u/TornSilver

Coming off of the demo, what strikes me the most so far about Belmont's Curse is how so many things matter again.

Platforming matters. Enemy placement matters. Health management matters. Timing matters.

Throughout the Metroidvania games, because of the shift to open-ended level design, other elements started to shift in turn. There are no more bottomless pits, health is a bar that tends to be more generous with damage input, enemies are treated more like obstacles and are often easily avoided to keep up the flow of traversal, and the weapons options are staggering.

But the Classic titles aren't like that. Because of the level based structure, limited weapons and mobility, and scarcity of recovery options, the stakes are higher. A single Skeleton near a staircase or a Bone Pillar blocking the way is a capital "P" Problem to be dealt with, and you have to be mindful about how and when to engage with them.

Belmont's Curse feels like it wants you to take each enemy and platform as seriously as you did when you were playing Super Castlevania IV. Even the most basic Zombie or Bat is aggressive and will smack you during your attack combo if your timing is off. An Archer on a platform will move to avoid and attack you to make getting on that platform more difficult. Misjudging how to swing with the Arcana Whip or when to jump on a platform will matter and cost you precious health if you screw up.

I have no doubt that Rose will get stronger and more mobile as the game progresses, to the point where you can start to breeze through many monsters and challenges. But I also get the impression that the game will keep pushing the player to engage with its level design and obstacles in challenging ways.

And I am SO FUCKING HERE for that. A search-action Castlevania game where platforming actually matters again is exactly what I've wanted from this series for years.

As a husband, uncle, and friend of women, Gachiakuta being decidedly light on fanservice toward female characters so far has been a breath of fresh air compared to other properties. I've never accepted the tired excuses of "that's just how shonen is" or "you've gotta make money somehow". Clearly, it doesn't have to be that way, and Gachiakuta's been a easy recommend to all of my friends because of it.

And to be clear there are a few instances where it pops up here and there, like some of the early shots of Amo or that once unnecessary shower panel with Riyo, but for the most part none of the female characters are there just to be oggled at by gooners. Naturally sexy ladies like Semiu and Kyouka are allowed to be sexy without every angle and panel lingering on them, and even Too Lily, who's practically magically formulated to be the hottest woman on the Ground, has a full character and agency behind her.

So yeah, props to Kei Urana for giving us a bunch of awesome ladies that we don't have to compromise our standards on, I hope she keeps it up.

At ~25 seconds into the new Bloody Tears trailer, we see for an instant Rose grapple into a picture frame, become a portrait , and change direction. Likely this is a traversal powerup gained from a boss, and if it's from the purple suited vampire shown in the trailer, well then...

And honestly I'm totally prepared to be wrong about this and have Evil Empire come out any minute and say "Nah it's just Olrox with Brauner design cues lol," but I haven't seen anybody even mention the portrait thing and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Welcome back, Liam.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EpCS2VPsMd8&pp=2AEAkAIB

I've never looked all that favorably towards Dawn of Sorrow, at least compared to the other DS games and especially to its predecessor Aria of Sorrow, and in trying to understand why I feel that way, I've concluded that the game itself feels like a filler arc that doesn't need to be there.

And that's a weird thing to say because, when you think about it, plenty of games in the Castlevania series depict events that don't necessarily further "the plot" of the story. Hell the franchise is predicated on one recurring event, Dracula rising from the grave and a Belmont or other hero putting him back, so what's to be considered necessary even?

But what Dawn of Sorrow does differently than any other Castlevania game is that it takes place only one year after its prequel chronologically, uses the same hero (Soma), and has the same Metroidvania format, albeit with a new version of the castle.

But I think what's really telling is how the status quo doesn't change whatsoever by the time you roll credits on DoS, and it basically plays the same way as Aria of Sorrow with only minor additions. In the Igavania era where more focus on plot and characters became the norm, and the devs were constantly trying new things with the gameplay, DoS didn't introduce anything new or move the dial on the narrative in any meaningful way. Soma is the only Dark Lord candidate again, nobody died who wasn't exclusive to DoS, the gameplay is nearly identical to the previous game, see you next adventure.

When you compare to something like Simon's Quest, where you're playing as Simon Belmont again and very soon after the events of Castlevania 1, you're at least playing in a different non-level based format compared to the original (for better or worse). And in the likes of Curse of Darkness or Order of Ecclesia, while the status quo doesn't change by the end of either game, we at least get to play as new characters with new abilities, in different formats (in 3D in CoD's case), and get introduced to new concepts (Devil Forgemasters in CoD and a post-Belmont world in OoE) which expanded the lore of the series.

But DoS just doesn't really add anything to the series, except a version of Aria of Sorrow without the novelty of a new time period, new magic system, or shocking Dracula revelation. And I wouldn't even really care about that considering that I love the more modest storytelling of the Classicvania games, except that the Igavania games want me to care about the storytelling now.

And I just don't care about Dawn of Sorrow.

It seems like it would sort of work in a monster spam deck, or for monsters that want to be destroyed like Unchained, but as a Trap it seems too slow and the draw power you get just being okay.

Aside from the copy won in the Vrains wave and bought at the EX Trader, I haven't gotten a single Serpent from the lottery this entire time. Usually I get at least 3 copies of the main event UR (typically much more), so to not pull a single one after completing every wave is insane to me.

Belmont's Curse taking a more streamlined approach to item upgrades and collectibles feels like the right approach to me, especially since the devs seem like they are actually looking past the Metroidvania games to the Classic titles to rebalance the experience. Having fewer weapons that can evolve will make acquiring them more rewarding instead of having a pile of junk you'll never use.

It's a difference of Dark Soul's mountain of weapons vs Bloodborne's Trick Weapons, ie quantity vs quality. Like, yes you have your choice of dozens upon dozens of swords that have mostly the same animations and varying attack numbers, or you can have a handful of distinct weapons that have unique movesets and play styles.

Necroworld Banshee just became a 3-of in every Zombie deck I guess...

I've felt this way for a long time now, but whenever I'm asked or see being asked about which game to start a new player's Castlevania experience with, it's always felt wrong to go with the prevailing sentiment of "just play Symphony of the Night, it's the best one."

As someone who didn't experience SotN on release, and played a number of Classic and Metroidvania game in the series that came out before and after it, I don't approach SotN with the same vitriol as the next person. In fact when I finally did get around to playing SotN I was sufficiently...whelmed. Not underwhelmed, not over the moon about it, I thought it was just a solid game while l acknowledging how important it is for the series and the genre as a whole.

But I think my biggest issue with recommending it as somebody's first game is how Symphony of the Night frames the rest of series when it is used as a starting point.

Entering the series with the events of SotN sets up the story of the series in a way that shifts the focus away from the Belmonts and towards Alucard. If you've never been exposed to Castlevania before, from a new player's perspective Alucard is the badass protagonist who has to explore Dracula's Castle, while looking for some guy named Belmont, who you learn screwed up and got mind controlled by the real antagonist.

That's a large part of my personal issue with starting with SotN, how it puts Alucard, the Metroidvania format, and the game itself on a pedestal while reducing the Belmonts to secondary characters in their own franchise. This is especially true if a player were to continue onto the other games that fans push the most like Aria of Sorrow and the DS titles (which I love, don't get me wrong), or ignore the Classic games entirely.

So instead, I typically recommend something like the Requiem Collection where they can at least try Rondo of Blood, or Super Castlevania IV, before moving on to Symphony of the Night. Basically anything where you're controlling a Belmont.

I don't think there's necessarily a wrong way to engage with Castlevania, but to me it just feels right to begin, in some way, with the heroes who started it all.

​

Based on the green energy that Death and Isaac share in the game, it seems like Death is directly responsible for rezing him, which begs the question:

Unless I'm misremembering something, is this the first time in the franchise's history that Death has explicitly done this?

Like it's basically accepted that Dracula's Castle draws in and/or generates demons, monsters, and sometimes previous big names like Frankenstein's Monster and Medusa, but in don't think we've ever seen Death go out of his way to bring someone back from the dead.

Now they're just fucking with us.

My awful two minute pixel filter job notwithstanding, I'm honestly starting to think that this is the case.

Between this sub and the comment sections of each new Belmont's Curse video short, I see a significant amount of people saying "This doesn't look AT ALL like Castlevania!" and I'm just sitting here like, "Uh it...does though? 🤷 "

Like I see a Belmont running and sliding, whipping, grapple swinging (which we haven't seen since Bloodlines), dodging falling chandeliers, throwing crosses and casting spells, platforming around spiked pits, fighting Medusa and Death. All hallmarks of this series at various points in time.

So I'm confused about what people are expecting to see that they haven't so far, or if they're just talking out of their asses because they just don't like the art style. Like what *doesn't* look right here? Is it the movement, the level design, the enemy behavior?

Help me out here, guys.

Honestly the vast majority of the time I only care about weapon attack power, strength, and defense. Maybe INT if I'm focusing on using magic attacks in Order of Ecclesia. I never do anything with my luck stat unless I'm grinding for something in particular, and CON I ignore entirely.

For the most part the most relevant things 90% of the time are "What does my weapon do and how much damage it does."

In light of ongoing events, I'm reflecting on how I've managed to enjoy Gachiakuta and other series amid the growing risk of becoming overly involved in other people's drama.

I don't read manga often or watch many anime that are incomplete and ongoing, so Gachiakuta is a pretty novel experience for me. That being said, I long ago came to understand that becoming part of a fandom was a recipe for disaster. Feeling like you constantly have to have an opinion, maintain a reputation, and be ready to flame anyone you don't agree with, seemed like making a hobby into a part time job with no benefits.

I can't express how relaxing it is to read a new chapter or watch a new episode, peruse the subreddit for a minute or two to see new fan art or someone's bullshit hot take, maybe leave a single comment, and for that to be it. That's my whole interaction with Gachiakuta or any other series that day.

And I fucking LOVE this series. I have every paperback volume in English available. I have merch and fan art. I'm sharing the manga and anime with anyone who might be interested, and I chat with my friends (some of them actual flesh and blood friends) about the story. I'm a fan, certainly.

So if you find yourself utterly fucking tired of this shit, purify yourselves in the crystal clear waters of disengagement. You don't have to play someone else's game over something you care about. And you'll probably have a much better experience.

Waiting patiently. Hydrated. Thriving.

Side note: I've introduced the Gachiakuta anime to my friend group and they're enjoying it a lot. Some are even planning to check out the manga. It's a nice feeling.

So...the Pointed Cap Witches are the bad guys, right?

I'm only two episodes in to the anime (haven't read the manga yet but may if I end up enjoying the anime), and from the jump I already firmly distrust the ruling body of this world.

Like, you can't give me an administrative body that keeps THE SECRET of the power system of the story, and make them inaccessible to the common people and only approachable by the most indoctrinated devoted initiates, and have me not think they're keeping themselves in power or are at least corrupt in some way.

And to be be clear I don't mind this, I just don't feel like waiting dozens of episodes or hundreds of chapters for the ball to drop if I'm right.

So, manga readers, feel free to spoil me.