Topic: Harmony of Despair (The next Castlevania game?)

[crisis]

The problem is not the game, the problem could be yourself and your point of view.

Nah, I think the problem lies with you & your inability to see this game for what it really is. How can one be so blind?


To anyone that hasn't played Castlevania HD yet: if you've played the DS games then you've already played Harmony of Despair.

edit:

While you are missing out on the fun and ranting in a circle, many still enjoy and appreciate what Castlevania HD has to offer, whether solo or with friends online!

I'm not doubting this at all, like I said those that are virgins to the Castlevania formula with some exceptions are surely having a blast with this. But it doesn't take away the fact that it's still a slopfest :/

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

It's not just Crisis, Affinity.
And I don't think this rationale is going to change with any of us.  The thing is, I wish I could feel anything for this game at all the way you seem to be oozing love or whatever it is that you're feeling for it, but I just don't think I will.
There's nothing Crisis or other people have not mentioned already that I just can't get over.  It's a hack, a broken hack, and it actually irritates me that you like it so much because I just don't see what the hell it is about it that you love so much.  Everything that you point out about the game that you think is positive, I find to be just another example of redundancy.  I suppose I could say maybe the music is great... but I'm just not into the music either.  By all accounts I should be all over this game, but I'm not compelled to even bug my little nephew into getting it for his X360.

If someone gave me a free X360 with XBLA points/money to use... I still wouldn't buy this game.  I would if it were free, maybe, and even then I probably would get sick of it after a while.

At best... it's a waste of time.  Again, I want to like it but every update makes me like it even less and less.

[Flame]

Same. Its just.. Been there done that. No mishmash of stages from previous vanias is going to win me over. its a pity that resources were wasted on this instead of making an actual new game. New Koijima artwork, new music, (and by new I mean well made re-arrangements of previous tracks) and even english voicework, from what ive heard? what a shame. What a damn shame. We could have had ourselves a Julius game by now. Or hell, SOMETHING after symphony. From 1798 to 1820, there is plenty of time to squeeze in another game. Or even between 1944 and 1999.

[PFG9000]

I guess I'm just not OMGHARDCORE enough...I'm among the apparent few who like this game.  The new stage is kinda cool.  I've only had time for one brief run through it, but it looks like it's a recreation of the left third of the SotN castle, with some adjustments and additions.

Jorge, I don't think you can bash this game if you haven't played it.  What are you basing the "broken hack" thing on?  I have played it, quite a bit, and I don't see anything broken about it.

[Flame]

It could be extremely fun, but that doesnt make it any less of a cheap IGAvania cash in with rehashed stages and bosses.

[Dominus]

The problem is not the game, the problem could be yourself and your point of view.    While you are missing out on the fun and ranting in a circle, many still enjoy and appreciate what Castlevania HD has to offer, whether solo or with friends online! 

If that is the case then it means that everyone except you her have a problem

 
Ban him! Ban him with all the fury of the Banhammah!

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

PFG, I've never said I haven't played it.  I only said that I don't own it nor own an X360.
Please take the time to read the words I say carefully before making accusations.

I have friends who have an X360 and the game, so I just played when I was over at their house.
I know better than to bash a game I haven't played.  Still feels like a hack.
I also played it only in 1P mode, so I didn't have people running around other parts of the castle.
I feel, like I feel with a lot of other games, that if the game NEEDS to be multi-player to be enjoyable, there's something missing.

[Flame]

if the game NEEDS to be multi-player to be enjoyable, there's something missing.

Topic over.

[affinity]

Monopoly/Chinese Checkers isn't fun by itself, but it's still has great value.   Even though Castlevania HD leans more towards multiplayer, that is not a bad thing.  I myself enjoy the single player and yes, the multiplayer does make it even more fun, that is natural, that is one of the things that sets it apart from other Castlevanias and that is a good thing.  It's something many fans wanted and as we speak, many are having the best times with Castlevania thanks to the multiplayer features.  Castlevania HD is harder when played solo, so that is a positive thing in itself, overall there are people out there who enjoy this in single player more than multiplayer, and vice versa.  

Crisis
Nah, I think the problem lies with you & your inability to see this game for what it really is. How can one be so blind?

No your point of view is blind because you refuse to accept other opinions and perspectives.   I don't blame you for not liking this since it doesn't fit your taste and preferences, but try to see the value Castlevania HD has for many fans out there who enjoy what it offers and allows them to play Castlevania in a different way.  It's not a strict stage based Castlevania and it's not a metroidvania.   It's a reinvention of Castlevania while staying true to the core 2-D gameplay many love.  

And the original core foundation of Castlevania games was traveling through a stage to defeat a boss.
castlevania I (nes) stage 1

To anyone that hasn't played Castlevania HD yet: if you've played the DS games then you've already played Harmony of Despair.

And you call me blind?   That's like saying "If you played the Genesis Phantasy Star games, you've already played Phantasy Star Online."
Just because CV sprites and backgrounds are reused, doesn't make it the same as the DS games or any other Castlevania game.  The rules are modified, the features are a combination of familiar and new things, it's really a reinvention of playing Castlevania without straying too far from the foundation, and its success and valuable DLC continues to draw interest and more gameplay hours.   And there's no other Castlevania that offers all of these legendary hunters playable in the same game, and at the sametime with up to 5 other friends!

edit: I'm not doubting this at all, like I said those that are virgins to the Castlevania formula with some exceptions are surely having a blast with this. But it doesn't take away the fact that it's still a slopfest :/

  
Our point of views will conflict, but we just have to remember that all games are not for everyone's tastes.  That doesn't make a game bad if it doesn't suit someone's preferences, it's just for a different audience.  There is room for improvement, but it's still widely accepted by fans and newcomers alike.  

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Monopoly/Chinese Checkers isn't fun by itself, but it's still has great value.

Your credibility is now destroyed.
You bring board games into this?  Laughable attempt at a retort.

[PFG9000]

I think it's perfectly fun as a single player game.  In fact, I only played it single player for the first few weeks I had it.  I really didn't care for multiplayer until I had gotten the hang of the game and leveled up my characters a little.  Now I like both versions.

So this game doesn't need to be multiplayer to be enjoyable.  However, there are a lot of games that are known for their multiplayer while the single player is overlooked.  Few games balance the single player and multiplayer well enough that both are enjoyed equally.  Mariokart, Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, Worms, NBA Jam...they're all considerably more fun when you're playing with other people, and there are a lot of people who only play those games multiplayer, or who wouldn't play the single player if it wasn't to unlock stuff for multi.

[crisis]

No your point of view is blind because you refuse to accept other opinions and perspectives.

That's funny, because that's exactly how you're acting; jumping on anybody that shows any constructive criticism towards this game. You've been doing it throughout this entire thread ._.

I don't blame you for not liking this since it doesn't fit your taste and preferences, but try to see the value Castlevania HD has for many fans out there who enjoy what it offers and allows them to play Castlevania in a different way.  It's not a strict stage based Castlevania and it's not a metroidvania.   It's a reinvention of Castlevania while staying true to the core 2-D gameplay many love.

I don't like it because it "doesn't fit my tastes & preferences," I don't like it because there's no effort/cohesiveness put into the design (well maybe just a little, but I have high standards for my CV games). Have you bothered to play Adventure ReBirth? If HD "stays true to the core 2D gameplay" then Adventure ReBirth is the messiah.

And the original core foundation of Castlevania games was traveling through a stage to defeat a boss.

Nobody's arguing this, miss..

And you call me blind?

Yes, you are blind. Since day 1 you've been blindly praising this game even months before release, and any time a member says "I don't like it" you accuse them of being intolerant & continue to make up reasons why every fan should be all over this. You even said so yourself that you'd rather go play with "real fans" then waste your time here with us, am I wrong?

I'm not saying it's a terrible game; it's just that they could've done so much more with what they had. It takes several months to release a DLC when all they're doing is porting the stages from preexisting games & retrofitting them to "HD" visuals, if they really wanted they could release it all at once & be done with it because it's not like they're taking the time to draw new sprites or anything. What do you think will happen to Castlevania HD when the 3DS Castlevania is announced? Or when the LoS DLC is released?

I'm going to give it another try this weekend sometime, because I'm obviously missing out on all the fun that you're experiencing :/ My gamertag is in the HD Sticky Thread, if anybody wants to link up~

[corneliab]

No your point of view is blind because you refuse to accept other opinions and perspectives.    

LAWL

gtfo

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Now now, you don't get to tell people to gtfo.

But yeah, I guess what hurts the most is that I really really want to like the game.  I feel like I'm missing some magical real-world relic that, when I see through its lens, I can somehow 'get it', you know?  Get what makes this game appealing at all.  When I played it, I played at least four chapters of it, and I didn't find it fun.  Maybe it's the fact that they took a stage and made it ridiculously huge and convoluted.  Maybe it's that I would have appreciated new tile artwork and got basically the DS games and SotN's tiles hacked into a TileLayerPro-style stage editor, or maybe it's that I played as a lone little character instead of having a bunch of friends running and bouncing around the stage.

I feel like those people who "just can't see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch".

[affinity]

My credibility is not destroyed.  People can insult and dumb down my way of establishing examples, but they should try to understand that just because multiplayer gives something more fun than the single player, that doesn't make the single player obsolete.  People who prefer playing alone may see the SP as not enough, but the same could be said for those fans for generations who wanted a Castlevania they can play with friends and have high replay value.  Looking at the past Castlevania games, to them the past Castlevanias hold no water compared to the great things Castlevania HD offers for that audience, and not simply the multiplayer, that's just one part of the greater whole.

Please understand that Castlevania HD is the "dream game" for Castlevania fans and cooperative fans that like its style, you may scoff at that, but your rejection of this is no different than someone's rejection of World Cup soccer:

The rest of the world will love it no matter what you believe.

Have you bothered to play Adventure ReBirth? If HD "stays true to the core 2D gameplay" then Adventure ReBirth is the messiah.

You misunderstand my statement because your ignore Castlevania HD's design as a whole.   It sustains the core 2D concept of advancing through a stage towards the boss,  but more things are added to that, resulting in something different and better for people who like this formula.  

Anyways, here is recent news and confirmation of upcoming DLC (for those that care, that is. If you have something mean to say, I guess people have the right to troll here and be negative, if that's the best you are capable of doing with your time.)

http://majornelson.com/archive/2011/01/20/coming-soon-to-the-xbox-live-marketplace-jan-20.aspx

Xbox LIVE Game Add-ons:
January 26: Castlevania Harmony of Despair Playable Character Simon Belmont, 160 Microsoft Points
January 26: Castlevania Harmony of Despair Origins Stage Pack , 240 Microsoft Points
February 2: Castlevania Harmony of Despair The Legend of Fuma Stage Pack 240 Microsoft Points
February 2: Castlevania Harmony of Despair Playable Character Getsu Fuma, 160 Microsoft Points