Just in case I was misremembering that this was one of the good linear Castlevania games, and my thoughts on Vampire’s Kiss were based on warped memories, I decided to give this a go. It’s on the Switch Online Mega Drive collection too so it wasn’t difficult figuring out a way of running it. And, I was completely right. It is so much better than Vampire’s Kiss it makes that game look like a dodgy c-tier “Dracula’s Castle” knock-off and …
Vampire’s Kiss is A Bad Game. I’ve no idea why Konami decided to dump this poor Super Castlevania IV followup on the Castlevania Advance Collection because it’s neither a GBA game nor is it a “metroidvania” style game. And it’s rubbish. I’m trying not to represent it badly because it isn’t the same genre as the other three games on the collection, and it’s several years older, but no – it’s just no fun to play. It’s short, it has …
And that’s it. The Unholy Trinity of Game Boy Advance Castlevania Games, all completed. Once again, I found this easier than I remembered. Something else I had obviously remembered wrongly was that I’d thought this was the best of the three games, but in fact, this time around I think I enjoyed Harmony of Dissonance more. A combination of the dash moves, the double castle and the lack of the silly “broken up map” of Aria of Sorrow, perhaps. That’s …
No sooner had I completed Circle of the Moon I made a start on Harmony of Dissonance. Two things are immediately apparent: 1) the background and enemy graphics are much, much more impressive than the previous game, and 2) your main character, Juste Belmont, looks incredibly garish with a clashing outline. The reason for the latter is probably because Circle of the Moon got a lot of stick for being too dark to see on the original GBA. Back then, …
More than 14 years after last completing this, it was re-released on modern consoles as part of the Castlevania Advance Collection along with some of the other GBA Castlevania games (it’s missing the NES Classic original on there) and Castlevania X for some reason. Since it really needs to be played on a handheld, I bought the Switch version and then played it almost entirely on the TV. Tch. The general consensus is that of the three GBA IGA-vania games, …
Yes, the original NES game, here in the Castlevania Collection on the Switch. And oh my was it harder than I remember. Mainly the medusa heads in the later levels. It’s still a great game, and having played other NES platformers this year so many of them just don’t play well these days – and they’re all the bloody same. But not this one!
A lot has been said about how terrible the Switch version of Bloodstained is compared to the other platforms it’s available for. Low quality graphics, 30fps not 60, longer loading times, and so on. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I don’t actually care. It’s the version I wanted, and short of being broken (and it’s not) it doesn’t matter to me about the rest. And I was right, as it’s pretty much a perfect Castlevania game and I enjoyed it very …
Boldly going where nobody without the surname Belmont has gone before.
That’s right, folks – I’ve completed a Spectrum game. But not a Spectrum game from 30 years ago – one from last year. Or this year. It’s new, anyway. And it’s also really good. A new Castlevania game (a fan one, not a Konami one) that manages to fit into the Castlevania canon, with astounding graphics and sound considering the hardware it’s on. And it’s a full adventure experience too, like Castlevania II was on the NES, which abilities you …
It seems like years ago when I last completed a game. I blame the crippling twin time vortexes of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, because escape from them is almost impossible. But, here and there, I’ve worked through the final chapter of the story – playing as Simon. His section actually fits before Trevor and Alucard (which run pretty much concurrently), and although I’d spotted where it was going well before it got there, the reveal …
A game with a sub-subtitle? Amazing. First things first. This is not quite like the Metroidvania Castlevanias that I love so much (like Dawn of Sorrow or Symphony of the Night). It’s also not quite like the “original”, more linear Castlevanias like those on the NES and SNES. And it’s not even quite like the new “reimagined” Lords of Shadow game for the Xbox 360, despite the title and the fact it follows on from that game’s story. It is, …
Yep. Another one of those. You love them really. So, here are things I’ve been playing recently: Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (360) I’m now, I dunno, half way into the first of the two year 7 films? I have no idea. Things seem to have hit the fan though, as the beardyman has died and the moon has turned into a Lego skull and everything was on fire. Literally no idea. Skylanders (360) My daughter is able to play this really …
It’s about time I actually completed something! Skyrim has sucked most of my time, and although I’ve been playing other games, none of them are that near the end. This game was pretty short though, if a bit difficult. I wrote this about it last time I completed it (back on an actual Game Boy!): Oh my! Only four levels? Just as well as if there were any more, things may have been broken on purpose. Level 3 is the …
Mutant Mudds (3DS) It’s really hard now. I’ve done all 16 main levels, some of the secret levels, and collected all of the diamonds so far. I’ve done the first three Moon levels, but the last one? Nightmare. It’s so difficult! It doesn’t help that you can only have one power up at a time, and you really need all three to make it through. I’ve swapped around which ones I’ve been using, but it’s too hard with any of …
