Games you wish had more of an impact?

[kitten]

Jun 3, 2011 20:59:52 GMT -5 @megatronbison said:

I would love to hear HoD's soundtrack done in a less painful manner. I'm sure there are good songs in there but it's underneath someone jamming on their stylophone.

From what I heard, the songs were originally in a much better, higher sounding quality, but they couldn't compress them well enough to get them onto a single GBA cartridge.

Ironically, just a few years later, they put it on the same cartridge as the sequel just fine.

[Warchief Onyx]

Jun 3, 2011 21:28:16 GMT -5 @robertagilmour said:

That sounded good.

It's weird, we always get back to weighing the GBA and DS Castlevanias and it is usually negative but I coulda swore there was a weird time when the people who normally badmouth them were praising them. I didnt dream that one.

I thought Circle of the Moon was really special, visually quite a bit like classic Castlevania and probably the hardest of the metroidvania games to get everything and do the whole map.

I still love the Metroidvania games (Aria of Sorrow is one of my favorite games ever and I like the DS ones).

CotM was overall a better designed game than HoD, but some elements of it were so bad that I sometimes think it's worse. If the DSS cards weren't all random and extremely rare drops, and if the only running speed was "run" and not that extremely slow walk that had you needlessly get a relic and double tap to move at more than a snail's pace I would've liked CotM a LOT more. I do love how overpowered the cross subweapon was in that game, though. Once you got it there was zero reason to use anything else.

[MRSKELETON]

nope, and here's why

Harmony has a lot going for it terms of intelligent design choices. The Castle isn't just a random assortment of areas the developers thought would be 'cool' They're all interconnected on several different atmospheric areas. Harmony probably has the closest to Symphonies smartly designed castle in the whole series.
It also has a more 'true' nonlinear experience; outside of a few areas that are locked down for story purposes/you don't get totally owned, the game lets you tackle it in pretty much any way you want. It feels more like exploring a strange, otherworldly structure then what a lot of the other Castlevania's do.
It's level design isn't merely strong because of the amount of respectable design that went into each individual area, but because of the fact that the game is fun to explore. Juste's dashing ability turns exploring the two castles into less of a chore, and there are layers of secrets woven into each area that can be appreciated on every single level. The game's mechanics aren't there to give an excuse for you to fight enemies (level up) but to build on the concept of combat interwoven into exploration. Juste's dash ability adds a layer to the combat because it's not 'controlled' It's easy to dash into an attack in either direction if you're not careful, and with the addition of monster weaknesses and the spell combo system it makes you consider the way you approach every individual enemy.
The music in Harmony shines where games like Dawn of Sorrow failed spectacularly
the soundtrack isn't a chosen arrangement of classic Castlevania tunes to make the player go 'oh hey i remember this~' the music is added to an area to give it a greater depth and exploration. A good example is that the song playing in the introduction area is considered Juste's theme
and when you think about the design behind that, a theme is usually played during a moment of triumph or when a character is introduced. The realization is that this is the area where you become familiar with what Juste can and can't do; the soundtrack becomes more impressive when you're willing to listen and think about the work behind it, and why it went into it.

See this is the thing where I disagree with a lot of communities.. A game isn't there just to be 'played' and maybe notice that it has 'good graphics' They can only really evolve as a medium when people start evaluating them the same way we evaluate classical literature, good books and good film.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is the bar that all of the other handheld games failed to reach, and are all mediocre (Ecclesia) to bad (Aria of Sorrow) because of it.

[Deleted]

The 10-item inventory limit in Silent Hill 4 wasn't put there by accident. The developers purposely imposed that burden upon the player so they could sort of feel the stress that Henry was experiencing from being trapped in Room 302. So subtle, so brilliant, so completely ineffective.

I can respect when someone looks at the deeper meanings behind design decisions in games, but all that matters is whether it's fun or not. I admire a lot of the choices that were made in Silent Hill 4, but I would have to be out of my gourd to say that it's a fun game. It's the same with Harmony of Dissonance.

But at least you aren't trying to say that Curse of Darkness is good...

[MRSKELETON]

also this is some thing i want to address real fast

From what I heard, the songs were originally in a much better, higher sounding quality, but they couldn't compress them well enough to get them onto a single GBA cartridge.

Ironically, just a few years later, they put it on the same cartridge as the sequel just fine.

i'm pretty sure the actual reason is because HoD has a pretty huge wealth of graphical resources. If not the best playing game, it's probably the best looking game. There's a massive number of graphical resources in the game that are used in maybe one room to give it a stronger aesthetical design. Like the displays of alien anatomy in the hall of skeletons, or the multi-layered backgrounds in the castle tower. They basically used too much resources in the graphical department to have higher-quality audio.

Also that's kind of what I was getting at Jason. Harmony is not only the best designed handheld vania, it's also probably the most fun.
This also comes to head on why I don't actively read HG101 anymore. The quality of writing isn't really as high as what the site should be pursuing. Despite Kurt saying many times he enjoys that articles don't assign an arbitrary score, articles are mostly structured like traditional reviews and go into the same boring 'the graphics are good because of x/the soundtrack is redbook is good because of x/the mechanics are good because of x'

[robertagilmour]

Aria of Sorrow was by far my favorite of the handheld games. I thought it was the best executed in nearly every aspect.

[MRSKELETON]

I don't
like it

at all anymore, really.

[munchy]

Jun 1, 2011 13:39:05 GMT -5 Warchief Onyx said:

The main game of Streetwise is awful. But there's an arcade mode that's pretty cool. It cuts out a lot of the really dumb and pandering shit. You can even play as Haggar in it! I think you do have to finish the main game to unlock it, unfortunately, but it's been awhile since I played it. Hopefully I'm mistaken.

I'd say it's worth it if you can get it on the cheap. But I don't think it's worth any more than $10-15 or so.

The Arcade Mode ROCKED. If the game were just that with more characters and more intricate stages, I would've liked the game way more.

[megatronbison]

Jun 3, 2011 22:40:20 GMT -5 MRSKELETON said:

I don't
like it

at all anymore, really.

youtu.be/pWdd6_ZxX8c

In my opinion it was the best of the GBA titles- the soul system was cool, the castle was nicely designed- the music was good and it played well.
Harmony- you remind me of that really pretentious Insert Credit review where the pulled the good ol' "you just don't get it!" view on the music. I think the music could have been great but it's poorly executed. The castle- I am kinda amazed that you actually think the castle was well designed- it was the only Metroidvania I had to force myself to finish cause I just found it to be the blandest alt world system in the series- and yeah, that includes the lazy upside down castle/worlds of Symphony and Portrait. To each their own though. Interesting to see that some people love what I consider to be one of the worst games in the series- heck, I hear some people think Curse of Darkness is a genuinely good game

[Deleted]

My main problems with Aria are threefold:

1: The hero is a bishonen with a goddman fur coat.
2: He isn't a Belmont* and he doesn't use whips
3: NO DRACULA

It's like they made a list of all the things you need in a Castlevania game and purposely took them out. It is the anti-Castlevania, if you will.




*Alucard gets a pass in Symphony, because he's just that good.

[megatronbison]

Jun 4, 2011 7:42:12 GMT -5 @jasonx said:

My main problems with Aria are threefold:

1: The hero is a bishonen with a goddman fur coat.
2: He isn't a Belmont* and he doesn't use whips
3: NO DRACULA

1. I can't say I am huge on the Bishonen art style but you can hardly criticise Soma for that and not include Juste too:
www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Images/Scans/HoD/wnc-just.jpg
2. I think Soma was a change to the non whip style after the two previous games were both Whip only style. I enjoyed the break from Whips initially but after Dawn of Sorrow I was very happy to welcome back the whip in Portrait- I believe both characters in it were only vaguely Belmont related too.
3. The thing you fight at the end of Harmony while technically a representation of Dracula looked much more like a boss you would fight in Gradius or something.

Oh and Jason/Mazin - I'm not trying to call you guys wrong or anything, just showing the other side of the coin as it were.

[Deleted]

Ah, I guess I should have also specified that it's the fact that Aria has all three points that makes me not really care for the game. I can handle a pretty boy being the lead, but he's wearing a freaking fur coat. My guess is that they wanted him to just be wearing a regular shirt and jeans to look more "modern day", and threw the coat on him for flair. Personally, I think it makes him look like a pimp going out to buy groceries.

Symphony didn't have whips, but again, Alucard is too cool to be restrained by such mortal concerns. I thought Portrait did a really good job by giving you a Belmont, but letting you use stuff other than whips before making the ultimate weapon a whip at the end. The less said about Ecclesia, the better.

Finally, when a series known as "Demon Castle Dracula" does not have a fight with the literal physical form of Dracula, you know you've fucked up somehow. See Lament of Innocence, Dawn of Sorrow, etc.

[megatronbison]

I actually quite liked the coat he wore for some reason- reminds me of an awesome one Prince wore on the Sign of the Times tour but I am guessing that it isn't ideal Vampire Killing getup

You know, they really need to get off their asses and do the Julius Belmont game- give me shit hot platform action and less empty rooms- gimmie bosses that kick your asses for decent reasons and aren't just a war of attrition!

[robertagilmour]

Why such fixed priorities on Belmonts and Dracula? What about eveything else? I'd rather there was someone other than Dracula, how can that stay so exciting?I find it difficult to imagine being on the edge of my seat witnessing the millionth vampire hunter vs Dracula story. I loved the end bosses in Aria and Dawn for being so complex and detailed looking, making you fight in odd spaces.

I think the series is a bit held back by the Belmont/Dracula fixation (some developers struggle with it a bit), I know a lot of people would argue that is what the whole point of the series is, but for me and a lot of people the pleasure of the series is everything else in the game. If Soul of Darkness or some other ripoff managed to be outdo and replace Castlevania, I dont think many would mind if it didnt have vampire hunters and a vampire king end boss, I dont know how they could be considered essential elements to enjoy a game of this type. I'd like other developers to compete at this type of game, but I thought Soul of Darkness was too similar, I'm amazed there was no lawsuit, but I think developers are getting more laid back because these games look a lot like tributes.

The whip is one thing I think that actually does matter to the feel of the game, but if the game has a good enough substitute like Eric's Spear, it can be just as fun.

It doesnt much matter to me who the main character is because I'm so focused on everything else, I really dont care for Gabriel, Soma(dont like his pimp coat either), Leon or Juste much, I quite liked Shanoa, Eric, John and Alucard but it doesnt make much difference, it could be Tom Hanks and I would still have a good time. I dont think action/adventure and platformers are as reliant good characters as fighting games( unless you have to endure long grating cutscenes and annoying dialogue) I enjoy Sonic and Crash bandicoot despite the charaters. I love the Mighty Max toys despite the main character.

I'd quite like to a game with a real Dracula as the main character invading someone elses castle.

Not that I'm encouraging the characters to have no effort put into them.

[Warchief Onyx]

Finally, when a series known as "Demon Castle Dracula" does not have a fight with the literal physical form of Dracula, you know you've fucked up somehow. See Lament of Innocence, Dawn of Sorrow, etc.

I'll give Aria a pass for no real Dracula fight when you play as his reincarnation. Same with Dawn, though Julius Mode does have that Dracula fight.

Also, FYI, Lament of Innocence and Aria of Sorrow didn't use the "Akumajou Dracula" name in Japan. They, and HoD, used the Castlevania name over there. HoD was Castlevania: Byakuya no Concerto (Concerto of the Midnight Sun), AoS was Castlevania: Akatsuki no Minuet (Minuet of Dawn), and LoI was just simply Castlevania with no subtitle. Though Dawn did go back to the Akumajou Dracula name.

Think Lords of Shadow used the Castlevania name over there, too, but that's an entirely different beast.