Hella late on this, but I figured I could help some of the players with a serious review, instead of that copy-pasted Cirno fumo art.
One fair warning, though: [bold] I HAVE 1CC'D THE GAME IN NORMAL MODE, SO I'LL TALK IN REGARDS OF THIS DIFFICULTY. [/bold]

Unconnected Marketeers features a fresh and colorful tone in perfect contrast with its predecessor, Wily Beast and Weakest Creature. Upon starting the game you can already feel the direction of the game, with the menu's colors leaning towards a more vibrant feeling. Combine them with a light menu theme, and you get the perfect feeling.
Touhou 18 is not as dark as Touhou 17, and its story is simple enough to understand even without an extended knowledge of the game. In other words, you'd be able to figure things out even if this is your first, or second, or third, Touhou game.

While the story may be simple, the Gameplay is... Somwhat on the more complicated side.
What I mean by this is that the game is [bold] not [/bold] forgiving: easy mode aside - I'd like to remind people that [bold] there is no shame is playing this mode, seriously [/bold] - Normal mode will be surprisingly dense from Stage 1, and that means from the very beninning.
This time, though, the game will spice things up from Stage 3, which has complex and long-lasting patterns, especially the boss. And obviously, things will not get easy going onward.

To "ease" things up a little, the game's gimmick grants the player a shop at the end of every stage, which has a limited amount of ability cards in stock. Each ability is tied to a character in the series, albeit not every single one (obviously).
While it is a very curious mechanic, [bold] you're at the complete mercy of the game's RNG. [/bold]
Don't always expect to find cards that tie to your style of playing, you will be disappointed, though many of them can, [bold] and will [/bold], trivialize the aspect of the game: some will nullify deaths, while other will make the player able to pass through enemies (NOT BULLETS) safely.
While I'm personally not a fan of "trivializing" the game, it is true that you can always not make use of the ability cards by, for instance, buying spell-cards or bombs; on the other hand, it gives the player a bit more of freedom in choice. Not that it'll influence the ending or whatever, it's just a curious gimmick that doesn't really have that "Touhou"-ish feeling.

To counter-balance this aspect, ZUN went completely NUTS with the music in this game. Each song is great in its own aspect, and many of them build and release the tension ways that have been rarely seen in the series.
Stage 1 is a fast paced song that releases everything with the apparition of a Rainbow, which is the "indirect" cause as to why Stage 6 is set in the "Lunar Rainbow".
Stage 5 is a constant build-up until the final release that ties [italic] perfectly [/italic] with the dense pack of fairies and bullets that forces you to quickly, and constantly, find an escape route.
Overall, it is safe to say that the music of Unconnected Marketeers is among on of the best overall; although this last part is strictly subjective and your opinion can be a lot different than mine. No pressure.

Last but not least, the set of characters.
It's gorgeous.
Setting aside the main heroines: Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya and Sanae, the bosses are all very well detailed and the color palettes, as well as their clothes, truly give away what kind of people they are; one such example is Stage 3's, Sanniyo Komakusa, by far one of the best characters of this game.

Overall, Touhou 18 has vibrant colors and characters, a simple story and one of the best soundtracks.
It's a great game indeed, but unfortunately one that I cannot recommend to start with.
Instead, ease up things a little, find the play-style that suits you the most [italic] and then [/italic] give this game a try.

But that is ultimately up to you.

Hella late on this, but I figured I could help some of the players with a serious review, instead of that copy-pasted Cirno fumo art. One fair warning, though: [bold] I HAVE 1CC'D THE GAME IN NORMAL MODE, SO I'LL TALK IN REGARDS OF THIS DIFFICULTY. [/bold] Unconnected Marketeers features a fresh and colorful tone in perfect contrast with its predecessor, Wily Beast and Weakest Creature. Upon starting the game you can already feel the direction of the game, with the menu's colors leaning towards a more vibrant feeling. Combine them with a light menu theme, and you get the perfect feeling. Touhou 18 is not as dark as Touhou 17, and its story is simple enough to understand even without an extended knowledge of the game. In other words, you'd be able to figure things out even if this is your first, or second, or third, Touhou game. While the story may be simple, the Gameplay is... Somwhat on the more complicated side. What I mean by this is that the game is [bold] not [/bold] forgiving: easy mode aside - I'd like to remind people that [bold] there is no shame is playing this mode, seriously [/bold] - Normal mode will be surprisingly dense from Stage 1, and that means from the very beninning. This time, though, the game will spice things up from Stage 3, which has complex and long-lasting patterns, especially the boss. And obviously, things will not get easy going onward. To "ease" things up a little, the game's gimmick grants the player a shop at the end of every stage, which has a limited amount of ability cards in stock. Each ability is tied to a character in the series, albeit not every single one (obviously). While it is a very curious mechanic, [bold] you're at the complete mercy of the game's RNG. [/bold] Don't always expect to find cards that tie to your style of playing, you will be disappointed, though many of them can, [bold] and will [/bold], trivialize the aspect of the game: some will nullify deaths, while other will make the player able to pass through enemies (NOT BULLETS) safely. While I'm personally not a fan of "trivializing" the game, it is true that you can always not make use of the ability cards by, for instance, buying spell-cards or bombs; on the other hand, it gives the player a bit more of freedom in choice. Not that it'll influence the ending or whatever, it's just a curious gimmick that doesn't really have that "Touhou"-ish feeling. To counter-balance this aspect, ZUN went completely NUTS with the music in this game. Each song is great in its own aspect, and many of them build and release the tension ways that have been rarely seen in the series. Stage 1 is a fast paced song that releases everything with the apparition of a Rainbow, which is the "indirect" cause as to why Stage 6 is set in the "Lunar Rainbow". Stage 5 is a constant build-up until the final release that ties [italic] perfectly [/italic] with the dense pack of fairies and bullets that forces you to quickly, and constantly, find an escape route. Overall, it is safe to say that the music of Unconnected Marketeers is among on of the best overall; although this last part is strictly subjective and your opinion can be a lot different than mine. No pressure. Last but not least, the set of characters. It's gorgeous. Setting aside the main heroines: Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya and Sanae, the bosses are all very well detailed and the color palettes, as well as their clothes, truly give away what kind of people they are; one such example is Stage 3's, Sanniyo Komakusa, by far one of the best characters of this game. Overall, Touhou 18 has vibrant colors and characters, a simple story and one of the best soundtracks. It's a great game indeed, but unfortunately one that I cannot recommend to start with. Instead, ease up things a little, find the play-style that suits you the most [italic] and then [/italic] give this game a try. But that is ultimately up to you.