Castlevania Miscellanies

[BIL]

Yeah, I cleared the boss rush hard mode using Simon yesterday and after the end I thought "That was HARD mode? Really?", but it has a neat ending with an BG ending in original NES Castlevania.

The FC ending screen was a nice gesture, though they really cheaped out making the castle fade away instead of crumbling like it's supposed to. Michiru Yamane's Vampire Killer/Clockwork medley is cool too... and the backdrops are great. Better than just about anything in the main game or the other two GBA titles, I think. The gory nocturnal take on SOTN's arena, the shadowy pillared halls, and the starkly moonlit, crimson-draped altar are all superb. Full-blooded scenes deserving of a far better venue.

But at least they distract from the boss rush itself. Max Slimer and Peeping Big are the two most worthless pieces of shit in the series' entire boss roster. Legion (Corpse) is very nearly as dumb, but at least looks cool. Don't think I've seen that particular take on the "monstrous womb" before... a dripping labial orifice parting to release pestilence and reveal a reposed skeletal figure, thrashing and screaming when he's struck - neato. Too bad the damn thing amounts to a spooky pinata. And hey, the scene he leaves behind is rad too!

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Oh HOD. So much sundered cool, so much suffusing blah.

I tried this patch on my Konami GB Collection Vol 4 and holy shit..!! Ranked this game 10/10

Edit : CV Adventure also has a same patch. Don't miss this!

Glad you liked it! DD2 is an easy recommend with that patch applied, for sure.

[Captain]

That moment when Peeping Big just ambushes you unexpected though. It is sheer surprise and depending on the player, maybe an actual spook.

A testament that the non-psychological side of horror is nothing more than the crafting of surprises.

[BIL]

I thought the arcade lightgun game pulled off a genuinely chilling jump scare in its second loop - spoilered to avoid ruining it for people, it's not exactly widely played after all.

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:3 :3 :3

CANT.STOP.THIS.PEEPIN
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[Blinge]

Oh man, Circle is beginning to feel like a chore. In a long corridor in "some underground place" with maneating plants and poison flies. I managed to get a new card at the end, desperate to get back to a save point and keep it. then get poisoned by EVERY fly on the way back.
Boy do I miss alucard's movement..

[BIL]

Ah, Inhospitable Underground Death Dungeon of the Moon... :3 Those hornets are nasty spring-loaded fuckers. If you can't one-shot them, you have to get in close enough set 'em off then jump over.

Out of curiosity, do you have a Cross? There's one at the castle's front entrance by the Flame Armour. That's way more useful than any card you're likely to get in Vampire Killer mode, and should be kept for the duration regardless of your class. TBH when I replay these days it's either Magician (glass cannon) or Thief (glass magpie). The usual Skinner Box drop system makes DSS a joke otherwise. I've got a full clear file here, if it's of any use (for the J ROM, but works fine with at least U). Guess you're gonna stick with VK mode to the bitter end though... soldier on indomitable BURINJU. ;-;7

Love or hate COTM, its classes should've been selectable from the outset or at least unlocked after one VK clear. Bone-dry dungeon crawling action is all it offers and even as a fan, by the time I was done unlocking stuff I'd had several times my fill.

I'd skip the uneven GBA years and go straight to Ecclesia, personally. Had a blast with that one. Handles as smoothly as SOTN but doesn't skimp on big, nasty enemies.

[Blinge]

Guess you're gonna stick with VK mode to the bitter end though... soldier on indomitable BURINJU. ;-;7

I'd skip the uneven GBA years and go straight to Ecclesia, personally.

Haha. Th-that is the best *wipes tear* might have to sig dat shit. BIL senpai noticed me

You're right. I didn't know there were other classes anyway! I did have the cross but picked up another weapon and cross fell down a tower and I never go it back. Using axe as an antiair now.
burinju won't be skipping any games though, that's the thing. They must all be done, including the GB games and *shudder*.. haunted castle..

[BIL]

haunted castle

Oh muh goodness W A R N I N G "KONAMI'S GODAWFUL ARCADE TWEAKS" APPROACHING AT INDETERMINATE SPEED

NB at least one of Akumajou Dracula's overseas Haunted Castle revisions (Version M, I think? SuperDeadite or Mr. Oscuro may know) is infamously quarter-munching. Konami's arcade games were prone to this (XEXEX, Thunder Cross and Metamorphic Force are further notorious cases). Read up, sidestep the coke-crazed 1980s corporate greed machine. ;3

*Robocop ED209 board room scene goes here*

I've not played AC Dracula much myself, though I shamelessly indulge in the customarily bangin' Konami OST. Bah gawd could their arcade division bust out the balls-to-the-wall action BGMs.

Small tip re COTM: just like SOTN's Richter (who seems to have been the blueprint for Nathan), note you can start running by quickly about-facing. Assuming you're on a pad, a flick of the thumb is a little less repetitive than always double-tapping, and also easier to bust out in a pinch whether advancing or evading.

I wish more sidescrollers had used Kaze Kiri (PCE)'s excellent "l/r to walk, diagonals to dash" system.

[SuperDeadite]

USA versions of Haunted Castle are much harder then the Japanese one. And yes version M is stupidly broken.

[Squire Grooktook]

Hey Deadite, while you're here, did you ever find out what the official damage scaling on original hardware akumajo dracula x68 is? I remember asking this before, but several of the online roms available have enemies doing 4 hp from stage 3, while the ps1 Chronicles version has much more forgiving damage scaling IIRC. Which one is accurate to the original x68 version?

[BIL]

Oh yeah, I'd love to know too if possible!

I remember someone here joking Haunted Castle's Version M stood for Masochist, bahaha.

[SuperDeadite]

Hey Deadite, while you're here, did you ever find out what the official damage scaling on original hardware akumajo dracula x68 is? I remember asking this before, but several of the online roms available have enemies doing 4 hp from stage 3, while the ps1 Chronicles version has much more forgiving damage scaling IIRC. Which one is accurate to the original x68 version?

Hmm, can't recall from memory. But afaik, PS1 in Original Mode is accurate to the X68K original. While the PS1 Arrange Mode is much easier. The Arrange Mode is honestly complete crap imo, if you are going to play on PS1 stick to the original version only. Personally though I don't care for the ps1 port at all. The real deal plays at 31khz, while the PS1 is downscaled to 15khz. The problem with this, is that it makes it harder to judge your hit box. In 31khz the pixels are crystal clear and you can easily rub your nose on the she-wolf's tits and never take a hit. In 15khz it's a lot harder on the eyes.

A lot of people say the X68K game is too hard, and I really have to disagree. It is extremely fair, nothing at all I'd consider cheap, the rule is just 3 strikes and you're out. A lot of people who struggle with the game never seem to learn the more intricate parts like the 5 directional whip, turning in mid-air, or the absolutely perfect hit-boxes. It is a very rewarding game, the best in the series if you want an honest challenge.

[Squire Grooktook]

If the ps1 is accurate, then that must mean that the current roms for the x68k are invalid. One of them has enemies doing 1 hp throughout the whole game, and the most commonly used one has 4 hp from stage 3. When I tried Chronicles briefly, the damage scaling was somewhere inbetween, eventually hitting 4 points, but not as early as stage 3.

[SuperDeadite]

Well, I haven't personally tried any roms myself, but x68k hacks were very common. If you dig deep enough you can find some crazy stuff, I have a hacked version of Super Hang-on that let's you hit 400km/h. And there is a never ending pile of Space Harrier hacks. I will try to load up my original and take a look at the damage from stage 3, but super busy right now so don't hold your breath. lol

[BIL]

Yeah, user-hacked/"trained" ROMZ are definitely a thing. I wanted to test out Bionic Commando (GB/J), grabbed a random unmarked ROM, and it'd been hacked for invulnerability to everything but pits. HG101 Label, you might say. ^_~

[Skykid]

Yeah, user-hacked/"trained" ROMZ are definitely a thing. I wanted to test out Bionic Commando (GB/J), grabbed a random unmarked ROM, and it'd been hacked for invulnerability to everything but pits. HG101 Label, you might say. ^_~

LMAO

[copy-paster]

Yeah, user-hacked/"trained" ROMZ are definitely a thing. I wanted to test out Bionic Commando (GB/J), grabbed a random unmarked ROM, and it'd been hacked for invulnerability to everything but pits. HG101 Label, you might say. ^_~

Hahahahah nice touch.

[KAI]

Damn DoS and those stupid magic seals. Is there any hack to get rid of that shit?

[soprano1]

Damn DoS and those stupid magic seals. Is there any hack to get rid of that shit?

None so far, probably won't be. Don't think it's even possible for a AR code to skip them or make them always work.
Man, i remember years ago (2007 or 2008) when i tried to play it on Desmume and do the seals with the mouse. Fun times.
edit:shit, now i have the catchy boss theme on my head.

[Captain]

I used no$gba (no$zoomer optional) and sealed the deal just fine. Give it a try maybe.

[Shoryukev]

I am a huge castlevania fan , currently working on being able to beat the original NES game without dying (without holy water spamming Death, which is frustrating LOL). Been playing it and #3 a lot since I got my NES RGB modded about a year ago with Tim's RGB board. I'm using s-video with a consumer 32" sony CRT, but I still think it looks (after spending about a full day in the service menu adjusting geometry) absolutely amazing! Some day I'll make the jump to a BVM and real RGB.......

There's just something about the series I've always identified with. The music, graphics, and overall presentation are almost always amazing. Sorry to gush, I'm just a huge fan. Besides the classics I also really like the metroid-vania games, also playing SOTN on my Saturn right now. The language barrier makes me have to spend some time figuring out what power-up I just acquired each time.....but the Saturn's controller just makes the game feel incredible even if the PS1 version is technically the better port.

Saving my pennies for a turbografx CD or turbo-duo to play Rondo on original hardware. Anything I should know about the system in regards to playing RoB? I know the original turbo-CD system needs certain CD system cards to play different games, but I know almost nothing about the duo.

[Austin]

Saving my pennies for a turbografx CD or turbo-duo to play Rondo on original hardware. Anything I should know about the system in regards to playing RoB? I know the original turbo-CD system needs certain CD system cards to play different games, but I know almost nothing about the duo.

Just get a DUO. It'll play the game out of the box, no system cards required with it. The stock CD system card is for the base CD attachment hooked to a PC Engine, and is needed for the drive to function. It will only play standard CD games at this stage. Next there's the Super System Card which adds Super CD-ROM support (which Rondo is). The card basically adds the RAM needed for Super CD discs and effectively turns it into a DUO. There is another step up, the Arcade Card (Pro and DUO depending on the setup you have), but that is only needed for Arcade CDs and there are only a few of those. No need to worry about that.

On a side note, you'd save a lot of money playing the game on the PSP or using the Wii's Virtual Console. Not sure if you planned on diving into the rest of the PCE library, but it's a big investment to play just one game. It's a great game, but you're looking at $300 easy for all of it, maybe more. Then the potential headache that comes with DUO issues (capacitor problems, drive failures, etc). If you plan on getting into its library, then it's worth the hassle. Otherwise I'd just suggest going with those cheaper options. The Wii one on a CRT especially is pretty much identical, the only difference is you are using a different controller.

[Shoryukev]

Saving my pennies for a turbografx CD or turbo-duo to play Rondo on original hardware. Anything I should know about the system in regards to playing RoB? I know the original turbo-CD system needs certain CD system cards to play different games, but I know almost nothing about the duo.

Just get a DUO. It'll play the game out of the box, no system cards required with it. The stock CD system card is for the base CD attachment hooked to a PC Engine, and is needed for the drive to function. It will only play standard CD games at this stage. Next there's the Super System Card which adds Super CD-ROM support (which Rondo is). The card basically adds the RAM needed for Super CD discs and effectively turns it into a DUO. There is another step up, the Arcade Card (Pro and DUO depending on the setup you have), but that is only needed for Arcade CDs and there are only a few of those. No need to worry about that.

On a side note, you'd save a lot of money playing the game on the PSP or using the Wii's Virtual Console. Not sure if you planned on diving into the rest of the PCE library, but it's a big investment to play just one game. It's a great game, but you're looking at $300 easy for all of it, maybe more. Then the potential headache that comes with DUO issues (capacitor problems, drive failures, etc). If you plan on getting into its library, then it's worth the hassle. Otherwise I'd just suggest going with those cheaper options. The Wii one on a CRT especially is pretty much identical, the only difference is you are using a different controller.

Thanks for the help! I've been wanting to dive into the turbografx and the turbo-CD library, but I'm totally new to the system (never knew anyone that had one when I was a kid either). Sounds like I definitely want a duo to avoid all the hassle of different CD cards. Till then I'll dust off my wii and hook it up to my old trinitron, thanks for the advice on that.

[Austin]

Thanks for the help! I've been wanting to dive into the turbografx and the turbo-CD library, but I'm totally new to the system (never knew anyone that had one when I was a kid either). Sounds like I definitely want a duo to avoid all the hassle of different CD cards. Till then I'll dust off my wii and hook it up to my old trinitron, thanks for the advice on that.

Yeah, the good thing about the Wii route is the game only costs about $10 there. And, if you have never played the game before, chances are it will be the best $10 you have ever spent. Rondo kicks ass.

[Shoryukev]

Yeah, the good thing about the Wii route is the game only costs about $10 there. And, if you have never played the game before, chances are it will be the best $10 you have ever spent. Rondo kicks ass.

Yeah it is an amazing game, the branching-paths give it a good amount of replay value too. Speaking of the wii, hopefully the gameboy remake (I think it was called rebirth) is still on the online store if I don't already have it downloaded on my system. I think it is but I don't remember lol

I'm in the process of unlocking the original Rondo on my PS-vita in the Chronicles collection, but playing through the remake kinda sucks. I can't quite put my finger on it.....but something about the remake feels off. The controls just feel stiff.....or maybe it's the 2.5D presentation that's throwing me off?

[Austin]

Yeah, the good thing about the Wii route is the game only costs about $10 there. And, if you have never played the game before, chances are it will be the best $10 you have ever spent. Rondo kicks ass.

Yeah it is an amazing game, the branching-paths give it a good amount of replay value too. Speaking of the wii, hopefully the gameboy remake (I think it was called rebirth) is still on the online store if I don't already have it downloaded on my system. I think it is but I don't remember lol

I'm in the process of unlocking the original Rondo on my PS-vita in the Chronicles collection, but playing through the remake kinda sucks. I can't quite put my finger on it.....but something about the remake feels off. The controls just feel stiff.....or maybe it's the 2.5D presentation that's throwing me off?

The Wii Adventure Rebirth is good, I definitely recommend picking it up if you don't already have it. It's also one of the few (if only) Castlevania games where it becomes significantly more difficult on higher difficult levels. Not just more enemies, but they add in even more traps and include pits where they may not exist on easier skill levels. Good for replay value if you want to mix things up.

The Rondo remake on the Chronicles collection, yeah, it's definitely clunky compared to the original and takes some time to get used to.

[szycag]

If you're calling Rondo Remake stiff, compared to what? Certainly not the NES ones. I don't feel like the remake is clunky either, it's not perfect but they did an OK job. If you're not enjoying it then there's a chance you might not enjoy Rondo either. Stiff is kind of the Castlevania thing, but when they say that they mean everything before Symphony of the Night forever changed the series, with the exception of Super Castlevania IV. Rondo pretty much plays like Castlevania III except you can jump up stairs.

[Squire Grooktook]

I think he's saying that the psp remake of Rondo is stiffer then the actual pc-engine Rondo. Can't comment on that, not having played the remake, but I wouldn't say that "stiff" is CV's thing. The classic series is all about commitment, rather then stiffness.

[BrianC]

I remember reading that the Rondo polygonal remake is half the framerate of the original?

[Shoryukev]

Yeah I was comparing the PSP remake to the original turbografx version. It could be a framerate thing, or just the controls on the psp or vita themselves. I'm very used to the NES games and have gotten very used to the deliberate movements you have to make so it's not that.....Rondo is actually more forgiving than the NES games since you have some control over your jump arc, and you can jump on and off the stairs....but something about the remake just doesn't quite feel right. I can't quite put my finger on it.

Maybe it's all in my head, I dunno LOL. I think a lot of it is just the 2.5-somewhat 3D presentation. It becomes a little unclear (for me at least) where exactly platforms lie and where the hitboxes for things are when it's not straight on 2D. The original is one of my favorites, I've just never had a turbo-duo before so I've only played it on emulators and the Wii (turns out it was already on my wii....go figure lol, I should dust it off more often)

EDIT: I'll definitely have to check out the difficulty settings on Rebirth. Sounds kinda like what Capcom used to do with Megaman with the hard mode changing the platforms a bit and adding enemies. Cool stuff!

[Shoryukev]

I think he's saying that the psp remake of Rondo is stiffer then the actual pc-engine Rondo. Can't comment on that, not having played the remake, but I wouldn't say that "stiff" is CV's thing. The classic series is all about commitment, rather then stiffness.

I've always thought the controls in classic CV were brilliant, commitment is definitely the word I'd use to describe them. You have to plan everything out and "buy an engagement ring for your jump arcs" as one youtuber would put it LOL. I've always loved that approach though.....if you had control over your jump arc and the whip didn't take a second to extend Castlevania probably wouldn't have been nearly as memorable to most of us.