Monday, March 28, 2011
Castlevania blog posts on hold.
I'm sure you're all happy about this, but seeing as how 3DS is still big news, my final Castlevania post has been put on hold. Expect a Ridge Racer 3D review to come soon, just as soon as I get farther into the game, which is gigantic by the way! You really get some bang for your buck... but is that bang fun? Tune in sometime soon for the review! :D
Saturday, March 26, 2011
3DS Blues
I feel sad. And do you wan't to know why I'm feeling sad. Because I get the 3DS on either Monday or Tuesday because the weekends don't count as shipping days. Congraturation 16-Bit. Your Story is Happy End as you get the 3DS first out of the entire blog.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Review
And so the craze continues in my second-last post in this Castlevania marathon review segment!
The third (and final) Castlevania game to grace the DS was 2008's Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Yes, that last word is pronounced "EE-KLEE-JA". Kinda weird, right? I suppose they're simply running out of names for these games, but really, does the name matter? Not at all, because this is Castlevania! Now, let's go whip some baddies! Wait, what! Are you telling me that there are ABSOLUTELY NO WHIPS in this game!/ You mean, not even the bonus mode has one, like DoS' did!? Well, in that case, can you really call this Castlevania?! Well, as a matter of fact, yes, yes you can, because despite the many tweaks and changes the developers made, this game still feels wholly like one of the best Castlevania games around. Whoops, did I just spoil the review?
Order of Ecclesia (OoE) takes that oh-so-familiar whip-cracking action and changes things up a little. Well, a lot, actually. Instead of a manly-man (or, in more recent games, dangerously pale transvestites), you play as tough girl Shanoa on your quest to rid the world of the old bat, Dracula. There's your first hint that this is a Castlevania game, good ol' Drac is still in here. Anyways, moving on... The biggest change this time is that, unlike like most free-roaming Castlevania titles, this game doesn't take place within one giant castle, but rather over a variety of different areas. This allows for way more varied environments, but as a result, the game doesn't feel quite as large, because, like Portrait of Ruin did with its bonus portraits, tilesets have been reused, but changed a bit in things like colours or the like. On top of this, most environments are simply flat, making you run from point a to point b and kill anything in your way. The reason these levels aren't as engaging as they could've been is because theres no stair climbing and no boss battles. It's just plain, flat terrain, with nothing but legions from Dracula's army to help break up the running. And while there are some considerable large areas, and that all in all the extra environments you unlock (such as the huge-normous Dracula's Castle towards the end) add up to something roughly the same size (if not larger) than Symphony of the Night's or Dawn of Sorrow's (not Portrait of Ruin, that game is freakin' huge), the fact that the areas are all broken up and disjointed causes you to feel like you're not achieving as much, and that the game is much smaller as a result. And there's one more glaring issue here that the developers really shouldn't have overlooked. Seeing as how Shanoa, instead of using actual physical weapons, uses magical things called Glyphs that only she can absorb, which allow her to create things such as an axe right out of the palm of her hand, there's no way to sell old weapons, oh, excuse me, Glyphs, to the shopkeeper, meaning that money is a pretty hard thing to come by in this game. And while you can earn some extra dough by doing fetch quests and the like for other villagers that you find hidden away in the game (that's right, villagers have been imprisoned in weird glass-like shards throughout the game), most of these net you no money, but rather send new items to the shopkeeper or give you some lame, useless thing that you never wanted. And the worst part is you can't buy anything that you just unlocked because there isn't enough money! *sigh*... why, Konami, could you do this to us!??! And normal potions, instead of regaing, no, not 80, and no, not 100 health, but only 50 health! They're practically useless, and you don't unlock the High Potion until the end of the game!!! Seeing as how the potions cost way too much, and you can only hold nine, they have barely any use! Whatever, you get the point, the shop system is flawed to say the least. Wouldn't it have been nice if Shanoa could permanently make a glyph a spell scroll or a physical weapon so she could've sold it or something!??!
Ignore my rant above. This game is still amazing, so let's focus on the positive parts from here on down. The action is still awesome. You'll be running around from environment to environment, knifing baddies, tossing axes, and casting spells to advance. The game is pretty damn long, and you'll be spending a lot of time with this one, especially considering the fact that the shop mode that was introduced in Portrait of Ruin has been enhanced here, meaning that if in need, a friend who's advanced farther than you can sell you some valuable stuff that you're not supposed to get until a bit later, powering you up a bit and making it easier to advance. And trust, you'll want every break you can get, because this game is really hard. Like, REEEEAAAALLLY hard! Unless you're a seasoned player like myself, you'll be tearing out your hair and yelling at your DS. Just don't throw it out a window or anything. Hell, I could barely get past the second boss. Also, with the new Glyph system come some other catches. Weapons use Mana Points now, so be prepared to be drained when you decide to wail on a boss. Luckily, your MP refills a heckuva lot faster now, and you can even dual wield your weapons for faster attacks. Also, picking up new Glyphs works a lot like the Soul system in Dawn of Sorrow. Enemies have a certain percentage as to whether or not they will drop glyphs, but not all enemies use glyphs. You can always tell when an enemy might drop a Glyph though, because it will always flash beneath an enemy right when they die, not quite materializing so that the actual glyph itself stays a mystery, but letting you know that you can indeed get a glyph from that dude. Shanoa has some other tricks up her sleeve, but I'll let you figure those out for yourself. Also, the item screen has been significantly improved. It looks sharper, and instead of just using an item as soon as you hit the "A" button, there's now a prompt asking you if you're absolutely sure you want to use that item. It's much less annoying than it sounds, and it helps to fight those times when you accidentally use that Super Potion when you have 348/350 health. Yeah. Plus, treasure chests are much more common, and seemingly self-aware of the shop system's flaws, they hold much more than money this time around.
OoE is by far the best looking Castlevania game on the DS. It uses more 3D elements, and features more stickies, as well as enemy bodies that remain on the ground instead of spontaneously combusting like in past games, giving you a better sense of the destruction you've caused. Characters also have more joints this time around, and the animations are amazingly fluid, and look two times better than the previous games. The atmosphere is really strong in this one, and it really immerses you more into the game. Of course, this is also due to the game's new art style, which goes for a much more mature tone than the anime style we've seen in the previous DS games, as well as Symphony of the Night.
Sound design in this game isn't quite as good as Portrait of Ruin's in my opinion, because some sounds sound way too tinny for a DS game, and don't give you a good sense of the damage you've caused in most cases. However, this game still sounds superior to Dawn of Sorrow, which still sounds amazing today, and so that means that this game is still awesome in this regard. There are some wonderful touches in here too, such as some of the things the bosses say to you, I would mention one particularly impressive element in one of the final boss fights, but that would spoil the story for you, which is much more a part of the game this time around. More on that below. Also, the music is still breathtaking, but some tracks have a tendency to be reused too often. This doesn't really bug you, though, when most of these tracks are awesome, and you'll be humming them for weeks!
The story is a very integral part of the experience in this Castlevania title, which is almost unheard of for the series. While it's true that it's hard to relate to Shanoa due to her losing her memories and emotions and all in the beginning of the game, there are still some wonderful plot twists, and if you fulfill all the conditions necessary for the good ending, then you'll really be surprised by someone who you thought was a no-good dirty little betrayer. All in all, I quite enjoyed the story here, and Shanoa actually seems to gain some emotion later on in the game, but I won't say any more, for fear of spoiling anything.
In the end, OoE is one of the best Castlevania games in years, and while, once again, it's not as good as Dawn of Sorrow or Symphony of the Night, it's still fantastic.
I give Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia 96/100 Glyphs.
The third (and final) Castlevania game to grace the DS was 2008's Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Yes, that last word is pronounced "EE-KLEE-JA". Kinda weird, right? I suppose they're simply running out of names for these games, but really, does the name matter? Not at all, because this is Castlevania! Now, let's go whip some baddies! Wait, what! Are you telling me that there are ABSOLUTELY NO WHIPS in this game!/ You mean, not even the bonus mode has one, like DoS' did!? Well, in that case, can you really call this Castlevania?! Well, as a matter of fact, yes, yes you can, because despite the many tweaks and changes the developers made, this game still feels wholly like one of the best Castlevania games around. Whoops, did I just spoil the review?
Order of Ecclesia (OoE) takes that oh-so-familiar whip-cracking action and changes things up a little. Well, a lot, actually. Instead of a manly-man (or, in more recent games, dangerously pale transvestites), you play as tough girl Shanoa on your quest to rid the world of the old bat, Dracula. There's your first hint that this is a Castlevania game, good ol' Drac is still in here. Anyways, moving on... The biggest change this time is that, unlike like most free-roaming Castlevania titles, this game doesn't take place within one giant castle, but rather over a variety of different areas. This allows for way more varied environments, but as a result, the game doesn't feel quite as large, because, like Portrait of Ruin did with its bonus portraits, tilesets have been reused, but changed a bit in things like colours or the like. On top of this, most environments are simply flat, making you run from point a to point b and kill anything in your way. The reason these levels aren't as engaging as they could've been is because theres no stair climbing and no boss battles. It's just plain, flat terrain, with nothing but legions from Dracula's army to help break up the running. And while there are some considerable large areas, and that all in all the extra environments you unlock (such as the huge-normous Dracula's Castle towards the end) add up to something roughly the same size (if not larger) than Symphony of the Night's or Dawn of Sorrow's (not Portrait of Ruin, that game is freakin' huge), the fact that the areas are all broken up and disjointed causes you to feel like you're not achieving as much, and that the game is much smaller as a result. And there's one more glaring issue here that the developers really shouldn't have overlooked. Seeing as how Shanoa, instead of using actual physical weapons, uses magical things called Glyphs that only she can absorb, which allow her to create things such as an axe right out of the palm of her hand, there's no way to sell old weapons, oh, excuse me, Glyphs, to the shopkeeper, meaning that money is a pretty hard thing to come by in this game. And while you can earn some extra dough by doing fetch quests and the like for other villagers that you find hidden away in the game (that's right, villagers have been imprisoned in weird glass-like shards throughout the game), most of these net you no money, but rather send new items to the shopkeeper or give you some lame, useless thing that you never wanted. And the worst part is you can't buy anything that you just unlocked because there isn't enough money! *sigh*... why, Konami, could you do this to us!??! And normal potions, instead of regaing, no, not 80, and no, not 100 health, but only 50 health! They're practically useless, and you don't unlock the High Potion until the end of the game!!! Seeing as how the potions cost way too much, and you can only hold nine, they have barely any use! Whatever, you get the point, the shop system is flawed to say the least. Wouldn't it have been nice if Shanoa could permanently make a glyph a spell scroll or a physical weapon so she could've sold it or something!??!
Ignore my rant above. This game is still amazing, so let's focus on the positive parts from here on down. The action is still awesome. You'll be running around from environment to environment, knifing baddies, tossing axes, and casting spells to advance. The game is pretty damn long, and you'll be spending a lot of time with this one, especially considering the fact that the shop mode that was introduced in Portrait of Ruin has been enhanced here, meaning that if in need, a friend who's advanced farther than you can sell you some valuable stuff that you're not supposed to get until a bit later, powering you up a bit and making it easier to advance. And trust, you'll want every break you can get, because this game is really hard. Like, REEEEAAAALLLY hard! Unless you're a seasoned player like myself, you'll be tearing out your hair and yelling at your DS. Just don't throw it out a window or anything. Hell, I could barely get past the second boss. Also, with the new Glyph system come some other catches. Weapons use Mana Points now, so be prepared to be drained when you decide to wail on a boss. Luckily, your MP refills a heckuva lot faster now, and you can even dual wield your weapons for faster attacks. Also, picking up new Glyphs works a lot like the Soul system in Dawn of Sorrow. Enemies have a certain percentage as to whether or not they will drop glyphs, but not all enemies use glyphs. You can always tell when an enemy might drop a Glyph though, because it will always flash beneath an enemy right when they die, not quite materializing so that the actual glyph itself stays a mystery, but letting you know that you can indeed get a glyph from that dude. Shanoa has some other tricks up her sleeve, but I'll let you figure those out for yourself. Also, the item screen has been significantly improved. It looks sharper, and instead of just using an item as soon as you hit the "A" button, there's now a prompt asking you if you're absolutely sure you want to use that item. It's much less annoying than it sounds, and it helps to fight those times when you accidentally use that Super Potion when you have 348/350 health. Yeah. Plus, treasure chests are much more common, and seemingly self-aware of the shop system's flaws, they hold much more than money this time around.
OoE is by far the best looking Castlevania game on the DS. It uses more 3D elements, and features more stickies, as well as enemy bodies that remain on the ground instead of spontaneously combusting like in past games, giving you a better sense of the destruction you've caused. Characters also have more joints this time around, and the animations are amazingly fluid, and look two times better than the previous games. The atmosphere is really strong in this one, and it really immerses you more into the game. Of course, this is also due to the game's new art style, which goes for a much more mature tone than the anime style we've seen in the previous DS games, as well as Symphony of the Night.
Sound design in this game isn't quite as good as Portrait of Ruin's in my opinion, because some sounds sound way too tinny for a DS game, and don't give you a good sense of the damage you've caused in most cases. However, this game still sounds superior to Dawn of Sorrow, which still sounds amazing today, and so that means that this game is still awesome in this regard. There are some wonderful touches in here too, such as some of the things the bosses say to you, I would mention one particularly impressive element in one of the final boss fights, but that would spoil the story for you, which is much more a part of the game this time around. More on that below. Also, the music is still breathtaking, but some tracks have a tendency to be reused too often. This doesn't really bug you, though, when most of these tracks are awesome, and you'll be humming them for weeks!
The story is a very integral part of the experience in this Castlevania title, which is almost unheard of for the series. While it's true that it's hard to relate to Shanoa due to her losing her memories and emotions and all in the beginning of the game, there are still some wonderful plot twists, and if you fulfill all the conditions necessary for the good ending, then you'll really be surprised by someone who you thought was a no-good dirty little betrayer. All in all, I quite enjoyed the story here, and Shanoa actually seems to gain some emotion later on in the game, but I won't say any more, for fear of spoiling anything.
In the end, OoE is one of the best Castlevania games in years, and while, once again, it's not as good as Dawn of Sorrow or Symphony of the Night, it's still fantastic.
I give Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia 96/100 Glyphs.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Review
And still, I continue in my Castlevania extravaganza with a look at the second Castlevania title to hit the DS, Portrait of Ruin. Where could I possibly be going with all these reviews? I'll leave that to you to find out.
In Portrait of Ruin (which I will now abbreviate as PoR), you play as young, 18-year-old vampire slayer Jonathan Morris and his friend Charlotte, a young, sixteen-year-old witch, on their hunt to rid the world of Dracula once more. The game takes place in 1941, during the second-world-war, and so that comes into the story as well, but barely. Basically, Dracula took the souls of all the soldiers killed in battle or something... I don't really know, it's not like the story matters here anyways. That being said, however, there is one twist that I didn't see coming about half-way through the game that I didn't see coming, but once again, does it really matter? The point of this game to run around and whip the shit out of stuff, not to care about what's actually going on! Oh, yeah, and one more thing: you can't use the vampire killer to its fullest yet at the beginning of the game, so it's kinda the worst weapon that you can have for the majority of the game.
PoR doesn't keep any of the elements that Aria of Sorrow or Dawn of Sorrow introduced into the series. In other words, you're basically just another vampire killer, nothing special here. That means that there are no more magical seals (THANK GOD), no more soul-stealing, and a much more complex character equip screen. Which I hate, by the way. But really, the big twist on the gameplay here is that the game follows a two-partner setup. Jonathan is your typical Castlevania hero, whereas Charlotte specializes in magic. Jonathan is the one who you'll be spending most of your time playing as, but don't forget about Charlotte here. Her magical spells can really help you out of a pickle, and if you decide to actually use Charlotte instead of just hit the R button for a quick hit of her spell, you can supercharge any spell you're currently using to take off much more damage, as well as occasionally last longer. Unfortunately, though, instead of equipping Charlotte with weapons such as magical wands, the developers decided to use books instead. I'm really not kidding here. This means that weapons for Charlotte to use are hard to come by, and by the time you do get a better one, Jonathan is likely already equipped with a weapon that's way more powerful. Granted, a lot of the books Charlotte find are magical, meaning that maces or axes or swords (or even knights on horsebacK0 will come flying out of them, but they usually have a far more limited range than any weapons Jonathan uses, and there are probably only 5-10 different books in the game that Charlotte can use. I'm just guessing of course, but really, I'm not exaggerating at all. Luckily, Charlotte's spells are still useful. So don't forget that!
The game uses the same engine that powered Dawn of Sorrow, so that means it still looks pretty damn gorgeous. Granted, some of the environments have a tendency to blend into each other, and many enemy sprites have been reused, but this is easily overlooked when enemies cast their spells or use their weapons, showing off some beautifully detailed animations, and sum simply astounding special effects. I often found myself being immersed in the game so deeply that I forgot I was looking at a DS screen, and all the pixels on the crappy DS' resolution kind of smoothed out and created perfectly rounded and detailed enemies. It's these kinds of immersive moments that really make the game look stunning.
The sound effects in this game have been tweaked and improved over Dawn of Sorrow's, meaning that those annoyingly loud and short screams that were in the previous game have vanished now, and instead have been replaced with much nicer sounds. Also, enemies have a tendency to banter and talk to you more often now, making them seem much more real than Dawn of Sorrow's typical, screeching fair. For example, when playing as Charlotte and approaching the Zacchino enemy, he will crouch down on one knee and proclaim his love to you. Run away from him at this point, however, and you'll see his flower wilt, while he sadly screams "Don't reject me!". The same wonderful touches have been used to bring the Succubus and Lilith creatures to life. Hearing them try and seduce Jonathan is amusing, and their screams such as "filthy cow" at Charlotte just showed me how much effort the developers put into this game. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that the music is absolutely phenomenal!? PoR features many more upbeat tracks than DoS, and they really do a great job of immersing you in the world.
PoR will last you a very long time. That is, if you decide to go for the good ending. Stop right after you beat the sisters, however, and you'll be pretty sad. Besides, that ending is pretty damn sucky. Fulfill the proper conditions, however, and you'll be treated to four extra paintings and three more boss battles, all of which will have you tearing at your hair before long. If you have the skill and time to beat these portraits and bosses, however, and you'll be rewarded with two more Boss Rush courses, a Sound mode, two extra playable characters, each with their own, unique partners, and a brand new way to play the game, Jonathan + mode. Stick with it a bit more after this, however, and you may unlock another little goodie, although I won't divulge into any further detail.
In the end, PoR is an absolutely exceptional game, and even though it isn't quite as good as Dawn of Sorrow was, it's still a damn good time.
I give Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin 93/100 Vampire Killers.
In Portrait of Ruin (which I will now abbreviate as PoR), you play as young, 18-year-old vampire slayer Jonathan Morris and his friend Charlotte, a young, sixteen-year-old witch, on their hunt to rid the world of Dracula once more. The game takes place in 1941, during the second-world-war, and so that comes into the story as well, but barely. Basically, Dracula took the souls of all the soldiers killed in battle or something... I don't really know, it's not like the story matters here anyways. That being said, however, there is one twist that I didn't see coming about half-way through the game that I didn't see coming, but once again, does it really matter? The point of this game to run around and whip the shit out of stuff, not to care about what's actually going on! Oh, yeah, and one more thing: you can't use the vampire killer to its fullest yet at the beginning of the game, so it's kinda the worst weapon that you can have for the majority of the game.
PoR doesn't keep any of the elements that Aria of Sorrow or Dawn of Sorrow introduced into the series. In other words, you're basically just another vampire killer, nothing special here. That means that there are no more magical seals (THANK GOD), no more soul-stealing, and a much more complex character equip screen. Which I hate, by the way. But really, the big twist on the gameplay here is that the game follows a two-partner setup. Jonathan is your typical Castlevania hero, whereas Charlotte specializes in magic. Jonathan is the one who you'll be spending most of your time playing as, but don't forget about Charlotte here. Her magical spells can really help you out of a pickle, and if you decide to actually use Charlotte instead of just hit the R button for a quick hit of her spell, you can supercharge any spell you're currently using to take off much more damage, as well as occasionally last longer. Unfortunately, though, instead of equipping Charlotte with weapons such as magical wands, the developers decided to use books instead. I'm really not kidding here. This means that weapons for Charlotte to use are hard to come by, and by the time you do get a better one, Jonathan is likely already equipped with a weapon that's way more powerful. Granted, a lot of the books Charlotte find are magical, meaning that maces or axes or swords (or even knights on horsebacK0 will come flying out of them, but they usually have a far more limited range than any weapons Jonathan uses, and there are probably only 5-10 different books in the game that Charlotte can use. I'm just guessing of course, but really, I'm not exaggerating at all. Luckily, Charlotte's spells are still useful. So don't forget that!
The game uses the same engine that powered Dawn of Sorrow, so that means it still looks pretty damn gorgeous. Granted, some of the environments have a tendency to blend into each other, and many enemy sprites have been reused, but this is easily overlooked when enemies cast their spells or use their weapons, showing off some beautifully detailed animations, and sum simply astounding special effects. I often found myself being immersed in the game so deeply that I forgot I was looking at a DS screen, and all the pixels on the crappy DS' resolution kind of smoothed out and created perfectly rounded and detailed enemies. It's these kinds of immersive moments that really make the game look stunning.
The sound effects in this game have been tweaked and improved over Dawn of Sorrow's, meaning that those annoyingly loud and short screams that were in the previous game have vanished now, and instead have been replaced with much nicer sounds. Also, enemies have a tendency to banter and talk to you more often now, making them seem much more real than Dawn of Sorrow's typical, screeching fair. For example, when playing as Charlotte and approaching the Zacchino enemy, he will crouch down on one knee and proclaim his love to you. Run away from him at this point, however, and you'll see his flower wilt, while he sadly screams "Don't reject me!". The same wonderful touches have been used to bring the Succubus and Lilith creatures to life. Hearing them try and seduce Jonathan is amusing, and their screams such as "filthy cow" at Charlotte just showed me how much effort the developers put into this game. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that the music is absolutely phenomenal!? PoR features many more upbeat tracks than DoS, and they really do a great job of immersing you in the world.
PoR will last you a very long time. That is, if you decide to go for the good ending. Stop right after you beat the sisters, however, and you'll be pretty sad. Besides, that ending is pretty damn sucky. Fulfill the proper conditions, however, and you'll be treated to four extra paintings and three more boss battles, all of which will have you tearing at your hair before long. If you have the skill and time to beat these portraits and bosses, however, and you'll be rewarded with two more Boss Rush courses, a Sound mode, two extra playable characters, each with their own, unique partners, and a brand new way to play the game, Jonathan + mode. Stick with it a bit more after this, however, and you may unlock another little goodie, although I won't divulge into any further detail.
In the end, PoR is an absolutely exceptional game, and even though it isn't quite as good as Dawn of Sorrow was, it's still a damn good time.
I give Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin 93/100 Vampire Killers.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Virtual Boy Music Video
With Nintendo moving on to bigger and better 3D technology we have to remember where the idea came form for them... The Virtual Boy. Now how are we going to celebrate this amazing console... With Keith Apicary's new music video.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Review
Yes, continuing my Castlevania obsession this month is my review for the game Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, which was released on the Nintendo DS in 2005. Yes, it's a bit older now, but I still think it's worthy of a review on this blog. I will be abbreviating Dawn of Sorrow as simply DoS, so now you know.
DoS follows the Metroidvania style of gameplay, the same style that Symphony of the Night used to break the mold way back on the Playstation 1. And yes, Symphony of the Night is the best Castlevania game to date, but Dawn of Sorrow, in my opinion, comes in at a close second. The game drops you into the boots and white trench coat of a dangerously pale teenager named Soma Cruz, who you may recognize from the third Castlevania game to grace the GBA, titled "Aria of Sorrow". DoS takes place one year after Aria, and right when Soma gets used to living a normal life again, an evil cult leader who's intent on creating the next "Dark Lord", whose name happens to be Celia Fortner, decides to come back in and screw it all up again. She sends out a few minions your way, none that Soma can't rid off with his trusty (but slightly rusty, and maybe a tad musty), dagger. Upon trying to approach Celia, Soma is pushed back by an invisible wall, and Celia teleports off, back to her wonderful cult base, which just so happens to be, *sigh*, yet another replica of Dracula's Castle. But Soma will have none of this, so off to the cast- I mean cult base he goes. Yes, it's pretty ridiculous, but the story isn't really what matters here.
DoS is a bit different from Symphony of the Night, mostly because, instead of focusing on advanced, RPG-like character armor customization (leggings, armor, helmet, etc.), DoS instead features a unique soul-capture system. So, the equip screen has been simplified to six slots now, one for your weapon, one for your armor, one for your accessory, and three for your bullet, guardian, and (sorry, I forgot the name of this last one...) souls. But, you may be asking, what are these souls you speak of, and how can I get them? Well, it's all quite simple, really. Souls are unique powers that allow Soma to do anything from grow a giant Corpseweed on his head to summon those ever-so-popular familiars from Symphony of the Night. The only way to get these souls is to kill enemies. For example, if you want to summon archers that shoot arrows from behind you to back you up, you have to kill an "Amalaric Sniper" enemy to do so. The only problem with this system, however, is that you don't get souls by simply killing an enemy. There's a percentage system in place here, meaning that it's only 4% likely you'll get a Great Axe Armor soul, or 55% likely you'll get a ghost soul and so on and so on. The problem with this is that you could spend hours farming for a soul that you need to level up your weapon or to provide you backup so you can more easily take out a boss, and you never end up getting the soul you want because there's only a 4% chance you're going to get it. I think it would've been better to have, no matter what, always gotten the soul of an enemy after the first kill, but then, afterwards, to have multiple souls, have introduced the whole percentage thing. Thankfully, all the souls you need to progress through the game are sure-fire, you will always get them souls, so don't worry about spending hours killing the same boring enemy like you had to do in Castlevania II. Getting those really rare souls is just for completionists, and most of them aren't even that great. Besides, most souls you can get after around 10-20 kills, so it shouldn't be too hard getting what you want most of the time.
DoS looks amazing. The graphics are intricately detailed, and the variety of different effects that get used when you kill an enemy or use a s0ul, etc. are absolutely great, and the animation is super smooth to boot. Sadly, the sound isn't quite as amazing. Some noises are reused too often, and some screams and such are just downright painful to listen to. Luckily, most of these sounds are short and don't last too long, but still, it's something the developers should've noticed. Don't get me wrong though, Castlevania still has some absolutely mind-blowing musical tracks, and the sound is still pretty damn good.
On top of the main game (which will last you quite a long time if you're going for all the endings), there are quite a few of extra modes that you can unlock that are almost just as beefy as the main game itself. One of notable mention is Julius mode, but I'll let you figure out for yourself what that is, and how to unlock it. There's also a Sound mode that's lets you listen to any musical track in the game, as well as all 200+ sound voiceovers, screams, etc., but sadly no sound effects. But let's not forget that Boss Mode, which will allow you to get some pretty awesome goodies if you manage to beat it quickly enough. All in all, DoS will definately last you a long time, and don't expect to see that "100% complete" screen without doing some pretty damn hard work.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is an absoluetly amazing addition to the series, and although it doesn't quite live up to Symphony of the Night's legacy, it comes in at an amazingly close second. If you have a DS and this game isn't in your library, then I will personally kick you in the 'nads should you not rush to the store and pick up a copy of this game.
I give Castlevania: DoS 98/100 Souls
DoS follows the Metroidvania style of gameplay, the same style that Symphony of the Night used to break the mold way back on the Playstation 1. And yes, Symphony of the Night is the best Castlevania game to date, but Dawn of Sorrow, in my opinion, comes in at a close second. The game drops you into the boots and white trench coat of a dangerously pale teenager named Soma Cruz, who you may recognize from the third Castlevania game to grace the GBA, titled "Aria of Sorrow". DoS takes place one year after Aria, and right when Soma gets used to living a normal life again, an evil cult leader who's intent on creating the next "Dark Lord", whose name happens to be Celia Fortner, decides to come back in and screw it all up again. She sends out a few minions your way, none that Soma can't rid off with his trusty (but slightly rusty, and maybe a tad musty), dagger. Upon trying to approach Celia, Soma is pushed back by an invisible wall, and Celia teleports off, back to her wonderful cult base, which just so happens to be, *sigh*, yet another replica of Dracula's Castle. But Soma will have none of this, so off to the cast- I mean cult base he goes. Yes, it's pretty ridiculous, but the story isn't really what matters here.
DoS is a bit different from Symphony of the Night, mostly because, instead of focusing on advanced, RPG-like character armor customization (leggings, armor, helmet, etc.), DoS instead features a unique soul-capture system. So, the equip screen has been simplified to six slots now, one for your weapon, one for your armor, one for your accessory, and three for your bullet, guardian, and (sorry, I forgot the name of this last one...) souls. But, you may be asking, what are these souls you speak of, and how can I get them? Well, it's all quite simple, really. Souls are unique powers that allow Soma to do anything from grow a giant Corpseweed on his head to summon those ever-so-popular familiars from Symphony of the Night. The only way to get these souls is to kill enemies. For example, if you want to summon archers that shoot arrows from behind you to back you up, you have to kill an "Amalaric Sniper" enemy to do so. The only problem with this system, however, is that you don't get souls by simply killing an enemy. There's a percentage system in place here, meaning that it's only 4% likely you'll get a Great Axe Armor soul, or 55% likely you'll get a ghost soul and so on and so on. The problem with this is that you could spend hours farming for a soul that you need to level up your weapon or to provide you backup so you can more easily take out a boss, and you never end up getting the soul you want because there's only a 4% chance you're going to get it. I think it would've been better to have, no matter what, always gotten the soul of an enemy after the first kill, but then, afterwards, to have multiple souls, have introduced the whole percentage thing. Thankfully, all the souls you need to progress through the game are sure-fire, you will always get them souls, so don't worry about spending hours killing the same boring enemy like you had to do in Castlevania II. Getting those really rare souls is just for completionists, and most of them aren't even that great. Besides, most souls you can get after around 10-20 kills, so it shouldn't be too hard getting what you want most of the time.
DoS looks amazing. The graphics are intricately detailed, and the variety of different effects that get used when you kill an enemy or use a s0ul, etc. are absolutely great, and the animation is super smooth to boot. Sadly, the sound isn't quite as amazing. Some noises are reused too often, and some screams and such are just downright painful to listen to. Luckily, most of these sounds are short and don't last too long, but still, it's something the developers should've noticed. Don't get me wrong though, Castlevania still has some absolutely mind-blowing musical tracks, and the sound is still pretty damn good.
On top of the main game (which will last you quite a long time if you're going for all the endings), there are quite a few of extra modes that you can unlock that are almost just as beefy as the main game itself. One of notable mention is Julius mode, but I'll let you figure out for yourself what that is, and how to unlock it. There's also a Sound mode that's lets you listen to any musical track in the game, as well as all 200+ sound voiceovers, screams, etc., but sadly no sound effects. But let's not forget that Boss Mode, which will allow you to get some pretty awesome goodies if you manage to beat it quickly enough. All in all, DoS will definately last you a long time, and don't expect to see that "100% complete" screen without doing some pretty damn hard work.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is an absoluetly amazing addition to the series, and although it doesn't quite live up to Symphony of the Night's legacy, it comes in at an amazingly close second. If you have a DS and this game isn't in your library, then I will personally kick you in the 'nads should you not rush to the store and pick up a copy of this game.
I give Castlevania: DoS 98/100 Souls
Monday, March 21, 2011
Play for Japan
As you should all know Japan had a major earthquake and tsunami happen to them two weeks ago. Do you want to help them but would want to get a super cool item in return. What if I said you could donate to them while getting Super Mario Kart signed by Miyamoto. What about a DS Lite signed by John Carmack. Go to http://playforjapan.org/auctionlist/ for the full auction list.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
3DS Games Come Early
Hey guys I was just at Costco Today when I saw something strange when looking at the DS games. It was a 3DS game and this is a week before it was out I'm gonna put a picture up to show you It was there and I did not buy it because the game did not really interest me but here it is.
Retro Review: Castlevania (NES, 1986)
I'm sure we've all heard of Castlevania. You know, it's that one game with Dracula, where you go around whippin' the hell outta demons and shit? Yeah, that one. Anyways, It's spawned a massive series with a gigantinormous following. Hell, I'm one of the Castlevania zombies. Anyways, you've most likely heard of the newer Castlevania games, such as the infamous Symphony of the Night or the first DS title, Dawn of Sorrow, which Konami now calls a "Konami's Best" title, and IGA has said in an issue of Nintendo Power that the team that worked on that title was the most talented that the series has ever had... well, whatever, this isn't what I'm really supposed to be talking about. What I'm really here to discuss is the game that started it all; Castlevania for the NES, released in 1986. Many still believe this game to be the best in the series, despite it's hellish difficulty and less-than-astounding lastibility.
Let's cut the crap here: this is game is HARD. Sure, the first few levels won't have you tearing off your face, but as the game progresses? HOLY CRAP. Shit gets real. You're constantly being tested, and simply pushing through the game is not an option. You have to think about what you're going to do next, or at least push through it a bit at first, find out the level's tricks, and go on through it again, knowing what to do, when. It feels like, as short as the game may be, the levels that are there have been perfectly planned, with the developer's acting with each other to create a perfectly balanced pool of AWESOME. But some awesome that's really fuckin' hard. Anyways, that's about it for the gameplay. Shall we move on to the graphics, then?
Castlevania looked awesome when it came out. The vibrant colours were really awesome, and the varied enemy designs were nice aswell. The developers really must've put some thought into some of the enemies. I mean, come on, fleaman? I never would've thought of that. Well, they're either creative or just on some serious acid, that is. Anyways, as good as the game looked then, I can't exactly praise it now. Obviously, NES games aren't going to look super awesome, and it's true that your eyes will adjust to the graphics after a while, but I still feel like the NES was capable of more, plain as that. True, this game came along quite early in the NES' lifespan, but still... would anyone still say that, despite it looking amazing for the time, Super Mario Brothers still looks good?
The sound is nice. Even though the whip sound and the the like sound kinda tinny, it's still pretty nice, and the sound that plays when enemies die and burst into flame is just so satisfying! But the real star of the show here is the music. Despite being more than 20 years old, the music still holds up, and you may recognize some tunes here if you've played any of the newer Castlevania games. Yup, that's right, the majority of the songs in this game have been remixed and recycled countless times over Castlevania's lifetime. Guess you can really only compose a few really amazing showstoppers, eh? Anyways, the music is varied and sounds amazing, and it really complements the game nicely.
Overall, Castlevania is an awesome (albeit hard) game that anyone should play, and seeing as how it's only five bucks on Virtual Console now, there's absolutely no reason to pass this one up.
I give Castlevania for the NES 87/100 Graveyard Ducks.
Let's cut the crap here: this is game is HARD. Sure, the first few levels won't have you tearing off your face, but as the game progresses? HOLY CRAP. Shit gets real. You're constantly being tested, and simply pushing through the game is not an option. You have to think about what you're going to do next, or at least push through it a bit at first, find out the level's tricks, and go on through it again, knowing what to do, when. It feels like, as short as the game may be, the levels that are there have been perfectly planned, with the developer's acting with each other to create a perfectly balanced pool of AWESOME. But some awesome that's really fuckin' hard. Anyways, that's about it for the gameplay. Shall we move on to the graphics, then?
Castlevania looked awesome when it came out. The vibrant colours were really awesome, and the varied enemy designs were nice aswell. The developers really must've put some thought into some of the enemies. I mean, come on, fleaman? I never would've thought of that. Well, they're either creative or just on some serious acid, that is. Anyways, as good as the game looked then, I can't exactly praise it now. Obviously, NES games aren't going to look super awesome, and it's true that your eyes will adjust to the graphics after a while, but I still feel like the NES was capable of more, plain as that. True, this game came along quite early in the NES' lifespan, but still... would anyone still say that, despite it looking amazing for the time, Super Mario Brothers still looks good?
The sound is nice. Even though the whip sound and the the like sound kinda tinny, it's still pretty nice, and the sound that plays when enemies die and burst into flame is just so satisfying! But the real star of the show here is the music. Despite being more than 20 years old, the music still holds up, and you may recognize some tunes here if you've played any of the newer Castlevania games. Yup, that's right, the majority of the songs in this game have been remixed and recycled countless times over Castlevania's lifetime. Guess you can really only compose a few really amazing showstoppers, eh? Anyways, the music is varied and sounds amazing, and it really complements the game nicely.
Overall, Castlevania is an awesome (albeit hard) game that anyone should play, and seeing as how it's only five bucks on Virtual Console now, there's absolutely no reason to pass this one up.
I give Castlevania for the NES 87/100 Graveyard Ducks.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
MOBILE ANGRYNESS!!!
Okay, I figured since I haven't (or no one for that matter) posted about a mobile exclusive game, I think I will break that streak. Today I will be reviewing the Rovio Game Angry Birds for iPod Touch, iPhone (all gen I believe) iPad (in HD!) and Android (Fiftybottles has it). The game is overall easy to play you use a slingshot to launch angry birds at pigs that stole the birds' eggs. The game allows you to purchase a mechanic called the Mighty Eagle, and you buy it for 0.99 cents and use it and infinite amount of times. It is annoying you have to pay a buck for it, but it pays off in the end (no pun intended). This game also brought about a seasonal edition also for 0.99 cents (the game itself is too) so you can get the full Angry Birds experience for under five dollars (w00t!), which consists of the game, (and updates are free, so it's even better), the seasonal edition (updates are also free, but sadly no Mighty Eagle) as well as the man (or rather the bird) itself, the Mighty Eagle. So overall, I give this game a 4.5 out of 5, because of a lack of a Mighty Eagle in the seasonal edition and the fact you have to pay for it (the Mighty Eagle).
16 Bit
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Egoraptor?
I'm sure most of you already know of this guy by now, because he's fucking hilarious, but if you haven't, you have GOT to check him out! He just did a HILARIOUS comparison of Castlevania against Castlevania 2, and I HIGHLY recommend you check him out, guys. Oh, but fair warning: he swears a LOT.
http://www.youtube.com/user/egoraptor
http://www.youtube.com/user/egoraptor
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A night of Livestreaming...
Hey guys! Last night (or really, this morning...), we were doing a ton of live streams, some good, some.... not so good. Anyways, you might wanna check out some of the stuff we were doing, and for those people, thi link'll be below. Oh, yeah, and by the way... we watched the Legend of Zelda show and did a live commentary... it was one in the morning, so expect... out-of-itness.
http://www.livestream.com/nullreviewnotfound
http://www.livestream.com/nullreviewnotfound
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
God of war: chains of olympus
I've just beaten the game for like the seventh time on god mode. (Super Hard) Let me just say, the controls on the first portable God of War game is easy to learn. Ten minutes in and you'll be murdering random things. the difficulty is nice but there's a puzzle in the game that spiked the difficulty levels. The upgrading style is a bit hard since you can't enter one red orb to your weapon. you'll have to slowly tap X to upgrade to the exact amount. However, you get so much red orbs, it's best to just wait until you have enough to upgrade there and then. The some enemies have minigames to defeat them. Some are as easy as a tap of a button to ten. The challenge of Hades is a good addition. Unfortunately, it goes from easy to hard to impossible to easy again. Sadly, the story is lacking. I expected some long story for a 1 gb game. All I got was about 2 hours of gameplay. It's good though since there's bonus games. Overall, I'll give 90/100 Kratoses in a potato suit
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Pokemon Black
Okay, I feel like a total geek because of this, but I got Pokemon Black. Yup, the Pokemon games released on March 6th 2011. The game is overall pretty good, and the graphics are simply phenomenal for a Pokemon game. The game is pretty challenging, at least for me. This game introduces a new feature of Pokemon games. The new feature is seasons, that change every 32 days, and 31 in February. The game starts off in Spring and rotates from then. This month is Autumn. In Winter snow piles up and allows you to access areas you could before. also, the different seasons bring about different types of Pokemon. In Autumn, you find lots of Grass types. In Winter, you find more Ice types. In Summer, you can find more Fire types and Water types and finally in Spring you find more Flying types and Grass types. This game is absolutely astounding and I give it 100/100 Exp. Points.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Better quality Cave Story 3D images
This video on youtube shows some much better (scanned) images from Nintendo Power.... enjoy if you were hating on my photography skillz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FlysmdE1Gg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FlysmdE1Gg
Saturday, March 5, 2011
I'm sorry
Sorry I haven't been posting lately but I have been making Vlogs on my YouTube Vlog channel NullPortalFTWVlogs and been putting some gameplay commentary on NullReview
Friday, March 4, 2011
New Cave Story 3D Images!
After scouring the internet to find a more digital version of the photos (as opposed to simply taking crummy photos of them out of my magazine), I realized that, as far as my knowledge extends, Nintendo Power is the only one to get their hands on this new concept art and these awesome new gameplay photos. The game seems to be coming along quite nicely, although if the Grasstown level (maybe you know it as "Bushlands") is any indication of what the completed version of that level may look like, I'll certainly be disappointed. It appears as if there was no shading used at all in that segment, and that's a shame considering it's my favourite level. But then again, the game's summer release is still a while off, so let's hope that these little kinks are improved before the game hits store shelves! Anyways, you probably just want to see the photos now, so here they are! Bask in their mighty glory!
What appears to be a picture of the Sand Zone...
The Grasslands pciture I mentioned eariler. No shading seems to have been used at all.
The Egg Corridor, one of the first areas that you'll venture through.
The absolutely amazing new concept art drawn up for the game!
Keep in mind that every picture above (With the exception of the last one, it being concept art and all) are in-game shots. Getting your blood pumped yet?
The Last Minecraft?
Just linkin' to an absolutely epic piece of fan video on youtube over here. A bit gory, sure, but so damn awesome. Be sure to check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uyxVmdaJ-w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uyxVmdaJ-w
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Cavestory
I've been checking our stats and, I'm proud to say. My Cavestory poster is our most famous attraction. Thank You Random people of that. Now null is popular. Seriously, who would visit a blog of lazy gamers. Of course, if there was something cavestory, people would come.
Mario Sports Mix
Mario Sports Mix came out on February 7th 2011 for the Nintendo Wii. It was generally recieved poorly, but it is actually a decent game (fiftybottles, I'm looking at you). Mario Sports Mix is divided into four sports: Hockey, Basketball, Volleyball and Dodgeball. The games are fun, and not boring (fiftybottles, I'm still looking at you). Hockey is far too easy to get good at and te goalies are Shy Guys, and thoroughly suck at saving. Hockey: 2/5. Basketball is fun in both 3 on 3 and 2 on 2. The game is easy to control and is fun to play. Basketball: 4.5/5. Dodgeball is fun to play partly because you can bean whover the hell you want with a ball at full power. Dodgeball: 5/5. Volleyball is interesting in the way that you must hit the ball at least twice before spiking it over. Volleyball: 3.5/5. Overall this game is fun and is nice to play with a couple of friends or frenemies. Mario Sports Mix: 64/100
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