Unlikely Allies - Kisume & Parsee – by Lusus
Difficulty – Hard (default)
Player – Reimu (default)
Playthrough - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji8JBq5COzs

Creativity – 5/5
Very well made mixture of both Parsee and Kisume's abilities. I particularly liked instances where one of their bullets would be forced out and stay there, and then be interacted with when the other boss tags in. Also, special shout-out for using someone like Kisume in a contest like this as well, considering as a Stage 1 mid-boss and DS boss, she really doesn't have many signature attacks to her name.

Aesthetics – 3/5
Your standard Touhou, simple as that. I had no issue with the sound or graphic design, but at the same time, nothing was above and beyond what I generally see. A solid, average score.

Spell Grading – 7.6/10 (11.5/15 total)

Non-spell 1 – 8/10
Very good opener, I love how it sets the player up for knowing what they're in for right off the bat with Parsee & Kisume's signature non-spells. It's a minor issue though, but I did find it annoying that the tight zone you're playing in (cause of how long it takes for Parsee's waves to open) coupled with the thickness of Kisume's lasers did make it common to get trapped off and on.

Malice “Sudden Horde of Will-O'-The-Wisps” - 8/10
It's honestly a pretty good spell all in all, I particularly love how the flames Kisume set up take a moment to curve about so the player is given warning that they're about to do something outside the norm and come from the back. However I need to take issue with the length of it. Namely, for all intents and purposes, you're timing this spell out. Even if you go out of your way to get to the more dangerous zones to stay under Kisume longer instead of playing it safe and staying away, it'll only really save you a few seconds. When the safer option is to play it safe and time out the spell, that's a problem. With a pattern like this, trying to aim so they're beaten after two loops would be ideal. 

Non-spell 2 – 9/10
Amazing non-spell and great use of mixing the two's patterns together. By themselves they're simple attacks, but the simple act of Kisume interrupting and changing the trajectory of the bullets adds a new level to it that works amazing with this contest. I especially love how the action also makes it so you no longer want to hang out on the bottom, and instead want to push ahead for fear of getting trapped.

Haunted Bridge “A Path Cursed By Hashihime” - 6/10
A good idea on paper and feel could be improved on. However the spell is very unintuitive as to what the player would want to do, and even when you know what you're doing, I feel you're just forced into an aggravatingly tight zone of random bullets. Kisume drops while spreading bullets as she falls filling the upper part of the field first, making the player feel they should stay away from there. However, when the green flames start closing in, the only way to win is by slowly streaming up towards that mess of bullets all without much horizontal movement. What the spell presents you with and what you're expected to do are two counter-intuitive aspects. It's more difficult, sure, but when a spell expects the player to do something outside the norm, it needs to be designed in such a way to incentivize the player to do whatever it is that's outside the norm.

Non-spell 3 – 8/10
As a whole, very good non-spell. I especially liked the twist on Parsee's non-spell style of bullet waves being spread out around the field while Kisume shoots at you. Very good way of taking something we're familiar with, but making the dodging process completely different. However, this spell also falls under the same complaints I had with Malice “Sudden Horde of Will-O'-The-Wisps” in regards to its length, pretty much to a tee. You're rarely given a chance to actively damage Kisume or Parsee, and what few times you are is incredibly risky compared to the alternative of moving with the spell. As such it's better to just time out the spell.

Horror Sign “The Stalker Right Behind You” - 7/10
Solid and creative idea, but I'm really not a fan of how aggravatingly aggressive Kisume is here. You're given very little room to navigate through the flowers as is, but with Kisume on your butt, you always need to already be a certain distance away from her to even have a chance of avoiding the flames that come out super quick. I like that there's multiple ways of dealing with her (stick to purely running away by moving in a large circle around the field, or focus on more vertical movement to lead her up and down to focus on damaging her). But no matter what you do, it almost feels inevitable that you're going to get trapped.

Final Score – 19.5/25
A solid script with ups and downs. Choice spells are quite good, however many spells tend to have an issue here and there that affects the whole spell that will add up towards the final score.