>very fun and very doable boss fight
>progressing in the game requires you to cheese it with a full screen instant kill
Now that's just bad design, couldn't they have done something like the Ritcher fight with goggles?
>>333012102
I actually don't remember this very well. What are you talking about?
I thought the "bad ending unless you do the right thing" fight was the fire demon guy, and you needed to visit the other side of the mirror and kill the demon to progress further.
>>333013878
Not OP, but if you kill those girls, you get a worse ending, iirc.
>>333013878
Not him, but you had to use a specific spell "called Sanctuary if I remember correctly" that takes a while to charge up. If it hits it turns to girls back to normal.
Also PoR is the worst DS Metroidvania and the second worst Metroidvania overall.
>>333013878
You're thinking of Dawn of Sorrow. They're talking about Portrait of Ruin.
>>333013878
You're thinking of Dawn of Sorrow
>>333014212
What's the worst one?
>>333014212
Oh, I think I remember that one. I thought that fight was challenging, at least at first, because it was tricky figuring out how to position Charlotte so that she didn't get knocked out of her spellcasting.
>>333014510
>>333014536
>You're thinking of Dawn of Sorrow
Hmm, alright then. It's been a long time since I've played either.That fight was a good one, so good to know it's in Dawn.
>>333014537
Harmony of Dissonance. Although if you count Mirror of Fate then that's the worst. I forgot about that one.
you do it legit in old axe armor mode, which is the game's true route anyway.
>>333012102
definitely my favorite of the DS ones. It was goofy but fun as hell.
>>333014212
i genuinely enjoyed PoR more than DoS.
i thought it was overall put together better.
>>333012102
>>333014212
>People shitting on PoR.
Stop don't liking what I like!
I liked Order of Ecclesia more than the other DS metroidvanias.
>>333015251
OoE was really damn good, too bad there were little to no insentive to use most glyphs. Just get beam skeleton's one and roflstomp everything you come across.
Granted, you can only get it on the second half of the game, but still.
I got some question for you guys. Who was the
>Best boss fight from each individual game?
>Best boss fight out of all of them?
>Best Dracula incarnation?
>Best protagonist?
>>333015217
I never said it was bad.
>>333016693
>It just bad design.
It hurts my feelings.
>>333015251
Some of the innovations in OoE were very good. Stealing glyphs in battle (rather than just beating enemies) and turning MP into a stamina meter, with hearts for something different, was very nice too see.
Unfortunately, the glyphs felt very limited when I played. I only used sword, hammer, and bow in the beginning, and those were mostly invalidated once I got the fire and ice spells. Most glyphs were just stronger versions of older ones or felt pointless. I also didn't like the map; I appreciate what they were trying to do, but the entire game just felt smaller as a result.
>>333015641
>too bad there were little to no insentive to use most glyphs.
Bloat has been a problem since SOTN; I appreciate that they toned down the amount of useless shit weapons but there was definitely still too much of it.
>>333014791
Confirmed for shit taste
>>333019058
If you're defending Harmony of Dissonance then I like you and we are friends now. But if you're defending Mirror of Fate I hope that nothing good ever happens for you and that your life is full of misery and woe.
>>333020664
I'll defend MoF.
I like Simon's design.
I like the idea of Drac being a fallen Belmont, even if the reason for that happening is beyond stupid.
Simon's design is nice.
The guy who voiced Dracula is one of the guys from Trainspotting.
That's all I got.
>>333020917
I can't stand Robert Carlyle as Dracula if just because of the giant piece of shit that is pic related.
>VAMPIRISM COMES AT A PRICE, DEARIE
I'll give you the design work and that's about it. The rest of the game is garbage, and ultimately fucking pointless since it was literally just stalling for LoS2.
>>333015951
>Best protagonist?Nathan Graves
>>333014212
You're fucking out of your minds.
>GBA games
AoS>CotM=HoD
>DS games
PoR>OoE=DoS
Objectively correct, comparing them beyond this is nitpicking.Also /v/ massively sucks off CotM which, despite being a good game, has so many problems that I wonder when the last time any of you played it was.
>>333022097
Awake is a GOAT first stage theme.
portrait of ruin is a good game
always wanted to fug the flat chest sister
>>333012102
But it was the Richter fight with goggles.
You don't know you have to use the spell unless you kill them and get the bad ending first, or you use it to cure the shopkeeper. The game doesn't even tell you where to find the spell, you just find it through exploration.
And it takes a quite a while to charge the spell and you have to prevent Charlotte from getting hit.
>>333022247
What son of a bitch thought it was a good idea to make running a clunky ass power up, especially since you get it so early you might as well have it by default? Same for making all the DSS cards random drops.
>>333015641
>Just get beam skeleton's one and roflstomp everything you come across.
No kidding
>Beam + [weapon]
>Death Ring
>???
>Boss Medals
>>333022247
Nice taste.
Aria has amazing fluffy design (visuals, music, atmosphere) where CotM was muted and HoD was all over the fucking place. The soul system provides crazy gameplay variety that the series needed to get player design freshened up.Also muh twist was pretty cool
PoR also had some great nostalgic flavor in spite of the anime design by calling back to to the Bloodlines plot and world-tour setting, with a whole pile of ability, boss, and music callbacks from other early games as well. It also found a way to bring back some Belmont-style gameplay without completely tearing down ability variety, and let you switch on the fly to a caster if you liked the high-cost flashy offensive nukes.
DoS felt a bit stale, while OoE felt like it wasn't sure where to focus the gameplay - things like combining grind/fetch quests with the linear map system and the drastic shift when you actually hit the castle feel weird and sometimes unpolished.
I can see how some people could have a big fat nostalgia boner for CotM, its nice music and muted colors can be pretty comfy at times. Just not as engaging in the long term if you didn't grow up with it, I guess.
>>333014537
On DS, to me, dawn of sorrow. But between the three I'm looking at what pissed me off the most in each individual game.
DoS was insanely grindy if you were going for max power souls + full beastiary at every new enemy you saw to the point where there was no challenge.
I honestly can't think of much in portrait of ruin I didn't like. The soundtrack maybe was alright at best, but there were no glaring flaws that stick out in my mind, aside from sisters mode being "hold the stylus down to win"
Order of Ecclesia had "SHAWW."
>>333012102
Landing that attack wasnt that easy though, since you had to charge it up.
Well, at least for me.
>>333022558
The running was fucking horrible in CotM. Combined with the dull backgrounds and shit GBA screen playing it at launch was a frustrating nightmare. I never could play without a really bright light source.
>>333023241
The twist was great, kinda obvious but it was a nice refreshing change in gameplay and it finally moved the overall storyline in a direction (albeit a retarded one - if Soma was a transfer student, why was he childhood friends with a shrine maiden? Just a holdover from Soma being Japanese in the original and the team being lazy).
PoR basically took the soul system that DoS fucked up by making the genius change of letting you GRIND YOUR ABILITIES ON ENEMIES instead of just killing the same thing over and over and over. This meant you could just play the fucking game instead of stopping to power up.
Thankfully, I think all the handheld titles stand out well enough from each other that they are all worth checking out. It really is nice how consistently solid the games are.MoF or whatever that shit is doesn't exist
>>333015951
I really liked fighting Graham and Julius in Aria
Though my favorite boss fight is DxC Dracula
>>333023834
Graham is arguably the best designed enemy in Castlevania
>>333014791
Harmony of Dissonance was pretty fucking fun, though. The Spell/Subweapon combos were fun to figure outand some of them had extra effect with inputs.
It also had some really cool fight.
>>333015951
>Best Boss
Aria: Balore has the best intro, Death has the best outro, Julius is the best fight
DoS: Puppet Master
PoR: Werewolf for flavor, Dracula for fight.BAD MOON
THIS ENDS NOW
OoE: Barlowe
>Best Drac
>best protagWhy not both?
>>333023930
Gotta love the bosses that make you stop and think "what the sweet fuck is THAT"
>>333024186
I like the Aria version better, it looks like a humanoid in fetal position.
>>333012102
you're supposed to beat them legit the first time to get the worse ending
>>333024186
>>333024281
Iga made a Mario Maker level where you fight Legion.
Got a smile out of me.
>Best boss fight from each individual game?
CotM: Zombie Dragons
HoD: Honestly I'm pretty sure every boss in HoD was simplistic bullshit and I liked the game, so I'm going with Dracula Wraith's crazy ass final form
SotN: Beelzebub
AoS: Julius
DoS: Gergoth
PoR: Dracula/Death tagteam
OoE: Chariot thing for concept, Blackmore for execution
>Best boss fight out of all of them?
Gergoth, always Gergoth
>Best Dracula incarnation?
SotN for personality, PoR for fight
>Best protagonist?Soma. Fuck what they did to him and the cast in DoS
>>333022247
>GBA
HoD > AoS > CotM
>DS
OoE > DoS > PoR
>>333015951
>Best boss fight out of all of them?
For the ds games Dracula/Death and Barlowe fight (on hard max lv 1)
>>333024281
The preceding catacomb area is 2spooky
All those corpses walking out of their tombs and walking past you while the moaning in the background keeps getting louder
Then you see why they were congregating in the first place
Shame the fight was so easy.
>>333024413
I like HoD, but AoS just surpassed it in so many areas. Despite having like 1/3 of the bosses, they're far more memorable and entertaining to fight. The areas feel more distinct, there is more to discover in terms of items/abilities/secrets, and I loved the story and music.
That said I'm a fucking weirdo who loves the gigantic castle in HoD, the creepy feeling of isolation with such a small cast, the disturbing music, the crazy visuals, and all the optional shit to do, so I'm not trying to say HoD is shit.
>>333024378
HoD had this guy, he's a good fight. There was also two different Legions, Minotaur, Max Slimer and Maxim.
>>333022256
my negro !!!
Awake is the shit!!!
I actually liked this twist on PoR. When I first played it, I was rather indifferent to the game. I replayed it three years ago and it's pretty fucking solid. Replayability is top tier and a Charlotte run on hard felt just right, not like the fucking cake walk that SotN is.
>>333024560
pretty much. had a blast playing HoD and finishing it. there is just one point in the game where it's not clear where to go next and that makes you either push through or drop it. it's rather complex.
>>333024645
Both Legions kinda sucked, though. Good point on Skull Knight, I liked him and Pazuzu. Maxim was great but for some reason his sprite always irritated me.
>>333024560
The music in HoD is only hampered by the bad sound chip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doKSrbAV8QA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRkNtBI4o_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBG-Ketd91w
>>333022247
I agree, I never really like Cotm that much. It's still a good game, just doesn't have that metroidvania magic the others have.
>>333024715
uffffffffff
when you're falling with him I really like that moment!!!
I liked both 64 games. 10/10 atmosphere.
>>333024860
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMvViA7-gek
Aqueduct of Dragons best song.
>>333024560
I remember having far more fun with HoD than I ever did with AoS.
I love everything you love about HoD.
>>333025061
Hey good on you man, nothing wrong with that. I just wish there were more cool elemental books to find, that shit was boss. At the very least, its admirable for the scale.
Also any CV where Death has a speaking role is awesome. Always bugged me he didn't say anything to Soma in the Sorrow games.
>>333024984
>>333024860
Good taste.
>>333024829
That was one of the appeals to me, but yeah I can get how demoralizing that can be, since the castle layout could be really confusing (especially having to check both castles, it was really easy to get mixed up and forget to grab a certain thing).
>>333025267
>That was one of the appeals to me
there is so much backtracking and slide, slide, slide but I could do this forever.
>>333024281
I liked the intro of PoR Legion more tho with the crazy laughter that turns into screams and moans. Legion just did not fit the mood of the level. Same with Medusa. Both don't really scream "Circus!"
CHARLOTTE!!!
>>333025557
JOHNATHAN
>>333025557
JONATHAN!!!
>>333025557
JONATHAN!
did charlotte and jonathan eventually fug?
How dare you!!
>>333025913
I want to believe...
>>333024860
>>333024984
>>333025267
To be honest, I think HoD has the best original GBA Castlevania songs. CotM definitely has some rad arrangements, but there's something about HoD's music that's just really cool and interesting to me. It just doesn't hardly sound like anything you'd hear in a video game, but still sounds extremely Castlevania at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ENmrNA6ifc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7820kIuHUs
AoS's soundtrack is pretty boring to me actually. It's my favorite of the GBA games, and the music definitely fits, and is pretty memorable too, it's just boring to me.
>>333025840
wew
>>333025913
>>333026029
Didn't IGA say their relationship was platonic?
>>333025840
>playing as Charlotte and getting grabbed by a succubus
>>333025538
Both the "circus" levels had a pretty blatant theme of being a European town slaughtered mid-WW2. Legion makes perfect sense at the center of a otherworldly charnel house, while Medusa's room has the clever touch of petrified soldiers frozen on the ceiling that she smashes on her way in.
>/v/ hating on CotM
I always knew you faggots were casuals and now I have proof.
>>333025840
I still prefer vanilla Charlotte.
Oh hey, Just being the best protag in any Castlevania game.
>No special "i win" bloodline
>No special "i win" magic whip
>Just your everyday Wal-Mart magic whip
>Using cards like hes fucking yugioh
>Defeats the best Dracula
>No help from anyone at all
>Is so bad ass his Master ditches his own son in favor for his awesomeness
>Doesnt need a shop because this nig is OP
>IGA gets so butthurt Nathan is so Bae he officially removes him from canon
Nathan4lyfe
>>333026316
but I love CotM. Nathan best protag.
>>333026221
It's just a too big contrast of Medusa's ancient greek origin and a circus for me, but I also can't say where else she'd have fit better ot which other boss to put into the level. She's my favourite Medusa in any Metroidvania, so it's not that I don't like her in general.
>>333026481
I was impressed they went 3/4 on fitting bosses from the original Castlevania into thematically matching stages. Medusa just got unlucky, I guess.
>>333026575
It could have used a bit more of Brauner's personal touch. But the biggest gripe I have with any boss in the game is how you can't see the awesome background piece in the mummy's bossroom after you kill him.
>>333012102
It's branching paths anon, you should have to do something out of the way to get a different ending
Plus that fight with the spirit of the Whip or whatever it was easily made up for that.
>>333026060
can't say I disagree. I like AoS soundtrack a lot though. especially https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23yow3-TyUo
>>333026221
>Both the "circus" levels had a pretty blatant theme of being a European town slaughtered mid-WW2.
I just liked how it was frozen in time during a massive explosion and how you see a massive black hole in the background resembling an off-going atomic bomb.
very interesting as a concept.
>>333026821
Yeah, songs like that, Floating Garden, Chapel, Dance Hall, they're all really memorable and pretty atmospheric for GBA, just not as uniqueor catchy as fukas I'd expect from Castlevania, I guess. I don't know if I even agree with what I said. It's hard to criticize AoS for me because it's one of my favorite games.
>people actually liked the 'no john you are the demons' twist of a certain gba game
>>333026359
Nathan Graves
With a name like that? Yeah that's pretty fucking badass.
>>333024032
Spells were limited as fuck though because you could only use 5 at a time, plus the base subweapon.
>and some of them had extra effect with inputs.
I liked and hated this because the game doesn't hint to it at all, IIRC.
Still, if the dashes had retained their momentum while you jump, they would have been great. As is, they're just ghetto black panther souls.
>>333024886
That's because it's a classicvania with usable items.
>>333024860
These fucking suck.
Call me when somebody does an X68k version of HoD's soundtrack.
>>333026373
Goddamn I wish we had this artist back.
Kojima got annoying fast, but the animu from the first 2 ds titles wasn't any better.
OoE's artist is pretty much dead, much to my dismay. Hasn't updated his website in years.
>>333029185
name of the artist?
>>333029548
OoE's?
I don't remember.
But imagine my disappointment when his website (when it was still notable, might be gone now) was barebones as fuck and hardly had anything in it.
I honestly loved his style.
>>333026212>I fapped to this when I was younger
