Official Site: http://www.konami-castlevania.com/mof/
Source: Youtube Channel NintendoWorldReport
Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate released today on the Nintendo 3DS. I have been very worried about it ever since its reveal last year at E3 as it seems to embody the original Castlevania more than the Metroidvania that handheld Castlevania games have followed. It's not to say that I don't like the retro-styled side-scrolling adventure that Castlevania started with since I grew up with them and love them. The problem is that they lack content in our current day generation where paying $40 for just a handheld game had better be worth our time. The game follows the same story arc of Lords of Shadow with the return of 2 familiar characters in the series: Trevor and Simon Belmont. It bothers me a little that the story of those two pivotal characters might be changed in a way that I may not find desirable. As many might be able to tell, I am very skeptical about this iteration in the Castlevania series which is pretty scary since I gave even the infamous Castlevania Judgment a chance. Still, it's a Castlevania and I'm willing to give it a go. I'm just not willing to dish out $40 for it at the moment, especially since I just ordered 2 games for the 3DS that still hasn't arrive just yet. I also haven't played through Lords of Shadow yet, despite having bought it a while ago. Guess I'll wait out on this. It's good to know I'll have a 3DS game to buy when I finished the others I have.
Showing posts with label Castlevania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Castlevania. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Friday, September 14, 2012
VGCulture - Playing DS games on 3DS XL
Official Site: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds
I've been playing my 3DS XL the past 3 days and have been enjoying the larger screen, better buttons, and awesome 3DS graphics. Unfortunately, the only game I have is New Super Mario Bros. 2 which cost $40 along with the 3DS XL ($199) and I completed the game within 24 hours of opening it. It was fun, and there's still some secrets I haven't found yet, but there isn't much more to do in the game other than mindlessly collect coins and play the coin rush mode to compete for a high score. So I decided to try out some of my DS games on it since it's backward compatibility. I tried Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on my 3DS XL and the first thing I noticed was how clear the audio was. I was hearing parts of songs I didn't hear before on my DS Lite. Unfortunately, playing the game kind of gave me a hand cramp because of the way the digital pad is set up and perhaps I'm not used to it. Also, the larger screen just made it more difficult to keep track of all the enemies that appear, strange enough. And many players have complained in the original 3DS that the graphics were very blurry and would rather play in the original size which I believe is still possible with the 3DS XL. Then, I tried out Phantasy Star Zero on it.
Source: Youtube Channel FernandoCitan
I liked my experience of PS0 on the 3DS XL. The bigger screen helped, and the game wasn't entire sharp graphics to begin with so a little blurriness was actually okay. What really made the experience awesome was that the analog circle pad was usable in the game. So the controls felt a bit more comfortable and familiar to playing Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 on the GameCube. Having the Start button below the screen instead of below the face buttons was a little odd playing the game, but it's so large that it wasn't too much of a problem to get used to. I think I'm going to continue playing PS0 on my 3DS XL and I'll play my other DS games on the DS Lite.
Long story short: Certain NDS games work really well with the 3DS XL while others are a disadvantage. Even though the 3DS XL can play DS in its original size, it doesn't really change the ergonomics of the controls and not all games play well with the circle pad. So the 3DS XL isn't a total replacement for my DS, but it does have its perks for certain games.
I've been playing my 3DS XL the past 3 days and have been enjoying the larger screen, better buttons, and awesome 3DS graphics. Unfortunately, the only game I have is New Super Mario Bros. 2 which cost $40 along with the 3DS XL ($199) and I completed the game within 24 hours of opening it. It was fun, and there's still some secrets I haven't found yet, but there isn't much more to do in the game other than mindlessly collect coins and play the coin rush mode to compete for a high score. So I decided to try out some of my DS games on it since it's backward compatibility. I tried Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on my 3DS XL and the first thing I noticed was how clear the audio was. I was hearing parts of songs I didn't hear before on my DS Lite. Unfortunately, playing the game kind of gave me a hand cramp because of the way the digital pad is set up and perhaps I'm not used to it. Also, the larger screen just made it more difficult to keep track of all the enemies that appear, strange enough. And many players have complained in the original 3DS that the graphics were very blurry and would rather play in the original size which I believe is still possible with the 3DS XL. Then, I tried out Phantasy Star Zero on it.
Source: Youtube Channel FernandoCitan
I liked my experience of PS0 on the 3DS XL. The bigger screen helped, and the game wasn't entire sharp graphics to begin with so a little blurriness was actually okay. What really made the experience awesome was that the analog circle pad was usable in the game. So the controls felt a bit more comfortable and familiar to playing Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 on the GameCube. Having the Start button below the screen instead of below the face buttons was a little odd playing the game, but it's so large that it wasn't too much of a problem to get used to. I think I'm going to continue playing PS0 on my 3DS XL and I'll play my other DS games on the DS Lite.
Long story short: Certain NDS games work really well with the 3DS XL while others are a disadvantage. Even though the 3DS XL can play DS in its original size, it doesn't really change the ergonomics of the controls and not all games play well with the circle pad. So the 3DS XL isn't a total replacement for my DS, but it does have its perks for certain games.
Friday, October 7, 2011
VGCulture - Music - Fight Evil with Religion!
My friend sent me this video today:
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
The game is Castlevania: Harmony of Despair originally exclusive to Xbox 360 XBLA and was recently released on PS3's PSN. It's not like the usual Castlevania with exploration and such but more like a huge boss rush mode. It allows up to 4-player co-op. I tried out the original release at E3 2010 and thought it was okay, but I'm not happy with the price. It's $15 for the base game with an extra $2-$5 for the other 10 DLCs that contain extra maps, characters, and such. The video did remind how great the past few hand-held Castlevania games were, and so I plan to replay them soon. Have a good weekend everyone.
Source: Youtube Channel machinima
The game is Castlevania: Harmony of Despair originally exclusive to Xbox 360 XBLA and was recently released on PS3's PSN. It's not like the usual Castlevania with exploration and such but more like a huge boss rush mode. It allows up to 4-player co-op. I tried out the original release at E3 2010 and thought it was okay, but I'm not happy with the price. It's $15 for the base game with an extra $2-$5 for the other 10 DLCs that contain extra maps, characters, and such. The video did remind how great the past few hand-held Castlevania games were, and so I plan to replay them soon. Have a good weekend everyone.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
GameOn - JVG Music Composers - Michiru Yamane
What an absurdly busy day I had. I literally just finished work just 12 minutes ago. Now this post is going to show up as tomorrow's post...Oh well. Today, I'm going to present one of my favorite videogame composers Michiru Yamane. She is most well known for her contributions to Konami's on-going series "Castlevania." The first time I really took notice of her name is in "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" when a friend of mines let me listen to the soundtrack. Here is one of tracks from the game:
Source: Youtube Channel shadowtheoblivious
Carving Wood Partita has the theme of an old Victorian feel to it using the harpsichord has the main melody with a backing of a full orchestra with layers of melody and harmony melding into one another. The intricate composition has the complexity and flow similar to Bach with his subtle tunes within the pieces he wrote.
Source: Youtube Channel SupraDarky
Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab is an example of Yamane's ability to create genre specific music within videogames. It has the strong beat of electro-house of an action game, but that haunting ambiance and melody keeps the Castlevania mood in mind.
Source: Youtube Channel Tabuu101
When I first heard Eneomaos Machine Tower, it blew me away. The mix between classical orchestration with a rock-ish bass and drums really melded well into the song and emphasized the adventure and conflict within the game. That dissonance in the melody of the piano, wind instruments and strings goes so well with all the harmony and melodic notes played by all of them in a round.
Source: Youtube Channel VGMChannel
Michiru Yamane's tunes are well known to Castlevania fans and highly regarded in the game industry. The melodies are memorable, the sound is unique, the compositions are complex, and just listening to them is magnificent even out of the game. The video above is actually an arranged version of Yamane's latest Castlevania work "An Empty Tome" from "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia."
I have been listening to Michiru Yamane's music for a long time and have bought every Castlevania game that has come out with one of the reasons of her music being in it. I personally love the Castlevania series not only for its long history of good music, but the unique twists that have been implemented into the action side-scroller throughout the decades. I won't get into gameplay since the post is about the music. Castlevania has been strongly defined because of Yamane's contribution. The tunes never gets boring, and there have been a lot of songs that reoccur (granted that not all of them are from Yamane) and is appreciated by those who play the games over and over again. I would really love to meet her one day along side with the original composer of Castlevania Kinuyo Yamashita. I actually got a message from Yamashita thanking me for playing her music, it was truly an honor (too bad I stayed anonymous in the message). So go out and check out Michiru Yamane's music, even those not Castlevania related:
Source: Youtube Channel groudon2006
Her music is truly listen worthy outside the game. Gotta love her music~
Source: Youtube Channel shadowtheoblivious
Carving Wood Partita has the theme of an old Victorian feel to it using the harpsichord has the main melody with a backing of a full orchestra with layers of melody and harmony melding into one another. The intricate composition has the complexity and flow similar to Bach with his subtle tunes within the pieces he wrote.
Source: Youtube Channel SupraDarky
Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab is an example of Yamane's ability to create genre specific music within videogames. It has the strong beat of electro-house of an action game, but that haunting ambiance and melody keeps the Castlevania mood in mind.
Source: Youtube Channel Tabuu101
When I first heard Eneomaos Machine Tower, it blew me away. The mix between classical orchestration with a rock-ish bass and drums really melded well into the song and emphasized the adventure and conflict within the game. That dissonance in the melody of the piano, wind instruments and strings goes so well with all the harmony and melodic notes played by all of them in a round.
Source: Youtube Channel VGMChannel
Michiru Yamane's tunes are well known to Castlevania fans and highly regarded in the game industry. The melodies are memorable, the sound is unique, the compositions are complex, and just listening to them is magnificent even out of the game. The video above is actually an arranged version of Yamane's latest Castlevania work "An Empty Tome" from "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia."
I have been listening to Michiru Yamane's music for a long time and have bought every Castlevania game that has come out with one of the reasons of her music being in it. I personally love the Castlevania series not only for its long history of good music, but the unique twists that have been implemented into the action side-scroller throughout the decades. I won't get into gameplay since the post is about the music. Castlevania has been strongly defined because of Yamane's contribution. The tunes never gets boring, and there have been a lot of songs that reoccur (granted that not all of them are from Yamane) and is appreciated by those who play the games over and over again. I would really love to meet her one day along side with the original composer of Castlevania Kinuyo Yamashita. I actually got a message from Yamashita thanking me for playing her music, it was truly an honor (too bad I stayed anonymous in the message). So go out and check out Michiru Yamane's music, even those not Castlevania related:
Source: Youtube Channel groudon2006
Her music is truly listen worthy outside the game. Gotta love her music~
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