stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647 
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 3, 2019 14:09:19 GMT
Finished Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Finished with Sypha as a companion. Probably not going to do again with Alucard or Grant for a while at least. Again, save states used extensively because I am terrible at classic Castlevania  Yeah, it takes time to get good at NES games, but it is rewarding if you do it. Save states are totally fine though. For an easier playthrough I recommend Bloodstained Curse Of The Moon, it is a good Dracula's Curse inspired title. By the way, the Netflix Castlevania episodes are also derived from Dracula's Curse. |
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Bogard
Night Raider
Posts: 584
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Post by Bogard on Jun 3, 2019 16:46:33 GMT
zelda twilight princess. probably my second favourite zelda game after majora's mask.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 3, 2019 23:06:12 GMT
Yup, knew that about the Castlevania Netflix series, and own Curse of the Moon. Both good times  |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 5, 2019 23:09:26 GMT
Finished the story missions in Ace Combat 7 on the PS4. Sadly, I don't have a PSVR setup, or I'd try the VR missions. I've heard great things about the VR missions, both in terms of quality, and for featuring the return of Mobius 1, the player character from both Ace Combat 4 and the arcade mode in Ace Combat 5.
For gameplay, AC7 is exactly what I wanted...pretty much just the other Ace Combat games, but prettier. I do miss the ability to give commands to your Squadron, which was present in AC5, 0...and I think 6, but it didn't kill the enjoyment.
Story-wise, it was great to be back in Strangereal, the alternate Earth where most of the AC games are set. Lots of story callbacks to AC4, 5, and 0, including a great one that surprised me at the end (no spoilers though).
The gimmick of a 'Suicide Squad with Planes' ends up better than I thought it would, even if the concept never quite reaches its potential. The idea that these pilots are flying decommissioned, expendable planes, barely held together never really reflects in the game mechanics, since you continue to just use your normal list of aircraft throughout.
Still, I had a great time with this one.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 6, 2019 3:35:42 GMT
Sadly Ace Combat 7 will remain underrated this gen. Everyone is saying great thing about it, but the video game reporting outlets didn't give it that recognition when it came out, just like with Doom 2016.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 9, 2019 8:39:30 GMT
Finished up Super Castlevania IV on the anniversary collection.
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 9, 2019 12:46:52 GMT
Finished up Super Castlevania IV on the anniversary collection. Pure excellence. |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 11, 2019 6:18:12 GMT
Finished up Kid Dracula on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and it was...not bad. Lots of big, expressive sprites, and some fun Konami humor both from the original game, and from the new English localization (spotted a good Metal Gear Solid reference ). On the downside, Kid Dracula feels pretty sluggish. You also gain 7 new powers as the game progresses, ranging from different shot types to a bat form, the ability to reverse gravity for yourself, etc. The downside of this is that you have to toggle through them with the select button, which can be very tedious when enemies were on screen. I think it would have benefited greatly from a Mega Man-style pause menu to swap powers. So overall, not bad. I don't think I'll likely come back to it in future though. |
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 12, 2019 6:54:14 GMT
Finished up Castlevania: The Adventure on the Anniversary Collection.
For an early Game Boy effort, it wasn't bad. It had whips, and candles. Handled very sluggishly, but enemies and challenges were similarly slow. Lots of ropes to climb.
It is nice that they have some decent picture options for the two Game Boy games in the collection. You can choose greyscale, greenscale for that classic Game Boy look, or the Super Game Boy/GB Color 4-colour palette.
I don't think I'll be going back to this one though. Castlevania Adventure ReBirth on the WiiWare service was definitely a great remake though. Hopefully it shows up in another collection in the future.
As an aside, I like this collection. I'm sad the SotK/RoB collection has to remain a Playstation exclusive since Sony was involved in the port. I hope we get some more collections in the future though. Would be nice to see a package with Castlevania Chronicles, Adventure Rebirth, the post-SotN Metroidvanias, etc.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 13, 2019 5:31:23 GMT
Finished up Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge on the Anniversary Collection.
Definitely a better Game Boy game than its predecessor. Moves a little quicker, includes sub-weapons, option order for the first 4 levels, better backgrounds, etc. I still probably won't replay it, but I had fun. If they do another collection, I hope Castlevania Legends makes the cut.
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dschult3
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
The true heir to the Monado.
Posts: 2,887
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Post by dschult3 on Jun 13, 2019 20:34:53 GMT
I just finished Ys VIII on the Switch. The game is very good. I started to talk about this game in a separate thread before this one, but I suppose I'll give my complete thoughts here.
Gameplay: This game is a lot of fun to play overall. The mechanics are sound, and the different specials each character receives as one levels up are a great way to keep someone interested in the smashing of button sequences. The fighting sequences are fun, and they are more direct than Xenoblade Chronicles 2. However, the camera can really be quite a nuisance at times. Confined areas or enemies that are larger than life have annoying camera issues. You can lock on to a target, and that can be helpful at times, but that may not be overly helpful when there are multiple enemies on the screen. The direct attack concept is similar to Zelda, but it does sometimes feel like a button masher. At times, the joints in my thumbs would begin to hurt, and I had to reposition the controller to smash a button (especially when fishing) with my index finger. I've never had to do that in a game prior to this, and I think the next sequel should look at Breath of the Wild for some future guidance.
Graphics: This was a mixed bag for me. The game was beautiful, yet muddy/choppy garbage at times. This was the same for the Switch while in handheld mode and docked mode. The Switch is capable of absolutely beautiful graphics, and I was stunned to see enemies in the distance moving so choppily. In the near distance, things were beautiful. Fighting was done in a normal fashion, and the graphics never got choppy. Heck, even in the final hunt from Dogi, where dozens of enemies are attacking you at once, it never became a choppy mess. I know this was originally a Vita game, and I wonder what the conversion was like to the PS4.
Music: The mix of classical to Japanese synth rock is awesome. The composers, Hayato Sonoda and Takahiro Unisuga, did an outstanding. My two year old daughter asked me to keep the opening sequence on multiple times so that she could take the main theme in. Two year olds are picky, so you know it is a great track if she liked it! Another song of note was the night time hunt theme you could access at a camp. That song always pumped me up.
Story: This story is great. It started out way too slow on the ship, but things started to pick up speed big time after you get Castaway Village up and running. There are three main story lines throughout the game:
1- Find the castaways from the ship you were on after the ship is attacked.
2. Keep the castaways alive in Castaway village by protecting the villagers from attacks and help with side quests needed for survival.
3. Uncover the ancient history of Eternia, Dana, and the Lacrimosa
(And that's all I'm going to say...)
The story is outstanding.
Side Note: If you play through this game, YOU MUST KNOW that there are 3 different endings. I did not realize this until I finished the game. I looked up the different endings, and it turns out that I got the best one. However, I just barely got it. The other endings suck.
Overall: This is an incredible game. It is nowhere near as long as Xenoblade or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it makes an incredible effort to be ranked amongst them. It has its flaws, but the flaws do not exist within the story. I really enjoyed this one, and I'm looking forward to the eventual sequel. I'm sad to say goodbye to Dana, but I'm quite certain she will be in a future arc due to her influence. (I can't say much more.) I recommend this game for the action/adventure/RPG fan out there.
8 out of 10.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 14, 2019 6:30:44 GMT
Finished up Castlevania II: Simon's Quest on the Anniversary Collection.
I remember renting this back in the day, and being very frustrated. I remember having a text-only book with various Nintendo tips in it, and not finding it very helpful. This time, I will admit to cheating a bit and using a map.
I think the original English translation suffered from some very obtuse clues. I'm glad there's a ROM hack out there with a rudimentary map system, and re-translated dialogue to better guide players along the quest.
I remember having a lot of the same issues with Zelda II...but I think in this case, having the whip made all the difference. Even though the style is the same in a lot of ways, Simon having decent range with the whip was a lot more enjoyable then Link's incredibly short attack range in Zelda II.
This one really was the first 'Metroidvania'-style Castlevania, with a continuous overworld, RPG elements like levels, etc, and I really enjoyed it. I would love for it to get a Symphony of the Night style remake one of these days, as the bare-bones structure is there, but I think they could do a lot more.
Although those same lines, it made me think of the Netflix Castlevania series. I think they're doing another season with Trevor, Sypha, Alucard (and maybe Grant if we're lucky), but if they ever do choose to jump forward to Simon, it would be interesting to start with the defeat of Dracula, and then move on to adapt Castlevania II, with Simon being cursed and having to travel the land to recover Dracula's body parts from his followers...it is a pretty basic framework, but it gives them more to work with that the original Castlevania (Simon goes to Castlevania and defeats Dracula). Trevor at least had some supporting characters from the original game, and supplemental material from Curse of Darkness, and they worked wonders from that base.
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Post by Imperial Khador on Jun 15, 2019 11:23:37 GMT
Finished up Castlevania: Bloodlines, and with that, all the games on the Castlevania Anniversary collection. It was an interesting experience, with fewer levels, but lots of mini-bosses. Very much enjoyed, and the whole collection was a great value at $25 Canadian.
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dschult3
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
The true heir to the Monado.
Posts: 2,887
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Post by dschult3 on Jun 15, 2019 12:00:59 GMT
Finished up Castlevania: Bloodlines, and with that, all the games on the Castlevania Anniversary collection. It was an interesting experience, with fewer levels, but lots of mini-bosses. Very much enjoyed, and the whole collection was a great value at $25 Canadian. So which was your favorite? |
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stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,647
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Post by stratogustav on Jun 15, 2019 14:49:03 GMT
Yes, maybe you can rank them all.
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