Castlevania Miscellanies

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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BIL
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Marc wrote:So I thought I'd make an attempt to go through these in order. Started with the original last night. 90 minutes play saw me through to Death, who has now whupped my ass every single time I've fount him.
Death is, like 95% of the game's bosses, cheesable via x3 Holy Water. Just drown his starting position at the start of the fight - he won't even escape his corner.

Among more honourable options - Cross and Axe, preferably x3, can counter him and his sickles well (horizontally and vertically, respectively). Axe is particularly handy on counter-offense, since it'll let you swat otherwise unhittable overhead sickles. Cross relies on keeping multiple airborne to provide similar defense, which can be risky with sickles liable to insta-hit you out of a jump.

Anything less (Knife/Whip only) is dangerous, and best left for veterans. Knife's lack of piercing ability can really bite you here, despite its nice horizontal reach and speed.

Tough boss! One of solo action gaming's classic 1v1 duels, imo, as long as you don't cheese him with Holy Water. Even x3 Cross feels like a pair of trap characters ala Guilty Gear's Testament and Bridget facing off. (right down to a big imposing reaperman VS a hotpantsed little boipucci :shock: now that is some videogame time travel :o)

Keep in mind, while his movement and sickle positions are random, he obeys a consistent move -> summon pattern. If you can get a feel for it, it'll become a lot easier to plot your movements around the room. Don't leap at him while sickles are inbound! If one spawns in your preset jump arc, UR FUCKED SONNEH.

Here's a crusty x3 Knife demo that should illustrate his behaviours. He almost got me! But I know him too well and escape his spiteful double KO setup. Image

Image Image

Note that the shitty video capture makes it look meaner than it is - you can see the incoming sickles a lot better at 60fps.

You're probably gonna want a walkthrough for CVII. Its English localisation is infamously unhelpful, and it's an obtuse game to begin with. Also nowhere as good for tactical action/platforming as the other two FC games - dungeons are vacant, enemies are basic, and bosses are pitiful. Still worth having around though - looks neat, sounds AMAZIN, and its rural wandering has a unique atmosphere, not really seen again until Ecclesia twenty years on.

Also, you'll spot all the CVII Easter eggs the Rondo/SOTN guys put in their games, right alongside those from its better-loved bookends! Image

For the love of God, and all that is holy: if you play CVIII/Akumajou Densetsu (harder/easier regions, respectively), take the upper routes at every opportunity - except for the very first (Clock Tower), if you don't want the game's "agile fragile ninja" character. The lower routes are aesthetically glum, generally tougher, and sport the universally-despised Melty Blocks. Waiting around for blocks to melt/stack is an ethos-missing howler on par with CVII's invisible pits.

Lower works best as a deliberately moody post-game trial. Note there's also a second loop, which is mildly tougher on FC, and fucking balls-hard on NES, owing to meaner damage scaling, faster enemy shots, and a certain exclusive enemy that'll make Medusaphobes shit their hotpants. Probably the toughest challenge of the traditional series, certainly if you go Trevor-only.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Ha, to my shame I’m looking to knock off a quick clear and move on, though I did clear him twice after a bit of practice – one with cheese, once with axes. Went back for a single run before practicing the final stage and ended up getting stuck at Frankenstein, who I’d managed to clear first attempt by sitting on the right platform and mashing. It appears I must have pinned the flea man in place that time, took me a few attempts to cotton on that he freezes when hit, just thought I’d been the recipient of a lucky glitch first time around. Then I started to drop the ball on the corridor before death, with the Medusa heads and Axe Armour, before realising that you can smash that bit without breaking stride if you’ve got the holy water, cracking that bit felt proper badass. I’ll attempt the final stage tonight then try and string it all together.

I’ve few complaints with it as a whole. There are a few times where I’ve fallen through the edges of a moving platform, the stairs still annoy the piss out of me, and on occasion I’ve struggled to pick out stairs among the games hideous palette; but on the whole it’s a confident, muscular challenge. I’d have been impressed with this at the time, as a C64 owner we were still being fed ‘console killers’ like Creatures – the controls on that makes CV1 feel like SOTN.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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BIL wrote:a certain exclusive enemy that'll make Medusaphobes shit their hotpants.
They totally should have kept using those guys in their optional nightmare enemy role. Image
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Was messing with SOTN just last night, wondering if Olrox's summons are one of its legion CV1/2/3 Easter eggs, haha. I know that hell-crazed look!

DO U WANNA PARTEH / ITS PARTEH TIME ♫
Spoiler
Image


Not that these amiably circling jokers are anything like the EKG-exploding sine wave spikers of CVIII. (I was trying to see if an All Furniture run is possible - tragically, Olrox's HITO NO NOROI will obliterate the full set every tiem 3;)
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Image

:|
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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i dun habe switch, or pc, or house 3;
XX TURNIN ME OUT :shock:
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Blinge wrote:Image

:|
if you'd bothered to read his comment you'd see that you don't game over and thereforedon't need continues THANKS
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Erm I'll have you know i can't be wrong because oppression or something.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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https://youtu.be/zJuf_KO1vSQ

First person Vampire whipping! - Castlevania: Simon's Destiny

dayum this looks worth a go
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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https://www.twitch.tv/videos/936251863

Rondo's almost superplay (upper route). How to cheese Dullahan and Death real quick, and overcome the nighmarish st7 bridge.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Good targeted mortar assassination on Dullahan, can tell you were raring to start unloading munitions on the laughy fucker. Image AND quality pose after!

Rondo's graphics never fail to astound, any time I'm watching someone else play I'll spot something new - never really registered the clusters of skulls adorning each side of the altar, in Dully's arena.

Man. His new room in XX looks amazing - can imagine some spectral observers up there on the shadowy balcony, which looks SOTN Olrox Quarters-luxuriant - but the terrain abjectly misses the point. While Death's new digs are quite the opposite, enhancing his deadly footsie game. And also looked kinda neat, albeit not Rondo-gorgeous.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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This arrange was recently brought to my attention.
Bro...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Q8adTaR6Q

yes
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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I could be wrong, but I think Sota Fujimori handled X68k's PlayStation arrangements. Sounds like him, at any rate.

EDIT: yep, seems so! <3 VGMdb.

Favourite of the bunch for me is that Steinfeld On Roids MOON FIGHT, Berumondo is braining Medusas with his Steinberger. :cool:
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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https://www.twitch.tv/videos/962439613

Dracula X Chronicles 1CC. So many edge of the seat moments trust me, and this remake also gave no mercy when it comes to damage scale :shock:
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Played Chronicles for the first time. Needs to set aside a little while for this one, it's sweet.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Playing through all the GBA CV games. I finished Circle of the Moon and am now playing Harmony of Dissonance. I forgot how easy HOD is with the magic. I already got more than halfway through, but after this I think I'll just play through with no magic and see how the experience is. I can already pretty much take out the bosses without it, so I don't think it will be too much. Only thing is that there are a lot of annoying areas of the game that aren't hard but take a very long time to clear out. In those situations (bone pillars I'm looking at you) it makes sense to just wipe them out. Who cares if I spend 45 seconds whipping an enemy? There is no skill in that, it's just tedious.

Also, I have to mention the music. Some of the tunes are among the best CV has to offer period, and others are so minimalistic as to effectively be sound effects rather than music. A real mixed bag, but at least three or four real bangers.


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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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vol.2 wrote:are among the best CV has to offer
don't let the door whip your ass on the way out
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Blinge wrote:
vol.2 wrote:are among the best CV has to offer
don't let the door whip your ass on the way out
whatever man. I certainly wouldn't expect you to appreciate the awesomeness of that track.

you don't get to decide who posts what in this thread, and it's shitty of you gate keep because you disagree with someone's musical taste.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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"Offense and Defense" (Marble Corridor) is one I'd put on an all-series Best Of, no question. Cool song, with the escalating call/response over a dispassionate pulse, and the tangibly violent breakdown. Grittily leverages the low-fi sound too.

"Successor of Fate" (Entryway) is pretty good too imo, though it doesn't wear its soundfont quite as well (I see why some regard it as shrill). The "Bloodlines" redux (Air Corridor) is alright too, and the Aqueduct theme, while aggressively tuneless, has a restlessness I like in-game, its stage being more or less all flatland slaughtering of big colourful fish fucks.

Otherwise it's varying shades of forgettable to offensive, Luminous Cavern probably the worst offender. Like a rabid badger with a taste for blood, it requires nothing less than a prompt shovel battering.

HOD's a messy game overall, but next to the competently straitlaced COTM and AOS, I find it more likeable than I probably would, were it the series sole GBA outing. I've written a short book on it over the years, and so rather than rehash, I will simply reiterate that Juicy runs, jumps and even walks like he's shat himself, but looks passable standing still. A useful microcosm!
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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vol.2 wrote:you don't get to decide who posts what in this thread, and it's shitty of you gate keep because you disagree with someone's musical taste.
oh lol, i was messing. i like the track ok
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Glenn Magus Harvey »

Oh hey, someone else who appreciates the Harmony of Dissonance soundtrack!

One funny thing I've noticed is that Offense and Defense is a typical pick for people who do like the track, but for me it isn't my pick. Probably because I still haven't sorted out how it uses rhythm. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of tracks like the [utl=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MfnR9k ... 0&index=16]boss theme[/url] and the Aqueduct of Dragons theme (note: it was mislabeled on the OST).

BTW, y'all might be interested in this:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... N18_OgH3in

Someone took the same instrument samples and the same composition and basically ran them through a different (less "oversampled"? not sure what the right term is) sound output.

For comparison:
* Offense and Defense (Marble Gallery theme)
* Archenemy (boss theme) (loop pattern A)
* Aqueduct of Dragons
* Clock Tower Casualty
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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As much as you're a cool guy Glenn who only posts to argue against my deepest held beliefs......
.... I'm gonna out you right here as someone who thinks HoDiss is better than SotN
:lol:
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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The medusa fight in 68k is a bit of a cunt isn't it?
Trying to do it whip only.
hats off to anyone who worked this stuff out on real hardware, cause it just seems like a total shot in the dark
Sometimes she just walks right forward and corners me, can't whip her back enough while i'm dodging her swipes!

i feel like this was designed as a DPS slugfest rather than something you can finesse without taking a hit.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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I dunno what to think of the cunt, being a PS1 born and bred sort. I just inundate her with x3 crosses and Robert's your father's brother. Apparently the X68k original code's supposed to be nicer but I couldn't be arsed. Image Much the same for She Wolf in the next stage.

Crumbs, now I remember - her hitstun is fucked in PS1 Original ver, which leads to mad juggles. Sorry Burinju you're gonna have to sort this slapper out on yer own Image
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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hahah :lol:
I mean.. if i'm playing well i'll have the crosses by that point anyway yeah.
brutal stage tho, no meats!?
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Meats in BLOODY TEARS AREA Image Try jumpin HARD into the wall a few stories up to the left @ statue area, they all up in there Image Godspeed lad, X68k a motherfucker (though apparently less so in X68k code than PS1 Original ver! SuperDeadite maintains the latter be FUCT but it's all I know :wink:)
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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What? I thought x68k was the hard one!?

Damn this bitch has it all!? Lows, Anti-Air AND crossups!!?
AND empty-jump mixup where she doesn't throw the projectile spread you're expecting.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Nah apparently SuperDeadite can PWN X68kver for several loops, but get PWNED by PS1 Original ver's fucked-up hitboxes :o I dunno, I thought PS1 Original ver was reasonable, but I'm one a them jungle-ass mahfuckas, naw mean - Castlevania III second loop and shit, born and raised Image
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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huh..
Is that the chronicles ver or the classic?

Well guess i'll just carry on with this one. the ps1 was damage-nerfed on both versions right? I'm sure we figured that out in here before.

Lol i just save-stated medusa like an autist for a loong fuckin' time just trying to get a perfect whip only fight, removed all the fun out of the game. I got it, i'll stop now.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Blinge wrote:huh..
Is that the chronicles ver or the classic?
I am PS1 ORIGINAL MODE ONRY ^O^ I ain't touch Arrange Ver, that shit be LAMER THAN A MUHFUCKA Image And tbh Sota Fujimori sound kinda fruity. HAHAHA LMAO WHAT IS THIS SHIT

although...

THIS BE SOME FUNKY SHIT (■`W´■)

Image

Sound like Seinfeld Credits BGM, and shit (`ω´メ)

PS1 Arrange Ver don't loop, and Simon be in a pussy-ass fright wig, and shit :shock:

According to SuperDeadite (X68k original floppy badman), the PS1 ORIGINAL VER is a harder ordeal on account of FUCT hitboxes and sped-up 60hz refresh. But then, how is it I can eat Medusa AND Wolf Girl pussies like Jeffrey Dahmer? :o x3 Cross up in em, BUSSIN ALL NIGHT NAW MEAN Image

I suppose it is just where you come from - I was SOL with PS1 disc straight outta grade school, I had to eat that beastly pussy right, OR DIE Image

Well, I dunno personally - PS1 Original kinda bounced off me like most shit do. Technically, my hog is hard as steel, as u all know Image
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