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Castlevania Community Thread | What is a man?!

Manus

Member
I believe the consensus is that Circle of The Moon and Aria of Sorrow are both really good. Harmony of Dissonance is...well not so good.

Okay great, thanks. Just started Circle of the Moon and playing with a whip again is soooo weird. Plus having a dedicated run button is weird. Guess I'll just have to get used to it.
 
Thoughts on Dawn of Sorrow. Fun so far, but I'm not quite sure what I should be doing at that number puzzle. I went through all the exits marked on the grid (the arrows on the top corners) but there's nothing really for me to do after going to those. I'll go around the map more and see if there's anything else I'm missing. Last important bits I did were fight Dario and run into Arikado iirc.
 

Levyne

Banned
In the middle of Symphony of the Night. My only other Castlevania experience is Lords of Shadow and I've had a couple people telling me to play this.

I've had some help from others in order to not end the game early, so to speak. Did it mostly on my own but needed some hints at the end. I'm having a lot of fun, will have to post full impressions once I finish up. I definitely like the sprawling open map compared to Uncharted style platforming, that's for sure.
 
I was listening to some CV tunes on the way back from work when I started to listen to Bloodlines Bequeath and realized fully that you can whip Richters ass with pies...PIES!!!
This is supposed to be the strongest Belmont up to that period and he can be taken down by mere pies to the face in PoR. Granted it is a memory only, but come on, it has his strength and and abilities.
 
I was listening to some CV tunes on the way back from work when I started to listen to Bloodlines Bequeath and realized fully that you can whip Richters ass with pies...PIES!!!
This is supposed to be the strongest Belmont up to that period and he can be taken down by mere pies to the face in PoR. Granted it is a memory only, but come on, it has his strength and and abilities.

richter's one weakness has always been his poor sense of humor

also fulfilling your family legacy and taking on the deadly responsibility of wielding the world's most legendary weapon by hurling masses of pies at richter belmont is probably a highlight of videogames period

one of these days i will start ecclesia maybe
 

Levyne

Banned
Symphony of the Night completed for the first time. Some thoughts from a Castlevania noob.

Only knowing that these games are "like Metroid", the whole layout of the game itself was what I expected, and progression through the map went as I thought it would. Lots of epiphanies when you finally realize which item was needed to get through an area, and a few moments of "what the hell do I DO here." Those moments of realization sure feel pretty great though. I guess the frustration is necessary to maximize enjoyment, which I guess doesn't come as a surprise. I love the sprite art. And there is a pretty great variety of enemies and spells and things in general. There's a few reskins but they are extremely uncommon and the game keeps throwing new enemy types at you, which is pretty great.I wished that Alucard moved a little faster. He struts like a boss but I wished you could at least unlock some sort of forward lunge or something. Similar for the bat. Just seemed like I wanted something inbetween the wolf dash and the normal movement. The wolf itself was a little underwhelming too.

Running into spells or weapon attacks on accident was pretty great. I'm sure there's PLENTY that I missed but, for instance, I ran into the Moon Rod's special attack at it pretty much carried me through the second part of the game. In general I wish the game was a little harder. I felt like I could just simply out-dps most of the bosses without a lot of regard for actually learning their attack patterns. I've heard that the game can be made harder which is good to hear, though. I probably won't be playing through again but that's more an issue of time rather than interest. Man, that moon rod attack was pretty damn overpowered. My favorite bosses were the 3-foe fight, lightning mace anubis giant, and Beelzebub I apologize for not remembering all the names.

Fuck medusa heads.


Overall I enjoyed it a lot. The art, the variety, the lack of bullshit. Even the dialogue, engrish as it was, didn't really hinder the experience at all. I guess I've always liked Metroid style games so no surprise that I took to this as well
 
Symphony of the Night completed for the first time. Some thoughts from a Castlevania noob.

Only knowing that these games are "like Metroid", the whole layout of the game itself was what I expected, and progression through the map went as I thought it would. Lots of epiphanies when you finally realize which item was needed to get through an area, and a few moments of "what the hell do I DO here." Those moments of realization sure feel pretty great though. I guess the frustration is necessary to maximize enjoyment, which I guess doesn't come as a surprise. I love the sprite art. And there is a pretty great variety of enemies and spells and things in general. There's a few reskins but they are extremely uncommon and the game keeps throwing new enemy types at you, which is pretty great.I wished that Alucard moved a little faster. He struts like a boss but I wished you could at least unlock some sort of forward lunge or something. Similar for the bat. Just seemed like I wanted something inbetween the wolf dash and the normal movement. The wolf itself was a little underwhelming too.

Running into spells or weapon attacks on accident was pretty great. I'm sure there's PLENTY that I missed but, for instance, I ran into the Moon Rod's special attack at it pretty much carried me through the second part of the game. In general I wish the game was a little harder. I felt like I could just simply out-dps most of the bosses without a lot of regard for actually learning their attack patterns. I've heard that the game can be made harder which is good to hear, though. I probably won't be playing through again but that's more an issue of time rather than interest. Man, that moon rod attack was pretty damn overpowered. My favorite bosses were the 3-foe fight, lightning mace anubis giant, and Beelzebub I apologize for not remembering all the names.

Fuck medusa heads.


Overall I enjoyed it a lot. The art, the variety, the lack of bullshit. Even the dialogue, engrish as it was, didn't really hinder the experience at all. I guess I've always liked Metroid style games so no surprise that I took to this as well

Awesome! Glad another joins the SOTN fold (even though its the most popular anywho lol)!

I have to ask though (trying not to spoil) seeing as this is your first time, how did your game end
(put it in spoiler tags)
?

Others will know why I asked. Lets just say there is a pretty esoteric method to some endgame content...
 

Retro

Member
I have to ask though (trying not to spoil) seeing as this is your first time, how did your game end
(put it in spoiler tags)
?

I made sure to ask in opaque enough terms as he was playing to make sure he was on the right track without spoiling it. Interestingly enough, he had already gotten everything on his own, I just needed to remind him to equip the last item in the process. It was fun to sort of see the realization happening in real time and experience it again vicariously. That's one of gaming's top moments in my book.

Such a good game. I already did my yearly playthru in October, but I might just have to pick it up again just for the hell of it. I realized while talking about it today that I don't think I've ever used the Ghost familiar much. I also rarely use 2-hand weapons, so I think I might try that too (it'll certainly up the difficulty).

Fuck medusa heads.

You know how I can tell you haven't played the original Castlevania or Castlevania III? That wasn't in boldface, wasn't all caps, didn't have a single exclamation point, and you weren't crying while you typed it. We're gonna have to get some Classicvania into you, then you'll know what it is to hate. =)
 
I made sure to ask in opaque enough terms as he was playing to make sure he was on the right track without spoiling it. Interestingly enough, he had already gotten everything on his own, I just needed to remind him to equip the last item in the process. It was fun to sort of see the realization happening in real time and experience it again vicariously. That's one of gaming's top moments in my book.

Such a good game. I already did my yearly playthru in October, but I might just have to pick it up again just for the hell of it. I realized while talking about it today that I don't think I've ever used the Ghost familiar much. I also rarely use 2-hand weapons, so I think I might try that too (it'll certainly up the difficulty).



You know how I can tell you haven't played the original Castlevania or Castlevania III? That wasn't in boldface, wasn't all caps, didn't have a single exclamation point, and you weren't crying while you typed it. We're gonna have to get some Classicvania into you, then you'll know what it is to hate. =)


Good job looks like we have some fresh blood to sink our teeth into and sire into Castlevania.
..........
I'll stop.
 

Marz

Member
Symphony of the Night completed for the first time. Some thoughts from a Castlevania noob.

Only knowing that these games are "like Metroid", the whole layout of the game itself was what I expected, and progression through the map went as I thought it would. Lots of epiphanies when you finally realize which item was needed to get through an area, and a few moments of "what the hell do I DO here." Those moments of realization sure feel pretty great though. I guess the frustration is necessary to maximize enjoyment, which I guess doesn't come as a surprise. I love the sprite art. And there is a pretty great variety of enemies and spells and things in general. There's a few reskins but they are extremely uncommon and the game keeps throwing new enemy types at you, which is pretty great.I wished that Alucard moved a little faster. He struts like a boss but I wished you could at least unlock some sort of forward lunge or something. Similar for the bat. Just seemed like I wanted something inbetween the wolf dash and the normal movement. The wolf itself was a little underwhelming too.

Running into spells or weapon attacks on accident was pretty great. I'm sure there's PLENTY that I missed but, for instance, I ran into the Moon Rod's special attack at it pretty much carried me through the second part of the game. In general I wish the game was a little harder. I felt like I could just simply out-dps most of the bosses without a lot of regard for actually learning their attack patterns. I've heard that the game can be made harder which is good to hear, though. I probably won't be playing through again but that's more an issue of time rather than interest. Man, that moon rod attack was pretty damn overpowered. My favorite bosses were the 3-foe fight, lightning mace anubis giant, and Beelzebub I apologize for not remembering all the names.

Fuck medusa heads.


Overall I enjoyed it a lot. The art, the variety, the lack of bullshit. Even the dialogue, engrish as it was, didn't really hinder the experience at all. I guess I've always liked Metroid style games so no surprise that I took to this as well

You can just turn around and roll backwards repeatedly to wave dash really fast everywhere.
 

Retro

Member
You can just turn around and roll backwards repeatedly to wave dash really fast everywhere.

I told him that, but it was late and he may have not understood what I meant. Everyone who's anyone turns around and slides backwards towards enemies. The one thing I wish we had gotten from the Saturn version (as I understand it, all of the other additions were mostly fluff) are the Godspeed Boots.
 
I told him that, but it was late and he may have not understood what I meant. Everyone who's anyone turns around and slides backwards towards enemies. The one thing I wish we had gotten from the Saturn version (as I understand it, all of the other additions were mostly fluff) are the Godspeed Boots.
Was going to mention this. Those boots are pretty nice to get around everywhere.
 
"Rapist!"

So much lol.
Cant wait for LOS2 tbh screw the haters.

EDIT: @spyhunter we still need to play HoD sometime.

Also my favorite mobility ability in Castlevania might have to be in Aria of Sorrow the "Black Panther Soul"
185px-Black_Panther_AoS.jpg

It was amazing and made you feel like such a boss by endgame. Also hyper jumping into the ceiling was satisfying to see.
 
Was going to mention this. Those boots are pretty nice to get around everywhere.

Funny thing about the saturn version. Your overall mobility was much slower on saturn because the game couldn't handle you backdash canceling so fast and the framerate overall was horrendous. The boots were suppose to make Alucard go faster but they are slower than what he could have done on psx because the saturn couldn't process the game well.

Rule of thumb in Castlevanias, if you got a shield, you can backdash cancel fast. Yea even the really situational shields in Order of Ecclesia. It's like they gave the Alucard and Shanoa that since they don't have the Belmont strut.
 

Retro

Member
So much lol.
Cant wait for LOS2 tbh screw the haters.

I was worried you'd take it the wrong way, since GAF can be a little... sensitive... about things sometimes. Cheers!

Even as much as I dislike Lords of Shadow (It's a very good game, but it has nothing to do with Castlevania, and that draws my wrath), I'll probably get LoS2 it as soon as it hits PC (no FPS shenanigans this time). Maybe this time around they can do more than pay lip service to the series.
 

graywords

Member
Funny thing about the saturn version. Your overall mobility was much slower on saturn because the game couldn't handle you backdash canceling so fast and the framerate overall was horrendous. The boots were suppose to make Alucard go faster but they are slower than what he could have done on psx because the saturn couldn't process the game well.

Oh god, the slowdown when you fight the Malphases...

Though one other good feature in the Saturn version was the unlimited bat dash. Helped movement a lot in certain areas, but it was killer on the mana.
 

Arkos

Nose how to spell and rede to
So, hey guys! I just started SotN for the first time, never played anything like this (Metroid, Castlevania, or any similar 2D game). It's hard to describe my feelings, the game is pretty foreign to me and pretty challenging, but also pretty easy to grasp (the basics at least I guess) and a lot of fun actually.

Anyways, awesome game. Great art, great controls, good enemies so far, I got some sweet sunglasses, and now I'm trying to figure out how to beat one of the two bosses or large enemies I seem to have found (one near the outer wall and one back near the Marble something or other, right after a bunch of marionettes). But I found this bible that seems pretty badass and useful, so hopefully that will help.

Are there any general tips I should know about playing the game? I'm specifically interested in how to attack (big) enemies, I'm not sure if I'm being too aggressive or being too methodical, or if it depends on the boss how I should attack. Any tips on exploration (can I inadvertently get to areas that far out-level me, like in Dark Souls?) or using items (what do I do with all this cash?) would be cool too.

Thanks! Going to play some :p
 

graywords

Member
So, hey guys! I just started SotN for the first time, never played anything like this (Metroid, Castlevania, or any similar 2D game). It's hard to describe my feelings, the game is pretty foreign to me and pretty challenging, but also pretty easy to grasp (the basics at least I guess) and a lot of fun actually.

Anyways, awesome game. Great art, great controls, good enemies so far, I got some sweet sunglasses, and now I'm trying to figure out how to beat one of the two bosses or large enemies I seem to have found (one near the outer wall and one back near the Marble something or other, right after a bunch of marionettes). But I found this bible that seems pretty badass and useful, so hopefully that will help.

Are there any general tips I should know about playing the game? I'm specifically interested in how to attack (big) enemies, I'm not sure if I'm being too aggressive or being too methodical, or if it depends on the boss how I should attack. Any tips on exploration (can I inadvertently get to areas that far out-level me, like in Dark Souls?) or using items (what do I do with all this cash?) would be cool too.

Thanks! Going to play some :p

You're in for a great time.

The right weapons/armor can trivialize pretty much the entire game. Leveling up helps quite a bit, too — so much that some people try to level as little as possible, just for a better challenge.

Bosses are bosses, they are all different; learn their patterns for optimum fun. Make use of your shield to block certain projectiles, practice your backdash to escape lunges, etc.

Most of the tough areas are locked off to begin with or difficult to accidentally get to. There are a few places that can really tear up people if they end up making it there too early, without decent weapons/armor/levels. (Clock Tower, Colosseum, etc)

Money is used for things in the Library. You'll know when you see it.

TIP: Spikes are dangerous in this game. It doesn't matter how good your defense is, they will take off an exact percentage of your max life. Proceed with caution.

Have fun!
 
So, hey guys! I just started SotN for the first time, never played anything like this (Metroid, Castlevania, or any similar 2D game). It's hard to describe my feelings, the game is pretty foreign to me and pretty challenging, but also pretty easy to grasp (the basics at least I guess) and a lot of fun actually.

Anyways, awesome game. Great art, great controls, good enemies so far, I got some sweet sunglasses, and now I'm trying to figure out how to beat one of the two bosses or large enemies I seem to have found (one near the outer wall and one back near the Marble something or other, right after a bunch of marionettes). But I found this bible that seems pretty badass and useful, so hopefully that will help.

Are there any general tips I should know about playing the game? I'm specifically interested in how to attack (big) enemies, I'm not sure if I'm being too aggressive or being too methodical, or if it depends on the boss how I should attack. Any tips on exploration (can I inadvertently get to areas that far out-level me, like in Dark Souls?) or using items (what do I do with all this cash?) would be cool too.

Thanks! Going to play some :p

Well, For the most part you can be pretty cheap and use the Holy Water for almost all enemies and kill them with ease. You could also grind if you feel like it but some feel like that is just cheating. As for area exploration, you can get to areas that you're not suppose too, but that requires glitching and sequence breaking which I would recommend only after beating the game so you can enjoy it to the fullest. As for which Items to use is all up to you.
 
Just tried Judgement for the first time. Came out... pretty confused, ahaha.

I probably didn't get the best first experience because I was playing on a Wii U and thus had to use Wiimote controls, but it seemed pretty fun. Was surprised right off the bat by how snappy the movement was, as I was expecting movement to be more Soulcalibur and less Power Stone. Not quite sure how I feel about the combat yet. Attacks and combos seem almost a bit too straightforward and movement doesn't feel quite as loose as it should be to support that well enough to make for combat that will remain interesting. But what do I know, I just started playing. I'm sure once I experiment more I'll find more depth.

Anyways, what is up with the character roster? Questionable designs aside, it's... rather odd. I dig the Dracula's Curse representation, but... a Golem, the guy from Legacy of Darkness and a weird OC over Richter, Soma or Shaft? Seems a bit odd. Still, I haven't unlocked most of them so maybe their playstyles are really varied and neat.

The amount of content it seems to have is pretty impressive, though, and the music is amazing. So that's good.

Anyways, I guess I'll leave my current feelings about it as... "intruiged".
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
So I tried the Mirrors of Fate HD demo on PSN and it's uh... pathetically short? Is it a time-limit trial or was it really that bad? Cause they showed me what appeared to be the beginning of the game, complete with cut scenes and tutorial, and just as I was out of the tutorial the demo abruptly ended and they want me to buy the full game. lol, geez.
I hear the 3DS demo is a long longer and more significant, maybe I should try that one.

The game probably sucks though, got bad reviews and I thought LoS was mediocre gameplay wise (I enjoy the art though) and this seems like a step down.
 

Arkos

Nose how to spell and rede to
So I played quite a bit of SotN yesterday night lol. I made it all away around the big "circle" of the castle, finally couldn't figure out where to go, and then after some looking around I stumbled onto some dude's chambers which lead to the Colosseum. There's some tough dudes in here!

Still fun as shit though. I don't know if I'm any good at it but I think I've been making good progress? I found the stairway to Dracula's chamber from the intro but I need a triple jump :(

Oh well back to it.
 

Arkos

Nose how to spell and rede to
So... I'm gonna bump this in case anyone wants to talk about SotN. SotN SPOILERS

I got the "bad" ending the first time (I just wanted to fight Richter asap), and after reading a little advice I got to the inverted castle.

The inverted castle is such a mind fuck. Not only are the enemies harder (? at least different), and not only is the reversed layout a mind fuck, but the very appearance of the rooms is disorienting. I was assuming that it would be a normal castle but the layout would be inverted. Nope, it is literally the first castle, upside down. Crazy stuff.

I've been loving it though, I have the tunes stuck in my head and I only quit playing last night because I was too tired. I have Guacamelee to try next, and I guess I'm going to have to try Super Metroid on the VC if it's anything like this. Really glad I tried this game out, I'm a little burned out on the modern AAA fare and it's been a great change of pace.

So, does everybody moonwalk everywhere or what?
 
So... I'm gonna bump this in case anyone wants to talk about SotN. SotN SPOILERS

I got the "bad" ending the first time (I just wanted to fight Richter asap), and after reading a little advice I got to the inverted castle.

The inverted castle is such a mind fuck. Not only are the enemies harder (? at least different), and not only is the reversed layout a mind fuck, but the very appearance of the rooms is disorienting. I was assuming that it would be a normal castle but the layout would be inverted. Nope, it is literally the first castle, upside down. Crazy stuff.

I've been loving it though, I have the tunes stuck in my head and I only quit playing last night because I was too tired. I have Guacamelee to try next, and I guess I'm going to have to try Super Metroid on the VC if it's anything like this. Really glad I tried this game out, I'm a little burned out on the modern AAA fare and it's been a great change of pace.

So, does everybody moonwalk everywhere or what?

When I heard about it two years back I did try it out. For the most part I would use Bat Tackle and the Wolf rush when I didn't know
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
I just finished going through Lords of Shadow Ultimate edition and now I am finishing up the DLC missions I never got a chance to do. I honestly could rant about the combat system in this game for hours if you're curious I made a thread about it a week ago.

Honestly though, I enjoy Lords of Shadow for what it is, there is an enjoyable aspect to the gameplay and the puzzles don't feel tacked on and actually feel like an integral part of the game's over all design. I really like it and I am looking forward to playing through LoS2 in feb.

That being said I am on a huge Castlevania kick at the moment, currently playing through Order of Ecclesia for the first time as it's the only handheld CV I never got around to playing. Jesus this game is hard, it's also fun as hell and the glyph system looks to be so fun.

I ordered Mirror of Fate for the 3DS since I found it for 8 bucks on ebay yesterday. Should be interesting, especially as a prequel to LoS2.

Lords of Shadow's DLC missions are strange though, I originally borrowed LoS from my room mate back in college since I had like no money to spend on games back then. I went through it but didn't really like it that much on a first impression, however this second time around I really enjoyed it a lot more, I finally got a hang of the janky combat (all the good combos revolve around jumping attacks and using your burst of light attack) however I don't think I would have ever purchased the 2 DLC's for this game, they just don't offer that much content, especially when there is minimal replay value for them. Each DLC chapter takes probably an hour or 2 to finish? And the second DLC chapter is basically 1 climbing segment followed by a 2 mission long boss fight.

That being said I actually enjoy the LoS universes storyline so I am excited to play through Mirror of Fate.

Edit:

Out of curiosity I was thinking about speed running SotN, I still have my old PS1 version on disc but we all know how awful PS1 games can look on the PS3. Is the PSN version of this game built for HD better or is it just a straight ISO rip like all the other PS1 classics?
 

Jaeger

Member
Replaying Symphony as we speak. Still one of my all time favorite gaming experiences, ever. Trumps every Gears of Duty: Evolved title you can think of.

Maybe one day, we will get an epic Battle of 1999 2-D title, that is done in traditional pixels, and blows my body out of the galaxy form the overwhelmingly awesome experience.
 

jaxword

Member
Replaying Symphony as we speak. Still one of my all time favorite gaming experiences, ever. Trumps every Gears of Duty: Evolved title you can think of.

Maybe one day, we will get an epic Battle of 1999 2-D title, that is done in traditional pixels, and blows my body out of the galaxy form the overwhelmingly awesome experience.

Probably never, since IGA was the only one who really seemed to care about that plotline.
 

kogasu

Member
Maybe one day, we will get an epic Battle of 1999 2-D title, that is done in traditional pixels, and blows my body out of the galaxy form the overwhelmingly awesome experience.

I've been hoping for that for a looong time. Who knows if that'll ever come to be. It would definitely be awesome though.

Also, speaking of future games that may or may not happen, I wonder what we an expect from the series after LoS2 is done. It's supposed to be the last of that storyline, right?
 

Jaeger

Member

OMG the teasing! I would donate all my moneyz for IGA to do the 1999 game. Seriously. I hope someone from Konami is listening.

Side note, I love those cameos and references in to game properties in the YGO Card game. I regularly check the wikia for new images, because of it.

EDIT - Another recommendation for Castlevania inspired games, if they weren't already mentioned.

The Touhou Project games spawned two CV inspired titles (coined Touhouvania's by fans), Koumajou Densetsu: Scarlet Symphony and Koumajou Densetsu: Stranger's Requiem. Both are quite amazing, and have a Rondo feel to them (but no branching paths, very linear). Great graphics, and exquisite controls. Stranger's Requiem is the jewel of the two. They would make any CV fan, proud.


Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht2UUoUTDTY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ_pWm9a260
 
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