ZUN Reads Back The Scarlet Devil Bonus Text On Video
The remake shipped without the out-of-game text that defined these characters, so ZUN narrating it himself is the only place that material now lives.
Reporting from 1 source: Denfaminicogamer.
Shanghai Alice Reprise released a bonus text video on YouTube on October 10 in which original creator ZUN looks back on the setting notes from Touhou Koumakyou. The text data, viewable from the PC install in 2002, is not bundled in the remake Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic, which is available on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Steam. ZUN says the extra story and character introductions appear only in the video.
The video runs through the character notes ZUN wrote for the 2002 release, material he says he could not fit into the remake. On Marisa Kirisame, he describes her as one of the enemy characters from the older games, a nod to her first appearance as a Stage 4 boss rather than a protagonist. He calls Meiling Hong a Chinese-ish youkai and admits he no longer knows what she is, and he questions whether the Scarlet sisters count as living creatures. He also discusses the ribbon Rumia wears.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.