purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 27, 2020 17:06:39 GMT -6
Friends and prior partners of Iga's have launched their own Kickstarter, a callback to the classic Suikoden game series! Iga recorded a video message of support near the end, which is also a good watch for any Bloodstained fan and backer - he touches on the topics of IP ownership, Kickstarter as a platform and campaign promises. You can kind of gather from reading the campaign page that they learned from ours. I'll be backing it myself, I've played Suikoden II and III, was a fan of both.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 17, 2020 14:10:05 GMT -6
After getting the final episode's ending last night, I think I'm ready to say that Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is easily a candidate for the best classicvania. The main playthroughs of episode 1-final change it up enough that it feels different each time, and the very end is WILD. I had 4.5 hours each in ep 1-2, and spent 9.5 hours in the final episode. I haven't unlocked ep 3 yet because that takes an ending I didn't get. The way it encourages and uses the variety of your characters is so smart and thoughtful in design. Just when something seems "impossible", it usually means I'm forgetting something or haven't explored one of their abilities yet. The teamwork and game design ideas are just out of this world good imo. It's a classicvania that I've played for about 20 hours and haven't even seen all the content yet, and I want to play it more I played the whole thing on "Veteran", but there's no shame on using "Casual" if you want. It is definitely fair and quite balanced if you stick to Veteran, and you'll get to see how genius the design is re: utilizing everything with that. It's so well thought-out and rewarding, and there are so many surprises and charming touches. Nostalgia notwithstanding, it just has so much and pushes things way farther than just "Castlevania but not" - this game is beyond that and has become something all its own. I've seen a couple of 10/10 critic reviews for this game and I think they might be right. attached from siliconera: www.siliconera.com/curse-of-the-moon-2-review/
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 16, 2020 17:59:19 GMT -6
hachi yes, but they were only sold at cons.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 16, 2020 17:00:03 GMT -6
Here are some ideas that I have come up with or ones that have already been mentioned because I think they're great: how did a dog make an account on the forum and post this??? But then again, how does a dog pilot a mech... lol but yeah, I agree with all of those. I hope we start to see some of these things soon. More things should be out by now! Curse of the Moon 1 had official T-shirts, so I'm hoping the sequel does too.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 13, 2020 16:00:01 GMT -6
Konami has fooled themselves into believing that Castlevania: Castlevania Edition isn't what people would buy.
They've seen Bloodstained essentially do that, but probably are not interested in such a risk themselves. Risk is probably the dirtiest 4-letter word to those guys - even a mobile microtransactions game only launched in Canada scared them off. Re-releasing stuff is the safest, easiest bet that's highest on return of investment.
I honestly still believe that the new producer wants to do good things, and has his heart in the right place, but what they allow him to do vs not isn't his choice. Same as happened with Igarashi himself.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 13, 2020 15:46:10 GMT -6
I think you'll find the adjustments made with 2 quite satisfying then, in regards to difficulty and overall design, but I would agree with CV3 (and Rondo, being like it) as more substantial in terms of the branching paths aspect. Going to different parts of stages is nice, but different stages entirely depending on your choices is certainly more exciting.
I don't know if I could say that CotM1 or 2 are "better games" than CV3, but that's not really something I look for or something all that worthwhile to evaluate for my personal experience. I do much rather enjoy having many "really good games" than pitting them against one another in comparisons that may not be fair, and with my limited understanding of them on a technical and even expert gameplay level. It wouldn't be fair to CV3 how CotM has 30 years of advancement and know-how, and it wouldn't be fair to CotM how CV3 is a childhood giant and pioneer of this game type.
They're excellent all around, basically, and CotM's sequel even moreso than the first, I think. It also seems to be coming to a point where it knows and is embracing that it's not "just Castlevania by another name", and that's likely for the best. As an artist or developer, you want your thing to have its own identity, not having its destiny rooted in imitation. It can and does still walk a line though where it does both homage and move forward just enough - and I expect Iga's future games to do that even more so.
I think the 16-bit game will happen, in Bloodstained's franchise, but it will not per se be the "Castlevania" the corest of people like us are thinking of because it indeed isn't and probably shouldn't be. It's on Konami's plate to honor that or not, with its assets, characters, atmosphere and music that have their own identity.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 13, 2020 3:15:41 GMT -6
dareka You're right about that. It's also quite easy for the average person to completely glance over how those graphics were improved. I like how the developers put it themselves, it kind of shows us a game "how we remember it" rather than how games actually looked. I'm quite aware that it looks better than any NES game. Some of the stuff already is at or approaching a "16 bit" quality that people want. Indeed, the manner with which you have to balance using your different characters and their abilities is nothing like any other game I've played, Castlevania or not. I would also note that with something like the music, I noticed that it's not entirely Castlevania now, but carving out its own identity as well. That's good. I edited my post that you quoted while you were making yours, btw, but I don't think it really adds anything specifically to what you were saying.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 12, 2020 23:54:24 GMT -6
Thanks for the non-spoilers. A sentiment I've heard out there is that this will be like Mega Man 10 compared to Mega Man 9, in the sense that, despite continuing on a retro revival, the reach will lessen because most people (i.e. general audience beyond hardcore Castlevania fans) will feel they already got enough of what they wanted for a "novel" retro experience with the first Curse of the Moon. Not sure how true or not this statement will turn out to be. Yeah, I've seen that review. Venture Beat, right? There's another that explicitly says it dodged a Mega Man 10 situation, here: www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/bloodstained_curse_of_the_moon_2Also, if we measure things in "nostalgic punch" like the Venture Beat review talks about, that's a depressing metric that doesn't necessarily mean anything anyway. Referring to their closing statement here: "The games don't feel nostalgic enough anymore". That probably shouldn't be chief on your list of how you evaluate something, it already being such a subjective idea. Is it good? Is it fun? Is there value to something being an "old design" beyond just being an old design in novelty and "remember whens"? I would certainly hope so.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 12, 2020 23:13:26 GMT -6
No idea yet. Inti Creates let us know when the first game hit 100k downloads in ~10 days, so we might get similar data this time. I expect the sales performance to be similar to that. I'm going to say it's a safe bet that the Switch version probably sold like 60-70% of the split among consoles.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 12, 2020 22:56:33 GMT -6
Originally, the below is from a thread where someone was asking about "CotM1 vs CotM2". These thoughts are in two parts - the first bit after being episode 1, and now after having finished episode 2 (both on Veteran, each taking me almost exactly 4.5 hours each):
I think it's too soon for most of us to say, but my gut reaction/first take is like
CotM1 wins easily on music*, from what I've heard. CotM2 beats it out in almost everything else - graphics, variety, characters, replayability etc. Some people would prefer 1 if they like an easier/shorter game in general, and something that's a more "focused" experience than the quantity of things that 2 throws at you. The inverse is true if you want a challenge - and I myself felt like CotM1 was a bit too easy aside from solo, no power-up Zangetsu, which the game doesn't incentivize you to do very much.
CotM2 is more or less like "more of a good thing", when the good thing was already good enough/exactly what some people wanted, and depending on how much you care about music, that can weigh in for a lot. For me though, I'm giving 2 the edge because there's so much care, polish and charm, as much as the first game (what I expected) and more.
update to my previous thoughts, since I just beat episode 2:
it's definitely better. Man. Lol this game is so good
This is still just how I feel about it, but yeah, the design of this thing really has all of the characters shine in their own unique ways, and how it all fits together in stages and bosses is SO good like no other game I can think of right off. It nails the retro feel of game design while giving you a stiff challenge yet powerful options to face that. You have to pay attention and really learn boss patterns a lot of the time, as it should be.
CotM1 was something like a triumphant curiosity for most out there, like it was surprisingly good "against all odds" of being a stretch goal game with no expectations tied to it. To me of course, it was certainly more than that and not as much of a surprise, but general audiences did receive it that way. This one goes beyond that feeling, it's excellent game design and has charm like I haven't seen since the old days when games like it were contemporary. This is how you design a good retro game, and how you make a good sequel.
*Side note on music: I haven't heard much I wanted to listen to outside of the game, so far. The first game's music grew on me, though, and I think it's a good thing that it doesn't try so hard to sound like "just Castlevania". It has a unique flavor to it that I appreciate.
Like, I and probably most other people really liked CotM1's "Malicious Intent" (the "Defiler of Taboos" stage), but that was mostly because...it sounded so much like a CV song. I don't know if I can say that it should chase that - but maybe just a bit more like that, in the way of energetic, somewhat happier riffs and melodies rather than the constancy of even-toned spookiness. More likely to give it re-listens that way, if it's doing something other than just trying to denote "this is a scary environment".
edit: (after beating the final episode)
After getting the final episode's ending last night, I think I'm ready to say that Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is easily a candidate for the best classicvania. The main playthroughs of episode 1-final change it up enough that it feels different each time, and the very end is WILD. I had 4.5 hours each in ep 1-2, and spent 9.5 hours in the final episode. I haven't unlocked ep 3 yet because that takes an ending I didn't get.
The way it encourages and uses the variety of your characters is so smart and thoughtful in design. Just when something seems "impossible", it usually means I'm forgetting something or haven't explored one of their abilities yet. The teamwork and game design ideas are just out of this world good imo. It's a classicvania that I've played for about 20 hours and haven't even seen all the content yet, and I want to play it more
I played the whole thing on "Veteran", but there's no shame on using "Casual" if you want. It is definitely fair and quite balanced if you stick to Veteran, and you'll get to see how genius the design is re: utilizing everything with that.
It's so well thought-out and rewarding, and there are so many surprises and charming touches. Nostalgia notwithstanding, it just has so much and pushes things way farther than just "Castlevania but not" - this game is beyond that and has become something all its own. I've seen a couple of 10/10 critic reviews for this game and I think they might be right.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 11, 2020 15:19:24 GMT -6
Yamane's contribution to even the first game was limited to songs that are Inti arrangements of her existing RotN compositions. Most of the rest of them were completely Inti Creates (it's about 10 Yamane-written songs, 30 of theirs - with her actually doing nothing herself for the game besides them arranging that existing RotN music). vgmdb.net/album/84936Also, having beaten episode 1 now myself last night, it definitely gets tougher, but the options your characters get are also quite strong. It feels maybe on the same level as a Mega Man X game in difficulty - if you utilize all your upgrades, weapons, armors, etc it's doable. If you don't collect or use those things, you'll have a hard time on the first go for sure haha Me for instance, I realized I skipped an "attack up" powerup at the boss of the stage it was in, and was noticing I wasn't doing enough damage to the boss. When I got the game over and went back through the stage, I was like OH, right lol.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 10, 2020 20:14:00 GMT -6
I didn't think Dracula X was that bad either haha. It's been a long time, but even Dracula I just remember having to be patient.
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 10, 2020 15:25:24 GMT -6
I'm at the beginning of stage 5 now, and so far I've lost a character twice - once Robert and I revived him with Dominique, and a second time vs Vepar. I think the difficulty is quite fair/good so far, and much easier than old Castlevania games still. I played through JP and NA CV3 lately and lol it's not in the same category as that. Hachi on his own is pretty busted, and if one of your allies gets hurt or even dies, you can bring them back...having checkpoints...and making your own health drops. yeah lol
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 10, 2020 2:42:58 GMT -6
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 9, 2020 14:08:48 GMT -6
I'd be very surprised if it didn't happen
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 8, 2020 20:22:37 GMT -6
Happy for CotM2, but Konami using LRG is kind of wack
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 8, 2020 16:22:02 GMT -6
I was waiting to try it when it would finally have a full release, but...not even going that far, I guess. Didn't perform to their expectations in Canada-only? Rrrrright. Konami always with the bad decisions
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 2, 2020 18:52:35 GMT -6
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 1, 2020 18:50:34 GMT -6
yeah I know haha. I linked this interview in the KS comments recently
I'm not reading all of these interviews myself though, at least not in whole from potential spoilerz
|
|
purifyweirdshard
Administrator
Administrator
Calling from Heaven
Posts: 3,789
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
inherit
Administrator
210
0
1
Apr 5, 2024 19:44:53 GMT -6
3,660
purifyweirdshard
Calling from Heaven
3,789
Jun 29, 2015 7:24:38 GMT -6
June 2015
purifyweirdsoul
Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Example 2
|
Post by purifyweirdshard on Jul 1, 2020 16:58:34 GMT -6
There are options to revive/HP to come back, at least. We'll have her beat before the next Bloodstained sequel is announced!
|
|