Castlevania Miscellanies

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Strider77
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Strider77 »

I have to (shamefully) confess I have never beaten Castlevania 3. But all this talk made me sit down and do it. It was definitely on the bucket list before I expire some day.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and promptly went through it a second time.

The talk about Dracula X on SFC here along with being in the mood for more made me finally sit down and start tackling that as well. I told myself to take it on it's own terms instead of trying to just get it over with so I could say I had... to actually sit down and try to enjoy it.

I'm at Dracula now and I've actually had fun with it this time around. I had to get my mindset to accept going in, its slow moving speed and just try to enjoy the slow scroll throughout the journey. I'm glad I picked it up all those years ago. NCSX was clearing them out for 15 bucks back then brand new.

I guess the bonus for waiting till I was 41 to beat them is that I had two new Castlevanias to play in 2018. I've played a good chunk of both in the past, more that I had remembered actually. Still most of that was forgotten till I resaw it this go around.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
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Strider77
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Strider77 »

Also... is there a way to speed up that tedious first form of Dracula in X on SFC? I usually play it pretty safe and stay in the center chucking axes versus chasing him down... but it's such a drag waiting on him.

Either way I beat him... just though it was a bit drawn out the way I was doing it.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
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BIL
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by BIL »

Mortaring mkI with x3 axes is the quickest way, AFAIK. You can be a bit more aggressive by using the whip to snuff his triple fireballs while getting into position, but 1) the pits 2) the room's size and 3) his random teleports and big black balls will always work against you. I don't know of any easy method to get around that. Crouch if you get surprise balls in your face, you won't go off the edge.

I'm not entirely proud of my current uploaded run, but I tried to stay on him fairly aggressively and demonstrate the above. You can see several chances lost early on due to hesitance. The long wait to kill his first form was me wanting to ensure I could make it to the far right corner for the safe mkII kill. Cowardice still crept in. :lol:

The current SDA run does really well, and with sub-optimal RNG too.

I think it'd be a less annoying, but also less memorable fight if the room was confined to a screen and a bit.
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

Black balls shouldn't be a surprise, ever -- he always does them after the same number of triple fireballs (IIRC, it's 4 3x fireballs followed by black balls; I always just count until the first one, which I know is coming based on the music cue, because I played the game way too much as a kid), and he also gives it away by opening his cape forwards instead of backwards.
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BIL
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by BIL »

Well fuck. :o Thanks! That'll definitely facilitate a more aggressive approach.
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

Also, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if the count is based on actual shots he takes or teleports; I'm leaning towards the latter (there are situations where he'll teleport but not fire, if he's far enough away from you).
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Strider77
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Strider77 »

Can you score multiple axe hits on him inbetween teleports? I assumed it was just one at a time. That's how I beat him, then spammed the hell out of his second form with axes. I had a ton of hearts from the stage so that was a non issue.

I noticed how ducking ensures no bounceback. I didn't really sit and confirm it till that fight though. Had no clue you could predict his dual "big" fireballs.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

It's been a while, but IIRC, if you've got enough hearts for 2x subweapons, it's possible to land two if your timing is just right and you're on the pillar right next to him when he materializes, and the pillar he's on is higher than yours so the axe hits on the way up.
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Strider77
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Strider77 »

Ok, that first form isn't so tedious now that I know I can wack him with three axes up close. I was chucking one at a time.
Last edited by Strider77 on Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Damn Tim, you know there are quite a few Americans out there who still lives in tents due to this shitty economy, and you're dropping loads on a single game which only last 20 min. Do you think it's fair? How much did you spend this time?
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Sumez
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Sumez »

The final boss in Dracula XX just sucks. I'll defend the game over and over again, but there's no defending that boss fight.
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

I like it. The first form is a bit slow, but it's got a delicious tension, and walking into Dracula's room to see a huge hall of pillars over a pit will always be intimidating. The second form is great, one of the best Dracula second forms ever (the far right is for chickens!).
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BIL
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by BIL »

I dunno what even happens in the second form, it's a great mystery to me. :lol:

I don't mind the first at all. Certainly wouldn't call it bad. The only XX boss I hate is Dullahan, because his gigantic room ruins him. Need a wall at your back for pincer pressure.
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Austin
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

I don't think the final boss is bad per-se, especially when you know what to do. It sure is tedious though and doesn't really fit the flow of the rest of the game. I guess you can take that and use that as a reason to exist, but I'd prefer a fight that progresses faster.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Blinge »

Can't wait for the day that I come back and start grinding it to learn for the 1cc...
Many many falls into pits ahead.

Speaking of which, I'm just not getting any better at cv3.. For a game with 'slow pace' it's very good at sending me into a button mashy panic of death.

Scratch that, played a bit earlier and repetition of stages makes the game feel a lot more manageable. Any tips for death though? especially after dying.
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Austin
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

Death, as in the boss? If you predict his movement right you can pin him down with holy water, then just use the same strategy on the second form.

If you have Sypha's ball attack, that works pretty well too.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Vanguard »

Blinge wrote:Scratch that, played a bit earlier and repetition of stages makes the game feel a lot more manageable. Any tips for death though? especially after dying.
Apply axes, crosses, or syphas homing orbs liberally. He doesn't have much health so trading a few hits is ok. If you break the wall before the crumbling bridge there's an axe hidden there and there's also a II just before the bridge. His second form is a freebie as long as you get to the right side of the screen before he spawns.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Blinge »

Ooh interesting thanks. As my practiced run would usually have an upgraded cross for Trevor at this point, maybe Sypha ball is a good option. Just need to find where I can spawn one.

Is the location fixed or is it just equivalent to one of trevor's weapon candles..
I know a dagger = fire attack, doesn't it?

Edit: Okay, it's equivalent to the cross. And one's right before death.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

Blinge wrote:Edit: Okay, it's equivalent to the cross. And one's right before death.
What is... this.. POWER!?
Congrats, you just learned how to break parts of the game. :)
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Vanguard »

Yeah, the parts between when the orb spell first becomes available and the end of Dracula's stage.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

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Man if it helps with doppelganger I'm down for that shit. We'll see once I get there in the lab.
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

Blue balls is the only consistent way I've ever found for beating Doppelganger. There's one available in the block before him IIRC.

Just stand on the upper-right platform and blast away.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Blinge »

Nein.

Upper left, rush there and immediately jump up. Doppel boi seems to get stuck underneath slashing on the spot like an idiot while you blast him.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Sumez »

Yeah, he's tough if you don't have a trick for him, but there's a ton of ways to get him stuck in some sort of predictable loop.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

Getting him stuck effectively with anyone other than Sypha is a crapshoot for me, so with other teams I usually just do the character switch trick.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Blinge »

I can't remember what the character switch trick is.
Does it kill his momentum during a jump? That could stop him catching up with muh precious Sypha if he threatens..
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

The Doppleganger always switches to the current character you are using. Hit the Doppleganger once then switch characters immediately. He will switch before throwing out an attack if you time it right. Hit him again, then switch again. Rinse and repeat.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Blinge »

hurrrrk. CVIII one credit run.
Just lost the game right on drac's final form.
Spaghetti fest throughout tbh.

Died on Doppel as Sypha with 1 hit left, just failed to jump to the left platform.
Died to the bats+ pendulums.
urghghgh

On a positive note I'm getting close and managed to recover on some checkpoints.. eventually.

Edit: YOOO I Fucken did it!
CVIII 1cc thank you very much!
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Obscura
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Obscura »

Just started Bloodstained.

Is it just me, or is this... really kinda weak? Just cleared stage 3, have yet to get anywhere near a game over screen. Each character having their own HP bar is a terrible idea for so many reasons, the only enemy that creates anything resembling a threat is the bats, and the bosses are all really overdone with elaborate patterns that pose no threat and way too much HP.

Character balance also seems wack; is there any reason to not just use Miriam unless her health is low or you need to use "not-Alucard" to fly?

EDIT: LOL, Stage 6 boss can literally be beaten by crouching in one place and mashing the attack button. Still have yet to see the game-over screen.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by MommysBestGames »

Obscura wrote:Just started Bloodstained.
Did you end up beating it?
Without spoiling it, it really gets interesting after a while. I loved the level design as it used various enemies well and put your character abilities to the test. Give it a bit more time if you haven't already.
But yeah, not tough. Kinda like how people say "dad bod". Well this is "dad core". Not tough, but I found it pretty fun to play nonetheless.
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Re: Castlevania Miscellanies

Post by Austin »

Bloodstained is a pretty smooth ride. If you are looking for ClassicVania uber-difficulty (OK, even that's an exaggeration for Classic Castlevania games), you are going to be disappointed.

That said, beat the game multiple times. One of the goals is playing with Zangetsu only. Much more challenging, particularly when you go for the no upgrade run with him solo.

Boss rush can be challenging as well since you are limited to how many items you can use over the course of the run.
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