I had something a little more substantial planned to go up today, but then they released Chapter 8 of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair and I didn’t have time to finish it. Er, sorry!
The new level is fashioned after the Caves, Abandoned Mines and Catacombs sections of Symphony of the Night. Both the stage and the boss are pretty easy as long as you keep your head about you, which is odd considering what I’m used to. It’s also a breath of fresh air after the often irritatingly-difficult Chapter 7, with its rolling boulders, dummy switch traps and practically immortal boss monster.
Speaking of boss monsters, Legion is just about as iconic as they come. He was definitely one of the masterpieces of Symphony, and while the Castlevania HD fight is a little watered-down it was still fun to learn. It’s very, very strange being able to see more than a small section of Legion onscreen at once, though.
Soma, the broken character to end all broken characters, has a safe spot in the Legion fight that he and only he can exploit. It’s actually somewhat charming that Konami isn’t even trying to balance this guy. It’s as though they want to have a cast of eight interesting, varied characters who require skill and finesse to use… and one guy who is just braindead better than anyone else. If this keeps the chubtard GameFAQs kiddies pouring money into DLC for the game, though, I’m perfectly happy to let it slide. It’s amazing Konami is still supporting this game at all and I’d like to see that continue as long as possible.
In addition to the other chapter we already know is coming (looks like the Black Marble Gallery, with Beelzebub as the boss) we had two new stages and characters announced today. Castlevania HD is going to glorious 8-bit, with a stage based on the original Castlevania and the addition of oldschool pixellated Simon Belmont. I did a backflip when I heard that.
The other 8-bit stage is some obscure Japanese Konami title nobody’s ever heard of. I’m sure it will be fun though.
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8-bit Simon and an 8-bit stage are coming? Aw man, I can’t wait until we get a 360 now. O.O
I’m *very* excited for Chapter 8, and definitely want to get in some runs of it with you guys. I feel like I haven’t done my share of Hard Chapters 5-7 yet either, though I know everyone else is probably already sick of those. My trouble is wanting everything for everybody, so as a result nobody has all of their upper-tier goodies yet.
I love the music and aesthetic of Chapter 8, even though it does seem a little simple compared to the last three Stages, and Legion is a lot of fun. Dodging the fires and the laser beams makes for fun chaos for everybody except a Medusa Head Soma, and I think adjusting the platforms with the lever makes for some really neat strategies. But most of all I’m delighted that they’re still supporting this!
Would you mind if I did a blind LP of STT bros. on my channel?
Knock yourself out!
May we have a link to this channel? I’d be much interested in seeing it as someone who doesn’t have a machine capable of running it.
Not only have I heard of Getsu Fuma Den, but I’ve also played it fairly extensively. A pretty decent little game, and it’s definitely neat-o that Konami would bring in such a little-known title.
I’d never even heard of Getsu Fuma Den until I saw those screenshots, but I know I’d buy it on Virtual Console if it ever pops up as an import release.
How much text does the game have? I’m assuming by default that the language barrier’s pretty insignificant for this kinda game, like Rondo of Blood, though I could be wrong.
It’s somewhat non-linear, and there are occasional houses where people give you vague hints. There are also shops. However, there exists a crude but functional fan translation that’s a big help.
I just got this game, if anybody would like to grind it out with me, send a message on live.
GT: DRock067