Not confused, really. I just read "Wily's second form" to mean his
alien form
as opposed to his
"Mega Man just shot the front shield off of my flying tank" form
. The original statement is a bit vague and could be read both ways. I think it was the "I got up to" that implied to me that the second form was something that had to be reached beyond the flying tank.
I also feel silly spoiler tagging a game that's over 20 years old.
On the subject of AVGN, though, I wonder how many parts this review will be. I mean, I fully expect him to revisit CV2 in the next episode. I'm guessing that he'll probably tackle CV3 in it as well.
But what after that? It sounds like he'll be doing most, if not all, of the old games. So will we see an episode dedicated to the Game Boy games? The 16-bit ones? The two N64 titles? It'll be interesting to see how far he takes this. It'd be great to see him review all of them, though.
Nice review. I attempted to beat CV1 a year ago and tried about 40 times to beat Dracula before quitting out of frustration. I even literally went into a screaming fit on a few occasions.
Especially enjoyed when he mentions the hallway before Death with the axes and Medusa heads. I knew exactly what he was talking about and cringed. Can't wait to see the rest.
I enjoyed this episode. It's cool when the Nerd reviews games that he actually likes, but still manages to get angry at certain design choices.
Since I'm a huge Castlevania fan, I'm looking forward to the rest of this marathon.
Oh, and if the original CV is a "masterpiece" then CV3 must be God in the form of a video game. It took everything from the series foundation and just ramped it up. More characters, story, weapons, and stages. Better replay value. Better music. Better balance in the difficulty. CV3 is simply one of the most amazing sequels to ever be made. It's up there with Super Mario Bros. 3 in that regard.
brandonh83 said:
Castlevania II is awesome, but flawed. It's how I want Castlevania games to be done, I love the open-world exploration. I know the Metroidvania breed is open-world as well but there was just something more epic/mysterious about traveling between towns, finding old mansions in the woods, etc. Really fantastic atmosphere. If there's a game that needs to be remade, it's Castlevania II.
I can actually agree with this. Simon's Quest is the worst of the NES Castlevanias, but it was still a fun game and yes, it definitely nailed the atmosphere. I would support a remake.
i've played and beat castlevania alot when the game was fresh and i was a kid. that medusa corridor was indeed very painful and the game was the very first which felt like a real horror game to me. might sound funny today, but it creeped me out back then.
the soundtrack is still one of the best ever made.
Anyone else likes AVGN more when he cuts out the bullshit and just focus on the games? The costumes and shitty digital effects were fun maybe 1-2 times, but after a while I just got bored of it.
Are you talking about the second form of the last boss in Castlevania 1 on the NES? Because if that is what you are talking about then no you can't avoid the jump but you can freeze him with holy water. Everyone usually makes the mistake of getting the boomerang, but the freeze factor made holy water the weapon of choice for most boss fights in that game.
I too used the boomerang when I first got to that boss and hoped for the best.
You can't chuck 3 Holy Waters in the air and hit the first form 6x with them, which is why I used the boomerang. Plus I really suck at hitting/jumping over his fireballs, so I throw one boomerang on the ground to kill them.
Anyone else likes AVGN more when he cuts out the bullshit and just focus on the games? The costumes and shitty digital effects were fun maybe 1-2 times, but after a while I just got bored of it.
I like it when he actually reviews them. I can't stand the other 80% where he is doing his best to curse up a storm. I really wonder who sits there and laughs at it. His target demographic for these vids are people that are in their late 20s+. God I feel old now...
I like it when he actually reviews them. I can't stand the other 80% where he is doing his best to curse up a storm. I really wonder who sits there and laughs at it. His target demographic for these vids are people that are in their late 20s+. God I feel old now...
Judging by the people who have sent in their renditions of the theme for one episodr, no, not at all. I don't remember which episode it was, but I do remember seeing a lot of young kids which is exactly the demographic I imagine his cursing appeals to.
This was a much better AVGN for me...I love watching it, but the cutaways to the ridiculous stuff really detracts and for those moments make me wonder why I watch. Then he gets back to the game and I remember why.
I didn't mind the 64 ones, had some terrible platforming though, but some cool areas and bosses.
darkwings said:
Anyone else likes AVGN more when he cuts out the bullshit and just focus on the games? The costumes and shitty digital effects were fun maybe 1-2 times, but after a while I just got bored of it.
I actually disagree with his stance on Castlevania 3.
I've been playing the game recently, and I think it's a masterpiece on nearly the same level as Super Mario Brothers 3.
All of the issues he encountered were mostly non-issues with me. I agree that the stairs can be a pain, as the whole "you'll have a hard time using a special weapon on the stairs" thing is pretty much true. And, yeah, there are those parts like in stage 5A and stage 9 where you have to fight dragonheads (or whatever they're actually called) as you're climbing stairs. That's tough, but it's not impossible to master the timing and the stair movement that the game requires to make those sections reasonable.
But honestly, that's just it. If you're both patient and skilled in general, Castlevania 3 is actually a game of only moderate difficulty, especially when it comes to bosses. The toughest boss in the game is the doppleganger, and that's BY FAR. As for Dracula, again, the Nerd just doesn't know how to approach him properly. He's actually a much more reasonable boss than he was in the original Castlevania, even. The "pillar of fire" is very easy to avoid once you figure out how to manipulate it. That is, the more you move around (especially in the direction opposite of Dracula himself) the wider the outside pillars will be, allowing you to easily dodge the giant pillar and attack Dracula. His second form and third forms are relatively easy as well as long as you have the axe. I agree that it was dumb to send the player back to the beginning of the final level upon death, but that's all.
Putting a little bit of work into learning better patience and timing goes a very long way with classic NES games, and CV3 is not an exception to this.
And believe me, I'm not as good at games as I used to be. And, I still find the original Castlevania to be the hardest of the NES games, even though it's the shortest.
Castlevania 3 not only brought awesome innovations to the series like additional characters and branching paths, but it also had plenty of levels, an amazing soundtrack, and good replay value. It marks an astronomical improvement over the basic foundation of the original Castlevania.
Castlevania 3 is so awesome, just hearing the music always brings me back. Definitely in my NES Top 10 (if not Top 5). It is very hard at points and can be frustrating, but damn if it isn't an amazing action/platformer.
I was actually REALLY surprised when he said that.
It's interesting to know that he found CV3 so frustrating. As a Castlevania fan myself, and as someone who grew up with the games just as he did, I can't see myself doing anything other than singing praises for it. CV3 definitely isn't an easy game, but I don't find it very cheap or unforgiving, either. When I was a kid I found it tough, had my share of deaths, and most certainly did use the HELPME code, but now I can truly appreciate what I find to be the game's relatively balanced difficulty, especially next to the likes of Contra.
It's not only the best Castlevania game, in my opinion, but it's definitely one of the best games ever conceived. For the action-platformer genre, it's just ridiculously strong.
Haven't watched the video, but man, Castlevania III is fantastic. I played it for the first time only recently and while it still has the annoying nuances that are customary of 8-bit Castlevania, it's just so refined and rewarding. CV3 is akin to NGII - a true refinement of the original whilst being a bit more forgiving, but still satisfyingly difficult.
He was surprisingly kind to CVII, and surprisingly hard on CVIII.
Rash said:
If you're both patient and skilled in general, Castlevania 3 is actually a game of only moderate difficulty, especially when it comes to bosses. The toughest boss in the game is the doppleganger, and that's BY FAR.
IIRC, there was a trick to beating the doppelganger. If you switched to another character, the doppelganger would switch in response, so if you made him switch characters mid-jump by switching yourself, he'd lose him momentum and fail to make the jump.
Once I realized it, he was a total cakewalk. Without that trick, I was never able to beat him.
Oh come on, as if you all don't get angry dying repeatedly in even excellent games. The frustration is part of the experience and the good games, like this one, make you want to try and defeat it over and over again instead of simply quitting.
I actually disagree with his stance on Castlevania 3.
I've been playing the game recently, and I think it's a masterpiece on nearly the same level as Super Mario Brothers 3.
All of the issues he encountered were mostly non-issues with me. I agree that the stairs can be a pain, as the whole "you'll have a hard time using a special weapon on the stairs" thing is pretty much true. And, yeah, there are those parts like in stage 5A and stage 9 where you have to fight dragonheads (or whatever they're actually called) as you're climbing stairs. That's tough, but it's not impossible to master the timing and the stair movement that the game requires to make those sections reasonable.
But honestly, that's just it. If you're both patient and skilled in general, Castlevania 3 is actually a game of only moderate difficulty, especially when it comes to bosses. The toughest boss in the game is the doppleganger, and that's BY FAR. As for Dracula, again, the Nerd just doesn't know how to approach him properly. He's actually a much more reasonable boss than he was in the original Castlevania, even. The "pillar of fire" is very easy to avoid once you figure out how to manipulate it. That is, the more you move around (especially in the direction opposite of Dracula himself) the wider the outside pillars will be, allowing you to easily dodge the giant pillar and attack Dracula. His second form and third forms are relatively easy as well as long as you have the axe. I agree that it was dumb to send the player back to the beginning of the final level upon death, but that's all.
Putting a little bit of work into learning better patience and timing goes a very long way with classic NES games, and CV3 is not an exception to this.
And believe me, I'm not as good at games as I used to be. And, I still find the original Castlevania to be the hardest of the NES games, even though it's the shortest.
Castlevania 3 not only brought awesome innovations to the series like additional characters and branching paths, but it also had plenty of levels, an amazing soundtrack, and good replay value. It marks an astronomical improvement over the basic foundation of the original Castlevania.
How would someone pre-Internet and trying not to cheat, figure that out? That's always been the Nerd's approach to these games. As someone first playing the game in the 80's. He rarely resorts to codes, and only does when hopelessly stuck.
How would someone pre-Internet and trying not to cheat, figure that out? That's always been the Nerd's approach to these games. As someone first playing the game in the 80's. He rarely resorts to codes, and only does when hopelessly stuck.
Easy. You try to dogde it and eventually, you figure out that you can manipulate the pillars's distance. Seriously, you can't really miss that. It's so obvious.
How would someone pre-Internet and trying not to cheat, figure that out? That's always been the Nerd's approach to these games. As someone first playing the game in the 80's. He rarely resorts to codes, and only does when hopelessly stuck.