Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

[Dr. Boogie]

I'd have made this thread days ago, but I was too busy playing the game.


It is frigging great. Nearly everything that was wrong about Lament of Innocence has been fixed or at least retooled.

Combat is way better than in LoI. Probably because you have more than just the whip at your disposal. There are five main categories of weapons (swords, axes, spears, unarmed, and special) and there are several different types of weapons in each category. Each type, like rapiers, broadswords, two-handed axes, etc. has different attack patterns, although they all sort of mimic the Dynasty Warriors system, meaning you can button mash one button, or use the second one to end the combo with a fancy maneuver.

The game has a weapon-crafting system like in Dawn of Sorrow, only with actual materials instead of souls. Although you do get the materials from monsters, so I guess it really is the same when you think about it. Once you get a new material, the list is updated, and you can bang out a new mystery item, whether it be a powerful new spear or an attractive cowboy hat.

You can also steal in this game. You lock onto the enemy, and at a certain point (which varies from one enemy to the next) you can grab whatever item they have, from gold to some of the rarer materials.

The Innocent Devils are pretty nifty, too. They level up and gain new abilities, and you can make them evolve into better creatures by gathering up a number of crystals, the type of which is determined by what weapon you use to kill the enemy.

As far as negatives go, though, I suppose the lock-on camera can be frustrating. As opposed to the fixed camera in LoI, the camera in CoD follows Hector, and you can lock onto single enemies for easier combat, or because you want to steal from them. The problem is that if you're in a narrow room, the camera can get hung up on the walls. Plus, if you're close, the camera may not shift to show the locked-on enemy until they completely leave your field of vision, and so you may wind up trying to beat up some monster who's half-on and half-off the screen, only to move a couple steps back and have the camera swing around to an even more awkward position.

Also, there's the voice acting. It's pretty uneven, with some good and some horrendous, but the good news of that it that the game is dual audio, so you can switch to the Japanese overacting once you get tired of the English overacting.

I frigging love this game. Back when Lament of Innocence came out, I was still skeptical as to whether or not the series could really make a good transition to 3D, but now, I'm positive that it can.



Finally, here's a few brief reasons to check this game out in case you didn't want to read the long-ass text above, in no particular order:

1. Trevor Belmont
2. Mysterious, Chojin-like villain
3. Break-dancing
4. Unarmed combat
5. Electric guitar
6. Secret chairs
7. Legion :o

[Supafly345]

Secret Chairs... for secret sitting?

[Dr. Boogie]

And secret chair explanations.

[the_dudefather]

hmm, diddnt like the other ps2 one (not fond of any of the 3d castleanias) bt i might give this a go, if its a patch on SOTN or DOS it should be good tho :)

[Emu]

2. Mysterious, Chojin-like villain


I demand pictures of this villain >:

[Dr. Boogie]

There are a lot of great pics I wish I could get. Rog said he uses some device to grab screenshots off his DVD players for his movie reviews, but I don't know if that would work with a PS2 or not.

Edit: but here's a link to a picture of Isaac. I'd have posted the pic, but it would mess up the page alignment:

http://www.classicgaming.com/castlevania/e3/badguy-render.jpg

[Emu]

Looks like somebody's got a halloween costume for next year. :lol

[Dr. Boogie]

The concept art made it look like his pants were about to fall off.

http://www.classicgaming.com/castlevania/Images/Scans/CoD/isaac.jpg

Edit: turned it into a link to fix alignment.

[ziggytrix]

So, SoI was a renter, no doubt about it. Any opinions from those who've played - is this one a buyer or another renter?

[Dr. Boogie]

Well I say buy it. It has a lot more going for it than LoS, what with the different weapons and more varied combat/great emphasis on exploration and all.

[Ninjavenom]

He's like a male version of Poison Ivy. I totally loved LoI, so this has gotta be good if you didn't like LoI and say this is a major improvement. Legion is my all-time favorite CV boss, too, so i can't wait to deal with him :O

[Dr. Boogie]

Yeah, I was hoping you'd see this thread.

The Legion fight is very cool. And with a good lead-in, too.


Also, I think you might get to play as Trevor once you beat the game. Maybe. I hope so, though, because you fight him a couple times in the game, and he makes Leon look like a slouch with that whip.

[Ninjavenom]

How's the difficulty level, anyway? Do you get to unlock a super hard mode? God i hope so :O

I hope there's a good hidden boss, too, because The Forgotten One was pretty memorable, and hell of tough with Joachim. I would kill to play as Trevor, too.

[Marc Summers]

The concept art made it look like his pants were about to fall off.

http://www.classicgaming.com/castlevania/Images/Scans/CoD/isaac.jpg

Edit: turned it into a link to fix alignment.

It looks like there won't be much left of whoever he's going to rape :x

[Dr. Boogie]

Difficulty isn't too great for a while, particularly because the first ID you get can heal you (with adequate hearts). The battle with Legion was rough, and there is one small area in particular that I have not yet been able to go through without dying.

Difficulty increases a little when you're trying to steal from every enemy, particularly the bosses.

[Ninjavenom]

the stealing does sound super-neat :O

Have you gotten a hold of Dawn of Sorrow yet? i haven't been able to find the rom for it o .o

[the_dudefather]

Have you gotten a hold of Dawn of Sorrow yet? i haven't been able to find the rom for it o .o

buy it you FOOL! buy it NOW! (not that im anti-piracy or anything, its just worth buying)

[Dr. Boogie]

I got the game itself, yeah. It's a good'un too, despite the crappy character designs. Plus, they put in something extra with the "play as Julius" mode.

[Emu]

Holy shit, you can steal? That's the only reason I played FFTA more than once. :eek

[whoreable]

stealing is nothing more than a pain in the ass for me. the game seems very short, i think i am almost at the end after about 10 hours of play. granted there are alot of secrets, but i just dont care. I might lvl up my 2nd generation ids before i fight the end guys.

[Dr. Boogie]

Well there you go. It's a game really directed towards winning over Castlevania fans. The kind of people who like to scour the landscape looking for little secrets, maybe not to complete the map, but just to find a neat little item. The kind of people who aren't put off when they perform a weapon combination and the result is a frying pan or a squeaky hammer.

My big problem with the stealing is that often, you just wind up stealing a small amount of gold, and the shop where you spend said gold is essentially worthless, as it doesn't carry anything but the basic items. It'd be nice if it sold materials or something, but that's not the case. She'll buy materials from you, but selling them? Nope.

[whoreable]

totally. and I can seem to find any new matrerials without waiting for 5 mintues to get an enemy in a steal position. that sucks because I want something other than the damn war hammer

[Dr. Boogie]

I think what they were trying to do is make difficult to steal from enemies only give gold so that you wouldn't have to worry about getting a super rare material from them repeatedly. It's a nice thought, but you really should be better rewarded for the effort.

I've also stolen some interesting stuff from bosses (pizza and sushi for example, but also materials), but I haven't found any weapons to make with them, with one exception. Then again, I haven't explored all the map/stolen from everyone. The map part I'm working on, but I think I'll wait for an FAQ before I spend too much time stealing.

[Rosenstern]

Sorry for bumping this thread back up, but I must have missed it somehow before. Anyway, how's the music?

[Dr. Boogie]

I like it a lot. I actually preordered it to get the music sampler. It will definitely appeal to fans of past Castlevania music.

[Ninjavenom]

Awesome. I thought LOI had excellent muzak. Looks like i'ma get this for crimmus :O

[Dr. Boogie]

For anyone interested, the CD sampler has been uploaded to various bit torrent sites out there. I'd like to get my hands on the full soundtrack, but I haven't been able to find one for LoI, let alone CoD.

[Ninjavenom]

http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/117

That's the full LOI on the site Schimid posted.

[Dr. Boogie]

Cool beans. Now all I need is the full CoD soundtrack and Sam's Theme from Evil Dead Regeneration and I'll be set.

[Ninjavenom]

Bumped just to say that Boogie was 100% correct, i am also in love with this game. The devils are a ton of fun to level up, they're one of my favorite things so far. I found a room in the Aqueduct that is totally perfect for quick crystal gain, so it will only take me maybe 20 minutes to go from a level 0 first-gen familiar to closer to a level 20-25 final generation one. So far my favorites are the Samurai warrior-type and the big, fat bunny warrior-type.

[Dr. Boogie]

You've got to get the Corpsey warrior type devil. He is the ultimate.

As I recall, he's the one right next to Ransetz (sp?) on the development chart.

[Ninjavenom]

He was actually the first full-gen i receieved, and i nearly crapped my pants at how he goes from an obnoxious knight to a godly demon-man. The samurai is still the most powerful as far as mine go, though. If i hit a Chain with him, whatever we're hitting on drops like a sack of hammers, but i noticed that both he and Corpsey are a lot less cooperative than Iyeti is. If i start wailing on someone, he runs right over and starts to whomp 'em. I guess it doesn't help that the samurai nigga is usually done with someone by the time i reach them. I just got the demon type, too, so i can't wait to level him up. Do you know if there are any hidden familiar types?

edit: also, just out of curiosity, did you manage to steal from the ringmaster guy? I couldn't figure out how >:o

[Dr. Boogie]

Ringmaster? You mean St. Germaine? For him, you have to use the mage's Time Stop right after he casts his own Time Stop, and then you can steal from him.

And no, there are only the familiars listed on the charts, although some are needed to perform really specific tasks in the game.

[Ninjavenom]

Well, fudge, i thought he was immune to time stop after i tried it on him once.

[Marc Summers]

I really enjoy the Needle Magic circle on my devil-type, and Demonic Disaster on my Embryo Rod Mage...almost like picking up a Rosario :o

I think the only "hidden" familiar is the pumpkin type :/

[Ninjavenom]

The same little fellow from the last game?

[ItalianStereotype]

yet another 3D Castlevania that has let me down :<

[darkvare]

i beat the game. i am a freak of getting everything to a 100% but there is a place i cant reach and i got the question how do you kill the blood squeletons in the mountains to get past the door.i got almost every id to the higher evolution even the devil tipe

[ItalianStereotype]

according to GameFAQs you need the Mage I.D. with Purify.

[Ninjavenom]

May i ask what you found so diasappointing about this one, sir?

[ItalianStereotype]

the fact that it has pretty much all of the same flaws as LoI kinda turned me off.

none of the environments are unique at all, though I must say that I greatly enjoy Garibaldi Temple! the enemies lack the flair that I expect from this series as well.

as always, I LOVE the music, though I liked LoI's better.

[Dr. Boogie]

I thought there were some unique backgrounds, like the Mortvia Aquaducts, and there was definitely a lot less of LoI's using the same set pieces over and over again for each level (with the exception of Dracula's Castle).

As for enemies, I admit there were quite a few enemies that were basically just pallette swaps. Of course, to be fair, I can only assume that it takes a lot more to create a lot of unique 3D enemies than it does to make a lot of unique 2D enemies.

And yes, stellar music as always.

[Ninjavenom]

I know it's not a whole zone, but i really liked the room where you fight Trevor for the second time. I thought it really fit the mood of what the castle would be like, and it looked great.

The only real complaints i have are that there is no control to cycle through targets, and that i would like to see the return of some of the classic bosses, like Akmodan.