Castlevania Miscellanies

[Weak Boson]

I enjoyed Curse of Darkness a fair bit, actually. It's got fun combat, lots of different weapons, some cool mechanics, one of my favourite game soundtracks ever, and I think the story was actually pretty neat, too.

The level design is less 'boxy' than LoI's and the environments are much more varied. Even the 'Infinite Corridor' area isn't as bad as it sounds.

I'd say it surpasses LoI's state of 'not without redeeming features' to become 'probably actually good' even if it's not perfect.

Crazy difficulty returns as well, though I never did get very far with it.

[Austin]

I really enjoyed Lament of Innocence. Sure, it has a lot of square-ish rooms, but the combat is very satisfying, the visuals are excellent, and the soundtrack fits perfectly. And like it's been mentioned, it has some solid secret area implementation, and that optional lower basement boss is epic. Unfortunately, the story execution is awful (this seems to be a constant in the more recent Castlevania series, not counting Lords of Shadow and a couple of the GBA/DS games), and that final area seems to overstay its welcome. But aside from that, I find Lament of Innocence to be a very strong game that's satisfying where it needs to be.

Curse of Darkness I find to be a far more mundane effort than Lament of Innocence. People complain about Lament's boxy rooms, but Curse of Darkness is one long, rectangular hallway after long rectangular hallway. It's a much bigger problem here though, because not only are you trudging through longer "boxy" rooms, but you are running through mostly empty ones with very little activity to boot. And when there is activity, it's rarely worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, the combat CAN feel good, it's just that the enemy designs don't allow it to shine like it should. Overall I thought the game was an absolute bore, though it does have some high points, like the Familiar system, and those series of towers that act as survival modes. I don't think I ever made it back down the second tower, it was pretty challenging.

Here's a funny thing of note. Between the XBOX and PS2 versions of Curse of Darkness, I think the PS2 version is actually the ideal one to play. The visuals in the XBOX version were simply blurred/smoothed out as opposed to being upgraded to take advantage of the console's real graphical capabilities and features (like bump mapping). As a result, the XBOX one actually ends up looking more bland as a result, where the PS2 one looks more gritty and natural, in a good way.

[BrianC]

One thing I didn't like about Curse of Darkness is how the candles on the wall couldn't be destroyed. I know it's a minor thing, but when I'm playing a Castlevania, I want to destroy those candles!

[AntiFritz]

I enjoyed curse of darkness when I first played it like 2 or 3 years ago, but thinking back it probably wasn't very good. It's combat didn't feel tight and its physics were wonky, and the levels were so bland.


Also the games pause menu has got to be the most tacky menu I have ever seen.

[BIL]

Turns out the second loop variant of the first Dracula/CV uses a set pattern for Fishmen leaping. With a bit of study, it's possible to make it through the rafting area of stage 4 without sacrificing better subweapons for the stopwatch. So the design is "dump that EZ-cheeze firebomb for this stopwatch and face Franky* & Igor on fair terms, or git memorizin'." Still kind of scurrilous but better than flat-out random death I suppose!

*yes I know >_>

[Ebbo]

My memory might do tricks on me but can't you just get another holy water from a candel right after that part? Or is it absent in second loop?

[BIL]

The holy water is unfortunately on the island halfway through the section, so you're far from safe at that point. It's entirely doable (pretty much just two "safe positions" to memorise after the holy water), but definitely luck of the draw if you've not studied beforehand.

Actually, maybe it's possible to observe the pattern from safe ground... will have another look when I play again. That would be good.

It's been so awesome playing this game seriously after so long, and learning where all the weapons are, which enemies drop what items, exploitable enemy behaviours and so forth. Unlike Ninja Gaiden where you don't really need to learn much beyond the basic level layouts and physics, and can otherwise just kamikaze through with the sword and random subweapons, CV's heavier handling and much tougher bosses means it really pays to learn the game in-depth and plan in the longer term. There's a great contrast between the two, very satisfying to go between them.

[BIL]

Great Rafting Daisakusen (2-4)

WTF. Somehow failed to notice until just now, the loop 2 fishman spawn patterns are matched to the location of candles. This makes things a hell of a lot simpler. The only blind spots are the two in the rocky overhang area, but at least neither of those are an instant kill and I don't think it's even possible to get hit by the second.

The first loop's fishmen spawns are matched to the candles too. In the first stage's dungeon area of both loops as well. >_> I never noticed because Who Cares About Loop 1 Fishmen. This is blowing my frickin' mind.

Okay, made it to stage 80-something last night - pretty sure there's just the first and second loops, then difficulty levels off.

Ch-ch-ch-changes I've noticed so far (I'm sure these are written down somewhere, but what the heck. This is fun.)

-all enemies do the game's maximum possible damage of four points. Four hits and you're dead.
-some enemies and projectiles are faster, eg Fishmen, Ghosts and Bone Pillar fireballs.
-additional bat and medusa head spawn points, some in areas where there were none before like st2's crushers, others in addition to existing ones for twice the pest action.
-a few new secrets like an extra shot multiplier in stage 3, and Moai head treasures scattered around stages 2 and 3 (I've found three so far).
-Fishman spawning schedule altered to make collisions much more likely.
-I could swear Igor jumps a lot higher, and is actually easier to deal with as a result since he's not constantly between you and Franky.

Stages 5 and 6 remain identical, besides their smaller enemies doing the new, higher amount of damage. It's stages 1-4 that become much trickier.

[BIL]

To avoid splintering this thread:

lol at not finishing Super Castlevania in one sitting. This seems to be everyones problem too I'm noticing (further proof it ain't that good? Even thought it's still good).

I've cleared both loops in a sitting, a few times. It's only a bit longer than a Castlevania III 2-ALL, if I remember right. What makes or breaks IV's pacing for me depending on my mood and energy level is the gloomy, atmospheric but only mildly challenging preamble of Blocks 1-5 through the castle's outskirts. It's great at establishing the sense of a lonely journey into darkness, but it's not as evenly paced as Castlevania III's similar two-phase campaign. IV really doesn't get started until Block 6 of 11. Once you hit the castle it's far more involving and the loop is dangerous from the get-go, so it's just that initial prelude phase that'll sometimes be a bit much for me. Unlike the other five games that I can play any time, IV is only occasionally ran through for this reason.

Still wouldn't have IV any other way though. It's especially panoramic among the older games, and even if its art style is sometimes mediocre, the soundtrack creates an incredible brooding air. The times it fires on all cylinders like the forest, waterfalls, dungeons, treasury rooms and the boss rush it's quite gorgeous. Besides, there's already X68k/Chronicles Original for a strictly business CV1 remake that kicks off at Dracula's doorstep.

There's also the likelihood III and IV weren't meant to be single-sitting games at all. As good as III is I could totally understand someone taking a break after getting to the castle. Even the very first Dracula has progress-saving, and in these later games there's actually good reason for it.

[CStarFlare]

Since you've been digging into CV1 pretty heavily, would you be able to give a rundown on how Vs. Castlevania compares to the NES version? I didn't realize an arcade port existed until I heard that it had been hacked into an NES cart. (I'm not sure how the romhack compares to the arcade version, either.)

I've given it a bit of play, but I'm awful with a keyboard and I've only creditfed through the original a few times anyway so I'm not sure I'd be able to pick up on most of the differences.

[BIL]

I was thinking of VS yesterday while admiring my FC cart and wondering if I can someday become crazy enough to go for the arcade setup too. It'd be interesting to see if has any alterations beyond the supposed nastier damage scale, will give it a go and report back.

[CStarFlare]

Look forward to hearing your thoughts. I've been interested in it since I found out about it but haven't really been in a position to dig into it myself. With any luck, the romhack is a faithful conversion - it'd be easier to pick up a $30 repro than a way to play the board.

[BrianC]

I was thinking of VS yesterday while admiring my FC cart and wondering if I can someday become crazy enough to go for the arcade setup too. It'd be interesting to see if has any alterations beyond the supposed nastier damage scale, will give it a go and report back.

From what I have seen in one of the videos of it, the damage is similar to the second loop when the game is set to easy (and the game has easy and hard settings via dipswitches). The enemy speed and number of enemies seemed closer to the first loop, though.

[BIL]

Just gave the first loop a runthrough and checked out 2-1 to confirm it was behaving like the console loop (it was). Basically, VS Castlevania is the North American NES version* with damage and time parameters altered (to be more difficult, naturally). I didn't notice any changes otherwise, with even the most obscure things performing as expected.

For example, that ghost that awkwardly appears at 10'oclock and dives for you at the start of stage 3's second floor? If you bait out and kill the raven at the other side of the screen by edging Simon to the end of the platform, then drop straight down, it won't appear. Yep, it worked here too!

Parameter changes:

-Enemies start off doing four points of damage, then six by stage 3. From the second loop, two hits will kill you.
-Much less time for each of the first three stages, though oddly no change for the last three. I heard the low time alarm for the first time I can remember and thought it was my alarm clock.
-Less points from remaining time = less extends in the first three stages. Though since the multi-kill subweapon bonus is intact just like everything else, and stage 5 has no time reduction, the Red Skeleton Extend Farm is open for business as usual. Suck it Nintendo!

Audiovisual differences:

-Different title screen.
-Hideously washed-out colours all-around with missing shading in many spots (the first stage's halls and fifth stage's dungeons both look like unfilled colouring books). I have a new appreciation for how respectable CV1 looks on the NES/FC. EDIT 2020: seems this was a MAME issue. PS4 Arcade Archives version just uses a subtly different palette.

Misc:

-There's a tiny but perceptible stall when moving up and down stairs to a new floor. EDIT 2020: seems this was a MAME issue too. PS4 Arcade Archives doesn't do this.
-As BrianC said there are DIP switches. Besides the usual extend rate, life stock etc there's Normal and Hard difficulty. Hard gives you the two-hit deaths from the start.

I was getting a bit bored so I didn't go too far into the second loop, but now I'm regretting it a little as I wonder if there's anything new there (besides still more tightening of the parameters). I kind of doubt it though. Parameter changes don't move me much since it's just a way of enforcing what I try to do anyway (play with maximum efficiency and style). It also makes this game less appealing since you can't experiment or improvise as much without getting brutally punished, making the more abusive tactics more vital than optional.

*besides the differing title screens, an easy way to differentiate the NA and JP cartridge versions is after clearing a stage. For some reason the US version will enable autofire on both buttons while the jingle is playing, and then somewhat deliberately tally up your remaining hearts with a more metallic sound effect. Equally mysteriously the JP cart version (1993) nixed the autofire, and more understandably zips through the heart tally much quicker with different SFX. Guess the porting team had some spare time after coding in the new EZ MODE.

[CStarFlare]

Interesting. I'm a little disappointed since I hoped they would have played with enemy placement, fewer candles, etc. On the other hand, it's nice to not feel like I'm missing out by passing it by.

Thanks for checking it out.

[BIL]

No problem, I want to be a Dorakyuraologist when I grow up.

For a laugh, decided to give IV a go while needing matchsticks to prop my eyes open. As calculated I lasted to the stables before violating protocol and punching in a Loop 2 start pw. Miraculously I was restored! Going directly from deadsville to loop 2 strikes a lot harder than returning there after Block B. It's a shame this wasn't the default difficulty, it really does address the biggest Dracula IV brickbat (all weaponed up and nothing to kill). You actually need both the whip and subweapons in the second loop, employed with strategy and foresight, as enemy arrangements are intended to kill rather than merely impede. Actually plays like a proper Dracula then, how lovely.

Think I'll just stick to this for the foreseeable future. Normally I feel unsatisfied skipping even a milder starting loop, and I've not no-missed loop 2 yet so I'd considered it off-limits until then. But the jump in quality (and that first loop being so damned slow to heat up) make this an exception. That fucking army of darkness guarding Dracula's front door in 5B kicked my ass when the time limit forced me into the fray. Feels good man.

[BrianC]

No problem, I want to be a Dorakyuraologist when I grow up.

For a laugh, decided to give IV a go while needing matchsticks to prop my eyes open. As calculated I lasted to the stables before violating protocol and punching in a Loop 2 start pw. Miraculously I was restored! Going directly from deadsville to loop 2 strikes a lot harder than returning there after Block B. It's a shame this wasn't the default difficulty, it really does address the biggest Dracula IV brickbat (all weaponed up and nothing to kill). You actually need both the whip and subweapons in the second loop, employed with strategy and foresight, as enemy arrangements are intended to kill rather than merely impede. Actually plays like a proper Dracula then, how lovely.

Think I'll just stick to this for the foreseeable future. Normally I feel unsatisfied skipping even a milder starting loop, and I've not no-missed loop 2 yet so I'd considered it off-limits until then. But the jump in quality (and that first loop being so damned slow to heat up) make this an exception. That fucking army of darkness guarding Dracula's front door in 5B kicked my ass when the time limit forced me into the fray. Feels good man.

It looks like there's a password to start on the higher difficulty, at least. According to gamefaqs, with the name space left blank, it's heart-axe-space-holy water, axe-space-space-heart, space-axe-space-space, space-heart-space-space. Castlevania II GB has a higher difficulty code too, but it's glitchy and makes the game occasionally lock up. I thought it was my game at first until I experienced the same behavior via emulator.

[BIL]

Hell yeah, that's the one I used! ^_~ Works in the JP version as well. Sometime I'll have to make my own by reaching loop 2 Block 1 and suiciding my mountain of extra lives in the moat. -_- NO GAME OVER? NO PASSWORD CHUMP

Vampire Killer / Bloodlines does it right - Konami code at title screen = instant Expert mode unlock.

[BIL]

Cool Thing To Do In Dracula IV: the immobilising effect of holding the jump button after landing actually has a specific use. Very handy if you want to whip in several successive directions without moving from your position, particularly if on stairs. You don't have to jump beforehand either, just depress the button during the whip animation. Old news no doubt, but I'd never seen this mentioned before. Also useful at times like this:



This is so much better with Loop 2 start. Pretty tough as well, I still get a couple of deaths in the Treasury. I wish you could disable the timer though, a game with such cool details and absorbing soundtrack makes me want to take my time. I never noticed until now that when the river's flow reverses in 2-3, the trickles in the background start flowing back up into the air. Creepy! We are truly entering MÄRCHEN DIMENSION

Annoying Thing Though: the developers really liked to hide bats in the status information area. Were this game to have a bestiary the bats' entry would read "Feared as servants of evil. Known to infest unwary adventurers' status areas." Not too bad once memorised, but you shouldn't have to. "BUT WHOA NOW THE GAME IS FULLSCREEN, SUCK IT MD OWNERS" in this case give me back the FC/MD games' thoroughly batproofed status bar.

The way the controls process the stiffy vs floppy whip is interesting, with it being possible to instantly cancel the former with a flick of the pad while the attack button is held. OTOH doing this accidentally this can be very annoying until you learn to select the direction, hit the button and then immediately let go of it to avoid going floppy at an embarrassing moment. It also lets you jump one way while whipping another, instead of going flaccid on the retreat. I do still think the game would be better off without the limp dick whip entirely, though. Unlike the eight-way attack which has to be exploited skillfully in Loop 2, it's truly an excuse for sloppy play at best.

[Skykid]

BIL I put a code in for 'harder difficulty' I found on gamefaqs to access the 2nd loop, but I'm not sure it made a difference... can I get your code, or is there something on the HUD that indicates the loop?

[BIL]

The one at the top of this page works for me (in the JP version at least - I imagine it's intended for US). There's no HUD alteration, but an easy way to confirm you're in the loop is if the skeletons in the gated area of Block 1 are taking two hits with the max whip upgrade, rather than one. If you run into a regenerating hound (normally first encountered in Block 6) outside the stables that'll settle it.

The loop's additions are overall fairly subtle (a few extra enemies here, an additional point of enemy HP there), but they ensure you have to be proactive and thoughtful about hacking down monsters. In the first loop's distinctly un-Dracula fashion, it's unlikely anything will get near a competent player until Block 6. The forest areas that open and close 2-1 are a good example. With zombies taking two hits and spawning more frequently, it's a lot more challenging to stay safe while dealing with spiders, invisible men and lizards. Should've been the default difficulty imo. It makes for a lot more of this (green additions mine):



I love James Rolfe, but unfortunately a lot of gamers really are as retarded as the character he portrays. Made the above after being linked to his Castlevania special by someone who'd finally had his oldschool Dracula failings projected onscreen and was feeling vindictive. Folks need to think a little, FFS.

[Skykid]

Yep it was loop 2. Not too tough for the first 4 stages, sure it cranks up later.

[BIL]

The first five blocks are never tough, loop 2 just makes them not boring. :3 As ever, Blocks 8 (Dungeons), 9 (Treasury), A (Clock Tower) and B (Castle Keep) are the real killers, with much crueler enemy placements and instant death hazards galore.

Although, Loop 2 Block 5's tight time limit and climactic armoured skeleton platoon make it quite thrilling. I like to imagine Dracula has cocked an eyebrow at Simon's clearing of the watchtower and dispatched something nasty to his location like, I dunno, a killer bat swarm ala Pitch Black, which is why Simon is suddenly hauling ass for that front door like his name's Barry Burton.

[mikehaggar]

BIL,

One I haven't heard you mention is Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on the Wii.

This is classic castlevania entirely, and if you play it on hard mode, I GUARANTEE it will be challenging. We put it on hard when we began (I hadn't tried any of the others first) and HOLY SHIT. We nearly gave up. We had to continue for hours and hours just to beat it once. What's really cool about the hard setting of this game is they didn't just mess with parameters, they actually designed the levels differently. (i.e. removed certain platforms, added more traps, etc.).

I'm really curious to see how you find the difficulty compared to the other games' loop 2 or hard settings.....I'd bet this would come out on top difficulty wise.

The soundtrack is also incredible as it's just classic Castlevania songs (many of them lesser known) all done in the arcade FM style by Manabu Namiki. (Who's completely brilliant idea was that?!)

[Skykid]

BIL,

One I haven't heard you mention is Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on the Wii.

This is classic castlevania entirely, and if you play it on hard mode, I GUARANTEE it will be challenging. We put it on hard when we began (I hadn't tried any of the others first) and HOLY SHIT. We nearly gave up.

Dude, Rebirth is a nightmare even on defaults. It's a cakewalk until the last stage, where they positively broke the game. I did give up, so props for you for putting the literal hours in to clear it.

[Ed Oscuro]

I like to imagine Dracula has cocked an eyebrow at Simon's clearing of the watchtower and dispatched something nasty to his location like, I dunno, a killer bat swarm ala Pitch Black, which is why Simon is suddenly hauling ass for that front door like his name's Barry Burton.

You were almost a Simon sandwich!

(For some reason, here Simon is being played by Keanu Reeves and Dracula has a beehive hairdo. I don't know what Barry's doing in the scene but Barry makes everything better.)

[BIL]

BIL,

One I haven't heard you mention is Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on the Wii.

I'd love to play this, from what you and others have said it sounds great. No Wii currently, sadly! edit: I do like the OST though, as you say it has great taste in going for some more obscure gems instead of relying on the usual standards. Contra and Gradius Rebirth's soundtracks are good at that too.

(For some reason, here Simon is being played by Keanu Reeves and Dracula has a beehive hairdo. I don't know what Barry's doing in the scene but Barry makes everything better.)

With his bearish good looks, disarming yet strangely arousing innuendos and crack handcannon skills, Barry is just off-camera distracting those lustful man-eating harpies (which is why they seem less relentless than in CVIII - the boyish charm of Simon's traditional metal hotpants simply can't compete with Videogame Burt Reynolds). He's billed in the credits as "Lt. Bushypecs McMoustacheride" for copyright reasons, as Konami were worried about getting sued by Capcom like Data East.

[Skykid]

BIL,

One I haven't heard you mention is Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth on the Wii.

I'd love to play this, from what you and others have said it sounds great.

Umm, that may be pushing it. Very interested to hear what you think when you do get around to playing it though.

[Skykid]

Bumpo,

Finished MD Vampire Killer last night just to chalk another off the list. Running out of classic Vania's to finish now :tear:

I just wanted to pickle your brains: I found it quite easy. I wasn't playing for a 1cc or anything and used several credits to clear it (learn as you go style) but IMO I didn't think it was harder than CVIV, which tends to get shtick for its ease.

CVIV is v.easy initially, but I think its last four stages or so are tougher than Vampire Killer. I was playing with the Texan too, not Eric with his vaulting spear, which apparently makes it even easier.

Any thoughts?

[BIL]

Vampire Killer isn't very hard at all compared to CVIII Loop 2 or X68k / Chronicles Original (not arrange), even on Expert difficulty. But it's for the right reasons. Both characters and the subweapons are incredibly powerful if used well, and the more permissive handling makes it easier to avoid bad spots and correct your way out them if necessary. It's Ninja Ryukenden II, basically. Tons of carnage, rampant pace, moderate difficulty level.

For a bit more challenge, try out Bloodlines (US) on its Expert mode. It's not a massive step up from VK expert, but the increased damage to the player and a handful of tweaks (no health restore in the last stage) should make a 1CC pretty satisfying.

IV's difficulty even in its last four blocks is hampered by one thing for me: candlemeats. The damn things are everywhere in comparison to all the other, wallmeat-only classic Draculas. Although I consider a run that relies on health restores a poor one, it still takes a chunk out of the game's challenge. If going for a 1CC I don't find either VK or IV incredibly hard, but the former's long stages and lack of health restores definitely give it a bit more pressure despite the game being significantly shorter. There's no score extends in VK either, where IV gives them regularly.

IV's last four blocks are particularly dangerous for their abundance of instant kills. Spikes, pits and traps galore, and some of the enemy setups in the Treasury and Clock Tower are sadistic (coffins chasing you right into a waiting skull dragon, armoured skeletons waiting for you at the edge of pits, deadly-accurate bats lurking semingly everywhere). It's easy to drop a few of the ten-odd reserve lives and steam through to a 1CC, but it makes a one-life clear an utter trial with the game being so long. I was actually trying to record one last weekend (loop 2 start - a full two loops really would be an endurance test, and definitely not for anyone with a weak bladder).