Topic: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

[Adrock]

Well, it's official now.... though Konami did a terrible job keeping it a secret. Those leaked screens from January of a supposed mystery Castlevania game were, in fact, real (as if there was ever any doubt). This also basically confirms a Castlevania game for the Wii.

[DAaaMan64]

Well, it's official now.... though Konami did a terrible job keeping it a secret. Those leaked screens from January of a supposed mystery Castlevania game were, in fact, real (as if there was ever any doubt). This also basically confirms a Castlevania game for the Wii.

Why is that? I am curious.  I love Castlevania...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

CASTLEVANIA 64 PART 2 GIVE ME

[NWR_insanolord]

Well, it's official now.... though Konami did a terrible job keeping it a secret. Those leaked screens from January of a supposed mystery Castlevania game were, in fact, real (as if there was ever any doubt). This also basically confirms a Castlevania game for the Wii.

Why is that? I am curious.  I love Castlevania...

It confirms that because the same source that leaked the screens for this talked about a Wii Castlevania. It's not complete confirmation but it makes it pretty darn likely. I loved Dawn of Sorrow, the first Castlevania game I ever played, and I've enjoyed Super Castlevania IV on the VC, so I'm excited for this.

[Adrock]

Why is that? I am curious.  I love Castlevania...

The title screen was leaked in January and one of the options was "Wii." Unless that's been taken out since, Order of Ecclesia will connect to the Wii for some reason. The only thing that makes sense would be connectivity to a Wii game.

[KDR_11k]

Hm, the screenshot on Gamespy shows a red thing with a human face on top... Isn't that the final boss from Super Contra?

EDIT: Bah, world map... That means we get tons of separate areas again like in PoR. I hate that, it ruins the whole feeling of exploration.

[Nick DiMola]

Bah, world map... That means we get tons of separate areas again like in PoR. I hate that, it ruins the whole feeling of exploration.

Ah crap, that makes me somewhat disinterested in the game. While I played PoR to completion, I did not enjoy it as much as the other Metroidvania games. Might have to wait and see on this one before I pick it up.

[user0x7D]

From: http://www.nintendojo.com/infocus/view_item.php?1210959126

“We have always felt that the Castlevania franchise has been an excellent fit on Nintendo DS, and based on the popularity of the DS classics, Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, our fans agree,” said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Umm... Do Konami's employees ever talk to each other?

Outside of that, I do hope that they at least upgrade the assets from Castlevania 64 somewhat before they use them in the rumored Wii title. Then again, most developers have been able to get away with worse already. Why would Konami feel the need to do any better?

[Luigi Dude]

Well the Wii Castlevania could be 2D as well.  IGA has said several times he'd like to make a 2D Castlevania on a home console again.  Maybe after seeing the incredible sales of Wii hardware and software, he was able to convince the higher ups at Konami that a 2D Castlevania on the Wii could do well.

Or maybe after IGA saw the PSP Castlevania bomb after he said the PSP was where the true Castlevania fanbase was, he finally released it's really the Nintendo fanbase that embraces the Castlevania series.  This would explain why this new one for the DS looks like it's using Kojima style art again instead of the generic anime style they used for the other DS games.  Since the Wii and DS are very similar too each other and share the same fanbase, IGA might feel that the people that bought the 2D ones for the DS, will also buy a 2D one for the Wii.

Well I can hope anyway.

[KDR_11k]

IGA thinks the DS is just a side hobby and the real meat is on the PS2, the rest of Konami looks at the numbers and realizes the DS is Castlevania's main business .

I hope Kojima works harder this time, these character portraits really need a good number of poses, not just a generic "posing for magazine ad" pose that's used no matter if the character is happy, sad, angry or dead. That's the biggest advantage of the anime portraits they had IMO, they could afford loads of different portraits that conveyed the dialogue much better than the detailled but apathetic portraits of the GBA games.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

sorta like Reggie/Iwata's fun vs. serious looks

[vudu]

Or maybe after IGA saw the PSP Castlevania bomb after he said the PSP was where the true Castlevania fanbase was, he finally released it's really the Nintendo fanbase that embraces the Castlevania series. ... IGA might feel that the people that bought the 2D ones for the DS, will also buy a 2D one for the Wii.

Wii port of Dracula X Chronicles confirmed.

[Adrock]

I would love to see Dracula X Chronicles ported to the Wii though I can't even imagine the amount of flack Konami will get from Nintendo fans.... even though every 3rd party uses the Wii as a port dumping ground. For me though, it'd be yet another reason not to pick up a PSP... I'm waiting for Sony to announce God of War: Chains of Olympus for PS2.

On a side note, I still find it mindboggling that some Nintendo fans were so offended that Dracula X Chronicles was released on PSP. Konami released TWO completely original Castlevania games on DS versus ONE remake (plus ports) on PSP. Clearly, DS got the better deal.

There are supposedly 3 Castlevania titles in development (including OoE). If a 2D Wii title is announced, I would expect Nintendo fans to bellyache about how they can't swing Belmont's whip using the Wii remote. Or, if the PS3/360 version is 2D and the Wii game is 3D complete with motion controlled whip, Nintendo fans will complain that the 2D game is better suited for the Wii and they don't want crappy 3D Castlevania. Either way, Nintendo fans will blame Konami for screwing Nintendo over and will once again look like petulant children who are impossible to please.

[vudu]

New Information (Below are the bigger highlights; follow the link to read a few more.)

- “No real weapons in this game” all fighting is through Glyphs
- Glyphs dropped by enemies, found in specific locations as well
- MP refills quickly when not attacking
- combos possible
- Glyph Union special attacks
- More than 20 locations
- receive side-quests from saved villagers
- Gameplay elements from previous games: Leveling-up, dodging (L/R buttons), select button to switch between map and stats, hard difficulty setting, multiple endings, Wi-Fi support
- Wi-Fi: New item interface: own a shop, vs. competition - considers items used and damaged received to determine winner

I'm intrigued about the Glyphs, but also a little worried at the same time.  In previous Castlevania games, with weapons I pretty much abandoned them once I found a better one.  There were usually two weapons that I used on a regular basis at any one time--a strong/slow one and a weak/fast one.  Once you threw in magic (of which there were probably eight to ten that were really useful by end game) there were quite a few combinations you could use.  However, if you can only use two Glyphs at once, it seems like it could severely limit the possibilities.

Also, a little disappointed that it seems like they're going with the "levels" from PoR instead of the single castle from AoS/DoS, but I'll live.

[Jonnyboy117]

I expect the Wii game to be for WiiWare, which would almost guarantee its 2D status.  Happy!

I'm a Castlevania whore and thus keeping an eye on OoE, but I really do need it to be quite different in order to consider buying it.  Portrait of Ruin didn't do much for me; it was high quality but seriously lacking in creativity.  Iga's team needs to stop recycling level designs and art assets from game to game.  And Castlevania fans need to quit comparing every new game to Symphony of the Night.  There's no doubt of SotN's genius, but Aria and Dawn of Sorrow are at least as good and totally different in how they play.  SotN is now playable on enough platforms (PS3, XBLA, PSP) that I hope we can all move on and look forward to NEW kinds of gameplay in Castlevania.

[KDR_11k]

How much new can you do without making it no longer Castlevania?

Is that really two directional dodge as in HoD? I have a feeling that travelling will devolve into dodgespam quickly...

[AV]

Or maybe after IGA saw the PSP Castlevania bomb after he said the PSP was where the true Castlevania fanbase was, he finally released it's really the Nintendo fanbase that embraces the Castlevania series. ... IGA might feel that the people that bought the 2D ones for the DS, will also buy a 2D one for the Wii.

Actually Japan already got the Virtual Console release for this, so you never know we might see that which would be awesome.

I love 2d castlevania games, I didn't hate 3d ones like everyone else but still 2d can keep on coming. The no-weapon aspect is scary though, we will see they tend to make great games.

Wii port of Dracula X Chronicles confirmed.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Circle of the Moon FTW

[vudu]

I loved Circle of the Moon when it was first released, but I don't think I could go back and play it any more.  The soul system is so much more user friendly than the card system.

[Bodeecia]

  Someone  has told me that the "era of the Belmonts is over."  Is this true? And if so, does it mean the Belmonts are never coming back? It's going to really stink if they don't, I hope someone can clarify this for me.

[Adrock]

Richter Belmont was the last Belmont to use Vampire Killer because for some reason or another, the Belmont family became unable to wield Vampire Killer... well, until Julius in Aria of Sorrow (the Morris family are descendants of the Belmonts, but not Belmonts.... whatever that means). Order of Ecclesia is probably set somewhere between Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Yeah, that narrows it down to somewhere within like 230 something years. I remember an interview with IGA few years ago when the interviewer asked if we'll ever find out why the Belmonts became so powerless (as well as how Julius sealed Dracula in 1999) and IGA hinted that he's already thought up that story and wants to use it for a future game. Order of Ecclesia might be that game.

[DAaaMan64]

The Morris family can't just naturally use the Vampire Killer.  The Morris family can only use it if they have a vision where they have to kill an original Belmont. If they do successfully they can wield the Vampire Killer's real power. However it slowly drains life force.  Also, the vision has to be induced/forced by a strong sorcerer.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

And Trevor isn't the son of Sonja and Alucard... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

[DAaaMan64]

I'm just going of Portrait of Ruin

[BeautifulShy]

Gamestop has opened Preorders

[BeautifulShy]

Some Screenshots

[DAaaMan64]

Great example of game that looks great in full motion but terrible in screenshots.

[NWR_Lindy]

Just pre-ordered this.  Got it in my Amazon gold box for $26.59...DAMN YOU AMAZON

[BeautifulShy]

Screenshots
Konami media day impressions

[Jonnyboy117]

Lately, I've totally forgotten about this game even though I expect it to be awesome.  There are so many great DS games coming out this fall, it's hard to keep up with them all!

[DAaaMan64]

YA I KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE QUITE A TRIP, HUH??


FALL YA, FALL. GAMES

i love castlevania, and will hopefully be able to afford to buy this!

[NWR_Lindy]

OK, I cancelled my pre-order of this because there is simply SO MANY OTHER GAMES I need to pay for.  I had to draw the line somewhere.  This is going to be great, though.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Does it still have that awful hub-centric level design?

[BeautifulShy]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40749.html
^new video from the Fall summit

[BeautifulShy]

Media Summit impressions

[BeautifulShy]

More Here

[Suemealso]

I got it.

Its a fairly hard game, bosses are VERY hard but over all its really well done.

[KDR_11k]

Comes in about one month here...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Does it still have that awful hub-centric level design?

Yes, yes it does.  I recommend you avoid it, kind sir.

[Adrock]

If you want to treat yourself to a whole world of frustration, try: getting the Boss Medals, particularly for Blackmore, which are special (useless, bragging rights only) items obtained by not taking damage during boss fights.

[KDR_11k]

Three more weeks until release...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=62210

We absolutely need more Castlevania like this.
Take the series forward.

[Ghisy]

Man, this game really kicks ASS!
I'm having so much fun with it but it's also very difficult.
Who said hardcore gaming was dead on the DS??

[MaleficentOgre]

This game is super enjoyable. I love this kind of game and this is a welcome addition.  I very much enjoy the small combat tweaks they made. It's fun.

[Adrock]

Who said hardcore gaming was dead on the DS??

...clearly never tried Contra 4.

Order of Ecclesia actually does get easier, especially once you start mowing down the same enemies to get their glyphs. The boss medals are just plain ridiculous though. I have all of them so far which is only worth it in my mind since I'm a completion junkie.

2D Castlevania really does need to come to the Wii with Wario Land: Shake It quality graphics.....

[KDR_11k]

For a moment I read that as "Castlevania 2 really does need to come to the Wii".

[vudu]

I broke out the game for the first time last night and played for a couple hours.  It's a lot harder than the previous ones, but I think it's just because of my limited arsenal.  I just beat the prison boss and am having quite a lot of fun.

I have a couple minor nit-picks about Glyphs.  I think I remember reading that they don't stack--this is correct?  If so, I'm slightly irked that they appear even after I've already obtained them.  At this point it's not a big deal, but when I get pretty far in and can't remember which Glyphs I have I'm going to find myself absorbing lots of unnecessary ones.  I also find the "fake" Glyphs fairly annoying and wish they would just go away completely.  Every time they appear I get a little excited and then let down when they instantly disappear.

[Monteblanco]

I've never played Castlevania and, although I am interested, I am unsure about picking up the series known for its difficulty. I am not younger as I was and I was pretty much disappointed with my (lack of) performance with Super Ghosts & Ghouls in the VC -- a game I could at least played reasonably at the arcades back in the 80s. As such, which of the DS Castlevania titles is more forgiving?

[vudu]

As such, which of the DS Castlevania titles is more forgiving?

I'd recommend Dawn of Sorrow.  It's easily the best of the DS games.

If you tend to get turned off by the 2D Metroid games you might want to considerPortrait of Ruin instead.  It doesn't have a single-castle design of DoS, so it's a little easier to not get lost if that's a concern.

[KDR_11k]

It's still easy to get somewhat lost, in PoR you're just less likely to find a saveroom (primary means of HP recovery) when wandering aimlessly .

Overall I'd recommend starting with the GBA games (Hod/AoS double pack is a good idea) but they might be too hard to find so DoS would be the starting point. It has some silliness with the seals but they don't take much to learn.

The post-SotN Cvs aren't that hard anyway. OoE may have changed that but the others were fairly easy most of the time. I'm currently playing SotN and bosses seem awfully easy to kill there.

[vudu]

The DS games are infinitely better than the GBA ones if for no other reason than the map/enemy info is visible on the top screen during game play.

[Monteblanco]

As such, which of the DS Castlevania titles is more forgiving?

I'd recommend Dawn of Sorrow.  It's easily the best of the DS games.

If you tend to get turned off by the 2D Metroid games you might want to considerPortrait of Ruin instead.  It doesn't have a single-castle design of DoS, so it's a little easier to not get lost if that's a concern.

Super Metroid is, by far, my favourite game. I'll try Daw of Sorrow, thanks for the tip.

[vudu]

****, maybe I should have looked at your avatar before saying that. 

[vudu]

I'm about halfway finished with the game and I've come to terms with the Glyph system.  Unfortunately, while it sounds very promising, it seems to be more limiting than the regular weapon/soul system of the other DS/GBA games.

While I really like double-wielding Glyphs, I've found I get the best results when I equip the same Glyph to both my right and left hand and attack by alternating between the X and Y buttons as fast as I can.  I'll typically equip swords in my A slot, hammers in my B slot and some sort of magic in my C slot and switch between them depending on current enemies' weakness.

At first I tried equipping a regular weapon in my X slot (e.g. a sword) and a magic or projectile attack in my Y slot but quickly discovered that the system didn't work as well as I had hoped.  Most enemies have a significantly higher HP than in past games (or maybe I just don't do as much damage) so I need to attack with both hands in order to quickly defeat them.  Since lots of enemies are strong to one attack (e.g. swords) and weak to another (e.g. hammers) holding one of each doesn't do much more damage than just attacking with one glyph that they're weak against.

In order to maximize my effectiveness I need to double equip what they're weak against.  And even if an enemy is weak against multiple weapon types it doesn't really make sense to equip different weapon types because they deal different damage amounts and (more importantly) they have different attack speeds (which can mess up your flow if you are tapping X and Y repeatedly to vanquish a strong foe).  Nine times out of ten the best course of action is to pick your strongest weapon and equip it in both hands.

Off the top of my head I can think of only four types close-range, non-magic glyphs--swords, hammers, rapiers, sickles.  Each has two (that I've come across so far, but I'm willing to bet there's at least a third) strengths--weak and strong.  Once you get the strong version there's no reason to ever use the weak version.  Gone are the days of balancing whether to use a quick,weak stabbing-sword vs. a slow, strong overhead-swinging sword.

And since you can no longer power up your magic by collecting the same soul/glyph multiple times there's little reason to switch from your best weapons until you come across something stronger.

New armor also seems to be far and few between so there's little reason to change your equipment unless you want a hat/accessory to increase your luck or help you find treasure.

The core gameplay is still excellent and I have no complaints about the level structure or the combat (bosses are particularly awesome).  However, I can't help but be a bit disappointed by the new weapon system.

[Caliban]

I'm having more fun with the game once I understood that Ecclesia isn't the usual Castlevania DS/GBA game, and it took me a good while, and a lot of killing to understand that. The funny thing is that I think that sometimes the bosses are much easier to beat than the enemies. Ecclesia has its own unique charm, and I hope that's what the developers were going for because it is a nice change.

[Adrock]

Souls > Glyphs

No Castlevania since Symphony of the Night has been as good. Aria of Sorrow was the best non-SotN entry. The main problem being gameplay. Symphony of the Night completely changed the series and subsequent games have just piggybacked off its formula. Still fun, just lacking originality. They don't need to start from scratch, but a little innovation can go a long way.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Yeah, they could like go 3D.

Symphony mainly brought Metroid for people who didn't like Metroid.  Basically, a sidescrollers for casuals.  That was way too easy.

[DAaaMan64]

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/455/455583p1.html

The PS2 game, Lament of Innocence is suppose to be excellent.  I mention this because it is 3d.

[KDR_11k]

Yeah, they could like go 3D.

Symphony mainly brought Metroid for people who didn't like Metroid.  Basically, a sidescrollers for casuals.  That was way too easy.

SotN is indeed easier than later Cvs, the lack of invulnerability timers on bosses makes it really easy to rack up massive damage and wipe them out in no time.

[Tybo68]

I haven't played any GBA Castlevanias but I love all of the DS ones. Lots of people have their opinions on which ones are better than the rest and you can't go wrong with any of them (at least the ones I have played.)

[KDR_11k]

It finally came out here.

[Caliban]

I got to a part in the game where I compared my percentage done with how much I explored and the only thing running through my mind was "holy ****". Oh, by the way I'm on the second part of the game in continuation with my initial investment of 10 hours of gameplay. I don't think I gave that much play time with the other Cs even though I finished the games... well except for Circle of the Moon which I played multiple times over.

The only thing I don't like about this game is the optional missions villagers give you because some items are just really hard to get sometimes because the freakin' enemies decide not to drop 4 to 5 star rare items even after I've killed them 500 times.

I really like that I don't have to keep getting money to keep on getting better weapons, but on the other hand there is much weapon variety either, but that something I'm willing to cope with considering back in the day all we had was a whip. Heck I don't even use that much money on potions because I think the game makes you quite strong even though it has a slow rate of ascension. Boss fights are awesome because it's no longer just hack and slash because you can die quite fast if you just go head on. There's this boss that I defeated with just one move, and I was so surprised with such event because it shows how diverse these boss battles have been.

Yes. I'm lovin' this game. Even though I didn't like it so much in the beginning. Change is hard to accept, and this C has many changes of which I welcome and hope that Konami releases a few more Cs just like this one.

[Caliban]

Finished it yesterday with 15 hours and change. The last 2 bosses were a bit of a disappointment because they were rather traditional to beat, but the effort put into the design of the majority of the prior bosses definitely deserves kudos. Of all the 3 Cs for DS this is my favourite, 9.5/10. I do miss the use of the whip as a primary weapon, just because Circle of the Moon was badass.

[Tybo68]

I am on my way through the game for the third time already. I accidently deleted the file before finishing everything on the first play through and I upgraded to a harder difficulty after the second play through. I think I might go back and play some of the GBA ones because I never had a chance to play those.

[DAaaMan64]

I got this for Christmas and am all ready to play it! I love Castlevania!

[NWR_DrewMG]

I got this a month or two ago from Goozex and played maybe the first 6-7 hours of it.  I put it away for awhile, and decided to pick it back up last night.

Now I remember why I put it down.  This is one of the most frustrating gaming experiences I've had in ages.  It took me probably about 25-30 tries just to get through the Skeleton Cave, which is a tiny, tiny part of the game.   

[vudu]

You are either are bad at video games or you're not properly leveled up.

[NWR_DrewMG]

I'm willing to accept either as probable.  But, how is it possible I wouldn't be properly leveled up?  I've played through the game the same way everyone else has to that point - level by level.  Some of these enemies take 8-12 hits to kill, unless you're keen on wasting your hearts before you get to the boss.  Maybe there's something in the glyph system I'm not quite grasping.  I did notice that my stronger weapons were pretty useless against some of the monsters in that cave, and I had more luck switching to a "weaker" weapon. 

Anyways, now that I have the double jump, I've been working my way back through the other areas to see what chests I missed.

[KDR_11k]

Obviously blunt weapons hurt skeletons more but yeah, the difficulty in the game is pretty high and I don't feel any desire to do the grinding necessary to dial it down to the levels of the previous games.

[NWR_DrewMG]

I suppose the fact that the game has three different hotswappable weapon slots (6, really) should tell me that I will be catering my glyphs to the particular enemy on a regular basis.

Did other CV games have this kind of paper-rock-scissors thing going on?  I don't remember ever having to worry about it before.

[vudu]

I'm willing to accept either as probable.  But, how is it possible I wouldn't be properly leveled up?  I've played through the game the same way everyone else has to that point - level by level.  Some of these enemies take 8-12 hits to kill, unless you're keen on wasting your hearts before you get to the boss.  Maybe there's something in the glyph system I'm not quite grasping.  I did notice that my stronger weapons were pretty useless against some of the monsters in that cave, and I had more luck switching to a "weaker" weapon.

Even though the game has a set number of levels, it expects you to play through some of them multiple times.  Now that you have the double jump I suggest revisiting levels not only to find hidden equipment but also to level up.

Also, you know that enemies have different weaknesses, right?  If an enemy flashes blue when you attack it's resistant to that particular weapon type (same goes for magic).  I can't remember all the weapon types, but I think there are 3 or 4 of them--swords, hammers, axes, etc.  If one isn't affective try another.

Like you said, you need to put the three weapon slots to good use.  I usually had swords in slot A, hammers/axes in slot B and some sort of magic in slot C.

[Halbred]

Ro-Sham-Bo isn't as much a factor here, Drew, but you will want to equip three "weapon glyphs," mainly: the lance, the scythe, and the hammer.

There are three slots to each glyph set, and usually it's not a big deal to have two weapon glyphs in any one set. Always use a weapon, an enhancement, and a magic attack. For example, one of my sets has the scythe, ice shot, and wings (you'll find wings later). Another one has the hammer, fire shot, and rapid movement.

And yeah, grinding is a necessity here. It doesn't hurt to go back and redo every stage you've previously completed once you acquire a new power (double-jump, wings, etc.). You usually get good items for your trouble and plenty of EXP.

[NWR_DrewMG]

All good advice.  I'm hoping to finish this game and list it for trade back on Goozex in the next week or so, so I can move on to Dead Space or Prince of Persia. 

[KDR_11k]

I suppose the fact that the game has three different hotswappable weapon slots (6, really) should tell me that I will be catering my glyphs to the particular enemy on a regular basis.

Did other CV games have this kind of paper-rock-scissors thing going on?  I don't remember ever having to worry about it before.

They did but the modifiers were nowhere close to this. Those pink and blue symbols on the monster info screens are a list of strengths and weaknesses. Basic damage is piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, then there's the elemental types. AFAIK stone weakness means the enemy gets petrified when hit with a matching weapon. I usually have a mixed (slash/magic unless I'm facing mostly blunt enemies), a fully ranged (both magic, usually with different trajectories, elements depending on situation) and a double hammer (can do big hammer attack and strikes much faster when I really need to bludgeon something) set.

[NWR_DrewMG]

I finished the game last night.  I think the difficulty was at it's highest toward the 40-50% stage of the game.  As soon as I got the Superior Rapier, I was pretty much tearing through everything.   They give you so many awesome weapons in the Castle at the end; it'd have been nice if they spread that through the game a little more evenly.

Anyways, I didn't 100% the game.  I'm not the kind of guy who needs to 100% a game.  I got through at least 75% of the quests (down to the ones that require grinding for hours to find incredibly rare items)  and unlocked about 94% of the map.  Good enough for me.  Great game.

And now someone else can enjoy it.  It's in the mail. 

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I wish there was a WiiWare version for TV play.

[Caliban]

So does everyone else, but Iga's being a dick about it.

[KDR_11k]

WiiWare can't feasibly sell for more than 10-15$. DS games can sell for twice that.

[NWR_DrewMG]

The Strong Bad game sells for $50 or $60.   A Castlevania 2D game could easily be split into episodes just the same as a lot of the other stuff on WiiWare.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Circle of the Moon would fit on VC.

[mantidor]

Late to the party again but finally I got the game and finally I got to dracula's castle. All I need now is an awesome wallpaper of Shanoa entering the castle which is basically the most awesome piece of art I've seen inside a castlevania game, but sadly that image is nowhere to be found.

[bosshogx]

Late to the party again but finally I got the game and finally I got to dracula's castle. All I need now is an awesome wallpaper of Shanoa entering the castle which is basically the most awesome piece of art I've seen inside a castlevania game, but sadly that image is nowhere to be found.

Are you talking about this one?

[Halbred]

Circle of the Moon could fit onto...DSiWare? And that would be kickass!

[Caliban]

Don't you already have it on a cartridge?

[KDR_11k]

Don't you already have it on a cartridge?

I had it on cartridge once but it was a used copy that lost its saves regularly so I had to return it.

[Caliban]

Well yeah if the cartridge you have isn't functional then I can see why anyone would get it for DSiWare.

[Halbred]

Yeah, I have it for GBA, and I still have my GBA SP. But I'd seriously consider buying it again for the DSi so that I could play it whenever and not worry about hauling carts around.

[Caliban]

I see your point.
I just have a big backlog of games that once I'm satisfied with how much I've played the game after I finished it (Circle of the Moon was played a lot, like a lot), I just set it on my collection of finished games.

[mantidor]

Late to the party again but finally I got the game and finally I got to dracula's castle. All I need now is an awesome wallpaper of Shanoa entering the castle which is basically the most awesome piece of art I've seen inside a castlevania game, but sadly that image is nowhere to be found.

Are you talking about this one?

Yes!

But I want it in insane resolution, so far it seems the highest resolution to be found for this one is on the official wallpapers. Some characters are in high resolution but thats it.

[SirSniffy]

OMG...I just played record 1...VAMPIRE KILLER! I chuckled a little, then marveled at it's utter ownage! I can listen to classic NES/SNES game tunes till the cows come home.

[mantidor]

Where the hell is record 1? I have them up to 8 except the first.

[Stratos]

Late to the party again but finally I got the game and finally I got to dracula's castle. All I need now is an awesome wallpaper of Shanoa entering the castle which is basically the most awesome piece of art I've seen inside a castlevania game, but sadly that image is nowhere to be found.

Are you talking about this one?

Yes!

But I want it in insane resolution, so far it seems the highest resolution to be found for this one is on the official wallpapers. Some characters are in high resolution but thats it.

Happy birthday, you can lavish me with adoration now

[kraken613]

Does the order you play these games matter? If I played this one first? My friend is letting me borrow it.

[DAaaMan64]

Ya thats fine. But if you play Ecclesia now, you'll find the the other to possibly under whelming. I'd recommend Dawn of Sorrow, then Order of Ecclesia, then Portrait last.   The reasoning is that Dawn of Sorrow is amazing if you didn't know Ecclesia existed, and Portrait last because maybe if it's the last one you play, you might end up skipping it.  Or if you do play it, you can join us in bitching about it's less than perfect formula.

[vudu]

They're pretty much all independent of each other.  The only games that are directly related in any meaningful way are Aria of Sorrow (GBA) and Dawn of Sorrow (DS).

[KDR_11k]

IMO DoS and OoE are vastly different, OoE is basically an old-style Castlevania using a new Cv engine while DoS is one of the SotN-like Cvs.

[vudu]

Too.  Many.  Acronyms.

[Stratos]

Too.  Many.  Acronyms.

TMA!

[Peachylala]

So does everyone else, but Iga's being a dick about it.

IGA is to IGnorant to even do that. =P

[oohhboy]

I haven't played DoS, so keep that in mind for this post.

Between Portrait and OoE, Portrait is the "Funner" games, however OoE is the more enjoyable one for me. OoE is a lot tighter game than Portrait. The bosses are hard, but fair, except maybe for Blackmore, but thats another story. With portrait you can play most of the game with chain lighting or explosion and feel badass for clearing screens of baddies with fairly minimal effort. However OoE just feels more satisfying since it's more skill than grind.