/vr/ - Retro Games

>>5415498
Cool blog, definitely added to my favorites.

>>5415507
Is this a robot

The whole selling point was that it's a party in Castlevania, and this time all the doors are unlocked (metaphorically speaking) and you get to explore the castle rather than taking arduous platforming sections piecemeal.

>>5415498
>Decided to give this game a shot after hearing all the praise.
I just beat this last week for the 1st time this decade, and I forgot a lot of what it had to offer. It is a shorter game, but very enjoyable. The castle is small enough to traverse it pretty quickly, but large enough to make total memorization a chore. I think the pacing is pretty good, and by the time you complete it, you should have it somewhat committed to memory. I don't know that there is a lot of replay value, but it is good enough to play when you need a refresher.

>>5415531
>Is this a robot
No, its a drone. A mindless /v/ poster who tries to troll in /vr/.

>>5415532
>you get to explore the castle rather than taking arduous platforming sections piecemeal.
I liked this much more than doing it level by level. They really did a good job for what it is, and I do wish there was more games like it. It has good pacing, and the right amount of depth and story.

>>5415498
You didn't play it in 1997-1998, therefore your opinion means noting here.

>>5415498
Fun fact about "classics" in any media: whatever they did that people loved, it's been done again to death afterwards, and often (understandably) better. This hardly diminish their value, but if you're simply unable to think in context and have trouble wrapping your head around the linearity of time, you'll likely find yourself thinking they have, dare I say, "not aged well"

In short, If you're looking for you mind to be blown, games that came out 20 years ago are probably not the place to search.

Seriously though: this game is one of the most argued in terms of merit, even in non-autistic circles. It's generally thought that, while it's very detailed and generally fun to play, the design is overall shoddy and probably didn't deserve the praise it got even on release.

>>5415507
>ugh why do people keep trying to talk about games on my 90s console wars board
kys

>>5415498
it's not the best. i enjoyed it up into the inverted castle, which i did beat but goddamn that was a slog. while >>5415625 is partly right, i also think Super Metroid did the concept better years earlier, so eh. a better name for the genre would be metroid-like.

>>5415625
but I've never played super metroid back in the day, just last year and I loved it so much that I had to replay it 2 times in a row
on the other hand sotn is very bland and uninteresting, just music is good but gameplay is way worse than metroid, it has too many useless or bad implemented things, moving around is slow and combat is just smash attack while facing enemies, boooring
not a bad game but sure doesn't deserve to name an entire genre

>>5415498
None of the transformations are worth a shit, they are just fun to dick around with and the puzzles you use them for.

>>5415616
This makes no sense. The amount of people that played a game a short, or long time after the fact is astronomical.

>>5415616
I played it in '98 and confirm it's not nearly as good as advertised and has none of the features that make Castlevania fun to play in the first place.

>>5416228
>kys
you know saying things like that show youre a kid, right
>>5415625
>Seriously though: this game is one of the most argued in terms of merit,
what
>>5416665
you fell for the bait
OP nice blog, next time finish the game before you explain to us your feelings

>>5415498
This thread sucks

>>5416648
>moving around is slow

This right here is my biggest problem. I have the wolf and I know about the bat but I’ve heard the bat isn’t very fast. Are there any other movement upgrades or is that it?

>>5415625
Why you in every thread shitposting about your shitty consumerist opinions. It's completely possible someone can play a 20 year old game and have their mind blown. Fuck off you cunt.

>>5415498
Unfortunately, most video games of any acclaim are grossly overhyped. Retro, new, doesn't matter. Even the ones with negative acclaim like ET don't do anything wildly offensive, and most other games that get knocked right off as 'total shit' are usually unfinished, starter projects or by someone like Uwe Boll who is just too stupid to fix.

>>5417148
...kind of. There are relics that will add a damage effect to wolf run, and a hidden spell for a bat charge that is fast. Gravity boots for vertical movement.

Circle of the Moon is SotN but better, IMO.

>>5415498
gameplay is a lot faster if you travel by dashing backwards.

but yeah figuring out where to go is a hell of a trip. good luck!

Made it to the chapel and I’m starting to dig it more now. Cool area and going up the stairs involved a lot of repositioning and the right kind of patience.

Also shit thought the puppet sword was a boss, wasn’t expecting it to respawn.

>super metroid
That game has a thick as fuck atmosphere though, so it doesn't matter if the gameplay has been done better since.

> gameplay is way worse
Than bombing hundreds of walls and floors? Climbing vertical shafts again and again? Grinding health drops for days? No.

>>5416648
>combat is just smash attack while facing enemies
There's tons of combat maneuvers and variables, the game is just a tad too easy for it to matter. Metroid's combat is completely flat on the other hand so I don't understand why you're even trying to critizise SotN on that part.

>not a bad game but sure doesn't deserve to name an entire genre
Metroidvania just means Metroid clone (done in the blatant and shameless style that SotN does it). It's a dig, not named for any contributions to the genre.

>>5415625
>It's generally thought that, while it's very detailed and generally fun to play, the design is overall shoddy and probably didn't deserve the praise it got even on release.

I agree. The game was only well liked because it has good pixel art and it has RPG mechanics at a time when all games weren't packed with RPG mechanics.

>>5418105
>That game has a thick as fuck atmosphere though
this is just a personal preference but I really prefer sci-fi more than the castle theme, don't know why but something in it screams metalhead
>Than bombing hundreds of walls and floors?
it's not like sotn doesn't have items behind walls and other bullshit secrets, at least bombs are more fun than slashing every wall
>Climbing vertical shafts again and again?
level design and platforming is way better in metroid, transformations are just gimmicks that require no skill unlike wall-jumping and mastering screw attack
>Grinding health drops for days?
you could say the same for the hearts
>There's tons of combat maneuvers and variables
some example please? I find combat in metroid more interesting because you have to consider your position for diagonals and some enemies require slightly different approach like using charge beam, ice beam or missiles, in sotn I just go near an enemy and smash attack until enemy is dead
sotn has more enemy variety though

>>5419060
not him but
>at least bombs are more fun than slashing every wall
Really?
>face wall and press button
>instantly see if it's a fake wall or not
>there is a small handful of these across the whole game, mostly in fairly obvious points
vs.
>press down twice to get in morph ball
>but wait, you pressed down twice too quickly, you need the proper rhythm okay NOW you're in morph ball
>press button
>wait
>bomb finally explodes
>well not that floor panel/wall block, let's try the next one to the side/up the wall
>press button
>wait
>repeat until maybe you find a breakable block or maybe not
>this is required fairly often throughout the game, sometimes with extremely little telegraphing
I mean I really like SM, but what about bombing is "more fun" than just hitting the wall?

>>5419060
>it's not like sotn doesn't have items behind walls and other bullshit secrets, at least bombs are more fun than slashing every wall

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW

>>5415498
>Decided to blog on the fourth channel
Cool story

>>5419060
>some example please?
You've got:
Double jump, Super jump, Divekick
7 weapon types (100+ weapons in total)
9 subweapons (costing hearts)
8 spells (hidden features done with Street Fighter style motions)
5 familiars to assist you
Multiple playable characters with different maneuvers on top of this.

But you go ahead and enjoy your diagonal shooting.

Fuck Skelerangs

Clock tower area kicked my ass god damn, made it past on the second attempt but crow guy killed me. Third attempt was successful and I ended up stun locking crow fucker

Apparently it’s a dead end though, guess I needed the bat

But I got the double jump and areas are opening up WAY more quickly now, don’t have to spend much time at all checking old dead ends.

If it weren’t 2am right now I’d keep playing for hours. I’m really starting to get into this game and it’s kinda hard to put it down.

Also the outside areas look so fucking cool, especially the skies. I like that some of the backgrounds seem like different times/places, I love the idea that this haunted castle can take you to different realms, or times it has appeared, or whatever those are supposed to imply.

Finding the holy rod and 1 or 2 shotting most enemies might be part of why I’m enjoying it more now, gives it the quick pace of the first castlevania which is really fun.

And do shields do anything when you use them? Equipping raises defense but it seems like they don’t actually block attacks.

>>5419658
>Double jump, Super jump, Divekick
hi-jump, morphball, screw attack, sm has more movement options
>7 weapon types (100+ weapons in total)
but they are basically the same, at least missiles and ice beam do something different
>9 subweapons (costing hearts)
how many are actually good?
>8 spells (hidden features done with Street Fighter style motions)
like the game wasn't enough easy
>enjoy your diagonal shooting
less brainless that pressing a single button to win

>>5421118
Not him, but Super Metroid's combat is not really that much of a highlight of the game. I like both games a lot, but when it comes to fighting enemies, Symphony of the Night is just more interesting.(especially on 99 luck mode where you run the risk of die in two or three hits from most enemies from the start). Discovering what all the weapon types do, which actually are not all the same and have different elemental affinities or behaviors(Like the Sword of Heaven with is a magic sword that you throw and it comes back to you all flashy like, or the Fist of Tulkas which can shoot hadokens) gives much catharsis. SOTN even has unique weapon arts attached to a lot of weapons like the Sword of Dawn which summons minions. And with the duplicator you can infinitely spam one use attack items like Bat Pentagrams or Magic Missiles which are a ton of fun.
It's not just the weapons and abilities that Alucard is absolutely loaded with(maybe too much for the game to even handle) but also there's a larger bestiary in SOTN compared to Metroid, there's a lot of enemies that act in their own little unique way making discovering new enemies fun and it may sound superficial but all of the enemies having extremely satisfying unique death animations makes fighting them even more fun.

>how many are actually good?
This makes it sound like you never played the game. I used Holy Water, Axes, the lightning attack sub weapon, and the stop watch all the time.

The one thing I will give the edge to Metroid too is that because Metroid isn't an unbalanced RPG, the bosses end up lasting far longer and prove to be more interesting than most SOTN bosses. That's not to say every SOTN boss isn't memorable though(Count Orlox and Galamoth)

>>5421665
To add onto my post. SOTN also has Transformations like mist, and Bat and wolf form which have their own abilities, which add onto SOTN's movement options. Also the gravity boots.

>>5417159
better than playing obscure garbage and claiming its superior.

>>5417426
I agree except for the fact that it's an already dark game released on a handheld with no backlight, I had to wait for the SP to release before I could play that game without eyestrain migraines.
I also remember Portrait of Ruin being good but I haven't touched it in years so who knows

>>5421721
>I also remember Portrait of Ruin being good
In spite of it reusing arenas with slight variations, it's the best Castlevania on the DS.

>>5421728
Graphic style looks like disgusting weeb shit

>>5421739
>Colorful detailed graphics = weebshit

>>5417148
There's an exploit where you tap the backwards dodge button then the shield button repeatedly over and over for movement. It made the game multiple times better for me. It's also very easy to pull off on arcade stick if you have one.

>>5415498
In all honesty: I've played this for the first time 3 years ago and I absolutely love it to death. You should read up on a lot of things because this game is basically a goldmine of stuff that is never explicitly stated but there for you to find out. A lot of weapons (like every 2nd or so) for example have special moves that can be activated with Hadouken-like inputs.