Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is a casual game about Touhou’s Mystia Lorelei and her misshapen adventures as the manager of a roadside bar. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Review Overview
What is Touhou Mystia's Izakaya?
Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya follows Mystia Lorelei, a monster in the form of a young girl, in her time as a proprietress of an unlicensed street bar. Join her and her friends as they serve hungry and demanding customers one eel skewer and a mug of beer at a time.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya features:
⚫︎ A relaxing game about Touhou’s Mystia Lorelei and her struggles running a bar
⚫︎ (Mostly) lore-accurate depictions of the franchise’s characters
⚫︎ Cute sprites to complement the game’s cozy nature
⚫︎ An easy-to-follow story
⚫︎ RPG mechanics combined with PlateUp!-like gameplay
 Steam Store - Base Game |
$6.99 |
| Steam Store - Base Game + Bonus Area DLCs |
$21.55 |
 Nintendo Store |
$26.99 |
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Fun PlateUp! Gameplay As An RPG Charming Cast Easy To Follow Story |
Disappointing Sounds Unwieldy Controls and Disproportionate UI |
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Overall Score - 76/100
Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is a mostly relaxing experience about Mystia Lorelei’s tribulations as the proprietress of an (unlicensed) bar. It features cute artwork, a fun story, and a time-tested gameplay married to RPG mechanics that provides you with visible improvements in your efficiency. Unfortunately, its music and controls, at least on the Switch, needs a lot of work.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Story - 8/10
Just like most Touhou games, the plot of Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya isn’t anything to write home about. It was designed to be easy to follow, without much thought needed to predict possible future events. While the franchise itself is full of obscure references to mythology, the game does away with that and depicts the characters as humanlike as possible without retconning the lore.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Gameplay - 8/10
Combining the tried-and-tested formula of the popular indie game PlateUp! with RPG mechanics, playing Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is a fun and relaxing experience where you can experience the protagonist’s development firsthand as she learns the ropes in maintaining her bar. It even features a mechanic that utilizes the BGM into the gameplay.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Visuals - 8/10
As one would expect from a Touhou game, the sprites and artwork are all designed to evoke a feeling of elation and fun. Many of the game’s key art references the more lighthearted side of the franchise’s lore to accentuate the less mystical and more casual aspects of the non-human characters. Combine that with the cute sprites and adorable character icons, and you have yourself an easily memorable game.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Audio - 6/10
Most of the Touhou franchise’s popularity can be attributed to the widespread fascination with its music. Only very few games have ever reached the level Touhou has attained in terms of how many fan remixes exist for their original tunes. Unfortunately, Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya won’t be able to brag about its OST anytime soon, as its originals are mostly a collection of forgettable music.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Value for Money - 8/10
For Steam, it costs a mere $5.99, almost the same price as a Big Mac in some states. However, on the Switch, it costs a whopping $26.99, twenty whole dollars more than Steam (or more than four Big Macs!). That's because the Switch version is sold with all five DLCs and the bonus rhythm minigame included. Though the Switch version still clocks in at a price slightly higher than Steam, it's definitely worth the price even in a vacuum.
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Review: A Toast To A Charming Game
Have you ever imagined what it would be like if you were a night sparrow (a monster that inflicts blindness) in the form of a young girl who runs an unlicensed bar in the middle of the road?
No? Well, that does sound way too specific, so it’s understandable. Regardless, that’s what you’ll experience if you pick this game up. And, let me tell you: it’s an incredibly enjoyable time.
If you’ve ever played PlateUp!, then you’ll definitely find the gameplay of Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya very familiar. It’s essentially just a 2D version of the former. However, that’s only true for the base gameplay experience. Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya also incorporates RPG mechanics into the game, allowing the titular character, Mystia Lorelei, to gradually improve her skills as she becomes used to running her street bar.
Other Touhou characters also appear to spice things up. Unlike the regular customers, who are more than happy ordering food from the menu, they are far more picky and, owing to their friendships/connections with Mystia, tend to demand food personalized to their tastes. This is one way the game tests how prepared you are by ensuring that you stock up on ingredients that they like.
On top of that, these characters have affection meters that allow access to more recipes and events. These are increased by providing them with gifts outside working hours, feeding them specific dishes, or simply the kind of things that they like while they visit your bar. The latter two are especially important goals, as they would often provide you with buffs or ingredients in exchange.
But, at the end of the day, the real charm in Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is experiencing Mystia Lorelei’s turbulent tribulations as she runs her ever-expanding bar with her friends. And it's an experience well worth the time investment.
Pros of Touhou Mystia's Izakaya
| Things Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Got Right |
|---|
|
Fun PlateUp! Gameplay As An RPG Charming Cast Easy To Follow Story |
Fun PlateUp! Gameplay As An RPG
Imagine PlateUp!, but your character grows in ways that exceed simply learning new recipes and getting access to new ingredients. That’s essentially what Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya presents. It’s a fun romp serving increasingly more customers as your popularity grows throughout the course of the game, but with noticeable personal improvements as Mystia becomes more efficient with cooking food, delivering the dishes, negotiating for discounts, etc.
The game even has affection meters for special characters to raise.
Charming Cast
Aside from the original series’ music, Touhou’s popularity can also be attributed to its diverse cast of unique and endearing characters. They make such an impression in the games they debut in that they become part of each game’s identity. On top of that, all of them have incredible backstories that reach far beyond what every game initially introduces them to.
Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya mostly does away with the latter half of that, however. Instead, they simply appear as memorable customers for Mystia to serve food to. This allows better accessibility for players new to the franchise without sacrificing the characters’ identities.
Easy To Follow Story
Anybody who has followed Touhou’s lore as long as I have can attest to the franchise’s surprisingly deep history and mythos. For the most part, following Touhou’s stories, especially the printed works like the manga, entail a lot of studying in order to understand the various references they contain. However, Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya does away with most of that.
The game’s portrayal of each character is as simple and straightforward as possible. At the same time, it stops itself from retconning the lore by depicting characters erroneously. A great example of this is its description of Yuyuko Saigyouji, who the game introduced as just a very gluttonous girl. Going the other way would mean having to describe her role as the mistress of the underworld with a tragic backstory that would probably span an entire game in and of itself.
Similarly, the plot is also as simple as it can get. Unlike many of the franchise’s games, which tap into its intricate lore, Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is more than happy to just focus on Mystia’s stories as she runs into all kinds of trouble.
Of course, although knowing the lore will help a lot, it’s not required at all. I mean, even the game’s "main conflict" is excessively simple to understand.
Cons of Touhou Mystia's Izakaya
| Things That Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Can Improve |
|---|
|
Disappointing Sounds Unwieldy Controls and Disproportionate UI |
Disappointing Sounds
Touhou is widely known for its music, but very few games have ever reached the virality that this franchise has attained in terms of spreading its tunes throughout the world. Unfortunately, Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya only possesses forgettable tunes that the game has to force you to listen to in order to make you notice it. This is done by the singing mechanic, where every dish you cook can be buffed by a rhythm minigame based on the BGM.
Other than that, there’s really not much else the game has going for it in terms of its audio experience. The sound effects are unsatisfactory, there’s a lack of voice acting, the audio feedback is nearly non-existent — the list goes on.
Unwieldy Controls and Disproportionate UI
Look. Right from the get-go, it’s obvious that this game was designed with PC players in mind. On the Switch, most of the icons are unbearably small. Navigating the menus is also a massive pain due to the lack of sectioning. Most of the time, you’ll accidentally move out of the window you were exploring just because you, understandably, thought that moving your selection outside the window would move you to the next line instead of another window entirely. Movement is also a serious bummer due to how narrow many paths are, particularly between the tables you serve.
However, the most atrocious aspect of the game’s Switch release is definitely its keybinding. Having a UI designed for a mouse and keyboard means that the Switch version had to bind some functions to awkward buttons, such as some confirmation commands to the L button.
Is Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Worth It?
You Can Bet A Case Of Beer, It Is
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya is a deceptively long game that can really extend your enjoyment. Although it's not the kind of title you'll want to marathon for more than a few hours a day, it's definitely something you'll keep wanting to go back to every now and then. Plus, the game is really good overall.
| Steam Store - Base Game |
$6.99 |
| Steam Store - Base Game + Bonus Area DLCs |
$21.55 |
| Nintendo Store |
$26.99 |
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya FAQ
Question 1: Is Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya an official Touhou game?
Depends on what you mean by official. If you’re asking if it’s part of the mainline series of games, then no.
Question 2: Does Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya have DLCs?
Why, yes, it does! The DLCs have the game’s OSTs and additional areas for you to sell your eel skewers at. In fact, the Switch version includes all the DLCs for the bonus areas as well.
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Touhou Mystia's Izakaya Product Information
 |
|
| Title | TOUHOU MYSTIA’S IZAKAYA |
|---|---|
| Release Date | May 2, 2024 |
| Developer | 二色幽紫蝶, Re零同人社 |
| Publisher | Phoenixx |
| Supported Platforms | PC, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Casual, Simulator |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Official Website | N/A |
