Looking back now, was it really that difficult?

On 07/16/2016 at 11:50 PM by asrealasitgets

Looking back now, was it really that difficult?

The only Castlevania game that I gave up on was Order of Ecclesia on DS. I felt the game was a bit too hard at the time for whatever reason, and there was this weird mechanic introduced in the beginning of the game where you used a magnet power up, which created a sphere of magic around you and you had to hold down a button combination to sling yourself across the stage. I got used to it of course, but then you were required to also do this during a boss fight and I just wasn’t feeling it. Thus, I gave up. Revisiting the game now, I still feel that magnetic pinball power-up to be a bit annoying, but I definitely love the rest of the game regardless. It is more of a throwback to the original stage-by-stage Castlevania template rather than the large interconnected world of Symphony of the Night and other games like it on DS. That’s exactly what I was looking for. I nice little throwback in a franchise I enjoy. It’s like a retro remake of a classic like Megan Man 9 & 10, or maybe dare I say Might No. 9?

Anyhow, this game is very Darks Souls 2 and Bloodborne—in atmosphere and level design. Sure, there are plenty of influences in Dark Souls from other genres, but it’s pretty cool to see a pixelated action game with the weapons variety, level design, boss fights and feel of a Souls game. I guess I can appreciate it more now looking back. I still think it is pretty difficulty, especially the boss fights. The game is definitely giving me a retro challenge I hadn’t experienced in quite a long time.

Another game I gave up on was Silent Hill 0. For whatever reason, I was never able to finish it. Either I ran out of consumable items or the backtracking through the motel bored me. I remember the enemies being difficult too. That is a game I loved for atmosphere, but I just gave up on it. I want to revisit that game as well.

Are there games you really enjoyed but just couldn’t finish for whatever reason?

Cary Woodham

07/17/2016 at 06:53 AM

My favorite Castlevania game is Kid Dracula. :)

There are lots of games I never beat for various reasons. Some get too hard, sometimes I have other games to play and review, and sometiems life just gets in the way. You can't do it all!

asrealasitgets

07/17/2016 at 08:57 PM

I never heard of Kid Dracula? Interesting.

07/17/2016 at 09:30 PM

Kid Dracula is to Castlevania as Parodius is to Gradius.

Kid Dracula was on the Famicom in Japan and on the Game Boy in the US.

jgusw

07/17/2016 at 08:24 AM

I finished all the Castlevania games on the DS and the GBA. They are some of my favorite games.

07/17/2016 at 08:58 PM

Yep! Agree.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

07/17/2016 at 11:48 AM

There were a bunch of those castles is games for ds. I don't understand why there is only that weird one for 3ds. Those seemed very popular.

07/17/2016 at 08:59 PM

The wierd one was more like the 3D castlevanias, more 2D god of warlike. Weird indeed.

07/17/2016 at 09:23 PM

I played the demo. It was ok. But I didn't buy it

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

07/17/2016 at 05:06 PM

I thought OoE had the right amount of dificulty at the time. It's my favorite Castlevania for the DS.

Machocruz

07/19/2016 at 02:42 PM

Awesome game. One of the last time I had pure fun with a new release. Thought the difficulty made it refreshing and enjoyable. Want to play through all the DS Castlevanias again. Nothing better than a good 2D CV. Portrait of Ruin is underrated. Another awesome game. I still might like Dawn of Sorrow the best though, because it offered, imo, the best take on the SoTN formula. I won't know for sure after I go through them again.

Casey Curran Staff Writer

07/19/2016 at 05:03 PM

I agree DoS had the best take. Best castle, deepest gameplay, best boss fights, the only issue with it was the touch screen gimmicks. Take those out and it's perfect.

But Por still has the best post game content. Possibly in any game period

07/19/2016 at 06:41 PM

Yes, the difficulty is what is making it enjoyable. I am having to learn patterns and try different weapons combos for each new area and boss. The game art is gorgeous. The stage by stage design makes it feel like Demons Souls or Dark Souls 2. I love all the DS vanias, and Ecclesia feels close to Souls which is why it surprised me more.

Nick DiMola Director

07/25/2016 at 02:20 PM

Since you mentioned this, I decided to jump back in as well. I too abandoned the game at about the 25% mark. Just over the course of the weekend in my spare cycles I've managed to surpass where I was at. I'm enjoying it much more than I did back then. It definitely has a Souls feel to it, which is great.

I think the fact that it wasn't as Metroid-esque as the other handheld entries really turned me off to the game, but now I can appreciate it for what it is. Plus the lack of 2D Castlevania definitely makes it all the more palatable.

Also, forget Silent Hill Origins, that game was hot garbage. Atmosphere was great and all, but it had annoying difficulty spikes, it controlled horribly, and backtracking was a total chore.

07/25/2016 at 08:43 PM

When Ecclesia came out, all the Castlevanias on DS were more like the SoTN style. It had been years since I played an old school vania like 1, 4 on SNES or Dracula X. It's like Demons Souls vs Dark Souls. I love me some Demons, thus I love me those other Vanias that aren't like SoTN too. But I was surprised at how Soulsy Ecclessia was. Really loved it.

I thought Silent Hill O was hot garbage at the time, but I wasn't sure if it was cheap and unfair or if I just sucked at it? Shattered Memories is a much better experience because of the lack of combat.

PixlBit