Touhou Shinkirou, known in English as Hopeless Masquerade, is the fighting game spinoff from ZUN's legendary Touhou Project series, co-developed with Twilight Frontier. This 2013 OST collects the full score, and it's a fascinating blend of ZUN's signature compositional style with the more aggressive, battle-ready energy a fighter demands.
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The opening "塵界不変のペシミズム～心綺楼囃子" sets the stage with Touhou's characteristic mix of traditional Japanese instrumentation and driving rock arrangements, while character themes like "感情の摩天楼 ~ Cosmic Mind" and "聖徳伝説 ~ True Administrator" bring back beloved motifs from earlier mainline games.
The character-specific "人気爆発" (Popularity Explosion) tracks are a standout feature, giving each fighter their own victory fanfare. Reimu, Marisa, Koishi, Mamizou, and newcomer Hata no Kokoro all get their moment, and hearing how each character's musical identity gets compressed into a short celebratory burst is a treat.
"ハルトマンの妖怪少女" (Hartmann's Youkai Girl) is a fan-favorite Koishi theme that hits hard in a fighting game context, and "芥川龍之介の河童 ~ Candid Friend" brings Nitori's playful energy. The contrast between "人気のある場所" (Popular Place) and "人気のない場所" (Unpopular Place) is a clever thematic touch.
"亡失のエモーション" (Lost Emotion) is arguably the crown jewel of this soundtrack, serving as Hata no Kokoro's theme and capturing her story of a menreiki who has lost her emotional masks. The arrange version included here adds even more depth.
The Mamizou-related tracks "佐渡のニッ岩" and "幻想郷の二ッ岩" showcase the tanuki's mischievous character perfectly. With 36 tracks including short versions, unused pieces, and the character select theme, this is a comprehensive package that demonstrates why Touhou's music remains one of the most remixed and celebrated bodies of work in all of game music.