" when playing Touhou?

[BL2W]

(I have no idea why this thread even popped up here when I know I posted it there in the first place. )

<Tengukami> TARC is the fandom board; this is the gameplay board. Sorry bout the confusion!

I know this sounds seemingly impossible, especially to those aren't really into the shmups, but when you're playing a Touhou game, do you ever feel... relaxed? Almost like your mind and your movements have become one with the game in a peaceful sort of co-existence? This happens to me a lot whenever I play. In fact, because of this, the shmups in the series have become one of the best stress-relievers I have in the best kind of way~! I don't ever find myself getting angry at the games and supposedly relieving myself of my stresses that way; I'm just not that kind of person... But, on the other hand, I'm certainly not the greatest Touhou player alive; and yet, I always find myself having genuine fun with these games--to the point where I find them as a healthy method of relaxtion (hence, this topic)~!

So, with that said, I don't possibly think I could find a better section of this forum than the appropriately-titled "Touhou Addict Recovery Center" to place this topic in. Tell me, am I just weird or are there any of you who sometimes feel the same way?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This question is specifically targeted at the core shmups; though, if you would like to mention another game related to Touhou that involves this topic, feel free~!

[Nindella]

Nope, I achieve a state of constant, unveiling rage! 

[Zengeku]

I?m Zen 24/7

[Tengukami]

When everything's going well, the experience you're describing sounds a lot like flow. I've attained this a few times while playing Touhou but, cruelly, the moment I think to myself, "Holy shit I'm doing it! Look at me go! I might just capture this spellca-" then pichun, it's all over.

It's definitely comparable to "zen" in the sense of achieving this state comes from not trying to attain it, and not being fully conscious of it when it's happening.

[BL2W]

When everything's going well, the experience you're describing sounds a lot like flow. I've attained this a few times while playing Touhou but, cruelly, the moment I think to myself, "Holy shit I'm doing it! Look at me go! I might just capture this spellca-" then pichun, it's all over.

Yes, this is exactly what happens to me as well and precisely what I'm talking about~!

Fortunately, there is a chance for me to recover back into it, though, after losing a life if I manage to return to how good I was doing before that happened, but that sadly isn't always the case~

[Drake]

vowg

[Seppo Hovi]

There is a certain type of trance I fall into while dodging certain types of patterns. I wouldn't call it zen, though, since it is hardly enlightening.

[ViciousYukkuri]

Yes, I have. It's a really good feeling. Like all the stress of life is gone and only the game exists. Of course, this leads to some pretty hilarious hi-jinks from my roommates, like startling me when I'm playing by just saying something after apparently standing there for a full minute.

We call it "Korean Mode".

[MewMewHeart]

When everything's going well, the experience you're describing sounds a lot like flow. I've attained this a few times while playing Touhou but, cruelly, the moment I think to myself, "Holy shit I'm doing it! Look at me go! I might just capture this spellca-" then pichun, it's all over.

I do this alot when I play a Touhou shmup, but that moment when I reached stage 5 of Ten Desires normal and got to Futo with hardly any lives and no continues left due to Seiga...

This happened!

It was my first Stage 5 of a Touhou bullet hell I reached, I always died on Stage 3 or 4, except for PoFV because of FRICKING EIKI AND KOMACHI trolling.

[Phoenon]

Something like that happens to me in Mountain of Faith, but it feels more like a kind of momentum if anything.

[commandercool]

Not really. I actually have a real problem with this. The first few stages of almost or any game are so easy that I tend to auto-pilot through them, which means that I'm not really paying attention when shit goes down. Being unable to maintain any kind of focus, especially after restarting on a failed run, is possibly my biggest weakness. I can't ever stop my brain from running when I do anything, which is the source of most of the problems in my life and Touhou is no exception.

What I do occasionally get is a massive adrenaline rush in those situations where it's the last ten seconds of the stage six boss' last spell and I have no lives and no bombs. The first time I felt that I realized that Touhou is the only place I get that feeling and I knew it was the series for me. Maybe if I could provoke that in other circumstances that would kind of count, but it would also probably be exhausting.

[Wind God Guy]

Kinda like in Rhythm Games where you can let ur eyes sort of wander off (away from focus) but still play perfectly?

Sort of, like BoWaP and VoWG i guess

[Ibaraki]

Cannot say I ever achieved it. I'm not even sure what's what when playing Touhou with full focus. Like, I didn't even realize that an earthquake was in motion while I were attempting to 1cc SA Normal back then.

[Ghaleon]

Sometimes.

Most of the time it starts off like that. But if i eff up to something silly by stages 1-3 like 3 times in a row it starts to become irritation.
And if I manage to NOT screw up until stage 5 boss ...then it's suddenly that intense nervous feeling you get when you're in the finals for a tournament you care about. Where your hands shake so bad you can't even hold a pen, but somehow you still do everything just right anyway. It doesn't matter if I've already 1cc'd the game on lunatic or something. I rarely play these games for perfection anymore, I just do all casual like for fun, but on the off chance where I suddenly do better than I anticipate, then I suddenly care and WANT to break a record really bad.

[MTSranger]

It takes a "zen" state to time out VoWG =)

[Mino ☆]

I'm known for my temper, so I would consider a "Zen" mode for me when I'm not constantly raging at the game.

Though I've gotten really good at keeping my anger down over the past few months. Most of my deaths nowadays I can just shake off without a sweat.

One of the things I find quite intense are the adrenaline rushes I get when I'm really close to getting a run. My hands shake and I'm unwilling to take risks. My dodging gets a bit skewed yet I'm trying really hard not to mess up. The pressure's on. If I lose, it becomes an anti-climactic scenario. If I win, the relieving feeling of victory washes over me as I'm filled with instant happy emotions.

This is the feeling of victory in Touhou, for me.

[MTSranger]

One of the things I find quite intense are the adrenaline rushes I get when I'm really close to getting a run. My hands shake and I'm unwilling to take risks. My dodging gets a bit skewed yet I'm trying really hard not to mess up. The pressure's on. If I lose, it becomes an anti-climactic scenario. If I win, the relieving feeling of victory washes over me as I'm filled with instant happy emotions.

This is the feeling of victory in Touhou, for me.

THIS.

Unfortunately I lose way too many runs to nervousness at last second - usually the second run I'll control myself better and actually get it.

[Yuyu]

I know that feeling! My best clears always happen when I'm in a state like that. I let go of any stress from that day and I don't let my mind wander. It's a very peaceful feeling. It's hard to describe but I stop seeing the bullets and I just know where to dodge by instinct. I also play completely unfocused when I'm in that kind of mood so I'm often going very fast around the stage without much thought for the dangers. You think that would result in more deaths, but nope.

[Yukarin]

Yea. This happened to me when I captured Saigyouji Flawless Nirvana on my second try.

[Kosachi]

I go into a similar state until I die. Once I die, a tiny bit of my "zen" gets replaced with fiery rage; until the eventual RQ.

[CyberAngel]

Certainly yes. It was actually very amazing when I discovered it. Like I was crawling before and suddenly learned how to fly. Very interesting feeling. Funny, actually, how your perception speed increases, but you still acknowledge time flowing at the same speed. So unlike all those "bullet time" and "adrenaline rush" depictions. That's how it is for me, at least. The trick is in not thinking about it, or it breaks completely :V

And yeah, as people've said, VoWG is a surefire way to achieve it if you can do it.

[Zil]

A ten minute Reimu fight to a metal remix of Zeromus' theme is the best thing.

R.I.P. VoWG