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[corrosivefrost]

No mention of Harmony of Dissonance? Does everyone just forget this game =/

Based on my experience with HoD, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most fans of the series pretend that it doesn't exist. :lol

It was just such a letdown when it looked like a portable SotN.
Everything it tried to do was eclipsed by AoS and DoS. Only CotM can touch those games, as far as handheld entries go, in my opinion.

 

[Teknoman]

Based on my experience with HoD, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most fans of the series pretend that it doesn't exist. :lol

Harmony of Dissonance...the one Castlevania i've never played. One, because I cant find it for a reasonable price, and two, somehow they managed to have a low audio quality soundtrack. What was up with that?

EDIT: Portrait of Ruin didnt have a bland soundtrack.

 

[Foffy]

I thought Portrait of Ruin was a near universally bland game, outside of the few tracks by Yuzo Koshiro.

Order of Ecclesia was a godsend for me, because it's the only Castlevania game on the DS that I think isn't average.

I hope the bosses in Lords of Shadow are as challenging and fun to fight as they were in OoE.

 

[andymcc]

Order of Ecclesia was a godsend for me, because it's the only Castlevania game on the DS that I think isn't average.

yep.

 

[Spike]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but:

That said, Lords of Shadow also has framerate issues on the Xbox 360. It can drop when the action heats up -- or just during a cut scene. During one cinematic moment the game was literally chugging at just a few frames per second. Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it. The game runs more smoothly on the PlayStation 3.

IGN Review

 

[Foffy]

Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it.

..Isn't that intentional slowdown, so you can pull off the reaction to the ring command with ease?

 

[Zeal]

once again, this is from the review copies. The developer stated the final 360 version doesn't suffer from this type of slowdown, but time will tell.

the wait is getting unbearable....just five more days.

 

[Spike]

once again, this is from the review copies. The developer stated the final 360 version doesn't suffer from this type of slowdown, but time will tell.

Good to know.

 

[JohngPR]

Gabriel has a useful instant-kill move he can inflict on weaker enemies, but the game freezes for a moment every time he uses it.

..Isn't that intentional slowdown, so you can pull off the reaction to the ring command with ease?

I was thinking the same thing. If this is what he's talking about, has he ever played a game before? This isn't the first game to use that effect.

:-/

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

I'm pretty sure the guy can tell the difference between the freezing and the normal effects of hitting an enemy. Watch the Gamespot review and you can see the freeze for yourself.

 

[Gr1mLock]

Huh? I beat it in less than 10 minutes. Were you not dodging its hand?

I was exaggerating a bit. I got annoyed when he shook me off his back twice. Just interrupted the flow of the game imo

 

[Teknoman]

I thought Portrait of Ruin was a near universally bland game, outside of the few tracks by Yuzo Koshiro.

Order of Ecclesia was a godsend for me, because it's the only Castlevania game on the DS that I think isn't average.

I hope the bosses in Lords of Shadow are as challenging and fun to fight as they were in OoE.

Which ones did Yuzo compose?

 

[panda21]

does the demo go on past the horse riding bit? i couldnt quite figure out what i was meant to be doing and got knocked off twice and then quit, because you have to fight another big dog/wolf thing the second time

 

[The Bookerman]

does the demo go on past the horse riding bit? i couldnt quite figure out what i was meant to be doing and got knocked off twice and then quit, because you have to fight another big dog/wolf thing the second time

You are supposed to be dragged down twice. So it's all good.

 

[Truant]

Did the game get pushed back in Nordic countries? It says October 29th now. Fuuuu.

 

[BeeDog]

Did the game get pushed back in Nordic countries? It says October 29th now. Fuuuu.

Still 10-07 here in Sweden.

 

[Maffis]

You are supposed to be dragged down twice. So it's all good.

Hah, no. You can do it without getting dragged down.

 

[burgerdog]

Hah, no. You can do it without getting dragged down.

You will get knocked down twice no matter what. Hello, tree branch.

 

[manzo]

Did the game get pushed back in Nordic countries? It says October 29th now. Fuuuu.

Please be true please be true

Then I'll have the possibility to finish God of War 3 and Prince of Persia before this!! :O

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Please be true please be true

Then I'll have the possibility to finish God of War 3 and Prince of Persia before this!! :O

Can you not wait anyway?

 

[Maffis]

You will get knocked down twice no matter what. Hello, tree branch.

My brother lied to me! :O

 

[dark10x]

About 5 seconds or so longer than the demo. Not too bad at all. Demo loaded damn fast.

The biggest question for me: how often do you see loading screens? Do they actually allow you to explore large areas without loading screens? I don't mind seeing them between chapters (or however it's broken up), but I'd hate for them to constantly break up the action.

 

[Foffy]

Which ones did Yuzo compose?

I think these are the songs he did, and if I'm wrong, someone come in to correct me. I remember he only did 5 or so songs, if I recall correctly.

In Search of the Secret Spell
Destroyer
Gears Go Awry
Invitation to a Crazed Moon
Looming Threat


I'm unsure about some of them, but I knew for certain Invitation to a Crazed Moon is one of the Koshiro tracks.

 

[Feindflug]

once again, this is from the review copies. The developer stated the final 360 version doesn't suffer from this type of slowdown, but time will tell.

the wait is getting unbearable....just five more days.

In the Gamespot 360 video I've seen the freezing looks really distracting and annoying..hopefully this time around "the frame-rate is fine in the retail" is actually true and we don't have another incident like Alan Wake and Remedy where it was all BS (and yes I loved AW).

I want to get the 360 version even though I have both systems but I won't get it before a DF face-off or some dude here in Gaf confirms that there are no freezing or bad frame-rate problems in the retail version.

 

[heringer]

I thought Portrait of Ruin was a near universally bland game, outside of the few tracks by Yuzo Koshiro.

Order of Ecclesia was a godsend for me, because it's the only Castlevania game on the DS that I think isn't average.

I hope the bosses in Lords of Shadow are as challenging and fun to fight as they were in OoE.

You think Dawn of Sorrow is average? Really? Wow.

 

[Solune]

I think these are the songs he did, and if I'm wrong, someone come in to correct me. I remember he only did 5 or so songs, if I recall correctly.

In Search of the Secret Spell
Destroyer
Gears Go Awry
Invitation to a Crazed Moon
Looming Threat


I'm unsure about some of them, but I knew for certain Invitation to a Crazed Moon is one of the Koshiro tracks.

The tracks he worked on are actually:

Invitation to a Crazed Moon (as you listed)
Destroyer (as you listed)
The Gears Go Awry (as you listed)
Dance of Sadness
Banquet of Madness

 

[Foffy]

You think Dawn of Sorrow is average? Really? Wow.

I bought a DS for that game, and I was super disappointed with it. The only redeeming factor was Julius mode, which should have been the main game.

It also started the trend of IGA's games literally stealing assets from Symphony of the Night directly, and for that I can never forgive it. :lol

Portrait of Ruin is worse, mainly when you enter the rehashed paintings. Though I liked the music and plot a lot more. I'm probably jaded as it's a sequel to Bloodlines, the first Castlevania game I ever played.

The tracks he worked on are actually:

Invitation to a Crazed Moon (as you listed)
Destroyer (as you listed)
The Gears Go Awry (as you listed)
Dance of Sadness
Banquet of Madness

Thanks for the corrections, and I'm surprised I was right with most of them.

 

[robertsan21]

So I just finished the demo and I have to say that this game is awesome, I dont understand how anyone can complain on this demo, its super smooth,attacks are awesome and the controls are very good.

Graphics are top notch and the sound is amazing, Voice acting seems really good, I know its not a lot of dialog in the demo but still, I am impressed.

Day 1 purchase.

 

[zon]

I hadn't really paid much attention to this game before, but I downloaded the demo and holy shit. It's everything I've wanted GoW/DMC to be whenever I've played those games. I might just have to buy this day 1.

 

[glaurung]

Anyone who is already playing the full game on PS3:

Can you the comparison between the demo and the final game? Especially, what is the horse model like in the final product?

 

[heringer]

I bought a DS for that game, and I was super disappointed with it. The only redeeming factor was Julius mode, which should have been the main game.

It also started the trend of IGA's games literally stealing assets from Symphony of the Night directly, and for that I can never forgive it. :lol

Portrait of Ruin is worse, mainly when you enter the rehashed paintings. Though I liked the music and plot a lot more. I'm probably jaded as it's a sequel to Bloodlines, the first Castlevania game I ever played.



Thanks for the corrections, and I'm surprised I was right with most of them.

To each his own I guess. It's my favorite Castlevania.

Portrait of Ruin was a bit of a disappointment but I still enjoyed.

 

[Foffy]

I have a question to those who have the game.

Does putting the Konami Code at the title screen unlock anything? In some footage of the game, experience points are shown after the first stage. There's also health bars for regular enemies and specific health point buffs when healing. Are those options cheats?

To each his own I guess. It's my favorite Castlevania.

That's cool. My favorite game is Dracula's Curse, so I think it's obvious I'm more of a fan of the Classicvania formula based on mah pick.

 

[RavenFox]

Anyone who is already playing the full game on PS3:

Can you the comparison between the demo and the final game? Especially, what is the horse model like in the final product?

Go a page page or two back my friend.

 

[JohngPR]

My brother lied to me! :O

I passed that part and only got knocked down once, and that was done via a forced cutscene where they knocked me down.

 

[Foffy]

I passed that part and only got knocked down once, and that was done via a forced cutscene where they knocked me down.

I do believe no matter what you do in stage 2, you're forced to get on foot at least once for the sync block tutorial.

I killed everything and still got a cutscene knocking me down. I guess the type of cutscene depends on the number of enemies left. I was knocked off by a warg coming in my direction.

 

[kanugo]

Any word on the american version (Xbox 360) being region-free?

 

[brandonh83]

Definitely playing through this on the hardest difficulty I can on first go. I just beat Castlevania III this morning and it was pretty punishing and I just feel that I owe it to the namesake to play it on the roughest difficulty possible.

 

[Host Samurai]

Ok gentleman. Whats the final verdict on which version to get? Thinking about picking this up today in rainy NYC.

 

[KAL2006]

what game shall I pick up first, this or Enslaved

(note: I also asked this on the Enslaved OT)

 

[FrankT]

Anyone get their hands on the 360 retail version yet? How's it running if so and full install option running off second disc aye? I assume it is install first disc from menu and then second from the dashboard.

 

[darkjedi187]

hopefully the amazon orders will ship soon. the $20 credit is sweet.

 

[FrankT]

hopefully the amazon orders will ship soon. the $20 credit is sweet.

Hoping the same. Would love to have it on Monday, but still I'm sure it will be Tuesday.

 

[darkjedi187]

Hoping the same. Would love to have it on Monday, but still I'm sure it will be Tuesday.

That would be nice, but I've never gotten anything a day early from Amazon. I did notice they changed shippers and I now get them mid afternoon instead of early evening.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

what game shall I pick up first, this or Enslaved

(note: I also asked this on the Enslaved OT)

My gut feeling is that Enslaved is going to have a rough go at retail, so you're probably better off buying this first. Enslaved will probably drop in price faster. That's just me gut, though.

 

[Y2Kev]

My gut feeling is that Enslaved is going to have a rough go at retail, so you're probably better off buying this first. Enslaved will probably drop in price faster. That's just me gut, though.

Ya I think that's a safe bet.

It's namco, that shiii will be 40 in a few weeks.

 

[dark10x]

My gut feeling is that Enslaved is going to have a rough go at retail, so you're probably better off buying this first. Enslaved will probably drop in price faster. That's just me gut, though.

I know there is no reason why anyone should be burdened to support a game developer, but for some reason, this line of thinking makes me sad. It's like "This game looks awesome, but I know it's going to fail so I'll wait until it's dirt cheap". Totally legitimate line of thinking, of course, and smart as well...but this line of thinking could also contribute to the failure of the game.

Again, nobody owes anything to these companies and I'm not suggesting they should spent more just to support them. I just hate to see games like this tank.

 

[Dynamic3]

I have a question to those who have the game.

Does putting the Konami Code at the title screen unlock anything? In some footage of the game, experience points are shown after the first stage. There's also health bars for regular enemies and specific health point buffs when healing. Are those options cheats?

Spoiler

The option to toggle health bars and such is an unlock found under the 'extras' menu. I believe it's unlocked automatically after completing the first stage. Haven't tried the code.

 

[Flib]

Anyone know if VGNY still has copies?

 

[DaFish]

Ya I think that's a safe bet.

It's namco, that shiii will be 40 in a few weeks.

It will be so bought in a few weeks from me if thats the case!

 

[TheKaeptain]

what game shall I pick up first, this or Enslaved

(note: I also asked this on the Enslaved OT)

Since Enslaved will be in the bomba bin by next month, you should wait on it.