What are you playing?

[dunpeal2064]

The mention of reused content was one part of my initial post. It spawned a conversation. How am I fixating, when that is the topic at hand?

I'm not saying there is no new content, I am saying there is a lot of reused content. Maybe I just magically took the "all rehash" route, but there were not "a lot" of new enemies, I can think of two, and they don't appear until the latter half of the game.

This in itself isn't an issue, but the game lacks resistance compared to other action games, which puts the opus on the settings and set pieces to carry the experience, and outside of boss fights, a good half the stages just aren't as interesting, other than being graphical enhancements of other CV settings.

Worth mentioning again, I said I like this game. Its OG Vania, its sweet. It just falls short in a few places for me.


Maybe we can just agree to disagree though, because I think CV4 is booty, so we may just take away different things from this series.

Did you do the main path, or both, or--?

I'm honestly not sure, its harder to tell in this game than in CV3. I want to say I took the main route, but one of the bosses I fought felt fairly hidden (Had to blow up a wall to reach him). Other than that fight though, I think I took the standard path. Maybe this is a case similar to CV3, in that taking the right path is what makes the game go from decent to great (Upper path CV3 is a sweet game, lower path stanks)

Fwiw, I would place this game just under CV1 and Bloodlines, but still within a higher tier. I really want to play x86k, it looks sweet.

[marurun]

I didn't mean fixated as in obsessively so, but more that I think you're not seeing some of the original content because you're stuck on the reused content. Or maybe I've just obsessively explored the game WAY too much.

The bottom/alternate levels tend to be the more original ones, while the top/regular paths tend to be a little closer to the classic material.

Also, Rondo has tons of new enemies all over the place. I can think of 4 new enemies just in level 1 of Rondo. There's the barrel-tossing, ape-looking skeleton, the ninja-like skeleton blade that jumps from the window on the top floor of the town that also shows up on the pirate ship, the giant stone golem, and the plant that can turn you to stone in the secret room that leads to stage 2 lower. Oh, and also the giant behemoth that chases you through the mid-part of the stage. It is an enemy and you can kill it, it's just hard to do. There's probably another new enemy or two I'm missing, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately just in the first level.

[pierrot]

Did you do the main path, or both, or--?

I'm honestly not sure, its harder to tell in this game than in CV3. I want to say I took the main route, but one of the bosses I fought felt fairly hidden (Had to blow up a wall to reach him). Other than that fight though, I think I took the standard path. Maybe this is a case similar to CV3, in that taking the right path is what makes the game go from decent to great (Upper path CV3 is a sweet game, lower path stanks)

If you go back into the stage select, you'll be able to see your route through the game. The first four stages have alternate exits. The main path stages are along the top, and the alternate path is along the bottom. If memory serves, the alternate path is generally a bit more difficult. The alternate Stage 4, in particular, is, but it also doesn't have a boss--but it is the stage with Slash, for a BGM.

It sounds like you at least went to the alternate exit of the first stage. Did you fight a serpent on a bridge, or a purple dragon for the first boss?

I think it's worth playing Rondo for 100%. It adds a lot more to the game than doing all routes in CV3. If it weren't for the ascent under the castle, and Alucard's stage, I would be disinclined to agree with you completely about the lower route in CV3, but you might not like the alternate Stage 4 in Rondo--.

[dunpeal2064]

It could very well be that I need to more thoroughly explore the game. And to be fair, I was not recalling a lot of those enemies. Maybe they were just scarcely used, or died quickly. I actually thought the behemoth was a set piece and not killable, that is pretty cool.

Its really not something that bothers me all that much, it just... stood out more than CV's homages usually do to me. Like I originally said though, its not necessarily a bad thing, since it is revisiting stuff I like! Its just that, with the lack of difficulty, I felt like I wanted to see some more new stuff.

I definitely plan to go back and more thoroughly explore the game, its entirely possible I am just being too harsh on it, or was just let down by the lack of difficulty to the extent that it made me nit-pick other things that would normally be non-issue.

It sounds like you at least went to the alternate exit of the first stage. Did you fight a serpent on a bridge, or a purple dragon for the first boss?

I think it's worth playing Rondo for 100%. It adds a lot more to the game than doing all routes in CV3. If it weren't for the ascent under the castle, and Alucard's stage, I would be disinclined to agree with you completely about the lower route in CV3, but you might not like the alternate Stage 4 in Rondo--.

I fought the purple dragon. The wall I blew up was in Stage... 4 I think? It was right next to a platform and a spiked ball both swinging back and forth.

Some of the lower parts of CV3 were sweet, but overall its feel is just odd. I felt like going strictly to the upper path made me like the game more, and from there exploring the lower route felt better as a sort of optional path.

[marurun]

Its really not something that bothers me all that much, it just... stood out more than CV's homages usually do to me. Like I originally said though, its not necessarily a bad thing, since it is revisiting stuff I like! Its just that, with the lack of difficulty, I felt like I wanted to see some more new stuff.

I have to concede on difficulty. The game is slow to get hard unless you get an unlucky hand dealt to you, at least until the pirate ship. That's where the challenge spikes. The lower paths are a little harder, though, and getting some of the secrets can be a bit devilish. Freeing all the captured women is actually a decent challenge, and the boss rush on level 6 is quite difficult. But I also love that most pits don't kill, but lead to alternate areas instead. But then there's that spinning portrait that will kill you in one hit. Finding and following the lower path the whole way does dramatically change the challenge and tone of the game. And unlocking Maria is how to play in super-easy mode.

[dunpeal2064]

I didn't know there were captured women at all! Those poor ladies.

Yeah, the Death fight is where I started really getting into it, and the Stage 6 boss rush was sweet. Stage 7 is pretty excellent right from the start.

It sounds like I just approached this game the wrong way, since I am not only missing some good stages, but apparently an entire rescuing concept!

I'll get back to Rondo and aim for the 100%, and report back.

[strangenova]

All this talk is making me want to go pick Rondo back up, I really need to finish that one.

[marurun]

It sounds like I just approached this game the wrong way, since I am not only missing some good stages, but apparently an entire rescuing concept!

Naw, your initial approach was sound and normal. You just thought, like many of us did, "Is this all there is?" But instead of looking at that 50% after beating the game and thinking, "Aha, there's another whole game in this here game!" you thought something else.

[Xeogred]

As much as I love SoTN's OST, the traditional rockin' melodic CV tunes are way better than the Metroidvania OST's. 9 times out of a 10 when I really perk up in one of the Metroidvania's because of the music, it's a remix (Super CV4).

Perhaps my favorite CV song of all time... and I even played Bloodlines later after beating many others. I was thrilled to keep getting a game over to replay this level, The Sinking Old Sanctuary:


The underdog OST would be Chronicles. Albeit a lot of remixes, this remix of Simon's Theme was unbelievable. It was also the final level, beyond epic!


And this Thrashed in the Cave is so good!


Now you know why you must play Chronicles.

Man, the Contra's have some amazing music, but Castlevania is on another level.

[Segata]

Geist Force