Back in August, I covered four Metroidvania titles from the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS eras. Imagine, if you care, that a voice pops into my head. "What's the harm in covering yet another?" it says. Suddenly, a second voice blurts out "You know damn well there's a lot of harm in covering Castlevania: Circle of the Moon." After a brief period of silence, a third voice chimes in, "What about the Definitive Edition?".
"Oh yeah! The Definitive Edition!" some seventeen or so other voices said in unison. Released back in May of this year, this romhack makes several changes to the whip-slinging adventure. Let me just say right now that it's exactly what the game needed. First and foremost, all DSS card drops are guaranteed. Normally, the drop-rates are about 1%. I can understand making rare pieces of equipment hard to come by, but for something as integral to the game as its main mechanic is absurdly ridiculously insane. That's all in the past now, which is unfortunate for me because now I don't have a gripe that I can stretch out for a hundred paragraphs. Hm... Seems that I've backed myself into a corner. Never fear, because yours truly will find something else to complain about.
For now, let's get back on track discussing the game itself. As the vampire hunter Nathan Graves, you'll explore Dracula's Castle, discover new powers, and inflict grievous wounds upon every fiend that bars your path. It's a quaint little adventure, though overshadowed by a handful of maniacal design decisions. I already touched on the DSS drop-rates, but you know what else is very uncommon? A decent piece of armor. Healing potions, antidotes, and curse-reversing tonics are also considered rarities. Sadly, it's impossible for our hero to barter for essentials. This might not mean much early on, but when you're 3/4ths of the way through the game and Nathan is still dressed in rags, you start to question fate. When Nathan is near-death and the only potions you have restore a paltry 20 HP, you begin to question logic. It is these questions that start to pile up in the darkest recesses of your mind. Shove them into the closet and lock it tight, for all the good it'd do you. Eventually, the time will come when you're pushed beyond limits, the closet door flies off its hinges and shatters, and you're yelling "WHY?" until the words become dust in your throat.
Metaphorically, of course.
There is just something about Castlevania: Circle of the Moon that draws the scornful remarks from my soul. It's partially due to Nathan's lackadaisical attitude towards saving his teacher or whatever. How else can I say it? The man walks without a care in the world. I'm forced to spend at least a couple of minutes watching him leisurely stroll through monster-infested halls. Finally, he acquires the dash boots. From then on, a simple double-tap is enough to solve all movement-related problems. Hah! I wish it were that easy. Double-tapping isn't just a perk, it's a necessity. It's like lifting your foot off of the ground before putting it in front of the other. After the acquisition of the dash boots, every instance of walking feels like a punishment. Nathan can't get anywhere by walking. He can't leap onto most platforms or get around minions without running. Why walk at all?
The twisted part is that Definitive Edition supports the auto-dash patch, but I chose to go without it. Now I am not quite spiteful enough to purposefully ignore a wonderful QOL feature just to fill out a review. I believe it was voice #8 that told me something to the effect of, "Double-tapping to run is a good thing. It's depth. Part of the learning curve." Apologies #8, but it just doesn't work for me. There's none of the tactile satisfaction. Double-tapping never feels good, especially because Nathan and by extension myself are guaranteed to suffer every single time I don't double-tap.
Next on the list is Dracula's Castle. The voices were unanimously disdainful here, I'm afraid. This is one entry in the series where the select button saw almost as much use as the attack button. Hmm... No... That's hyperbole. What I meant to say was that the select button saw 1/5th as much use as the attack button, which is still pretty high! Basically, the layout isn't great. A massive chunk of Drac's home is plain, short on landmarks, and lacking the bespoke details needed to keep me from checking my bearings every few seconds. Thankfully, locations outside of this centralized "hub" are really decent in layout and design. It's very cool how some areas emphasize platforming while others introduce a little bit of block-pushing.
One other detail that I appreciate is that halls that require certain powers, such as the ability to push blocks or smash them, are arranged so that they're easy to locate on the map. Once I obtained a new power, all I had to do was quickly scan the map for unexplored rooms and go from there. It's a subtle but appreciated boon since I don't have to rack my brain for every possible instance that required a wall-jump or shoulder-tackle. Also, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like the abundance of hidden rooms. A lot of time was spent using the DSS combination that creates revolving orbs of ice. Brushing up against a wall only to see (and hear) it collapse always gives me the tingles. It'd be another lie if I said that I didn't care for almost every secret being a HP, MP, or Heart upgrade.
Circle of the Moon presents a great incentive to explore through its difficulty. You'll want everything you can find, because they'll make dangerous foes a little easier to deal with. At the same time, this game is balanced enough that Nathan can rely almost exclusively on a small set of tools. Basically, there are a wealth of options to suit a vast array of playstyles. This is highlighted further in the alternative modes, all of which are unlocked from the start thanks to Definitive Edition. Admittedly, my most recent play-through wasn't especially creative. By the end, I had gotten a little too used to summoning Thunderbird to zap all of my problems away.
Honestly though, I can't think of many bosses that deserved to be destroyed with exploits as much as the third phase of the Dracula fight. Attempting to strike a flying eyeball that's surrounded by bats is torturous. This is the part that broke my "WHY?"-filled closet so many years ago. A lot of my complaints about this game are either nitpicky or because I can't attune to the vibes it's putting out. That damned finale though... oh no... Chasing that eyeball around is insipid horseshit. I can't forgive a game that punishes me because I didn't want to spend additional hours farming rare drops and/or levels. Circle of the Moon is at its best for five, six hours at the most.
My feelings on this game are chaotic. There are days I like it, days I don't, and days that I'd prefer not to think about it at all. The Definitive Edition romhack smooths out the rough edges, the kind very few people would miss. Give it a shot.
Hopefully I've said everything that was needed to be said. Part of the reason these looks are being written is because they help to silence the voices. It's a lot of work just to get something resembling decent sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment