No matter how great Aria is, the game is still limited by the GBA’s hardware, nothing beats Alucard’s luscious hair and that amazing uncompressed soundtrack. If Aria of Sorrow was an PS1/Saturn game I would claim as the best in a heartbeat.
uh, the one being talked about was Aria of Sorrow which was a GBA game, which looks a lot more primitive than SotN. Obviously the DS games were able to close the gap a lot more.
Compared to the DS games, maybe. SotN doesn't have anything more going on over Aria in terms of gameplay. Aria has a slightly better map, much more complex gear, and more weapon types, despite being a GBA game with four less buttons to use.
Dawn would be an excellent game if it weren't for three crippling faults: grinding for souls (not too bad but still sometimes required), the castle layout is generally dogshit (The Pinnacle especially), and the art style of course. The story is also moronic and pointless but whatever.
I will always claim that Dawn of Sorrow with the luck-fix, touch screen-remover, and artstyle change (though this point I care the least about, I'm not looking at portraits while playing) is my favorite Igavania.
I like both tbh, I can enjoy Rondo or CV 3 just as much as I can enjoy the post Symphony games. I like how Circle of the Moon and Order of Ecclesia were harder and I do wish more of the metroidvanias were more difficult.
I just played Bloodstained for the first time after replaying Aria of Sorrow. Everything screams that it's an improvement on Aria of Sorrow because it's longer, has better platforming and puzzles, and some cool autistic systems for people willing to grind them out. But my moron brain goes "nostalgia good. simple good." to the point where I think I like Aria of Sorrow more.
I played DoS first and think DoS is better than SotN but the seals due bring it down a few notches. I played DoS before AoS and think Dawn is superior. I actually don’t think AoS is anything special and enjoyed HoD more. But Heart of Fire is a remix of one of my fav ‘vania tracks
SotN is probably the worst Metroidvania of all time from a gameplay perspective. I get the feeling that every new armor I get, previous enemies will only do 1 damage. Alucard is so OP, everything he does kills everything on screen.
I dislike Metroidvania in general but I don’t remember the later titles being this easy.
The only reason SotN isn’t as terrible as Super Metroid is because SotN does everything else right.
The OST is a masterpiece, the graphics are soulful, the story is simple but kino, etc.
Portrait is the best. Best protags. Best story. Best music. Best overall castle+painting levels. Kino moment when Jonathan beats Richter. Tons of weapons, subweapons, spells and item crashes. Grind is not nearly as degenerate as Dawn of Sorrow. Many extra game modes that took risks, like Sisters and Old Axe Armor, while still having Richter as a safe and fun bonus.
OoE is the worst one and I will never understand the people who fellate that piece of shit.
>Grind is not nearly as degenerate as Dawn of Sorrow
Wind would like a word with you. If you're just talking about normal gameplay, sure. You barely have to bother with that.
I still have nightmares of trying to get the max leveled weapons like gungir in DoS and that's for every weapon type plus getting 9/9 for most souls. Wind has nothing on that.
Weren't those more for completion sake? The Wind quests, specially the very last few, require an evil amount of nothing but grinding otherwise you are missing out on content. Not like the new content is mindblowing or anything but it's content locked out behind the worst grinding I've seen in a game. Even if you cut the grinding in half it'd still be way too fricking much.
Order also had that problem with side-quests being tied to rare RNG drops. >Oh you want to buy a potion? >Just get me a rare drop from this one enemy who only shows up in this one area. >Just walk in and out of this room for two hours, no biggie >Just to buy a fricking mid-tier potion
The thing I hate the most about grinding in these games is that the exp ends up making you overleveled and makes them even easier. Like you say a lot of grinding is for completion's sake, but there's times like in the Sorrow games that require specific soul drops (which isn't helped by the bugged luck stat in DoS). There should have been an item like the soul eater ring but for drops in general, with the "trade-off" that you don't gain exp with it equipped.
>Quest: Get Merman Flesh
Oh, okay. Like when I had to get Raw Killer Fish, I just need to go farm Mermen. >first one only drops meat and a gem
Huh? Oh, the yellow ones are counted differently. That makes sense, I guess. They must drop it, then. >second one only drops the same fricking gem >it's actually a fricking 1% drop, one of the lowest in the game, on this enemy with zero tells whatsoever >Bestiary doesn't even hint at it
Peak of disingenuous game design. Name anything nearly as bad in any of the other fricking games. Dear lord.
The thing I hate the most about grinding in these games is that the exp ends up making you overleveled and makes them even easier. Like you say a lot of grinding is for completion's sake, but there's times like in the Sorrow games that require specific soul drops (which isn't helped by the bugged luck stat in DoS). There should have been an item like the soul eater ring but for drops in general, with the "trade-off" that you don't gain exp with it equipped.
This is a side of Castlevania's design that I never could understand. Who finds that fun? Salarymen who are staving off suicide?
Even Bloodstained didn't fully address this like tying a necessary shard behind an enemy with no indication this was the solution, or the later side-quests which are also tied to rare drops.
>Merman Flesh
That's just one quest. And you don't need to do it other than "completion sake" either. There are plenty of alternate healing items you can buy instead like the various food items.
3 years ago
Anonymous
>like the various food items.
Most of which are also tied to quests through enemy drops. Really the only shit thing about these is the wonky RNG. I found Bloodstained to be much more balanced, having to do very little grinding for the sake of a quest.
Those quests were not that bad. >>Just walk in and out of this room for two hours, no biggie
You needed to do that for any weapon you wanted to upgrade in DoS. >Weren't those more for completion sake?
Every weapon tree had that grind so you were going to encounter it no matter what. And depending on what soul you wanted to actually use you had to do it there again. I grinded the Rycuda soul to 9/9 in hopes it would be as cool as the lightning doll soul in AoS and even at max level it was shit. And thats just grind for 1 soul. You equip at least 3.
>Letting glorified fan fiction decide for you what game you prefer
At least it seems the new Netshit stuff is dead after the main guy got ousted. Soma's twink ass will stay unravaged.
>Igavania
No matter how great Aria is, the game is still limited by the GBA’s hardware, nothing beats Alucard’s luscious hair and that amazing uncompressed soundtrack. If Aria of Sorrow was an PS1/Saturn game I would claim as the best in a heartbeat.
The differences in presentation between the Sorrow games and SotN are vastly overstated.
litteral cope and seethe
"the sorrow games"
uh, the one being talked about was Aria of Sorrow which was a GBA game, which looks a lot more primitive than SotN. Obviously the DS games were able to close the gap a lot more.
With their shitty backdrops and tilesets and dopey oversaturated sprites? yeah right
order of ecclesia managed it
no, aria's gameplay sucks ass.
The gameplay is something that often gets put in Aria's favor compared to Symphony.
Compared to the DS games, maybe. SotN doesn't have anything more going on over Aria in terms of gameplay. Aria has a slightly better map, much more complex gear, and more weapon types, despite being a GBA game with four less buttons to use.
Yeah, if Aria was in Dawn's engine it'd easily be the best.
GBA is a 32bit system, the same as the Playstation
For me, it's CotM
This guy gets it
you dropped this
Honestly I want to like SotN more because it oozes soul but everytime I replay CotM I just have more fun with it.
CotM isn't an igavania
>zigzagging half staircases:the game
It's fine to be masochistic I suppose. Not my ideal level design but you do you.
Zoom Zoom ZOom
this game is so good and challenging I finished it on my phone touchscreen while pooping
No one thinks that. Only Snoys.
Ariagays are subhuman
>worse graphics
>worse music
>worse gameplay
>b-but muh soul system
It doesn't matter when 90% of the souls are identical
Quads of truth
Ariabros.... it's over.... he got quads.... how will we recover.....
For me, it's Portrait of Ruin
Dawn would be an excellent game if it weren't for three crippling faults: grinding for souls (not too bad but still sometimes required), the castle layout is generally dogshit (The Pinnacle especially), and the art style of course. The story is also moronic and pointless but whatever.
I will always claim that Dawn of Sorrow with the luck-fix, touch screen-remover, and artstyle change (though this point I care the least about, I'm not looking at portraits while playing) is my favorite Igavania.
got a link for it without having to make an account ?
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4373/
I think there's another version on the website if you want to look a bit more, but this is the one I used.
AoS > OoE > SotN > DoS > CotM > PoR > HoD
op is correct
Aria is far too short to be the best, don't kid yourself.
>there are people who think IGAvania is good
Cope, Classicgay.
I like both tbh, I can enjoy Rondo or CV 3 just as much as I can enjoy the post Symphony games. I like how Circle of the Moon and Order of Ecclesia were harder and I do wish more of the metroidvanias were more difficult.
Based classic chad
I beat it on emulator while holding the speed button and it wasn't anything special
bloodstained was better
I just played Bloodstained for the first time after replaying Aria of Sorrow. Everything screams that it's an improvement on Aria of Sorrow because it's longer, has better platforming and puzzles, and some cool autistic systems for people willing to grind them out. But my moron brain goes "nostalgia good. simple good." to the point where I think I like Aria of Sorrow more.
does anyone else play SotN sub weapon only and no magic/items?
I played DoS first and think DoS is better than SotN but the seals due bring it down a few notches. I played DoS before AoS and think Dawn is superior. I actually don’t think AoS is anything special and enjoyed HoD more. But Heart of Fire is a remix of one of my fav ‘vania tracks
>Castlevania?
For me, it's The Adventure: Rebirth
>that classic konami soundfont my bros
For me, it''s Castlevania Adventure II: Belmonts' Revenge
SotN > DS games > AoS >> rest of GBA games
SotN is probably the worst Metroidvania of all time from a gameplay perspective. I get the feeling that every new armor I get, previous enemies will only do 1 damage. Alucard is so OP, everything he does kills everything on screen.
I dislike Metroidvania in general but I don’t remember the later titles being this easy.
The only reason SotN isn’t as terrible as Super Metroid is because SotN does everything else right.
The OST is a masterpiece, the graphics are soulful, the story is simple but kino, etc.
Where's Half-Life
its not 2D
>>there are people who think
Stop lying
They'd be right.
Portrait is the best. Best protags. Best story. Best music. Best overall castle+painting levels. Kino moment when Jonathan beats Richter. Tons of weapons, subweapons, spells and item crashes. Grind is not nearly as degenerate as Dawn of Sorrow. Many extra game modes that took risks, like Sisters and Old Axe Armor, while still having Richter as a safe and fun bonus.
OoE is the worst one and I will never understand the people who fellate that piece of shit.
>Grind is not nearly as degenerate as Dawn of Sorrow
Wind would like a word with you. If you're just talking about normal gameplay, sure. You barely have to bother with that.
I still have nightmares of trying to get the max leveled weapons like gungir in DoS and that's for every weapon type plus getting 9/9 for most souls. Wind has nothing on that.
Weren't those more for completion sake? The Wind quests, specially the very last few, require an evil amount of nothing but grinding otherwise you are missing out on content. Not like the new content is mindblowing or anything but it's content locked out behind the worst grinding I've seen in a game. Even if you cut the grinding in half it'd still be way too fricking much.
Order also had that problem with side-quests being tied to rare RNG drops.
>Oh you want to buy a potion?
>Just get me a rare drop from this one enemy who only shows up in this one area.
>Just walk in and out of this room for two hours, no biggie
>Just to buy a fricking mid-tier potion
The thing I hate the most about grinding in these games is that the exp ends up making you overleveled and makes them even easier. Like you say a lot of grinding is for completion's sake, but there's times like in the Sorrow games that require specific soul drops (which isn't helped by the bugged luck stat in DoS). There should have been an item like the soul eater ring but for drops in general, with the "trade-off" that you don't gain exp with it equipped.
>Quest: Get Merman Flesh
Oh, okay. Like when I had to get Raw Killer Fish, I just need to go farm Mermen.
>first one only drops meat and a gem
Huh? Oh, the yellow ones are counted differently. That makes sense, I guess. They must drop it, then.
>second one only drops the same fricking gem
>it's actually a fricking 1% drop, one of the lowest in the game, on this enemy with zero tells whatsoever
>Bestiary doesn't even hint at it
Peak of disingenuous game design. Name anything nearly as bad in any of the other fricking games. Dear lord.
This is a side of Castlevania's design that I never could understand. Who finds that fun? Salarymen who are staving off suicide?
Even Bloodstained didn't fully address this like tying a necessary shard behind an enemy with no indication this was the solution, or the later side-quests which are also tied to rare drops.
>Merman Flesh
That's just one quest. And you don't need to do it other than "completion sake" either. There are plenty of alternate healing items you can buy instead like the various food items.
>like the various food items.
Most of which are also tied to quests through enemy drops. Really the only shit thing about these is the wonky RNG. I found Bloodstained to be much more balanced, having to do very little grinding for the sake of a quest.
Those quests were not that bad.
>>Just walk in and out of this room for two hours, no biggie
You needed to do that for any weapon you wanted to upgrade in DoS.
>Weren't those more for completion sake?
Every weapon tree had that grind so you were going to encounter it no matter what. And depending on what soul you wanted to actually use you had to do it there again. I grinded the Rycuda soul to 9/9 in hopes it would be as cool as the lightning doll soul in AoS and even at max level it was shit. And thats just grind for 1 soul. You equip at least 3.
Aria is better than SotN for the sole reason that Soma doesn't take it up the ass.
>Letting glorified fan fiction decide for you what game you prefer
At least it seems the new Netshit stuff is dead after the main guy got ousted. Soma's twink ass will stay unravaged.
>Igavania
You realise Toru Hagihara made SOTN, right?