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A couple of weeks ago, Xbox live had this game on sale, and I purchased it. Since then I have put atleast 30+ hours into it. Has anyone else tried this game?

For anyone who hasn't heard of it, here is a description. The basic game is old school style play castlevania game. There are chapters with multiple paths to the boss, treasure chests all over the place, and everything in the level is moving all at once. You can play with up to 5 other people. It is a really good game, and worth the purchase if you like Castlevania games.

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"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped” -Sir Bedevere the Wise

I am a huge Castlevania fan. Huge. Any of the oldsters on here could tell you. I played this at a friend's place when I visited my college town a few months ago, and hated this game. The castle is purely unimaginative and repetitive and 90% of the game is recycled from other Castlevanias. The co-op multiplayer is fun, but shallow. There are many, many better co-op experiences out there.

So yeah. I love Castlevania, but I hate this game. A quickly-made embarrassment to the series.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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Quote (Fadien @ 23rd May 2011 16:58)

A couple of weeks ago, Xbox live had this game on sale, and I purchased it. Since then I have put atleast 30+ hours into it. Has anyone else tried this game?

For anyone who hasn't heard of it, here is a description. The basic game is old school style play castlevania game. There are chapters with multiple paths to the boss, treasure chests all over the place, and everything in the level is moving all at once. You can play with up to 5 other people. It is a really good game, and worth the purchase if you like Castlevania games.

How old school is old school? Judging from the link you posted, most of the game is taken from SotN and later. Is that accurate? I don't have an Xbox so it is impossible for me to get this, but I am a pretty big fan of old Castlevanias.

Quote (jtdurai @ 23rd May 2011 15:08)

How old school is old school? Judging from the link you posted, most of the game is taken from SotN and later. Is that accurate? I don't have an Xbox so it is impossible for me to get this, but I am a pretty big fan of old Castlevanias.

It's a giant amalgam of different post-SotN Castlevania games. I thought it was actually pretty sloppily made, and not as good as the games it draws its characters and monsters from. If you're only a fan of the classic Castlevanias and *not* the modern ones, then this would not be up your alley.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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Well I have only played SotN and the ones before it. Love them all, even Castlevania II, the only one I haven't beaten of the lot. So this game sounds like it isn't for me, if only because I haven't played the newer games. I assume some of them are good, and maybe I could play through the good ones and give the bad ones a shot too. And after that, I could give this game a fair try somehow.

The newest update has Simon Belmont and Fuma, along with their respective levels.

I guess I'm just big into the SotN and later Castlevanias. I loved all the DS Castlevania games.

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"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped” -Sir Bedevere the Wise

Quote (jtdurai @ 23rd May 2011 16:10)

Well I have only played SotN and the ones before it. Love them all, even Castlevania II, the only one I haven't beaten of the lot. So this game sounds like it isn't for me, if only because I haven't played the newer games. I assume some of them are good, and maybe I could play through the good ones and give the bad ones a shot too. And after that, I could give this game a fair try somehow.

Here's a quick breakdown of a few of the GBA, DS, and PSP Castlevania games, because I can:

Circle of the Moon (GBA, 2001)

This one actually wasn't made by IGA and the official Castlevania team, but it's excellent. Magic abilities are governed by finding cards, subweapons are useful and powerful, the castle is huge, and the challenge level is solidly above-average. Only spell cards and armor are customized. Visuals are kind of weak, too. Environment is dark and hard to see unless your brightness settings are high, and the sprites have relatively few frames. Still, especially since it's one of the GBA's first games, its good outweighs its bad. 9/10

Harmony of Dissonance (GBA, 2002)

Probably the weakest offering of modern Castlevania games. The visuals are a major improvement from Circle, but it's easy and there is little customization for your character. The castle isn't as appealing as Aria's or Circle's either. Suffice to say, not one of my favorites. 7/10

Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)

Its visuals are less big and blocky as Harmony's and more sharp and fluid than Circle's. Looks gorgeous, the challenge level is pretty good, and the number of items and souls (what you have instead of magic or subweapons) to find is stunning. The castle's pretty good on top of that and the new protagonist, Soma, has become quite popular over the years as well. One downside, however, is that this game has a LOT of grinding for you to do if you want a decent selection of souls. Still great. 9/10

Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005)

IMHO, the best of the handheld Castlevania games. It's a direct sequel to Aria, but it features better visuals, a bigger castle, a more elaborate endgame, an entertaining second playthrough, a New Game+ feauture, and a less-broken selection of weapons and souls (the Claimh Solais NEEDED that nerf). Playing Aria and then Dawn in succession is an excellent gaming experience. My biggest (only?) gripe is that there is some useless touchscreen bull**** shoehorned in. 9.5/10

Portrait of Ruin (DS, 2006)

PoRNDS is a very interesting game. You get two characters, with twice the armor, weapons, and special abilities (subweapons for one, magic for the other) to find and grind. Being able to switch between two characters and use combo attacks is an interesting mechanic, but ultimately the game's hub system (jumping through paintings to visit stages Mario 64 style) isn't as impressive as a cohesive castle. It's a pretty solid game, though, and forges a storyline connection to the underrated Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Genesis. 8/10

Dracula X Chronicles (PSP, 2007)

This is the only "classic" Castlevania game on this list, as it's a GORGEOUS, detailed remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for the Turbografx CD. It's a fabulous remake at that, with lots of hidden nooks and crannies for players to find and secret gallery items to collect. On top of all that, the game packs a whopping THREE full bonus games hidden within and playable - the original TGCD version, the lame, broken SNES game Dracula X (which is Rondo "remake" that has different stages and enemies), and a portable version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! The Symphony port is a little weak, since it has new dialog and sound effects that don't improve upon the original, but I won't complain. The main game on its own is pretty great, but the extra content makes this game can't-miss for Castlevania fans. 9/10

Order of Ecclesia (DS, 2008)

I'm pretty torn up about this game. Its weapon/magic customization system is actually really neat, and the action, boss fights, and final area are AWESOME. However, the game is too broken-up (lots of boring, unimaginative zones) and the lack of a real navigable Metroidvania castle until the very end of the game is a major disappointment. It's also a little on the short side. If this game was bigger and longer, then it would be one of my all-time favorite Castlevania games. But because it ends with a whimper, I also whimper. 8/10

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There you go. I'm a huge Castlevania nerd, and those are the noteworthy handheld Castlevania games. Don't get me started on the old GB ones. One of them is average at best and the other two are garbage. Avoid them.

This post has been edited by laszlow on 24th May 2011 15:16

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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^ You forgot about the remake of Castlevania: the Adventure. And Judgement. And Lords of Shadow. And that one cell phone game.

Oh, and at least Harmony of Despair is better than Encore of the Night!

That said, yeah, I haven't been very impressed by the series's latest offerings. Well, actually, I haven't played them, but they're mostly not the sort that I'd be interested in. The main exceptions are the GBA/DS castletroids and maybe LoS.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 9th June 2011 16:51

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

Quote (laszlow @ 24th May 2011 09:15)

Here's a quick breakdown of a few of the GBA, DS, and PSP Castlevania games, because I can:

I didn't forget. I talked about those seven by choice. And for the record, I haven't played any of those extras you mentioned.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
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I kinda feel that Symphony hasn't really been "lived up to". Even the GBA/DS castletroids, which all seem to have some bit of Symphony's legacy within them, feel somewhat lacking in the grandeur and scope of Symphony (though they did improve the gameplay). That said I haven't played Order of Ecclesia yet so maybe it's better.

FWIW, though, of the three GBA castletroids, I actually like Aria the least (even though I really like its sequel Dawn). I prefer Circle and Harmony both musically (yes, even Harmony) and in terms of scope--there's just more to explore and find.

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )