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TalkBack / Re: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U VC) Review Mini

« on: October 29, 2014, 02:18:49 AM »

Whoops, forgot to add spoiler tags to that last post! This forum really needs an edit button...

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TalkBack / Re: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U VC) Review Mini

« on: October 29, 2014, 02:09:08 AM »

Yeah, the castle layout can be confusing at first, but Dracula's castle is supposed to be a labyrinth after all. Here's some tips that I hope will make the game more fun for you. First, keep checking your map until you get the hang of the castle layout, and then keep checking it even after you do. Explore each and every room to find everything, you never know what that one tiny room might contain. Most of all, use the dash buttons for movement instead of the dpad, as it makes exploring the castle significantly faster, and a lot more fun.


I don't know what to say about your disdain with having to equip items to continue, as that is a mechanic Iga used throughout the series, although I suppose it is a bit more prevalent here. For example, Aria of Sorrow requires you equip certain souls to get past the waterfall, and also requires a certain set of souls to access the Chaotic Realm. In Dawn of Sorrow you had to equip Mina's Talisman to unlock the last few areas. That's just a couple examples I can think of off the top of my head. I can see how having to stop to go into a menu to equip these items can disrupt the games flow, but look on the bright side; now that you know about the controller shortcuts you don't have to go into the menus to change your spell books anymore


As for the locked doors, here are some spoilers if you want to be a dirty cheater: the rainbow doors are opened with the Lure Key, which can be located in Castle Entrance B. The skull doors are opened with the Skull Key, which can be found in the Luminous Cavern A. You'll also need to equip the Crushing Stone to be able to destroy the stone walls.


Good luck in your quest to slay Dracula, and I hope you start enjoying yourself more soon.

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TalkBack / Re: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U VC) Review Mini

« on: October 26, 2014, 01:10:58 AM »

Got to stick up for one of my favorite Castlevania's here. While I completely agree that Aria is easily the best of the GBA trilogy, and IMHO of all the Castleroids, I never understood why Circle gets so much more love than Harmony. Let me hit you with some knowledge:


First off, you DO NOT have to go into a menu to switch between spell books; try holding up, then tapping L or R to cycle through your available books. You also DO NOT have to go into a menu to switch between your spell book or weapon; try holding down while tapping L and R together. I always found these shortcuts extremely convenient, elegant, and a boon to the overall flow of the game.


Second, you say the game is overly easy? Try a naked run (i.e. don't equip any boots, armor, etc.), where even early enemies will OHKO you. Combine the spell book system shortcuts with a naked run and you will realize the beauty of Harmony: you don't HAVE to go into any menus at all (well, except to equip a select few items to progress, of course). Coupled with dedicated forward and back dash buttons, Iga created an extremely fast, nimble and exhilarating gameplay experience which can only be found in this entry.


Finally, I don't understand how you can call Harmony an "ugly" game when compared to Circle. I'll take the overly bright colors found in Harmony over the horribly bland and muted tones of Circle any day. Remember that Circle and Harmony were released on the original GBA, which did not have back-lighting. The blue "mouse trail", larger sprites and brighter colors in Harmony were implemented to make up for the hardware's deficiencies that made Circle unplayable, except under ideal lighting conditions. Also, I must disagree on the multi-segmented enemies, as they look amazing, and add some welcomed flavor and awe to the game.


In the end, I do agree that the castle in Harmony can be confusing at first, and that the music is definitely nowhere near as good as the tunes in Aria or Circle. However, its the GAMEPLAY that really matters boys and girls, in which regard Harmony shines, and should not be missed.