267 replies to this topic

[Nicholas Steel]

Original. I'll buy it off Wii Virtual Console, because it's on there for some baffling reason even though it never came out in the West in its original format, or hell, even a PlayStation 1 rerelease, but hey, I'm not complaining. I already played Dracula X, the SNES port/remake, and it's... not good. The platforming didn't feel designed for stiff jumping mechanics and there's just some haphazard and downright cruel enemy placement. Overall it's not horrible, but it feels very much like a rushed job.

The first time you play the game on the Wii you MUST press Start when it says to Press Start (After the lengthy intro), it won't work before hand and it won't work if you wait long enough for the intro to loop (until you wait for it to reach the prompt again, which is a very long time). After you've made a save game/reached the main menu I think you can then skip the intro and quickly reach the main menu on successive loadings of the game.

 

Other than that, it works fine on the Wii, though it's hard as fuck lol.

Edited by Nicholas Steel, 24 September 2015 - 10:06 PM.

[Air Luigi]

Rondo hard? o.O It's one of the easiest games in the series, a total breeze xd The only part that offers some challenge is Stage 6, and only in the first play. And that with Richter, Maria is simply broken and overpowered xd

[kurt91]

I found something rather interesting...

 

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2545/

 

This hack adds an RPG system to the first Castlevania game. Each level-up grants you an extra point of HP, and (don't quote me on this, I haven't tested it past Medusa Heads dealing less damage) enemies appear to all deal 1 point of HP per hit to help balance it out. True, you can level grind in places where Zombies or Medusa Head infinitely spawn, but it'll be rather slow. (However, in the spirit of fairness, or just because some people will just want to level grind, time limits have been removed.) Weak enemies actually give less EXP than stronger ones, it's not just 1 kill = 1 EXP. Also, any Hearts you have leftover after finishing a block will convert to EXP, encouraging you to strategize and aim rather than employ a "spray and pray" strategy.

Edited by kurt91, 26 September 2015 - 05:20 AM.

[Alucard648]

I found something rather interesting...

 

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2545/

 

This hack adds an RPG system to the first Castlevania game. Each level-up grants you an extra point of HP, and (don't quote me on this, I haven't tested it past Medusa Heads dealing less damage) enemies appear to all deal 1 point of HP per hit to help balance it out. True, you can level grind in places where Zombies or Medusa Head infinitely spawn, but it'll be rather slow. (However, in the spirit of fairness, or just because some people will just want to level grind, time limits have been removed.) Weak enemies actually give less EXP than stronger ones, it's not just 1 kill = 1 EXP. Also, any Hearts you have leftover after finishing a block will convert to EXP, encouraging you to strategize and aim rather than employ a "spray and pray" strategy.

Played this hack. This one heavy employs "Early game hell" trope as any one can one-hit-kill Simon, until getting L3-4, but even then it`s still quite difficult game. But overpowered Holy Water breaks everything.

[The Satellite]

Hmm. So I actually didn't enjoy Rondo of Blood that much. Oh it was a good game, but it felt a little annoying at points, and not nearly as awesome as most other games, or as its fans made it out to be. It has awesome mechanics to it, such as alternate paths, but the level design itself is just not as good. Certainly a lot better than Dracula X, and it accommodates the gameplay style much better than that game, but... honestly it's pretty down there on my list of favorite Classicvanias, only above Bloodlines and, of course, Dracula X.

 

Honestly it felt so... not-as-awesome to me that I beat it normally with Richter on one path and used Maria to speed through what I missed. I also used Maria on the boss rush because it's bullshit. I mean the game did bosses pretty well, but throwing five bosses in a row at us with only one health drop is just... no. So overall good game, but not a masterpiece.

 

Fortunately I get to return to the joy that is Symphony of the Night.

[Air Luigi]

Rondo of Blood is the bridge between classicvania and the exploration games. Usually, people that don't like the pure classicvania (NES) are the biggest RoB fans. I agree with you, it has interesting things and nice music, but the core gameplay isn't as strong as some of the earlier titles. My favorite thing about RoB is the quantity of easter eggs and secrets.

 

Five bosses in a row is the best part in the game! It's really easy with a bit of practice  Just learn the patterns.

 

You still has to play CASTLEVANIA CHRONICLES. Seriously, don't miss that game. Behind III and IV, it's the best classicvania.

Edited by Air Luigi, 27 September 2015 - 04:56 PM.

[The Satellite]

I actually did play a little Chronicles a few days ago and I'm not entirely sure why I stopped, guess I wanted to get to non-remake games, even if Chronicles is mostly original. I will say this though... Chronicles' walk animation gets to me in a bad way, lol. It's so strange...

[Koh]

Little fun fact:  Chronicles is a port of the X68000 version .  The down-diagonal whip makes some of that stiff platforming much more bearable than before.

[The Satellite]

On the note of Chronicles, should I play arranged mode or original mode? What's the differences and benefits to each?

[Air Luigi]

Original is like the original X68000 game. Original music, original graphics, original difficulty... Original Mode is Hard. Original has THREE retro different soundtracks.

 

Arrange is really the same, but it has an exclusive "arranged soundtrack" and some special effects and sprites. The difficulty is greatly reduced (you can even set up the difficulty in the options). The problem is that the arrange music is crap.

 

My advice: Play Arrange in Normal with the original music (select your favorite retro soundtrack, or try one different in every play). There is a secret code for this. When you get accustomed to the game, play Original for the true challenge and the authentic experience.

 

Another difference is that Original has loops, and in every loop the game gets harder and harder. Arrange removed the loops.

Edited by Air Luigi, 27 September 2015 - 08:02 PM.

[Nicholas Steel]

I dunno if I mentioned this here already or not, but did anyone else notice that female characters in Portrait of Ruin push objects significantly slower than male characters?

[The Satellite]

I did not notice, mostly because I mainly played as Jonathan; Charlotte was always out and helping, but it's Castlevania, I needed my whip. Well okay with Soma and Alucard I preferred swords, and as Shanoa I didn't have a choice, but I do love the whip.

 

Anyway, Symphony of the Night is so tough to put down. It's engrossing, the atmosphere is amazing in every aspect, I think the only thing I would change is give the bosses a little more HP. Maybe more than a little. Still, I love this game, and playing it after Rondo of Blood makes it even more awesome now that I recognize several areas from that game reused here to awesome effect.

 

Oh, and whoever told me it would feel clunky after playing the newer Metroidvanias, you were very wrong.

[Air Luigi]

 

Oh, and whoever told me it would feel clunky after playing the newer Metroidvanias, you were very wrong.

 

Who said that? I want to put them in the black list

 

The sequels improve balance/difficulty and bosses, but apart from that, they feel like little adventures compared to SOTN I always discover new weapons, drops and secrets in SOTN (make sure to try down, right, attack with every weapon to see the specials). Also, SOUL STEAL! Best broken gaemh eva.

[The Satellite]

If there were any parts of SotN I'd change other than low boss HP, it'd probably be a better way to use healing items (equipping it to one of your hands then using it is kind of a pain), letting music play while you have the menu open (that always bugged me especially when the music's so damn good), and... there was something else but I can't remember it right now. But there's still very little I'd change about this game; it's amazing how one of the most broken games of all time can still be this awesome to play.

[Air Luigi]

Play Luck Mode, it's way more fun and you can get ton of rare drops easily.