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Turbogfx

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Posts posted by Turbogfx

  1. Posted

    It's been a while since this thread has seen any new posts. And so I thought I'd ask you Castlevania fans about your thoughts on two of the best known 16-bit Castlevania's:

     

    - Super Castlevania IV (SNES)

    - Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis / Megadrive)

     

    I admit it, I really, REALLY have a soft spot for the Genesis game.

    To me, Bloodlines (or The New Generation in Europe) got a lot of things right about what makes a Castlevania game great, and used the Genesis' best features to enhance the game even more:

     

    - kick-ass soundtrack (with those fat Genesis bass-lines)

    - character animation and sprite art are superb

    - backgrounds and environmental visual effects were mind-blowing for the time (just look at the Tower of Pisa level, or the Mirror palace at the end)

    - good difficulty level, altough I'm not a big fan of the limited number of continues

    - gameplay is a nice cross-over between CV III and Super Castlevania IV controls

    - 2 playable characters (although I have only played one of the two)

    - memorable boss battles

     

    In general, I really prefer Bloodlines over Super Castlevania IV. The latter, in my opinion, was a bit too easy, the soundtrack was underwhelming and it didn't really bring anything new to the table.

     

    What do you think about both games? Which one do you prefer and why would that be?

    Cheers!

  3. Posted

    So, I finished Castlevania Chronicles (Original Mode) last weekend on the PS1.

    That is one brutally difficult CV game, might be the hardest one I've played to date.

     

    I also got SOTN in the meantime, as well as Belmont's Revenge and Kid Dracula for the Gameboy Classic.

    I really like those games, I think Belmont's Revenge has some of the greatest CV tunes out there, definitely my favorite handheld CV game to date.

  4. Posted

    What bothers me most about this thing, is the facts that you can not use original Neo Geo controllers on the docking station to play these games.

     

    The site says: "... we have created a 1:1 all new NEOGEO X Arcade Stick. The experience is 100% the same."

     

    I'm not into handheld gaming, so the only reason I would buy this is to play it on a proper LCD TV. But if it will cost me even more to buy a second controller (to my knowledge they have not yet released a price for the controller) - which by the way I already have - I'll think I will pass.

     

    All in, their way of communicating does not lead me to think that they are very confident about this product performing well (quality-wise and sales-wise alike). I'd think twice before buying one of these...

  5. Posted

    I'll contribute some well know flaws for the Neo Geo CD:

     

    1. "DISK I/O ERROR", followed by an error code in brackets. These error codes can indcate the following problems:

     

    0000 = General error. Clean disc and try again.

    0001 = Read error due to damaged/dirty laser lens or disc.

    0002 and 0003 = Mechanical problem or copy protection alert.

     

    Source: neo-geo.com

     

    2. Flawed Neo Geo CD joypad --> D-pad clogs up with wite plastic dust pretty easily, disabling in-game movement in one or more directions. There are a couple of clips on Youtube on how to fix this. Fix is pretty easy, doesn't require much equipment. A pocket knife, small cross-head screwdriver, exacto knife and some q-tips will do the trick.

  10. Posted

    I've got a question for any one who's played Akumajou Dracula X: Chi No Rondo (PC Engine) and Dracula X (Vampire's Kiss in Europe) on the SNES:

     

    What are the differences between those two games, I haven't played them but they look fairly similar. Are they two entirely different games or are they more or less the same?

     

    Thanks!

  11. Posted · Edited by Turbogfx

    I felt Harmony of Dissonance was frustratingly repetitive and monotonous. The graphics were great for the time (that's what everyone gloated about), but It has a lot of other issues in my opinion, and they all really drag it down: The castle layout made little sense and has you going to one side all the way back to another over and over again (with minimal teleport rooms), the experience system was barely thought out (you get 1 EXP for spending time killing larger enemies later on in the game, but you get more to kill easier enemies), the typical room layout is completely uninspired (dash left twenty times, jump to a platform, dash right twenty times, jump to a platform, dash left twenty times, jump to a platform, rinse and repeat seemingly infinitely), there were cryptic puzzles like in Simon's Quest in order to progress (e.g., that one sewer/aquaducts section where you have to walk through a wall to get one of Vlad's pieces), and the worst part is that the music is seriously grating. It's just a poorly designed game. I can't fault anyone for enjoying it, but I was really disappointed with it when I finally buckled down and plowed through it back in April of this year.

     

    After playing some more of this game, I need to admit that I agree with most of what you are saying. While I still feel that the controls are good, it's kind of discouraging to backtrack through the whole castle once again, hoping to find a room in which you can progress with your newfound powers, only to find out after 30min of extra play, that you are stuck. I'm at 60.5% now, and honestly, I don't know how to proceed.

    Really frustrating...

  12. Posted

    I played the HoD/AoS Double Pack on GBA today, and I have some questions.

     

    Multiple times in this thread, Aria of Sorrow is preferred over Harmony of Dissonance. However, I have to say that I find Harmony of Dissonance quite enjoyable.

    Story seems to be rather meager but nonetheless, the gameplay is there IMO...

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    I finished Castlevania II: Simon's Quest on the NES this weekend.

     

    Despite the fact that the game's riddles are WAY too cryptic to figure out without a walkthrough (for me at least), I actually really liked many other aspects of the game, like the music, the graphics, the overall dark and desolate atmosphere, as well as the items and weapon upgrades.

     

    If they would have built in a map screen and made the riddle a bit less vague, this would have been a kick-ass Castlevania game. The few boss "fights" could use a remake as well :-)

  16. Posted

    Don't think I'm making any friends with my posts in this thread, but I also once bought CIB Chronotrigger and Final Fantasy III on the same day at the same thrift store for $1 apiece... I have indeed been very lucky! Nothing compared to the guy on here who got the Vectrex Mr.Boston, though.

     

    Wow.. THAT is amazing. We didn't even get FF III in Europe, and Chrono Trigger nowadays is even more expensive out here than the US NTSC version...

  19. Posted

    I love Portrait of Ruin. I'm probably in the minority on that one.

     

    I've tried getting into one of the GBA ones and the DS one before PoR, the ones with the white haired guy which are supposed to take place in 20XX or something. They just don't click with me. They're nowhere near as entertaining as I found PoR.

     

    I'd just recommend staying away from Order of Ecclessia. It's bad.

     

    Hm, interesting, I'll make sure to check out some PoR gameplay first. What is it you like about PoR so much? I really like a straight forward CV game. While I love SotN-type Castlevania, I really appreciate the level design more than the RPG gameplay element.

     

     

    I didn't mind Order of Ecclesia. As the third Castlevania DS outing, however, the whole thing was starting to get a little long in the tooth. The three games just kind of blend together for me. I did like the character illustrations in Ecclesia. Each character kinda had this look on their face where you could immediately read their personality and what they were thinking. It was a refreshing change from the cute anime style that creeped into the Castlevania series. About the only 2D Castlevania game I don't like is Harmony of Dissonance. That one felt completely uninspired. I've probably already mentioned it in this thread somewhere.

     

    Character illustrations do look a bit darker, indeed. I don't care that much about the DoS anime style that you see in some other DS games. Although it doesn't bother me either. It's still Castlevania, you know ;-)

     

    I had one annoyance with CV III. And that was the multiple paths / characters. Because once you pick one, THAT'S IT.

     

    So this being the NES and getting through a level being a hard-fought achievement.. it always left me wondering if I chose the "harder" path or if I picked a bad character for the level. It just got frustrating for me with all the second guessing. :lol:

     

    The branching paths in CV III offer a great replay value IMO, especially for and NES game, and even more so if you're a Castlevania fan. Even after 3 playthroughs you will play levels which you have never played before. I think that's really cool. :-)

     

    The first of the three GBA Metroidvanias, Circle of the Moon, is quite a good, long, and even challenging game of this style. While it lacks the sprawling inventories and sheer variety of collectibles of SOTN, Aria of Sorrow and others, it's rather a quality effort and my vote for best game among the early days of the GBA. If you do give it a spin, try to resist using the glitch that lets you equip card combos you shouldn't have access to yet, it's (obviously) not as rewarding a play that way.

     

    I definitely like the art direction. I think I'll pick this one up when I come across it.

     

    Thanks to all of you for the advice!

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