Castlevania-The Dracula X Chronicles Thread of Ass-Whippage

[Jack Burton]

I did this last year. SO GOOD. Really worth playing through again. I forgot just how good this game was.

I'm playing the PSP Symphony of the Night. The game has froze up on me a few times.

I finally beat Symphony with Richter on the Xbox360 version. Now I have all the achievements!

I had a problem with Castlevania on psp freezing up on me every time I tried to save the game(it froze with other games as well). I recently upgraded to the slim model (and traded in my original) and don't have any more problems.

I know I got ripped off, but I couldn't sell it to anyone here knowing it had issues (sometimes I couldn't even turn it on or off). The manager at gamestop said "we don't care if it's broken or not". Fine by me!

Regarding the Japanese Castlevania 3: In order to get the sound to work properly, I'm guessing just a converter won't work. Are there any versions of the famicom that won't work? I have one of those 50 in 1 players that plays famicom games.

Off topic, but I would love to get a nintendo modded with s-video. That would be nice.

 

[FairlanePhantom]

Yeah, you need a Jp Famicom for the sound to play properly, though it's worth it when you compare the version everyone else got. Would there really be a difference with S-video? I know I'd like to find some kind of video upgrade for top loaders to get rid of the vertical lines. My original model Nintendo never had the lines.

 

[Jack Burton]

Yeah, you need a Jp Famicom for the sound to play properly, though it's worth it when you compare the version everyone else got. Would there really be a difference with S-video? I know I'd like to find some kind of video upgrade for top loaders to get rid of the vertical lines. My original model Nintendo never had the lines.

Well, the problem is that when I use composite signals through my upscan converter the graphics on screen kind of shake at a regular interval. It's not very noticeable, but enough to annoy me. S-video signals look great.

 

[FairlanePhantom]

Well, with that problem with composite, I guess even if the picture isn't any better, at least it'll get rid of the shake. Has anyone done the S-video mod on an NES before?

 

[hanafuda]

Been playing this for the last week.

Lovin' it.

 

[subbie]

Been playing this for the last week.

Lovin' it.

Welcome to the party

 

[KagerouSama]

Epic Bump of Fail?

Quick questions guys...
I've picked up this title as a beginner at Castlevania.
I'm lagging behind at level 2. I've rescued Maria.

Two questions:
Using Maria, when you re-enter the room you rescue Maria from, what does the egg do?

Using either Maria or Richter, against the Werewolf....
Is it better to get the crosses? Or is the Holy Water a better choice?
(I think Maria gets a turtle? I'm not sure.)
I'll eventually get the pattern down. Just didn't have a ton of time to sink in this week. (I'm sitting at 10%.)

Thanks for bearing with my n00b questions, guys.

 

[Jack Burton]

Quick questions guys...
I've picked up this title as a beginner at Castlevania.
I'm lagging behind at level 2. I've rescued Maria.

Two questions:
Using Maria, when you re-enter the room you rescue Maria from, what does the egg do?

Using either Maria or Richter, against the Werewolf....
Is it better to get the crosses? Or is the Holy Water a better choice?
(I think Maria gets a turtle? I'm not sure.)
I'll eventually get the pattern down. Just didn't have a ton of time to sink in this week. (I'm sitting at 10%.)

Thanks for bearing with my n00b questions, guys.

Well, when using Richter I would usually get the holy water. Then again I don't use items too much against this boss.

You need to be aware of the pattern it uses. Once you see it hanging on the ceiling you want to move towards the opposite side of the screen. It should land exactly where your character was when it left the ceiling. The closer you are to the side wall, the more time you will have to hit it before it climbs too high on the other side wall. If done properly, you can get 2-4 hits each time the boss goes through that pattern. If you use the holy water in conjunction with that technique you can get more hits. Repeat and win.

Just don't forget, even when the werewolf is on the side wall keep trying to jump straight up and hit it. Sometimes you can get in a good shot or two.

 

[KagerouSama]

I've made it all the way to whopping level 3.
I can get to the Skeleton guarding the bell with Maria, but that's it for now.
So, I've backtracked to the alternate level 2.

The crosses do good damage against the Wyvern. (The Skeleton monster, whatever it's called.)
But don't'ya'know that I can only get the thing down to 1/3 life before being crushed to oblivion. (Using Richter.)

Should I stick with the first level 2 path to stock hearts for use?
I use up most of the levels hearts against the knight before the Skeleton monster using holy water to keep my distance and keep from getting killed.
I try to dodge the thing, but I end up getting hit with it's tail in the second form.

I know patience is key. So I guess what I'm really doing is venting.
But advise can't hurt either. So...thread resurrection anyone?

 

[KagerouSama]

This post is a gameplay spoiler for those who want SOTN:




In stage 3 when fighting the bone dragon after climbing the steps, you'll see a dangling green glob in the air. Defeat the dragon and attack the glob. It becomes a platform. Go up and to the right, carefully jumping across the gaps. You will reach a platform with a light colored tombstone. Break it open and the item inside is SOTN.



End spoiler.

SOTN can be found in Alternate Stage 3 as well. (Didn't see if anyone else had posted it.) Where you fight the bone dragons. (Two in the same area.) There's a white tombstone above Maria's head while fighting and defeating the second bone dragon mount. Hit it with a pidgin and jump up to get it when the item is in reach to get SOTN.

SOTN is a weird Castlevania. Not linear at all like the others. Lots of backtracking for things and the like. Still not to level 4. (As I continually lag behind.) But I'll get original Rhondo.

 

[Electric Grave]

SOTN is a weird Castlevania. Not linear at all like the others. Lots of backtracking for things and the like. Still not to level 4. (As I continually lag behind.) But I'll get original Rhondo.

I hear you buddy, but think of it this way the previous 5 castlevanias where made this way. I actually love it, but I preffer the original Rondo above all.

 

[BIG]

SOTN is a weird Castlevania. Not linear at all like the others. Lots of backtracking for things and the like.

it's very similar to simon's quest.

 

[KagerouSama]

it's very similar to simon's quest.

I never get far in Simon's Quest. (We are talking about Castlevania II on NES, right?)
A terrible night for a curse, indeed.
At least in SOTN it's upfront with the monster killing. Simon's Quest always had me panicking when the curse set in.
If anything SOTN reminds me of MegaMan ZX for DS. (Yeah, I know SOTN beat it by a couple of years. But that's the order I've played them in.)

Who knows? Maybe I'll give Simon's Quest another shot after this.

 

[Electric Grave]

I never get far in Simon's Quest. (We are talking about Castlevania II on NES, right?)
A terrible night for a curse, indeed.
At least in SOTN it's upfront with the monster killing. Simon's Quest always had me panicking when the curse set in.
If anything SOTN reminds me of MegaMan ZX for DS. (Yeah, I know SOTN beat it by a couple of years. But that's the order I've played them in.)

Who knows? Maybe I'll give Simon's Quest another shot after this.

More like metroid for me, but yeah I gues the Zero games can be considered similar, hell even similar to the 2 sorrow games with all the familiars and such.

 

[KagerouSama]

More like metroid for me, but yeah I gues the Zero games can be considered similar, hell even similar to the 2 sorrow games with all the familiars and such.

You mean the GBA games? I've missed out on them.
So many Castlevanias, so little time.
Why, oh, why didn't I buy the double pack when I had the chance?!

Or are they the DS titles? Haven't played those either.
Been playing Drac X and the Original.

Picked up Simon's quest for a bit tonight.
How the heck to you get more money in this game?

Other than that, loving the remake.

Jump in chat, man. Nothing important going on in there. We can shoot the breeze there.

 

[SouthtownKid]

You mean the GBA games? I've missed out on them.
So many Castlevanias, so little time.
Why, oh, why didn't I buy the double pack when I had the chance?!

Yeah, they're GBA... Good stuff, but the Metroid formula gets a bit repetitive if you play the games one after another. And it never works as well as it did in SotN...that game is very well designed and laid out. In the following GBA games, you really start to feel the weight of all the backtracking. Eventually, I decided I like the straight-up 'one level follows another until you get to the end of the game' style of the classic games over the 'artificially-lengthened with endless backtracking' style of the GBA games.

 

[LoneSage]

SOTN would have never existed had Metroid (and in particular, Super Metroid) never came to be.

 

[Electric Grave]

You mean the GBA games? I've missed out on them.
So many Castlevanias, so little time.
Why, oh, why didn't I buy the double pack when I had the chance?!

Or are they the DS titles? Haven't played those either.
Been playing Drac X and the Original.

Picked up Simon's quest for a bit tonight.
How the heck to you get more money in this game?

Other than that, loving the remake.

Jump in chat, man. Nothing important going on in there. We can shoot the breeze there.

Yeah 3 games where for the GBA

Circle of the Moon: First Attempt on the GBA to recreate the SOTN gameplay, well for starters it was too dark and there was no baclkit back then, and the character was a bit stiff, but the card system is quite interesting.

Harmony of Dissonance: Second game for the GBA, I thought it was a pretty decent game, however the animation on the character took a step backward, and this time the backgrounds/sprites were drawn/colored with the lighting issues in mind, but it was a tad late guiven that backlit was already a reality. Gameplay is superb thanks to the simplicity of it with back/foward quick dashes, and the old school feel to it.

Aria of Sorrow: Here's were Konami got serious, great game, fantastic aura. It is extremely hard to believe that this game is on a freaking GBA, simply amazing. The only thing is that exploration and backtrack is a hughe part of the game, but the familiars and the story make up for it nicely.

Dawn of Sorrow: First DS title, hence the name, a masterpiece every single detail of this game is a work of art, the story is great as well, and it is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow, same gameplay with an even bigger map, Oh! and it's at the bottom of the screen which is just what the DS was meant for, to have access to the map at all times. No complaints whatsoever with this game, except perhaps the art, now that was a damn shame.

Portrait of Ruin: Another DS game with incredible features, the tagging adds to the game more than you can imagine, love the game and it's gimmicks like the paintings and so on, this is a great game, I'm not a big fan of the story though, perhaps it has to do with the newcomers and the art.

5 Great games man, go get them and enjoy, but Southtownkid is right don't play them one after the other you just might go insane with all that damn exploration.

Hope this helps, and I'm going to chat right now.

 

[wizkid007]

I have my brand new copy sitting in my room. I have no desire to even open it, but I will get around to downloading it. Just a matter of when.

Fuck I am jaded, I buy games then dont even play them.

 

[hanafuda]

This game is soooo good. Has barely been out of my PSP since I got it.

Still only at 44% though. There is a lot of stuff I simply haven't figured out yet, but I want to do it for myself so am not looking up how to do it.

Finally beat the Hydra with Richter last night. Very satisfying and rewarding, even though my technique was pretty crap.

Oh, as for Dawn of Sorrow, I personally thought it was weak. Zero challenge, endless backtracking through the same non-descript levels with piss easy enemies blah blah. It nearly put me off Castlevania games for good. I just found I was plodding though it to increase my completion percentage and not because I actually enjoyed playing it.

Thankfully, Dracula X Chronicles has restored my faith.

 

[barf]

I didn't bother to finish SOTN again in the Chronicles, is there some kind of unsuspected extra , like a new ending for example ?

Are the Saturn extras in this version (maria, plus the extra areas)?

To come back to the GBA games, i always prefered COTM to the others, because the music is -to me- much better, and i love the darker tones.

 

[Ajax]

I didn't bother to finish SOTN again in the Chronicles, is there some kind of unsuspected extra , like a new ending for example ?

Are the Saturn extras in this version (maria, plus the extra areas)?

To come back to the GBA games, i always prefered COTM to the others, because the music is -to me- much better, and i love the darker tones.

I think the Saturn stuff is in it, actually. Kinda cool.

 

[fenikso]

I think the Saturn stuff is in it, actually. Kinda cool.

Maria's in, but the extra levels are not. I've been unable to access the Axe Lord armor new game save, which I wanted to do for fun mostly. Got 200.6% though, the highest I've ever gotten I think.

PS - The new voices suck.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Anyone not using the Japanese voices in SotN deserves to have sucky voices.

 

[taitai]

SOTN and DoS were about on the same level difficulty wise, IMHO.

SOTN was pretty ground breaking by taking the Castlevania II gameplay so much further to where it needed to be. Lots of weapons, items, armors, capes(Yay for bright pink on blue and other gay combos)...

I just finished SOTN's 3rd ending, beating Dracula with less than 196ish%, not sure if I want to grind my way through the constant super jumping and Bat forming it'd take to get from like, 140ish to 200.6.