Seeking to hone her swordplay skills, Youmu retains her rushdown-oriented gameplay from the Touhou Project fighting games, but has also taken another swordsman's mechanic on board; this mechanic allows Youmu to augment attacks by both getting up close and personal to opponents and landing successful hits on them, but missing too many attacks or repeatedly exposing herself to damage will eventually render the augmentations lost.
Youmu is technically a three-button character that uses the buttons for the majority of her attacks, while relegating the buttons to shortcut motions; Ⓐ used in combination with or acts as a shortcut for the character's and dash commands, Ⓑ is used as a shortcut for Ⓨ+Ⓩ, while Ⓒ is used as a shortcut for , used in the Level 3 Hypers. At the beginning of the match, Youmu must select from one of two mutually-exclusive Level 3 Hypers; "6-root Cleansing" is a powerful counterattack that can inflict sizeable damage on a particularly careless opponent, while "Secret of Life and Death" turns the ghostly spirit that perpetually follows Youmu's movements into a clone that repeats her inputs for a limited time.
Youmu is a high-risk, high-reward melee-oriented offense character who, at first glance, may seem to excel at rushdown due to her quick speed and combo potential. While Youmu can indeed be played this way, her maximum potential comes from taking advantage of Youmu's unique Spirit Gauge mechanic. Youmu's Spirit Gauge will gradually fill as Youmu hits an opponent with an attack, successfully counters an opponent's attack with Insightful Sword or Netherworld Reflection Slash, or simply stands or walking close to an opponent. As the Gauge fills, Youmu's Spirit level will increase to level 2 at 350 Spirit, and level 3 at 700 Spirit, up to a maximum of 1000 Spirit. Some of Youmu's Normals and Specials will be altered as her Spirit Level increases, such as faster startup, more damage, increased hitbox size, or other properties. For instance, Youmu's aerial +Ⓩ will gain both an increased hitbox size and the ability to inflict on Counter Hit starting at Level 2 Spirit, with guaranteed at Level 3 Spirit. However, Youmu must be played carefully, as getting hit or whiffing an attack will cause Youmu's Spirit Gauge to decrease.
Perhaps Youmu's biggest weakness is her low Life stat at only 850 Life. As the Spirit Gauge decreases, Youmu will begin to lose the benefits accorded with it. At higher Spirit levels, Youmu cannot afford to recklessly throw out pokes with her Normals like other characters can unless she has extra Spirit Gauge to spare. Getting hit at higher Spirit Levels will cause Youmu to lose a greater amount of Spirit, losing 110% of damage incurred at Level 3. Furthermore, many of Youmu's better combos can only be performed at Level 2 Spirit or higher, due to some of her Normals having much longer startup times at lower Spirit levels, thus preventing some of her moves from properly connecting in a combo or blockstring. Because of this, maintaining offensive pressure against Youmu will keep her Spirit Gauge low and restrict her options.
Stats[]
Life
850
Power
3000
Attack
100
Defence
100
Movelist[]
Hovering the mouse cursor over the Command Input icons will display text that refers to the inputs set in M.U.G.E.N's Key Config.
Icons encased in square brackets [ ] require the respective button(s) to be held down. Hovering the mouse cursor over the icon displays the hold duration if applicable.
Specials[]
Guard Cancel Counter
Command Input
Properties
during blockstun
* Higher Spirit levels increase damage and hitbox size Adds 60 Spirit on hit Depletes 60 Spirit on miss Uses 1000 Power
Slash of Life and Death
Command Input
Properties
during attack for up to 2 additional attacks 1st and 2nd hits: , * 3rd hit: , , Higher Spirit levels reduce ending frame amount 1st hit, 2nd hit and Ⓧ version 3rd hit: adds 30 Spirit on hit, depletes 30 Spirit on miss Ⓨ and Ⓩ version 3rd hit: adds 60 Spirit on hit, depletes 60 Spirit on miss
Ⓧ
One attack, Spirit level 1
Two attacks, Spirit level 1
Three attacks, Spirit level 1
One attack, Spirit level 2
Two attacks, Spirit level 2
Three attacks, Spirit level 2
One attack, Spirit level 3
Two attacks, Spirit level 3
Three attacks, Spirit level 3
Ⓨ
One attack, Spirit level 1
Two attacks, Spirit level 1
Three attacks, Spirit level 1
One attack, Spirit level 2
Two attacks, Spirit level 2
Three attacks, Spirit level 2
One attack, Spirit level 3
Two attacks, Spirit level 3
Three attacks, Spirit level 3
Ⓩ
One attack, Spirit level 1
Two attacks, Spirit level 1
Three attacks, Spirit level 1
One attack, Spirit level 2
Two attacks, Spirit level 2
Three attacks, Spirit level 2
One attack, Spirit level 3
Two attacks, Spirit level 3
Three attacks, Spirit level 3
Insightful Sword
Command Input
Properties
Ⓧ / Ⓨ
Higher Spirit levels increase damage and counter's hitbox duration Adds 125 Spirit on successful counter Depletes 90 Spirit if counter fails
Netherworld Reflection Slash
Command Input
Properties
Ⓩ
Higher Spirit levels increase reflector's hitbox duration Adds 60 Spirit on successful counter Depletes 60 Spirit if counter fails
Crescent Moon Slash
Command Input
Properties
Higher Spirit levels increase damage and hitbox size Adds 60 Spirit on hit Depletes 60 Spirit on miss Ⓧ version: *, Ⓨ version: *, Ⓩ version: *
Ⓧ
Ⓨ
Ⓩ
Heart Carving Cut
Command Input
Properties
Higher Spirit levels decrease startup time Adds 60 Spirit on hit Depletes 60 Spirit on miss
Ⓧ
Spirit level 1
Spirit level 2
Spirit level 3
Ⓨ / Ⓩ
Spirit level 1
Spirit level 2
Spirit level 3
Lotus Stance Cut
Command Input
Properties
Initial projectile velocity and number of hits vary with button pressed Higher Spirit levels increase damage Adds 40 Spirit on hit Depletes 40 Spirit on miss
Ⓧ
Ⓨ
Ⓩ
Hypers[]
Life Ending Sword "Sword of Meditation"
Command Input
Properties
Higher Spirit levels reduce ending frame amount Adds 50 Spirit per hit Depletes 50 Spirit for each miss Uses 1000 Power
Spirit level 1
Spirit level 2
Spirit level 3
Human Sign "Slash of Present"
Command Input
Properties
* Higher Spirit levels increase damage Adds 300 Spirit on hit Depletes 300 Spirit on miss Uses 1000 Power
Empty Perception "6-root Cleansing"
Command Input
Properties
/ Ⓒ
Only usable if respective spellcard is selected prior to match Higher Spirit levels increase damage Adds 400 Spirit on successful counter Uses 400 Spirit if counter fails Uses 3000 Power
"Matsuyoi-Reflecting Satellite Slash"
Command Input
Properties
/ Ⓒ
* Requires Max Spirit Level Adds 1000 Spirit on hit Depletes 400 Spirit on miss Uses 3000 Power
Others[]
Spirit "Secret of Life and Death"
Command Input
Properties
/ Ⓒ
Only usable if respective spellcard is selected prior to match Creates a clone of Youmu that repeats inputs Damage per hit reduced to 60% while active Duration dependent on how much Power is used Requires 1500 Power Reduces Power to 0
This character uses a Palette Selector that allows for more than 12 palettes to be chosen, and as such, only the first 12 are shown here. For a full list of palettes, see Alternative palettes.
Victory quotes[]
General[]
“
"If there is something I can't make clear, I try cutting it!"”
“
"If a sword's been used to cut so much that it became tainted with clotted blood, it becomes useless."”
“
"You never had a chance. You're an insult to my Roukanken."”
“
"The things that can't be cut by this youkai-tempered Roukanken are next to none!"”
“
"Now then, today's training is done."”
“
"Past, present, and future... Events that have happened long ago, and those that have yet to happen. Surely, Lady Yukari might know something about the boundaries of time."”
Character-specific[]
“
"Maybe you say 'I shall make you the rust of my sword' because of the iron in blood?"”
"Ah, Lady Yukari. I've heard rumors saying you were involved in this incident..."”
— vs. Yukari Yakumo
“
"I feel sorry for you. The both of you."”
— vs. Seiga Kaku
“
"I don't know what the two of you are scheming, but... "”
— vs. Seiga Kaku
Videos[]
DDDF Request Youmu Konpaku (me) vs. Koopa Troopa
ST64 MUGEN Youmu Konpaku by Ricepigeon Released!
Smoke072's Mugen Youmu the Blademaster
Trivia[]
Youmu's Spirit Gauge mechanic bears a strong resemblance to Vergil's Concentration mechanic from Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, something that is further reinforced by the fact that Youmu's 19th palette is based on Vergil himself.
Youmu's sprite files contain unused spellcard text; it is possible that these were originally planned as Hypers at one point, but were ultimately scrapped.
Devil Trigger "Doppelganger", Boundary Cutting Sword "Dimension Slash", and "Dark Angel" all reference attacks used by Vergil, indicating that an alternate mode based on Vergil may have been originally planned.
Youmu's 2nd victory quote against Sanae is a reference to the outcome of the Touhou: Gensokyo Reloaded Fall 2016 Tournament, in where a Sanae player managed to reach the Grand Finals against all expectations.
The second person Youmu is referring to in both of her victory quotes against Seiga is Yoshika Miyako.
Youmu's 21st palette is based on Mai Kawasumi's appearance in Eternal Fighter Zero, as a nod to some of Youmu's animations bearing similarity to Mai's.
buttons for the majority of her attacks, while relegating the 
buttons to shortcut motions; 
used in combination with 
or 
acts as a shortcut for the character's 
is used as a shortcut for 
+
, while 
is used as a shortcut for 
, used in the Level 3 Hypers. At the beginning of the match, Youmu must select from one of two mutually-exclusive Level 3 Hypers; "6-root Cleansing" is a powerful counterattack that can inflict sizeable damage on a particularly careless opponent, while "Secret of Life and Death" turns the ghostly spirit that perpetually follows Youmu's movements into a clone that repeats her inputs for a limited time.
+
on Counter Hit starting at Level 2 Spirit, with guaranteed 
+
