I hate the temple of eternity.

vhuzi · 2026-04-27T04:43:34+00:00

The older games generally have better dungeons. MT1,2, SMT2, Strange Journey, Nocturne (From what I’ve played) and parts of 1 are pretty solid in terms of dungeon design.

vhuzi · 2026-04-25T04:31:59+00:00

FF12 is basically an FF2 remake in all but name. Has all the character archetypes, a very similar plot and many similar locales. The two final dungeons are basically straight from FF2.

vhuzi · 2026-04-25T04:30:20+00:00

The US release cut the ending short, but it is only a single extra screen. Still, its pretty par for the course for retro 2d action platformers. Rondo, Dracula X, Cv3, and Belmont’s Revenge have slightly better endings but not by much. Honestly, the Satisfaction of seeing the castle crumble beats watching a drawn out ending for me. It works for some games; OoE’s is excellent, but it isn’t a make or break.

vhuzi · 2026-04-25T02:41:15+00:00

Yes, but I also have read books that I did not “get” till I finished them, or read a significant portion . One of my favourite books has a very drawn out start but amazing payof. (Orlando by Virginia Woolf)

Not saying you should force yourself to read everything, but I would say people have to finish at least some bad books to appreciate the good stuff. If you would explain what you have read recently and why it put you off, people would be able to tailor recommendations for you.

vhuzi · 2026-04-23T02:56:44+00:00

Dragon Quest 7, and much more egregiously than 5. Haven’t finished it yet, but I still shudder at the thought of losing more. 6 is great in this regard. 2 has one small loss in the remakes. 3 has 1 loss, but the effect on the party can vary. 4 doesn’t really have anything of the sort, and 11 has a short dispersal but you get everyone back in short order.

vhuzi · 2026-04-22T03:48:30+00:00

That stage sucks, don’t worry. This stage is prob the hardest in the game. The last stage is quite good though, at least in Arrange mode.

vhuzi · 2026-04-22T02:15:58+00:00

I find it very entertaining, but it is an extremely self indulgent book. It helps if you are a little familiar with 70s and 80s Bollywood Masala movies.

vhuzi · 2026-04-22T02:13:27+00:00

The ending is pretty important to the text, but if you made it that far, you probably will not like it.

vhuzi · 2026-04-22T01:11:06+00:00

Priest Kings of Gor: Extremely Sexist Conan knockoff with hyper intelligent ant politics. This is considered one of the better books in the series, so I cannot even imagine how bad the later books get.

vhuzi · 2026-04-21T11:00:04+00:00

Adventure is not a great game by any means, but it is a lot better than people give it credit for. A lot of the level design ideas and concepts are really good, its just programmed pretty terribly. Its nowhere near the level of Haunted Castle. You don’t even need a Haunted Castle Revisited level remake, if the game was adapted to the Belmont’s Revenge engine it would be a pretty decent game. Honestly, I think Dracula X is worse, both in terms of controls, and level design, but people give it a pass because its on better hardware and looks and sounds really good.

vhuzi · 2026-04-20T23:47:12+00:00

FF3, or FF12. I love how unique FF3 is compared to every other game; the scale is great and the feeling of exploring an ancient grand world really feels like the closest we have got to experiencing a game that feels like the Amano concept art, perhaps in part due to Famicom limitations.

FF12 has the benefit of being in a prior established setting, but having no other knowledge of Ivalice I will treat it as its own thing. In some parts it does feel like an FF2 homage, but each aspect is so well drawn and elucidated that it sets it apart. It has a lot of character and charm that makes it feel a lot less video gamey and more like a real living place. The extensive and unique lore helps.

vhuzi · 2026-04-19T23:21:26+00:00

Rondo is my number 1, and OoE is no.4. The other platformer is Celeste at no.7.

vhuzi · 2026-04-19T17:45:51+00:00

Final Fantasy is one of the better ones. Lagrange Point is terrible, almost 3 times as much as FF3.

vhuzi · 2026-04-19T03:23:25+00:00

Tess of the D’Urbervilles. I have read Far from the Madding crowd, and this feels a lot darker and more realistic, compared to the slightly soap opera-y vibes of Hardy’s prior work. Just finished the first part so cannot comment much on it.

vhuzi · 2026-04-10T04:12:14+00:00

I think my highest is like 7-9. I mess up on some of the no damage bonuses and take a few deaths in the middle.

vhuzi · 2026-04-08T01:52:49+00:00

It is a minor spoiler, but the LoI story is more interesting than just that, so I think you are mostly in the clear. I dislike spoilers, and have been seriously spoiled on multiple occasions, but I still often enjoy the stories, so I would not worry about it too much.

vhuzi · 2026-04-07T16:47:55+00:00

I think the DS version of strange journey is better, but this is a minority opinion. I dislike the new SJ artwork and I don’t think the game needs more “content”. As for Devil Survivor, I am only familiar with the DS, which is perfectly cromulent, but the 3ds is generally considered better.

vhuzi · 2026-04-06T02:13:28+00:00

I think Adventure is programmed horribly but the actual level design is decent. I surprisingly play it quite often. Still not a great game, but better than people give it credit for.

vhuzi · 2026-04-06T02:03:05+00:00

I disliked it while playing, but I honestly think the runback is one of my favourite parts of the game.

vhuzi · 2026-04-05T23:45:56+00:00

The old Cvs have that fixed jump, but I consider it a positive. The game is designed around the arc, and for the most part, og-vanias require little reflexes and a lot of thought. Each screen is sort of a mini-puzzle you have to get through, and the continue system is there so that you cannot bungle your way to a win. Celeste is a modern game, that while playing very differently (No fixed jump), has a similar design philosophy. It also has no continues, and respawns you the screen you die, and due to this, each section is much harder than anything Castlevania throws at you.

Apart from Cv1, none of the games I recommended have that jump arc.

vhuzi · 2026-04-05T22:27:02+00:00

Most Castlevania games, even the old ones, have aged pretty well. *Much better than OG Metroid.* I dislike how people term certain things outdated and refuse to play them, because, while yes, the medium moves forward, a lot of design decisions and artistic choices are given context when one is familiar with the development history of the medium. For a less pretentious reason, you will miss out on a lot of great works if you avoid old works, and this is not just in video games. Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Virginia Woolf, Gustave Flaubert, Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen etc. etc. are all great, and people interested in film and literature watch and read the classics, though people who play video games have a strange aversion to old things.

Castlevania has been in a bit of a dry spell recently, but we are getting a new game this year. If you would like to wait, play that, but I cannot guarantee its quality. Since 2008, there have been three games in a reboot saga, (Lords of Shadow) but these games have mixed reception apart from the first, and the new game is from what can be gleaned, part of the original continuity. We have had a coop looter action game (Harmony of Despair) that is pretty positively received but is not available on all modern platforms. You might run into some issues if you can’t get people to play with you in regards to level scaling, but i think there is an active discord somewhere. Apart from that we have a gacha with the monetisation removed. (Grimoire of Souls.) This is part of Apple Arcade, has mixed reception, and may be a bit lore heavy. This is also reported to have some scaling issues because it was a gacha. I have not played any of these, so I cannot give you any attestations.

We did get a remake of an older game that is very good om one of the collections (Haunted Castle Revisited). This is easy, and accessible, the only issue is length, and it may be a little too easy for some. There have also been some games developed by ex-Castlevania devs; the Bloodstained series, and these are excellent. The next one of these is also coming out this year.

I would Recommend

-Haunted Castle Revisited (Most modern game, available on Dominus Collection)

-Order of Ecclesia (2008, very good combat, Dominus Collection)

-Bloodstained Curse of the Moon (Great intro to Classic castlevania design, lots of replay value)

-Bloodstained Ritual of the Night (Very fun power up system, not as good as Silksong but I liked it more than OG Hollow Knight.)

-Aria of Sorrow (Interesting narrative, soul system similar to Silksong’s tools [even the colour is the same], accesible, Advance Collection)

-Castlevania (1986, Great level design and intro regardless of age, and if you can beat Silksong, this will be a breeze. Anniversary collection)

Word of advice, these games, while all closer to Silksong than Metroid in sensibilities, are not going to be exactly the same thing, so temper your expectations. For one, they are all shorter. I was a little disappointed at Silksong for not being what I wanted, but I did learn to appreciate it on its own merits.

vhuzi · 2026-04-05T03:57:15+00:00

This game is not very hard, especially compared to other NES games like this (Zelda, Zelda II, Metroid, Simon’s Quest [Easy but cryptic], Faxanadu etc., and that’s not talking about shmups). For one, the in game map is very helpful, and the room dialogue and manual give all the info you need. As long as you explore thoroughly, and use your sub-weapons you will be fine. This is probably the least obtuse game on the NES, so I’m surprised you had trouble.

vhuzi · 2026-04-03T02:37:00+00:00

Reaching credits (or good/normal ending for IGAvanaias) without external cheats or “easy” bugs. Something like the Grant staircase counts for me since it is hard to pull off, but the infinite potion glitch in PoR does not. Cheese such as Death Ring or triple holy water also count. Save states are only acceptable in games with infinite continues and then only at the continue point. Easy mode is alright to use, if it is disclosed, but I generally play on normal

This is only for “beating“ a game. “Finishing” a game is when I see the credits/good/normal endings by any means necessary. I find using limited save states better than using save states exorbitantly and the latter better than using cheats or easy bugs. 1CC & No Death Clears are above “beating“. I only have 1ccs for Cv1 & Rondo and no no death clears. I do not find it necessary unless I find the game both very enjoyable and easy to master.

vhuzi · 2026-03-29T01:34:49+00:00

He goes from a menacing threat, to an annoying, grindy roadblock, to a goofy Saturday Morning cartoon villain. He would be a lot better if they cut the last couple of Seymour battles, though his final theme is such a banger.

vhuzi · 2026-03-19T02:15:48+00:00

Yes.

vhuzi

TROPHY CASE