Topic: Is this the twist in Aria of Sorrow?

[Ratty]

I dunno, I find AoS to be a beautiful game, and I first played through it on an HD-TV through the Gamecube's Gameboy player. It's low res but the art design is superb, have you tried giving it a chance? Art direction trumps pixel or polygon count every time in my experience. I think I might slightly prefer the darker visuals of CotM, but AoS took all of the mistakes that HoD had made in the meantime and made a game that was easy but fun, and taken altogether it's probably second only to SotN as far as Metroidvanias in the series in terms of completeness and accessibility to a non-Castlevania fan.

[Atcero]

Graphics, at least to me, have never made a game. A game should not revolve around the graphics, and if it does then something is wrong. The Atari and NES pulled off great games with horrible graphics. AoS compared to either one has amazing graphics and yes in today's terms not the best. But it was a great game with or without the "bad" graphics. The story was a nice new twist to the series, as was the ability to absorb souls. Who needs duel-wielding or diagonal aiming when you can throw a fleaman at your enemies? AoS to me was not a downgrade just as any game before and after were not a downgrade (except for the Adventure but was still a good game on it's own), they were additions to the franchise.

[crisis]

graphics do matter
they arent & shouldnt be the most #1 important thing in games, but to say "graphics dont matter" is poppycock

[beingthehero]

YOU DON'T MATTER

I'm kind of surprised you don't like AoS's graphics, as it's usually lauded to this day.

[KaZudra]

Graphics Matter, but only if it fits to the art direction.
AoS fitted the art direction really well, Haunted Castle doesn't

[theANdROId]

I second (third?, fourth?) the suggestion to play them all and form your own opinions.  I think they're all worth at least checking out.  Considering the idea that, "One man's trash is another man's treasure", maybe you'll find something "golden" that makes it great for you, or maybe you won't.  No real loss either way though.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Just so you guys know...
It seems that the person who posted this topic was last seen on April 1.

[GuyStarwind]

I thought the same thing. I mentioned it as a side comment. Probably the case.

[beingthehero]

Just so you guys know...
It seems that the person who posted this topic was last seen on April 1.

gobdommit he made me post. 10/10.

[Ratty]

Just so you guys know...
It seems that the person who posted this topic was last seen on April 1.

Yeah I noticed that when I first read the comment, but forgot about it by the time I came back and got around to commenting lol. Their name is also "hoebolord". For anyone who's second language is English and therefore might not be familiar with all the terms that's "hoe" - derogatory name for a woman, usually implying she's a prostitute. "hobo" - derogatory name for a homeless person. And "lord" - a master or boss of a place. So yeah I guess our lack of "OMFG u don't like AoS HOW COULD U?!??!" probably slightly disappointed someone this April 1st.

[hoebolord]

Ok the graphics weren't that bad, still disappointed at how much worse they are from SNES graphics though, even on a technically more powerful system. With some magic tricks, I started my game on Hard Mode, and good god its brutal, partly because the controls are a step down from SotN. No healing outside of saves is driving me crazy when everything hits like a truck lol. Still a pretty fun game, other than the fact I have to hug save point rooms now.

[zangetsu468]

the controls are a step down from SotN.

They're really not. The controls are actually much easier to combo in AOS and kill enemies more quickly.
It only feels difficult because you have no weapons atm.

[hoebolord]

They're really not. The controls are actually much easier to combo in AOS and kill enemies more quickly.
It only feels difficult because you have no weapons atm.

I'm in the arena which is near the end, I think, and I'm pretty sure 30 fps, inability to attack anywhere but right in front of you, and your attack being 1 pixel wide counts as piss poor controls.

[zangetsu468]

I'm in the arena which is near the end, I think, and I'm pretty sure 30 fps, inability to attack anywhere but right in front of you, and your attack being 1 pixel wide counts as piss poor controls.

Exaggerate much..

Two words: Claimh Solais

Only attack in front of you hey... try using souls, they're a large part of the gameplay in this one

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Order of Ecclesia has a slew of weapons while maintaining the difficulty of the older titles.
It's probably the best compromise that most Castlevania fans can agree on.

It's also quite beautiful.