Post by freddythemonkey on Mar 3, 2018 9:20:53 GMT -6
1) At the $3.750.000 stretch goal, "Orchestrated tracks" was reached. At the time, it was described as "Yamane and Yamada are thrilled to see this goal on the horizon, as it will enable them to have some of their compositions performed and recorded by a live, professional orchestra! These tracks will, of course, end up in the game, not to mention on the soundtrack." Of course, Yamada finished his work after Inticreates departure, but the question still stands. "Some of their compositions" means not ALL the game's tracks will be recorded by a live, professional orchestra. How many songs do you believe will be orchestrated in the game? 50%? Maybe 30% of them? Or more?
I sincerely hope it's like @morningxsun said. Having some fully orchestrated tracks and other which aren't at all would make no sense and would result quite jarring honestly. It's better the way he suggested. But anyway, with the money that was raised during the campaign I would have preferred every track fully recorded live and orchestrated, a là Bloodborne. Not necessarily with a big orchestra, but real instrumentation does make a difference. It would have been a much better use of the money instead of some bizarre extra mode that never existed in an IGAvania game but eh, that's just my opinion and it's known by now that I have very little interest in many of the bonus modes
2) Still regarding the orchestrated songs, how do you believe will be the overall criteria to choose what songs will be orchestrated? Songs for important parts of the game, such as Voyage of Promise, from Galleon minerva, as proven on the video, for being the first scenaro, or Luxurious Orverture (entrance song) for probably being the first area of Gebel castle? Maybe songs that sounds "better / more classic"?
See above, some notable exceptions (fully 100% orchestrated) would be the main theme and ending song maybe.
3) What do you think will happen to the common versions of songs that got orchestrated (such as Voyage of Promise)? They will be in the game as optional pieces or will be gone for good? Or maybe something else?
Probably in the sound test mode as bonuses.
4) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had 36 tracks, Portrait of Ruin had 37. Harmony of Despair (XBLA game) had 40. Many Igavania games had a really large selection of songs. How many songs do you expect for Bloodstained?
More than that, given the scope of the game. But the important thing is that they are great tracks.
5) Symphony of the Night is IGA's largest castle, with 1890 rooms (two castles). Bloodstained is promised to have at least 1600+ rooms, and that is without any confirmation if the game will have two castles or something else. Symphony's first castle has a song for each area, but the second castle reused some of the same songs for several areas. Harmony of Dissonance, that also has two castle, reused the same songs of the first castle, to the second one. Do you expect Bloodstained to somehow reuse some of it's area songs?
Since I wouldn't want some gimmick like the double castle (it was so unique in SOTN that it would be almost plagiarism. Hell, Harmony of Dissonance got a bit bashed for practically copypasting the same idea when it came out) I expect zero recycles for the areas.
6) Considering Bloodstained has at least three / four main composers and a lot of freedom was given to them and that each one seems to have it's own method, do you fear the game may end up with too much of a diverse soundtrack? Or do you expect that as a good thing?
I have faith in the overall quality because Yamane-san already worked with different composers for some of the previous games. It's not bad per se, on the contrary it can be a source of new ideas, but there has to be some general homogeneity. All the tracks must "belong" in the game. I don't want a Frankenstein soundtrack composed of songs that sound disconnected from each other because they were composed by different people. There has to be a general direction to follow.
7) Considering all the songs revealed until now, how much do you like, or dislike, these songs? Give a score for each of them, using the basic, 0-5 score
(0 = terrible, 1 = weak, 2 = regular, 3 = good, 4 = great, 5 = perfect).
Here's the songs for a easy copy/paste to score:
Theme of Bloodstained (Title Screen): 3 - I don't really like it as a "main theme" because to represent the whole game it would have to be more ominous and energetic. But as a tranquil title theme it's very beautiful. For comparison purpose, let's take Lament of Innocence. The main theme (Leon theme) for that game is wicked memorable, solemn, and captures what the character and the game is about. The menu theme on the other hand is very bland, like you're supposed to go through the menu asap anyway. This theme is worse than LoI's main theme, but extremely better than its menu theme.
Cursed Orphan (Unknown usage): 4 - Very nice energetic theme. It remains catchy and memorable but also full of adrenaline. I like this style for faster paced pieces.
Voyage of Promise (Galleon Minerva): 3 - Very nice in the typical style of Michiru Yamane. Compared to other "first area themes" in the series it doesn't really stand out, but it's very pleasant nonetheless.
Vepar's Boss theme: 4 - Very nice boss theme, it's a shame that in the demo you almost couldn't hear it. It also reminds me of Visitor in the Silk Hat (not quite as good), which is a boss theme I adore.
Luxurious Overture (probably Castle Entrance song): 4 - Very good song, I like the strong and memorable melodies and the atmosphere - half beautiful, half melancholic.
Holy Wisdom (Church of Dian Cecht): 5 - This is Michiru Yamane at her absolute finest. The solemnity and grandeur make this song awesome. After all, pieces like House of Sacred Remains and the Toccatas from the PS2 'vanias are among my favorite pieces she's ever composed, and this reminds me once again of her amazing neoclassical composing capabilities.
The Executioners (Boss theme): 1 - I'm honestly baffled by the good reception this track had. Just like Festival of Servants, it sounds like a generic, by the books boss theme in my ears. The melody is very weak and not very memorable at all. A matter of taste, anyway. My least favorite song shown so far.
Theme of Johannes (Johannes alchemy lair / shop): 2.5 - It seriously needs a better version for us to listen to. It's not incredible, but as far as shop themes go it's not half bad. Some sections sound a bit too "goofy" for my taste.
Gears of Fortune (unknown usage): 4 - Again, need a complete version, but it's really nice, especially in the second part of the bit we heard. The first part reminds me a lot of Ys games, though, which is not bad per se but I don't really want songs of this game to trigger in me memories from other games/series (that is not Castlevania) entirely haha
Asian Song (Asian area): 2 - I like its uniqueness, but what I don't like is that it doesn't seem to fit in the game. The pairing of Asian instruments and electric guitar sounds like something out of Shadow Warrior. Anyway, I'm not fully convinced.
8) The demo is going to be a game slice, it seems that it will start on galleon level and allowing the player to progress further into the game. Considering that information, what would you like or expect for this new demo? Some possibilities include:
A) Following the game as it will be, in a linear path. Starting at Galleon, going for the second area after Galleon and so on, with closed doors and paths until the end of the demo.
B) Unrelated slices of the game. A menu where you can select what area you want to play, from some areas of the game, because they aren't really connected on the final product. So you could play, let's say, Galleon (at LV 1) finish it and then go and select some other area, like Forest of Silence at LV 10, with some gear and shards that they "expect" the player to have by that point, and so on.
A. Way more cohesive and possibly less spoilery.
9) Are you afraid that this new demo may reveal too much of the game and kill some potential spoilers, specifically regarding enemies and areas? Or do you expect it to show things we already saw before?
Heh, I hope it doesn't reveal too much. I never usually play Betas or EA builds of games for this exact reason.
10) How much do you expect to be in that demo, regarding the final product? 5% of the game? 10%? less?
I don't really know. Maybe 10% sounds reasonable.
11) Some enemies in Bloodstained (such as Morte) will not have shards. Do you think Tord will have a Shard? If yes, what shard type could it be and what would do?
It doesn't look like it will.
12) What kind of voice do you expect David Hayter is doing for Gebel? Something old and deep, like Dracula? Dark and sorrow, like Alucard from SOTN? Maybe something like Snake, his most iconic character, from Metal gear?
The exaggerated Snake voice wouldn't really fit the character. I would expect some kind of dramatic performance, but without sounding imposing like Dracula. More like a tragic and stoic villain, a bit like Alucard in character.
I sincerely hope it's like @morningxsun said. Having some fully orchestrated tracks and other which aren't at all would make no sense and would result quite jarring honestly. It's better the way he suggested. But anyway, with the money that was raised during the campaign I would have preferred every track fully recorded live and orchestrated, a là Bloodborne. Not necessarily with a big orchestra, but real instrumentation does make a difference. It would have been a much better use of the money instead of some bizarre extra mode that never existed in an IGAvania game but eh, that's just my opinion and it's known by now that I have very little interest in many of the bonus modes
2) Still regarding the orchestrated songs, how do you believe will be the overall criteria to choose what songs will be orchestrated? Songs for important parts of the game, such as Voyage of Promise, from Galleon minerva, as proven on the video, for being the first scenaro, or Luxurious Orverture (entrance song) for probably being the first area of Gebel castle? Maybe songs that sounds "better / more classic"?
See above, some notable exceptions (fully 100% orchestrated) would be the main theme and ending song maybe.
3) What do you think will happen to the common versions of songs that got orchestrated (such as Voyage of Promise)? They will be in the game as optional pieces or will be gone for good? Or maybe something else?
Probably in the sound test mode as bonuses.
4) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had 36 tracks, Portrait of Ruin had 37. Harmony of Despair (XBLA game) had 40. Many Igavania games had a really large selection of songs. How many songs do you expect for Bloodstained?
More than that, given the scope of the game. But the important thing is that they are great tracks.
5) Symphony of the Night is IGA's largest castle, with 1890 rooms (two castles). Bloodstained is promised to have at least 1600+ rooms, and that is without any confirmation if the game will have two castles or something else. Symphony's first castle has a song for each area, but the second castle reused some of the same songs for several areas. Harmony of Dissonance, that also has two castle, reused the same songs of the first castle, to the second one. Do you expect Bloodstained to somehow reuse some of it's area songs?
Since I wouldn't want some gimmick like the double castle (it was so unique in SOTN that it would be almost plagiarism. Hell, Harmony of Dissonance got a bit bashed for practically copypasting the same idea when it came out) I expect zero recycles for the areas.
6) Considering Bloodstained has at least three / four main composers and a lot of freedom was given to them and that each one seems to have it's own method, do you fear the game may end up with too much of a diverse soundtrack? Or do you expect that as a good thing?
I have faith in the overall quality because Yamane-san already worked with different composers for some of the previous games. It's not bad per se, on the contrary it can be a source of new ideas, but there has to be some general homogeneity. All the tracks must "belong" in the game. I don't want a Frankenstein soundtrack composed of songs that sound disconnected from each other because they were composed by different people. There has to be a general direction to follow.
7) Considering all the songs revealed until now, how much do you like, or dislike, these songs? Give a score for each of them, using the basic, 0-5 score
(0 = terrible, 1 = weak, 2 = regular, 3 = good, 4 = great, 5 = perfect).
Here's the songs for a easy copy/paste to score:
Theme of Bloodstained (Title Screen): 3 - I don't really like it as a "main theme" because to represent the whole game it would have to be more ominous and energetic. But as a tranquil title theme it's very beautiful. For comparison purpose, let's take Lament of Innocence. The main theme (Leon theme) for that game is wicked memorable, solemn, and captures what the character and the game is about. The menu theme on the other hand is very bland, like you're supposed to go through the menu asap anyway. This theme is worse than LoI's main theme, but extremely better than its menu theme.
Cursed Orphan (Unknown usage): 4 - Very nice energetic theme. It remains catchy and memorable but also full of adrenaline. I like this style for faster paced pieces.
Voyage of Promise (Galleon Minerva): 3 - Very nice in the typical style of Michiru Yamane. Compared to other "first area themes" in the series it doesn't really stand out, but it's very pleasant nonetheless.
Vepar's Boss theme: 4 - Very nice boss theme, it's a shame that in the demo you almost couldn't hear it. It also reminds me of Visitor in the Silk Hat (not quite as good), which is a boss theme I adore.
Luxurious Overture (probably Castle Entrance song): 4 - Very good song, I like the strong and memorable melodies and the atmosphere - half beautiful, half melancholic.
Holy Wisdom (Church of Dian Cecht): 5 - This is Michiru Yamane at her absolute finest. The solemnity and grandeur make this song awesome. After all, pieces like House of Sacred Remains and the Toccatas from the PS2 'vanias are among my favorite pieces she's ever composed, and this reminds me once again of her amazing neoclassical composing capabilities.
The Executioners (Boss theme): 1 - I'm honestly baffled by the good reception this track had. Just like Festival of Servants, it sounds like a generic, by the books boss theme in my ears. The melody is very weak and not very memorable at all. A matter of taste, anyway. My least favorite song shown so far.
Theme of Johannes (Johannes alchemy lair / shop): 2.5 - It seriously needs a better version for us to listen to. It's not incredible, but as far as shop themes go it's not half bad. Some sections sound a bit too "goofy" for my taste.
Gears of Fortune (unknown usage): 4 - Again, need a complete version, but it's really nice, especially in the second part of the bit we heard. The first part reminds me a lot of Ys games, though, which is not bad per se but I don't really want songs of this game to trigger in me memories from other games/series (that is not Castlevania) entirely haha
Asian Song (Asian area): 2 - I like its uniqueness, but what I don't like is that it doesn't seem to fit in the game. The pairing of Asian instruments and electric guitar sounds like something out of Shadow Warrior. Anyway, I'm not fully convinced.
8) The demo is going to be a game slice, it seems that it will start on galleon level and allowing the player to progress further into the game. Considering that information, what would you like or expect for this new demo? Some possibilities include:
A) Following the game as it will be, in a linear path. Starting at Galleon, going for the second area after Galleon and so on, with closed doors and paths until the end of the demo.
B) Unrelated slices of the game. A menu where you can select what area you want to play, from some areas of the game, because they aren't really connected on the final product. So you could play, let's say, Galleon (at LV 1) finish it and then go and select some other area, like Forest of Silence at LV 10, with some gear and shards that they "expect" the player to have by that point, and so on.
A. Way more cohesive and possibly less spoilery.
9) Are you afraid that this new demo may reveal too much of the game and kill some potential spoilers, specifically regarding enemies and areas? Or do you expect it to show things we already saw before?
Heh, I hope it doesn't reveal too much. I never usually play Betas or EA builds of games for this exact reason.
10) How much do you expect to be in that demo, regarding the final product? 5% of the game? 10%? less?
I don't really know. Maybe 10% sounds reasonable.
11) Some enemies in Bloodstained (such as Morte) will not have shards. Do you think Tord will have a Shard? If yes, what shard type could it be and what would do?
It doesn't look like it will.
12) What kind of voice do you expect David Hayter is doing for Gebel? Something old and deep, like Dracula? Dark and sorrow, like Alucard from SOTN? Maybe something like Snake, his most iconic character, from Metal gear?
The exaggerated Snake voice wouldn't really fit the character. I would expect some kind of dramatic performance, but without sounding imposing like Dracula. More like a tragic and stoic villain, a bit like Alucard in character.