I do not believe I have encountered any Red Minotaurs yet. I've fought a bunch of regular ones, but not any red ones.
It's funny, I swear I've played this game before. But I have no memory of it. It's like I'm playing it for the very first time.
Lucky for me I guess. Like a long lost classic. A hidden gem that I just discovered. But I'm pretty sure I even own the original GBA cartridge for it somewhere.
Isn't that Claimh Solais? That weapon was pretty absurd. I mean nowhere near Crissegrim but what is.
I think the thing being mentioned is the Red Minotaur Soul. It makes a giant axe appear, bend back behind Soma, and then whirl around hitting everything around him.
That's in Aria, though Dawn has the Great Axe Armor soul that replicates it, though that version doesn't quite fill the whole screen, which is a good thing when
Dracula-Soma uses it on you in Dawn's Julius Mode.
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
So, two things:
1. I just saw the trailer for this game called Infernax and (as a Destructoid article I read also mentioned) this game looks inspired partially by Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is interesting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RDRJG79e5w
2. The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania made by WayForward based on that Tom Cruise movie that came out a few years ago. It's better than it has any right to be. It falls more on the Metroid side of things, but has a very Castlevania atmosphere, nice pixel graphics, and a nice synthwave soundtrack The game rarely goes on sale, and when it does, it tends to happen around this time of year....like right now. It can be bought on Humble's store for 50% off. And if you're a Humble Choice subscriber, you can get it for a little cheaper than that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rh4RcGXo8
I'm about 3 hours in and enjoying my time with it so far.
2. The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania made by WayForward based on that Tom Cruise movie that came out a few years ago. It's better than it has any right to be. It falls more on the Metroid side of things, but has a very Castlevania atmosphere, nice pixel graphics, and a nice synthwave soundtrack The game rarely goes on sale, and when it does, it tends to happen around this time of year....like right now. It can be bought on Humble's store for 50% off. And if you're a Humble Choice subscriber, you can get it for a little cheaper than that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rh4RcGXo8
I'm about 3 hours in and enjoying my time with it so far.
Oh, right, I didn't even mention The Mummy Demastered's little twist: if you die, your agent becomes a zombie equipped with all the health & weapon upgrades you acquired. You start back at your last save point as a new agent and have to take down the zombified agent to get all that stuff back.
Infernax looks pretty neat, except for all the violence and gore. If it had less of that, I think the gameplay/mechanics would be right in my wheelhouse. Oh well.
Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
One thing The Mummy Demastered is not is long! I finished the game last night with a total gameplay time of 4 hours. I didn't find all the collectibles, but I probably won't either.
Anyway, fun game, glad I waited for a sale.
Also, in case you were wondering how influenced by Castlevania the devs were, I present to you this screenshot:
1. I just saw the trailer for this game called Infernax and (as a Destructoid article I read also mentioned) this game looks inspired partially by Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is interesting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RDRJG79e5w
2. The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania made by WayForward based on that Tom Cruise movie that came out a few years ago. It's better than it has any right to be. It falls more on the Metroid side of things, but has a very Castlevania atmosphere, nice pixel graphics, and a nice synthwave soundtrack The game rarely goes on sale, and when it does, it tends to happen around this time of year....like right now. It can be bought on Humble's store for 50% off. And if you're a Humble Choice subscriber, you can get it for a little cheaper than that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0rh4RcGXo8
I'm about 3 hours in and enjoying my time with it so far.
I had to put my playthrough of Aria of Sorrow on hold, due to the release of Dread.
But before I put Aria on hold, I think I might have strayed a bit too far. I ended up in the clock tower section of the castle, and the difficulty scaled up tremendously in there. I feel a bit underleveled and unprepared for it. Is that a natural bump in difficulty at that point? Or should I have been more explorative elsewhere?
Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
edited October 2021
From Bloodstained kickstarter:
Hello, Army of the Night!
We mentioned in our last announcement that we are tackling some technical issues that have slowed down our production timetable. We regret the long delay between updates and continue to ask for your patience as we make progress.
Due to these issues, we do not have a release timeframe for you yet, but we would like to share some information on what we have in the works.
Our next update will introduce a new playable character to the game. This is a change from our previously released roadmap.
We can confirm that this new character is NOT from the world of Bloodstained. We have been working closely with a well-known partner to bring their character (and a friend) into the game.
As with previous characters, you will be able to explore the entire map, though certain abilities will need to be acquired before some areas and bosses can be accessed. Along the way you will be able to increase the rank and class of the character’s special ability to grow in power.
We are excited to bring this update to you and will have a full announcement when it is closer to launch.
As previously mentioned, after the playable character is live, we expect the next update to include Chaos Mode with co-op and Vs Mode with multiplayer.
Once again, that you for your understanding and thank you for being fans of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night!
The Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Team
I hope the character isn't lame. Someone pointed out they have Miriam joining some game from the worms developer so it would be fairly disappointing if it's just some character from their game.
Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero was the first one I didn't finish because it's fetch quests had Monkey Island levels of "fuck you, this solution is funny and clever" moments.
I’ve never actually heard of the Shantae games until just yesterday when I was watching a YouTube video about 10 best metroidvania games that aren’t in the Metroid or Castlevania series.
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
Shantae kicks ass.
+3
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
We mentioned in our last announcement that we are tackling some technical issues that have slowed down our production timetable. We regret the long delay between updates and continue to ask for your patience as we make progress.
Due to these issues, we do not have a release timeframe for you yet, but we would like to share some information on what we have in the works.
Our next update will introduce a new playable character to the game. This is a change from our previously released roadmap.
We can confirm that this new character is NOT from the world of Bloodstained. We have been working closely with a well-known partner to bring their character (and a friend) into the game.
As with previous characters, you will be able to explore the entire map, though certain abilities will need to be acquired before some areas and bosses can be accessed. Along the way you will be able to increase the rank and class of the character’s special ability to grow in power.
We are excited to bring this update to you and will have a full announcement when it is closer to launch.
As previously mentioned, after the playable character is live, we expect the next update to include Chaos Mode with co-op and Vs Mode with multiplayer.
Once again, that you for your understanding and thank you for being fans of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night!
The Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Team
I hope the character isn't lame. Someone pointed out they have Miriam joining some game from the worms developer so it would be fairly disappointing if it's just some character from their game.
A commenter at Reddit pointed out that one of the promotional videos for Bloodstained ended in a passage played on a flute that never wound up in the actual game. But it sounds almost exactly like the theme from Ubisoft's Child of Light. The character "and their friend" could be Aurora and Igniculus.
My favorite musical instrument is the air-raid siren.
+5
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
Shovel Knight and Shield Knight!
(I just want more Shovel Knight. Where is Dig? Or Silksong?)
Shovel Knight: Silksong? I'd play that.
Re: Shantae cleverness.
I still think that Half-Genie Hero has one of the best dumb jokes I've seen a video game make.
Every time you get an item, the game goes "You got [item]!". There's one quest in which Shantae catches a cold. The game then triumphantly declares "You got sick!"
I found three Shantae games on Steam and PSN. The same three are on both. Which seems to be Shantae 3, 4, and 5.
Are Shantae 1 and 2 available anywhere on a modern platform? I also checked gog.com and didn't find them there either.
They are on most platforms. I know they just released Shantae 1 for Switch for example. 2 *should* be on PSN (not sure about 1?). Although 1 is GBC and a little jank compared to everything that came after (but still fun). IMO Pirate's Curse (3) is the best one. It feels *very* Metroidvania, moreso than usual.
(it should also be noticed that Shantae 2: Risky's Revenge was a DSi-Ware game and thus much shorter than pretty much any of the others. It's really good though still)
I found three Shantae games on Steam and PSN. The same three are on both. Which seems to be Shantae 3, 4, and 5.
Are Shantae 1 and 2 available anywhere on a modern platform? I also checked gog.com and didn't find them there either.
They are on most platforms. I know they just released Shantae 1 for Switch for example. 2 *should* be on PSN (not sure about 1?). Although 1 is GBC and a little jank compared to everything that came after (but still fun). IMO Pirate's Curse (3) is the best one. It feels *very* Metroidvania, moreso than usual.
(it should also be noticed that Shantae 2: Risky's Revenge was a DSi-Ware game and thus much shorter than pretty much any of the others. It's really good though still)
The funny thing about Pirate's Curse is that, yeah, it's probably the best one, even with 2 games after it (though, Seven Sirens feels very Metroidvania-y, in terms of world structure, I think). But part of what makes it the best one also make it a major departure in terms of gameplay from the others.
In Pirate Curse's story,
Shantae doesn't have magic, having sacrificed her powers for a moral choice at the end of Risky's Revenge. So, instead of having magic transformation dances, she has to collect pieces of pirate equipment. Risky Boots's old gun, sword, hat... boots...
And each one adds a new move to Shantae's actions, without requiring her to stop and dance to transform. You get a ranged attack, a parachute glide, the equivalent of Metroid's Speed Booster... they're all fun, snappy moves that don't slow the game down to use.
And they're great fun... but due to the story reason for their inclusion, could only really be done in one game; they aren't her standard skills. Which I found to be a shame, because I liked them considerably more than Shantae's standard skills, which you get back at the end of Pirate Curse. And while I did like Half-Genie Hero, and it did improve the flow of her transformation dances, they still felt slow compared to the pirate equipment.
...which is why I was pleasently surprised when I saw what they then did in Seven Sirens.
You collect "fusion coins" based on various fauna, and they allow Shantae to instantly transform into certain animals, which act as special moves, much like the pirate equipment from Pirate's Curse. You still have some magic dances you need to stop still to perform, but they're all special super moves, or context-sensitive actions that open a path forward. All the extra moves for platforming and combat come from these instant-change coins. I like that a lot; it makes Shantae feel much more like she does in Pirate Curse.
+6
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Warlock82Never pet a burning dogRegistered Userregular
edited October 2021
Yeah that's the unfortunate aspect to Pirate's Curse, but still even despite that stuff being limited to that game, I also felt the humor and everything was super on-point too with that one (the scene with Bolo after telling him about the whole desert section might be my favorite in the series). Which kind of elevates it above the others IMO (also flat out not a huge fan of the "Mega Man like" level structure of Half-Genie Hero, it just doesn't feel right...)
At some point I really need to get back and finish Seven Sirens though, I only got maybe halfway through...
Yeah that's the unfortunate aspect to Pirate's Curse, but still even despite that stuff being limited to that game, I also felt the humor and everything was super on-point too with that one (the scene with Bolo after telling him about the whole desert section might be my favorite in the series). Which kind of elevates it above the others IMO (also flat out not a huge fan of the "Mega Man like" level structure of Half-Genie Hero, it just doesn't feel right...)
At some point I really need to get back and finish Seven Sirens though, I only got maybe halfway through...
Nothing's cuter than Shantae trying to act like a pirate. "Moist the main snail!" is one of my favorite lines.
I bought Mummy Demastered on PSN over the weekend. Got to the first boss, beat it, and a little bit past that. This is a neat game. I'm liking it a lot. Thanks for the recommendation in the thread.
+2
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
I bought Mummy Demastered on PSN over the weekend. Got to the first boss, beat it, and a little bit past that. This is a neat game. I'm liking it a lot. Thanks for the recommendation in the thread.
It's a pretty short game and there's not much in the way of replayability, but it looks nice and I figured a sale is the best time to buy it. Especially since, as a licensed property, you never know when it'll be delisted.
So been going through the Advance collection and my thoughts...
Circle of the Moon - A total chore to play, horribly unbalanced, busted on multiple levels, incredibly drab looking. And a significant amount of your character progression is locked behind RNG (even with equipment!!). I know this was their first outing on the GBA but still this has not aged well at all.
Harmony of Dissonance - A shameless rip-off of Symphony in the best way. Simple but very functional combat, infinite dashing, INTERIOR DECORATING. And just some absolutely bonkers and amazing environments and use of colors. It's an eye-searing psychodelic nightmare in a way we'll never see again but is also absolutely my shit. I'm just kicking myself for having skipped this game when it came out and just never playing it.
Posts
It's funny, I swear I've played this game before. But I have no memory of it. It's like I'm playing it for the very first time.
Lucky for me I guess. Like a long lost classic. A hidden gem that I just discovered. But I'm pretty sure I even own the original GBA cartridge for it somewhere.
That's in Aria, though Dawn has the Great Axe Armor soul that replicates it, though that version doesn't quite fill the whole screen, which is a good thing when
1. I just saw the trailer for this game called Infernax and (as a Destructoid article I read also mentioned) this game looks inspired partially by Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is interesting!
2. The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania made by WayForward based on that Tom Cruise movie that came out a few years ago. It's better than it has any right to be. It falls more on the Metroid side of things, but has a very Castlevania atmosphere, nice pixel graphics, and a nice synthwave soundtrack The game rarely goes on sale, and when it does, it tends to happen around this time of year....like right now. It can be bought on Humble's store for 50% off. And if you're a Humble Choice subscriber, you can get it for a little cheaper than that.
I'm about 3 hours in and enjoying my time with it so far.
Oh, right, I didn't even mention The Mummy Demastered's little twist: if you die, your agent becomes a zombie equipped with all the health & weapon upgrades you acquired. You start back at your last save point as a new agent and have to take down the zombified agent to get all that stuff back.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Anyway, fun game, glad I waited for a sale.
Also, in case you were wondering how influenced by Castlevania the devs were, I present to you this screenshot:
I had this exact thought and wondered why it wasn't a thing before now. At least this looks like there aren't any BS top-down levels.
Does it have flying Medusa heads?
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
It gives me a Ladybug vibe.
Shame the movie wasn't like that.
It's got crows that fly in that same figure-8 pattern.
Fixed
Do they turn you to stone?
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
Nope, there are no golden crows.
But before I put Aria on hold, I think I might have strayed a bit too far. I ended up in the clock tower section of the castle, and the difficulty scaled up tremendously in there. I feel a bit underleveled and unprepared for it. Is that a natural bump in difficulty at that point? Or should I have been more explorative elsewhere?
A friend of mine posted this on his FB page. That's some badass cosplay right there.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
Sypha, specifically from the Netflix show.
I hope the character isn't lame. Someone pointed out they have Miriam joining some game from the worms developer so it would be fairly disappointing if it's just some character from their game.
Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero was the first one I didn't finish because it's fetch quests had Monkey Island levels of "fuck you, this solution is funny and clever" moments.
The three Bloodstained games are on sale on Steam for Halloween.
Also, The Mummy Demastered is also on sale on Steam for the first time ever.
A commenter at Reddit pointed out that one of the promotional videos for Bloodstained ended in a passage played on a flute that never wound up in the actual game. But it sounds almost exactly like the theme from Ubisoft's Child of Light. The character "and their friend" could be Aurora and Igniculus.
(I just want more Shovel Knight. Where is Dig? Or Silksong?)
Re: Shantae cleverness.
I still think that Half-Genie Hero has one of the best dumb jokes I've seen a video game make.
I found three Shantae games on Steam and PSN. The same three are on both. Which seems to be Shantae 3, 4, and 5.
Are Shantae 1 and 2 available anywhere on a modern platform? I also checked gog.com and didn't find them there either.
They are on most platforms. I know they just released Shantae 1 for Switch for example. 2 *should* be on PSN (not sure about 1?). Although 1 is GBC and a little jank compared to everything that came after (but still fun). IMO Pirate's Curse (3) is the best one. It feels *very* Metroidvania, moreso than usual.
(it should also be noticed that Shantae 2: Risky's Revenge was a DSi-Ware game and thus much shorter than pretty much any of the others. It's really good though still)
Edit: I found this:
https://wayforward.com/wayforward-announces-all-five-shantae-games-for-playstation-5/
The funny thing about Pirate's Curse is that, yeah, it's probably the best one, even with 2 games after it (though, Seven Sirens feels very Metroidvania-y, in terms of world structure, I think). But part of what makes it the best one also make it a major departure in terms of gameplay from the others.
In Pirate Curse's story,
And each one adds a new move to Shantae's actions, without requiring her to stop and dance to transform. You get a ranged attack, a parachute glide, the equivalent of Metroid's Speed Booster... they're all fun, snappy moves that don't slow the game down to use.
And they're great fun... but due to the story reason for their inclusion, could only really be done in one game; they aren't her standard skills. Which I found to be a shame, because I liked them considerably more than Shantae's standard skills, which you get back at the end of Pirate Curse. And while I did like Half-Genie Hero, and it did improve the flow of her transformation dances, they still felt slow compared to the pirate equipment.
...which is why I was pleasently surprised when I saw what they then did in Seven Sirens.
At some point I really need to get back and finish Seven Sirens though, I only got maybe halfway through...
Nothing's cuter than Shantae trying to act like a pirate. "Moist the main snail!" is one of my favorite lines.
It's a pretty short game and there's not much in the way of replayability, but it looks nice and I figured a sale is the best time to buy it. Especially since, as a licensed property, you never know when it'll be delisted.
Even went out of their way to learn ice magic, that's true dedication.
Circle of the Moon - A total chore to play, horribly unbalanced, busted on multiple levels, incredibly drab looking. And a significant amount of your character progression is locked behind RNG (even with equipment!!). I know this was their first outing on the GBA but still this has not aged well at all.
Harmony of Dissonance - A shameless rip-off of Symphony in the best way. Simple but very functional combat, infinite dashing, INTERIOR DECORATING. And just some absolutely bonkers and amazing environments and use of colors. It's an eye-searing psychodelic nightmare in a way we'll never see again but is also absolutely my shit. I'm just kicking myself for having skipped this game when it came out and just never playing it.
Onward back to revisit Aria of Sorrow now!