Random Thoughts Thread

[bmoc]

From what I have read, J. R. R. Tolkien wavered back and forth on the origin of the orcs. Sometimes it was mud pits, sometimes it was corrupted elves. Corrupted elves is the official canon because it was mentioned in the Silmarillion but for what it is worth, that was published posthumously be Christopher Tolkien. This shouldn't be too surprising coming from the guy that used orc, goblin, hobgoblin, and uruk interchangeably.

Peter Jackson probably ran with the mud pit thing for the Uruk Hai in the movies to keep things PG-13. They were likely orc/human crossbreeds. As for why orc women aren't mentioned, it probably for the same reason that women outside of Galadriel, Arwen, and Eowyn are barely mentioned. Tolkien just didn't care much about writing them. Eowyn is only a major character because Tolkien's daughter asked him to do it.

[RCBH928]

IIRC, they arise from the ground via magic somehow. If they had to go through the whole birth processes it will take years for each orc child to be born then grow up. At least in the movie it was instant, maybe in the book Saruman waited 200 years to build his army via the natural process of birth.

[SamuraiMegas]

I'm gonna emulate symphony of the night, what's my best option to do so?

[marurun]

I'm gonna emulate symphony of the night, what's my best option to do so?

A PC. But barring that… I ordered a Retroid 2 but it’ll be weeks before it arrives. I want SotN hand-held. When I eventually get it I’ll share about how it performs.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I'm gonna emulate symphony of the night, what's my best option to do so?

A PC. But barring that… I ordered a Retroid 2 but it’ll be weeks before it arrives. I want SotN hand-held. When I eventually get it I’ll share about how it performs.

Let me know too! I love my RG350, but I’m a little jealous of the Retroid 2’s capabilities.

[Ziggy]

FWIW if you have a PS4 you can get Castlevania Requiem, which is Symphony and Rondo of Blood in one package.

Wasn't SotN available on Xbox Live and PS3's PSN? IDK what's still available for purchase.

[SamuraiMegas]

I guess I should have been more clear- I have a PC- is there a definitive port I should be emulating?

[Note]

I guess I should have been more clear- I have a PC- is there a definitive port I should be emulating?

I think most consider the PS1 port to be better than the Saturn version. The Saturn version has an extra character and content though, so might be worth checking out later on.

[Ziggy]

I guess I should have been more clear- I have a PC- is there a definitive port I should be emulating?

SotN never got a PC port. So if you want to play it on PC, I say emulate the PS1 version.

The Saturn version is awesome in it's own way, but I wouldn't suggest it for first time players. It's definitely worth checking out if you enjoy the game. The extra content is neat, but it's not the definitive version. Also, it doesn't play as good as the PS1 version.

The PSP port is awesome, but largely the same as the PS1 version. The biggest difference is a re-translation and new voice acting. The coolest part about that is that they simultaneously made an official English translation and dub for Rondo of Blood. Since SotN is a direct sequel to Rondo, it's really neat that the voice acting matches across both games. However, it is on the PSP, so not the best way to experience the game IMO. I'm not sure what emulation options are available for PSP these days. If there's something that can cleanly upscale the low resolution, that actually looks and plays good, then the PSP port isn't a bad choice. Note that it's included in The Dracula X Chronicles, and you have to play a little bit of the 2.5D remake of Rondo to unlock it. Although it's really easy to unlock. Or perhaps you can just find a save file that has it already unlocked.

Since the PSP is widescreen, and SotN and Rondo are 4:3 ratio games, they have boarder options. But strangely there was no black boarder option. But fortunately there's a hack that adds black boarders. You can find the patch here: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/2966/

Castlevania Requiem is the PSP versions of SotN and Rondo in one package for the PS4. That's why I mentioned it, it's a great way to play the PSP ports because of the increased resolution. Unfortunately they only released this for PS4.

Again, if there's good options for PSP emulation then that version isn't a bad choice. But I'd still have to say that the original PS1 version should be the first version you play. The dialog and voice acting is... well, it's bad. But bad in a good way. It's awesome. "What is a man? A miserable pile of secrets!"

[BoneSnapDeez]

Any one of you based individuals wanna redpill on the Retroid 2's capabilities?