Castlevania: Advanced Collection

[Maf]

I bought this compilation on Switch like 17,000 years ago but decided to play it for the first time last night. I know basically nothing about the Castlevania series. The only games I’ve played are the ones people think are bad, so this collection pack is really good for me so I can play some classic games 

‘I started with the first one which is simply called Castlevania. It confused me because it makes it sound like a remake but Google tells me this is actually Circle of the Moon. Which I’ve heard of before but didn’t know they dropped that title in the EU/UK version. Not that it matters, I guess, but trivia. 

 

At first I was really enjoying it. It controls a bit stiff and for a Metroidvania it seemed kind of straight forward but I like the little systems it’s got going on. Different cards granting different abilities, the loot drops are fun, the secrets are easy but rewarding to find. The first boss was this wolf thing that kicked the shit out of me but I got him beat second try and felt really good about the game.

 

However I’ve now done the second boss. Some floating grim reaper guy. And as much as I like the game the map in this game is kind of annoying. It does the thing I dislike the most in Metroidvania’s and that’s super long, vertical shafts. It’s just not a great time jumping up and down them all day. The power ups I’ve got so far are also not that exciting. Double jump, sprint and a tackle to break blocks. 
 

I still like it and intend to finish it but the map’s a bit weak and the abilities a bit hmm. The gameplay is fun, the bosses are quite good. I think the difficulty on these aspects is just right. In a new area I’m limping too but always make it to a save room which makes the challenge seem right. And both bosses were tough but both beatable with some concentration and quick adapting to patterns. So there’s the right amount of challenge there to make it interesting. 

[Maf]

😲

 

It’s taken me 3 months but I finally figured out how these work

 

This game is fucking awesome by the way. I only put it on again randomly while waiting for stuff and I’ve played it for about 3 hours non-stop.

[mfnick]

Cockatrice? 

[one-armed dwarf]

9 minutes ago, mfnick said:

Cockatrice? 

It gains experience points from walking

[HandsomeDead]

Quote

A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon wyvern or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. Described by Laurence Breiner as "an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans", it was featured prominently in English thought and myth for centuries.

 

These mf-ers would petrify you in FFVII.  Not a fan.

[mfnick]

Cool name though. 

[Maf]

So I’ve only figured it out about 20 minutes ago but the card system in this game is pretty cool. The top row of cards are modifiers and the bottom row of cards are action. You have to select two at the same time and the modifier card changes the action card. For example if I used the first card from both rows my whip has a fire effect. But if I use the second card from the top row it has a thorn effect.

 

It wasn’t obvious at all because when getting a card the description is ???. You have to activate it and kill bad guys for the description to complete. What was confusing me though is I didn’t realise the cards change what they do. So I got a description for card, paired it with a different card and it would go back to ???. I was like what the fuck.

 

I get it now, though. It’s pretty rad. Now I just need enemies to drop more cards so I can find more powerful stuff.

 

One of the things I just found which is super helpful is I can give the whip a stone effect that turns enemies in to platforms. That’s opened up a few things to me now that I was stumped on before. I was waiting for some kind of ability. But I had the means the whole time and didn’t realise.

 

To do awesome shit like this