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The Castlevania/Bloodstained Thread: Whip It Good


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1 hour ago, RSG3 said:

Almost all musicians do this. Smoke on the Water is Beethovens 5th played backwards and on guitar. There's Blurred Lines, and Dua Lipa used a song from like 2014 or some shit in one of her recent hits. Thats just recent shit to (aside from Smoke on the Warer.)

 

It's interesting that it's now becoming an issue. I blame pop music. They've science a formula out of Pop Music so fucking hard that it all sounds the same now and they are all suing eachother for it. Leaking into all corners of music. 

In the case with the Dragonball composer it was straight up plagiarism. The Budokai HD collection needed a new OST because most of his work was blatantly plagiarized.

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5 minutes ago, Hawkingbird said:

In the case with the Dragonball composer it was straight up plagiarism. The Budokai HD collection needed a new OST because most of his work was blatantly plagiarized.

Yea I know. I was making a broader comment about music in general. I could have been clearer in my second half tho I think. 

Edited by RSG3
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What I was referring was about the clear plagiarism. hence why the " " around the paying homage.

I know very well that musicians will at times pay in some way or another tribute to what they like/influenced them, but there is a huge difference between homage and plagiarism.

 

Also, not every musician do this, a lot pride themselves on actually doing new music, specially on the progressive genres, jazz, classical music etc.

 

 

Edited by Hecatom
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On 11/12/2022 at 10:52 PM, Camacho said:

I bought Wallachia: Reign of Dracula (looks very CV inspired, I believe the devs made one of the bigger CV fan games)  on a Steam sale a little while back, finally gave it a shot today. Feels like a  C- tier Genesis game (or a 1989-ish arcade game)- way closer to one of the first couple Shinobi games crossed with a little Contra, but not as good as that sounds either. It controls pretty janky and feels pretty amateur- definitely far from the worst I've played, but not worth the 3 hours I put into beating it (pretty tough in a few spots due largely to coin munching design and jank controls). If you see it and think about giving it a shot, just pass.

Really? I thought it was pretty good (and pretty tough, I still haven't beaten it.) I didn't find it to be janky, especially compared to other indie games of this genre, but I agree with you that it does feel like an old arcade/Genesis game and I dig that about it. I need to beat this one because I think I got stuck on the second to last stage and then put it down when something else came out.

 

 

Speaking of other games that get a bad rap, I started playing Haunted Castle again. I love this game. Yes, it's a bit janky and pretty unfair in some places, especially if you play the infamous Version M, but I think it's a pretty great game in its own right. Definitely one I would love to see get a remake treatment, because I think with some updated graphics and difficulty, people would be able to see it for a diamond in the rough that it is.

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19 hours ago, DoctaMario said:

Really? I thought it was pretty good (and pretty tough, I still haven't beaten it.) I didn't find it to be janky, especially compared to other indie games of this genre, but I agree with you that it does feel like an old arcade/Genesis game and I dig that about it. I need to beat this one because I think I got stuck on the second to last stage and then put it down when something else came out.

 

 

Speaking of other games that get a bad rap, I started playing Haunted Castle again. I love this game. Yes, it's a bit janky and pretty unfair in some places, especially if you play the infamous Version M, but I think it's a pretty great game in its own right. Definitely one I would love to see get a remake treatment, because I think with some updated graphics and difficulty, people would be able to see it for a diamond in the rough that it is.

The controls really bugged me. Lots of instances where I was holding a cardinal direction on a ps4 d-pad and got a diagonal shot (or slide). The way firing your bow while standing still locks you into an animation you can't move out of (despite being able to move and fire simultaneously) feels really crappy. You have a limit of on-screen shots, but you still get locked into a dry fire animation (which again, sticks you in place if you're not already moving) when you hit that number. I had several instances with no shots on-screen where the my character was just dry-firing. The slide and your inability to do anything out of it (along with the pause at the end) feels bad. There are sections (like the bosses in the second to last stage) where shit just unavoidably appears and drops on your head if you don't already know exactly where it triggers. The power up system (particularly the Max HP up pickups) is pretty shit- so much so that you're essentially boned in the last stage if you don't clear the whole thing in one life. Finish those last couple stages and let me know if your feelings change- I read that you can pick up your progress by pressing right at the tutorial section or something like that.

 

On Haunted Castle, I've tried it a few times, felt completely rancid to play. But I enjoy its soundtrack and sound pallet, fortunately we can enjoy these without having to suffer through the game now.

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4 hours ago, Camacho said:

The controls really bugged me. Lots of instances where I was holding a cardinal direction on a ps4 d-pad and got a diagonal shot (or slide). The way firing your bow while standing still locks you into an animation you can't move out of (despite being able to move and fire simultaneously) feels really crappy. You have a limit of on-screen shots, but you still get locked into a dry fire animation (which again, sticks you in place if you're not already moving) when you hit that number. I had several instances with no shots on-screen where the my character was just dry-firing. The slide and your inability to do anything out of it (along with the pause at the end) feels bad. There are sections (like the bosses in the second to last stage) where shit just unavoidably appears and drops on your head if you don't already know exactly where it triggers. The power up system (particularly the Max HP up pickups) is pretty shit- so much so that you're essentially boned in the last stage if you don't clear the whole thing in one life. Finish those last couple stages and let me know if your feelings change- I read that you can pick up your progress by pressing right at the tutorial section or something like that.

 

On Haunted Castle, I've tried it a few times, felt completely rancid to play. But I enjoy its soundtrack and sound pallet, fortunately we can enjoy these without having to suffer through the game now.

Sounds like a PS4 pad problem RE wrong directions because I never have that issue with the Joycons. Slide is not much different from how slides in other games are really, so I never used it all too often so I can't really speak to that. But you can fill the screen with arrows and never have to stop as far as I know. I don't think I've ever had that issue myself. But yes, you can select any stage you've gotten to from the tutorial screen so you don't have to do the game from the beginning. I'm not sure how far into it I am, but maybe it's a good incentive to finally finish it.

 

As for Haunted Castle, I can't blame anyone for not liking it, but it definitely is one of those games, like a lot of classicvanias, that takes a little getting used to, but once you do, it doesn't feel bad.

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  • 1 month later...
9 minutes ago, Hawkingbird said:

I've been replaying Circle of the Moon and I would hate playing this game on an actual GBA. The level design of this game is not portable friendly at all. The save points are far apart, the fast travel are not in convenient places and there's no shop so I can stock up on items. I got to hope for the best if any enemy has drops. 

Hah all these valid complaints but doesn't realize the first hurdle was to even see the fucking screen lmao. 

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I bought a GBA at launch for that game, then promptly bought one of those shitty lights to be able to see it. I do like CotM, the whip and subweapon focused combat feels closer to classic CV than the IGA titles tended to. It's also generally tougher then the others- certainly not without its flaws though. While the music is good, there's not enough variety to it- it's sad that it made me sick of Sinking old Sanctuary.. Travelling around the castle gets to be a chore (not nearly as bad as HoD in that regard though), and the equipment/items/cards being strictly drop based sucks (especially when you do the challenge areas, which will suck down your consumables,

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I regret selling my copies of the GBA and DS games but they were never my favorites although I enjoyed them enough. Circle was surprisingly good even if there were things about it that were kind of wack. Allowing you to use different builds from the start would have made it even better I think because that was a great idea that I hoped would come to more CV metroidvanias.

 

 

On another Castlevania note, I've been working on a Richter-only Speedrun for Dracula X Chronicles and it's been great getting back and playing this game again. It really is one of my favorite vanias and I didn't know how much I missed playing it.

Edited by DoctaMario
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4 hours ago, Camacho said:

The gba SP fixed the problem, that redesign was well worth buying.

Now that I am an adult the SP is just too fucking small. Brilliant device for the time but I dunno how any adult games on the thing. I much prefer the OG wide model now, but it's gotta have a back lit screen or something or else just a fucking struggle. 

 

What I really want is the Woozle GBA consolizer mod. I don't really portable game, even when I do it's at home on the couch or something. I'd really just like to have a quality console version of a GBA.  Plug it into my TV like a console, have a SNES controller port on the front and call it a fuckin day. 

 

Yea I was the kid who adored his Super GB Player and his GameCube GBA Player. 

Edited by RSG3
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14 minutes ago, Hawkingbird said:

The battle arena in circle of the moon is some bullshit. 

I got through it but it was pretty tough and I don't remember how I went about it. Definitely something I'd prefer to forget though lol

 

I remember spending a lot of time in the Nest Of Evil in Portrait Of Ruin though, as it was a good place to upgrade your weapons and grind levels. It had a few tough spots but by that point in the game, I don't remember it being too bad.

Edited by DoctaMario
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10 minutes ago, DoctaMario said:

I got through it but it was pretty tough and I don't remember how I went about it. Definitely something I'd prefer to forget though lol

I think I used those workarounds to use mana in the arena the last time I played but I don't think any of them work in the version for the advanced collection.

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On 1/15/2023 at 12:26 PM, RSG3 said:

Now that I am an adult the SP is just too fucking small. Brilliant device for the time but I dunno how any adult games on the thing. I much prefer the OG wide model now, but it's gotta have a back lit screen or something or else just a fucking struggle. 

 

What I really want is the Woozle GBA consolizer mod. I don't really portable game, even when I do it's at home on the couch or something. I'd really just like to have a quality console version of a GBA.  Plug it into my TV like a console, have a SNES controller port on the front and call it a fuckin day. 

 

Yea I was the kid who adored his Super GB Player and his GameCube GBA Player. 

I've always hated the SP and Gameboy Pocket. They were too damned small for me. I could literally put them in my palm and touch the face buttons and d-pad with my thumb and ring fingers. I was runt and as a kid, except for my hands and feet. I had to get an Adult XL batting glove in Little League. I was all of 4'8" at the time 😂

Edited by Darc_Requiem
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I've been working on a Dracula X Chronicles speedrun with Richter, but I've been playing as Maria here and there just for something different and I never truly realized how much she totally breaks the game in so many ways. Like in some areas, you can move so fast through them that enemies don't even spawn sometimes and that's not even talking about how Guardian Fist just absolutely destroys anything and everything. A lot of the runs I see use her, but they don't seem all that impressive to me as it would be like speedrunning CV1 with SoTN Alucard. 

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I played the GG demo. Definitely has a 16 bit CotM feel, but with some changes. You can backtrack in the levels, jumps aren't fixed like classic CV, and a lot of the enemies look like straight 8 to 16 bit sprite upgrades from CotM enemies. The character with a gun has to reload by double tapping down, kind of like the Gunvolt reloads. There was no challenge to the 2 stages in the demo, hopefully Inti didn't make the whole game a total breeze after so many people bitched about the more NES-like difficulty of CotM2. Having watched the previews, I knew I'd want to set the audio to Japanese to make it a little less annoying, but the constant yells and babbling are super irritating nonetheless. Hopefully they add an option toggle the voice volume, or turn it off altogether. As expected, the characters and story, which I admittedly don't give a shit about, were stupid in a way that makes Portrait of Ruin look like deep writing. I'll buy it because Inti really scratched the CV itch perfectly with their last two, but the demo hasn't floored me so far.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I changed my mind about getting it. I despise the anime element (saw something about tentacles and a "master of panties" achievement), the voices are super annoying, and lots of people are saying it's really easy. I'm still perplexed that someone at Inti made the decision to mix classic CV with ultra weeb fan service. Maybe I'll give it a shot on sale if they add a patch to turn the voices off. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Skautfold: Usurper coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch on June 23

Physical editions planned for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch.

 

Skautfold-Usurper-Consoles_05-02-23-768x

 

 

 

About

Quote

 

Skautfold: Usurper takes place in an alternative timeline of 1898 in London. The outer worldly Citadel has landed in the city causing massive panic and releasing the maddening Fog. Recently re-crowned Empress Eleanor has assembled the royal forces and her four most loyal Knights to enter the Citadel – in the hopes of learning more, and hopefully finding a way to rid London of this terror. Meanwhile, Waltham, the leader of the Veimar, uses his own forces to ascend the Citadel and challenge the Navigator for his own…purposes… Players who haven’t played Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity shouldn’t be scared to dive into Skautfold: Usurper as it isn’t necessary to know the first game’s story to understand its sequel.

 

Skautfold: Usurper is a Metroidvania Action–RPG with a battle system built around its “Guard” system. It allows the player to charge through attacks and take risks, rewarding accurate timing and risk assessment. Instead of immediately losing health when the player is hit, they will loose “Guard points” (which function like a regeneration shield). When these run out, the player will take damage normally. However, if the player accurately dodges incoming attacks, they will turn a large portion of that attack damage into “Guard points”, which allows you to turn the tide of the fight, and gain the upper hand. This is a system that will allow anyone to get into the game, yet still provide a high skill ceiling for those players looking for a challenge.

 

With eight different stats to spec into (along with stat reallocation), countless varieties of character builds are possible. Skautfold: Usurper also features over 90 different weapons and spells: from swords, spears, axes, great swords, scythes, whips, katanas, rapiers, daggers, bows, guns, rifles, canons, spells and summons.

For those looking for even more content, there also are innumerable secrets, additional areas and optional bosses to discover. Players looking for an even more challenging experience can set their own difficulty by activating special conditions such as a no-guard mode, 1 HP mode, perma-death, or a built-in speedrunning mode.

 

However players choose to play, The Citadel is a massive and versatile interconnected world. There are countless shortcuts to uncover, and a variety of diverse areas: from human towns to alien landscapes, grand libraries to ethereal gardens, and from an Eldritch engine to a crashed spaceship.

 

Key Features

  • Beautiful pixel art graphics.
  • Intriguing story and universe.
  • Challenging Metroidvania action RPG.
  • Massive interconnected world.
  • Rewarding Guard system.
  • Customizable difficulty settings.
  • Tons of secrets, additional areas and optional bosses.
  • Languages supported: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Started playing some SotN randomizers via sotn.io. They have some pretty cool presets (like Warlock mode that gives you 99 INT) and it's really breathed some new life into the game.

 

I forgot how much detail and love was put into this game. Even just little things like the fog that appears in the Outer Wall sometimes or the layers of ice on the puddles in the caves that crack when you step on them are just incredible little touches that show why the game endures to this day.

Edited by DoctaMario
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  • 3 weeks later...

 

 Dark Metroidvania The Last Faith launches in October

Limited beta test coming this summer.

 

 

The Last Faith‘s inspiring fans have been waiting with uncommon levels of patience for new information about the game, so I am beyond excited to reveal that their wait for release is very nearly over,” said Playstack vice president of publishing Rob Crossley in a press release. “The game will be all theirs this October, and we’ll have much more information to share in the coming weeks.”

Get the latest details below.

Often brutal, but always empowering, The Last Faith thrives on merciless and precise combat, with a huge range of custom executions to perform. Players will unearth a formidable variety of melee weapons, arcane spells, and long-range firearms, allowing them to carve a path in their own style.

This atmospheric new trailer showcases more of The Last Faith‘s painstakingly hand-crafted environments and the horrifying enemies that lead protagonist Eryk will encounter during his journey across the ravaged world of false deities. We also have a first look at the arsenal of unique weapons and abilities Eryk has at his disposal.

In addition, the trailer provides a tease of the lore of The Last Faith‘s world and introduces more menacing and intimidating bosses, along with mysterious characters who will aid Eryk along the way—all against the backdrop of the game’s epic and haunting soundtrack.

With its rock-solid foundation of nonlinear exploration, players will discover a huge range of tools for destruction as they traverse snow-dusted mountains, deep dark forests, crypts, and cities bathed in moonlight—all of which are hand-drawn by outstanding artists who have captured the imagination of thousands of fans already.

 

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1 hour ago, AriesWarlock said:

 

 Dark Metroidvania The Last Faith launches in October

Limited beta test coming this summer.

 

 

The Last Faith‘s inspiring fans have been waiting with uncommon levels of patience for new information about the game, so I am beyond excited to reveal that their wait for release is very nearly over,” said Playstack vice president of publishing Rob Crossley in a press release. “The game will be all theirs this October, and we’ll have much more information to share in the coming weeks.”

Get the latest details below.

Often brutal, but always empowering, The Last Faith thrives on merciless and precise combat, with a huge range of custom executions to perform. Players will unearth a formidable variety of melee weapons, arcane spells, and long-range firearms, allowing them to carve a path in their own style.

This atmospheric new trailer showcases more of The Last Faith‘s painstakingly hand-crafted environments and the horrifying enemies that lead protagonist Eryk will encounter during his journey across the ravaged world of false deities. We also have a first look at the arsenal of unique weapons and abilities Eryk has at his disposal.

In addition, the trailer provides a tease of the lore of The Last Faith‘s world and introduces more menacing and intimidating bosses, along with mysterious characters who will aid Eryk along the way—all against the backdrop of the game’s epic and haunting soundtrack.

With its rock-solid foundation of nonlinear exploration, players will discover a huge range of tools for destruction as they traverse snow-dusted mountains, deep dark forests, crypts, and cities bathed in moonlight—all of which are hand-drawn by outstanding artists who have captured the imagination of thousands of fans already.

 

I've been looking forward to this one for a long time now. It's looking really fantastic!

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Space opera Metroidvania game Altered Alma announced for PC

Combining RPG elements, dating sim features, pixel art, and an engaging story.

 

 

 

Key Features

  • A Space Opera Metroidvania – Discover new routes, acquire powerful upgrades for Jack, and adapt your playstyle as you take on gangs and criminal kingpins of Neo-Barcelona.
  • All-Star Writing Team – The game is written by industry legends Anthony Johnston (Resident Evil Village, Dead Space) and Emma Beeby (Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension, Judge Dredd: The Darkest Judge).
  • Ship, Captain, and Crew – Customize Kastefa – Jack’s spaceship and the base of operations. Upgrade the Kastefa, recruit new crew members, and make it your own. The choices you make will directly influence Jack’s abilities and playstyle.
  • Forge Relationships – Bond with rich, colorful characters: reconnect with Jack’s old friends and make new ones! Recruit them to your cause, build relationships, and possibly even find love in this unforgiving world.
  • Engage in Intense Combat – Master the rapid, stylish combat system and use mobility, skill, and powerful abilities to overcome the relentless onslaught of enemies.
  • A Pantheon of Adversaries – Encounter lots of unique foes—from gangs of giant lizards to armies of cyborgs… and don’t forget a multitude of vicious Bosses for Jack to beat!
  • Barcelona, Re-Imagined – Explore Neo-Barcelona, a futuristic city based on the real thing! Featuring iconic landmarks: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and many others! Although they may not look as you expect them to…

 

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Mexican Metroidvania game Mariachi Legends announced for PC

Execute undercover assignments inspired by the Mexican interpretation of Lady Death.

 

 

Here is an overview of the game, via Freedom Games:

About

Join fantastical festivities at the Day of the Dead carnival alongside Detective Pablo Cruz, currently masquerading as a mariachi player to investigate an evil curse looming over the serene town of Santa Mascota. Encounter whimsical characters, get to the bottom of eerie mysteries, and engage in thrilling swordplay to take down Don Emilio Obregon, the corrupt mayor of Santa Mascota moonlighting as a crime lord. Locate the prophesied talisman said to awaken a fallen, hostile army in Obregon’s possession.

Explore stylish yet traditional Mexico locales, such as historic haciendas, taverns, churches, and ancient ruins. Investigate clues and earn power-ups for the detective work ahead. Execute undercover assignments inspired by the Mexican interpretation of Lady Death. Collect fascinating antiques to adorn the home base. Socialize with Santa Mascota’s charming denizens and complete their quests to unlock new endings.

Call on a trusty Cuirassier saber when confronting fast-footed fiends and enigmatic enemies inspired by classical Spanish and Aztec folklore. Learn new combat techniques and become a master swordsman with attacks, parries, and guards, or simply utilize the surroundings to take out challengers. Catch adversaries off guard with the supernatural La Sombra ability, granted by Lady Death, to disappear and reappear from view. Clever and precise swordplay is the key to confronting the dastardly Don.

 
 
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  • 4 weeks later...
8 hours ago, DoctaMario said:

I like that Richter looks more like his Dracula X Chronicles version than the Rondo version. Is the guy in the 4th picture supposed to be Shaft? That's an interesting redesign.

 

Reminds me, I really need to finish the original show. I think I stopped watching around late 4tg season so I still have a bit to go.

S4 was a great conclusion to the series.  I'd really recommend finishing it.

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Dark fairy tale Metroidvania game RIN: The Last Child launches September 21

 

Here is an overview of the game, via Klabater:

About

RIN: The Last Child is a dark Metroidvania fairy tale that cleverly combines exploration and crafting. Thanks to a complex system of creating and enchanting spells, no playthrough is the same. Play as RIN—a demigoddess capable of obtaining the power of aspects to fuel and develop her magic. Explore vast mythical lands as you uncover the secrets hidden behind the Aspects of Magic, rekindle your mythical powers, craft spells, confront powerful bosses who were once your siblings, and embark on a journey to save the world.

Key Features

  • Craft and Enchant Spells – Find aspect shards and runes and use them to create spells or enchantments. Tired of good ol’ magic missiles? Look around, and you’ll surely find more creative spells that suit your play style.
  • Explore the Dark Mystical Fairy-Tale World – Deadly volcanic plains, deserts with distorted time, dangerous jungles full of deadly creatures, and much more await discovery in this hand-drawn world as you explore through your adventure. What secrets you find depend only on how deep you’re willing to dive into this universe.
  • Fight or Trick Your Opponents – Discover multiple ways to finish off enemies, imprison them instead, or avoid encounters entirely with the complex spell-crafting system that gives you incredible combat flexibility and gameplay freedom.
  • Discover the True Nature of Your Mission – Learn the story told as a creation myth where, on the Creator’s orders, you come to life with a mission to try and find your siblings, each carrying a piece of the Creator’s magical power that you’re destined to regain. Experience a branching story with different endings and discover your true purpose.

 

 

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