Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Castlevania Dominus Collection) (Switch)

 

The moon rises yet again!

The final of the three DS games on the collection. And I've played it not that long ago after playing through the Advance Collection since I just wanted to continue the stories. Pretty much the same as last time, except that I actually had to play the game legit from beginning to end. And I recalled that in a normal play, the game is hard. Went through a lot of potions and meals I tell you. 

Overall, it get's better as the game went on, but it's a bit obnoxious. A lot of item and glyph grinding to finish quests or even get enough levels to stand a chance. Cause you gotta do the quest of the villagers to get useful items like the more effective potions and armors. At least the castle actually feels like fully explored compared to Portrait of Ruin. Nice with a lot of voice clips, both the intro scene, all the villagers and a lot more monsters having voices beyond the succubus.

So of the three, I actually end up with Portrait of Ruin the best. Didn't think that back in the day. It's more fun to play through and the choices of weapons and such is more interesting. 

The Dominus Collection then. It was really good. The main three games are good either way, I've only played around the Haunted Castle bonuses on there since it's bit much for me with the arcade feeling of it. One thing I was bothered with was that the three main games wasn't in release order of Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order Ecclesia. No they put it in Order of Ecclesia, Portrait of Ruin and Dawn of Sorrow. I get that they where going for in-game chronology order since Order of Ecclesia is 1888, Portrait of Ruin 1944 and Dawn of Sorrow something like 2036. You get art and music so it's all nice. Some people wished for Symhony of the Night and Rondo of Blood, and I would like that too, but hopefully there will be another collection... and I would like the 64-games as well to see if with a better controller I might get around it. Or Konami can give me a Mystical Ninja collection so that I can have Mystical Ninja 64 Starring Goemon at home.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Castlevania Dominus Collection) (Switch)

Time to break out the whip again!

Well, continued with the other game in the series, Portrait of Ruin. Nothing much to add from the last time I played it. I somehow enjoy this game a bit more than Dawn of Sorrow this time around. I actually almost 100 % the main game by grinding all items from the monsters and such, I got through the Nest of Evil around level 65 compared to the level 80 I was on my first playthrough. Probably got lucky since the Castlevania III cameos got into a loop where I could stand in a corner and whip Trevor until he died, beat Grant after that and Sylpha was rather easy after that moment. Didn't take 8 hours this time, but it was enjoyable enough. It might have to be due to the music, I prefer the music in this game than Dawn of Sorrow, it is more "forceful" here compared to the other game. 

That and the customisation of the main characters. It's fun to change sub-weapons and such compared to the soul system of the last game. The only one that would probably need some work though is Charlotte since it's a lot of changing around spells and such for her being good in special situations. Jonathan is a lot better. Maybe it's the fact it's a whip-wielding hero with options. Or that the quest system is actually rewarding in revisiting area beside grinding. Although, one quest I realised doesn't jive with modern life and that was to talk with Wind when it's between 12 and 1 (am or pm). I work or sleep at that point, I had to do that at midnight between Friday and Saturday pretty much expanding the game for a couple of days. My whole weekend was off after that... god I'm getting old! 

Some things I realised I like less with the game is the map, the castle map is so small, hardly any secret rooms and the left side of the castle map is empty. Usually the map covers the whole screen. And the paintings are pretty much a straight line with a loop back to the beginning. And the fact that the second half of the painting is just the same first maps again is rather boring. But it's a solid game, and there is no touch screen shenanigans that hold Dawn of Sorrow back... at least in the main game.

There is the sisters mode that exclusively plays with the touch controls on the DS. They did the stick option like the in Dawn of Sorrow for the ice breaking ability. It works rather well, I find that Loretta's Ice magic being the best option to traverse the castle since you only need to aim direction. compared to Stella's slash attacks where you need to mov the cursor back and forth. Didn't finish it, I thought I just needed to reach Brauner to finish the mode, forgot you needed to defeat the bosses in each painting in order to get near Brauners sanctum. Maybe I will play the alternate modes some other time when I play through all the games. Less grinding for most of them since there is no items to get.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Castlevania Dominus Collection) (Switch)

 

They are all here!

Well, I didn't think they would port the DS games when I played through them after the Advance collection, but here we are and I had to get them right after the Direct. And I finished Dawn of Sorrow three days later. And I had a better time it seems than last time. Is it that I played it on Normal Mode? Is it due to not having to use touch screen controls? Maybe the bigger screen? Who knows, I enjoyed myself greatly this time either way.

It's the same story so no need to add to that from the last time, so let's go on how the game play. And as mentioned there are improvements. The Magic Seals work using button prompts now, wish they weren't there at all like in Julius mode, but it's workable. Didn't have that much of trouble when I trained up some of the seal combos. They are also nice enough if you miss the first attempt they highlight which buttons to press. Thanks for that!

Then the screen, since it was a duel DS screen in the original they decided to put all three beside each other with the main screen being the gameplay and the others being a status screen and a map. Diminish the need to shuffle around the other screens. Played it mostly on handheld mode due to using the TV for other things. The screen is bigger than my 3DS so no problem with that. It works fine. You have the option to change the screens for example emulate the DS screen set up, but not a single lone screen. I don't know why, at times I would like to have the whole screen with just the battle, for example bosses since I don't need the map and mostly you don't need the status screen. A bit of complaint online about this as well.

I won't play Portrait of Ruin right now since Nintendo also released the next Famicom Detective Club the same week so that will be the weekend game, but I will continue the Dominus Collection after that.

Metroid Prime (Wii)

Deja Vu

I've just been to this place before

Higher on the street and I know it's my time to go

Well, I couldn't stop playing Metroid Prime so after getting a serious beating from Meta-Ridley in hard mode I went back to my Wii version that I hadn't finished before and played through it from start to finish. Kinda easy when you learned every trick there is after three playthroughs before it. A bit harder to get used to the control though. And I don't know about it. Some say it's the best way to play, but too often for my liking I felt the controls not doing what I wanted to do. The camera controls especially. And then we haven't talked about the range of the sensors. I had to move the sensor bar in order to get a comfortable playing seating and I still wound up putting my legs in way of the sensors moving around. 

Still, I got it around 8 hours and that included scanning everything to get the 100 % logs. So practice makes perfect. Forgot to mention the logs last time as well. Quite groundbreaking for the series cause it gave the series some much needed world building. You have the pirate logs from the space pirates that tells heir scientific studies on the planet and their weapon development to try to take over the galaxy as well as stop Samus Aran aka the Hunter. Those are the most interesting when they begin to panic about Samus appearing on the planet and hunting them. Then is the chozo that tells of their settling of Tallon IV and the disaster with the meteor strike that poisoned the planet and let Metroid Prime almost loose on them. There is also small bits here and there that isn't saved for easy reading, but it works, as well as leaving hints here and there.

A difference with other versions is also the fact that you get credits for different things, like beating a boss or finding an artefact. You then use them buying concept art, music or special things, like the Fusion suit. Won't use it since I feel the remastered edges out with it's ease of pick up and play as well as saving in on using AA-batteries. That and I already got all credits for that game. Funny how they use different triggers for getting the soundtracks and galleries. Sadly, can't get everything since they obviously had to incorporate a system of friend vouchers to get some of them, and since you can't log onto the internet from the wii system when they closed that down it's locked away for ever, unless they put them in the rereleases. 

I went back and finished off the final stretch of the Switch remaster on hard mode. Meta-Ridley being the worst one where patience is more important as well as a trained trigger finger. I hope they don't put the last things behind finishing the hard mode on the rerelease of Prime 2 that surely be coming. I couldn't beat normal on the Gamecube, so will be interesting how far I can get on the Wii version. 

Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)

 

A fresh coat of paint.

Had to continue the GameCube remasters for the Switch and had to get the physical version of Metroid Prime (so waited like 2 weeks compared to everyone else) and finished it off in a weekend. The remastered version of Metroid Prime as we await news for the fourth game in the series that have had no news since they showed the original screen with the number 4. Metroid Prime starts with Samus Aran investigating a distress signal around the planet Tallon IV where she finds a derelict space pirate ship and traveling through it learns about how the space pirates investigates the nearby planet and as the ship is beginning to explode she discovers Meta-Ridley traveling towards the planet so she has to follow.

While landing she gets signal from some chozo ruins that tells the history of how the chozo settled on Tallon IV and meet there end as a meteor struck unleashing the poison phazon that mutated the wildlife. Now the space pirates look for a way to unlock the impact crater the chozo locked away with 12 artefacts that lies scattered across the planet (or at least the areas you visit in this game). Travel across the planet getting items to enhance your armour and be able to travel to even more places and find the 12 artefacts and destroy the titular Metroid Prime at the centre of the impact crater. Game is hardest in the beginning when you have no weapons or reserves, but after the first missiles and energy tanks the game is rather easy (if you continue finding the upgrades in decent intervals) until Omega Pirate where the last bosses will be a bit troublesome (that of course until I met him in Hard Mode and learned that Power Bombs are the way to easily trigger the vulnerability phase). Meta-Ridley being the worst after that, the third phase when he goes on a rampage is more about avoiding damage until you can hit him. Metroid Primes first phase become easy when I began using the special beam weapons to deal max damage. 

I got the original back in the days for the GameCube (still got it as well as the Wii version) after getting into Metroid with Fusion as it was released before Prime in Europe. Watched a lot of the previews and got really into it, which makes it even sadder that this yet once again a game I took several years to finish, especially when I finished it in 15 hours this week as the first playthrough, and played through a second time during the same weekend (ended just below 8 hours) and the third run on Hard Mode ended around 8-9 hours. It could be due to the new controls which works fantastic, although some parts like morph ball jump is x while normal jump is b (doesn't help that I learned the ball jump at the end of my first playthrough while trying to get every item and looking at a video) and changing weapon needs to get used to (it was mapped to the c-stick in the original so a bit easier to change in the middle of battle). 

Overall, the game is great and the remaster is definitely worth it and shows what Tales of Symphonia should at least have been. There is something for the atmosphere to walk around on the planet alone, reading the lore of the chozo or the logs of the space pirates, especially when they begin panicking about Samus being on their tail. Taking your time and trying to get around on your own in the first playthrough is amazing. I would recommend though to have a spreadsheet that you can input every item and lore piece so that you can keep track on what you have got if you wanna look up what you missed. I missed two items (I think I know where one is, but the other is a complete mystery and I still checked every area again). I recommend the one I found here.

Hope we get the other two as well, especially since I never finished them, 2 especially since it was really atmospheric but the last boss is tough as nail. One minor nitpick is that they didn't add the fusion suit... or it's still there, you can't just get it. It was in the original and the Wii version, why not keep it? Some speculate it will be added later, maybe with the release of Metroid Fusion for the NSO. There is also a casual mode which I don't remember from the original (and looking at my original save, it was not mentioned there), great for a newcomer. They got rid of a couple of beehives that made it easier to get around and you take less damage and enemies dies easier. Got through Hard Mode as the last mode and got all extras. Just from the beginning I can say I had a lot easier time to fight the Hive Totem on the remastered version than the original in Hard mode. One thing in comparison with the 2D game I missed is the map function to mark where there is power-ups for a more easy time in backtracking.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)

 

Seems a lot like the characters from Bloodstained.

The final Castlevania-game for the DS and the last entry into the old lore of the series (besides Castlevania: Judgment, but that's a fighter game so doesn't count... and I don't have it as well) before rebooting it with Lords of Shadows. It was also a return for the art style they used on the GBA games and updated the sprites so it wasn't just a copy-paste of previous games.  It is also hard as hell playing from the start since the enemies pack a punch and you can't take anything. Great then to start the game from level 71 and pretty much every equipment and glyph taking away a lot of the grind making it a rather smooth experience.

Story is that since the Belmonts disappeared after the event of Symphony of the Night and Nostradamus prophesy predicting that they shouldn't return until the year 1999 and the final battle with Dracula different orders appeared in their stead to stop Dracula whenever he showed up in the meantime, one of is the Order of Ecclesia, led by the alchemist Barlowe. He has help from Albus and Shanoa, "step-siblings" that lost their parents to the darkness that swore to fight evil. They have created the Dominus glyph which will end Dracula once and for all, but at the night of the ritual Albus interrupts it and steals the glyphs for himself as he was promised to be the one receiving Dominus. The interruption makes Shanoa loose her memories and emotions as well her combat skills so Barlowe trains her quickly to get back the glyphs so that they can defeat Dracula.

Her travels across Transylvania takes her to the village Wygol who's citizens have been kidnapped by Albus and imprisoned in crystal. Rescuing them all and absorbing the seals is the way to get the true ending since by doing so Shanoa absorbs part of the blood that the citizens possess since they are in fact the Belmont Clan in hiding, but without any powers to stop the darkness. At a confrontation in an abandoned mansion Albus is able to absorb the three Dominus Glyphs after studying Shanoa, but is overtaken by the soul of Dracula which the Glyphs are powered by. Shanoa defeats him and get the glyphs back, but the soul of Albus is absorbed by the glyphs and tells Shanoa that he did this because Barlowe promised him that he would be the vessel of Dominus in order to save Shanoa and that the Glyphs are powered by her memories and emotions as well, meaning that Barlowe lied to them. Confronting Barlowe and he is shown to be in league with Dracula and as he is defeated sacrifices his life to destroy the seal upon Dracula's soul so that he can return and his castle shows up again.

Alone Shanoa braves the castle and its dark secrets. At the top of the castle she confronts the resurrected Dracula and as he is about to unleash one final devastating attack, Shanoa assembles the three glyphs of Dominus and defeats him, but to the cost of her soul. Until Albus soul intervene by finding Shanoa's memories and emotions, giving them back to her and then taking her place as the soul sacrifice needed. Shanoa is alive and can finally smile and be happy (and cry) and the game ends.

I won't cry... *sniff*

This game is rather good. Gathering glyphs can be a hassle and it's not always clear what they do by reading the name and description, but it is easy try it around and you got at least three different set-ups compared to Dawn of Sorrows two, a pity the armour isn't switchable in the same way. You finally got to travel the lands of Transylvania for the first time since... is it Castlevania II, III or Bloodlines... maybe Castlevania 64... Curse of Darkness? It has been a while at least. Villagers to talk to get quests and such is rather enjoyable, at least more intuitive than Wind blocking Jonathan from certain rewards that can be helpful to defeat Brauner and rescue his daughters. Also interesting tidbits like the demon possessed child Anne and Danielle the old vampire hunter woman that found vampires along her grandfather... might that have been Richter Belmont? Now, some of you might complain that I played it to easy what with level 70+, but I compensated by the no-hit challenge with bosses instead. If you are able to defeat a boss without taking damage, you get a medal. Equip the Death Ring that boost your stats through the roof, but a single hit kills you, then go to town on the bosses. First two just spam attacks before their first attack, but after that it gets harder, the crab boss being the hardest early boss since it's more about avoiding attacks until you can activate the elevator in the lighthouse to smash it. I thankfully forget all this to after that boss, up until I tired out in Dracula's castle with the shadow man and after that just raced to the finish. 

I recall really hate you the first time through.

Other content is an Albus mode where you play as Albus, attacking everything with your gun and that's it. A bit of a let down compared to the four different modes in the last game. You also get hard mode and such. Music is alright, the best thing though is that you have the option to play any of the tracks from the original Castlevania by buying records and playing them. A bit cumbersome since any room that is a passage between areas reset the music and it is a bit of hassle to go into the item menu and look it up. Still, I found it fun and the rapid flu glyph is amazing to speed things on.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)

 

At least better than the box in the box version

So, got an urge to replay Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow after playing the Castlevania Anniversary Collection with the game Aria of Sorrow that this is a sequel too. And since I already had a file why not play a New Game + version? Stupid me of course choose Hard Mode. Game starts out somewhere in Japan as Soma Cruz having a... date (?) with Mina Hakuba when suddenly a woman named Celia Fortner shows up and summons a couple of monsters to kill Soma so a new Dark Lord can be chosen. Arikado shows up and hands Soma a knife to fend them off. Celia disappears and Arikado mentions that she is the high priestess of a cult bent on resurrecting the dark lord to prove that... God is good? Well, obviously the cult is crazy.

So Soma with the help of Hammer tracks down the cult to their castle and apparently Arikado have appeared as well together with Julius Belmont and Yoko Belnades. Celia has found two more Dark Lord candidates, Dimitri and Dario and its Soma that gotta stop them. Dimitri is the first one encountered and he has the ability to copy others ability. And he seems to die and Soma absorbs his soul?

Well, that looks painful

Continuing across the castle you find Dario that have the power of fire and hides at the top of the castle. If you beat him here you get the bad ending since the trick is getting the Paranoia soul and use it to enters the mirror in the throne room to fight the demon hiding there to take away Dimitri's powers. With that you gotta confront Celia that seems to have taken Mina and sacrifice her to force Soma into the role of the Dark Lord. If you have equipped Mina's talisman Arikado for some reason appear before its to late and shows that it's a doppelgänger that taken the form of Mina, but this unleashes the dark soul that enters the Doppelgänger and Dimitri is reformed. They head to the abyss and Dimitri sacrifices Celia to gain dominion of a demon that backfires and turns him into an abomination. Which Soma kills, everyone gets out, the end.

I haven't played this game since I got my 3DS (which I can see since there isn't any note in the records of this game) which means that it gotta be at minimum 11-12 years since. Why is that? Mostly because like everyone else I dislike the forced touch screen controls. It's fine with breaking the ice and such, but the damn magic seal. It's so hard to know what you did wrong and there's also a damn time limit. Thank God the final boss didn't have it. Don't know how many times I had to use up potions that I shouldn't have to draw that stupid seal correct. 

I hate you!

It took me somewhere around 8 hours to play through (but then I got all souls before starting the game). Getting the second bad ending (failing to equip Mina's talisman before seeing "her" sacrifice) unlocks Julius mode like in the prior game where you run around as a classic Belmont whip wielding hero, but this time you can get Yoko and Alucard as well and the final boss is Soma that acts like Dracula. Noticed I had a save right before the boss and did some grinding and then defeated Soma. Just about 9 hours. I restarted and played a bit in the beginning of the game and it's kinda fun so that might be future playthroughs if I play through it again, especially since I don't have to use the touch controls. Also, the art is a bit of hit and miss. I've gotten used to it, but it was a bit jarring to go from the previous games art style to a more... I can't say "anime-esque" sine that is true of the GBA games as well, but a more... cartoonish look maybe? Music also... not that many good tracks actually, the wizard lab is nice, but otherwise it's the old tracks like Vampire killer and Bloody Tears that sticks out, as well as the final boss battle theme against Soma with Illusionary Dance as its theme.

Blaster Master Zero 3 (Switch)

 

Return of the Blaster Master

The third and final (?) part of this reboot trilogy of the classic Blaster Master-series. I've played the first game on 3DS and Switch and the second game on Switch. Began playing this just after Ys IX, which was kinda interesting since both games starts you just escaped from prison. Then I stopped like I usually do with these games and then finished it finally. 

Story is that you arrived at planet Sophia, but Jason and Eva was taken in by the military since they registered Eva being a mutant. So Jason breaks out thanks to Kane Gardner, the scientist behind Eva so you gotta track Eva down since she disappeared. On this journey you then got Leibniz from the second game to be your co-pilot. In the end it turns out that Eva have been affected by the mutants at the end of 2 which led to her becoming the Mutant Queen and the mutants becoming more aggressive to protect her. As Jason reach her she decides to leave this dimension behind. Now, during the cut-scene you can activate the system that allows you to enter different dimensions and see her through feelings. I only got it since I looked up how to defeat the "final boss", which I didn't have to do since I got it with the changing colours of the boss anyway. But I got the secret behind it and could get to Area ???.

Area ??? is some time after and apparently a rip through dimensions appeared and you have to find Eva and stop her. Basically you travel through areas from the first game (with the same music), fighting bosses from the second game. Which is hard since you hardly have any upgrades or weapons. But I did it! And the twist is that it isn't Jason, but Kane Gardner that was sent by the Sophia forces to investigate and eliminate the threat from the mutants. The final boss is Jason that joined with Eva in this other dimension. Or it's Kane Gardner depending on which one you choses at the end. First time I was Kane and got obliterated. Then I got some upgrades and by mistake got Jason, but I take it since it was easier to blow Kane up. You get to the ending and it turns out Eva and Jason have been birthing twin humans and intended to give them too Leibniz to raise them on earth since they themselves couldn't leave this dimension. The end.

The ending was worth it, but it was hard at times and a bit unfair I feel. Of all the games, I would rank the first game the best. Basically, that's the only game that hold up from beginning to end. Both sequels take me to a point where I get so irritated that I rage quit, and then a couple of months come back and go for the end. The only thing that works better in the sequels is getting the special endings since the first was 100 % get all items, but the others you get to reach certain conditions that don't get my OCD running.

Axiom Verge 2 (Switch)

ARTHUR! King of the Britons!

The sequel to the game I played back in 2017 and 2018. A CEO of a company named Indira is traveling to an Antarctic station she acquired in a buyout of a Katherine Hammond with information about Indira's missing daughter. At the station she is transported through the Breach from the first game to a new world and has to find a way back. She finds something called Arms, people made into weapon to be used by Wielders that she uses to traverse the world. One of the Arms take control over her body and intends to get control of a weapon to destroy the portal (?) of a world that will destroy all worlds. Indira detonates a storm bomb and the game ends.

Quite surreal experience playing through this. You think there's gonna be like any metroidvania ever, but there is for example only one boss that you have to defeat... and it's a puzzle boss and is the final one. Everything else optional for some skill upgrades. Also, the connections between both game in the series are rather subtle. The final area seems to be the starting point for Axiom Verge 1 with similar music cues and there are mentions of Trace, but if it's the same one is harder to get. 8 hours, 20 deaths and 66 % of the items and 88 % of the map. 

Visually it's better in my opinion than the original, mostly due to other areas than inside caves and laboratories. Music, not so much. It's fine, but there isn't pumping techno, synth or electronic that grabbed your attention in the original game. Overall a fun little diversion. 

Metroid Fusion (3DS)

The first resurrection of the Metroid-series!

While writing this there have been 1 week since E3 2021 and the news of Metroid 5 aka Metroid Dread have been revealed coming in October 2021. And since there have been the annual Midsummer celebration in Sweden I was back home with my parents so I fired up my 3DS and played through Metroid 4 aka Metroid Fusion to get back in the story as well as brushing up on the gameplay. And I haven't written a review of the game which is surprising as well.

It start as Samus is heading back from SR388, the planet where the Metroids originated from that she eradicated in Metroid: Samus return or Metroid II: Return of Samus. There she is infected by the parasite X and on the way back to a space station in orbit she loses conscious and crashes into an asteroid belt. She somehow is rescued and taken back to the Galactic Federation where they remove the suit and injects her with a Metroid vaccine in order to combat the parasite. She recovers and is sent back to the space station since the Federation have lost contact with it and they fear the X parasite is behind it. She arrives with a new space ship with a new AI that gives her orders during the game. The station is overrun by X parasites and the SA-X, X parasites that have taken the form of Samus Aran from her destroyed suit. 

Samus looks a bit green.

During the course of the game Samus regains her abilities and discovers that the station is actually a Metroid cloning facility to recreate the Metroid and use them for the Federations benefits. Which the X destroys. The AI tries to keep Samus in place until the Federation arrives since they are trying to capture the SA-X as they see potential in it's capabilities. Samus reacts rather poorly at this and scolds the AI, and in frustration calls it Adam, which was the name of the CO she served under while in the Federation (and in Other M, which I've haven't finished yet). Turns out that the AI is based on Adam so that jolt of memory kicks it's old personality into gear and they plan to send the station out of orbit and into the planet to destroy the station and all X parasites before the Federation arrives. A final confrontation with the SA-X and the station is on it's way. While trying to leave Samus is attacked by an Omega Metroid that have been let loose on the station and tries to kill her. The SA-X arrives a final time and tries to fight its mortal enemy the Metroid, but due to the injuries it's killed. Samus absorbs the ice shoot and make short work and escaped the station before it crashes into SR388. The end.

Took me just below 3 hours with 70 % completion. It was the first Metroid game I played and it was originally for the GBA. It was a fun game when I got a hang on it. Didn't like the split areas of the station since they locked you out from time to time until the end when your abilities allowed you to go anywhere. It also was 8 years between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. I got it for GBA, 3DS (through the Ambassador program) and the Wii U. Now, the funny thing with the 3DS version was that I noticed that the screen wasn't properly displayed, part of the top was at the bottom. Some say it's due to larger Micro SD Cards that to be correctly formatted or that it's basically the bad emulation (which I don't think they updated once since I got them). This game is at least passible and at times it looks right when you restart the game. And I also want to notify the records that I was right on the money at Dread being the 10 game as mentioned in Samus Returns as 2D/10, take that!

Super Metroid (SNES Classic)

 

Killing the Dragon Again!

Yet again finished Super Metroid, this time for the SNES Classic Mini. Apparently I haven't written about it before, but I can swear I finished it on the Wii U? Played it the first time on Wii and as stated Wii U and have it also for the New Nintendo 3DS. First entry in the series was Metroid Fusion for the GBA. So, on one hand, yes, the game has its moments. You get the Metroid experience that you expect, much improved after Metroid and Metroid II, both graphically and gameplay wise. On the other hand, I prefer Fusion and Zero Mission with the climbing and jumping ball (I didn't find a power-up for that in this game, and that makes the it rather irritating going around). Also, even though you have more buttons, the newer games with limited buttons actually made it easier to switch between the different weapons, don't know how many power bombs I've used when I just wanted to use a normal bomb. And then we have the fact that the space jump and wall jump don't allways connect. Especially when trying to jump upwards, more often that not I can't continue the momentum for some reason and then it's start over from the beginning.

Now, the story continues right from the last game, Metroid II. Samus Aran have destroyed all metroids on planet SR388 except a newborn hatchling that follows her around. She takes it to a federation research station, but just after leaving she gets a distress signal from the station where they are attacked by space pirates. Samus encounter a resurected Ridley that steals the metroid and heads back to planet Zebes from the first game. There you travel around the i terior of the planet to get power-ups and defeat bosses so that you can enter Tourian and defeat Mother Brain. Mother Brain on the other hand have assembled some kind of monster suit that she wrecks you with until the metroid appears and drains Mother Brain and gives it to Samus. Mother Brain kills the metroid and Samus now armed with a special laser destroys Mother Brain, escapes the explosion and saves some animals (of course you do) and then it's on toward Metroid Fusion.

I really felt more irritated with this game. It takes a long time before ammo for the rocket launcher feels like I can handle most things. It could be that I played the more modern games a lot more and therefore have no problem knowing where they are and therefore is a bit more powered up. It's a good game, but I probably play the other games before this again.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The first Metroidvania

So I finally finished Symphony of the Night on my PS3. It was really fun playing through a classic Metroidvania game. Need to dig through my DS collection. Anyway, this game starts with a look back at the end of Rondo of Blood when Richter Belmont defeated Dracula. Afterwards it turns to Alucard, the son of Dracula rushing toward the castle as it has once again been summoned to this world. There he meets Death that takes his weapons and armour. Wandering the castle Alucard finds Richter being the new lord of the castle and Maria trying to save him.Behind the scenes lurks Shaft who mind controlled Richter to summon Dracula and it's up to Alucard to stop him.

The game is a mix of platforming, exploration and RPG mechanics. Grind for exp to get better stats, get items that help you in different situations and explore to find some lying around. It also allows you to play it differently to your liking. You don't have to use the armour that absorbs the damage from the optional hardest boss in the game, but to me it sure was welcome. One thing I didn't like was that the map was hard to see. I actually had to have a map on the computer right next to me to actually see where I was supposed to go since the TV-screen made it hard to see where rooms where connected and such. And my parents TV isn't that small. And it was even zoomed in. 

It was fun, and as noted the voice acting is so chessy, but everyone gotta quote it as some point. A pity that the second half of the game hardly have any cutscenes. Wonder what game I should play now.

Metroid II: Samus Returns

She's back!

The remake of the second Metroid game. Original game was for the gameboy so the update was rather welcome. I played that one not that long ago, but I apparently didn't write about it here. So what do we have here? A great improvement in my mind. Music is fleshed out compared to the original one and the graphical update was really needed and they even added short cutscenes here and there, especially when meeting the evolved Metroids. Also some extra bosses are added and most of them I believe are completely new. One is even reoccurring one. You first meet this one as it blocks the road and Samus shot it out of it’s way. Then it head on destroying two chozo-statues and then using some kind of rolling drill to chase you through the tunnels and after some more delving into the planets inner core fighting it again and destroying it with a shot behind you. Samus is back!

Still wish the 3DS would support a colour palette

Story is the same as before. After the first game the galactic federation deems the Metroids to dangerous to keep alive with the space pirates running rampant through the galaxy. So they send their elite troops to their planet of origin, SR388. And as standard the federation loose contact with the team and there is only one person to send in, Samus Aran. Playing the game is improved since they gave Samus some new abilities like able to fire in 360 degrees, special moves like a scan pulse to show the map and make it easier to explore since it reveals every hidden item and secret area. Great for people like me, And then there is a slow down power instead of a run faster ability Also suits me better since reaction isn’t getting better with time. There is also some rapid-fire power and then a final forth one which I can’t remember at the moment. The rest are pretty much standard metroid weapons like the spider ball, bombs, super missiles and different suits.

Take that Metroid

So is there any new story? Well, they tie this one together with Metroid Fusion since they show the X returning after eradicating the metroids and it attacking the same monster that is the one that infected Samus at the start of Fusion. And as a bonus for finding 100 % of the items in each area you unlock Chozo-memories which tells the history of the planet when the Chozo arrived, discovered the X and created the Metroids to combat them. After that threat the metroids evolved to its other forms and attacked the Chozo and they were forced to push them back into the planet and lock them in there. And as another Chozo ship arrives the final memory shows how the Chozo are slain by their own kin in the memory called 2d/10. I can swear I’ve heard that before (I think it’s uttered at the attack of the death star in the original Star Wars), but I believe it hints on a future instalment of a new 2d metroid game since that would maybe be the 10th game in the series, the first 4 2d ones (Metroid, Return of Samus, Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion), the 3 prime games, Other M and either Metroid Prime 4 or Metroid Prime: Hunters (but since Hunters is a bit of a spin-of I think they don’t count it or maybe the 2d game will be released before Prime 4… or it might even be Prime 4, what do I know).

Exile's End

Finally, an old guy as the protagonist

Got this game when it come out for the Wii U and apparently it was released on PS4 and Steam as well. The reason I got it was its metroidvania style gameplay. You play as Jameson, a grizzled mercenary... I think. Together with another group of soldiers have been sent put by this mining company to find the son of the CEO that has gone missing on this mining planet. But as you approach the planet interference causes the ship to crash and everyone running for the "lifeboats". Of course Jameson is the only one that survives so he find himself on this alien planet with a malfunctioning suit and in the beginning without weapons. Even jumping can kill you since you take fall damage until you upgrade your suit. So don't jump too platforms below you, just walk off the cliff and land on the closest platform.

Nice doggy!

So most things kill you, too long in the water you drown, there's areas contaminated by radiation that kills you and the wildlife ain't nice. You find a gun and can finally fight back and you even locate your target. But since the electromagnetic storm is still raging you can't escape so you need to go to the ancient temple the planets inhabitants looked away since apparently there is something there that controls it. Then it turns to Metroid Prime. No really, this ancient civilisation locked away this evil under the temple and you have to stop it together with the last ancient one that is still alive? The story got a bit unclear, but it mostly is due to me taking a year or so long break (I really have a bad habit of doing that) before coming back.

Maybe not so nice doggy!

The break is probably due to not being able to progress further after finding the mine. And that is one of the more irritating parts of the game. The map isn't as useful as it should be... or more like Metroids map is. First of, the map doesn't indicate that an opening/door leads to another area which can be frustrating since you can't tell if you already been there and couldn't progress or if it connects to another area of the planet. Also, I couldn't find a good description on the weapons and items I picked up making me run in circles I just out of desperation used a wrench on a red wheel and that lowered the water to let me progress to the next area. The worst example being after fighting a hard boss in the Cathedral and I'm rewarded with a new gun. I remember that there was a laser beam door blocking my access to another part of that area so I went there and fired the gun... nothing happens. I run around for a bit, but gets so frustrated I searched the web for an answer and lo and behold, I was on the right path, but you needed to charge the gun... apparently twice when I tried it. I didn't know it could do that and it wasn't even mentioned. Another puzzle like that was how you needed to blow up a pot with water to get rid of a locked gate. I had to look it up to realise that your explosives could be used for that purpose. Another thing that irritates me is apparently you can't get 100 % on the map. For example there is spiked floors that are way too far dawn to map out the whole are and if you die the map resets to before you entered the room and certain areas are blocked off by the ground, walls or ceilings. That feels rather weird to not be able to fill it all out. Does any other metroidvania game do that?

Other than that it was a really interesting game and story. The music is catchy at times and the 2d pixel art is mostly better. It also has some cutscenes, although maybe not as fluently. But I guess I didn't get the real ending since I was able to get to the warrior tomb and either me or the alien had to sacrifice themselves in order to active the ritual to re-seal the darkness lurking. Which is rather anti-climatic I must say. And from the things I gather you need to find some hidden messages that will turn the story around I presume. Some other time when there is a walkthrough to follow I might go for it, but right now there ain't one and I have other games in my back-catalouge to finish.

Steamworld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt

Dig dig dig in our mine all day long!

With the new Nintendo reward system I, for some reason, have accumulated a bunch of gold and silver coins and there is nearly nothing I want to use it on. So for the heck of it I started to check games that was recommended and so on and grab one that was on sale. So I got Steamworld Heist, but since I wanted to play the first game in the series I got Steamworld Dig as well... not on sale and finished it in just around 5 hours. It was a fun little game. You play as Rusty, a steambot that has arrived to Tumbleton to meet Uncle Joe. But instead he falls into a cave where he locate Uncle Joe dead and another Steamboat that takes you back to the town. And so the adventure begins.

It's basically dig your way down the mine, get minerals to sell to get money in order to buy upgrades, equipments and items and go even further down the mine. Also some upgrades needs orbs so get them to. The mine is divided in three areas. You look at it from a 2D perspective so it feels like a Metroid game. The difference is that the player decides the environment and how you want to dig the tunnels. You need to dig them good enough so you can jump up and down before the lantern goes out and at the same time make it cross the whole map to find the mineral deposits. Until the end of course when you can run and double jump as well having a way to detect deposits on the map.

And at the end, as per usual you get to fight a boss... which for some reason absorbed Uncle Joe (which is what I guess killed him) and speaks about preparing Rusty to be absorbed as well as the heart of the machine and then launch an attack to take over the world. The battle is destroying the generators powering it... and it is randomised how they appear on the screen each time you enter. So the first time I was killed rather fast (could also been due to not fully upgrade everything). Second attempt was a much better time. You defeat him and then it goes to one month later when the people of the town has built a monument over Rusty that didn't come back... but then again, the town people were afraid to search for him except the girl steamboat you met at the beginning of the game and bought all the minerals you brought in. So that was 5 hours, one sitting. Wonder what Steamworld Heist looks like.

Axiom Verge

Metroid V

When this one finally hit the E-shop in Europe on the Wii U I got it immediately after watching SomecallmeJohnny's review after it and really have that Metroidvania itch. And I wasn't disappointed. The graphics are dark and mysterious, feeling closer to Metroid in a long way with both an environment that feel alive together with spread out technological areas. The music is techno-awesome with each area has it's unique theme. The gameplay, meanwhile, is working tremendously well. The controls are perfect and I never felt it worked against me. Only once did the game freeze on me and that was right after starting it up, go into an out zooming boss room and turn back right away since I went the wrong way, and maybe that caused it to freeze itself. Of course if you see glitches that might just be the intention of the game. Then again, it was made by just one person so working this well with all that is in the game feels like an impressive feat.

Look, not all the game is inside a cave

The story is that during a laboratory experiment the main character Trace is sent to another world where he greeted by the masked machine at the top of the post here. You are here to save these machines by starting up the necessary equipments so that they can help you explain the situation. And what I gather is that hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago one person entered this dimension, he went away and came back and started a war with this worlds inhabitants. You are there last hope to stop him. Get's a lot more complicated as it turns out that the person you are fighting is really you... or maybe an alternative dimension version of you... or are Trace a clone of the madman? I didn't get any answers, basically I came to the end, the other Trace confessed to being behind the massgenocide of those living machines in order to gain the knowledge of the universe and a few killings wouldn't stop him. I destroy his machines and the one that brought me here kills him and Trace is sent back to after the explosion. Trace still looks for a way back since he needs answers, the end.

It might be the look, but I have a nagging suspicion that they aren't as friendly as they seem

I suspect there is another ending. For example I didn't destroy a boss right before the ending since it was hard as hell and I assume I will get something that will either enable me to climb walls or translate a lot of the papers I collected that I can't currently read. One of the last notes I found that I could read mentioned items hidden in "Breach"-areas (areas corrupted and out of sight of the map) and I only found one with two power-ups. Also it bothers me that I found 4 of those living machines, but one decided to side with the other Trace and was shut down by the other three. I even found her head and I suspect there is a more sinister story behind this. Although it was great fun to play it. Only a few problems I felt, first is that you really got to experiment with the new items you got and try to do everything you can think of to really know the mechanic. Worst was when I got stuck, I didn't know where to go and I run across the map 2-3 times until I figured out that the little mechanical spider you have you can unleash in mid-air and from there steer it into high above places. That was how I uncovered the area I needed to enter. Another problem was the boss you see down below, Gir-Tab. It's a giant scorpion that fires constantly. When I first encountered it I noticed it registered some hits so there got to be a weak point there. It's the eye, but he closes it right away. So while I tried to find the weak point I was killed over and over and since he didn't open his eyes again there had to be another weak spot. And after a couple of tries I caved in and looked it up, you got to shot him in the back with a special gun that explodes remotely and have an area effect to reach it. After that information I didn't take a hit even though it took a long time to defeat him.

I REALLY hate him!

A really fun game, especially if you like the exploration parts of Metroid or just the atmosphere. It is a bit more dialogue heavy, but since I like that, no problem for me. Really need to get my hands on a soundtrack for this... or maybe even try getting the possible real ending... if it exist.

Update: Apparently there is one, but it is 100 % or finish before 4 hours, but more akin to a mind-screw since back on earth the other-Trace appears, older and such and shoots you. So the machines are good to go... my idea was much better... although it feels more like a twist from the Castlevania games.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Castlevania in the future!

Finished of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow last Friday in a last push to get it out of my way, especially since it's like 7 months since I finished of Harmony of Dissonance. Why did it took so long? Well, I never felt like it. And I distinctly recall that something similar happened when I originally played this. Gameplay wise its fine, instead of a Belmont you play as Soma Cruz and instead of a whip and sub-weapons you use a large array of weapons like swords, spears, axes and even guns. The most important though is the soul system. With luck (and intense grinding) you collect souls from defeated enemies and are given their abilities and stats (all varying depending on the monster of course). A fun time waster as when the soul swirls around after the final strike it feels so satisfying to collect it. And thank god for the bestiary so you can keep an eye on it. Otherwise the game plays just as the other two GBA Castlevania games. 

Still, sure miss playing as the Belmonts

The story then. Soma Cruz happens to walk near his girlfriends Mina Hakuba's temple on the day of an eclipse and both are transported to Dracula's castle that was sealed away there when the count was finally vanquished in 1999. There he discovered that he has the power of rule, to collect the monsters abilities and set out to get out of the castle. On the journey he meets Arikado, a shady governmental official that seems to know far more about Dracula and the castle that he lets on, Hammer, an army soldier that works as a supplier, Yoko Belnandes, a witch in the employment of the church (and dependent to the Belnandes family that has strong connections to the Belmonts). Graham Jones, a missionary who believes himself to be the reincarnation of Dracula and the castles true master and finally J, an amnesiac who turns out to be Julius Belmont, the last descendant of the vampire hunter clan, spoilers I guess. So how does Soma fits into all this? The twist of the story is that Soma is actually the true reincarnation of Dracula and after fulfilling certain requirements before defeating Graham the dark powers awakens and you must stop them from taking you over.

And he looked like a nice boy!

So a decent story and with gameplay elements that works and plays well, what is there not to like? Even the graphics are good enough so why don't this just evoke fun in me? Maybe its the randomness of the souls. It is a real grind to get them all and certain ones that are necessary to progress to the true ending is just a pain to get. You can get an item to increase the rate of Souls, but it cost a fortune and you need a lot of money acquiring items and souls (or just start over in New Game + over and over again until you get it). So the extras then? You get to play as Julius Belmont with his kick-ass team music and it feels like old school Castlevania... if you look past flying around the rooms and such and having all the sub-weapons all the time. That is the real improvement, all sub-weapons and you switch between them with a button. This makes a rather fun mode, sadly you need more skill than level grinding or using potions to finish of harder bosses. And maybe that is another problem with the main game, with all the improvements the game feels to easy. Of course you can choose your own handicaps if you like, but the easiest for me was to get max potions and use that when needed during boss fights. And they can all be bought in Hammer's shop. Maybe this is the reason I can't afford the soul ring, I spend the gold on potions.

Me at Hammers shop, lucky they put a cap on 9 items per stack

Metroid: Zero Mission

I wonder what they would call a prequel?

Metroid: Zero Mission, the remake of the original game. Besides better graphics and enhanced music they added a little bit of story-telling via cutscenes and put up an extra challenge after the end of the original game. Also, better controls and a map system, the best improvement ever for the original.

Challenge in the old days was to start the map so it didn't went of the paper

Basically the story is that the space pirates lead by Mother Brain has taken newly discovered metroids and plan to use them as biological weapons so the federation sends out their best bounty hunter, Samus Aran to stop the plan. We also learns that Samus grew up on Zebes (as the planet is called) when she was being under the protection of the Chozo, a mythical and ancient birdlike race of aliens that have travelled all around the galaxy and furthered civilisations everywhere and left their mark, ruins and artefacts for others to find. If I remember my lore correctly Mother Brain is actually a "security computer" created by the Chozo that aligned itself with the space pirates and either killed or drove of the Chozos from Zebes. So you have a bit of a grudge against them, doesn't help that Ridley, the leader of the space pirates killed your parents so the Chozo had to take care of her. Oh, big spoiler, Samus is actually a girl. Maybe in 1986 that was considered huge, not so much today. Still, it could have shocked someone.

I found out by reading this comic, now Kevin is the Game Master right? So haven't he finished Metroid to get the secret ending or what's the deal?

So it is pretty straight-forward. I played it on the Wii U, but I bought the original release back in 2004 for the GBA. It wasn't the first time I tried to play the original game though since it was unlocked as a feature on the first Metroid Prime. It's also released here by playing through the game once so I can always try that. But playing that feels rather archaic. No map so you either memorise or download from the internet (who's so stupid to write your own? I mean, yeah it makes for a better experience and immersion in travelling the desolate corridors of this alien world, but come on), you don't start full heath and have to grind to get more of it. Same goes for missiles. But I've actually finished it old style... twice, all so I could get the ending screen with Samus without the suit.

She's a brunette?

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

The sequel has arrived on the Wii U virtual console and I finished it in 3-4 days. It took me like a year the first time. And that was just to get the middle ending. Anyway, this game didn't mash with me when it was out. I thought the music was awful, the colorful graphics missed out on the spooky dreaded feeling and so on. Basically, it wasn't Circle of the Moon. Playing again though, I find it rather enjoying. Probably cause they fixed the gameplay problems I had with the first game. I have a monster encyclopedia making it easier keeping tracks on where to farm for stuff and such if need be. The magic is a bit simplified and is tied to your sub-weapon so depending on which weapon you have and which magic book you have equipped it causes different attacks and such. The complexity of the original is missed, but here you can easily discover what each combo does. Another great thing that held the magic system back in the former game was that you could only equip one magic ability and when you have to choose between poison or curse resistance it takes away some of the fun. Here they solved it by finding certain relics that gave you the permanent effect, rewarding discovering them. Also, they have stores all around the castle giving you much relief if you, like me, suck at the game and need some extra potion. Also, I apparently misremember the amount you could carry, since I could buy 99 of the things on sale. Great!

The story then. You play as Juste Belmont who meet his best friend Maxim that have been away for a while, telling you that Dracula's Castle has returned and your girlfriend (?) Lydia has been kidnapped so you set out looking for her while searching for the evil in this castle. The spoiler here is that it is actually 2 castles and Maxim, due to exposure to Dracula's remains, have a split personality. The evil one being possessed by Dracula kidnapped Lydia and prepares a resurrection. To stop this (and get the best ending) you need to gather Dracula's five remains and his ring. Then take everything to Castle B, equip Maxim and Juste's bracelets and defeat evil Maxim so that he can expel Dracula's evil spirit and being reanimated by his remains and then you put him to rest... again. Really, Castlevania is worse than Legend of Zelda with Ganon being the final boss. Castlevania always ends with Dracula as the final boss (well, maybe with exception of Lords of Shadow since, well, spoiler, you become Dracula). Had I played Castlevania II: Simon's Quest I might have appreciated the nods to that game at the time... or even played Symphony of the Night with the two castle system.

So all in all, I liked the game. It was more fun than I remember (or maybe forgot how fun it was). The music while definitely lowered quality had some nice tunes (not as good as the previous game, but anyway). The castle itself looked amazing and the psychedelic backgrounds was amazing to look at and that you could use the environment to solve certain puzzles was really fun. You have the guardian you push into a meat grinder, the pinball machine and so on. A more lively castle that is. Less hidden rooms, but more puzzles works fine. Also, after beating the game you can play a boss rush mode or even play the game as Maxim. A bit better than Circle of the Moon when you just replayed the game with a code changing stats and how you played the game like a magician, shooter or thief. Sadly the only time you played as a Belmont as the main character in the portable Castlevania games for GBA or DS. 

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

 

Castlevania: Circlke of the Moon, more commonly known as Castlevania for the Game Boy Advance was the second game I bought for the Game Boy Advance and the second Castlevania game I ever played (the first one being Castlevania 64) and it's one of my favorite Castlevania games. The design of the castle and enemies, the magic system and best of all the best music of any Castlevania game that I've played (might be due to reusing much music from Castlevania: Bloodlines on a better hardware). The story is that Dracula has been resurrected by Camille and you as Nathan Graves have to stop him and rescue your master Morris Baldwin to be sacrificed. You aren't a Belmont so instead of the Vampire Killer you have the Hunter's Whip.

This is Metroidvania game so you run around the castle looking for artifacts to give you special abilities so that you can traverse more of the Castle. Things that stand out from later games is that you can hold 99 things of anything (compared to max 9 in later portable Castlevanias) and your magic system is card based. You gather attribute and action cards and combine two to make a magical effect like summoning familiars or damaging screen clearing spells, changing weapons to swords or punches etc or boosting attributes or enhance thing like exp and so on. The bad thing about this system is that the cards is randomly dropped from certain monsters and there is no clue to which one so you must be rather lucky to get them in some cases. Worst are the false candles that reappears in the two first bosses rooms after defeating certain bosses. So an item walkthrough is recommended. Also a walkthrough for each cards combination effect since they don't say what it is until you done it, for example it doesn't show protecting against poison until you have that combination activated and run into a poisonous enemy. And this game came out in 2001, glad I had Super Play that gave me the basic rundown of where to find the cards and how to use them. Worst are the summoning cards which needs a button combo to perform. How would you know that without looking it up on the internet?

So those things can be a bit annoying. The same goes for the item drop system. You don't have a monster collection book so you yourself have to remember which monster drops what. Where do I get the super potions? Those are a must if you are going through the arena since you don't have any magic there and it's rather impossible otherwise. The arena also has two unique monsters caring a card each. Thanks for that game designers! Luckily the following games fixed that problem by having both a store and a monster collection book with item drops in them (together with a percentage so you know which monsters to fight for the best item drop).

Why do I bring it up? It was released a couple of weeks ago on the Wii U virtual console and I had to have it and replay it, this time on a screen that I actually could see on (compared to the original Advance where I had to point a light directly on the screen to see what was going on. And it still looked amazing and the sound, the sound was fantastic. 8 hours to run through this game (of course this time I knew what I was doing but still) and then I looked at the electronic instruction manual (a scanned version of the one that came with the game) and so many memories followed when I read through the manual over and over again so that the pages fell of. Still has the game, box and manual in the attic at home (maybe a bit squashed, but still). It was so fun. Expected the sequel one week later, but it took them a bit longer to release.