It brings a tear to my eye knowing my Symphonic days are over, but I’m thinking my new game will fill that void nicely.
The Other Other Symphony
Happy Tuesday backloggers!! You know, it’s kinda sad that my time with the Richtervanias are over. What with me finishing up my last run in Symphony of the Night last night. I had an absolute blast going back to one of my all time favorites and it was actually the first time I ever took a true stab at completing it with Richter... and Maria I guess. Really, the Maria part is because I never had access to that mode until now! But with that I can finally knock that silly .05 off the completion list and stuff a shiny new platinum trophy in my pocket!!
Honestly, it’s been a long time since I’ve platinumed a game or even attempted to get all 1000 gamerscore. It used to be an obsession of mine, but for a while now it has been relegated to only the games that truly hooked me. Or don’t have ridiculously grindy trophies. And I think the Castlevania Requiem collection was more than worth it! Especially with it only clocking in at about 15ish hours for that coveted reward!
Before I move on to what I’m playing next though, I thought I'd just quickly go over my experience playing the Richter and Maria modes in Symphony of the Night. You see, for the longest time I kinda avoided playing these extra modes, simply due to the fact that while it’s cool to play as the “secret” characters, all the things I loved about Symphony of the Night were stripped away. Basically, when you play as Richter or Maria, it’s like playing a classic Castlevania. That means, no leveling up, no equipable items, etc. That really turned me off. However, playing it this time around, and being motivated to collect all the trophies, I took the opportunity to actually see what it was like.
Low and behold, it was quite fun! I still missed everything that came with Alucard, but the challenge of trying to figure out how to navigate the Castle minus all of his abilities, was exhilarating!! It also helped that you could clear the game with either Richter or Maria in less than an hour. Richter was the standard, lead footed brute that we’re all accustomed to in a classic Castlevania. He barely takes any damage, but can melt a boss's health in a split second. Mostly due to his overpowered Hydro Storm ability! I really liked that you had to master his flying uppercut and air dash moves to traverse some of the more treacherous portions of the map! And then there was Maria, who basically played exactly like she did in Rondo. Complete with her doves/owls/birdish-things, and all of her other animal friends (dragon included!!). The only difference this time was she did significantly less damage than Richter, which made bosses and standard enemy battles a lot tougher. Luckily, she was equipped with a double jump and moved approximately 100 times faster than Richter!!
All in all, it was really fun to finally see the other half of Symphony of the Night, but if I’m going to be perfectly honest it might be my last as well! Unless I take up speed running or something, but that's pretty doubtful!
Vambrace Yourself!
Alrighty, now that those Castlevanias are out of my system, and I successfully reverted my Twitter display name back to normal (this kinda makes me sad too), I think it’s time to move on to something new!! And since I have a bit of time before I jump into my next Metroidvania, Timespinner, I thought it would be a great time to dive into a game from the wonderfully talented group of developers, Devespresso and their latest title, Vambrace: Cold Soul!
Not too long ago, I played and reviewed Devespresso previous title, The Coma, and I was quite impressed with what I saw there. It was a fun and unique 2D survival horror game with eye popping hand drawn graphics!! And out of the kindness of their heart, Devespresso sent me over a code for Vambrace, so I could take a look at it as well. Let me tell ya folks, I was ecstatic!! Because, not only did I already have my eye on this game, but it looks like Devespresso was at it again with some stunning graphics, moody scenery and a creepy vibe that just won’t quit! Only this time around, instead of a survival horror game based in a Korean High School, we’re greeted with a dark fantasy RPG in the style of Darkest Dungeon! Though not quite as depressing and stressful.
I’ve only put in about 30 minutes or so, so I can’t say too much about it yet, but I’m very excited to see what Vambrace: Cold Soul has to offer. And you can be sure I’ll be talking more about it in the days to come!!
If you’re interested in checking it out, you can find it on Steam right now. It even has full controller support!!
Day One Hundred and Thirty Four
Well my friends, that’s going to do it for today!! Like I said earlier, it’s a bit sad that I’m done with my Castlevania stint for now, but at least I have more metroidvania goodness to look forward to in the near future with Timespinner! But I can’t really complain, because so far, I’m thinking Vambrace: Cold Soul should fill that void nicely!
Until tomorrow folks, have a great rest of your Tuesday!!
Currently Playing
Vambrace: Cold Soul (Steam)
Marenian Tavern Story: Patty and the Hungry God (Nintendo Switch)
Total Backlogged Games: 728 … Damn you Vambrace, you undid my do!
Total Completed Games: 40 …Well at least this number looks nice!
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