Hopefully those include western/global releases for Darius Cozmic Collection and Collection of Mana.
I'd settle for even a Japanese digital release for the bolded.
Hopefully those include western/global releases for Darius Cozmic Collection and Collection of Mana.
Oh, awesome!Not at all. It's the definitive version and the freeze glitch was fixed along with some other bugs that are harder to trigger.
Yeah, physical only was such a baffling decision. And then the crazy expensive LE with additional games and other games as retail preorders. Mess.I'd settle for even a Japanese digital release for the bolded.
Yeah, physical only was such a baffling decision. And then the crazy expensive LE with additional games and other games as retail preorders. Mess.
I have a feeling we will get another castlevania collections but I am so happy to see Kid Dracula being released over here officially. I would love to see if they do a next one to have dracula x though.Still weird that they choose to include Kid Dracula and not something like Dracula X. 'Extremely low recovery time after being damaged' shenanigans aside, the game is just about as difficult as any other pre-Symphony CV title so if you can work your way through CV1 or 3, X won't seem all that different. And yes, the music is a bit of a downgrade from Rondo of Blood, but the tracks convert to chiptune pretty faithfully. What's most interesting is how they decided to redraw (re-sprite? re-tile?) all stage backgrounds in order to differentiate it from Rondo and play to the SNES's strengths.
Rondo is the superior Richter game no question, but Dracula X was still an adventure worth experiencing. And with Rondo stuck in that other collection, including Dracula X in this one should have been a no-brainer. Not that Kid Dracula doesn't deserve to be dusted off.
Dracula X is such a huge downgrade to Rondo, it's not even funny, and I say that as someone who thinks DX is good (with some awful parts) and has the better music.I'm glad they opted for Kid Dracula because it's something I always wanted to play that's pretty much unavailable outside of emulation.
I got Dracula X/Vampires Kiss through the WiiU and....well, I wasn't that much of a fan
While most are hoping for a metroidvania collection (I am as well of course), I'm kinda hoping for a messy and gloriously mediocre collection that just throws all the random leftovers together that are falling into obscurity.
The lack of Dracula X is fine by me as that game getting in would probably mean we don't get Rondo in the end, and I think we may still get it in the next collection.
Dracula X is such a huge downgrade to Rondo, it's not even funny, and I say that as someone who thinks DX is good (with some awful parts) and has the better music.
The way they handled the collection is so weird tho. They say it's about "the origins" of the series but there's no Rondo, Chronicles or even Rebirth, a game M2 themselves made... So I want to believe they meant mostly the year they released ans consider Rondo part of the new age due to SOTN being its direct sequel and Chronicles being developed right before SOTN too (produced by Iga too, I think), but who knows.
Dracula X is a downright terrible game. The graphics and music are great but the awful stage design and the bizarrely slow and stiff controls (even for a Castlevania game) ruin the game.
And yes, this first collection is based on chronological console releases.
Exactly, Bloodlines being in while no version of Rondo is available is what makes it weird. X68000 makes sense because Chronicles is preferable anyway (and they'll have to figure out PS1 emulation for SOTN regardless).I know that you specified console here, so I won't bring up the fact that it doesn't have the MSX Akumajou Dracula/Vampire Killer or X68000 Dracula, but Bloodlines released AFTER Rondo of Blood. It is not even chronological.
Dracula X isn't Rondo. Also the GB Kid Dracula is better than the NES original imo.I'm glad they opted for Kid Dracula because it's something I always wanted to play that's pretty much unavailable outside of emulation.
I got Dracula X/Vampires Kiss through the WiiU and....well, I wasn't that much of a fan
While most are hoping for a metroidvania collection (I am as well of course), I'm kinda hoping for a messy and gloriously mediocre collection that just throws all the random leftovers together that are falling into obscurity.
I have a feeling we will get another castlevania collections but I am so happy to see Kid Dracula being released over here officially. I would love to see if they do a next one to have dracula x though.
honestly just re-release Chronicles on its own at that pointI think Rondo, Dracula X (SNES), X68K/Chronicles, Kid Dracula (GB), Vampire Killer (MSX), and maybe even Legends would be more than enough for an additional compilation. Definitely so if you included the (admittedly clunky) 3D remake of Rondo for PSP.
when Dracula X became the internet shorthand for XX, it was sad. My friends always called Rondo Drac X, as if XX is comparableDracula X isn't Rondo. Also the GB Kid Dracula is better than the NES original imo.
Simon's Quest....was messing with the passwords and it seems that literally all of them seem to start you back at the first town. For the ones where you have everything and the only thing left is to go fight Dracula, how do you get to him from the first town they start you in?
I know that you specified console here, so I won't bring up the fact that it doesn't have the MSX Akumajou Dracula/Vampire Killer or X68000 Dracula, but Bloodlines released AFTER Rondo of Blood. It is not even chronological.
Chronological Western releases i should've said. These games were never released in the U.S.
damn rebirth has the "candles with items look different" thing
better than bloodlines who knew
Bloodlines has different numbered candles that indicate what is in them right?damn rebirth has the "candles with items look different" thing
better than bloodlines who knew
true you cannot jump off stairs I was too hastyit's not as good lmao
it's been over 10 years since i've played Rebirth, can you jump off stairs?
collection 4 lord of darkness, lord of darkness 2 and lord of darkness mirror of fate plus judgementI know having it set up this way might not be possible due to that 2 pack collection they released a couple of months ago and it's kind of a pipe dream but if they could be released this way, this is how I would divide the rest of the games:
Collection 2: The Leftovers
Vampire Killer
Rondo of Blood
Dracula X
Legends
Legacy of Darkness
Chronicles
Adventure Rebirth
Kid Dracula GB
Collection 3: Metroidvania
Symphony of the Night
Circle of the Moon
Harmony of Dissonance
Aria of Sorrow
Dawn of Sorrow
Portrait of Ruin
Order of Ecclesia
Harmony of Despair
Again I don't expect these to be like this at all, just my dream take on these collections
Taking the white crystal from Jova to Aljiba and exchanging it for the Blue Crystal which will let you into the first dungeon, Berkeley Manor.I played through and beat Castlevania for the first time (thank god for save scumming). Now playing Castlevania II for the first time. Not really sure what to do.... is there a good starting point task / thing I should be going for?
AKA the kusogevania Collection.collection 4 lord of darkness, lord of darkness 2 and lord of darkness mirror of fate plus judgement
Vampire Killer (MSX2) is the European title.Chronological Western releases i should've said. These games were never released in the U.S.
throw in pachinkocollection 4 lord of darkness, lord of darkness 2 and lord of darkness mirror of fate plus judgement
Not that its part of the collection but if you've got a hacked NES or SNES mini or some other means to play an NES ROM, I can't recommend "Castlevania II Simon's Quest Redaction" enough. It's a hack that completely re-translates the game to have the villagers give proper, useful clues. It also speeds up the time of day transitions, text is written to the screen much faster and the final boss battle with Dracula replaces the Death looking head sprite with the sprite from the original game.
Honestly, its a transformative experience that really makes Castlevania II an actual fun game to experience without the need for a guide. I bought a homebrew cart of it last year and played through it on my AVS after having beaten the game when I was a young boy in the 80's. I can't recommend it enough.
I don't want to post the link to it in case it violates some forum rules but if you search for the title on Google, its pretty easy to find.
Here's a change log of everything it modifies:
- All of the "false hints" have been removed. This game is hard enough to figure out on its own, and the items are too costly to waste.
- Some of the dialog has been moved around in the game to make it flow smoother. Thus, you are no longer told, halfway through the game, that churches heal you.
- Someone in each town will tell you which town you're in. This makes navigation easier.
- Place names now match those found in the game's literature. Ondol is now properly Oldon; Alba is Aldra; etc.
- The really vague hints have been made clearer. You no longer need to know what "a flame flickers inside the ring of fire" means.
- Several more hints have been added throughout the game that help explain what you need to do and where you need to go next.
- Signs are much more descriptive. They tell you the direction to other towns, mansions, and landmarks.
- The prologue explains the story much better.
- The endings have been rewritten so that they are now fitting for how well you do.
- Text is written to the screen a lot faster so you don't have to wait as long to read the messages.
- The transition from day to night is much faster. I took it from 10 seconds down to 4 seconds.
- The Grim Reaper has twice as many hit points as before, though he's still pathetically easy.
- A couple extra symbols have been added to the font including arrows and an ampersand. These make the sign dialog more concise.
- Dracula's face has been redrawn. Many people complained that he looked like Death, so I replaced his face with the vampire graphic from the password screen.
Here's a video of the day/night transition, dialogue, etc:
yo Rebirth is amazing
it's like if they had made a classicvania with classicvania artsyle on DS
wtf wasn't this in the collection
but
Dracula X's stage design isn't so much "awful" as it is bland. That said, I prefer Dracula X to Rondo, as I prefer the feel of Richter's movement in Dracula X. Yes, the movement feels more rigid, but it also feels more like Richter is there in the game world, whereas Richter feels much more detached from the game world in Rondo. I've never really cared much for Rondo, personally, and Richter's movement is a big part of that. Frankly, while the remake of Rondo on PSP is ugly as sin, it at least fixes the movement issue with Richter.Dracula X is a downright terrible game. The graphics and music are great but the awful stage design and the bizarrely slow and stiff controls (even for a Castlevania game) ruin the game.
Yes, I want this!It should be included in either a future Castlevania Collection, or maybe a collection for all the Rebirth titles that have been lost to time.
Taking the white crystal from Jova to Aljiba and exchanging it for the Blue Crystal which will let you into the first dungeon, Berkeley Manor.
The beginning of the game is crucial, it's the hardest part imo and on this travel from Jova to Aljiba in the and back in the woods/cave section is the most frustrating point where you'll die a lot.
On the way out of Jova buy the holy water from the house with the open door on the right, keep going right into jova forest and grind for 50 more hearts and go back to buy the white crystal from the dude right outside the holy water house in jova then you're done with this town and it's on to Aljiba to deliver the crystal to a dude there. Go back to jova woods and keep going right and take the first detour down a staircase that's available and you'll find an town inbetween town Veros, you can get a whip upgrade hidden in a house here but you'll have to grind more hearts for it and use holy water to reveal it and also buy a dagger, depending on how much time you want to spend grinding you might just want to come back here later for the upgrade but fyi it's easier to farm hearts at night from the zombies in town. After this you can keep going right til you hit Aljiba, exchange crystals there and don't forget to buy laurels here too, they're in another hidden room inside a house. Then head straight left back thru the forests/caves to Jova with no staircase detours and you'll find the first mansion dungeon, Berkeley Manor. With the Blue Crystal equipped you'll be able to enter.
You'll find that going from point a to point b in SQ isn't as simple as it should be and there's a lot of items should've stocked up on or places to visit/riddles to solve before you got to your destination after the fact, making it super frustrating. You'd only find this out the hard way on your own which is where people give up so it's just not worth it without a real guide and a map. https://www.thonky.com/castlevania-ii-simons-quest/ This one's decent.
Not that its part of the collection but if you've got a hacked NES or SNES mini or some other means to play an NES ROM, I can't recommend "Castlevania II Simon's Quest Redaction" enough. It's a hack that completely re-translates the game to have the villagers give proper, useful clues. It also speeds up the time of day transitions, text is written to the screen much faster and the final boss battle with Dracula replaces the Death looking head sprite with the sprite from the original game.
Honestly, its a transformative experience that really makes Castlevania II an actual fun game to experience without the need for a guide. I bought a homebrew cart of it last year and played through it on my AVS after having beaten the game when I was a young boy in the 80's. I can't recommend it enough.
I don't want to post the link to it in case it violates some forum rules but if you search for the title on Google, its pretty easy to find.
Here's a change log of everything it modifies:
- All of the "false hints" have been removed. This game is hard enough to figure out on its own, and the items are too costly to waste.
- Some of the dialog has been moved around in the game to make it flow smoother. Thus, you are no longer told, halfway through the game, that churches heal you.
- Someone in each town will tell you which town you're in. This makes navigation easier.
- Place names now match those found in the game's literature. Ondol is now properly Oldon; Alba is Aldra; etc.
- The really vague hints have been made clearer. You no longer need to know what "a flame flickers inside the ring of fire" means.
- Several more hints have been added throughout the game that help explain what you need to do and where you need to go next.
- Signs are much more descriptive. They tell you the direction to other towns, mansions, and landmarks.
- The prologue explains the story much better.
- The endings have been rewritten so that they are now fitting for how well you do.
- Text is written to the screen a lot faster so you don't have to wait as long to read the messages.
- The transition from day to night is much faster. I took it from 10 seconds down to 4 seconds.
- The Grim Reaper has twice as many hit points as before, though he's still pathetically easy.
- A couple extra symbols have been added to the font including arrows and an ampersand. These make the sign dialog more concise.
- Dracula's face has been redrawn. Many people complained that he looked like Death, so I replaced his face with the vampire graphic from the password screen.
Here's a video of the day/night transition, dialogue, etc:
Were the false hints part of a terrible localization or did the original japanese version also did a terrible job on giving clues?
It's all over the place.
Honestly I like both Dracula X and Rondo remake well enough. My biggest issue with the former is the atrocious, extremely cheap final boss; it's the MM7 Wily of Castlevania... But otherwise, I'm fine with the movement and I prefer its take on the soundtrack. The remake is largely... unnecessary? Like it doesn't do anything better than the original (and it's 30FPS to boot), BUT it adds an amazing new final boss that makes up for the pitifully easy one in OG Rondo.
I'm pretty disappointed Konami (or Sony?) decided to take the remake out of Requiem. Having the game run better and at a higher resolution would have been a great way to give it a second chance.
It's pretty ugly on PSP half the time, low poly and crap textures and bad animation. Would need a lot of work to look half good in higher resolutions.I'm pretty disappointed Konami (or Sony?) decided to take the remake out of Requiem. Having the game run better and at a higher resolution would have been a great way to give it a second chance.