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| Shindekudasai 322th Post
 
Bronze Customer
 
    
|  "Re(2):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Wed 22 Oct 16:47:
A lot of people talk shit about PoR. I'll admit, the level designs aren't as interesting as its predeccesors, the anime art pales to Kojima, and the fetch quests were kind of dumb. But it did have an awesome play system and the usual CV goodness. I didn't actually play through it 'til about a month ago due to common opinion, but once I gave it a shot, I loved it! Richter mode and Sisters mode are both fun as well, haven't unlocked Axe Armor yet.
As for Ecclesia, I'm super-excited for it. The new artist rocks, the tunes I've heard so far are solid, and the graphics rival Symphony (imho). Lots of weapons and combos, and the Glyph system sounds awesome. Can't wait to see where it actually falls into the series (it's been said early 18th century, right after Richter relinqueshes the Vampire Killer and dissappears) and hope it gives us some more detail on the '99 battle (because Julius fucking rocks and deserves his own game).
Arcade sounds fun, and uh, that's about it. :)
Judgement ... retch.
Update: Ecclesia is WONDERFUL! I had high hopes, but to have them REALIZED ... whoah. For the uninformed: Sweet graphics, cool new gameplay/combo system, kickin' soundtrack (esp. if you liked the 'moody/atmospheric' type from Super CV4), and I'm loving the 'classic' stages/world map/metroid-vania fusion.
[this message was edited by Shindekudasai on Wed 22 Oct 18:59] |
| Maou 1504th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
    
    
  
| "Re(4):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 10:11
quote:
Update: Ecclesia is WONDERFUL! I had high hopes, but to have them REALIZED ... whoah. For the uninformed: Sweet graphics, cool new gameplay/combo system, kickin' soundtrack (esp. if you liked the 'moody/atmospheric' type from Super CV4), and I'm loving the 'classic' stages/world map/metroid-vania fusion.
It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Harmony of Dissonance left a sour taste in my mouth, and I was hessitant about getting PoR, when they announced this installment and the slightly unique setup (i.e. glyph system).
The soundtrack reminds me of Castlevania Chronicles.
I also keep hearing about Koji Igarashi having a reputation of making the newer Castlevania's easy, with this installment being the exception.
I am listening to Simon's theme from Chronicles RIGHT NOW. 'tis the season for the undead.
Anyway, you mentioned hating the second GBA one, and rightly so. Concerto/Harmony is awful, if pretty. Give the third, Minuet/Aria, a try if you haven't. Design-wise, it's in the same league as the original PS one, even if the series really ought to have another majestic non-handheld release.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| sfried 256th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(5):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 10:43:
quote:
I am listening to Simon's theme from Chronicles RIGHT NOW. 'tis the season for the undead.
Anyway, you mentioned hating the second GBA one, and rightly so. Concerto/Harmony is awful, if pretty. Give the third, Minuet/Aria, a try if you haven't. Design-wise, it's in the same league as the original PS one, even if the series really ought to have another majestic non-handheld release.
I don't know what you mean by "original PS one". Are you talking about Chronicles? SotN? I haven't played the latter. (Do you mean secrets? Lots of hidden stuff behind the walls?)
Also, I don't seem to be too fond of Metroidvania overworlds in general. I prefer chuck-sized areas which you can "complete" level-by-level. Stages nowdays are underrated, which is why I'm glad OoE is harkens back to the old setup with it's pseudo-Metroidvania approach.
The song that plays in the Kalidus Channel area reminded me of Wicked Child, at least in tempo.
[this message was edited by sfried on Thu 23 Oct 10:44] |
| Maou 1506th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(6):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 11:15:
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I don't know what you mean by "original PS one". Are you talking about Chronicles? SotN? I haven't played the latter. (Do you mean secrets? Lots of hidden stuff behind the walls?)
The original PS one like...the original PS game that set the tone for all these Dracula-Metroid hybrid games, Nocturne/Symphony. Never played it?! In a weird inverted way, I kind of envy that, in that you have one of the greatest games I can think of before, just waiating to be played---the excitement!
Oh, and design-wise, I meant in intelligence of the layout. Concerto/Harmony of course was intolerable because of the inane hopping between palatte swaps of the same levels, with no challenge to speak of. The PS original has more atmosphere, better castle layout, and more to offer, I think. Basic little things, like the sheer number of places you can go with a new ability (as opposed to having, say, ONE point in the castle that you can suddenly backtrack to once you have the double-jump, the PS game has countless directions, which makes all the difference).
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Thu 23 Oct 11:18] |
| sfried 257th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(7):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 11:19:
quote:
The original PS one like...the original PS game that set the tone for all these Dracula-Metroid hybrid games, Nocturne/Symphony. Never played it?! In a weird inverted way, I kind of envy that, in that you have one of the greatest games I can think of before, just waiating to be played---the excitement!
I'll wait...until Iga releases it on a console I have access to.
Besides, why is SotN so overhyped? I'm sensing FFVII-ism all over again... (What happened to just whips and a second item?)
quote:
Oh, and design-wise, I meant in intelligence of the layout. Concerto/Harmony of course was intolerable because of the inane hopping between palatte swaps of the same levels, with no challenge to speak of. The PS original has more atmosphere, better castle layout, and more to offer, I think. Basic little things, like the sheer number of places you can go with a new ability (as opposed to having, say, ONE point in the castle that you can suddenly backtrack to once you have the double-jump, the PS game has countless directions, which makes all the difference).
Sound kinda like...Super Metroid, which I kinda don't have time for, considering my lifestyle nowdays (gotta go for that Bachelors).
On that note: I really like Ecclesia's pacing so far.
[this message was edited by sfried on Thu 23 Oct 11:24] |
| Maou 1506th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(8):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 11:29
quote:
The original PS one like...the original PS game that set the tone for all these Dracula-Metroid hybrid games, Nocturne/Symphony. Never played it?! In a weird inverted way, I kind of envy that, in that you have one of the greatest games I can think of before, just waiating to be played---the excitement!
I'll wait...until Iga releases it on a console I have access to.
Besides, why is SotN so overhyped? I'm sensing FFVII-ism all over again... (What happened to just whips and a second item?)
Oh, and design-wise, I meant in intelligence of the layout. Concerto/Harmony of course was intolerable because of the inane hopping between palatte swaps of the same levels, with no challenge to speak of. The PS original has more atmosphere, better castle layout, and more to offer, I think. Basic little things, like the sheer number of places you can go with a new ability (as opposed to having, say, ONE point in the castle that you can suddenly backtrack to once you have the double-jump, the PS game has countless directions, which makes all the difference).
Sound kinda like...Super Metroid, which I kinda don't have time for, considering my lifestyle nowdays (gotta go for that Bachelors).
On that note: I really like Ecclesia's pacing so far.
Surely you must concede that some games are not "overhyped" so much as they are "really good." I know what you're talking about VII, of course, but the PS game just happens to be better. Better music, better castle design, better graphics...the portable ones are all quite clearly children of its legacy, to various degrees of success. As far as consoles to play it on, I think it's playable on basically everything at this point except DS and GBA. PS3, XBox, PSP...
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| sfried 257th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(9):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 11:37
quote:
Surely you must concede that some games are not "overhyped" so much as they are "really good." I know what you're talking about VII, of course, but the PS game just happens to be better. Better music, better castle design, better graphics...the portable ones are all quite clearly children of its legacy, to various degrees of success. As far as consoles to play it on, I think it's playable on basically everything at this point except DS and GBA.
And that's the problem.
Some people complain about the linearity of old Castlevanias. What's so wrong with linearity? I like old-school straightforward progression. When you throw in exploration, somehow there's a fine balance between letting the player recall all the paces where s/he can use her/his newly acquired powerup to access a new area. On top of that, s/he has to keep tabs on all of the new areas s/he has access to.
The beauty of the old games is that retracing does not retract you from your main progression.
As for Ecclesia, now that I did a bit of research, people are calling it a "hybrid" approach.
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| Maou 1507th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(10):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 12:10
quote:
Surely you must concede that some games are not "overhyped" so much as they are "really good." I know what you're talking about VII, of course, but the PS game just happens to be better. Better music, better castle design, better graphics...the portable ones are all quite clearly children of its legacy, to various degrees of success. As far as consoles to play it on, I think it's playable on basically everything at this point except DS and GBA.
And that's the problem.
Some people complain about the linearity of old Castlevanias. What's so wrong with linearity? I like old-school straightforward progression. When you throw in exploration, somehow there's a fine balance between letting the player recall all the paces where s/he can use her/his newly acquired powerup to access a new area. On top of that, s/he has to keep tabs on all of the new areas s/he has access to.
The beauty of the old games is that retracing does not retract you from your main progression.
As for Ecclesia, now that I did a bit of research, people are calling it a "hybrid" approach.
Ah, but I love old Draculas, too (though Rondo of Blood is my favorite, which is a bit oof a hybrid). My problem with the earliest of the new games, Circle of the Moon, was that you had to make a note of the one place where your new ability would open up, which essentially gave you the linearity of the old games, but with the added annoyance of trying to figure out where the hell the linear progression would happen(i.e. the -one- new place you could go with a new ability). The PS game gives you new abilities and then lets you go many new places. If exploration is a turn off, then certainly the old platformers are better, but if one is going to do the Metroid hybrid games, one should do it right, and the PS Nocturne/Symphony does.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| sfried 259th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(2):Re(10):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Thu 23 Oct 12:25:
quote:
Ah, but I love old Draculas, too (though Rondo of Blood is my favorite, which is a bit oof a hybrid). My problem with the earliest of the new games, Circle of the Moon, was that you had to make a note of the one place where your new ability would open up, which essentially gave you the linearity of the old games, but with the added annoyance of trying to figure out where the hell the linear progression would happen(i.e. the -one- new place you could go with a new ability). The PS game gives you new abilities and then lets you go many new places. If exploration is a turn off, then certainly the old platformers are better, but if one is going to do the Metroid hybrid games, one should do it right, and the PS Nocturne/Symphony does.
Ecclesia does the progression right. The moment you have the ability needed for a certain part, you would be backtracking to that part anyways because plot and progression dictates it (in other words, a "New" sign appears in the overworld even when it's in a place you've already been to), so you don't need to make heavy mental notes of places where you can use the powerup unless you want some extra goodies. And even then, it doesn't feel like a burden at all (you eventually unlock warp points and shortcuts so you can easily exit the stage as soon as your done. The Channel stage is definately a fine example of this. You also end up finding villagers this way. There's alot of things in the game that just "click" right.
Edit: Here's a link to the track I was talking about.
[this message was edited by sfried on Thu 23 Oct 13:09] |
| TreIII
152th Post
Regular Customer
| "Re(8):Re(10):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Sat 25 Oct 15:31
quote:
(Which isn't a knock against Rondo or Aria, those were great games as well. But I'm really loving the 'fresh' feel this one. And the challenge!)
Agreed. 100%.
In the end, it does a lot to remind me of MM9. Game can be quite a test, forcing you to figure out what you need to do, what pattern(s) to watch out for when fighting bosses and etc. You even have a real incentive to look into the "fetch quests", as they're the main means for how you can get some of the better goods like Super Potions.
And I REALLY do prefer this overall map style, as opposed to the SOTN-likes we've gotten for these last few years. To me, it only does more to give vindication to the notion that CV2 was definitely on the right track, but was just released in the wrong day and age...
Dokuganryu wa Date jya ne you see?
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| Professor 2516th Post
MMCafe Owner
     
| "Re(7):Re(10):Castlevania, this time for DS" , posted Sat 25 Oct 22:05:
I've beat the game and got all but one of the Glyphs. It's pretty fun, a mix between old-style Castlevania with a Metroidvania touch. I'm not sure if I like how linear the game is, but it's compensated by the addition of optional quests, where you need to go back to old stages if you want additional goodies. Also, the boss battles are really good.
The English voiceovers are actually... convincing. They're both good, the Japanese and English. Except with the Japanese, you get Wakamoto.
As usual, the inflation of your attacks can get pretty insane near the end of the game; spoiler underneath so beware, don't read until you've finished the game.
Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
You can beat the count in just a second if you have the right combination of glyphs and equips. Luminar,Umbra,Dominous Angore (spellings may be wrong), and Death ring. 4 - 5 hits and he's dead.
End of Spoiler
[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 25 Oct 22:09] |
| Pollyanna 2585th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
   
| "Re(2):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Castlevania, this " , posted Mon 10 Nov 13:31
Finished the game a few days ago. I'm proud of myself. Dracula only hit me twice and I kept my personal "never buy healing items" rule.
It was definitely my favorite portable Castlevania (Chronicles doesn't count). Loooooove the new artist. I used to go to their webpage a long time ago, so it's good to see them getting professional work. Soundtrack was hit or miss for me, but there were way more hits than the other portable ones, that's for sure.
I think the biggest improvement was the added sense of "balance". Having intense elemental strengths/weaknesses made it impossible to pick one (overpowered) weapon/spell and spam it for the entire game.
I had a lot of time toying with my glyphs/equipment to see what worked. In many cases, the correct combination could bring you an easy victory, but the act of figuring it out was enjoyable in itself.
I didn't think the game was especially difficult, though. The boss battles were excellent and there was one part that gave me a little trouble in the castle, but otherwise it was a bit on the easy side. Maybe I feel that way because I've just come from several older Castlevanias and Megaman 9.
The extra cavern certainly was crazy, though. I loved the boss!
quote:
I'm reserving judgement on whether it's the best so far. I've heard that the postgame zones feature challenging platforming, but the fact that challenging platforming comes after the main campaign still somewhat lessens my opinion of the game.
I think if you're excited about challenging platforming, you probably won't find it very challenging. I cleared the area on the 2nd try and I'm not especially good at anything.
Still, I thought it was a really fun addition.
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| Spoon 1671th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(3):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Castlevania, this" , posted Mon 10 Nov 14:22
Having beaten Dracula, I have to say that it's better than all the previous portable Castlevanias. It is naturally better than the ones that didn't compel me to beat me, and it is better than the ones that I actually did beat.
I was a little disappointed that Dracula didn't have a third form, but that really just comes from enjoying his second form. His first form (teleporting around and throwing crap at you, but never actually walking) is the classic Dracula, but I found that the biggest threat was being stupid or greedy (like seeing how many fireballs you can dive kick in one wave, how many different ways you can get around the big fireballs, trying to get too many licks in and getting hit during the launch of the green rain).
The Frankenstein Raoh really came out of nowhere. I expected him to do all kinds of things, but doing a hundred-crack-fist punching fury or returning to the sky were not among them. I loved it.
I liked all the random and crazy fighting game references. Pneuma, letting you do reppukens or double reppukens or raging storms, was pretty fantastic.
I do think that people who continually want a Castlevania that is flatout larger (nevermind better/more interesting/more balanced challenge) than Symphony of the Night should get used to not getting that, but so long as a Castlevania game has a bit of Metroidvania to it, the sentiment will linger.
I also think that Albus' Up+L+A move is going to be my favourite silly Castlevania move for awhile.
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| Sensenic 1662th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(3):Re(10):Re(10):Re(10):Castlevania, this" , posted Fri 28 Nov 18:30
Skipped over the thread as I started it recently but want to avoid spoilers...
I'm currently at the GIANT ENEMY CRAB fight, and so far I'm really enjoying it! Innovative, challenging and keeping all those little details I love so much (the cats...  ).
2 aspects to point out:
- For the first time you HAVE to pay attention to elemental strengths/weaknesses, a la megaten. In the other metroidvanias you're able to kill a skeleton in one hit very early in the game, if not right from the beginning, whereas in this one depending on the equipped glyphs they may still take two or more hits.
- I found the first "scary" enemy on a Castlevania in a long time (if ever): Evil Force. An uberpowerful (by the time you get to "meet" it), ghastly, skinless head that comes right at you. That does quite the effect! And it's not a recycled sprite, to boot!
I want the Geese Howard glyph.... 
おやおやぁ~
"Farpaitement!"
-Obelix-
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