Episode 4- Operation Akumajo

Very Nice. Just finished listening to the whole thing. And it is now 12:42AM so I must be off to bed... where I should have been 2 hours ago.

Good evening to all and to all a good bite. I mean night. XD

Another great episode (so was episode 3 but I never got around to posting about it). I think the audio mixing (levels between speakers and background ost) was probably at its best here of the four episodes so far. I had only heard about Operation Akumajo when the Bloodstained kickstarter began so this episode was very informative. cecil-kain is a bigger big shot than I thought. Many props to him for his contributions to the KS, this forum, and the work he has done behind the scenes for the Castlevania fanbase. Some comments I had on points brought up in this episode:

• Lords of Shadow is scored a lot like a Hollywood movie and not so much like a video game. That's why a lot of the music is atmospheric but doesn't really pop or stand out to you. It lacks a "hum-ability" factor that is often important in old school video game OSTs such as the Castlevania series.
• With regards to Castlevania lore, I think it helps that each game in the series builds off each other and has a connected history stretching decades of games. Not many video game series can a real, robust and meaningful timeline. Metal Gear comes to mind but not many others. I think that may be part of its appeal even if it can get convoluted or reconnected often.
• I know a lot of people like to hold up SOTN as the GOAT but even as great as that game was (and boy was it good), I personally like AoS and OoE more. Or at least they are comparable I feel and definitely not lesser games. I think that's probably because of all the Igavanias, SOTN was actually the last one I played rather than the first one like for many on this forum.
• I think a Concert Hall or a Music Parlor that doubles as a sound test sounds awesome for a backer hidden room.
• I don't know how many people donated to make a hidden room but perhaps there should be some coordination between people so like Miriam doesn't get like 5 rooms LOL? I guess probably Inticreates will take care of that later
• Regarding Miriam's room, stuff like warp & save points in the room sound great as decorations and maybe a way to manipulate a day & night cycle (if such a thing were to be in the game). The rest discussed seems a bit much IMO
• I'd assume backer portraits would be spread across hallways or art rooms ala Shovel Knight?
• A whip that turns you into a Vampire? Seems something better suited to a transformation or an armor/accessory?
• Not a fan of swimming mechanics in these sorts of games but I recall there was a thread on this subject in the game suggestions forum and I already expressed that same opinion there.
• With regards to the "Undead Executive" backer enemy, I'm not sure there's any need to poke the Konami hive. I'd say just let them be. Also business suits seem to clash with the vibe of the game? Like a business suit is something I think works as a silly costume but I feel enemies (made by Inticreates or by backers) should fit the game world. Just my two cents.
• Gunvolt just added a Christmas Mode to their game. Snow, new music, etc. Might be something to look at with regards to holiday events in this game?
• I'm 100% confident Dawn of Sorrow would have sold worse on PS3 than the 3DS (to say nothing of the fact it would have been more expensive to produce given resolutions differences and what not). Remember, the DS (2nd best selling system of all time) outsold the PS3 and I think 2D games in general were under-appreciated on consoles back then though I think that's been improving lately with the flourishing of the indie game scene. I also think diminished sales had a lot to do with the hyperfast schedule Konami made Iga put the games out (burnout). Finally, I think the fact Castlevania failed to make the jump to 3D in a successful way like say Mario or Zelda meant the series overall fell in the public profile. The Mario and Zelda series still get 2D games but I think if those series hadn't made a smooth transition into the 3D realm, even the 2D games would have suffered. I honestly can't think of any multi-decade old series that didn't see massive declines in popularity as it crossed the 16 and 32+ bit generations threshold if it didn't at least have successful ventures in the 3D realm. I can't definitively establish any of this but that's what I believe.

Due to the language barrier I doubt I will ever get to speak with IGA. I don't have a guest lined up, but I've talked to Dan Stern from Playism about coming on. I wish wiggychiggy would be available as he was my first intended guest. Also, Goob and Gunlord and a few others are on my list.

When we get our community manager, I want to have them on immediately so we can all get to know them.

It's tough trying to contact AlphaOmegaSin but I've tried to invite him too. Everyone go bug Alpha to come on the show.

Cecil Kain did disclaim that he got a lot of flack for his view on having less hardware capabilities limiting the ability of the creator, but it is at least an intriguing thought. Making more with less with resources of time and hardware while still being expected to innovate and improve couldn't be easy. This is one of the reasons I think we should embrace the technology and get old school game play with cutting edge visuals and sound design.

Mike, this is a fantastic edit --amazing work!  Next time I promise I'll get more than 4 hours sleep!


  Cheers.   

Really nice podcast. Loved the inclusion of Mr. Akumajo Facebook page owner himself being a guest. You two had some good topics. Made for a interesting car ride home from school.

I'm now starting to wonder who's next for the podcast as a guest.

Seems reasonable. My input, (even though it would be hard doing so) maybe more than one guest if you were to do you and fans from the forum? I'd be a bit awkward, but I love hearing different opinions in discussions like these. Not saying you should do something like that, all up to you Mike. Its your podcast. And by any means, I'll support it.

Understandable. Like I said, it's your podcast. Keep up the good work Mike.