Author Topic: Castlevania thread, y'all! (Read 21216 times)

arun.yothin · « **on:** January 13, 2009, 09:26:02 PM »

CASTLEVANIA
悪魔城ドラキュラ

Grab ya bibles and holy waters! It's time to talk about them whip slangin' fearless vampire killas of Castlevania. Talk about it all: Your favorite games, characters, music, art, whatever.

I just bought Order of Ecclesia (Posting this for the thrid time today

) and it's really cool so far. I like the way the weapon system with the Glyphs works. The weapons are like some for the previous games (Sword, rapier, axe, kinfe, etc.), but you can have two at the same time assigned to the X and Y buttons. I guess certain combinations can create strong attacks when you press UP+ATTACK (Like the sub-weapons). Alternating X and Y to attack faster is fun too. I kinda didn't like the weapons in Dawn of Sorrow. The katanas were the only ones I liked using. I didn't care that the hammers and lances (I think?) were stronger, they weren't as fun. I forget how the level up system for the weapons worked, but I don't remeber liking any games where I felt I had to use a weapon I disliked because I would need its strength somewhere in the game.

There seem to be new monsters to fight as well. I don't know who was new in Portrait of Ruin, but there are a lot of new guys, maybe even some older ones with new tricks. The few areas I've been to sa far are cool. Instead of the game being in one huge castle, it's broken up into areas that are structured similarly to the older games. Lots of vertical stair-well and long hallway type rooms.

I don't remember too much of the other stories or even what order they're in, but this one is okay so far. Shanoa has a nice look, and that tattoo absorption animation is cool. I wish there was an animated video when you do it for the first time or something.

Who else loves these games?

shurastriker · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2009, 12:02:42 AM »

the very first game i played in my brand new playstation (at that time) was Castlevania SotN and still my favorite, i still have the saved game some where because i never completed the full list of items

... ok i just played like two more, one for PS2 and other in GBA.

my favorite character is Alucard and my favorite sub-weapon the holy water.

Tuffty · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2009, 08:57:33 PM »

^ Seriously, holy water just kicks ass.

Only played Symphony Of The Night, but it's a testament to the game that it's still so playable and compelling almost 10 years after it's release. Looking forward to Order Of Ecclessia and I'm seriously thinking of getting Dawn Of Sorrow or Portrait Of Ruin.

arun.yothin · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2009, 10:20:11 PM »

^Get 'em both!!

It all started with SotN when a friend bought it for me for Christmas. Then I got Castlevania Chronicles on PS1. I loved playing SotN so much. I love the non-linear style of play, going back trying to remember all the spots I couldn't reach without double-jump or which items could get me into another area. I still haven't played Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Portrait of Ruin. I saw the two-pack of the GBA games, but never picked it up.

I have to go back and play the others to refresh my memory. I remember thoroughly enjoying all of them, but can't think of which ones I like the most and why. I remember a few things I didn't like, like the use of the touch screen in Dos. It seemed kinda cool at first, but I think towards the end I stopped caring and it felt like it was in the way. I like how Ecclesia doesn't use the stylus at all.

More stuff about Ecclesia: (Some people I know like to go into things knowin as little as possible about what they're gonna see. I know I liked knowing very little going into this game.)

- [bgcolor=#ffffff]Kung Fu Fighting Invisible Man LOL[/bgcolor]
- [bgcolor=#ffffff]You can't tell me that Grave Digger isn't Q from Street Fighter III: Third Strike[/bgcolor]
- [bgcolor=#ffffff]The Guard throwing his lance made me laugh[/bgcolor]
- [bgcolor=#ffffff]Laura is HOT!![/bgcolor]
- [bgcolor=#ffffff]I don't have much of a problem with the story right now. I don't know if it cliche nor do I care. I don't care how many times something's been done before, entertaining is entertaining. The only thing I don't like is Shanoa's lack of emotion. Yeah, it's supposed to be part of the story, but it makes her less interesting.[/bgcolor]
- [bgcolor=#ffffff]So far, I'm liking the the new setup with different areas more than the old castle style. The designs of the areas feel more different with the caves, ship, prison, etc. than with the library, lab, clock tower, etc. I don't think the new way is so much better, but it's anice change from the castle.[/bgcolor]

I'm kinda half and half on the music right now. The music in other games was cool, but I wouldn't call myself a fan of it. Some songs I've heard so far are really cool, but I think most so far have been forgettable. I'm curious about how some of the staple songs are going to be.

Wonderboy · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2009, 08:31:21 PM »

Best game like old Castle : Rondo of blood on Nec CD-Rom.

Best Castleroïd (Vania + Metroïd) : Symphony of the night.

Others are cool, except the 3D ones, especially on N64.

Asmodai · « **Reply #5 on:** January 16, 2009, 05:04:38 AM »

Quote from: Tuffty on January 14, 2009, 08:57:33 PM

^ Seriously, holy water just kicks ass.

Only played Symphony Of The Night, but it's a testament to the game that it's still so playable and compelling almost 10 years after it's release. Looking forward to Order Of Ecclessia and I'm seriously thinking of getting Dawn Of Sorrow or Portrait Of Ruin.

Symphony of the Night was amazing. I just found it in the Playstation Store, so I'm downloading it to my PSP now.

I played the Gameboy Advance Castlevania's too, and they were good - though not as good.

I remember liking Castlevania 4 for the SNES, but I can't seem to get into now.

shurastriker · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2009, 04:36:05 AM »

i read that you can actually walk outside the castle (just a few frames) but i never was able to do that and really never checked if is fake or not... plus my copy is so full of pirattitude that maybe that's why

Aioros · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2009, 04:47:06 AM »

You can go out of the castle in SOTN, but in select areas only and will be marked white in the map. I remember that you had to beef up the sword familiar to the max level then perform the Sword Brothers spell in a specific room. Once you go outside, the completion percentage will be more than 200%

I'm not sure how many times I played SOTN but it never bores me. My only gripe for this perfect game is that it should have a boss rush mode or something.

Anyone tried the Castlevania fighting game for the Wii yet?

LaJon · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2009, 06:15:51 PM »

A friend of mine from high school beat Castlevania 64. e_e

ziggurat · « **Reply #9 on:** January 27, 2009, 05:29:15 PM »

I got SotN on my psp after a recommendation by words. Damn, it just superb. After getting the good ending, I played just for collecting rare swords and go on a blind massacre

Tuffty · « **Reply #10 on:** March 08, 2009, 04:36:09 PM »

Playing Ecclessia and went through an awesome moment.

- [bgcolor=#000000]In the boss battle with Brachyura, the giant enemy crab at the lighthouse, I died a number of times before then so I was really wanting the damn thing to die! So imagine my satisfaction when Shanoa told it to go to hell and impaled the damn thing with the elevator all the way to the bottom

Badass.[/bgcolor]

Enjoying it very much. I's completely old school, if you're not careful you'll die pretty easy, I like that. So far I like the music, I have no way of comparing it to other entries in the series apart from SOTN, but I like it. Makes you think it would fit in well with SOTN.

Anyone playing it got their glyphs of choice? I know you should change dependening on certain enemies but are there any in particular that you can't really part with? I tend to use Secare (sword) and Arcus (bow) for short and long range options.

As an aside, I'm hoping others who have made it past the lighthouse can help me with this (looking at you here arun!) Where can I find the Rue for Abram's second quest? Got camomile ok but should I have gotten Rue by now or will it be found later? And where can I find iron ore as well for the recently rescued weapon maker? I have 3 copper ore, but not iron.

arun.yothin · « **Reply #11 on:** March 08, 2009, 08:29:20 PM »

Quote from: Tuffty on March 08, 2009, 04:36:09 PM

Playing Ecclessia and went through an awesome moment.

I felt the same way. I like this one more than SotN. I haven't played them all either, but this one is my favorite. The glyphs are what does it for me. It's fun to mix 'em up. I need to go back and play SotN again, it's been a few years. I remember really enjoying it, but everyone else seems to love it so much more than me. Some songs I really dig (Minera Prison Island's is my favorite), others I don't even remember when I re-enter a level.

Quote from: Tuffty on March 08, 2009, 04:36:09 PM

Anyone playing it got their glyphs of choice? I know you should change dependening on certain enemies but are there any in particular that you can't really part with? I tend to use Secare (sword) and Arcus (bow) for short and long range options.

I like to use Pneuma in both slots for some Terry Bogard/Geese-type action. Throw one then the other and it makes the wave bigger. Another one is Vol Luminato (Light Orb) and Vol Confodere(Superior Rapier). Orb is nice to use and I just like the rapier and sword. I usually use some combo of a sword or rapier and the lightning, darkness, or light magic. I also like to double up on swords for some good fun. I can attack from afar with the magic if I don't want to be close, but I can throw the magic and then strike with the weapon right away. Sometimes I feel like cuttin' everyone up, so it's just weapons, sometimes I like to throw magic at them so I'll equip only that. Only when I've had a tough time with a boss will I pick the strongest setup. Any other situation is just shits and giggles.

Unless I'm fighting a boss, I usually use Inire Pecunia to get more money.

Quote from: Tuffty on March 08, 2009, 04:36:09 PM

As an aside, I'm hoping others who have made it past the lighthouse can help me with this (looking at you here arun!) Where can I find the Rue for Abram's second quest? Got camomile ok but should I have gotten Rue by now or will it be found later? And where can I find iron ore as well for the recently rescued weapon maker? I have 3 copper ore, but not iron.

I'm pretty sure you find [Rue] later. Same with [Iron Ore]. I don't remember the exact order of the places that get opened up, but the only locations I can think of that have what you're looking for probably aren't open yet. I don't think they pop up too much later though.

Here's how you can find some [Iron Ore].
[bgcolor=#090909]I've gotten [Iron Ore] from the Rock Knight (Big orange armor guys) and Automaton ZX26 (Little robot dudes with the orange antenna on their heads, not the ones with the axe). I don't remember any areas that you would encounter soon.[/bgcolor]

Tuffty · « **Reply #12 on:** March 14, 2009, 07:22:34 PM »

Quote from: arun.yothin on January 14, 2009, 10:20:11 PM

- [bgcolor=#ffffff]Laura is HOT!![/bgcolor]

Having rescued her there now, I can concur with this statement

arun.yothin · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2009, 01:59:56 AM »

^

After a few weeks of not playing, I finally beat it. I wanted to get everything first, but I got tired of having no luck so I went to finish the game. It was tough at first since I was being lazy. With games like these, sometimes I don't learn the patterns and try to rush into the bosses.

(About something after beating the game)
[bgcolor=#000000]HARD MODE IS FUCKIN' HARD!! SHIT!

I've died like five times already and the furthest I've gotten is the third or fourth room in the Monastery. I've never beaten the hardest mode on any game, except for most of the levels on CoD4. I want to try for these ones though.[/bgcolor]

It's funny in games like these to start over from the beginning and not have everything, like your cool weapons and double-jump. I think I'm gonna chill and play some Animal Crossing.

Tuffty · « **Reply #14 on:** March 22, 2009, 01:50:32 AM »

Getting the Pnuema Glyph was pretty tricky! If you can't remember, it's the wind based glyph found in the Tymeo mountains which you can only get by using the magnets just so and getting in just the right spot before the wind blows you off. Put I got felt proud getting it in the end with no walkthroughs or anything

I was looking at some gameplay videos at the stage of the game I'm in and notice there's a glyph which you can summon monsters with, I must have missed that one. Where can it be found? And I've noticed some strange green portal things on the walls. Is there anyway to get through these right now, or is there a relic or something later in the game I need to get first?

arun.yothin · « **Reply #15 on:** March 31, 2009, 05:24:49 AM »

Oh, wow. I thought I responded to this already.

You're probably well past it now, but the what you need for the green protals isn't until much later. There are a few summon glyphs. One you could probably get now and the other two are much later.

Where are you at now? I'm doing two play throughs with stuff unlocked when you finish. Haven't picked it up in a little while. I'll probably get back on it since I have less work this week.

Tuffty · « **Reply #16 on:** March 31, 2009, 07:59:49 PM »

heh no worries

I'm at the Giant's Dwelling right now. I didn't realise you could earn medals for defeating bosses without taking any damage. There's no purpose to them, purely decorative, but that didn't stop me from trying again and again against Rusalka, the water demon at Somnus Reef. And I finally got it!

Still haven't found that summon glyph yet you know. Although recently I picked up Arma Chiroptera which can transform you into the female bat/vampire creature. Pretty handy thing too as her melee attack seems to absorb something from the enemy, but I haven't figured out what.

It's all compelling stuff so far.

arun.yothin · « **Reply #17 on:** March 31, 2009, 08:04:15 PM »

Whoa. I didn't know about the medal thing. I got one, but didn't know what it was for. I thought it was just a random, rare item, like the Konami Man or something.

Tuffty · « **Reply #18 on:** March 31, 2009, 08:10:43 PM »

Konami Man? Now I'm the intrigued one!

shurastriker · « **Reply #19 on:** June 13, 2009, 07:40:02 PM »

finished Aria of Sorrow for GBA... man last boss is so easy D: but game is cool, i still need to collect all the souls and weapons