/vr/ - Retro Games

>>7364868
where's castlevania III? Skip Simon's Quest, that game is dogshit and play III instead.

The Adventure ReBirth?
The Game Boy entries?

>>7364880
Dracula's Curse is III, right?

>>7364868
>Rondo of Blood (Dracula X????)
Don't play Dracula X on SNES. That game is trash. Play the original PC engine game.

>>7364868
Play Castlevania 1 legit.
I hope you're not using save states. You need to learn to appreciate the enemy placement.
As a kid I was retarded and only wanted the strongest weapons, but when I played as an adult I learned that every weapon has a place for a spot in the level that you're given it on.
The stopwatch can make a long horizontal section where bats spawn a breeze. The cross is amazing for the fight against Death. Even the simple axe keeps you well out of danger and it's fast and large coverage can kill spawning bats or medusa heads while also hitting another enemy. And holy water... Holy water will have a special use later. As well as incredible use in level 4.

gee wizz I'm sure this thread has nothing at all to do with a certain eceleb making a Crapplevania retrospective today, no sir

>>7364919
OP here. the fuck you talking about
>>7364889
yeah I heard everyone say Rondo is better so imma go with that
>>7364914
thanks for the tip

>>7364936
>OP here

as always, you are a fag

>>7364943
literally what are you talking about. are you alright?

>>7364868
>all 4 GBA ones
>the 2 DS ones
Feel like I'm being messed with here, but whatever, it's 3 on both systems, and good on you if you go through with playing them. Despite using the same template, they tend to vary in actual experience because they're either experimental like the GBA games or just plain prioritize things differently.

>Adventure
You should probably go for Rebirth. Sure, it's a remake that's totally different from the original gameboy game, and as someone who likes the original, that's a very good thing, especially if you're coming in from SoTN.

In fact, if SoTN is your first game, you might as well go for Rondo of Blood given that you've just finished its direct sequel. It's still classicvania, but with it having the same director, you'll probably find plenty of things to keep you tethered like similar graphics, player characters who still have some movement and attack options, and not having to deal with powerups and timers so you can go at levels at your own pace and even explore a little for alternative routes. Not 1 to 1 to SoTN or anything, but yeah. CV 1 might be better for learning the ropes and adjusting, though. Like >>7364914 said, it's best to go at it legit. Start over from the beginning if you hit a brick wall, it'll do you wonders. Play 2 on the side or something as a break form the harder games, it's not well-designed but it is comfy.

>>7364868
Skip Simon's Quest and visit it last because it's a really shitty game and you should try it at the end of your marathon.
Play the famicom version of Castlevania III because it has a better soundtrack and the difficulty is more fair and reasonable, but still challenging enough.

>>7364868
I would say beta Rondo since SotN is still fresh in your memory, then go down your list.
I.MO you can omit the n64 and PS2 games. There I said it. They're great but I consider it "for further reading" to the series.

>>7364868
Get to playing them instead of beating around the bush. After a couple of games you're going to want to take a break anyway. It's a brilliant series with the best music of any game series ever, but there isn't much variety in terms of gameplay, especially if you're planning to do like 15 games in a row. The PS2 games deserve more credit than they get but the N64 ones play like ass.

>>7364868
>>7364889
>>7364936
Castlevania X on SNES is a different game from Rondo of Blood. Both are good, but the Rondo is waaaay better.

>>7365263
>The PS2 games deserve more credit than they get but the N64 ones play like ass
I'm enjoying myself with Curse of Darkness even now after playing Lament of Innocence but's that bullshit, anon. The PS2 games play to different strengths than the N64 games and that is something to take into consideration, but don't tell me that the games that actually gave a damn about level design are the bad ones.
>but the camera and player character handling sucks!
Takes like a minute to adjust to it and then the problems practically disappear.

>>7365678
>Takes like a minute to adjust to it
Amazing, a minute of input delay. Brilliant.

>>7365982
Input delay? What the fuck are you talking about? Is this an emulator problem? That's not remotely what I took from >playing like an ass

>>7365008
>>7365229
>>7365196
Alright, thanks. I'll play Rondo of Blood next and then start with CV1 and go through the rest. SotN isn't really fresh in my memory though, I played through it 9 years ago.

I'll add Adventure ReBirth to the list.

For the metroidvanias I just recommend skipping Harmony of Dissonance, I fucking hate that one, all the others have their strong and weak points but they're good games overall.

>>7367538
I won't hold your tastes against you even if I love HoD, but even that game has its strengths like any other, anon. The character graphics might be muddy and the music is chiptune on the GBA, but that doesn't stop it from exuding an atmosphere that really helps sell the game's plot. It also was the first or second step towards the design of later games, especially some player character mechanics like the dash cancelling introduced here or using certain rings to alter/upgrade subweapons aside from having multiple moves in one through spell fusion.

Saving it for the end might be good, since it''l probably hit differently if you've played a lot of the other games beforehand like I did, but I honestly don't think OP should disregard it altogether.

I just beat the US version of Castlevania 3 for the first time and I went to look up what the Japanese version was like in some cases just to see how much is changed, I can't believe how much tougher they made it. I thought it was just damage and checkpoints that were changed but the item drops and the bosses are worse too. The trio of bosses on the stage with the falling blocks looks so easy on the Japanese version but I was stuck on that stage for hours, in part, because of that boss.

>>7364914
>I hope you're not using save states. You need to learn to appreciate the enemy placement.

You have to learn that game magazines promote bad games and some classics are not good

>>7370572
You are retarded and were born after '95
>>7364914
This. Save states will ironically make the game even harder because you won't be learning from your mistakes and will keep trying to brute force your way through only to fail over and over learning nothing.

>>7367538
It wasn't great or anything but I don't remember it being terrible, definitely less of a frustrating experience than circle of the moon.

>>7370562
>the Mummies boss on the JP version have up-down attack patterns
>the Axe Knights on their stage have the same attack pattern, so when you reach the Mummies you'll be able to stand a chance
>American version ignores this and just makes the bandages fly randomly, forcing you to camp out in a corner of the stage
Man, I think some changes they made were better, but the American version gets a lot of stuff wrong.

>>7364868
>>Castlevania X68000

make sure you emulate the X68K version and don't play Chronicles version on PS1

>>7364868
>>Rondo of Blood (Dracula X????)

Two games, make sure you play both. Don't believe in the Dracula X meme, make your own opinion.

Everyone mentions Aria as their favorite of the GBA games, but what about the DS metroidvanias? How you would rank them?

>>7372794
OoE > PoR > DoS

I like them all, but I think PoR and OoE both do a better job of balancing the game without compromising the difficulty or part of what made finding new stuff equipment to toy around with so fun in the older games. PoR also seems a lot more comfortable with its anime art than DoS does, and stuff like that is why I used to consider DoS to be outright boring in comparison and in itself. Of course, it's actually been years since I sold it off, but I would probably enjoy it again were I to get my hands on it.

>>7367538
It's probably the weakest of the GBA games but it wasn't that bad.
Dashing with both shoulder buttons should have been standard from then on.

>>7372794
DoS can go fuck itself for that magic seal bullshit. "Oh, you didn't actually beat the boss until you do this minigame that's easy to mess up."
It's amazing how one little thing can ruin a game.

>>7374251
At least there's a patch that skips the seals.

>>7364868
literally do not waste your time with almost 90 percent of these. just play rondo of blood and if you like that THEN go back to the NES games. aria of sorrow is alright also. the NES games rely on artificial difficulty and annoying enemy placement to have difficulty and this is shown by how much better CV4 and rondo is than the first 3 nes games. just play rondo and move on with your life to be quite honest.

>>7374804
>the NES games rely on artificial difficulty and annoying enemy placement to have difficulty
I bet you played Rondo with Maria, aka Easy Mode.
Rondo with Richter is no easier than any of the NES games.

>>7374958
i literally do not know how to unlock maria to this day and cant be fucked to look it up. rondo is just a better game, you have movement options so deaths are actually agreeable and not just "le epic medusa head flies in and knocks you into an awesome pit."

>>7374804
the only thing i miss is Grant's style of gameplay

>>7374964
Just learn to predict the Medusas, they always spawn in the same place and move from the same angle depending on your current position.

>>7374983
ok but that isnt fun. its not really that hard or anything just annoying as fuck, nobody wants to do that annoying shit. castlevania games are annoyance first fun second until symphony actually came around and the series became good. i have tried repeatedly to enjoy 3 because of its god tier jap ost but the game just isnt fun and feels like a constant uphill battle. rondo felt like a nice challenge and not CBT.

>>7374804
Castlevania 1 is fairly easy, the only things I remember being tough are the bridge with the bats, the Medusa Head hallway and Dracula himself. 3 is really hard, but I only played the US version. I prefer Rondo of Blood to the other Castlevania games I've played, but I think the challenge is comparable to 1, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's comparable to the JP version of 3.

How is the Castlevania Anniversary Collection?

Are those games good ports?

>>7374804
>artificial difficulty
that's just regular difficulty son

>>7376926
it's good except it costs money, other than that it's nice

>>7377129
this is called bad design

>>7377129
alright, I'll get that one then.

I see that rondo of blood is also in a collection released not too long ago, but I think I'll just fire up a PC-Engine emulator for that one

>>7364868
Don't play Drac X, just play Rondo. Rondo is the greatest classic Vania ever, perfected the formula

I came here just to brag and share my love of Castlevania; I can beat the first five bosses without dying :D

>>7379386
Of the first Castlevania, that is, I wanna speed run some day

>>7375132

The Death fight is incredibly difficult if you don't cheese it with holy water. Even with the boomerang your axis of movement is very limited to deal with the scythes. On top of that, you have to grt through the hallway of dusas with the backstepping axe knight to even enter the Death fight (which is actually a lot of fun to do, hard though).

I think that level as a whole is definitely the hardest in the game (if you don't stunlock with holy water).

>>7379448
Yeah, but it's not that hard to get to Death with the holy water, and you're likely enough to have figure out how strong holy water is anyway by that point in the game, I had anyway. I didn't beat Death on my first try and I didn't have holy water, but I didn't struggle to get back to him enough times to try different subweapons to see what worked, with the hallway being the only bit that took some getting used to, so I wouldn't consider it that hard. It's not like the mummies in Castlevania 3 where they're tough without holy water and it can be a challenge just to get there with holy water in the first place.

>>7377519
You can play both, but I'd play Rondo first. Use an English patch first, or ask anons for a patched copy. Both games have their ups and downs, but Rondo undoubtedly has better OST and more content.

>>7380438
And it's the original game, Dracula X is an SNES port. It has new content, and is also good.

>>7380438
But it's a different game, not just a port.

it's a work in progress, I'm ESL so it's riddled with errors and some of the choices are debatable, but I'm making a kind of flow chart/guide for new players: http://zarch.info/castlevania/
I'll had more text and the platform, or the versions and how to acquire them.

>>7382621
Why are you going to make the effort to write in a language you don't know.

Do it like Japanese or English speakers.

write in your own language. and let them try to translate what you did

>>7382639
I think I can manage. I'm not going to do this in my archaic nonsensical language when english is far easier to write. Nobody will want to translate from fucking french.

>>7382621
Why not just make a recommended flowchart in .png or .jpg instead of this awkward site that wants you to click buttons hidden inside other buttons to be able to see the games?
I mean, fancy programming, but simpler is better depending in this case.

>>7382621
Why not just make a recommended flowchart in .png or .jpg instead of this awkward site that wants you to click buttons hidden inside other buttons to be able to see the games?
I mean, fancy programming, but simpler is better in this case.

>>7364919
>projecting this hard
no one cares about your tubers, zoomer

>>7383112
That's what I wanted to do at first but I find webdev to be simpler than photoshop.
Initially I was drawing all the cards, arrows and text so I constantly had to reorganize shit to make it fit and though "why not write all the content in a file and fetch everything from a page?".
Bah, maybe eventually someone else more skilled will make a good guide like the others "So you want to play some...".

>>7383198
nevermind, I could just use an online flowchart make.

>>7372794
OoE = AoS > PoR > CotM > HoD > DoS

>>7372794
same as the other anons it would seem.
People generally hate on OoE for the linear maps (especially THAT ONE MAP that's a straight line) but the level design is less boring than PoR's copypaste big-square rooms.
On the other hand I think PoR has a lot more weapons, subweapons, monsters, and levels that aren't the castle or a forest.
DoS feels like a worse AoS with touchscreen gimmicks and a mixed-bag graphically, but seeing familiar characters is nice.

>>7374964
lol

>>7364868
Okay so OP, it's like this:

I didn't include the 3D ones since I never played em.
Not sure where Simon's Quest fits in all that. Also realized there are two Castlevania II.

>>7383423
cute charlotte

>>7383709
That is a pretty good chart

I think most people would best approach Simon's Quest after 1 and 3 looking for (kinda) more of the same, I doubt it would appeal to people who are more into SotN despite the rpg elements

I think a line from Symphony to Rondo would make sense too

>>7364868
>Rondo of Blood (Dracula X????)
Play both.

>>7384090
Playing Dracula X just makes you wish you were playing Rondo instead to be honest.

>>7383735

>>7386295
There's a lot of attention to detail in the DS games.

>>7383772
I didn't intend on making it in the shape of a penis.

>>7387632
Extremely helpful anon, thanks
But shouldn't you also star SCIV and Rondo? I know about the series from what I read in magazines when I was younger and those were recommended more than III or Aria

>7374804
You aren't even trying at this point

>>7387720
there's always room for debate, that's also why I simply pooled the 5 classicvanias in a bubble, otherwise I'd get murdered by fanatics. But from my biased point of view, most people on this site seemed to talk more about SotN, 3 and AoS.

I don't know, maybe I should just remove the stars, since following the paths from CV1 leads to them anyway. I think 3 is a good title someone could try before deciding whether they like the classics or not. Although I had a lot more fun playing Bloodlines. You get the idea, nobody has the same opinion and for personal reasons it's difficult to elect a good representative of the genre.