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/vr/ - Retro Games

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File: 111 KB, 551x800, 6693048-castlevania-iii-draculas-curse-nes-front-cover.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9910710 No.9910710 [Reply] [Original]

I've just finished the Japanese version of Castlevania 3 and I have to agree with some of the changes in the American version.
Dracula is way too easy in Japan. His first form can only deal 2 (pillar) or 3 (contact) damage per hit, meaning you still have a full 4-hit protection against his final form if you fuck up once. His second form is as worthless as the American version. His third form fires so infrequently and inaccurately it's near impossible to get hit.
Grant is completely overpowered. Sniping with knife is a powerful tool on top of a good platforming kit. He's overnerfed in America, but giving him a bit more damage and range as a melee character would be perfect.

>> No.9910736

>>9910710
People who prefer the American version probably think it's a good idea to house random parolees into their homes.

>> No.9910745

>>9910710
I've never played III, only the 16-bit Vanias and just gave the GB games a shot. How does it compare to Bloodlines and SCIV?

>> No.9910747

>>9910710
It's weird to me that anyone thought the Gaijin would want a harder game than what the Japanese got, shouldn't it be the opposite?

>> No.9910773
File: 1.40 MB, 2272x1574, challenge.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
9910773

>>9910747
Challenge was all over western marketing and magazines from the 80's to the mid 90's. Games would get worse reviews if too easy and better reviews if challenging: "this game would score higher if it wasn't so easy" (actual review quote).
People wanted the challenge.

Meanwhile there was not as much focus on that in Japan, reviews didn't give that much credit to challenge and it was much more rare to use it as a marketing tool. I had an interview of a dev explaining all that, the difference in mentality, but I lost it.
People have the idea that the general Japanese were good at video games, but that only due to rare extreme cases like score runners. Now, have a look at what was said about literally most popular famicom RPG: DQ2, DQ3, Mother, Final Fantasy 2 and 3: all of those and more: the players complained that they were too hard.

>> No.9910774

>>9910745
USA III is a contender for the hardest game in the series title.
Japanese III is definitely harder than IV, and even with unlimited continues I feel it is at least much more frustrating than Bloodlines.

>> No.9910801

>>9910710
Didn't they make the first form take more damage from your hits, though? At least I got that impression, he went down immediately.
Another thing I noticed was made easier is that they give you the best weapon to fight Death (cross/wind spell) right before it.

>> No.9910828

One bad change was giving the Bone pillars more health, it just makes it more tedious.

>> No.9910968

>>9910773
Interesting, I knew people wanted harder games back then but it's funny that this mentality was more prominent in the west. I've just always associated hard ass games with Japanese devs

>> No.9911216

Just like with Ninja Gaiden 3, people that dislike the western changes just watched a youtube video and never bothered to play the game

>> No.9911282

>>9910774
III can be the hardest outside of the MSX game (no continue), The Adventure (mostly a pain in the ass to play), and Haunted Castle (no comment).
It's harder than the original or even the X68k game (pretty overrated difficulty-wise).
The thing is, its difficulty varies greatly depending of your character and the route you took. For exemple, beating the game with Sypha is basically babby mode. Meanwhile, using Alucard takes more practice and the underground route is a nightmare.
Anyway, the game is hard in every version and I'd recommend anyone that isn't a retro tryhard to play the original instead of the US adaptation.

>> No.9911503

>>9910710
JP phase 1 Dracula does less damage, but he's also way more spastic than US Drac, he teleports way more often and has a bad habit of cornering you. You can consistently kill US Drac in 3 teleports without taking any damage at all