Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

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Turrican
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Turrican »

BrianC wrote:Pirate's Curse is much longer than Risky's Revenge. I'm under the impression that the Wayforward was stuck with the size limit on DSiWare since the latter is actually one of the larger DSiWare games.
That's likely, however I also feel they made a deliberate gamble canning a cartrige release (which would've been just another lovely pixelated DS title in the crowd) and opted for the DSiware service in order to gain a lot more exposure and good reviews. The strategy was cunning and it obviously worked as Risky's Revenge was surely the top title of the whole service for its entire existence....

So they opted to be the "kings of DSiware" but sacrificed what makes a good game in the trade.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by BrianC »

Turrican wrote:
BrianC wrote:Pirate's Curse is much longer than Risky's Revenge. I'm under the impression that the Wayforward was stuck with the size limit on DSiWare since the latter is actually one of the larger DSiWare games.
That's likely, however I also feel they made a deliberate gamble canning a cartrige release (which would've been just another lovely pixelated DS title in the crowd) and opted for the DSiware service in order to gain a lot more exposure and good reviews. The strategy was cunning and it obviously worked as Risky's Revenge was surely the top title of the whole service for its entire existence....

So they opted to be the "kings of DSiware" but sacrificed what makes a good game in the trade.

Regardless of what you think of RR (which I feel made some improvements in polish and control other the first game, despite the shortness), Pirate's Curse is a much longer game and the best in the series.

I thought that WayForward went with DSiWare because they had a hard time getting a publisher for the game. I'm not sure if the service did all that well, especially since it was limited. I wouldn't call Risky's Revenge king of DSiWare. X Scape is my favorite on that service. A sequel to the JP only GB b/w game, X.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Turrican »

BrianC wrote: and the best in the series.
I don't doubt your experience with it, but honestly I search google images for it and nothing that I see attracts me; I was trying to convey my feeling, that in my experience Shantae only ever worked as 8bit porn. It clicks for me in the way Alice in Wonderland GBC does, or Mike Mika's stuff, or even Bozon's Sabrina and Wendy. As fun games, yes, but even more as impressive Z80 tech demos.

It absolutely fails to work (for me) when it's scantily clad anime babes in generic piratevania with 16bit graphics or faux 2d graphics.

I guess it's also because "metroidvania" as a standardized genre doesn't say anything to me anymore. The market is flooded, but the original spirit is lost.

And, returnig to topic, it's also why Bloodstained CotM was such a nice surprise to me (to the point I had to shell money to the Limited Run gang). In these days, they could have done "generic metroidvania #1001", and instead they carefully avoided that. Clever Inti.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Sumez »

They tried to fix the game's problematic visuals by adding textures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks47X-XioEA

I'm not sure if it's enough, but at least it's a mild improvement.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Austin »

Things definitely look more detailed as a result which in this case I think helps things.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by FinalBaton »

It looks better, the assets were so damn barren before, just plain with no textures and what was basically gourad shading... now it looks more fleshed out, or "habillé" (dressed) as we say in french
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Specineff »

It's like it jumped from PSP to PS3. I like.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Sumez »

I wouldn't normally share a Kotaku article, but this seems to confirm some of my fears about this game:
https://kotaku.com/bloodstained-ritual- ... 1833888300
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by bigbadboaz »

They're also not the only ones who recently posted updated (negative) impressions.

If this ends up being trash, I really won't understand how such an end result was possible..
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Necronopticous »

Everything felt a little off, like a piece of furniture that looks fine from afar but wobbles when you use it.
Miriam and the other characters felt detached from the environment, like actors performing in front of a green screen.
I often found myself confused about where the enemy’s hitbox began and mine ended. Miriam would take damage but not suffer the normal amount of knockback, and my attacks landed with little visual or auditory feedback. The combat animations looked great, but the actual fight felt like tangoing with a ghost.
Yeah, these metaphors are very on point. This is an accurate description of how my brain parses just about everything that we have seen thus far. My cautious optimism for this title has almost entirely transformed to hopeful pessimism, but I will still put an emphasis on hopeful. I sincerely hope there is something worthwhile here when all is said & done.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Sumez »

Well, at least they are self aware:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d79KArgmgcc
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Weak Boson »

Great to finally see a release date, and a little sooner than I expected. I'm looking forward to finally playing this game :)
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Necronopticous »

Sumez wrote:Well, at least they are self aware:
They clearly think they are self-aware, but I'm not really sure the things they changed were the culprit of anybody's criticism...they just retextured the same awkward looking 2.5D shit. I dunno, man. Again, I am reserving judgement, but I have a bad feeling.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by opt2not »

I like the new look. Much more contrast, more darkness and has a better feeling of depth now.
Before it was too flat and un-shadowed. Though I'm not sure yet about that toon shading, but I'll reserve judgement till it's in my hands. Gameplay-wise I feel ths same as Necro, I'm skeptical... we will see.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by EmperorIng »

I'm going to have to double check and see if it's not too late to get my physical edition to change consoles.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Sumez »

Necronopticous wrote: They clearly think they are self-aware, but I'm not really sure the things they changed were the culprit of anybody's criticism...they just retextured the same awkward looking 2.5D shit. I dunno, man. Again, I am reserving judgement, but I have a bad feeling.
It's an improvement, but yeah I don't think it fixed any of the most central things that are wrong with the game's presentation.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by bigbadboaz »

I really don't think it would be possible to make drastic changes like that this late/quickly.

Not hopeful, but willing to be proven wrong.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by evil_ash_xero »

I've watched some footage of this, and it just looks kinda crappy. Not Might No. 9 crappy, but still sorta bad.

Compare this to Half Genie Hero's graphics, and it's ridiculous. I feel like they should have gone more that route. Cell shaded characters, with a mix of polygons and hi res 2D for the backgrounds. That full polygonal look isn't really working, when the polygons aren't that great. That dragon makes me sad.

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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by EmperorIng »

I think it's mainly that the animations/physics are stiff/limited - funnily enough they don't feel alive. However, I think I prefer an effort to make polished 3D models over Shantae's flash tweening, though.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by evil_ash_xero »

EmperorIng wrote:I think it's mainly that the animations/physics are stiff/limited - funnily enough they don't feel alive. However, I think I prefer an effort to make polished 3D models over Shantae's flash tweening, though.

Well, it would have been nice if it looked as good as Mega Man 11, at least.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by BrianC »

evil_ash_xero wrote: Image
The gatekeeper and the keymaster are after Miriam!
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by bigbadboaz »

I'd agree that choosing 3D was the mistake, though it's a tired argument we've been having since the PS1 launched. Even if they thought they could do better, it's too bad seeing early results of the engine in motion didn't get them to reconsider.

I feel like this could have been so much different if the Kickstarter had happened a few years later. We're only now seeing a modern appreciation of the 2D look and how well it can be done on modern hardware with games like Cuphead, the Wonder Boy remake, etc. This environment might have had Igarashi thinking of making a proper hi-res, animated successor to SotN rather than being stuck in the "it has to be 3D" mindset.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by GSK »

Wayforward's involvement is primarily limited to debugging, to my knowledge.

2D was never a realistic option for a game of their budget and scope, especially given all the extra features foisted onto the game via stretch goals. Even this arrangement forced them to change and add contractors and delay the game multiple times; making a high-res 2D game would have made for an exponentially slower and tougher process. They knew there'd be a demand for 2D, either high-res or dot art, and they've been addressing and defending their choice from day one; it's not as if they misjudged what people wanted or expected, exactly.

There's also the perception, right or wrong, that working in 2D leads to pigeonholing as a "2D studio" which limits the types of work you're offered and stunts the development of your staff--it's part of the reason the new SNK went all-in on 3D, even though the results haven't been particular impressive thus far.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Turrican »

So we're finally here...
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by drauch »

So, I'm in the middle of a review just to see some more gameplay, and there's a giant domesticated cat enemy and the head of a Yorkie. Huh.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Sumez »

As usual, as a backer I will be among the last to receive a copy. I'm already seeing the game in local stores here sold at an absolute budget retail price, too, and the tracking number I received from DHL isn't even working. (and knowing DHL they'll fail completely at delivering)

I think I'm done backing video game kickstarters forever.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by drauch »

Yeah, seems like I usually have a 50% success rate at ever viewing a DHL tracking number.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Dochartaigh »

I got mine last night for Xbox One, had to wait to download a ~8gb update before being able to play of course.

Played through the first (ship) level, and into the second (a castle of some sort). Seems just OK so far. Honestly not great or I would have played it for more than an hour or so (ended up watching a movie instead). The dialog, and how much of it there is, and how it's just the picture of the person (with audio) switching back and forth is kinda annoying.

Only thing that bugs me is the map is REALLY small when enter it, and you have to zoom in and center it. Exit out and go back to the map (like 30 seconds later when you're at a crossroads and need to see it again), and it's shrunk again so you have to zoom in and center each and every time...that's going to get even more annoying as the game goes on and the map gets larger - it should default back to where you had it last time.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by drauch »

How's the narrative? Like, not regarding story and whatever, because let's be honest, but is there walls of text? That early demo or whatever with the long conversations was certainly offputting.
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Re: Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

Post by Dochartaigh »

drauch wrote:How's the narrative? Like, not regarding story and whatever, because let's be honest, but is there walls of text? That early demo or whatever with the long conversations was certainly offputting.
Not an obscene amount, but you'll have to press "A" or whatever to advance to the next sentence quite a lot (where I was fine with the what - like ~300 words total 'spoken' in the entirety of SoTN?). Might also be because it's early and they're setting up the story (which I could honestly care less about - I just want to explore and find new abilities and weapons and stuff).
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