Air Master Burst wrote:Curse of the Moon is even better than the main Bloodstained game! It also has a sequel I've yet to try but is probably also dope as hell.
ETA: Unsure if COTM in your post was referring to Circle or Curse.
Was referencing Circle - I always forget Curse of the Moon shares an acronym with the Umechan-produced 2001 GBA title
I enjoyed the first Curse a lot - my enduring memory is one particularly outstanding BGM in that ruined battlements area, which I want to go look up just thinking back to it - though I only did the first playthrough; I got the impression from Sumez that Zangetsu Mode would've been just the ticket, but I drifted off around then, after a quick try of its sequel... which seemed to get a more mixed reception around here, but I really liked the first area I saw. I need to catch up with those two.
Inti Creates' Blaster Master Zero 2 totally outclasses Zero 1, so I was sorta hopeful they might've managed similar with another classic series.
EDIT: although that was more to do with Zero 1 being such a tepid first attempt - Curse 1's Dracula III tribute is way, wayyy the hell superior. Still, I did find the stage art immediately more striking, so there's that!
Actually, now I think back, I actually played Curse 1 before Bloodstained. I remember replaying it after clearing the latter, and suddenly recognising all sorts of stuff that was totally alien the first time around.
EDIT: Aha, it's
"Echoes of Sorrow" I was recalling. Starts off a little unfriendly, but motherfucker, what a chorus drop, after which the harsher verses (and the thumping beat that threads through both) instantly make sense. That MSX Konami SCC-esque sound is so good.
After which I instantly wanted to hear Ecclesia's
"Unholy Vespers" again, another classical tension-builder. I've a fairly chequered opinion of modern CV, but pardon the launch title treading water of Circle and all-around car crash of HOD, they turned in knockout OSTs without fail.