Magical Battle Arena NEXT - Setup/Gameplay Guide

1. Download and extract Magical Battle Arena NEXT.
2. Run _setup/MBAN_Setup_Controller.bat as administrator if you have a controller, otherwise run _setup/MBAN_Setup_Keyboard.bat as administrator, then restart your computer when prompted.
3. Read https://shoutoku-taoist.tumblr.com/post/96270124471/a-introductory-guide-to-magical-battle-arena-next and _resources/Magical Battle Arena NEXT - Synchro Actions and Skills.xlsx for a basic overview of the game.
4. Run AutoHotkey.exe to enable improved dash/step cancel and boost dash, as well as other useful functions (does not open a window, only in the systray in the background). Press ` (above Tab on most keyboards) to toggle AutoHotkey on (H) and off (S).
5. If you have a controller, run _antimicro/antimicro.exe as administrator, open it from the systray, and map the buttons to the default keyboard controls below, otherwise refer to the custom keyboard controls below:

Controller Controls:

Xbox/PS Button      Keyboard Key           In-game Action
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<L Stick> ↑/↓/←/→   ↑/↓/←/→                Forward/Backward/Left/Right
<R Stick> ↑/↓/←/→   S/D/←/→                Up/Down/Left/Right
<D-Pad>   ↑/↓/←/→   <Number Row> 8/2/4/6   ↑/↓/←/→ Synchro Actions (SA) 
L Trigger           Y (A+C)                Trigger (Charged) Shot (TS/TCS)
R Trigger           Z                      Dash/Step Cancel
A/×                 X                      Guard
B/○                 I (A+Z)                Drive Attack (DA)
X/□                 V                      (Charged) Melee
Y/△                 U (A+X)                (Charged) Extra
Back/Share          B                      Boost Dash
Guide/PS            -None-                 -None-
Start/Options       <Number Row> 5         (Accel) Synchro Drive (SD/ASD),
                                           Accel Drive Attack (ADA)
LS Click            -None-                 -None-
RS Click            Q                      Change Target
L Shoulder          T (A+V)                Trigger (Charged) Attack (TA/TCA)
R Shoulder          C                      (Charged) Shot (S/CS)

Keyboard Controls:

Keyboard Key           In-game Action
--------------------------------------------------------
I/K/J/L                Forward/Backward/Left/Right
U/O                    Up/Down
<Number Row> 3/2/1/4   ↑/↓/←/→ Synchro Actions (SA)
D (Shift+C)            Trigger (Charged) Shot (TS/TCS)
Z                      Dash/Step Cancel
X                      Guard
A (Shift+Z)            Drive Attack (DA)
V                      (Charged) Melee
S (Shift+X)            (Charged) Extra
B                      Boost Dash
Q                      Change Target
E                      (Accel) Synchro Drive (SD/ASD),
                       Accel Drive Attack (ADA)
F (Shift+V)            Trigger (Charged) Attack (TA/TCA)
C                      (Charged) Shot (S/CS)

When done, run MBAN.exe to open the game. From top to bottom, the main menu reads:
1. Arcade Mode
2. Story Mode
3. Survival Mode
4. vs. CPU Mode
5. Online Multiplayer
6. Practice Mode
7. Tutorial
8. Stats/Achievements
9. Replays
10. Options
11. Exit

Before playing multiplayer, please finish the following on VeryHard difficulty to adequately learn the game and unlock all synchro actions/skills, then choose a character to main. Good luck and have fun!
1. Tutorial - Technical and Simple controls all clear (Note: The 11th technical tutorial has a typo (A+V) - fully charge TS (A+C) instead)
2. Story Mode - All clear, first from left to right (Reimu/Marisa story), then the rest from top to bottom, left to right.
3. Arcade Mode - Clear once with each of the 8 character positions from either Touhou or Mahou Shoujo side (e.g. Position 1: Reimu/Illya, Position 2: Marisa/Miyu, etc). Clearing with Nowel is not required. Recommended list of characters to clear with: 1) Reimu, 2) Marisa, 3) Sakura, 4) Nanoha, 5) Fate, 6) Reisen, 7) Tenshi, 8) Punie
4. Survival Mode - Clear 15 waves of opponents, losing intentionally to end Survival mode after the counter reads 15.