Also sort like Zarro did, I plan to make the bosses first and release them individually, then make try-versions of them and go from there. Well here it is. ;D
Veneficus Arcanum
Story: In a far away land, the citizens had been living in mostly peace from other foes, until a force of powerful Youkai invaded from far away. These Youkai, though fearsome and mighty, had never interfered before, and a team of 4 powerful combatists known as the Cemetery (which is comprised of the 4 player characters), have come to eradicate these Youkai and find the reasons behind their attack.
A few starting notes: Veneficus Arcanum will be the type of danmaku game that uses little flying spellcaster/fairy type characters rather than a fighter ship, like the kind you see in games such as Castle of Shikigami, Eden Aegis, Mushihimesama, Esp-Ra-De, Deathsmiles, Touhou, Trouble Witches, Gundemonium, Hellsinker etc. No one has attempted this in Fraxy yet, all other ones have used fighter-ships. I thought this will be unique for that reason.
I plan for it to have 6 total stages (7 if you count the Micro-Stage for the true-last boss), secret forms to all the bosses, variation of difficulty, and maybe some power-ups for things too. Also this will not have any midbosses in it, but it will have plenty of enemies of different types and very-hard bosses too. I am trying to make them look less mechanical and more living-creature like. I also plan to make the secret forms of the bosses more rewarding as well as have condition more unique than just no-death the boss. Well here's the stuff I have for it.
EDIT: This try I have decided to have 3 Difficulty levels. The Difficulty levels will be called "Apprentice" (easy), "Mage" (Normal), and "Master" (Hard). And yes this will be a hard try, but I won't make it as hard as most of Zarro or SPIDER's stuff, but still fun and mostly playable.
Also I have decided to implement a more complex scoring system as to make it better. In a manner similar to Ketsui, whenever you destroy a familiar, you get more points if you destroyed it at close-range, and less points if you did at long-range, as to reward you for taking these kinds of risks.
Also I am very open to contributions. If anyone wants to add some stuff such as BG's, Familiars, player weapons, power-ups, or even just some suggestions, I am open for all of it.
Now for some stuff I have done (or partially done) for it so far.
The Cemetery Team (the player characters)
Naryuka
Kiragi and Niri
Sayuto
Myomi
I also had an idea for her in the Try, though I'm not sure how good this is. I was going to add power-up weapons dropped by enemies that increase your attack power until you get owned, like in most danmaku games (if I can figure out a way). I had an idea that for Myomi, instead of gaining attack power, she would gain an extra option for each one collected. She would start out with two and gain one more for each one, and then after the second she would gain attack power like the others. Would that be a good idea or not?
Well that's all the 4 player characters. Let's move onto their foes.
EDIT: Here's download links for the Player weapons of all 4 characters. Download them and test them out, and tell me what you think, and if I need to make changes to them. I could use the help.
Naryuka Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4180" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Kiragi and Niri Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4181" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Sayuto Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4128" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Myomi Wep: http://acmlm.kafuka.org/uploader/get.php?id=4130" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Stages, Youkai, and Familiars
Each stage will have multiple foes and a BG that represents the Youkai it is for. Few enemies will be in every stage, save for some such as the Sprites, and the stage-only ones also are to represent the Youkai they serve. Also there will not be midbosses, but a lot of enemies to make up for it. Each stage I am also planning on there being a maximum of 3 unique familiars to it, though different versions of the same familiar that appear too are okay, as long as they look mostly alike with small differences.
Also here's the message that is displayed right before every boss fight as warning.
CONFLICT WITH (Youkai's full name)!!! PRESERVE YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!
EDIT: I also designed a WARNING Image to display before the fight with each Youkai. In fact, it quickly changes from the first to the second to make it look more mystical and stuff. This is my current WARNING Image design, tell me what you think.
All Stages
Familiars: Sprites
These ones are cannon-fodder enemies that appear in every stage. Pretty much easy to beat, but they come in a few different variants, differentiated by their colors and other small features.
Stage 1, Crystal Cavern
Youkai: Joanne, the Gemstone Youkai
Joanne will be boss 1. Note that she will have differences from the original version, such as she will not time-out, have actual health, and her attacks will be toned down to a stage 1 boss. Just so you know.
Familiars: Bartolomeu
Stage 1 enemies. The Red gem ones fly downward and shoot spreading reflect rays from their arms, and the blue gem ones fly from the sides and fire diamond-shaped bullet configurations at you. They only can be harmed at the gemstone (with a barrier hitbox). I partially based them off of the Misteltoe's from Hellsinker. I have completely finished all variants, including their attacks and movements and stuff.
Stage 2, Palace of Melody
Youkai: Amanda, the Melody Youkai
She will be the Stage 2 boss. Some of her attacks involve patterns that follow a distinct beat, or shots that are shaped like musical notes or other music-based writing. Her second phase has her being carried by a bat-like familiar named Alexis and there she is more mobile.
Familiars: Alexis
Not exactly a stage enemy, but a familiar nonetheless. On the second phase of the boss fight against Amanda, her arch is destroyed, so she sends in Alexis to carry her around and flies with her. Alexis darts around while Amanda call out the attacks, and at this part she becomes a lot more mobile and harder to hit. I tried to make Alexis look like a spiritual bat-like being, and she certainly does look like that.
Stage 3, the Woods of Light
Youkai: Helen Von Maximoff, the Forest Youkai
Stage 3 Boss. Some of her attacks will be heavy on drone-spawning and flower-based moves, as well as summoning solid-part vines to attack. She has a second phase too, and I thought her look seemed fitting, though I altered the wings a bit now.
Familiars: Geoffrey
These ones appear from the sides of the screen, then they aim and then dash at you blade first, leaving a bullet trail behind them. Helen also summons a lot of them during the boss battle. Also I had an idea to have them give you more points if you destroy them while they farther down the screen, as for it would be harder there. I have completely finished these familiars, including their attacks and movements and stuff.
Bradley
These ones fly downward and shoot seeds (missiles with no booster or shadow effect) that explode with bullet shrapnel everywhere. They are supposed to kinda look like plant creatures too. On harder difficulties, their seeds have more shrapnel after detonating.
Stage 4, Realm of Dense Fog
Youkai: Veronica, the Fog Youkai
Stage 4 Boss. I've shown it before but she has a second phase of a much larger demonic being with her first phase in its forehead. Some attacks of hers involve creating effector-based fog clouds that blur the screen if you get too close, but don't do much else, but it is still advised to stay away from them as for the blur will make it harder to see incoming shots. She also has some more complex moves. Her first phase is weaker but a lot more mobile, and her second phase is less mobile but far more troublesome in attacks.
Familiars: Frederick
Enemies that I found fitting for Veronica's lair, though there will be a second type of Familiar for her that is more solid-looking. Essentially they are effector-based beings and they use a lot of bullet spam but never aim their attacks. Might make there a few different-colored variants as well, though not decided yet. They also have a bad habit of suddenly appearing from nowhere, which can also be troublesome. As stated, the screen gets blurred when you get too close to them. I haven't finished these familiars completely though.
Stage 5, The Gorgeous Stage
Youkai: Emily, the Performance Youkai (full design still pending)
The Performance Youkai, Her nature is of Lust. She loves so many things, and whatever she wants, she does everything in her power to obtain. What she loves the most is the performance of massive plays which her familiars do for her. She directs her familiars to perform acts and plays for her, some that she stars in, though they are not acts or plays one would usually come to see. There are many other things she has an affinity for too, and she will stop at nothing to obtain them, even if it means harming others and destroying villages. Her lust is so great, she mostly plays by the end justifies the means. She is truly a cunning and powerful Youkai, and it is no wonder why she and Amanda get along very well.
Familiars: (not completely decided yet, but somewhat)
Stage 6, The Shadow Lair
Youkai: Vanessa Drakkea, the Darkness Youkai (design still pending)
The Darkness Youkai, she has a Conceited Nature. She believes that she is one of the most powerful beings in existence, and for good reason too, as for her powers are immense and nearly unstoppable. She resides in a massive Dark Realm of her creation, and believes that nearly everyone else besides herself, her familiars, and a few other beings she cherishes, are mediocre compared to her. She will strike down and slay those who do not acknowledge her glory or disagree with her greatness, or cause them pain until they do. Perhaps one of the most diabolical and megalomaniacal Youkai ever known.
Familiars: (not decided yet)
Stage 7, True Last Boss
Youkai: ????????
Familiars: ????????
Well I hope to get this Try done eventually. If anyone has any comments, suggestions, of wants to lend a hand, feel free to ask me.
EDIT: Also here's some more stuff I have for this.
-A magic circle that I am going to use for the emblem. The runes in the big circles spell out the word POWER when read clockwise starting from the top-left one.