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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Aceearly1993 on June 18, 2021, 04:33:58 PM

Title: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on June 18, 2021, 04:33:58 PM
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/06/castlevania_advance_collection_possibly_revealed_by_rating_in_australia (https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/06/castlevania_advance_collection_possibly_revealed_by_rating_in_australia)

Looks like another collection of ports is on its way. It's no doubt that this collection is emulation based given it's done by M2...
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Super Waffle on June 18, 2021, 04:51:43 PM
Can't wait to play as Dude Maria (a.k.a. Maxim) in Bad Symphony of the Night (a.k.a. HoD) just like old times.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: PFG9000 on June 18, 2021, 05:14:28 PM
What?  That's awesome!  Wouldn't it be cool if it was the GBA and the DS games?  But I'm sure it will just be the GBA Trilogy.  Still pretty good news.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on June 18, 2021, 06:22:17 PM
Quote
Wouldn't it be cool if it was the GBA and the DS games?

Seconded. The DS games were also portable titles, it's not just the Advance titles. But from the sounds of the 'Advance' in the collection it's only just going to be the three games. At least CotM will be in there since it hasn't seen a release after original launch with the GB Advance.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on June 18, 2021, 07:52:45 PM
At least CotM will be in there since it hasn't seen a release after original launch with the GB Advance.

COTM was on the Wii U though.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on June 19, 2021, 03:04:38 AM
I would find this release very frustrating if it didn’t make me feel like we’re one step closer to releasing what I really want, a DS collection.  I played the GBA games to death on the Wii U and have been able to play them on my TV since through the Game Cube adapter since forever ago.  I just want to be able to play the DS titles on a larger screen.  So frustrating that all the great Castlevania ports stopped coming on the Wii U before the DS games could be released and now the Switch isn’t half as nice a porting platform for DS games as the Wii U was.  But it would be nice to play the GBA Vanias on the Switch, so I’ll look forward to this anyways.  I just hope we end up getting DS game ports to Switch before the next Nintendo console comes out and they reset the port releases to the NES Castlevania titles again.

I wonder if there are any features that a collection like this could offer that would make it a little better than the Wii U ports?  I suppose an art gallery would be nice?  I wonder if they’d be able to get Iga’s inputs on the games with perhaps a new interview?  Maybe add some Trophys?  That could be fun.  I don’t suppose there’s any real differences between the North American versions and Japanese versions, other than text, that would make it worth playing the Japanese versions for?  I’d kinda like it if they unlocked the special characters and modes at the beginning of the game so we don’t have to beat the games “again” in order to play them.  How about a “rewind” feature?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Kamirine on June 19, 2021, 05:44:18 AM
I admit: after the first collection had like eight games and some of which were kinda rare/or hardly ever got ported previously, it’s going to be a bit of a let down getting a new collection with just three games that I still have the original carts and Wii U ports of.  I was really hoping the second collection, if we ever got one, would be just as meaty as the original one was.

…So yeah, I was hoping the DS games would be included. I would also love to see Rebirth get ported to anything other than Wii (or the Wii App thingy on Wii U).

I’ll buy it, as I love those games regardless, but I hope there’s more content there than just three games. 

I would grumble about Rondo, Vampire’s Kiss, Legends, and SoTN but I assume that pack/collection will come around once the tv show does the Rondo adaption. 

At least I hope.  I just really want to play Rondo and SotN on the go, sans cellphone.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: VladOfWallachia on June 19, 2021, 05:45:45 AM
I have very fond memories of the GBA era. Going from Castlevania Adventure to CotM was a gigantic jump for me, and it made the newly launched GBA feel like a true next gen portable console. I got my GBA and CotM within a few weeks of launch and played it until my eyes hurt. I quickly got through the main game then replayed it several times on the alternate Warrior, Mage etc. modes. I’ve always been a huge fan of CotM.

I couldn’t wait for US release of HoD, so I got the Japanese version as soon as it was available. I remember getting through most of the game without help, but there was one part I had to look up help for because I can’t read Japanese. I loved the crazy psychedelic color palette and fast paced gameplay. Beat it several times in Japanese before getting HoD on launch here in the US then replaying it again in English.

Hype was at an all time high, so I also got Aria on launch, and felt like it was clearly the best of the advanced trilogy. Loved this game too.

I played the hell out of the GBA games so much that I actually started feeling burnt out of the formula for the first time. By the time Dawn of Sorrow came out, I was starting to feel like I have done this enough times already, so I was never as enthusiastic about the DS games. Of those games, I’ve only ever finished PoR, by far my favorite of the DS games.

The GBA era was such a great time to be a Castlevania fan.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on June 19, 2021, 10:35:43 AM
Quote
COTM was on the Wii U though.

*a-hem* Physical release then, thanks for the info. I feel that Iga kinda made sure we didn't get it released again on a physical cart when he brought out HoD and AoS onto one cartage a few years afterwards. Most likely it was because he didn't make the game himself and thus it was not part of his CV timeline. I did feel disappointed with that as I though CotM was one of the best, if not 'the' best CV game for that system.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: angevil on June 19, 2021, 10:40:45 AM
I look forward to this collection. I got into Castlevania back then when CotM came out, it was my first CV game. It was with Aria that I fell in love with and really became this huge fan I am today, it’s still my favorite game. I have recently replayed it. I hope for LRG physical edition.

I would really like to have Rondo and Symphony on Switch, love those games, too. Why can’t it be released when it’s even on mobile phones?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on June 20, 2021, 12:05:51 AM
My guess for Rondo/SOTN being PS4-only is that they're the PSP versions of the games and Sony has a working PSP emulator for PS4. Probably why CV Requiem hasn't shown up on other platforms.

If Rondo and SOTN do show up on Switch, I hope it's a separate collection from Requiem, emulating the superior PC Engine and PS1 versions.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: The Puritan on June 20, 2021, 05:44:51 PM
Konami was probably going to announce this at E3 before they backed out. Would've preferred a combined GBA/DS collection, but I'm buying this if sales lead to a new game.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on June 21, 2021, 07:57:40 AM
I don't mean to complain about these reissues  because I know some people don't have these games but personally I already own all of these games and some I've bought 2 to 3 times already.

What has it been now 8 years? And instead of giving us a new game they want us to just keep buying the old ones we already have? Nope.

One thing is for sure it's a hell of a lot easier for them to just keep milking the old stuff than it is to stick their necks out and give the fans what they deserve. A proper console release.

I guess I'm just annoyed at how long it's been more than the reissues. But man... I'll give Konami my money again when it's a new game.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on June 21, 2021, 11:46:49 AM
Belmontoya@

I'd have to say the heads at Konami are afraid they'll screw it up if the try to make a new game. And the result will be a loss of some of their revenue. Not sure why this would be an issue when they've got that whole gambling thing going for 'em. Of wait! That was before COVID happened   ;D

Of course what Konami (and all major corporations for that matter) don't realize is that in order to make money you have to be willing to spend it.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on June 25, 2021, 10:41:11 AM
looks like it’s been rated in Korea, making the collection look a little more real.  just announce it formally already and give us the scoop!:

https://gamingbolt.com/castlevania-advance-collection-has-now-been-rated-in-korea-as-well
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: crisis on June 27, 2021, 09:49:27 AM
I don’t understand how anyone can get excited for this. I guess it’s the same people that get excited when Symphony gets another digital rerelease on another platform or cellphone


As stated previously a DS collection would be way more desirable
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on June 27, 2021, 12:38:14 PM
it’s one more step in giving “all” the games the “collection” treatment, which is welcome.  i will lament the games that end up missing out on the treatment though ha.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: crisis on June 27, 2021, 01:48:35 PM
I hear ya but a legacy collection containing the 3D games (except for the Lords of Shadow series) would’ve been great to see, especially considering Legacy of Darkness is quite expensive these days & not many people have access to them. Upscale the resolution, a gallery featuring unused/deleted content, etc. If Resurrection hadn’t been leaked then it would’ve been an excellent opportunity to include the demo in such a collection, and fans would actually be excited


The GBA games have been emulated to death, I think HoD & AoS were even released in a double pack at one point
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on June 27, 2021, 02:25:02 PM
Give the 3D games to Nightdive and I've no doubt it'll rock our socks with all the improvements we'd ever need; just look at the recent remaster of Shadow Man. Wouldn't be surprised if they had a mode to mash all the content of CV64 and Legacy of Darkness together for a director's cut of sorts. And for the love of all things beautiful in this world, Curse of Darkness needs the option for faster player movement.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on June 27, 2021, 04:57:44 PM
Quote
The GBA games have been emulated to death, I think HoD & AoS were even released in a double pack at one point

They were, which was why I was disappointed to hear that CotM was not in that collection.

Quote
Curse of Darkness needs the option for faster player movement.

I'd also go the extra mile and have Hector steel shit regardless of what the enemy is doing in order to successfully pull it off. That was always annoying...
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on June 29, 2021, 08:11:48 AM
As others have said, I'm happy to play, but I do wish they would just bundle the DS games in it too. Heck, I would be even happier (and I know this won't happen) if they bundled the rest of the Classicvania games like Rondo, Dracula X, and Chronicles. As well as CV64 and LoD in it too.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on June 29, 2021, 09:17:36 AM
I do have to wonder if they're doing it this way in order to save on data memory. Both the N64 titles as well as LoI and CoD would be quite large for a download.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on July 03, 2021, 09:22:50 PM
I don't mean to complain about these reissues  because I know some people don't have these games but personally I already own all of these games and some I've bought 2 to 3 times already.

What has it been now 8 years? And instead of giving us a new game they want us to just keep buying the old ones we already have? Nope.

One thing is for sure it's a hell of a lot easier for them to just keep milking the old stuff than it is to stick their necks out and give the fans what they deserve. A proper console release.

I guess I'm just annoyed at how long it's been more than the reissues. But man... I'll give Konami my money again when it's a new game.

I'm glad to see that they're giving the series some kind of recognition other than the show, but I agree. I won't have a use for this collection, unless they put some bonus material in there like they did with the anniversary collection. I was pleasantly surprised with that release.

Even if they did a new game via Steam Early Access, like they're doing with Getsu Fuma Den, I'd be happy to support that. Haven't played the new Getsu yet, but I intend to. I was a bit surprised to see that Konami was working on that.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Kamirine on July 06, 2021, 08:06:04 AM
. . .Any day now, Konami.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Super Waffle on July 07, 2021, 09:56:24 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/HrRotQB.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/MAYKaXR.jpg)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: PFG9000 on August 29, 2021, 04:03:10 PM
I dunno about you peeps, but I'm predicting a Halloween-ish release date for this compilation.  It wouldn't be the first time Konami put out a CV around Halloween.  And if that's the case, we should be getting a release announcement in the next few weeks.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: crisis on August 29, 2021, 04:56:54 PM
I would like to assume that if this does well (it probably won’t), that would open the possibility to port the DS games to Switch. I would be very interested in that, but that’s a very long shot



@Super Waffle
I have that doujinshi (as well as others), but I won’t post any scans here because it gets very raunchy
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on August 29, 2021, 06:38:35 PM
I would definitely get a PS4 or Switch copy of ‘Castlevania Advance’ and hopefully ‘Castlevania DS’… Preferably the latter, but either is fine. I actually don’t mind the digital releases to partner with the physical which would be kept sealed.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on August 30, 2021, 09:59:20 AM
Quote
@Super Waffle
I have that doujinshi (as well as others), but I won’t post any scans here because it gets very raunchy

Does it have a title..?  :-[
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on August 30, 2021, 06:39:29 PM
I have that doujinshi (as well as others), but I won’t post any scans here because it gets very raunchy

Wasn't it posted on the CV Dungeon website at one point?

That being said, I'd appreciate a high-quality scan of it, m8. ;)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on August 30, 2021, 10:03:50 PM
I dunno about you peeps, but I'm predicting a Halloween-ish release date for this compilation.  It wouldn't be the first time Konami put out a CV around Halloween.  And if that's the case, we should be getting a release announcement in the next few weeks.
Very true.  This and/or Grimiore of Souls this Halloween season.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on September 04, 2021, 03:21:41 PM
I mean, I have to imagine the thing holding back DS ports (at least mechanically) is the second screen features. Even if you included a toggle key to switch your active "display", Dawn has the Boss Seals and Portrait and Ecclesia both have unlockable characters who are literally unplayable without a touchscreen, which gaming PCs and Playstations and Xboxes and Switches in Docked Mode tend not to have.

GBA is easy to emulate for literally everything out there that can play games at all, and thus MUCH easier to slap into a collection for a quick, Halloween timed release.

I do hope someone can port the DS 'vanias with a workaround for all the issues the Dual Screen nature of the original hardware causes.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on September 04, 2021, 08:15:29 PM
If they do want to re-release DS Vania titles I believe it's only a matter of time till the technical issues are eventually solved. Capcom's Mega Man ZX Legacy Collection has already dealt with the removal/tweak of touch screen features.
But it's still an imaginable Hell if the deal indeed is to use right stick to emulate touch screen control. I've been told that the emulated controls of Model P touch screen kunai were pretty bad.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 05, 2021, 07:42:24 AM
This is why it was so maddenning the Wii U died before the DS games got a chance to get ported.  But you know, the Switch is an aging system now.  Maybe its successor will have some kind of dual screen capability?

Gosh I miss the Wii U’s capability.  Sure they added a lot when they enabled the Switch to go 100% portable.  But they also lost a lot when they got rid of the ability to communicate with the docking station wirelessly.  I really hope they get back that capability next time.  Oh, and while they’re at it, develop a wireless Wii sensor bar so we can play old Wii ports, such as Judgment, the original way.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Mysterii on September 17, 2021, 05:36:08 AM
As of today, the game has been rated for all four platforms, with the Taiwanese rating board confirming a Switch release
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 22, 2021, 10:23:18 AM
oo, more leaks, this time with a cover photo showing Nathan, Juste, and Soma, as well as the US region.

Of course maybe they just made up their own placeholder cover in anticipation that the game might come out.  You know, it would be kind of odd to call it the Advance Collection if it came to non-Nintendo platforms.  Are Microsoft/Sony ok with this?

https://www.altchar.com/game-news/castlevania-advance-collection-once-again-appears-online-acDzB1W2Gdvf (https://www.altchar.com/game-news/castlevania-advance-collection-once-again-appears-online-acDzB1W2Gdvf)

Update:  Looks like the retail listing was removed:

https://nintendowire.com/news/2021/09/22/castlevania-advance-collection-box-briefly-appears-on-retailer-website/ (https://nintendowire.com/news/2021/09/22/castlevania-advance-collection-box-briefly-appears-on-retailer-website/)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Dark Nemesis on September 22, 2021, 02:10:08 PM
We are talking about playasia who is listing anything for pre-order and some times it never ever becomes available, so i would wait for the official announcement and take this picture with a grain of salt.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: PFG9000 on September 22, 2021, 03:00:00 PM
oo, more leaks, this time with a cover photo showing Nathan, Juste, and Soma, as well as the US region.

Of course maybe they just made up their own placeholder cover in anticipation that the game might come out.  You know, it would be kind of odd to call it the Advance Collection if it came to non-Nintendo platforms.  Are Microsoft/Sony ok with this?

https://www.altchar.com/game-news/castlevania-advance-collection-once-again-appears-online-acDzB1W2Gdvf (https://www.altchar.com/game-news/castlevania-advance-collection-once-again-appears-online-acDzB1W2Gdvf)

Update:  Looks like the retail listing was removed:

https://nintendowire.com/news/2021/09/22/castlevania-advance-collection-box-briefly-appears-on-retailer-website/ (https://nintendowire.com/news/2021/09/22/castlevania-advance-collection-box-briefly-appears-on-retailer-website/)

Well, crap.  That just about confirms it's just the GBA titles.  I'll still buy it and play it to death of course.  But I was really hoping it would include the DS games too.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on September 22, 2021, 08:33:13 PM
Wait. There's rumor that Dracula XX would come along with the GBA titles. Any confirmation about it?

Dracula XX sounds like a weird choice anyway. They could make more generally acceptable choices like porting the ORIGINAL ORIGINAL Akumajo Dracula X68000, or Castlevania Rebirth.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 22, 2021, 09:16:29 PM
a very weird choice, ha.  Legends would make more sense, being a handheld title that didn’t make it in the Anniversary Collection.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 23, 2021, 10:01:00 AM
Well this is Konami we're talking about here. They haven't been making smart decisions for quite some time now. Dracula XX could've been released as part of Requiem or as mentioned before in another thread, The Dracula X Chronicles. And that was the one thing I noticed about the Anniversary collection. There was no CV Legends. They could've bundled that game with the collection instead of Kid Dracula. I wouldn't have minded honestly.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on September 23, 2021, 03:27:08 PM
Collection coming out today with Dracula X in the mix.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 23, 2021, 04:26:42 PM
Collection coming out today with Dracula X in the mix.
dang, i wasn’t expecting today  :o
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Kamirine on September 23, 2021, 04:46:22 PM
Nice!  Grab it tonight on Switch and get in a little HoD.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on September 23, 2021, 05:16:46 PM
I didn't really see any cool extra goodies like the first collection had. There's some artwork and a music player but not behind the scenes and concepts like the first one had.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 23, 2021, 05:30:22 PM
Dang, no bestiary for Dracula X haha. The little videos of the special attacks was kind of nice.

Wish we had full artwork of all the DSS cards, unless those can get unlocked somehow?

Interesting that you can pull out the encyclopedia that includes any item in the game, not just the ones you’ve found.  Might be useful when playing the Japanese versions. 

Also interesting that most games have a “gadget” that displays certain information when you attack or find something.  Means they must have monkeyed with the code or are monitoring it somehow, but it just leaves me wishing for more. 

Also, got to love the little sprite video at the end of the trailer with Nathan, Juste, Soma, and Richter all facing off against some Medusa Heads.  Of course, that just makes me want to be able to play as the heroes in each others games.  Juste and Nathan still need to appear in an All Stars game like Grimoire of Souls or Judgment.

Now I got to wonder what game they might "sneak" into a DS collection.  Maybe Legends will get a shot, but probably more likely be original version of Chronicles.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on September 24, 2021, 12:09:22 AM
Circle of the moon finally has monster encyclopedia packed alongside the game in some form, which is a plus.
Other than that it's really nothing to talk about this set of collection. I wish there was enhanced music at least in music player, but nope. Just the same ol' original music clips. They didn't even bother to encrypt the music clips!
It seems they really didn't care about Castlevania IP at this point, as they just copy and paste pre-existed things altogether.
I wonder where will the Castlevania go as an IP?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 24, 2021, 07:12:59 AM
I’ll be playing the European version just so I feel like I’m playing something I haven’t before.  I know Harmony of Dissonance has a different translation for item names, but not sure how much other text is differently translated.  Some things weren’t as badly censored in Dracula X, which has a different name and cover art.  What other differences might exist in the Euro version?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Flame on September 24, 2021, 08:24:30 AM
hot take: most screen features in DS games were tacked on and unnecessary, and ports like the ZX port end up proving it. And most second screen game features can easily be relegated to a menu
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Holy Diver on September 24, 2021, 01:36:18 PM
Not really a hot take. There was recently a reddit Q&A with one of the DoS developers, they were basically forced by Konami to make use of the touch screen as much as possible.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: crisis on September 24, 2021, 02:27:44 PM
Quote from: Aceearly1993
Circle of the moon finally has monster encyclopedia packed alongside the game in some form, which is a plus.
Other than that it's really nothing to talk about this set of collection. I wish there was enhanced music at least in music player, but nope. Just the same ol' original music clips. They didn't even bother to encrypt the music clips!
It seems they really didn't care about Castlevania IP at this point, as they just copy and paste pre-existed things altogether.
I wonder where will the Castlevania go as an IP?

Pretty much my opinion as well. A neat thing they also could’ve done was add descriptions to the Harmony of Dissonance beastiary, but that might require too much effort on their end. They could’ve hired me to write some stuff up, I would’ve done it for free

Otherwise I know this has been brought up before but not including Adventure ReBirth is a huge missed opportunity. It’s possible it could be included with a DS Collection but who knows when that will be released, if ever. I’m almost tempted to dust off & set up my Wii just to play it again since it’s not available anywhere else

Maximillian Dood on youtube started a movement to free Marvel vs. Capcom 2 & have Capcom re-release it, and it’s actually gaining some traction. Not just by fans but actual Capcom employees, so there’s a chance. I just wish there was the same movement for Adventure ReBirth to get a rerelease (it’s literally locked on Wii, can’t buy it anymore so if you missed out then you’re shit out of luck), but the passion for it just doesn’t exist.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 24, 2021, 03:17:32 PM
After seeing that encyclopedia and that it sometimes showed enemy or item names in the margines of the play screen, I was disappointed that touching on those names didn’t cause the related encyclopedia entry to pop up automatically.  That could have been kinda like what some of the Dual Screen games did with showing enemy stats on the second screen.  Or better yet, they could have filled the blank spot with a formatted encyclopedia entry as if it were a second screen on the DS.  Wonder if they’re taking feedback for suggestions for future updates?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on September 24, 2021, 04:33:43 PM
I’ll be playing the European version just so I feel like I’m playing something I haven’t before.  I know Harmony of Dissonance has a different translation for item names, but not sure how much other text is differently translated.  Some things weren’t as badly censored in Dracula X, which has a different name and cover art.  What other differences might exist in the Euro version?

No gameplay-wise differences in the EU version of Dracula XX (Vampire's Kiss), just the logo. GBA games are mostly the same in EU version gameplay-wise but Circle of the Moon has sub title removed from the title screen for some reason.

 
And well, Japanese Circle of the Moon has different experience points requirement for each character level. It's 20% less in Japanese version.
http://tasvideos.org/6150S.html (http://tasvideos.org/6150S.html)



Ummmm... I was wrong. Seems that in-game music are in a separated place from the streamed files. Further increases the difficulty to mod music.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on September 25, 2021, 05:35:16 PM
I honestly forgot how hard Dracula X could be. Holy shit. That window of invincibility after getting hit doesn't even clear a Medusa Head's attack so I end up getting double hit by every other MH.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 26, 2021, 08:30:09 AM
Oh, I didn’t think about Trophys until I got one.  Wonder if they’ll add enough spice to the game for something new.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 26, 2021, 11:14:05 AM
Quote
I honestly forgot how hard Dracula X could be. Holy shit. That window of invincibility after getting hit doesn't even clear a Medusa Head's attack so I end up getting double hit by every other MH.

I remember that too. It's kinda the same deal in Rondo. It's like the one hit you take and since you can't move another enemy right behind the first gets in a hit likewise. This killed me a number of times it was so annoying  >:(
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: knightmere on September 27, 2021, 08:25:02 AM
Am I the only one who thinks some Dracula X tracks like Bloody Tears, Cemetery & Den actually sound better than the Rondo versions?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 27, 2021, 09:57:51 AM
kightmere@

Nope! You're not alone there. But to me it's gotta be Vampirekiller. The Rondo version has those horrible gaps in the song that ruin the pacing whereas the SNES version has none of that.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on September 27, 2021, 11:05:39 PM
grinding made easy with rewind.  i guess i might use it if i wanted to get a card or souls collection trophy.  i did them once before, no sense in doing it again.

https://www.destructoid.com/castlevania-circle-of-the-moon-rewind-card-grind-advance-collection/ (https://www.destructoid.com/castlevania-circle-of-the-moon-rewind-card-grind-advance-collection/)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on September 27, 2021, 11:48:20 PM
I honestly forgot how hard Dracula X could be. Holy shit. That window of invincibility after getting hit doesn't even clear a Medusa Head's attack so I end up getting double hit by every other MH.

XX isn’t for the faint-hearted… One more X and they couldn’t have sold it to minors  8)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 28, 2021, 12:44:44 AM
Quote
I honestly forgot how hard Dracula X could be.

Quote
XX isn’t for the faint-hearted… One more X and they couldn’t have sold it to minors  8)

(https://i.gifer.com/CzSH.gif)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Dark Nemesis on September 28, 2021, 03:24:19 PM
I had forgotten how stiff the controls for Circle of the moon are and especially how anoying is that magician mode.......man, i had to speed run it and it was hell!!
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 29, 2021, 09:59:07 AM
Warrior mode was definitely the easier of the replay options. I think the arena segment of the castle was where all modes suffered the most. But to get the best armor pickup... *sigh* dammit. Gotta torture ones' self for it.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Dark Nemesis on September 29, 2021, 02:38:34 PM
Warrior mode was definitely the easier of the replay options. I think the arena segment of the castle was where all modes suffered the most. But to get the best armor pickup... *sigh* dammit. Gotta torture ones' self for it.

Yes fighter mode is the best, but the best armor isn't the one at the arena, but another one from an enemy, the spiked armor if i remember correct.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on September 29, 2021, 06:19:42 PM
grinding made easy with rewind.  i guess i might use it if i wanted to get a card or souls collection trophy.  i did them once before, no sense in doing it again.

https://www.destructoid.com/castlevania-circle-of-the-moon-rewind-card-grind-advance-collection/ (https://www.destructoid.com/castlevania-circle-of-the-moon-rewind-card-grind-advance-collection/)

Hell yes. I used it to get my Black Dog and Unicorn cards this time. I beat it legit years ago, so I skipped the tedium this time.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 29, 2021, 10:18:09 PM
Quote
Yes fighter mode is the best, but the best armor isn't the one at the arena, but another one from an enemy, the spiked armor if i remember correct.

I'll have to look into this as I don't remember either. I do know that the best set of arms equipment can be found on those Devil Armor guys you fight in the final area of the castle (it's either them or the Dark Armor). Get two and you're good-to-go!
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on September 29, 2021, 11:58:52 PM
The double grips? Those are the best for an overall stat boost. I think they're only outdone in terms of pure strength by having 2 strength rings, but that was less practical, it seemed like.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on September 30, 2021, 10:25:25 AM
Yeah, the Double grips are where its at. And in fact they are dropped by the Dark Armor. Here's the stats on them: (if 1 equipped: none) (if 2 equipped: STR +75, DEF +75, INT +75, LCK +75)

As for the strength ring:    STR +50, DEF -10, INT -10

There's absolutely no way I'll ever forgo the double grips. No way in hell.


Dark Nemesis@

I just checked the stats for both the Shining armor and Needle armor. Here they are;

Needle Armor    St+010   Def+400   Int. N/A   Luck. N/A.

Shinning Armor   St+010   Def+500   Int+010   Luck+010

As I thought the shining armor is the best in the game. So it's worth it to go through the arena even though it is a pain in the @$$!




Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Kingshango on October 01, 2021, 06:45:26 AM
Aria of Sorrow remains my favorite out of all the three.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Kamirine on October 01, 2021, 09:05:01 AM
Harmony is just as I remember: easy but fun and Aria is still the best of the bunch and super addictive.  I have to dig out my 3DS now, it made me want to play Sorrow again, lmao.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on October 02, 2021, 12:33:26 AM
So we can safely sure the core content of the roms (aside from the removal of original 4-button soft reset and original button config menu in the games) are completely unchanged from original roms. The extracted roms from the collection can even accept gameshark codes capable to apply on original roms upon fixed the audio of ver. collection rom! ...Or so it seems.
Circle of the Moon has its own quirks against vba emulator, audio fixed ver. collection rom of Circle won't work well unless changed to other emulators than vba. (vba happened to hit some undocumented anti-piracy triggers I suppose? Some source says the freeze glitches when using summon super move are due to anti-piracy.)
I don't get it why it's called advance collection given things are actually less comfortable than in original thanks to the removal of original soft reset. To push the collection's own reset function it effectively screwed up a portion of my muscle memory.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: LuxKiller65 on October 02, 2021, 06:57:06 AM
How much are they charging for these 3 ROMs they got from romworld.com ?
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on October 03, 2021, 08:58:26 PM
Man, I didn't remember how rough Dracula X was. I played through it exactly once, probably 20 years ago, and I remember it feeling...off back then, too (I had only heard about Rondo once in Gamepro before then, and didn't really know what it was, so I didn't have it to compare Dracula X to back then). I played through it today for shits and giggles, and egggh, I didn't really like it that much.

CotM was always my favorite of the GBA games, but now I think it's Aria. I mean, I still don't like the story, but damn, that's a fun game to play, and a great castle to explore. Both CotM and Aria were really solid.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 04, 2021, 10:39:12 AM
I booted up Dracula X and goddamn it was hard! I'd forgotten how I used to play the game, it's been years. I was cussing with anger and frustration. In some cases Rondo was easier to deal with, but Maria isn't playable in Dracula X  :P
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: nokundhi on October 04, 2021, 02:40:31 PM
I like how they came out with this right after I finish replaying the GBA titles for the first time in like 8 years.  ;D Although from the looks of it it doesn't work well on linux anyway while retroarch works fine.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: VladOfWallachia on October 05, 2021, 05:25:32 AM
I booted up Dracula X and goddamn it was hard! I'd forgotten how I used to play the game, it's been years. I was cussing with anger and frustration. In some cases Rondo was easier to deal with, but Maria isn't playable in Dracula X  :P

The only way I was ever able to beat this game was with save state crawling, and I didn't enjoy it enough to try getting better at it. Definitely one of my least favorite entries of the series.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 05, 2021, 07:46:28 AM
I didn't have too hard a time with drac X until the Dracula fight itself. Although it plays rigid and it wasn't a nice feeling when looked at as the next CV on SNES to follow 4.

Rondo assets should have been left alone and we should have gotten super Castlevania 5 on SNES.

It still confounds me to this day that 5 hasn't happened. I like Dracula X on its own but it's biggest offense to me has always been about what it's not (SCV5) and not so much what it is.

A Super Castlevania 5 fangame is something I would still get behind 1000%.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 05, 2021, 09:55:26 AM
I too was disappointed that a Super Castlevania 5 never came to be. But I still played the hell out of Dracula X when I got it. I used to be good enough at it that I almost didn't take a hit. But I clearly got rusty from a long hiatus.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: VladOfWallachia on October 05, 2021, 10:08:30 AM
New iterations on the SCIV formula? Sounds like a great idea!

Joking aside, I've always imagined what I would do if tasked with making an official sequel to SCIV... it's a pretty predictable and cliche idea, but I would be super hyped for Super Castlevania 5: Simon's Quest. Start with SCIV mechanics, and build Simon's Quest around them. That would be so hype.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 05, 2021, 02:53:25 PM
New iterations on the SCIV formula? Sounds like a great idea!

Joking aside, I've always imagined what I would do if tasked with making an official sequel to SCIV... it's a pretty predictable and cliche idea, but I would be super hyped for Super Castlevania 5: Simon's Quest. Start with SCIV mechanics, and build Simon's Quest around them. That would be so hype.

Exactly. SCV5: Simon's Quest. Let's keeping saying that title around the internet until it wills itself into existence. ????
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on October 07, 2021, 09:24:04 AM
I played and finished Dracula X for the first time. I will fully admit I wanted to just see the game and so used save states. Next time I play it, I'll do it the intended way.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on October 07, 2021, 12:28:58 PM
I save-scummed my way through it, too, but there's no way I'm going back to it to beat it fair. I like tough games, but they have to be fun for me. So I'm pulling the "too old for this shit" card and moving on to HoD.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on October 08, 2021, 04:04:26 AM
I'm going through Dracula X the old fashioned way: cheat codes. Once I'm more confident, I'll graduate to save-scumming. And then I'll put it away for a good long while.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on October 08, 2021, 01:47:57 PM
Is CDX really that difficult? It's not one that comes to mind when I think of harder Castlevania games. The Dracula fight is even a cakewalk if you have an ax and stay on the lower pillars.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 08, 2021, 02:24:52 PM
Is CDX really that difficult? It's not one that comes to mind when I think of harder Castlevania games. The Dracula fight is even a cakewalk if you have an ax and stay on the lower pillars.

I agree with you and was talking with people about this on discord recently. Apparently nowadays you have to be careful what you say on the topic of video games being a challenge because some people think they should be able to beat games whether they take the time to learn to play them properly or not. And coming to the defense of a game some others may think is too hard can get you labelled a "gatekeeper".

I can still love cv3 despite that it still haunts me to this day as I've never finished it. The challenges are what makes a game a game and it's part of the art of game design. I haven't beaten CV3 yet because I haven't worked hard enough on it and I don't deserve to beat it yet, and that is fair and cool with me. One day I'll get there.

When I got to Dracula in DX I tapped and handed the controller to my brother out of frustration and he beat him. I was kicking myself about it, but I didn't earn the win myself and that's fair. He beat him in 3 tries. So it wasn't the game, it was me throwing a fit and not thinking clearly to do the job myself.

Input equals output. Its not gatekeeping to use walls to build a maze. Players that don't want to put in the input can complain for walls to be knocked down so they can get to the cheese. But the more walls they knock down, the less of a game they have. And it definitely can get to that point because no matter how easy a game is, it's never easy enough for everyone.

With all due respect to players of all skills, this is just a fact that applies to all areas of life, games included.

Overcoming a challenge is what makes a victory special and sweet. People use the excuse of "I don't want a challenge I just want to know what happens". Sounds like what they really want is a movie and not a game at that point. That's certainly not what retro games are about anyways.

Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on October 08, 2021, 06:54:39 PM

I can still love cv3 despite that it still haunts me to this day as I've never finished it. The challenges are what makes a game a game and it's part of the art of game design. I haven't beaten CV3 yet because I haven't worked hard enough on it and I don't deserve to beat it yet, and that is fair and cool with me. One day I'll get there.


I can relate to that. I like to think I'm pretty decent at Streets of Rage 4. I can beat Mania+ with 4 different characters, and can do so comfortably with Shiva. But I'm also in awe of how people can possibly get full combo perfect runs on single levels. But then I see their lifetime scores pop up at the ends of their runs, and they're absolutely massive. I've been playing the game for over a year, and some of these players have lifetime scores that are 10x what I have. They've had to put in an absolutely enormous amount of time into that game to do what they're able to do. I just don't have that much dedication to one single game. So I'm okay with just barely scraping enough points to get an S-rank on Arcade Mode.

Also, that intro for Drac X is pretty awesome.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on October 08, 2021, 07:03:11 PM
Is CDX really that difficult? It's not one that comes to mind when I think of harder Castlevania games. The Dracula fight is even a cakewalk if you have an ax and stay on the lower pillars.

It's absolutely a return to the brutal Nintendo Hard difficulties of the earlier games after SCIV, but it's a bit less fair as there's no invincibility frames when you take a hit. A Medusa Head will knock you back 3-4 times per hit, several enemies stun lock Richter to death with ease, and there are no circumstances under which I'd call the Dracula fight a "cakewalk" given how essential movement and balance are.

I agree with you and was talking with people about this on discord recently. Apparently nowadays you have to be careful what you say on the topic of video games being a challenge because some people think they should be able to beat games whether they take the time to learn to play them properly or not. And coming to the defense of a game some others may think is too hard can get you labelled a "gatekeeper".

I can still love cv3 despite that it still haunts me to this day as I've never finished it. The challenges are what makes a game a game and it's part of the art of game design. I haven't beaten CV3 yet because I haven't worked hard enough on it and I don't deserve to beat it yet, and that is fair and cool with me. One day I'll get there.

When I got to Dracula in DX I tapped and handed the controller to my brother out of frustration and he beat him. I was kicking myself about it, but I didn't earn the win myself and that's fair. He beat him in 3 tries. So it wasn't the game, it was me throwing a fit and not thinking clearly to do the job myself.

Input equals output. Its not gatekeeping to use walls to build a maze. Players that don't want to put in the input can complain for walls to be knocked down so they can get to the cheese. But the more walls they knock down, the less of a game they have. And it definitely can get to that point because no matter how easy a game is, it's never easy enough for everyone.

With all due respect to players of all skills, this is just a fact that applies to all areas of life, games included.

Overcoming a challenge is what makes a victory special and sweet. People use the excuse of "I don't want a challenge I just want to know what happens". Sounds like what they really want is a movie and not a game at that point. That's certainly not what retro games are about anyways.


There are players who have more skill than others, and persistence is indeed a virtue, but I also believe in bringing games to where my skills are so I can spend more time having fun and less time screaming obscenities at an uncaring screen, and it allows me to improve my skills at a pace I choose and along terms I determine, which given that I no longer have the free time I did when I was a teen and early-twenty-something suits me just fine. Dracula X was the very first Classicvania I ever beat, and that's a big part of why I remember it so fondly, but I've already proven to myself that I can beat it without cheats, and having been satisfied by that result, don't feel a rush to subject myself to that frustration again. Gaming is a subjective experience, so people can and should experience it however they can that maximizes their enjoyment. If that's through making something as brutally hard as possible, cool. If it's reducing your vulnerability to just pitfalls, well, that's also valid IMO -- watch your step and mind the gap. As long as your fun isn't infringing on someone else's, go nuts. You do you.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 08, 2021, 10:42:20 PM
Quote
There are players who have more skill than others, and persistence is indeed a virtue, but I also believe in bringing games to where my skills are so I can spend more time having fun and less time screaming obscenities at an uncaring screen, and it allows me to improve my skills at a pace I choose and along terms I determine, which given that I no longer have the free time I did when I was a teen and early-twenty-something suits me just fine. Dracula X was the very first Classicvania I ever beat, and that's a big part of why I remember it so fondly, but I've already proven to myself that I can beat it without cheats, and having been satisfied by that result, don't feel a rush to subject myself to that frustration again. Gaming is a subjective experience, so people can and should experience it however they can that maximizes their enjoyment. If that's through making something as brutally hard as possible, cool. If it's reducing your vulnerability to just pitfalls, well, that's also valid IMO -- watch your step and mind the gap. As long as your fun isn't infringing on someone else's, go nuts. You do you.

Yup. The most important thing is that the player is having fun and enjoying what they play. And also respecting players that don't have the same experience that more hardcore players do. Everyone's different as well as their ability to play said games. It's one of the reasons why I don't like the whole "Get Good" attitude garbage that's been going around since Demon Souls was first released. Not everyone's abilities are the same and I feel it is dissing players that aren't up to par with the ones that can beat, even master those types of games. I never once have been able to finish a single Souls game to this day. The difficulty is just asking too much of my limited gaming capabilities. My bro on the other hand is pretty much a master of all the Souls games he got his hands on. Ah well... But at least I can say the most difficult Castlevania game I've ever beaten multiple times without cheat codes was The Castlevania adventure. That at least has got to count for something.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on October 08, 2021, 11:43:14 PM
Well put. "Git gud" is annoying and cringeworthy. I noticed this a lot on the Gamefaqs boards. Someone would post a topic asking for help on a game, and most people would offer advice, but eventually some tryhard would always come along and say something like, "I can't believe anyone would have trouble with this, it's super easy, blah blah blah." Always annoying.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 09, 2021, 02:47:33 AM
@Lumi and @X
If I may clarify, I'm not saying that I don't think games shouldn't include easy modes and ways for players who are struggling to play with less difficulty and to get a chance to learn. But at a certain point a line has to be drawn. And no matter where that line is drawn there will be someone on the wrong side of it who struggles unfortunately. I get what you are saying but it's a little unfair to say that a developer is trying to diss anyone who struggles with their game. Its just an inevitability that there will be people who struggle regardless of the measures taken by a developer to make it accessible. Tester teams are helpful but still only give a small peek into the vast range of skill levels that players will have when a game is finally shared with the entire planet.

I think rewards should reflect input and that beating a game on hard should give you a better ending, ect. There are ways to make it work for everyone without eliminating the motivation for players to work to beat the challenges as the developers originally intended.

in the case of this new collection of ports Konami just slapped a rewind function onto Dracula X. Richter isn't the Prince of Persia. I would have rather seen effort put into balancing an easy mode than to add a mechanic like that that has no place in the game.

@X  and @JR
Of course it's not cool for people to ridicule other players on forums for their level of skill, but that's a separate issue that pertains to online bullying. Its an issue for forum and social media moderators.

On the other side of the coin, from a developer perspective there are some players out there who take their frustration way too far and too personal and turn to relentlessly harassing the game developers. Critical feedback is always fine but I've seen that go way too far before as well and thats not ok either. We've experienced stuff like that a little before and I've seen it happen to other devs too.

Anyways, I think the best moment of gaming in my life so far was the first time I beat Dracula in cv1. And that moment was the result of trying over and over and overcoming the urge to give up. I certainly wouldn't call every moment of that time fun while I was going through it. But the fun came from the victory and that was a level of fun that is rare and special to me. The game didn't give me a choice of difficulty (didn't even give me the choice of turning it off and coming back later), it simply put a challenge in front of me. There is a beauty to that simplicity and I think there is a place for games like that still today.

I respect where you guys are coming from. I just wanted to share my perspective on it. I think I pretty much said all I have to say on it now.

One day I'll beat cv3 and I'll throw a party to celebrate. It'll be great. ????
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 09, 2021, 10:25:29 AM
Belmontoya@

I can agree as well.

Quote
I think rewards should reflect input and that beating a game on hard should give you a better ending, ect. There are ways to make it work for everyone without eliminating the motivation for players to work to beat the challenges as the developers originally intended.

There will always be a set of games that, for some reason, players will struggle with and in the end, be unable to complete them. Most of the hardcore gamers I had conversations with in the past don't do difficulty for getting the best ending sequence. They do it because of the challenge itself as they want to master it. For them that's all the motivation they ever needed.

Quote
One day I'll beat cv3 and I'll throw a party to celebrate. It'll be great. ????

Make sure to binge (go all out). CV3 had some of the most frustrating stages I've ever played through. The one that got me the most was Doppelganger stage before the final segment with Dracula. I hate that level  >:(
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on October 09, 2021, 11:24:50 PM
I'll play and beat Dracula X the intended way at some point. Not sure when, but I will. I'm a new dad and so playing games these days doesn't happen a lot for me. Not to mention it's been a few years since I'd played the GBA titles, so I've been playing speed mode to get in the most time as I can. A hard game isn't a problem but finding time to play and put in the practice for said hard game is a challenge.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 10, 2021, 10:57:03 AM
I'll play and beat Dracula X the intended way at some point. Not sure when, but I will. I'm a new dad and so playing games these days doesn't happen a lot for me. Not to mention it's been a few years since I'd played the GBA titles, so I've been playing speed mode to get in the most time as I can. A hard game isn't a problem but finding time to play and put in the practice for said hard game is a challenge.

Right!

We've been talking about this being about players having different skill levels. I think it's as much or more about players having different levels of patience too. If you are short on time or it's really difficult for you, it might just take a long time to finish. Years maybe.

Are you the type to throw the controller and complain online if you can't beat a game? Or do you put it away and come back to it later after you've calmed down? Persistence and patience are as important as reflex and memory in these games.

I could really go deep on this topic and how I also think streaming and YouTube culture has effected it as well. But I'll hold back and maybe save it for another thread some time.

I'm sitting here years later still working on cotm. That's ok and cool with me too! I think this game is hard as hell but it seems like it was easy for everyone else lol. And yes I'm playing on casual.

Btw congrats on joining the dad club! ????
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 11, 2021, 09:02:51 AM
Update:

I sucked it up guys and finally beat COTM just now.

Thanks to this thread motivating to me.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 11, 2021, 11:26:25 AM
Alright! Congratz!

Now *drumroll* onto CVIII  ;D
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on October 11, 2021, 04:25:05 PM
Update:

I sucked it up guys and finally beat COTM just now.

Thanks to this thread motivating to me.

I am lagging significantly behind you then. I just beat Cerberus. First few times I fought him, I wasn't ready and hadn't analyzed his patterns enough. I came back stronger and with the benefit of a few failed attempts.

(https://64.media.tumblr.com/8afecade3de51e0ae1dbd814549eeed7/tumblr_pddggl0kdO1x7xnwdo5_400.gifv)
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/6486777b3dd8ccc027347e011195027c/tumblr_pcqvz2hih71tcg2tuo4_400.gifv)

It was a clean kill too. No save scumming, no rewind (though I was ready and willing to use both). All victory is sweet, but the most basic kind with the fewest modifiers is the sweetest. Though it does remind me how willing this game is to turn Nathan into past tense and scratch him off the census, and how very NOT READY I am for the next boss. COTM does strike me as the most difficult of the Metroidvanias if for no other reason than that Nathan Graves controls much more like an NES protagonist than a Metroidvania protagonist, ESPECIALLY at that first boss fight. Hell, even Classicvania protags like Johnny Morris and Eric Lecarde are more mobile overall at the first HALLWAY of their games than Nathan is by the time he reaches his first boss (dude even has to remind himself how to run every time he wants to). So the Cerberus battle is a lot more balls-rockingly hard than most first bosses are, but boy is he a tone-setter.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 11, 2021, 06:33:28 PM
Woops!

I should have clarified that I meant Bloodstained Curse of the Moon, not Castlevania Circle of the Moon.

I can't remember if I ever finished Circle. But that one was a challenge just to see it on the gba.

????

Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 12, 2021, 10:01:30 AM
Well in all fairness Curse of the Moon is in its own right a hard game. I've not finished it either.

Lumi Kløvstad@

I rely on the use of sub weapons in boss fights and it seems to work out well enough. The cross boomerang is my choice of weapon as it can chew through enemies and bosses and is a bit stronger then Nathan's Hunter whip.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: VladOfWallachia on October 12, 2021, 11:46:19 AM
I've got another old-skool story about these games.

First, I'm going to use "metroidvania" the way it was used back then - to refer to the CASTLEVANIA games that were modeled after Super Metroid, distinct from the Castlevania games that follow the linear action focused template of the original Castlevania.

SotN was not my first metroidvania, it was CotM, which I got near launch. I was already a fan of the series and of RPGs, so seeing elements from both combined with the focus on exploration was something quite new to me. I had never played through Super Metroid, so CotM was my first experience with this style of game. I loved CotM so much that I immediately began trying to find a copy of SotN. Back then, I was a kid that wasn't old enough to work, or own a credit card, so getting my hands on SotN wasn't going to be straightforward.

I ended up lucking out - it's hard to believe the following trade happened, but I remember it well. I had just gotten a copy of issue #150 of Electronic Gaming Monthly, it was a really special issue with their top 100 games of all time, along with Seanbaby's worst games of all time, and many other features celebrating the milestone. I took the magazine with me to school, and a friend of a friend saw it, and begged me to borrow it. A few days later, I asked him to return the magazine, but said he didn't want to - that he would trade me something for it instead. He had suggested to trade me his copy of SotN, disc only, for the magazine I let him borrow. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but he was being serious- the next day he brought me the lone disc, not in the best condition and missing the original case and manual, but I took the disc home and it worked perfectly. I played the HELL out of SotN after that, and still my favorite metroidvania of the series.

(click to show/hide)

Later, when I saw those first screenshots of Harmony in the latest EGM and a website called Madman(madmens?) Cafe, I could not be more hyped. I was excited about the return of Iga to the series, and the super bright, colorful, sort of psychedelic color palette was a welcome change after playing CotM on that original GBA model with no backlight. The color palette was one of that game's defining features, and it was interesting to see the colors swing from one end to the other between CotM and HoD.

Good times. I really think the GBA might have been my favorite era of Castlevania.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: JR on October 12, 2021, 11:53:53 AM
Playing through Magican Mode now. It's my last trophy to get. It seems hard on the surface, but it's so exploitable. Having trouble with a boss? Spam the thunderbird summon. Low on health? Spam the unicorn summon. Damage output sucks? Use Venus+Thunderbird or Venus+serpent (depending on how far along in tje game you are). Not complaining at all, though. It's fun having a strong magic base to work from.

One thing that's been driving me nuts is hearing Circle's version of The Sinking Old Sanctuary CONSTANTLY. It's decent, but I'm really tired of hearing it at this point. That will be one thing I won't miss once this playthrough is done.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Belmontoya on October 12, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
Hell yeah I was subscribed to EGM back in the day too.

One part I don't really like about circle of the moon is constantly double tapping to sprint. I remember getting a blister on my thumb from that.

Here's my version of sinking old sanctuary. I can never get enough of that song. The bloodlines version is far better than circle's though imo. https ://youtu.be/tOQlemW-UAc

Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Mysterii on October 13, 2021, 05:45:54 AM
So far in my playing of this collection, I have beaten both Dracula X and HoD, both with the good endings. Currently I am trying to get all souls in Aria, with my file having 71-74% of all souls collected. The lack of soul rarity in the bestiaries makes it hard to tell if the soul I am trying to obtain is rare or not, especially since I am also trying to grind for money to buy the Soul Eater Ring, even with the Tsuchinoko soul bringing it down to $240K.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Dark Nemesis on October 13, 2021, 09:35:33 AM
I have made it platinum, but that Dracula x.........it gave me nightmares.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on October 13, 2021, 10:14:26 PM
i’m just having fun with the generous amount of save slots and saving before each boss and trying to beat them over and over again with different weapons
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on October 14, 2021, 08:55:07 PM
My point about CDX is that within its own series, it's not an especially difficult game; there are loads of Castlevanias far more difficult, so what makes Dracula X so tough? (Besides maybe mastering its broken controls and no invincibility frames.) Games like SCV4 and SOTN are the exception to the rule, not the example. X68000, the OG Game Boy games, Bloodlines, and the NES games are much more challenging than CDX.

I suppose at the end of the day it's all subjective, but the game seems to be building a reputation as being balls-nasty and I just don't see it.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Lumi Kløvstad on October 15, 2021, 05:48:23 PM
My point about CDX is that within its own series, it's not an especially difficult game; there are loads of Castlevanias far more difficult, so what makes Dracula X so tough? (Besides maybe mastering its broken controls and no invincibility frames.) Games like SCV4 and SOTN are the exception to the rule, not the example. X68000, the OG Game Boy games, Bloodlines, and the NES games are much more challenging than CDX.

I suppose at the end of the day it's all subjective, but the game seems to be building a reputation as being balls-nasty and I just don't see it.

I mean, it IS building that reputation, and the thing is, it's not unfounded.

Quote
so what makes Dracula X so tough? (Besides maybe mastering its broken controls and no invincibility frames.
Seems like some light No-True-Scotsmanning going on here so if I may, a slightly reworked version of that:

Quote
So what makes Dracula X so tough? Its broken controls and no invincibility frames.

Like, broken controls (which I personally have not really noticed, but I've seen a LOT of other people complaining about it so maybe I'm just blind here) and a lack of invincibility frames can't really excluded with a word like "besides" seeing as they're central to the difficulty argument. It's discounting central evidence.

Yeah, if the controls were snappier and the game had invincibility frames, it would be considered one of the easier games in the classic series. That's... kind of exactly the literal argument being made by detractors. And the thing is? They're right. A lot of the game's difficulty can be traced back to these roots which I think can rightly be called "unfair difficulty", which is one of the things that make people call Rondo of Blood the superior game (but just one).

Most Castlevania games from the period, including the harder ones, don't often FEEL that much harder because they're fair about it; any hits you take are your fault for not being observant enough and failing to plan effectively. Dracula X FEELS a lot harder because its difficulty is derived from how scummy it is, by punishing you two or three times in rapid succession for a single mistake, costing you half your health in the process. This is also why The Castlevania Adventure has such a sour reputation -- it does a lot of those same things, but even worse: having controls that are truly broken, and making you actively less powerful by sapping your avatar strength with each hit you take. The common thread between Dracula X and Adventure is they feel hard because the game draws attention to its inherent unfairness and punish you disproportionately to the mistake being made, leaving the player almost zero room for error. Other Castlevanias are much more chill about it, and the punishment you receive feels more or less about equal to the magnitude of your screw up, so even if the difficulty is truly higher, it doesn't really feel that way. It's the sort of thing where it falls under the principle of "if you're doing it right, the player will never notice."

Dracula X and The Adventure do not do it right (neither does Haunted Castle but who gives a shit about Haunted Castle?). And we noticed.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on October 15, 2021, 06:11:57 PM
My point about CDX is that within its own series, it's not an especially difficult game; there are loads of Castlevanias far more difficult, so what makes Dracula X so tough? (Besides maybe mastering its broken controls and no invincibility frames.) Games like SCV4 and SOTN are the exception to the rule, not the example. X68000, the OG Game Boy games, Bloodlines, and the NES games are much more challenging than CDX.

I suppose at the end of the day it's all subjective, but the game seems to be building a reputation as being balls-nasty and I just don't see it.

If you finish DX with the true ending, it is tough. But I will say this:

- Despite beating Death in the hardest route, ‘The Devil flies by night’ stage and boss fight in Rondo (at least in CV collection) feels more difficult than beating Death after the Clocktower in DX… Despite Rondo being a much easier game.
- The Dracula fight is much harder for obvious reasons, but there are still ways to master it.
- Stage 4(?) shenanigans of not falling into the pit and killing the knight boss is tough, although the boss itself is tougher in Rondo(although one can argue this is balanced by having to beat the knight in one shot while having the key item equipped, not allowing the player to use a sub weapon).
- Stage 5’ isn’t impossible to find, but you really have to be looking to get to Annette, whereas the 4 women in Rondo are easier to find, in general.
- Recovery after taking a hit/ invincibility frames are pretty unforgiving

All in all, it’s a challenge, but I still place US CVIII a fair bit higher. If you ‘count’ all the older games leading up to it, including the GB titles, it sits in the middle but on the higher side of difficulty. If you count Metroidvanias it appears harder.

Why I think it’s remembered as hard in general is that it took much of the freedom of movement that SCVIV brought, which also wasn’t as difficult overall.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on October 16, 2021, 12:48:05 AM
Edit: Apologies to the forum and mods for double-posting. I’m on a mobile device, which seems to have attracted a Glitch Gremlin  :o
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on October 16, 2021, 06:34:20 PM
The zero invincibility frames thing is kind of balanced by the huge amount of health CDX gives the player. This isn't "four hits and you're dead" classic Castlevania, it's a Street Fighter life bar that gradually depletes. So while getting a Medusa Head up your butt for three consecutive hits can be annoying, (a) it's avoidable, and (b) it doesn't take away a ton of health.

Comparing since they came out around the same time, I think Bloodlines gives more of a challenge at parts, it's just a more solidly built game so I guess it doesn't feel cheap like CDX can. But it's one of those things where if you put a little time into mastering the play controls and quirks—and it doesn't take much—it's no longer that hindering.

Now whether you find the game worth putting in a little effort is a whole other thing. I know there are games I didn't have the patience for so I cheated my way through them just to get it over with, and maybe that's how folks feel about this one. I think there's a decent little game there, even if it pales in comparison to Rondo and the other 16-bit entries.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: X on October 17, 2021, 12:12:56 AM
Unlike CDX where you could take several good hits and still power your way through an area, in Rondo you took four or five hits and you died, even early on. In the original games not including Simon's Quest you could lose two or three bars of health depending. That is until you entered Dracula's castle and then you would lose four health bars. And since the player only had a total of sixteen bars that means four hits and you died. CV Bloodlines had twenty health bars. An extra four bars of health over the rest of the series.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on October 18, 2021, 06:32:17 PM
I've been playing Harmony of Dissonance. Honestly, it's been years since I've played it and forgot how much fun it is. Only thing I wish is it were on a console instead of the GBA.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on October 18, 2021, 07:42:15 PM
I've been playing Harmony of Dissonance. Honestly, it's been years since I've played it and forgot how much fun it is. Only thing I wish is it were on a console instead of the GBA.

Gameboy Player would like a word…  ;)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Darkmoon on October 21, 2021, 05:45:17 PM
I got absorbed into Circle after reminding myself why I don't like Dracula X. I'll hit Harmony and Aria to see what special changes they made to those before I do my review on ICVD.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Reinhart77 on October 22, 2021, 08:57:56 AM
the one thing tying Dracula X to the other games is they share some of the Dracula X series mechanics.  the main one i can think of is that when you grab a subweapon, you get the option to get your old subweapon back.  In this way, Castlevania Advanced Collection could kind of be seen as a sequel to Requiem (though still we need RoB/SotN on other platforms besides PS4).
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Abnormal Freak on October 24, 2021, 03:22:35 PM
I got absorbed into Circle after reminding myself why I don't like Dracula X. I'll hit Harmony and Aria to see what special changes they made to those before I do my review on ICVD.

Are there changes? I played through AOS and it's exactly the same as I remembered, emulated to the last detail (except with an annoying overlay when you start the game showing you the menu and start buttons). The menu with a bestiary/items list is the only thing additional, but I did turn off the hints system or whatever.

And man, AOS is still so solid, almost as good as SOTN. One thing SOTN did, however, that none of the other Metroidvanias did for me was having such a smartly designed/themed castle that you automatically know what the area looks like from looking at the map screen. I can't do that with the GBA or DS games and kind of only vaguely remember where some areas are.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: zangetsu468 on October 24, 2021, 04:27:11 PM
.
And man, AOS is still so solid, almost as good as SOTN. One thing SOTN did, however, that none of the other Metroidvanias did for me was having such a smartly designed/themed castle that you automatically know what the area looks like from looking at the map screen. I can't do that with the GBA or DS games and kind of only vaguely remember where some areas are.

AOS>>>SOTN imho. In terms of gameplay(particularly how fluid the combos are), the souls system, the inclusion of boss rush & hard modes and the fact that it had a more robust in-game plot - rather than a backstory which simply set up the game. The castle layout and boss fights I also personally prefer.

The main 3 areas where SOTN outshines is graphics, OST & sound quality and the artwork being more consistent. (And more playable characters if you count SS or PSP)
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: Aceearly1993 on October 24, 2021, 05:04:33 PM
Are there changes? I played through AOS and it's exactly the same as I remembered, emulated to the last detail (except with an annoying overlay when you start the game showing you the menu and start buttons). The menu with a bestiary/items list is the only thing additional, but I did turn off the hints system or whatever.
They actually changed several stuff, but extremely minor. The original soft reset function (Press A+B+SELECT+START at the same time) and original key config screen are disabled in favor for the collection's own soft reset/config functions. Also the soul trade functions in AoS are disabled. Other than that I'm pretty sure they're all 1:1 to the original roms.
Title: Re: Castlevania Advance Collection
Post by: GuyStarwind on November 19, 2021, 03:03:50 PM
I recently played and beat AoS. I haven't played it in a long time, but it felt slow to me. I think part of that is due to just having played HoD where Juste has his shoulder button dashes. I know you can get souls that make you go faster, but I just felt Soma was going as slow as he could. Still a great game though.