Symphony of the GAWDAMN FACEMELTERRRR

bonbolapti

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Edited By bonbolapti

I bet I can blame my sudden re-interest in Castlevania to that CHD quick look, or maybe my roommate buying Dracula X Chronicles. But the mood is right, and the lights are low, so it was time to get my game on with a classic.

Symphony of the Night Could arguably by my favorite Castlevania game. Yet, I often declare that Dracula X is my favorite game of all time, But it could be that I think Richter is a great character. (Most Castlevania games are devoid of personality, So talking about Which Belmont is awesome is probably stupid.) but if you had to write an essay discussing the merits of Metroidvania game design, SoTN could be your best example on why it works. (but we're not here to debate the fundamentals of gameology... gameanomics?)

Alucard, You have long hair and a beautiful face. Does that make you a woman?

Probably the biggest reason of why I can't put this game down is because I just get stuck wandering around. Dracula's house is huge and there's so many nooks and crannies to explore. Especially getting new abilities will obviously help you uncover more. So my desire to explore is makes me play it, but that gets to a point where you've wandered around the Castle so much that you forget where everything is. So exploring slowly turns into wandering aimlessly. It eventually becomes the bane of your existence. Perhaps a lot of amateur vampire hunters simply die walking around, getting lost, loosing their minds. Etc.

On top of that you have another house to wander around that is completely upside down. So not only do I have to 100% that stuff, but I have to deal with my own Vertigo, which is probably a strange experience to have on the PSP. (Falling upwards is a much more frightening thought then falling down.)

But if you think that running around looking for stuff is the only thing that adds to the re-playability, when you beat the game you have the option to play through the game as Richter Belmont or Maria (this blonde in that always pops around the game and asks Alucard what's up) It's a cool added challenge to the game. You're pretty much stripped of everything Alucard can do, and you go back to the action-whip stylings of The Belmonts. Which you think you be hard, because you only have so big a life bar and one life, but the dudes whip is insanely powerful. (and dude also plays exactly like he does in Dracula X) Maria on the other hand, though she has the same amount of lives and health as Richter, her attacks are much more weaker. And could result in a harder play through. (But her ability to fight her enemies with animals is pretty amazing. I would never think throwing a bird at someone to be an effective attack.)

When I get done with this, I'll probably start looking towards another Castlevania game to fill that void, but I realize that I haven't actually played any Castlevania game past SoTN, so throw a suggestion my way of what's a good one to play after this, and I may take you up on that.

(I'm also hoping that this is the Blog that let's me finish that silly quest :P)
Ciao.

13 years ago

bonbolapti

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#1 Edited By bonbolapti

I bet I can blame my sudden re-interest in Castlevania to that CHD quick look, or maybe my roommate buying Dracula X Chronicles. But the mood is right, and the lights are low, so it was time to get my game on with a classic.

Symphony of the Night Could arguably by my favorite Castlevania game. Yet, I often declare that Dracula X is my favorite game of all time, But it could be that I think Richter is a great character. (Most Castlevania games are devoid of personality, So talking about Which Belmont is awesome is probably stupid.) but if you had to write an essay discussing the merits of Metroidvania game design, SoTN could be your best example on why it works. (but we're not here to debate the fundamentals of gameology... gameanomics?)

Probably the biggest reason of why I can't put this game down is because I just get stuck wandering around. Dracula's house is huge and there's so many nooks and crannies to explore. Especially getting new abilities will obviously help you uncover more. So my desire to explore is makes me play it, but that gets to a point where you've wandered around the Castle so much that you forget where everything is. So exploring slowly turns into wandering aimlessly. It eventually becomes the bane of your existence. Perhaps a lot of amateur vampire hunters simply die walking around, getting lost, loosing their minds. Etc.

On top of that you have another house to wander around that is completely upside down. So not only do I have to 100% that stuff, but I have to deal with my own Vertigo, which is probably a strange experience to have on the PSP. (Falling upwards is a much more frightening thought then falling down.)

But if you think that running around looking for stuff is the only thing that adds to the re-playability, when you beat the game you have the option to play through the game as Richter Belmont or Maria (this blonde in that always pops around the game and asks Alucard what's up) It's a cool added challenge to the game. You're pretty much stripped of everything Alucard can do, and you go back to the action-whip stylings of The Belmonts. Which you think you be hard, because you only have so big a life bar and one life, but the dudes whip is insanely powerful. (and dude also plays exactly like he does in Dracula X) Maria on the other hand, though she has the same amount of lives and health as Richter, her attacks are much more weaker. And could result in a harder play through. (But her ability to fight her enemies with animals is pretty amazing. I would never think throwing a bird at someone to be an effective attack.)

When I get done with this, I'll probably start looking towards another Castlevania game to fill that void, but I realize that I haven't actually played any Castlevania game past SoTN, so throw a suggestion my way of what's a good one to play after this, and I may take you up on that.

(I'm also hoping that this is the Blog that let's me finish that silly quest :P)
Ciao.

13 years ago

Daveyo520

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#2 Edited By Daveyo520

Symphony? What a stupid name.

13 years ago

coaxmetal

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#3 Edited By coaxmetal

I recommend playing Aria of Sorrow for GBA followed up by Dawn of Sorrow for the DS, both starring Soma Cruz, and are my favorites after SotN. If you want to use the whip, you can play Circle of the Moon for GBA, which is a good game, and if you want to use the whip AND be a Belmont, play the remaining GBA Castlevania title, Harmony of Dissonance (not to be confused with the recent XBLA title Harmony of Despair). Actually, you can play the Sorrow games as Julius Belmont after you beat them.

13 years ago

beargirl1

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#4 Edited By beargirl1

the only castlevania game i've played was the one on the N64
i haven't played any since

13 years ago

vidiot

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#5 Edited By vidiot

@Daveyo520 said:

" Symphony? What a stupid name. "

God, I could see myself totally hating anyone named that for reasons completely unclear to either myself, or the individual who chose that name.

Now that I think about it, aside from SOTN, and a little dabbling in Dracula X Chronicles and of course the original Castlevania game, I don't think I've ever played and beaten another Castlevania game :/
SOTN is a fantastic game. It's soundtrack still has a nice little permanent place on my iPod.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Last played on May 28, 2008

200/200 P

12/12 ACH

9818 players

It's a pretty solid S-Rank too.

13 years ago

bonbolapti

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#6 Edited By bonbolapti

@Daveyo520: Hey now, none of that Slander!

@Riboflavin: Same kind of gameplay? or was it changed up? either or I'll give them a look.

@AjayRaz: oh god! play this one to get that awful taste out of your mouth.

13 years ago

jacksukeru

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#7 Edited By jacksukeru

Can't really go wrong with any of the DS Castlevanias, though Ecclesia is a bit thougher in the beginning than the two others, also it has a slightly different structure than the others with the game being devided into levels that you select from a map screen.

The later Castlevanias have markers that you can put on the map which makes it easier to remember where you need to backtrack, I don't remember if this was in SoTN, I think at least one of the games used it as an upgrade you found in the game though.

I'm also getting a bit of a Castlevania itch, though a friend has borrowed all my DS Castlevania games for the moment :/

13 years ago

bonbolapti

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#8 Edited By bonbolapti

@vidiot: SoTN is a little too fantasic. it's probably one of those games that I would excuse myself to buy no matter how many times it gets ported. Also yes, the soundtrack is wicked awesome.

@RockmanBionics: Ecclesiais that the one with the girl that fights with a book, or am I thinking of something different?

13 years ago

jacksukeru

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#9 Edited By jacksukeru

@bonbolapti: Portarit of Ruin has 2 characters that you control, one of them is Jonathan who is the classic whip-wielder the other is Charlotte who is the girl that uses the book.

But anyway the main character in Ecclesia is a woman named Shanoa, she uses "glyphs" which basically is magic that can either make swords,axes etc appear in her hand to be used as a normal weapon, or it takes the form of a more magical attack. Shooting icicles or GIANT STONE FISTS to name a few. Another difference from other castlevanias is that this system uses mana that quickly regenerates, thus making CURSE infinetly more annoying then it's ever been before, since it drains you of all mana for some time, making you essentially helpless unless you have an antidote.

Saying it's like the Soul system that Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow uses is also kinda pointless if you haven't played any of those games ( though you should :) ).

13 years ago

Daveyo520

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#10 Edited By Daveyo520

@bonbolapti said:

" @Daveyo520: Hey now, none of that Slander!

@Riboflavin: Same kind of gameplay? or was it changed up? either or I'll give them a look.

@AjayRaz: oh god! play this one to get that awful taste out of your mouth. "

Remember, II also sucks a lot.

13 years ago

apathylad

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#11 Edited By apathylad

I beat SOtN recently. I enjoyed it, and it's aged pretty well, but I can see the whole inverted castle stuff being seen as a lazy way to artificially lengthen the game, nowadays.

I've found myself kinda enjoying Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, but I'm not exactly sure why. The SOtN formula hasn't changed much over the years, going from the GBA to the DS, so I appreciated the experiment of co-op. I've had some fun on multiplayer, as the characters have different abilities that compliment one another. For example, Sleepy Insomniac was using Charlotte and he was healing our group as we fought bosses.

13 years ago

coaxmetal

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#12 Edited By coaxmetal

@bonbolapti: Yea, all the games I listed are the same exploration and experience gaining format as SotN, though they each have their own tricks. The Sorrow Games have a ton of abilities because each monster has a soul Soma can absorb and use as an ability. Those games also have loot SotN style (though no farming schmoos in the inverted library to get the crissaegrim) But same basic gameplay style.

13 years ago

bonbolapti

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#13 Edited By bonbolapti

@RockmanBionics: noted, and sold. It's also great if the map is easier. Because the map for SoTN does not translate to a smaller screen. Thus made it too confusing.

@Daveyo520: Cheeky man

@Apathylad: Harmony of Despair, I want to be able to pick up some point, I played the Demo and I really enjoyed it. I wonder if the DLC for it is going to be free. if it is, I think 15 dollars is an okay price for that.

@Riboflavin: Cool, I think after Symphony of the Night, I've been spoiled with the game mechanics. I almost feel like they should redo some of the old castlevania games with that system. and rake in the cash. (I'd buy em all)

13 years ago

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Dracula's castle has risen from the mist and the Belmont heir is missing! The open-ended gameplay mixed with RPG mechanics in this installment of Castlevania platformers set the template for later games in the series (coining the term "Metroidvania").

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Symphony of the GAWDAMN FACEMELTERRRR

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