Dracula
09-20-2002, 06:55 PM
Let me just tell you... This game reminds me why I'm in love with SOTN. Unlike COTM, this game is a true SOTN experience. It's a little easier than COTM, as was SOTN, but you have to think about some things before playing it. Once you turn on the switch, you forget EVERYTHING about COTM.
The screen is beautifully displayed, with easy-to-see icons, sprites, animations, etc... The graphics are identical to 2D Playstation (ALA SOTN) along with SOTN's sprites. The zombies belong to Dracula X, which were used in DXSNES, then in SOTN, now HOD. Same with the spear knghts, axe armors, fleamen, skeletons, blah blah blah... Only thing is, they were re-sized to fit the normal sprite size, meaning that skeletons would be 2 times larger than Juste if they didn't resize them, but it still looks wonderful. I really think the graphics beat down COTM, which had four frames to give the effect that something was spinning, but the objecys in HOD actually spin. Transperencies are everywhere, from the shadow effects to the candle light or the reflections that you can see throughout parts of the game. One thing that made me have a flaming orgasm was the Room of Illusion. The lighting effects reflected on the statues. The lava effects seemed weird, but the frames are pretty quick on that. Then, there's the trippy hallway. Think of it as the catacomb cave in SOTN with the lava flowing under the bridge... You notice the background moves in full 3D? It's just like that... Only it's not a rocky cave, it's a color-changing room that gives you the creeps. The save-rooms are the same as SOTN, except they didn't add the 3D effect like they should have. The warp-rooms are the same as SOTN, along with the flying objects that come off the floor, and the rainbow colors from the door-way... Oh, and it pixilates like an old SNES game, VERY cool. The mode7 clouds from the chapel are here too. Even the 3D clocktower is stuck in the background. That was a drool-touch that I did not expect. Some of the enemies have SOTN's effects... Some zombies have flies flying around them, and when you kill it, the flies just scatter. That was funny. Also note, the zombie kinda... Thins out as it dies. That was a really cool effect, as it is also used on the spear-knights and other enemies. The dragon-heads that breathe fire, are also from SOTN and DX. When they breathe fire, a spark effect rises from the flams and his mouth. Fleamen burn up, and they just bounce to their death. The skeletons effects are nothing new, but I love the sound they make... Actual bones falling to the ground. It sounds just like that.
On that note, the sound effects kick ass. There are some very nice voices within the game. You can hear Death's cackling laugh from SOTN, Maxim's voice once you meet up with him. Juste has some voice work as well. The whip effects actually sound like chains.
The sound effects are far more superior than COTM, but the music, as we all know, took a little downfall... Now, try to forget everything you heard about the music... Now, imagine this... It's not as good as the Genesis... But it's not as bad as the NES... It can sound like the GBC, but it goes faster and more upbeat than any GBC game. You can understand what instruments would play each song. Now, do you have a visiojn of what the sound is? Ok, let me try this again.... Think of a SOTN song... Then think of Zero Wing's introduction... That was my first thought. The tunes are VERY catchy, giving it a great gaming experience, but those game players that think a quality game comes from graphics and sound quality will entirely turn the game down for this reason. That is what pisses me off, that this game has the most potential than any GBA game I've played. But, for all those game players that like classic games, like me, will not even realize the music's downgrade. Still, it's not as clean as COTM's music, but it is outstanding...
Now, I know people want to know... What is spell fusion? It is a new magic feature that changes your subweapons into elemental attacks (fire, ice, lightning, etc). Let's say you combine ice with the cross, you get a spinning cross that follows you, like a "familiar" from SOTN, and shoots little peices of ice at enemies, until the cross is entirely used up. Or, if you combine the axe with fire, you get two flaming dragons, almost like CV64's dragons from Dracula's 3rd form, to fly around enemies. It comes in handy, and it conserves hearts, but it uses magic. Some of the spell fusion attacks copy the Item Crashes from DX and SOTN, but we all love those attacks, don't we?
Anywho... The storyline has nothing to do with Dracula himself, until you let the story unfold. It can take some unexpected turns. You're supposed to think that you don't even know if you're in Castlevania or not (obviously, you'll know right away... It's the similar entrance, with all of it's enemies in it). But, the entrance is HUGE!!! It's not entirely like SOTN's entrance, just a hallway and you're in a lab. You have to take flights of stairs to reach your next stop. I actually like this. Once you get enough techniques, you can explore the castle, and stumble upon the entrance, kinda like the Marble Gallery in SOTN.
And Juste's sprite is very well animated, only it looks like he has bellbottoms and white sneakers. Still, he kinda looks like Dante from Devil May Cry (wow, I'm just speeding through the SOTN similarites). Maxim's sprite is weird, with those green pants and... weird animation. Still, every sprite was made to be easy to see. Death's cloak is actually red (pink, if you're looking at it the way you focused on COTM, though you really shouldn't cuz it will look too bright for a Castlevania game). So, look at the game the way you looked at COTM the first time, and it will look like SOTN from the television set instead of a dark, little screen. This is indead the handheld experience we were promised.
The screen is beautifully displayed, with easy-to-see icons, sprites, animations, etc... The graphics are identical to 2D Playstation (ALA SOTN) along with SOTN's sprites. The zombies belong to Dracula X, which were used in DXSNES, then in SOTN, now HOD. Same with the spear knghts, axe armors, fleamen, skeletons, blah blah blah... Only thing is, they were re-sized to fit the normal sprite size, meaning that skeletons would be 2 times larger than Juste if they didn't resize them, but it still looks wonderful. I really think the graphics beat down COTM, which had four frames to give the effect that something was spinning, but the objecys in HOD actually spin. Transperencies are everywhere, from the shadow effects to the candle light or the reflections that you can see throughout parts of the game. One thing that made me have a flaming orgasm was the Room of Illusion. The lighting effects reflected on the statues. The lava effects seemed weird, but the frames are pretty quick on that. Then, there's the trippy hallway. Think of it as the catacomb cave in SOTN with the lava flowing under the bridge... You notice the background moves in full 3D? It's just like that... Only it's not a rocky cave, it's a color-changing room that gives you the creeps. The save-rooms are the same as SOTN, except they didn't add the 3D effect like they should have. The warp-rooms are the same as SOTN, along with the flying objects that come off the floor, and the rainbow colors from the door-way... Oh, and it pixilates like an old SNES game, VERY cool. The mode7 clouds from the chapel are here too. Even the 3D clocktower is stuck in the background. That was a drool-touch that I did not expect. Some of the enemies have SOTN's effects... Some zombies have flies flying around them, and when you kill it, the flies just scatter. That was funny. Also note, the zombie kinda... Thins out as it dies. That was a really cool effect, as it is also used on the spear-knights and other enemies. The dragon-heads that breathe fire, are also from SOTN and DX. When they breathe fire, a spark effect rises from the flams and his mouth. Fleamen burn up, and they just bounce to their death. The skeletons effects are nothing new, but I love the sound they make... Actual bones falling to the ground. It sounds just like that.
On that note, the sound effects kick ass. There are some very nice voices within the game. You can hear Death's cackling laugh from SOTN, Maxim's voice once you meet up with him. Juste has some voice work as well. The whip effects actually sound like chains.
The sound effects are far more superior than COTM, but the music, as we all know, took a little downfall... Now, try to forget everything you heard about the music... Now, imagine this... It's not as good as the Genesis... But it's not as bad as the NES... It can sound like the GBC, but it goes faster and more upbeat than any GBC game. You can understand what instruments would play each song. Now, do you have a visiojn of what the sound is? Ok, let me try this again.... Think of a SOTN song... Then think of Zero Wing's introduction... That was my first thought. The tunes are VERY catchy, giving it a great gaming experience, but those game players that think a quality game comes from graphics and sound quality will entirely turn the game down for this reason. That is what pisses me off, that this game has the most potential than any GBA game I've played. But, for all those game players that like classic games, like me, will not even realize the music's downgrade. Still, it's not as clean as COTM's music, but it is outstanding...
Now, I know people want to know... What is spell fusion? It is a new magic feature that changes your subweapons into elemental attacks (fire, ice, lightning, etc). Let's say you combine ice with the cross, you get a spinning cross that follows you, like a "familiar" from SOTN, and shoots little peices of ice at enemies, until the cross is entirely used up. Or, if you combine the axe with fire, you get two flaming dragons, almost like CV64's dragons from Dracula's 3rd form, to fly around enemies. It comes in handy, and it conserves hearts, but it uses magic. Some of the spell fusion attacks copy the Item Crashes from DX and SOTN, but we all love those attacks, don't we?
Anywho... The storyline has nothing to do with Dracula himself, until you let the story unfold. It can take some unexpected turns. You're supposed to think that you don't even know if you're in Castlevania or not (obviously, you'll know right away... It's the similar entrance, with all of it's enemies in it). But, the entrance is HUGE!!! It's not entirely like SOTN's entrance, just a hallway and you're in a lab. You have to take flights of stairs to reach your next stop. I actually like this. Once you get enough techniques, you can explore the castle, and stumble upon the entrance, kinda like the Marble Gallery in SOTN.
And Juste's sprite is very well animated, only it looks like he has bellbottoms and white sneakers. Still, he kinda looks like Dante from Devil May Cry (wow, I'm just speeding through the SOTN similarites). Maxim's sprite is weird, with those green pants and... weird animation. Still, every sprite was made to be easy to see. Death's cloak is actually red (pink, if you're looking at it the way you focused on COTM, though you really shouldn't cuz it will look too bright for a Castlevania game). So, look at the game the way you looked at COTM the first time, and it will look like SOTN from the television set instead of a dark, little screen. This is indead the handheld experience we were promised.