Topic: Castlevania harmony of despair coming this week !

[PFG9000]

Yeah, I preferred single player HoDespair at first, but once I learned how important Multiplayer is in building up your character (especially as Soma and Alucard), I started doing that more.  And that's when I really fell in love with the game.  The best way to play, though, is multiplayer with friends.  You can help each other learn which switches activate which doors, and you can heal each other with the Waters of Life, and work together.  Most multi games with Randoms turn into everyone for himself matches.

I bought the PS3 version last night, and I'm a little let down.  The framerate on the menu screens is much lower than the X360 version, and it looks really choppy.  It's pretty noticeable when the menu book's pages are flapping across the screen.  I think some of the saving and loading times are longer, too, and it seems like the default view is zoomed out a little further.  The game just wasn't optimized for the PS3.  But it's nice having some of what was originally DLC (Julius, Yoko, and the Pyramid level) now included with the regular purchase.

It's kinda weird starting from scratch again after I'd gotten used to blazing through the levels with the Valmanway and Winged Boots.  But it's nice playing through with people who are also just starting out.

EDIT:  My PS3 gamertag is Rickdogg213 (lame, I know) if anybody wants to add me.

[Kusanagi]

Not on Chapter 4 on Single-Player.  Fuckin' painting switches will murder your half hour.
What's the point of the time limit, again?  Is it 'cuz PSN can't keep a connection going any longer?
Seems like plain evil, to me.  Time Limits?  What is this, Super Mario Bros. 1?

ah yes the painting switches, had a fun time with that my first run through. One big thing to remember is the section that leads to the boss, as the paintings really only have around 3 - 4 different sections connected by the paintings, while most of the time the 4th is only if you detour from the path that leads to the boss. You'll get use to it in due time, but I do commend you for trying to running through the game on your own. Also, keep in mind that for some ledges, Alucard's mist form can give him just enough height to reach it if you move the mist towards the ledge you're after. That will come in handy for the secret room in Chapter 6.

Since the game was built around multiplayer aspects, the bosses usually are a lot tougher to beat (especially at the beginning). The game expects you to run with a team, so then you can clear the stage within the allotted time (although when in multiplayer, the enemies are adjusted accordingly so that they have more health to match how many are there). Like what Sonic_Reaper said, best to take advantage of the online mode as much as possible; at least at the beginning till you have the equips to help you stand your ground on your own. Im enjoying my time in online multiplayer, and it does help when you don't need to explore the whole map on your own. Plus when you make the transition from normal to hard mode, better be prepared to get hurt really bad at the start (least till you get some equips from that stage). Unless you're a character that can abuse invincibility frames (Alucard's only invincibility frame is with the mist form, which usually isn't enough to help you clear say a wall of fire blocking a chest for example), some treasure boxes may be completely inaccessible for you on your own.

Alucard is a Character that doesn't necessarily level up (least from my readings), but he relies on his equips to determine how strong he is. The only aspect for him that levels up is his spells (which need you to find copies to level them up, not how many times they're used). Though Im not sure how that affects your stats. Generally for characters, it's not themselves that level up, but their sub weapons/hunter skills, and that affects their stats in some way or another (My main Richter for example has his attack power increase with every level up of his sub weapons).

Yeah, I preferred single player HoDespair at first, but once I learned how important Multiplayer is in building up your character (especially as Soma and Alucard), I started doing that more.  And that's when I really fell in love with the game.  The best way to play, though, is multiplayer with friends.  You can help each other learn which switches activate which doors, and you can heal each other with the Waters of Life, and work together.  Most multi games with Randoms turn into everyone for himself matches.

I bought the PS3 version last night, and I'm a little let down.  The framerate on the menu screens is much lower than the X360 version, and it looks really choppy.  It's pretty noticeable when the menu book's pages are flapping across the screen.  I think some of the saving and loading times are longer, too, and it seems like the default view is zoomed out a little further.  The game just wasn't optimized for the PS3.  But it's nice having some of what was originally DLC (Julius, Yoko, and the Pyramid level) now included with the regular purchase.

It's kinda weird starting from scratch again after I'd gotten used to blazing through the levels with the Valmanway and Winged Boots.  But it's nice playing through with people who are also just starting out.

EDIT:  My PS3 gamertag is Rickdogg213 (lame, I know) if anybody wants to add me.

Hmm, for me at least I sometimes get stuck in the loading screen then need to quit the game and start up again. Perhaps I need to reinstall the game...

Also your gamertag looks familiar, though since you started just yesterday Im probably mistaken. Im Kusanag1flame over there, so maybe we'll run into each other sometime xD Though recently I've been sticking to Hard mode runs, so that might be a while before that happens.

So far after playing the game after a few days, I really enjoy the online aspect of the game and helping out others. I had a few games where me and random people almost beaten the main game on Hard mode.

Me too, I enjoy helping out other people as best I can; thats probably one of the main reason why I love the game xD Been running in hard mode for a while, so if you need help you can add me if you want xD

[Rugal]

I've had more fun with this game than I did with Lords of Shadow.

Harmony of Despair is a better game than Lords of Shadow.

There I said it. Flame me all you want. The lot of you can kiss it.

[Kusanagi]

I've had more fun with this game than I did with Lords of Shadow.

Harmony of Despair is a better game than Lords of Shadow.

There I said it. Flame me all you want. The lot of you can kiss it.

Well I actually bought Lords of Shadow two days before the release of Harmony of Despair (it was about 20 bucks so I wasn't gonna pass up on that deal), but I find myself more attached to Harmony of Despair over Lords of Shadow. Partially because I like co op games, and partially because I have fondness and attachment to 2D games vs 3D games. The boss fights for the most part are fun (particularly chapters 4 and 7 for me), and although a tad slower than say Symphony of the Night or any of the following Metroidvania's, I still find this game a blast to play. This is mostly because I don't have time to fully play through a metroidvania and enjoy every single aspect of it - I usually pause between a few days to even weeks at a time before I continue due to being busy with school and other things.

Can't say everyone will agree with your statement, but I can see where you're coming from (but I enjoy both games, just I enjoy games more when playing with other people).

[crisis]

Bloodrayne:Betrayal>both of em 

[Kusanagi]

Bloodrayne:Betrayal>both of em 

(...)

hahaha, heard that one before. Had a look at it just now and looks interesting enough. Funny though I remember Bloodrayne was a 3D game. Guess they wanted a crack at a 2D game.

I'll probably still be sticking it out with Harmony of Despair though before I look to play another game for a while. Already spent what money I could to buy the game and its DLC (got other things to save up for), and I don't regret it one bit xD

[PFG9000]

I've had more fun with this game than I did with Lords of Shadow.

Harmony of Despair is a better game than Lords of Shadow.

There I said it. Flame me all you want. The lot of you can kiss it.

I'm not sure it's a better game, but I've had infinitely more fun with HoDespair than LoS.  I've put more time into HoD, too.  But LoS is more polished, and obviously a lot more work went into it than into HoD.  Think how amazing HoD would be if it had the budget and manpower of LoS behind it!

[KaZudra]

Honesty, HD would be 10000000000000000000000000% with more stages and Balanced characters.
and when I mean Balanced, I mean a Nerfed Soma, He's Way too godlike in that game.

[affinity]

Instead of nerfing them, how about adding a 3rd difficulty level for previous and new chapters,  while expanding the other characters abilities and buffing their advantages a bit?   

[Opium]

Been playing this single player with only Alucard so far.  Managed to kill dracula using spiked boots and jewel knuckles - took about 6 tries but the bastard finally went down.  Now it's time to either check out hard mode or a new character.

[PFG9000]

Building your first character is the hardest, since you start absolutely from scratch.  But you can use some of the general equipment that you've found with that character to equip on another character, so they won't be as weak as your first character when you start to build them up.  Of course, you get much better equipment in Hard mode, so taking your original character there would be a good way to get some of the better equipment sooner.

[Vlad III]

I wonder if Konami will ever bother releasing this on the EU PSN?

[Kusanagi]

I wonder if Konami will ever bother releasing this on the EU PSN?

Odd, I saw some players from Germany online, but the rest of Europe hasn't gotten the game yet? Even saw some players from Japan and China (well, red flag and star in the center I think is China, could be mistaken). What region does Germany fall under then?

Although if you want to get it early, you could make a US PSN account, order a US PSN card, then just buy the game like that. Although that may be a bit troublesome, and maybe the wait might be worth it (who knows what they may fix up in the game before its release).

Instead of nerfing them, how about adding a 3rd difficulty level for previous and new chapters,  while expanding the other characters abilities and buffing their advantages a bit?   

Im all for that, but if Konami wants to save time they should opt to nerf Soma. All I really know about him being OP is his Valmanway, the ring that makes you consume HP instead of MP for attacks, and all that paired up with the Succubus soul. I intend to play as Soma at some point, but I want to avoid making him OP as much as possible (Avoiding the Valmanway being the top of the list, the last two aren't so offensive in my opinion).

Oh and out of curiosity, who's your favorite boss to fight guys? Im kinda tied between Chapter 4's boss Brauner and Astarte of Chapter 7; Brauner because its just fun dodging all the stuff he throws at you, and Astarte because I still find her challenging yet incredibly fun to fight against (Once hit with temptation, its over most of the time for guy characters). Oh, and that's fighting them both on hard mode, though that doesn't change much other than increased health and damage output.

[KaZudra]

Stage 4 and Brauner are the easiest and fastest in the game, you can literately beat him and the stage under a minute.

[Kusanagi]

Stage 4 and Brauner are the easiest and fastest in the game, you can literately beat him and the stage under a minute.

Pretty much, and with equips that focus on strength (Berserker mail especially), he's pretty much done before he gets to finish his first "Blood art Technique", although my Richter isn't strong enough to do that just yet.

I have 3/4 of Simons armor, still missing the cape, and I usually prioritize with Sage rings since I prefer having the MP to use my subs for training purposes and being versatile over boosting my attack power (plus its satisfying combo-ing the whip + spin kick). Saving up for that ring that helps with training sub weapons though; almost halfway there too, but till then I train them the traditional way (not using multiple slots or the BSD trick however). I do really need to farm for those thief rings so I can farm for the fuma gear, as that probably will give me what I want in terms of MP regen but still very decent stats. Won't complain if I find the Retro armor though xD