J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
It's been a quiet past months eh? I presume everyone on CastlevaniaGAF is aware of IGA's kickstarter, right?
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Castlevania Community Thread | What is a man?!
- Thread starter Kokonoe
- Start date
You know what i just realized the other day? I never played the original X68000 version of Castlevania Chronicle on the disc, always the arrange version. The music is really good!
Vampire Killer
Thrashard in the Cave (sounds like something from Thunder Force).
Vampire Killer
Thrashard in the Cave (sounds like something from Thunder Force).
The Bankslammer
Member
Speaking of alternate versions of Castlevania 1, somehow I had no idea until just recently that Vampire Killer was rereleased for the first time on Japanese Wii U Virtual Console. Playing through it is extremely bizarre, it's like some kind of alternate reality version of CV1, lol. I'm much more of a fan of the NES game, but some things about it, like being able to upgrade your speed and jump abilities and the way the item system works, are pretty cool (albeit very unintuitive, lol).
I'm not optimistic given the history of MSX Virtual Console, but hopefully it somehow finds its way west. It's really interesting and I'm looking forward to getting further into it (and maybe picking up the PS2 version of Haunted Castle? Is that similar to Vampire Killer?)
edit: Ah, evidently Haunted Castle is more like traditional Castlevania, and not particularly well received, lol. I still feel obliged to try it out at some point.
I'm not optimistic given the history of MSX Virtual Console, but hopefully it somehow finds its way west. It's really interesting and I'm looking forward to getting further into it (and maybe picking up the PS2 version of Haunted Castle? Is that similar to Vampire Killer?)
edit: Ah, evidently Haunted Castle is more like traditional Castlevania, and not particularly well received, lol. I still feel obliged to try it out at some point.
Lee Chaolan
Member
I would just like to note I was pissed off they never made the US version of DXC "compatible" for the PSTV, so I bought a UK card and bought the UK version of DXC, which works absolutely perfect.
spyhunterzero
Member
Haunted Castle is notorious for being hard. Well, the K version I believe. You really have to know what you are doing and know enemy placement/patterns to beat it. I played it a while back and it was something alright. Was able to get good enough to get pretty far on it but I only did so to hear the high score music because I was curious to see how it sounded after hearing the remake version on Adventure Rebirth
Watching the Machinima series on Castlevania History. I had no idea Symphony was actually considered a side project where the 64 game was supposed to be the focus entry.
I really do wish people would stop downing on the 64 games though. They really arent bad in the least bit.
How about Lords of Shadow 2? I liked how Lords of Shadow 1 went (early on, before the whole Death and Satan segments with their browns and reds) but for some reason I slepts on LoS 2.
I really do wish people would stop downing on the 64 games though. They really arent bad in the least bit.
How about Lords of Shadow 2? I liked how Lords of Shadow 1 went (early on, before the whole Death and Satan segments with their browns and reds) but for some reason I slepts on LoS 2.
Fact: The N64 games capture the essence of the Castlevania series better than any of the subsequent 3-D titles. Especially when it comes to combat (most non-boss enemies can be dispatched with one or two hits vs. the combo-heavy approach required by the others) and platforming (which the other games have almost none to speak of). The atmosphere also gives the other 3-DVanias a run for their money, though I think most of Lament of Innocence and Carmilla's castle from Lords of Shadow are better. Were it not for some oddly frustrating puzzle choices (Magic Nitro, anyone?) and the hardware, I think they'd be much more appreciated.
Nocturnowl
Member
LoS2 is an odd one, I get the feeling thinking back that I enjoyed myself enough but boy did it have some parts that were just making me wonder what the heck happened, the signs of its troubled development are pretty apparent.
I guess I like the way the world chose to set itself up and the combat was mostly solid, but fuuuuuck those stealth sections.
Higher highs and lower lows than LoS1? maybe.
Plot manages to have an interesting premise that ultimately goes nowhere which is incredibly impressive when you consider it wraps up the little trilogy of LoS.
If nothing else the castle sections give off some nice vania vibes in its atmosphere.
Back then, I think CV64 was slightly more well received than what I see now. I mean, it was still given like a solid B - or C back then, but now people really tend to hate it. It gets a lot more flack in retrospect. It does have its clunkiness, as did most N64 games, and the camera could be a bit of a pain to work with but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the game. I agree with Retro that the gameplay is closer to something like Classicvania in 3D than any of the other 3D iterations and the dark lonely atmosphere really wins out over a some of the others. Also, I really enjoyed the music though it's a bit of a deviation from most of the series before it.
As I was writing up my post, I had elaborated a bit more on the 'hardware' comment at the end; the game has a lot of muddy textures and frame rate issues, the draw distance leaves you surrounded by that impenetrable N64 fog (though not as bad as, say, Turok), the camera was impossible to wrangle and the jumping / climbing bits could be a tad chunky at time.
I decided to leave it out because honestly, that's pretty much describing a TON of games in those days, especially the franchises that were transitioning over to 3-D. I'd put CV64 on the same level as some of it's contemporaries like Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Jet Force Gemini, etc. Not everyone could gracefully step into the third dimension like Ocarina of Time or Mario 64, and not many made it into 3-D with so much of what made their 2-D predecessors awesome in tact.
And the music was great, more atmospheric but because of the way the game was designed you'd be spending a lot more time in places where a more traditional Castlevania soundtrack would be more repetitive.
Missing Curse of Darkness (released after Dawn of Sorrow), I noticed.
UpperCaseN
Member
Bloodstained reminded me that the only Castlevania game I've ever played is SotN, despite loving the Metroid franchise. I have a 14 hour flight next week and plan on going through the GBA Castlevanias in order. Assuming I love them, I'll tackle the DS ones after that. I fear ordering online and receiving the Greatest Hits version of Dawn of Sorrow though *shudders*
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Playing them all in a day may burn you out quite quickly. For now I recommend you only tackle Circle of the Moon and maybe Aria of Sorrow. Harmony of Dissonance is totally forgettable.
UpperCaseN
Member
That's a good point, I'll be sure to space it out. I've got some other portable games I can bring
Just play Aria of Sorrow and Order of Ecclessia. The two best Metroidvanias.
If you still have the itch after that check out the other games.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
But then they would suck by comparison. :/
You need some Dracula's Curse, IV, Bloodlines, and Rondo of Blood in your life. You havent experienced Castlevania until then.
UpperCaseN
Member
what I'm afraid of. Might as well go in release order, I have immediate access to the GBA ones but not the DS ones yet.
These are classic style? How's the difficulty? I have a feeling my skill is not good enough.
Don't start with Dracula's Curse if you're worried about the difficulty.
I mean Dawn of Sorrow is not as good as Aria due to the stupid stylus gimmick but other than that its an amazing game. They're all really amazing IMO except HoD which is still good.
They are both good, but Ecclesia is easily the better game. It's also a bit different from the other games while Portrait feels more like "more of the same".
StarCreator
Member
I have a soft spot for Portrait simply because it was my introduction to the series as a whole (yes, I was very, very late). But it's also the only title among those named that focuses on whip gameplay. Ecclesia is a very, very different beast in that regard, with a weapons system that doesn't really resemble any other game.
Nocturnowl
Member
Finished Circle of the Moon for the first time last night.
This entry is a tricky one to nail down for me, for an early (or even launch?) title on the GBA it's a very robust and solid outing that I could've used back then when I was bumming around with the acceptable port of Super Mario Bros 2. You could say that it's impressive that they shrunk down the SotN formula for a handheld outing and in turn it represented what GBA could bring to the table.
Problem is Aria of Sorrow exists on the same console and I played all the better Igavanias first leaving Circle of the Moon as something of an interesting entry but not one I'm likely to revisit.
It has it's own unique feel compared to the other IGA games, in the early goings it was odd adapting to Nathan Graves style of movement, part old school with the slow strolling and whip action without any evasive tricks yet capable of jumping several times his own body height, I was thinking "boy I wish this guy had balanced out his legs ability to leap with their ability to actually run". Mercifully the dash boots are an early pick up and suddenly he goes from slow to swift, dash, dash everywhere, it feels nice.
Oddly the dealing out of new abilities is kind of arse backwards if you ask me, you get the ability to double jump early on as well as the rock breaking tackle and wall jump not long after then you might as well be fully kitted out as far as movement options go. Thus leaving the next set of post boss rewards to underwhelm as the ability to push boxes, dip your toe in some toxic water to cleanse and press a switch that inexplicably shatters all the iron maiden blockages to feel about as unexciting as they could possibly be. Sure access to new locations is part of the appeal but when I'm over halfway through the game it's hard to be excited that I can at last push crates.
That said, the last power up (super jump thing) is great, it's kind of a shame that exploring the castle really only rewards you with a truckload of HP/MP/Heart up stuff which while recurring in the series feels a bit more underhwhelming here seeing that there's basically nothing else tucked away, instead all those equipment and cards are behind random enemy drops.
So yes the cards, I quite like the concept, it feels a bit like an early take on the Soul system that the Sorrow games used in that you customise to your preference though it's limited to one choice at a time so no mixing passive buffs with attacking options.
The cards themselves prove a hurdle by being random drops, I'm not sure the game ever hinted at which enemies may actually drop them, just every now and then an enemy who burn away leaving a card in their place instead of the umpteenth wrist band. I really think more of the cards should have been actually hidden in the castle as a reward for exploring instead of this grindy drop rate dilemma that ensured I spent most of the game lacking options until my luck stat had snuck up enough to make the drops a bit more common (By which point it was hard to argue against the circling fireballs I'd been rocking for most of the game).
Drac's Castle is pretty big, I was surprised by how vast it ended up being seeing that this was an early GBA game, the actual layout of rooms and platforms on the other hand feels like they didn't have enough interesting content to spread over the vast castle map leading to samey rooms galore, Dracula's Castle is made up of a surprisingly high amount of zig zaggy staircases it would seem.
Warp points still have that cycle through structure that SotN had and in general have some odd positions when I consider that some are clearly placed as a substitute for a save point but only one warp point has a save point that's only a corridor away. Basically I'm saying that the final area of the map having no save point near its boss door but a warp point that is blocked by THE MOST POWERFUL STANDARD ENEMY SO FAR as well as a string of those relentless dark projectile knights seems pretty suspect.
Oh and no save point near Dracula either, just another warp, okay.
The clock tower was a nice area of the castle, some decent bits of platforming to be had there and the chapel was a nice wall jump happy area. In general there seemed to be an attempt to help define some areas that bit more as having their own quirk (sewer system area has switch puzzles, block pushing in the storage warehouse or whatever it was called) but it didn't save the game from slowly wearing me down with its repetition in simplistic rooms, lacklustre rewards for exploration and rough lineup of enemies (and bosses as well for that matter).
I do think it's a good game on the whole but consider me spoilt by the handheld outings that would follow it (well, not HoD) , decent first effort but outclassed on the same platform by Aria. Still I'm glad I checked it out, it does have its own feel to it and a SCIV remix that isn't Simon's theme which is a rarity I'm sure.
Order of Ecclesia for something similar yet a bit different.
Portrait of Ruin if you feel like playing it safer with structure more like the Sorrow games.
Though straight up I'd say I much prefer Ecclesia out of the two.
This entry is a tricky one to nail down for me, for an early (or even launch?) title on the GBA it's a very robust and solid outing that I could've used back then when I was bumming around with the acceptable port of Super Mario Bros 2. You could say that it's impressive that they shrunk down the SotN formula for a handheld outing and in turn it represented what GBA could bring to the table.
Problem is Aria of Sorrow exists on the same console and I played all the better Igavanias first leaving Circle of the Moon as something of an interesting entry but not one I'm likely to revisit.
It has it's own unique feel compared to the other IGA games, in the early goings it was odd adapting to Nathan Graves style of movement, part old school with the slow strolling and whip action without any evasive tricks yet capable of jumping several times his own body height, I was thinking "boy I wish this guy had balanced out his legs ability to leap with their ability to actually run". Mercifully the dash boots are an early pick up and suddenly he goes from slow to swift, dash, dash everywhere, it feels nice.
Oddly the dealing out of new abilities is kind of arse backwards if you ask me, you get the ability to double jump early on as well as the rock breaking tackle and wall jump not long after then you might as well be fully kitted out as far as movement options go. Thus leaving the next set of post boss rewards to underwhelm as the ability to push boxes, dip your toe in some toxic water to cleanse and press a switch that inexplicably shatters all the iron maiden blockages to feel about as unexciting as they could possibly be. Sure access to new locations is part of the appeal but when I'm over halfway through the game it's hard to be excited that I can at last push crates.
That said, the last power up (super jump thing) is great, it's kind of a shame that exploring the castle really only rewards you with a truckload of HP/MP/Heart up stuff which while recurring in the series feels a bit more underhwhelming here seeing that there's basically nothing else tucked away, instead all those equipment and cards are behind random enemy drops.
So yes the cards, I quite like the concept, it feels a bit like an early take on the Soul system that the Sorrow games used in that you customise to your preference though it's limited to one choice at a time so no mixing passive buffs with attacking options.
The cards themselves prove a hurdle by being random drops, I'm not sure the game ever hinted at which enemies may actually drop them, just every now and then an enemy who burn away leaving a card in their place instead of the umpteenth wrist band. I really think more of the cards should have been actually hidden in the castle as a reward for exploring instead of this grindy drop rate dilemma that ensured I spent most of the game lacking options until my luck stat had snuck up enough to make the drops a bit more common (By which point it was hard to argue against the circling fireballs I'd been rocking for most of the game).
Drac's Castle is pretty big, I was surprised by how vast it ended up being seeing that this was an early GBA game, the actual layout of rooms and platforms on the other hand feels like they didn't have enough interesting content to spread over the vast castle map leading to samey rooms galore, Dracula's Castle is made up of a surprisingly high amount of zig zaggy staircases it would seem.
Warp points still have that cycle through structure that SotN had and in general have some odd positions when I consider that some are clearly placed as a substitute for a save point but only one warp point has a save point that's only a corridor away. Basically I'm saying that the final area of the map having no save point near its boss door but a warp point that is blocked by THE MOST POWERFUL STANDARD ENEMY SO FAR as well as a string of those relentless dark projectile knights seems pretty suspect.
Oh and no save point near Dracula either, just another warp, okay.
The clock tower was a nice area of the castle, some decent bits of platforming to be had there and the chapel was a nice wall jump happy area. In general there seemed to be an attempt to help define some areas that bit more as having their own quirk (sewer system area has switch puzzles, block pushing in the storage warehouse or whatever it was called) but it didn't save the game from slowly wearing me down with its repetition in simplistic rooms, lacklustre rewards for exploration and rough lineup of enemies (and bosses as well for that matter).
I do think it's a good game on the whole but consider me spoilt by the handheld outings that would follow it (well, not HoD) , decent first effort but outclassed on the same platform by Aria. Still I'm glad I checked it out, it does have its own feel to it and a SCIV remix that isn't Simon's theme which is a rarity I'm sure.
Order of Ecclesia for something similar yet a bit different.
Portrait of Ruin if you feel like playing it safer with structure more like the Sorrow games.
Though straight up I'd say I much prefer Ecclesia out of the two.
StarCreator
Member
Should point out Circle of the Moon is not an Igavania; Iga wasn't involved.
Nocturnowl
Member
I really should've remembered that from the lack of his name in the credits, substitute IGA with the reliable standby of Metroidvania then.
Get Ruin out of the way first so you can enjoy Order.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
If your weapons aren't doing damage, you're using the wrong weapons on the wrong enemies. Portrait had an affinity system too.
The areas are a lot more linear though. Exploration and level design is Ecclesia's weak spot for sure, though the environment art isn't bad.
Lee Chaolan
Member
Playing through DXC for the first time, the remake of Rondo is pretty good, having played the original on the Wii VC, can't say which I like better. I do like the addition of the voice acting and the god-tier Kojima art.
Lol wtf is this blasphemy?
So far it's been walk through a super linear path to the boss for like five hours.
Truly the most wonderful Castlevania game.
StarCreator
Member
I actually like Ecclesia's linearity near the beginning. It felt like it tried to pay respects to the series's roots while not losing sight of what the series had become.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
It's got the least exploration from the Igavanias, but I just love the glyph system and the challenging twist it had. Make sure you're actually absorbing new glyphs instead of fighting with Confodere, Macio, etc lvl 1.
UpperCaseN
Member
I just beat Circle of the Moon. What's the spoiler etiquette here? I'll tag just in case:
So I played on a plane, so no looking up faq's till I landed:
Still, decent game. I might play something else before moving on to Harmony of Dissonance.
So I played on a plane, so no looking up faq's till I landed:
I had Dracula's pattern down pat, but I just could not deal enough damage to his 2nd form. Battles would never end and I just couldn't survive long enough. My main damage dealer was the cross item. Once we landed, I read that Thunderbird summon is the way to go. I didn't even know you could summon in this game, I'm missing like half of the DSS cards; I'm not one to grind for equipment and I didn't know what enemies to go for either. Also I think the item drop rate is way too low. After getting the Thunderbird summon (I already had Thunderbird, just needed Uranus) I beat Dracula in like 3 tries.
Makoto Yuki
Banned
Exactly, well said. Probably ended up being my favorite DS Castlevania game.
StarCreator
Member
Are GBA and DS games normally available on the Wii U?
Supaidaman
Member
Aizo
Banned
GBA, yes. Circle of the Moon and Harmony and Dissonance are.
UpperCaseN
Member
I'm in the middle of Harmony of Dissonance right now, love it! Music was grating at first but I got used to it. Is this game easy? Just about all of the bosses so far haven't put up much of a fight. I have a feeling it's due to the magic spells being extremely powerful.
Story wise I seem to be at a half way point:
update: editing this post so I don't double post. I beat the game, got the middle ending first. I found it weird that I didn't fight Dracula for the end boss so I looked it up. Had a few things to pick up still but was able to get the best ending right after. End boss was easy, I went ahead and used any consumables I needed which essentially made me invincible. Game was good, soooooo much wandering around though. It happened 2-3 times where I searched all over the place on where to go next only to find out I was supposed to go right where I had started in the first place. looking forward to Aria of Sorrow which seems to be the popular one.
Story wise I seem to be at a half way point:
Death explained to me that there's 2 castles and I was able to switch between the 2 for the first time
update: editing this post so I don't double post. I beat the game, got the middle ending first. I found it weird that I didn't fight Dracula for the end boss so I looked it up. Had a few things to pick up still but was able to get the best ending right after. End boss was easy, I went ahead and used any consumables I needed which essentially made me invincible. Game was good, soooooo much wandering around though. It happened 2-3 times where I searched all over the place on where to go next only to find out I was supposed to go right where I had started in the first place. looking forward to Aria of Sorrow which seems to be the popular one.
UpperCaseN
Member
Sorry for double post but it's been a month, I figure that's ok
I beat Aria of Sorrow for the first time over the weekend. Great game. There were just a handful of things I had to check an FAQ for and I accidentally saw how to get the best ending, I would have just gone back for it anyway so no big deal. This one twists the standard plot a bit and I loved that. I've officially gone through all 3 GBA Castlevanias now and have the 3 DS plus Dracula X Chronicles on PSP on my list still. I'm taking my time and playing other genres of games in-between so that I don't burn myself out. Really looking fwd to Dawn of Sorrow.
I beat Aria of Sorrow for the first time over the weekend. Great game. There were just a handful of things I had to check an FAQ for and I accidentally saw how to get the best ending, I would have just gone back for it anyway so no big deal. This one twists the standard plot a bit and I loved that. I've officially gone through all 3 GBA Castlevanias now and have the 3 DS plus Dracula X Chronicles on PSP on my list still. I'm taking my time and playing other genres of games in-between so that I don't burn myself out. Really looking fwd to Dawn of Sorrow.