What is a woman? A miserable little pile of glyphs.
THE LAST 2D CASTLEVANIA GAME. (harmony of despair is not real)
It’s been a while since I beat this one, but relistening to the soundtrack has flooded my brain with feelings and thoughts I had forgotten about. This shit probably has my favorite Castlevania OST so far alongside Rondo. Shit hits all the right notes for me, literally and figuratively. Theming and dramatization has always been an important aspect of these games and there’s no shortage of it here. Our favorite girl in blue evolves throughout the story naturally and in an engaging way. Our villains and plot twists surrounding those villains leave their respective marks. In terms of dramatization the soundtrack ties back to this as well. Having areas be actual separate places I believe helps them differentiate themselves from each other tonally more than other games in the series.
Gameplay wise? Aria/Dawn taken to the extreme, which is not a negative at all. At first I thought having basic moves deplete your MP bar was a bit strange and counterintuitive, but as the game progressed it wasn’t an issue and also plays into Shanoa’s character nicely. I honestly really enjoyed the Metroid Fusion inspired progression here. Like I said before, the areas being separate gives them a bit more identity. It also makes things a bit less cluttered and allows for some nicely scripted story segments. The game ending with the exploration of Castlevania feels like a final ‘hurrah’ of sorts for the series, especially considering the legacy this game would entail. Contained within these castle walls are some of the most banging tunes you’ll hear in a Castlevania game. Shit fucks so hard goddamn. The castle also holds the most challenging yet most fun bosses. Except Eligor, fuck that shit lol. The Glyph system was surprisingly fun to play around with. Having powerful moves to use instead of your basic weapons was an interesting contrast to the past games. One thing that I found pretty stupid was that you have to absorb 45 glyphs to fully level up familiars. Fuck that. I only managed to get the Medusa heads to level 2, even with grinding.
In the end, I was left with satisfaction but yet, still yearning for more in a broader sense. I wished they went further with the mechanics displayed here in a sequel of sorts similar to Dawn of Sorrow. It’s unfortunate that the series’ 2D roots were eventually stripped from itself after this and then later the entire series would be stripped from Konami’s priority entirely. Yeah we have the collections, which I’m grateful Konami can do those right, but again, me and many others are still yearning for a new game to scratch that Castlevania itch. Bloodstained wasn’t quite enough to reach that itch personally, but it’s still a fantastic series.
”Now I can die with such happiness in my heart.”
THE LAST 2D CASTLEVANIA GAME. (harmony of despair is not real)
It’s been a while since I beat this one, but relistening to the soundtrack has flooded my brain with feelings and thoughts I had forgotten about. This shit probably has my favorite Castlevania OST so far alongside Rondo. Shit hits all the right notes for me, literally and figuratively. Theming and dramatization has always been an important aspect of these games and there’s no shortage of it here. Our favorite girl in blue evolves throughout the story naturally and in an engaging way. Our villains and plot twists surrounding those villains leave their respective marks. In terms of dramatization the soundtrack ties back to this as well. Having areas be actual separate places I believe helps them differentiate themselves from each other tonally more than other games in the series.
Gameplay wise? Aria/Dawn taken to the extreme, which is not a negative at all. At first I thought having basic moves deplete your MP bar was a bit strange and counterintuitive, but as the game progressed it wasn’t an issue and also plays into Shanoa’s character nicely. I honestly really enjoyed the Metroid Fusion inspired progression here. Like I said before, the areas being separate gives them a bit more identity. It also makes things a bit less cluttered and allows for some nicely scripted story segments. The game ending with the exploration of Castlevania feels like a final ‘hurrah’ of sorts for the series, especially considering the legacy this game would entail. Contained within these castle walls are some of the most banging tunes you’ll hear in a Castlevania game. Shit fucks so hard goddamn. The castle also holds the most challenging yet most fun bosses. Except Eligor, fuck that shit lol. The Glyph system was surprisingly fun to play around with. Having powerful moves to use instead of your basic weapons was an interesting contrast to the past games. One thing that I found pretty stupid was that you have to absorb 45 glyphs to fully level up familiars. Fuck that. I only managed to get the Medusa heads to level 2, even with grinding.
In the end, I was left with satisfaction but yet, still yearning for more in a broader sense. I wished they went further with the mechanics displayed here in a sequel of sorts similar to Dawn of Sorrow. It’s unfortunate that the series’ 2D roots were eventually stripped from itself after this and then later the entire series would be stripped from Konami’s priority entirely. Yeah we have the collections, which I’m grateful Konami can do those right, but again, me and many others are still yearning for a new game to scratch that Castlevania itch. Bloodstained wasn’t quite enough to reach that itch personally, but it’s still a fantastic series.
”Now I can die with such happiness in my heart.”
TNB12
1 day ago