Board 8 > Shad's journey to play the Castlevania series in timeline order

(+) Yeah! (+)

Got the ice whip, time to take a break.
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I've played lament like 5 times and I've barely found any secrets. Even the magic spells, like, not even half.
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Just finished the waterfalls. Going to go back and maybe open some doors with some keys before going into the final of the 5 areas.
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Saved the best boss for last
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Dagger + white orb made quick work of the succubus. Time to pause for dinner, then come back to finish the game.
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Well... Now I know the origin of the vampire killer.
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From this day on...the Belmont clan will hunt the night!
Thoughts soon.
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With lesser acting, this kind of dialogue would have been campy in the insufferable sense. But I dug the game. Curse of Darkness does it the same way, if a little flashier.
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UPDATE

Lament of Innocence [PS2] - 1049
Dracula's Curse [NES] - 1476
Curse of Darkness [PS2] - 1479
The Adventure [GB] (ReBirth) [Wii] - 1576
Belmont's Revenge [GB] - 1591
Castlevania [NES] (Super) [SNES] - 1691
Simon's Quest [NES] - 1698
Harmony of Dissonance [GBA] - 1748
Rondo of Blood [PC Engine] (Dracula X) [SNES] - 1792
Symphony of the Night [PS1] - 1797
Circle of the Moon [GBA] - 1830
Order of Ecclesia [NDS] - 18??
Bram Stoker's Dracula [Book] - 1897
Bloodlines [Genesis] - 1917
Portrait of Ruin [NDS] - 1944
Battle of 1999 [???] - 1999
Aria of Sorrow [GBA] - 2035
Dawn of Sorrow [NDS] - 2036

Lament of Innocence was beaten today. Thoughts in spoiler just in case digi is reading.

Lament of Innocence is not a good game. The combat is bland and unresponsive. The camera is awful. The orb/subweapon system is cool, but subweapons are too hard to find to really experiment with it. Lack of fast travel makes it hard to retrack steps to find collectibles you missed. Exploring seems like a chore instead of something I want to do.

And yet, I enjoyed it.

The narrative was interesting and really cool to see where the Belmont and Dracula feud came from. It also solves the mystery of where Vampire Killer comes from. I used a guide to get some collectibles, which I rarely do in Castlevania games until I'm done with the main game.

My main complaint, though, is that there is no battle of Leon and Mathias at the end. I get that they didn't want Leon to win over Mathias, but just let Leon beat up Mathias to make him retreat. It would have made a much better end than fighting Death.

Also, I had to wait until the credits to hear Vampire Killer.

Now, I need to figure out how to hook up my NES classic to my PC to get started on CV3.
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I like the final boss. Given the franchise history, there was enough clout to make it work.
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It never fails, I always run into the throwing bone of the first bone throwing skeleton in stage 1. Always.
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I think it's hard to dislike a game when it has good music, that's my experience anyway
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Epyo posted...

I think it's hard to dislike a game when it has good music, that's my experience anyway

True, and LoI had some good music!

That said, it's got nothing on CV3!
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Phew, beat stage 3 with 3 seconds left. I decided to take Sypha.

On to the Ghost Ship.
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I forgot momentarily that the best way to beat Medusa is literally just walk up to her and whip over and over again.
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sypha route is best route
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Alright, just beat the ghost ship boss with 1 HP left! Woo!

Saving the game and shutting down for the night.
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Sypha was super useful against Frankenstein's Monster.
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And now I'm in the Castle Courtyard. Gotta head to Costco first.
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Super Castlevania IV is a remake of the original?
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Super Castlevania IV is a remake of the original?

Yes. Or at least, a retelling of the same story, Simon Belmont taking on Dracula in 1691. In Japan it's simply Akumajo Dracula, same as CV1 and all the other remakes thereof.
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Wow there are some garbage platforming sections in the Castle Courtyard. Glad I'm using save states because otherwise I would be back to the beginning at least 3 times probably.

Edit: right after I complain about it, of course I make it through that section.
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Ha, the triple boss (Mummies, Cyclops, Flying Demon) in the castle courtyard is stupid easy due to the layout. Mummies died instantly due to the holy water, Cyclops was dead easily by jumping over him, and the flying demon died easily with the holy water too.

Into the Castle we go!
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Why is holy water so good?

It took a few tries, but I was able to hit Death without being able to take any damage.
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I know the Cross is the be all end all move, but Holy Water is so broken in Castlevania. I swear only the Axe comes close.
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I really like dagger in most of the games, but CV3 is holy water the whole way through.
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Also, I haven't actually played with Sypha. Most of my playthroughs I take Grant for his mobility. But man, Sypha's melee is really useful.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Super Castlevania IV is a remake of the original?

And then Castlevania Chronicles on PS1 is ANOTHER remake of the original
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Having trouble with Dracula's final stage. I'll finish it tomorrow prob.
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no play today
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Save.
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in the Famicom version if you game over at Dracula you get to continue at Dracula
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Need more whip action

*whips purge monster with electric whip*
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It is a tough final stage for sure
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Dracula has been defeated.

Aww, what a cute scene with Sypha.

So they even every slyly say that Dracula is "sleeping".

Castlevania III continues to be one of my favorite Castlevania games. Probably my favorite "original style" one.

Lament of Innocence [PS2] - 1049
Dracula's Curse [NES] - 1476
Curse of Darkness [PS2] - 1479
The Adventure [GB] (ReBirth) [Wii] - 1576
Belmont's Revenge [GB] - 1591
Castlevania [NES] (Super) [SNES] - 1691
Simon's Quest [NES] - 1698
Harmony of Dissonance [GBA] - 1748
Rondo of Blood [PC Engine] (Dracula X) [SNES] - 1792
Symphony of the Night [PS1] - 1797
Circle of the Moon [GBA] - 1830
Order of Ecclesia [NDS] - 18??
Bram Stoker's Dracula [Book] - 1897
Bloodlines [Genesis] - 1917
Portrait of Ruin [NDS] - 1944
Battle of 1999 [???] - 1999
Aria of Sorrow [GBA] - 2035
Dawn of Sorrow [NDS] - 2036

Time to figure out how I'm going to play Curse of Darkness.
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Curse of Darkness is fun, if a bit on the slow side of action games. Get past the main character's awful running speed, you'll find a more engrossing combat engine than Innocence.

Crispin Freeman and Liam O'Brien get to ham shit up as the main VA, so that's always fun too.
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*Throws axe at purge monster*
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Digi was finishing up with LoI, waiting for him to catch up some.
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digi lament of innocence update:

fuck this medusa bitch
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i just beat the succubus in lament of innocence and that might have been the worst voice acting ive ever heard in my life
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Alright, I beat Lament of Innocence. It was my first Castlevania game. I found the story to be interesting -- or more accurately, the characters were interesting. The voice acting was OK for the most part. I completely forgot about Mathias so the reveal at the end did nothing for me, so whoops on that front. I do think the lines delivered to Walter as you beat him and to Death at the end are well-written, fire and brimstone stuff that seems totally at home in this series.

Combat was decent, but tedious by the end. The last world is several times harder than the rest of the game so that was a bummer. There was also a room that was dark with platforms you had to jump on and if you fell it sent you back to the start of the room and it was probably some of the least fun I've ever had in a game. If I were not doing this project, I would have stopped the game right there. I ended up passing on whatever the hidden item was in the other part of that room.

I did very little side stuff. The game didn't seem to give me much incentive to do it. I never equipped an armor piece. I never found another relic other than the first one that makes the ground fire when you walk on it.

The music was great. The enemy, boss and level concepts were really well done, though the levels were way too repetitive in the end. Too much backtracking. Overall, probably a 6/10 game. I liked it, didn't love it, didn't have a blast.
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

i just beat the succubus in lament of innocence and that might have been the worst voice acting ive ever heard in my life

You haven't seen SOTN then. For all its hype, it has shitty camp.
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Games that I have beaten in the Castlevania series...

Lament of Innocence [PS2] - Not bad, but not great either. 6/10 sounds about right. Liked the soundtrack more than anything else here.
Super [SNES] - Enjoyable and challenging. 8.5/10
Harmony of Dissonance [GBA] - Eventually got to the point where I wanted to complete this ASAP. My least favorite played in the series to date. 5/10
Symphony of the Night [PS1] - Still a classic to this day, and have beaten it on both PS1 and 360. 9.5/10
Circle of the Moon [GBA] - Final boss was an absolute bitch to kill. Good game overall. 7/10
Order of Ecclesia [NDS] - My least favorite in the DS trilogy, but still had a lot of fun with it. 8/10
Bloodlines [Genesis] - I vaguely remember the details on this game but I have beaten it. I do remember it being a little challenging. 7/10
Portrait of Ruin [NDS] - My favorite among the DS Castlevanias and 2nd favorite in the series. 9/10
Aria of Sorrow [GBA] - A solid title from beginning to end. 8/10
Dawn of Sorrow [NDS] - Along with Portrait, a must have for any DS owner or Castlevania fanatic. 8.5/10
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I love Leon's dialogue.

"I'll kill you AND the night!"
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i have started dracula's curse

i have seen vinny on giant bomb play this so i know the importance of getting the action shot as i pick up the orb

this music is bitchin


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digiiiiiiiii posted...

this music is bitchin

Story of the franchise right here.
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if you want even bitchiner music switch over to famicom version
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hey

ya'll

i beat dracula's curse

really bitchin music, great mechanics, the game felt awesome. i only died from combat twice -- both times to the doppleganger -- but i sure did fall a lot. the only section of the game i struggled with, aside from the doppleganger, was climbing the stairs while the skull towers shot AND the shield flying knight dudes come from the side

dracula went down like a bitch imo



this was my first "classic" castlevania game and i loved it. i will definitely go back and play it again some time and spend more time with the other characters you can switch to, because i did VERY LITTLE of that.
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Since we're in the midst of this, thought I'd share a Youtube cover guy doing a ton of songs. I hadn't listened to this medley in a while, so I wanted my metal fix. Thought you'd enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O91cpKzEKI
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Digi you seriously beat CV3 in 3 hours having never played it before?! Are you a god of video games.

(Also the tall stair rooms with fireballs are some of my favorite rooms in video game history mmmm so memorable)
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