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[Creaking]

Aside from the fact you could, y'know, buy levels from Vincent if you just bought the same sub again.

Nobody told me!

No matter though, later in the game there was an area with a group of red axe armors that were fairly easy to kill (with the right equipment) and gave a hefty amount of skill points for killing them. That's where I maxed every subweapon.

 

[Samus4145]

Harmony of Despair.

I love online co-op. It should also be said the game did make its way to PSN.

 

[Creaking]

Harmony of Despair.

I love online co-op. It should also be said the game did make its way to PSN.

It should also be said that it's hardly a Metroidvania, more like a loot-heavy multiplayer dungeon crawler with a Castlevania theme.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Yeah, no. Because I wasn't talking about MoF.

The thread is about Metroidvania, which Lords of Shadow isn't. Face it, LoS killed Metroidvania. Killed it dead. Unlike Drac, though, it ain't coming back.

It sucks.

 

[Acccent]

Everything post Aria (including it) beats SOTN. Symphony of the Night is an amazing game but it is CONSTANTLY hailed as the best Castlevania when it's clearly been surpassed for a long time now (OoT syndrome much?)


I'd like to talk about Portrait of Ruin. What a masterpiece. It's such a shame that people fail to see how brilliant it is. Okay, it had a bad story and bad character art and overall the atmosphere is kinda lacking when compared to the rest of the franchise; I don't mean to claim that it's perfect in every way, it has many flaws.
But gameplay-wise, it is the absolute best. It is incredibly smooth, the weapons all have a perfect feel and are super varied, and having the two characters allows a kind of flow that's not been matched by any other Metroidvania that I know of. It is simultaneously rigid and precise on one hand, and super dynamic on the other, like playing two instances of Dark Souls at the same time if you see what I mean. I think the devs tried to replicate this with OoE's dual-wielding, but obviously it wasn't as successful, even though the resulting system is kinda interesting. The gameplay, the level and monster design, the mechanics of Portrait of Ruin stand head and shoulders above that of any other Castlevania.

It's such a shame that, yeah, the characters are dense and the story blows.

 

[not psycho]

It is simultaneously rigid and precise on one hand, and super dynamic on the other, like playing two instances of Dark Souls at the same time if you see what I mean. I think the devs tried to replicate this with OoE's dual-wielding, but obviously it wasn't as successful, even though the resulting system is kinda interesting.

Switching between characters in PoR is a lot like switching between equip builds in OoE. Except OoE gives you 3 different builds to switch between on the fly with dual wielding on each of the 3. When you consider PoR has several areas where even with 2 characters you'll need to be constantly pausing and equipping to get past a barrier, I can't rate it more than 2/4 Dark Souls. OoE system gets the perfect 4 Dark Souls out of 4.

SotN also gets a perfect score on controls, for a different reason. Since it used more buttons and motions in the first place, it allowed you to have more available at any given time (as I listed earlier). The excellent OoE system allows it to catch up to SotN. Any answer other than SotN or OoE for best control system is just wrong.

 

[Creaking]

I'd like to talk about Portrait of Ruin. What a masterpiece. It's such a shame that people fail to see how brilliant it is. Okay, it had a bad story and bad character art and overall the atmosphere is kinda lacking when compared to the rest of the franchise; I don't mean to claim that it's perfect in every way, it has many flaws.
But gameplay-wise, it is the absolute best. It is incredibly smooth, the weapons all have a perfect feel and are super varied, and having the two characters allows a kind of flow that's not been matched by any other Metroidvania that I know of. It is simultaneously rigid and precise on one hand, and super dynamic on the other, like playing two instances of Dark Souls at the same time if you see what I mean. I think the devs tried to replicate this with OoE's dual-wielding, but obviously it wasn't as successful, even though the resulting system is kinda interesting. The gameplay, the level and monster design, the mechanics of Portrait of Ruin stand head and shoulders above that of any other Castlevania.

I'm curious; did you play Dawn of Sorrow?

 

[Acccent]

I can't rate it more than 2/4 Dark Souls. OoE system gets the perfect 4 Dark Souls out of 4.

hahaha

rest of post

I didn't mean that it was better because it allowed you to do more things without having to go back to the menu to switch equipment - in this regard, yeah, OoE is better. I'm talking about the pace of the gameplay, the rhythm. PoR has you constantly 'micro-managing' Jonathan and Charlotte, using them both simultaneously, and the result is a second-to-second gameplay that's unmatched. The way in which OoE comes close to this is thanks to the timing it associates with each glyph, so optimal play isn't a matter of pressing the attack button as fast as possible but actually learning each combination's specific rhythm.

I'm curious; did you play Dawn of Sorrow?

Yeah, loved it, probably my second favourite - mostly for its atmosphere though. Why?

 

[Creaking]

Yeah, loved it, probably my second favourite - mostly for its atmosphere though. Why?

You praised Portrait for its weapons and monster designs, but many of those were borrowed directly from Dawn of Sorrow. Just wondering if you knew.

 

[Acccent]

You praised Portrait for its weapons and monster designs, but many of those were borrowed directly from Dawn of Sorrow. Just wondering if you knew.

Yeah, and many of those were from SotN. I just think PoR has the best collection (even though the all-time best Castlevania weapon is Circle of the Moon's massive hammer!)

edit: I was looking for a picture of said hammer and found all the pretty cool weapons that CotM had, that's maybe the one reason why I remember it so fondly - the power all looked slick! I'd have to replay it. I think a remake was announced? Or did I only read about someone *wishing* for a remake? Don't remember.
Here is the hammer:

 

[Creaking]

Yeah, and many of those were from SotN. I just think PoR has the best collection (even though the all-time best Castlevania weapon is Circle of the Moon's massive hammer!)

The weapons were only from Dawn though. I'm pretty sure almost every non whip or book weapon was a direct sprite rip from Dawn of Sorrow, under a slightly different name.

I suppose just about every game (save perhaps Circle of the Moon) borrows previously used enemies.

 

[Acccent]

The weapons were only from Dawn though. I'm pretty sure almost every non whip or book weapon was a direct sprite rip from Dawn of Sorrow.

Ah, maybe!

 

[Parallacs]

1. Aria of Sorrow - just because everyone has picked SOTN and that staircase on the upper left chapel is always a drag. Aria showed just how great the GBA was.
2. SOTN - love the "extra" part of the game. Hate that long staircase (see above)
3. Dawn of Sorrow - Beautiful and deep. I love it as much as the top two. I love the souls vs weapons balance.

Hall of Shame:
Harmony of Dissonance - Such an empty game. It also has long gaps between save points.

 

[Foffy]

Aside from the fact you could, y'know, buy levels from Vincent if you just bought the same sub again.

Isn't Vincent limited on what sub-weapons he has on offer?

 

[Red Arremer]

Isn't Vincent limited on what sub-weapons he has on offer?

I believe so, but it's still a big chunk you can just level up through buying em.

 

[WAR recon zero]

SOTN is unmatched.

 

[Snkfanatic]

SOTN would be my top choice, one of my favorite games of all time.

I just started playing the DS titles with my 3DS, never played them before. Dawn of Sorrow is kicking my ass, I guess you need to grind a lot in this one.

 

[Jazzy Network]

SOTN would be my top choice, one of my favorite games of all time.

I just started playing the DS titles with my 3DS, never played them before. Dawn of Sorrow is kicking my ass, I guess you need to grind a lot in this one.

Eh? Not really. Dawn of Sorrow is relatively easy. Of course compared to SotN it's probably hard as hell.

 

[TheMink]

SOTN. No competition.

Symphony of the Night.

No contest.

Yeeeeup

 

[Masked Devil]

without question