Castlevania Appreciation Thread

[MrPopo]

So for CV2 I'm planning on having a Nintendo Power in front of me while I play for the authentic experience.

I actually DO have a FC now, for Lagrange Point, so I could pick up the FC version of CV3.

And I do have a legit CD copy of Rondo for my Turbo. I don't need the story since I've already played the 2.5D version.

[Xeogred]

I still want to get back to CV2 myself to be able to say "I've finished all the 2D CV's" (for the most part).

On the other end of the series here, I'm about to wrap up Aria and this one is fantastic, still one of my favorites for the Metroidvania's by a good bit. Going from Harmony of Dissonance to this was like, Devil May Cry 2 to DMC3 haha. It's still easy, but the bosses are pretty tough and I've died a lot. Maybe some here haven't played it yet, but some of the twists in this one were very cool and it's got better story/characters than most of them. Great graphics, level design, outstanding music for the GBA, this game has the polish without the filler that makes up some of SoTN. For whatever reason, I don't remember caring for Dawn of Sorrow much though.

I really wish we could get DS games on the WiiU... the gamepad acting as the touchscreen. How has this not happened yet? I namely want to play Order of Ecclesia again, definitely one of my top favorites.

I want to replay Circle of the Moon again too, but with Bloodborne around the corner I'll probably save that for later. I think I'll mess around with the extra modes on Aria.

So you have to make it through a room filled with enemies, and another room that's just annoying to have to keep playing through, making it hard to get to Dracula with full health. Also, it's just straight up annoying.

Sums up CV3 in general for me. I really don't know if I have much good to say about this (one for the unpopular gaming opinions thread hah). The level design was way too frustrating and annoying in most stages. Getting to Dracula was BS.

[Ziggy]

So for CV2 I'm planning on having a Nintendo Power in front of me while I play for the authentic experience.

The one time I played through the game it was with a walkthrough from GameFAQs. I didn't have much fun doing it, I just wanted to see the game. I've been meaning to replay it with the hack I mentioned, since it looks like you can now do it without any aid.

I actually DO have a FC now, for Lagrange Point, so I could pick up the FC version of CV3.

Definitely, definitely, definitely pick up a copy of Akumajo Densetsu. There's a bunch of cart only copies on eBay right now for ~$40. Definitely worth it. Once you play the FC version, you can't go back to the NES version.

And I do have a legit CD copy of Rondo for my Turbo. I don't need the story since I've already played the 2.5D version.

Nice. Honestly, I can do without the cutscenes in the game. And it's not like you can't really figure out the gist of the dialog anyway. The only thing you're missing out on is the stage names, which isn't important either, and the little bits of dialog during gameplay (like Death).

[MrPopo]

I actually DO have a FC now, for Lagrange Point, so I could pick up the FC version of CV3.

Definitely, definitely, definitely pick up a copy of Akumajo Densetsu. There's a bunch of cart only copies on eBay right now for ~$40. Definitely worth it. Once you play the FC version, you can't go back to the NES version.

Honestly, I've heard the comparison and I really do prefer the NES version of the music. It uses a lot of the sounds the first TMNT used, and that just hits all the nostalgia for me.

[Ziggy]

But it's missing parts in most of the tracks, and IIRC sound effects will cancel out parts at times (if there's not enough available channels, I guess). But to each his own.

There's other differences, the two I mentioned are just my favorite. There's minor changes from censoring, some sprites are different, there's some slightly better graphics in areas, there's some animation in the intro sequence, Grant always has the dagger, stuff like that. Damage taken works differently, which makes the difficulty more balanced from start to finish, and ends up making the game a little easier toward the end (instead of typical frustration).

But the number one reason while I'll never play the NES version again is because of the restart point when you die against Dracula. That's just total bull shit!

edit: Forgot to mention, the NES version has the fancy stylized font for the HUD. The FC version used the standard font, same as CV1. I've actually come to prefer the standard font. But when I play, it's usually the translated version, which has the fancy font.

[Xeogred]

I actually DO have a FC now, for Lagrange Point, so I could pick up the FC version of CV3.

Definitely, definitely, definitely pick up a copy of Akumajo Densetsu. There's a bunch of cart only copies on eBay right now for ~$40. Definitely worth it. Once you play the FC version, you can't go back to the NES version.

Honestly, I've heard the comparison and I really do prefer the NES version of the music. It uses a lot of the sounds the first TMNT used, and that just hits all the nostalgia for me.

I noticed this a lot with Castlevania Rebirth actually haha, lots of TMNT-like sound effects going on. Kind of a shame they didn't make some TMNT Rebirth game in the vein of the arcade/NES/SNES games.

[Gunstar Green]

I really like the Famicom Castlevania III music but I prefer the NES version just because it's what I'm used to.

[Ziggy]

So I finally beat Castlevania Chronicles. It's not as horrible as I remember it. There's just a few things that really annoy me.

Bats. Why do they have such an annoying pattern in this game? They weren't hard enough to deal with in the other CV games? They had to make it so if you avoided one he'll turn around and fly at you again!

The clock tower stage really wasn't that bad, but damn, that boss is ridiculous. It just moves way to fast. You have to anticipate things so you can be one step ahead, otherwise you're gonna get hit with all that shit getting thrown at you. It's impossible to dodge it in time if you just sit and wait. What's even more annoying is the check point you start at when you die against the boss. It's the room right before the boss, but it takes SOOOO long to clear. And it's very tedious to do without taking damage.

I played the clock tower boss a few times and then decided to switch to arranged mode so I could play on the medium difficulty (which I think is a little easier than original mode). First I had the boss down to one hit left and then I died. Then, I beat the fucking boss with one hit left, but died because I ran out of time. Yeah, the timer still counts down during the death animation. And yeah, THAT'S how long it takes to clear that room before the boss, I ran out of fucking time! So I had to resort to putting it on easy mode.

So I had to play arranged mode, and I really hate the red headed Simon sprite. Also, I wanted to see the original ending and not the FMV one. But I don't think I'll be beating original mode any time soon.

I really enjoyed the parts that were similar to CV1 on the NES. I wish more of the game was like CV1. Simon's Theme was a nice touch for the last level. And I liked the Dracula fight. It was pretty much the same fight from CV1, with a few updates. I enjoyed that.

I really like how beating the game unlocks time trial mode, and you can save your best times. I wish ALL CV games had this. If some one made a hack for a time trial mode in CV1, I'd be all over it.

[Ziggy]

So this is kinda neat...

If the music in the video is the actual gameplay music, that kinda sucks. One track all the way through? Also, the music doesn't fit the graphics. And there's something kinda odd about being able to double jump with those graphics. But it's a neat idea, how all the levels are strung together to actually form the castle.

[MrPopo]

Is it just me, or are the subweapons in Bloodlines quite nerfed compared to previous CV games?