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[lachesis]

I just finished the game at 100% for both castle, all the collectible etc - and even saw all 3 endings... but somehow I felt the game itself was quite remarkably "mediocre" compared to previous ones. I didn't enjoy the castle layout (with very confusing warp-scheme) - as much as CoTM or SoTN - and I began to wonder how this game got such critical acclaim when it was released. IMHO, CoTM was much better castlevania. Characters were pretty lame in HoD, as well as the bosses were such weak-sauce, I didn't even have to re-try any one of them to beat. Final boss was also... so lame. Music was so-so, and not as gripping as some of it's former selves. Not enough gameplay nor challenge - but too much back-tracking and very loose direction in story nor gameplay mechanics either. Magic was pretty useless except the cross+wind booklet - as well as the whole merchant scheme which appears when you meet certain requirements were meaningless either. The game just didn't seem to have the polish for some reason.

Is it just me or am I becoming even more jaded gamer? As I am about to move to AoS now, I just hope this is a much better game than HoD - and I sincerely hope for a re-release of SoTN someday. Yes, I didn't like the game much. I mean, it was an okay game, but not as good as I hoped it would be.. I would give it a B-, for the best - although I know some might give this thread a B-.

 

[Sapiens]

i imported this game as soon as I could and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't ever go back to it again, as it does not have the replayability and mystery of SOTN. Nothing, not even DS can compare to SOTN, for the mystery factor alone.

 

[Alucard]

I think you'll find that most people were disappointed with HoD. I personally enjoyed it and think it's fun to just pick up and play. The action combat was still fun, although I agree that the warping system was a little weird.

Anyways, AoS will likely blow you away compared to HoD.

 

[ghibli99]

I don't remember hating HOD, but I do remember thinking that some of the music tracks were absolute garbage... like GBC sound quality, but without good arrangements to redeem them. I also remember it being incredibly easy compared to COTM.

It pretty much goes without saying that your best bet is to play Aria of Sorrow. I played the 3 of them in succession, and AOS was definitely my favorite, although it felt like the shortest out of the three.

 

[lachesis]

Anyways, AoS will likely blow you away compared to HoD.

That's good to hear. I'm actually looking foward to play AoS...

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

- and I began to wonder how this game got such critical acclaim when it was released.

Because the major reviewers are largely worthless when it comes to a lot of old-school and/or high-profile franchises. I think LoI and CoD both averaged 8's in EGM. :lol

 

[Tsubaki]

I began to wonder how this game got such critical acclaim when it was released.

It's not just you. I hated every moment of playing HoD and that fueled even more as every publication AND personal review praised it and called it a must-have this, perfect game that, etc etc.

It's only now that I see people panning HoD, as if you really needed AoS and DoS to tell you how bad HoD was. I wonder if these people who pan it now jumped on the bandwagon then to gush the praise, and now when the tides change, jump on the bandwagon because hating it is cool. I hate mainstream gamers -_-

 

[ghibli99]

It's not just you. I hated every moment of playing HoD and that fueled even more as every publication AND personal review praised it and called it a must-have this, perfect game that, etc etc.

It's only now that I see people panning HoD, as if you really needed AoS and DoS to tell you how bad HoD was. I wonder if these people who pan it now jumped on the bandwagon then to gush the praise, and now when the tides change, jump on the bandwagon because hating it is cool. I hate mainstream gamers -_-

It might be because AOS and DOS weren't out when most of these reviews were written. Many had just come off of COTM, and if you look at COTM and HOD exclusively, it makes more sense why a lot of people would prefer HOD over COTM. Most of the reviews, IIRC, seemed to say this (HOD>COTM) with the caveat that SOTN was still the best and had yet to be matched/beat.

I had a hard time with COTM due to how dark it was (I had to wait for the GB Player), and the controls were, shall we say, less-than-refined. Graphically, HOD stepped it up big-time, but in doing so, sacrificed good sound. AOS struck the right balance, and is about as close to SOTN that you can get on the GBA. Those character portraits rocked like hell, too.

 

[Gattsu25]

It might be because AOS and DOS weren't out when most of these reviews were written. Many had just come off of COTM, and if you look at COTM and HOD exclusively, it makes more sense why a lot of people would prefer HOD over COTM. Most of the reviews, IIRC, seemed to say this (HOD>COTM) with the caveat that SOTN was still the best and had yet to be matched/beat.

WTF? CotM kicked ass!!!

 

[thetrin]

I totally enjoyed playing through HoD, but it's near impossible to go back to after playing Aria and DS. My expectations for castlevania were a bit lower for handheld titles, but Aria and DS just blew them out of the water.

 

[Razoric]

I'm playing Aria of Sorrow right now (just best Dawn of Sorrow). It seems like a bit of a downgrade in all areas (from DS) but I'm still loving it. I skipped over HoD... bought it but havent opened it yet, now I'm scared to with all this negative shit.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

I made the mistake of playing it after Aria of Sorrow (which I enjoyed tremendously), but I still had fun (I'm a sucker for most things Castlevania). For me though, the only real drawback is the lackluster soundtrack.

 

[thetrin]

It seems like a bit of a downgrade in all areas (from DS) but I'm still loving it.

I tend not to consider previous installments in a series to be downgrades from later installments, especially when the later installment only exists because it builds upon what the earlier one did. But to each their own.

 

[Razoric]

I tend not to consider previous installments in a series to be downgrades from later installments, especially when the later installment only exists because it builds upon what the earlier one did. But to each their own.

I only say that because I'm playing them backwards. I ment no harm to Aria of Sorrow. I'm just coming off my DS high.

 

[ghibli99]

I only say that because I'm playing them backwards. I ment no harm to Aria of Sorrow. I'm just coming off my DS high.

I did something similar at the time. After playing all the GBA installments, I went back and played the NES ones. Holy crap, I was ready to kill people for real playing the later levels in Castlevania 1. :lol And the backtracking/repetitive nature/bad localization of Castlevania 2 wasn't much better (but the game was a lot easier). When I got to Castlevania III, though (the translated J-version), that was awesome. Konami always rocked the NES hardware, and this was them really pushing things, and refining it all at the same time. Great graphics, cool level design, nicely balanced difficulty, and the music kicked some serious ass.

 

[Razoric]

I did something similar at the time. After playing all the GBA installments, I went back and played the NES ones. Holy crap, I was ready to kill people for real playing the later levels in Castlevania 1. :lol And the backtracking/repetitive nature/bad localization of Castlevania 2 wasn't much better (but the game was a lot easier). When I got to Castlevania III, though (the translated J-version), that was awesome. Konami always rocked the NES hardware, and this was them really pushing things, and refining it all at the same time. Great graphics, cool level design, nicely balanced difficulty, and the music kicked some serious ass.

Hell yeah, Konami has always rocked. I'm just getting to the GBA Castlevanias because I've always avoided handheld systems in the past. PSP and DS, specifically GTA:LCS and Castlevania DS, have finally won me over to the handheld concept. So now I'm playing catchup. Bought all 3 GBA castlevanias. So far AoS kicks ass.

 

[FnordChan]

I enjoyed HoD when it came out, figuring it was as close as a sequel to SotN as was available. I recently got a DS and completed both Dawn of Sorrow and Aria of Sorrow in quick succession. I figured, hey, while I'm on a Castlevania kick, how about replaying HoD.

Oy vey.

In comparison to it's GBA and DS sequels, HoD just doesn't cut it. It's not horrible or anything, but it's also not terribly fun, due mostly to the level design (can you say "ass around elbow"?), the lame bosses, and the difficulty level, i.e. not terribly. I'm at about 130% right now and while I'll plow through to 200% completion, I can't say I'm thrilled about it.

FnordChan

 

[A Link to the Past]

In comparison to it's GBA and DS sequels, HoD just doesn't cut it.

QFT. Listen to this people.

 

[Tsubaki]

QFT. Listen to this people.

No. That's exactly what irritates me.

You do not need to have played the other games to know that HoD is garbage. In fact, I never played any of the other portable CVs. The same problems people now realize are the same issues I had playing HoD fresh with no basis of comparison.

 

[lachesis]

Same here. I just thought the game was very mediocre in all. I haven't played AoS or DoS - I don't even have a DS yet. Last GBA castlevania that I've played was CoTM, which I've got w/ my first GBA - while it was dark and dark - but I loved the game. I just didn't find HoD as good as CoTM - while understandably I might feel different about CoTM since getting used to HoD. I just think HoD's bosses and gameplay were un-imaginative, and there wasn't anything really "innovative" about the magic system, etc - which I just thought it was a very poorly designed game in castlevania terms. Sure, I cannot expect SoTN for GBA - but CoTM at least gave me a good playingtime and didn't leave me with "meh" feeling when completed. I replayed the game at least 3 times, and I've gave up playing it because I got other games to play on the "magician" mode. I haven't tried out "maxim mode" in HoD, but I just don't feel the urge.

I was so.. psyched about HoD and it's early stages - as in most recent castlevania games, things - especially gameplay mechanic really expands - so the anticipation itself was half the fun - but it never really got to the point that I was going ga-ga- over the gameplay...

 

[A Link to the Past]

No. That's exactly what irritates me.

You do not need to have played the other games to know that HoD is garbage. In fact, I never played any of the other portable CVs. The same problems people now realize are the same issues I had playing HoD fresh with no basis of comparison.

I'm not saying it's good if played as a CV newbie - I'm saying it's mediocre if played as a CV newbie. Just like a game is bad by itself, but when compared to its siblings, it's complete crap.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

I think people give Iga too much credit for his Castlevania games. I'll admit SoTN is the best game in the series, but every handheld version he has made has been too easy and fails to add anything new to the series. I'm not even going to comment on his PS2 games. CoTM is by far the best handheld version imo and is only surpassed by SoTN. CoTM is a much longer challenging game. It has more features/collectables and offers the most replay value. I really hope Iga brings something new to the table for the next game.

 

[ghibli99]

I think people give Iga too much credit for his Castlevania games. I'll admit SoTN is the best game in the series, but every handheld version he has made has been too easy and fails to add anything new to the series. I'm not even going to comment on his PS2 games. CoTM is by far the best handheld version imo and is only surpassed by SoTN. CoTM is a much longer challenging game. It has more features/collectables and offers the most replay value. I really hope Iga brings something new to the table for the next game.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly does Iga do on these games besides produce them? Is he responsible for most of their design, programming, etc., or is he just steering the ship, so to speak?

Only reason I ask is because recently, I played Guilty Gear on the PS1, looked at the credits, and was blown away at how much one person did on that game. The lead guy's name (sorry, it's escaping me now) was listed in practically every section. For a game like that, I can see why his name would be mentioned so prominently as to why that game is what it is.

Singling *one* person out of an entire team of talent has always seemed a bit unfair and strange to me, especially when most teams are made up of 50-100+ people.

 

[Error]

game is decent nothing special but the soundtrack good god what the fuck is that? is like they did it in 1 hour or something like that one of the worst soundtrack I've heard.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

game is decent nothing special but the soundtrack good god what the fuck is that? is like they did it in 1 hour or something like that one of the worst soundtrack I've heard.

GBA advance audio capabilities suck, they got a better grasp at it the second time around trying to rebalance visuals and sound. Why Nintendo didn't include a sound chip is beyond me.

 

[Error]

GBA advance audio capabilities suck, they got a better grasp at it the second time around trying to rebalance visuals and sound. Why Nintendo didn't include a sound chip is beyond me.

it's not really sound quality because FE soundtrack rocks and that's on GBA, is composition IMO there isn't a single catchy or haunting tune in it is just a mismatch of sounds thrown together to try to make music.

 

[Red Scarlet]

I thought HoD was better than CotM (felt more like the PS one), but just played through AoS last week. It feels more like the PS one and is probably the best of the three GBA ones.

So if HoD disappointed, you should look forward to Aria; it was quite good (one of the puzzles I wouldn't have figured out for a long time without looking up how to do it, though). Have fun!

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

it's not really sound quality because FE soundtrack rocks and that's on GBA, is composition IMO there isn't a single catchy or haunting tune in it is just a mismatch of sounds thrown together to try to make music.

They did say they overshot their audio overhead with the visuals with HOD, since it's a balancing act of processing power for both since there is no sound chip to do it like SNES. Hence they got a better grasp of it with AoS. It's pretty much like only the ending theme and boss battle classic CV1 music that are any good for HoD.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly does Iga do on these games besides produce them? Is he responsible for most of their design, programming, etc., or is he just steering the ship, so to speak?

Only reason I ask is because recently, I played Guilty Gear on the PS1, looked at the credits, and was blown away at how much one person did on that game. The lead guy's name (sorry, it's escaping me now) was listed in practically every section. For a game like that, I can see why his name would be mentioned so prominently as to why that game is what it is.

Singling *one* person out of an entire team of talent has always seemed a bit unfair and strange to me, especially when most teams are made up of 50-100+ people.

Well, Iga was left in charge of the Castlevania franchise so to speak, much like Hideo Kojima is in charge of the Metal Gear series. If there is a problem with the game, Iga is the person to go to. He has been given credit for these games also, which is why I single him out. I'm not saying is games are bad. I've bought every Castlevania game he's made except Castlevania:CoD and Rhondo of Blood (although I have played RoB). His games are good, it's just becoming more of the same and everything he's done after SoTN pales in comparison. I think CoTM was better because there was so much content in it. It also had a Belmonte was a good colaboration of old and new Castlevania. It was a return to the roots but also improved on SoTN's gameplay.

 

[FlameOfCallandor]

Castlevania HOD has the worst map layout EVER, and to top it off they never fully explain the warping to you. Oh in this yellow room I can warp within this castle, but to go to castle B its a different warp room ok?

Why couldn't all the save rooms be warp rooms. Oh and the control layout is SHIT. Why the fuck do I have to equip a ring to open a door, why cant it open automatically. Amateurish.

 

[ghibli99]

Well, Iga was left in charge of the Castlevania franchise so to speak, much like Hideo Kojima is in charge of the Metal Gear series. If there is a problem with the game, Iga is the person to go to. He has been given credit for these games also, which is why I single him out. I'm not saying is games are bad. I've bought every Castlevania game he's made except Castlevania:CoD and Rhondo of Blood (although I have played RoB). His games are good, it's just becoming more of the same and everything he's done after SoTN pales in comparison. I think CoTM was better because there was so much content in it. It also had a Belmonte was a good colaboration of old and new Castlevania. It was a return to the roots but also improved on SoTN's gameplay.

Yeah, I hear ya... you would think that a PS2 2D/2.5D Castlevania would've been a no-brainer, but instead they went the 3D route. I didn't think LOI was terrible, though... I very much enjoyed some parts of it... but I *hated* COD. The entire time I was playing LOI, though, I kept thinking, "Man, I wish this were more like SOTN."

Guess that's why I got so excited when I saw the Valkyrie Profile PS2 pics. It was like, "Damn, that's *exactly* what it would've looked like, too."

Anyway, it could've been worse... HOD could've been like that Castlevania arcade game. :lol

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Yeah, I hear ya... you would think that a PS2 2D/2.5D Castlevania would've been a no-brainer, but instead they went the 3D route. I didn't think LOI was terrible, though... I very much enjoyed some parts of it... but I *hated* COD. The entire time I was playing LOI, though, I kept thinking, "Man, I wish this were more like SOTN."

Guess that's why I got so excited when I saw the Valkyrie Profile PS2 pics. It was like, "Damn, that's *exactly* what it would've looked like, too."

Anyway, it could've been worse... HOD could've been like that Castlevania arcade game. :lol

Does anyone know how COD sold? Maybe if it sold bad enough they'll make a side scrolling sequel. (That sounds horrible doesn't it?) I enjoyed LOI too, but I think it's obvious that's what the fans want and Iga is just better at making those type of games.

 

[Truelize]

I just finished the game at 100% for both castle, all the collectible etc - and even saw all 3 endings... but somehow I felt the game itself was quite remarkably "mediocre" compared to previous ones. I didn't enjoy the castle layout (with very confusing warp-scheme) - as much as CoTM or SoTN - and I began to wonder how this game got such critical acclaim when it was released. IMHO, CoTM was much better castlevania. Characters were pretty lame in HoD, as well as the bosses were such weak-sauce, I didn't even have to re-try any one of them to beat. Final boss was also... so lame. Music was so-so, and not as gripping as some of it's former selves. Not enough gameplay nor challenge - but too much back-tracking and very loose direction in story nor gameplay mechanics either. Magic was pretty useless except the cross+wind booklet - as well as the whole merchant scheme which appears when you meet certain requirements were meaningless either. The game just didn't seem to have the polish for some reason.

Is it just me or am I becoming even more jaded gamer? As I am about to move to AoS now, I just hope this is a much better game than HoD - and I sincerely hope for a re-release of SoTN someday. Yes, I didn't like the game much. I mean, it was an okay game, but not as good as I hoped it would be.. I would give it a B-, for the best - although I know some might give this thread a B-.

I just finished this this past weekend. I didn't get 100% though. I finished with 99.8 in both castles. Not sure what I could've missed cause I had every one of the items for Juste's room. The only thing I could think of is that when I went into the final battle only one side of the map into the final room was highlighted, so the game would think that I hadn't explored the entire castle. Doesn't really matter (bugs me though :lol)
I did emjoy the game but I was amazed by how easy the game was. I don't know if I ever died during my entire play through. The last Castlevania I played was CotM and I never got that finished because it got quite hard at the end and then I lost my gameboy and all my games. If I see the game around used I'll pick it up and give it another go. But I wouldn't say that HoD was a bad game it just felt like an amatuer version of a Castlevania game.

I'm starting AoS now. And what the heck?!?!?! Where's my whip?? Do I play the entire game with a sword?? That's not right.

 

[Fuzzy]

I just finished this this past weekend. I didn't get 100% though. I finished with 99.8 in both castles. Not sure what I could've missed cause I had every one of the items for Juste's room. The only thing I could think of is that when I went into the final battle only one side of the map into the final room was highlighted, so the game would think that I hadn't explored the entire castle. Doesn't really matter (bugs me though :lol)

You didn't beat it yet.

 

[thetrin]

I only say that because I'm playing them backwards. I ment no harm to Aria of Sorrow. I'm just coming off my DS high.

Fair enough. I see where you're coming from. Aria is an incredible game, though. It's a shame you played Dawn first, though. One thing I loved about Aria was how new the soul collection system felt in the Castlevania world.

...but then, I guess you felt that when you played Dawn. Nevermind.