Topic: Bloodlines Difficulty

[EstebanT]

For some reason I can't find a list of differences from regular gameplay and Easy and Expert Modes. I've tried the Castlevania wiki as well as other fan sites but no luck.
So far i've found...

EXPERT:
-Ghosts and bats appear more often
-Mace skeletons are faster
-White dragons spin
-Entrance has two peeping eyes

EASY:
-Harpies die in one hit.
-You pick a character after you die.
-You don't lose gems when you die.
-No Elizabeth Bartley. Only Medusa

Do you guys mind helping me out?

[Nagumo]

Once I accidentally picked Expert difficulty while playing this game for the first time and got really frustrated with the game. This is what I remember:

- Bats fly through the wall in the factory stage and score a cheap hit while going through the section with the crushers.
- Bats also appear in the Versailles stage when they normally don't during that section where you have to jump on those platforms that move back and fort.
- On easy mode you will only fight Medusa, the Elizabeth Bartley fight is completely skipped.
- On hard mode you only have a fraction of a second to hit Elizabeth before she performs one of her special attacks.

[Lelygax]

Bloodlines have a difficulty setting? How did I never noticed it before? lol
Imagining that this game can get even harder is really interesting, I should try it sometime.

[TheTextGuy]

One thing I noticed between normal and expert is the number of peeping eyes in the first stage (specifically the part before you enter the flooded basement).  In normal, there's just one, like in Chronicles.  Expert has two.  Apart from that, I forgot.  I mainly play on expert nowadays.

(rant incoming)
If I can complain about one thing about expert, is that there is no pot roast at all during the whole level.  So that means going through the split room, the upside down room, the boss refights, Death, Medusa, Bartley, and all three forms of Dracula on one life is going to be arduous.  Stage 3 had the same problem as well (no pot roast).  I hate it when a Castlevania game places its pot roast poorly.  :/

[EstebanT]

Thanks guys. Maybe there's more I haven't noticed.

You really don't get the same wall meat? I don't remember that. I might play it today and check it out.

[TheTextGuy]

You really don't get the same wall meat? I don't remember that. I might play it today and check it out.

To clarify:  The wall meat positions are the same iirc.  It's just that for stage 3, apparently there's no wall meat in that stage, and for stage 6, when Death spins his cards around, there's no card that gives you wall meat when you play it on expert (only appears on normal and easy).  So stage 1, stage 2, stage 4 and stage 5 have meats in them.  Which is good.

[EstebanT]

To clarify:  The wall meat positions are the same iirc.  It's just that for stage 3, apparently there's no wall meat in that stage, and for stage 6, when Death spins his cards around, there's no card that gives you wall meat when you play it on expert (only appears on normal and easy).  So stage 1, stage 2, stage 4 and stage 5 have meats in them.  Which is good.

I see what you mean now. However I'm pretty sure 1ups re-appear if you die. I might have to check that though. That means the split room can be done infinitely as long as you get the 1 up. Also I'm pretty sure the leaning tower with the medusa has a 1 up as well but I have to check that too.

[aensland]

I can't remember if you skip the "mini-bosses" too (like Frankenstein or the Bone Dragon) if you pick easy

Time to replay Bloodlines and find it out!

[X]

I can't remember if you skip the "mini-bosses" too (like Frankenstein or the Bone Dragon) if you pick easy

I know Frankenstein's monster is not in easy mode. However the bone dragon is. But its movements are more erratic, thus making it more difficult to fight.

[Jop]

Bloodlines have a difficulty setting? How did I never noticed it before? lol
Imagining that this game can get even harder is really interesting, I should try it sometime.

I remember finish this game in Expert with the normal whip, its insane! by the way in expert mode you will get more in the ending so go play it!

[TheTextGuy]

I see what you mean now. However I'm pretty sure 1ups re-appear if you die. I might have to check that though. That means the split room can be done infinitely as long as you get the 1 up. Also I'm pretty sure the leaning tower with the medusa has a 1 up as well but I have to check that too.

I think it's more like this from what I've seen:

Candles and their respective items respawn once you die.  That means if there's a 1up in the candle, it respawns and you can keep trying again so long as you don't move on to the next checkpoint.  If it's a breakable wall, well it doesn't respawn.

[Shinobi]

The Death boss in expert mode: There's no card where you can get lots of pot roast for health recovery, it will replace with another death card.