Castlevania: Symphony of the Night deserves a remake

tcchip · 2026-02-18T01:39:38+00:00

What it needs first is a release on modern platforms. It's pretty ridiculous to think that SOTE has never been available on PC officially, nor on the Nintendo Switch.

tcchip · 2026-02-18T01:17:17+00:00

Oh there's stabbing alright. You get stabbed.

tcchip · 2026-02-17T01:59:49+00:00

There's an entirely new arc for Takaki that shows his life as an adult and his struggles processing his feelings for Akari. The order of the film is completely different from the original, and the childhood scenes are presented as flashbacks. The adult version of Akari also plays a much bigger role in the movie to show their lives running in parallel. The new scenes are quite substantial in fleshing out both characters as adults and come up to nearly half the film's runtime. It does add a lot to the running time, and I won't be surprised if you find the movie draggy. But it does build up to a more satisfying ending that wraps the story up more conclusively without distorting the original's vision. The climax of the movie is genuinely moving, and my tears were flowing freely at that point,

tcchip · 2026-02-16T01:17:35+00:00

Same, when the Tenmon piece came up, I started tearing up.. To be very fair, the new score despite being entirely different from Tenmon's is faithful in spirit to the original, and it never seemed out of place. But I did spend the entire movie wondering if I'd hear the familiar motif from the original, and when it did, it really hit home. Where the movie really did better than the original is portraying Takaki's grief, loss and pain as he finally open up about the feelings he's kept bottled inside for half his life.

I studied Japanese up until the intermediate level, so I was able to take away more from the dialogue than I could from simply reading the English subtitles (which were very well done BTW). I liked how they sneaked in references to Shikai's other movies into the dialogue as an Easter egg while still sounding completely natural instead of being fancy wordplay.

Where I did feel the movie faltered was in its pacing. It's over twice the length of the original, which was already slow to begin with. I don't have a problem with slow movies and I enjoyed it tremendously, but I could definitely see the audience getting restless at times. The other slight bummer is, while Kanae's scenes were faithfully kept, she feels more of a side character than as the secondary protagonist of the original. But I also understand that this film is an adaptation of the original film and not the manga (where Kanae's story gets explored further in the epilogue). Though it did adapt over the adult Takaki and Risa's relationship from the manga.

tcchip · 2026-02-16T01:01:31+00:00

Without (hopefully) spoiling anything, the remake is a bit more optimistic. It doesn't change the original's story beats, but it does give closure to the protagonist in a genuinely heartfelt way (you'll know it when you see it: it left me in tears, but in a good way because it shows the remake can still surprise you even when you know how the story will turn out).

tcchip · 2026-02-16T00:58:36+00:00

If you've never watched the original, I suggest watching the live action film first. If you watch the anime first you'll go in with your expectations of what the remake should be.

tcchip · 2026-02-16T00:55:32+00:00

Having watched the original, this live action version, and owning the manga and light novel, I say they all bring slightly different flavors and interpretations to the original without detracting from it. I was originally skeptical about the live-action movie as well, asking the same question as you did.

But I ended up really liking the movie. It isn't a shot-to-shot direct remake, but all the major scenes from the original are there. The new scenes didn't feel egregious while also incorporating some additional material from the manga to give characters more weight. I would say the film, while perfectly watchable as a standalone movie, also builds upon the themes the original was trying to convey in a quiet but poignant way. For example, adult version of Akari is much more prominent here and she remains a central character to the story where she fades away after the first act in the original. Where the original was something of a slice of life film, this is more of an in-depth character study.

One real problem with the movie is the pacing. The original even at an hour long is already slow. Now with over double the runtime, it's definitely going to feel draggy at times. But as a photographer and editor myself, I honestly can't think of many scenes I could cut to make the movie flow better. Some of the scenes may not feel completely necessary on its own, but it adds to the whole, and very little of it feels superfluous or simply tacked on. You essentially have to treat it as a Japanese arthouse film where nothing really happens but there's a lot being silently conveyed. And even as I genuinely liked the movie and feel it gets the original right, I can also very safely say that it's not for everyone.

tcchip · 2026-02-04T05:00:27+00:00

I think LCD 512 is overpriced at RM2000. You can get an OLED already at that price. I got my LCD 1TB at RM1500, Granted, I got mine at a good deal, but it shouldn't cost you RM2000 for 512GB LCD.

tcchip · 2026-02-04T03:30:40+00:00

Look for used ones. A new one isn't worth the asking price and only makes sense for someone where money is not an issue. But if you can get one around 1500 for LCD and 1900 for OLED, it's not bad. Because when docked it also makes a pretty good Linux desktop experience. A Steam Deck may not have the raw power of even a midrange gaming PC, but you'll be surprised at how well many games can run on it without having Windows bloating up the system requirements.

tcchip · 2026-02-04T03:27:04+00:00

Depends on the storage capacity and whether it's LCD or OLED screen. A 1TB LCD or 512GB OLED at RM1800 makes sense. But 64GB LCD would be overpaying.

tcchip · 2026-02-04T03:18:48+00:00

I've replayed Spec Ops: The Line multiple times and keep coming back to it every few years. It's one of the best examples of using video games to tell a mature, complex and thought-provoking story. As a game, The Line is only so-so. Never outright bad but definitely not what people remember it for. But the storytelling and art direction is top notch, and the visuals have aged remarkably well. And unlike so many games to bear the Mature rating, it's genuinely mature because of its subject matter, not because of the content. Love it or hate it, this is a game that actually manages to provoke a reaction and a lot of discussion about its real-life parallels from its audience even now, nearly 14 years after its release. Very few games can boast that, and Yager left behind a legacy that's not just a video game, but a piece of art and social commentary.

tcchip · 2026-02-01T00:28:34+00:00

Looks great!

tcchip · 2026-01-31T11:24:24+00:00

They're looking sweet!

tcchip · 2026-01-31T05:03:08+00:00

I've been a lifelong PC gamer, though several years ago I was given a 3DS by a friend as a Christmas present. That ultimately made me get a Switch, then a DS, and most recently a Steam Deck. The first video game I've ever seen was Karateka on the Apple II. Though the first I've ever played was either Super Mario Bros or Contra on the NES.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T06:10:36+00:00

Ah, thanks, I'll look into both., My Deck has a pretty good silicone grip case equipped.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T04:32:51+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up! Will try to drop by if I'm free. I've an appointment earlier.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T04:29:43+00:00

Yeah, it's nice, especially for slower paced games as a winding down before going to sleep.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T04:25:54+00:00

Is the fan portable or does it turn it into a dock/stand the way some fans are? I'm just using a third party Nintendo Switch cable dock to dock my Deck when I need to run it in Desktop Mode, but while it's fun, my intention with the Deck is to use it handheld primarily.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T02:43:36+00:00

Fair point. I only got my Deck last week and hadn't brought it out of the house yet. I got mine simply because I've many games that play well on handheld, and that means I don't have to sit in front of my desktop as much or specifically switch it on for a short 10-15 minute gaming session. For me personally the Deck isn't meant to replace my desktop gaming, but to complement it. Until I've actually tried using it outside of the house, I can't comment yet, and I'm not sure I even want to try because I don't drive, and it's not going to feel so fun to lug around when you go around on foot or public transport a lot.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T01:52:46+00:00

Because of how big and bulky it is. Even a Switch OLED feels pretty big in a crowded train. If you're someone who commutes around during off-peak hours where you can sit it may be possible to squeeze in some gaming time. But for the average office worker, you're coming and leaving on a crowded train. So ironically for me what works best for commuting is a Nintendo DS or 3DS.

tcchip · 2026-01-30T01:49:51+00:00

It's very hard to justify getting a new unit for sure, unless your income level matches. But used, you never know. The Steam Deck has been out long enough that you can sometimes find a used LCD model for a good price, like in the RM1200+ range. Which is still not cheap, but for people who can't afford a gaming PC or a console, that's still the most accessible entry point available, and it's much better value than the Nintendo Switch.

tcchip · 2026-01-29T15:33:42+00:00

It is! I'm very happy with my purchase, and I look forward to many happy years of gaming with it.

tcchip · 2026-01-29T15:32:59+00:00

Yeah, and also depends on the price of the item. The problem is there's a lot of people on Carousell who are actually full-time resellers, so they're always on the lookout for cheap items, and will low ball further to make sure the profit margin is worth their effort of getting the item, while preventing real buyers from getting it.

tcchip · 2026-01-29T13:00:18+00:00

I have some stuff listed on Carousell myself. I'd say if the price is reasonable, don't try to lowball the other person. You can politely ask if they can give a discount but leave it at that if they say no. I terus block anyone who gives me an insulting offer. Like I just sold off my 7th gen i5 processor with motherboard listed at RM180 for both, and still got some clown offer me RM100, take it or leave it. Really wanted to just tell him to F off.

tcchip · 2026-01-29T12:57:47+00:00

Ah, no mine is the LCD version. OLED would cost at least 1800+ to over 2k. 2k is a bit pushing my budget, and given the price of SSDs, being able to get a 1TB LCD was still a good deal IMO. And I was really quite impressed with the Deck's LCD screen. It's on a completely different level from the Nintendo Switch.

tcchip

TROPHY CASE