Topic: Castlevania X

[Quemaqua]

So Belmont brought this one out to my place, and I'd totally forgotten it even existed.  I'm not a hardcore Castlevania nut that plays every release obsessively, but I do really enjoy the games, and so I was hooked instantly.  He ended up getting me a used copy for my birthday.  Aww.



I gotta' say, I'm having a metric crapton of fun with it.  There's lots of good stuff in the remake of Rondo of Blood alone, but then you get to unlock the original version of it, and also a PSP port of Symphony of the Night.  Amazo!





Can't wait to dig into it more.  I've nearly beaten the stock run with Richter already, but then there's a bunch of stuff to try with the alternate character you unlock, and there are alternate versions of every stage to find.  Good times.  And it's cheap now, too!  If you haven't given it a try or forgot it was coming out, see if you can find it.

[Cobra951]

In an ideal world where money flows freely, I would buy a second PSP just so I could keep my 1.5 open model unscathed, and then get all the good games like this one for it. I stopped buying PSP games when the hassle of getting them to work without blind firmware updates got my goat.

[Quemaqua]

If you're on 1.5, why aren't you running custom firmware?  There's absolutely no reason to be on 1.5 and not have CFW.  I'm not even sure what the most current one is now, but I've never had any problems upgrading or whatever.  And I think most of the CFW versions allow you to revert to 1.5 if you want to, if you're starting from there.

[Cobra951]

I know the cat-and-mouse game goes on with the firmware.  I sort of drifted out of it, then couldn't be bothered after that.  I remember thinking I should get a 2nd PSP to be 100% legit for new games, back when I still could do it.  I never did, and now I can't afford even the games alone.  So it's academic.

What's CFW?

[Xessive]

Custom Firmware.

I really like this remake. It's a little on the tough side but very enjoyable. I finally unlocked SotN! Which I'm now realizing is pretty tough too!

[Cobra951]

SotN is not really tough, since you can just keep leveling up.  There are also a lot of weapons and armor upgrades.  There is one weapon in particular that sort of spoils the game by making it too easy.  It's hard to come by, though, so chances are you won't run into it unless you know where and how to look.

[Xessive]

SotN is not really tough, since you can just keep leveling up.  There are also a lot of weapons and armor upgrades.  There is one weapon in particular that sort of spoils the game by making it too easy.  It's hard to come by, though, so chances are you won't run into it unless you know where and how to look.

Yeah, I'm still at the beginning of it. I think the main factor is that I haven't played it in so long!

[gpw11]

I remember playing through SotN for the second time or so on EpsxE and I found that the game could be broken pretty easily just because you leveled so quickly and i may have fucked up and looked at a FAQ for that weapon Cobra mentioned.  For me when it comes to Castlevania games, the harder the better (to a point).  CotM and OoE are probably two of my favourites for this reason.  Dawn of Sorrow....fuck you touch screen.

[K-man]

SotN is not really tough, since you can just keep leveling up.  There are also a lot of weapons and armor upgrades.  There is one weapon in particular that sort of spoils the game by making it too easy.  It's hard to come by, though, so chances are you won't run into it unless you know where and how to look.

The Crissaegrim?

Oh yeah.  You don't find it until later in the game though.

And this compilation does rock.  I didn't bother with unlocking everything though.  I just downloaded a save game off gamefaqs.  Boo that unlocking shit.  I wanted the game more for the SotN port than X anyway. 

[Cobra951]

SHH!   

Yes.

I did that (save dl from gamefaqs) with Mario Galaxy.  Unlocking the Luigi game was way harder than I wanted to deal with.

[Quemaqua]

Lame.  Rondo of Blood is fantastic, and we've all played SotN a billion and a half times anyway.  And unfortunately, just playing a direct ROM rip is better (if you have CFW).  The new one uses a shitty filter that makes it look terrible, the color balance seems wrong with colors generally being a bit too bright and dark levels feeling like they have high gamma (the dark corridor when you enter the castle in the beginning looks horrendous), some of the effects seem to be inferior (very noticeable when you see Dracula transform in the opening), and there are a number of brand-new bugs specific to that version.  So yeah, I wouldn't buy the game just for that.  And again, the Rondo remake is kickass.

[K-man]

A billion and a half times isn't enough.  I agree the Rondo remake is good, and the option to play the original is a neat inclusion as well.  However, Symphony in a portable format is something I could not deny myself.

[Quemaqua]

Hard to argue with you there.  I guess I care less since I already went through it months ago on my PSP in what appears to be a superior format.  The one thing that seems better about the X port is framerate.  The thing just feels a little more... buttery.  Or something.  But that's totally unconfirmed and may in fact be complete bullshit.

Either way, it's nice to have an official portable release, at the very least.  I need to pick up Castlevania Chronicles from the PSN store next.

[TheOtherBelmont]

Lame.  Rondo of Blood is fantastic, and we've all played SotN a billion and a half times anyway.  And unfortunately, just playing a direct ROM rip is better (if you have CFW).  The new one uses a shitty filter that makes it look terrible, the color balance seems wrong with colors generally being a bit too bright and dark levels feeling like they have high gamma (the dark corridor when you enter the castle in the beginning looks horrendous), some of the effects seem to be inferior (very noticeable when you see Dracula transform in the opening), and there are a number of brand-new bugs specific to that version.  So yeah, I wouldn't buy the game just for that.  And again, the Rondo remake is kickass.

I actually looked into this a bit more.  I tried SotN again on my PSP 3000 model and did not get that weird gamma issue that you had on your PSP at the meet.  I also had a friend try it on his older (almost launch) PSP and it did not do it either.  I should also note both of us have the latest Sony firmware.  Perhaps something with your firmware is causing that weird gamma issue we saw on the beginning part of the castle.  I also played it on my PSP and went to the same area on my PS1 version and the colors were identical, so as far as I know anyone with official Sony firmware should not have the problem, it plays great.

[Quemaqua]

I'd be shocked and amazed if it were the firmware.  There's no reason it should be, as Sony's latest official stuff is built into the cfw.  Who knows what it is, though.  And I'm not saying the X version of SotN is worthless anyway, it just doesn't seem quite as good as playing the PS ROM if you have the option.  Though the X version does include the extra stuff, which is nice either way, and if you don't have cfw on your PSP, it certainly beats having no SotN at all.

I was really more trying to say that you should buy X because Rondo is awesome, not just because it's got SotN piggybacking on it.

[Xessive]

There is one option that I really love when playing the game on an emulator: quicksave!! It's kinda like cheating but the save state is a life and time saver.