Killer Minecraft 4: Hopeless Masquerade

Killer Minecraft 4: Hopeless Masquerade, known in Japan as Touhou Shinkirou (東方心綺楼), is a 2002 3D fighting game developed by Drillimation Studios and published by Namco for the arcades and home consoles. The game was released in the arcades in December 2002, followed by a home console and PC release in Japan in April 2003, followed by an international release the following month. It is the fourth installment in the Killer Minecraft series and takes place between Touhou 13: Ten Desires and Touhou 14: Double Dealing Character. This is also the first Killer Minecraft game to be released on an Xbox console.

Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty much the same as previous installments, the player's main objective is to deplete their opponent's health bar without them depleting their own. Life before, players punch, kick, and use a series of supernatural attacks to defeat their opponents. Hopeless Masquerade features a new mechanic for aerial fights. This allows players to fight midair without any ground combat. This can only be achieved by pulling off certain combos. Every character has a unique fighting style with an array of melee and special attacks as well as skill cards that pull off the series' main gimmick. At the end of a match, players have the ability to perform a spell card as a fatality move or unleash a series of skill cards (called an Ultra Combo) that can surpass 20 hits. Every hit from a skill or spell card, as well as stage items, will fill up the "Faith Gauge", similar to the Aggressor mechanic from the Super Smash Keyboards series. Once the gauge is fully filled up, their attacks will begin to behave differently for a small amount of time. The list below details what happens upon charging the gauge: The Stun Meter from the previous installment also returns, with players' power on spell and skill cards increased if their Animegaus activates.
 * If the player is using Shinto as their faith, they can deal a few more hits from combos, allowing more points to be scored. Players under this effect also have a greater chance of scoring a Combo Breaker.
 * If the player is using Taoism as their faith, they can move and attack faster. Players under this effect will make it tougher for their opponent to score a Combo Breaker.
 * If the player is using Buddhism as their faith, the amount of damage they deal from attack and combos is slightly increased. Players also have the ability to launch their opponents farther.

Controls
The game's controls are mapped by console, although the PC version's controls can be customized through installable gamepads. Arcade sticks are also compatible on all platforms the game was ported to.

Score Advance Table
The score in-game is calculated by how many hits in a row the player struck. The first hit is always 50 points, while subsequent hits are added to the current score (combo number is multiplied by 50).

Plot
Set four seasons after the events of Killer Minecraft 3: Hisoutensoku, Fred Fuchs warps back to Gensoukyou using a time machine to investigate the various incidents of Gensoukyou's past. Upon hearing upon these, Fuchs decides to declare an attack on Gensoukyou. Using dark cannons, Fuchs and his Crimsonites freeze every victim into bedrock. Upon unleashing the attack, the Human Village begins to fall into a state of hopeless pessimism. With religion being the only thing that can restore the world, Fuchs takes over all three so nobody can return the world to normal and take the chance to expand their particular faith's influence.

Back in the real world, Hearthcliffe travels to the same time place as Fuchs is, and kidnaps ten of Gensoukyou's residents. While holding the ten captives, he enters them in a Killer Minecraft tournament he organized at LJN. However, the Drill Institute fights back and enters ten of their drillers into the tournament to restore the world to normal.

Characters
Hopeless Masquerade features a total of 23 playable characters.

Returning Characters

 * Wataru Hoshi
 * Konata Izumi
 * Leopold Slikk
 * Susumu Hori1
 * James Rolfe
 * Kagami Ochiai
 * Miyuki Takara
 * Akira Kogami
 * Ataru Hori
 * Takumi Hearthcliffe2

New Characters

 * Chuta Bigbang
 * Jake Randolf

Returning Characters

 * Reimu Hakurei
 * Marisa Kirisame
 * Hong Meiling1

New Characters

 * Ichirin Kumoi
 * Byakuren Hijiri
 * Mononobe no Futo
 * Toyosatomimi no Miko
 * Nitori Kawashiro
 * Koishi Komeiji
 * Mamizou Futatsuiwa
 * Hata no Kokoro3

Notes:
 * 1) Does not appear in arcade mode.
 * 2) Can only be played in Free Play or Multiplayer mode.
 * 3) New character in the entire franchise.

References to other games

 * Driller Engine 1 Touhou Project games: Reimu's outfit from the Driller Engine 1 Era appears in the intro.

References in later games

 * Killer Minecraft 5: Urban Legend in Limbo: The characters returning from the previous game use the same models.