The lack of bosses in this game is intriguing. Reminds me of the Phantasy Star games.
The "funniest" thing about the FDS original is that Simon can get "knock-backed" into a load time. This can happen, for instance, if you walk left out of the first town and get hit by one of those lizard men near the screen's edge.
Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
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BoneSnapDeez
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- Location: Maine
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
You can't call CV2 a bad game, but it really shows a lack of polish. It really feels like they shipped a prototype before putting it through a round of playtesting and iteration.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
I randomnly played castlevania for the billionth time a few days ago and its nice to stumble into a thread where everyone is talking about it. I replayed Castlevania: holy relics today and was as blown away by it as it was the first time I played it.
For those of you who don't know, caatlevania: holy relics is a romhack of castlevania, but it is one of the finest romhacks out there and something that absolutely everyone must play.
The difficulty of the romhack is about on par with the original castlevania, many romhacks fall into the annoying trope of pixel perfect jumps and obscene amount of enemies that just make them more frustrating then fun, but this hack does it right, difficulty feels like it should and while it can be challenging it is never frustrating or cheap, and it feels very professionally done.
Graphically this romhack is amazing, the game has gotten a complete overhaul in both graphics and music. I have played the original castlevania so many times that I have the game completely memorized and no matter how well a hack changes the graphics I can always still know hacked level I am playing, but not in this game. Everything is redone so throroughly that you will often have no idea what level you are playing. Simons sprite is different, just about every enemy sprite is redone, music is mostly new, even the subweapons have been redone. Everything is so different that it is just amazing to look at.
There are even several new gameplay elements here. In the beginning you get to select which stage to start on and you can tackle the levels(except the last one) in order you choose. The levels are still linear, but there is a bit of exploration and backtracking involved, every area has a locked door at the end and you need to find the key before you can access the next area (in a nod to the msx version), the sub weapons have been tweaked. While the holy water, boomerang, and clock operate the same way, they have changed up the dagger (now a wooden stake) and the axe. The dagger travels slowly but is now very strong while the axe has its arc changed and also does more damage, this makes the weaker weapons a little more useful.
In addition to the sub weapons you also get a holy relic. Holy relics are powerful items that use blue hearts instead of red ones, are carried around at all times, and can be activated using the select button. Each level unlocks a different relic and you can choose one relic to bring into any level. The relics have all sorts of cool effects such as increasing attack power, restoring health, and clearing the screen of enemies, along with some less useful ones (like a crown which gives you more points per kill). On top of all this the bosses are all different, with different attack patterns, different stages, and totally redone sprites. You even get a real ending, which is totally different than the original.
The end result is a game, that if released in the 80's, could have easily been mistaken for castlevania 2, it has a story featuring simon belmont, retains the feel of the first game, but adds enough new elements to make it feel completely fresh. This is a romhack of the absolute highest caliber and if you are a fan of castlevania 1 and 3 you absolutely must play this game.
It is one of those games that have fallen victim to the annoying internet mob of people who never played these games, watched AVGN, and then just talks about how terrible they are because it seems like the trendy thing to do, a few other games have also fallen victim to this stupidity, most notably double dragon 3 (nes version) which is now regarded as a terrible game when in fact it is terrific.
The facts about castlevania 2 are, though it may be a bit obtuse at times(most nes games were), it is a solid game that was well received upon release and was the blueprint for symphony of the night and the direction the series eventually went it. It also has a pretty rockin soundtrack. I get some people not being into it, but the hate it gets is really not justified at all.
For those of you who don't know, caatlevania: holy relics is a romhack of castlevania, but it is one of the finest romhacks out there and something that absolutely everyone must play.
The difficulty of the romhack is about on par with the original castlevania, many romhacks fall into the annoying trope of pixel perfect jumps and obscene amount of enemies that just make them more frustrating then fun, but this hack does it right, difficulty feels like it should and while it can be challenging it is never frustrating or cheap, and it feels very professionally done.
Graphically this romhack is amazing, the game has gotten a complete overhaul in both graphics and music. I have played the original castlevania so many times that I have the game completely memorized and no matter how well a hack changes the graphics I can always still know hacked level I am playing, but not in this game. Everything is redone so throroughly that you will often have no idea what level you are playing. Simons sprite is different, just about every enemy sprite is redone, music is mostly new, even the subweapons have been redone. Everything is so different that it is just amazing to look at.
There are even several new gameplay elements here. In the beginning you get to select which stage to start on and you can tackle the levels(except the last one) in order you choose. The levels are still linear, but there is a bit of exploration and backtracking involved, every area has a locked door at the end and you need to find the key before you can access the next area (in a nod to the msx version), the sub weapons have been tweaked. While the holy water, boomerang, and clock operate the same way, they have changed up the dagger (now a wooden stake) and the axe. The dagger travels slowly but is now very strong while the axe has its arc changed and also does more damage, this makes the weaker weapons a little more useful.
In addition to the sub weapons you also get a holy relic. Holy relics are powerful items that use blue hearts instead of red ones, are carried around at all times, and can be activated using the select button. Each level unlocks a different relic and you can choose one relic to bring into any level. The relics have all sorts of cool effects such as increasing attack power, restoring health, and clearing the screen of enemies, along with some less useful ones (like a crown which gives you more points per kill). On top of all this the bosses are all different, with different attack patterns, different stages, and totally redone sprites. You even get a real ending, which is totally different than the original.
The end result is a game, that if released in the 80's, could have easily been mistaken for castlevania 2, it has a story featuring simon belmont, retains the feel of the first game, but adds enough new elements to make it feel completely fresh. This is a romhack of the absolute highest caliber and if you are a fan of castlevania 1 and 3 you absolutely must play this game.
BoneSnapDeez wrote:
1. The game is very good overall. Is this really considered one of the weaker games in the series, or is that a meme? It's pretty solid.
b.
It is one of those games that have fallen victim to the annoying internet mob of people who never played these games, watched AVGN, and then just talks about how terrible they are because it seems like the trendy thing to do, a few other games have also fallen victim to this stupidity, most notably double dragon 3 (nes version) which is now regarded as a terrible game when in fact it is terrific.
The facts about castlevania 2 are, though it may be a bit obtuse at times(most nes games were), it is a solid game that was well received upon release and was the blueprint for symphony of the night and the direction the series eventually went it. It also has a pretty rockin soundtrack. I get some people not being into it, but the hate it gets is really not justified at all.
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prfsnl_gmr
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- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
MrPopo wrote:You can't call CV2 a bad game, but it really shows a lack of polish. It really feels like they shipped a prototype before putting it through a round of playtesting and iteration.
Vampire Killer for the MSX is basically a prototype for CV2, which, like Bone, I think is a pretty solid game.
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BoneSnapDeez
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 20118
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
- Location: Maine
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
Dracula II is done. Fun times. I can never get that good ending though, I like grinding too much.
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
Oddworld Adventures - Game Boy
Birds are indeed jerks. If they touch Abe once he's dead (like everything else in the world, apparently). The birds are typically placed on screens that require tight platforming over instant death pits. A bird will fly in a U-shaped pattern, swooping over the center of the platforms. Meanwhile, over every pit drops a constant barrage of boulders that - you guessed it - kill you instantly. In all actuality, the birds aren't that bad. The slippery controls are what cripple your progress more than anything.
But there is another danger that hovers over poor Abe as he struggles to save the world.
These foul beasts like to stream out of their hives and fly right on top of a lever you need to use or a path you must cross. If they hit you there is a slight chance you could get away as it takes around four hits for them to finish you off. But chances are good that another swarm has attacked. And another. And another.
Bees are evil. Woe betide those that press through their ranks.
Birds are indeed jerks. If they touch Abe once he's dead (like everything else in the world, apparently). The birds are typically placed on screens that require tight platforming over instant death pits. A bird will fly in a U-shaped pattern, swooping over the center of the platforms. Meanwhile, over every pit drops a constant barrage of boulders that - you guessed it - kill you instantly. In all actuality, the birds aren't that bad. The slippery controls are what cripple your progress more than anything.
But there is another danger that hovers over poor Abe as he struggles to save the world.
These foul beasts like to stream out of their hives and fly right on top of a lever you need to use or a path you must cross. If they hit you there is a slight chance you could get away as it takes around four hits for them to finish you off. But chances are good that another swarm has attacked. And another. And another.
Bees are evil. Woe betide those that press through their ranks.
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
Sounds like that game is Super Meatboy before challenge platformers were cool.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
Yeah, the Oddworld devs must've been some hardcore dudes.
Thankfully the Game Boy version doesn't make you deal with too many flying things but it's incredibly challenging with so few buttons.
Thankfully the Game Boy version doesn't make you deal with too many flying things but it's incredibly challenging with so few buttons.
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
I don't check in to RB as often as I used to, but like pook, it's pretty neato to stumble on to a thread that's relevant to what I've been dabbling in lately.
It's been Ninja Gaiden on PC Engine for me. And yes the birds are very jerk-ish. So are the dogs. So is everything else that triggers that uncontrollable-unavoidable knock back into pits of doom.
It's been well over a decade since I've put any serious effort into the NES version, but I've heard it's harder. I do know that the turbo buttons help me spam attack and cheese my way through some more difficult parts.
It's been Ninja Gaiden on PC Engine for me. And yes the birds are very jerk-ish. So are the dogs. So is everything else that triggers that uncontrollable-unavoidable knock back into pits of doom.
It's been well over a decade since I've put any serious effort into the NES version, but I've heard it's harder. I do know that the turbo buttons help me spam attack and cheese my way through some more difficult parts.
"Farewell, good hunter.
May you find your worth
in the waking world."
May you find your worth
in the waking world."
Re: Together Retro August 2020 - Birds are Jerks
Omerta wrote:I don't check in to RB as often as I used to, but like pook, it's pretty neato to stumble on to a thread that's relevant to what I've been dabbling in lately.
It's been Ninja Gaiden on PC Engine for me. And yes the birds are very jerk-ish. So are the dogs. So is everything else that triggers that uncontrollable-unavoidable knock back into pits of doom.
It's been well over a decade since I've put any serious effort into the NES version, but I've heard it's harder. I do know that the turbo buttons help me spam attack and cheese my way through some more difficult parts.
The NES version is far better than the PCE version to me, but I only ever emulated the latter, so my memory of it is hazy on the details.
But I've been playing the other great ninja game on the system: Ninja Spirit! The flying enemies are also a pita.