Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Regardless of difficult moments, it seems all worked out at the end.



Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. Dawn of Sorrow continues the story of Aria of Sorrow, in which Dracula has been completely defeated, and his powers assumed by his reincarnation, Soma Cruz. With the help of his allies, Soma avoids becoming the new dark lord. A cult forms to bring forth a new dark lord by killing Soma.

The game received high scores from many video game publications, and was considered one of the best games on the Nintendo DS for 2005. The game was re-released in Japan on June 29, 2006 and later in North America during 2007 as part of the "Konami the Best" line.

Dawn of Sorrow incorporates many features from previous Castlevania games: the combination of elements from platform games and role-playing video games.

Many hardcore fans also call this type of Castlevania as Metroidvania since it is similar to another popular franchise called Metroid.


The "Tactical Soul" system featured in Aria of Sorrow has returned once again

Dawn of Sorrow introduces new gameplay elements using the touchscreen that the Nintendo DS. One example would be "Magic Seal" system, which requires the use of the DS stylus to draw a pattern in order to defeat powerful enemies, and a multiplayer mode, where two players compete for fastest times on a pre-rendered level.
Gameplay

Like previous Castlevania games, characters level up each time they earn a set number of experience points from defeating enemies. People can defeat multiple enemies to gain experience, and thus increasing their overall statistics.

Statistic examples include hit points, the amount of damage a character can receive; magic points, which determine the amount of times Soma can use magical attacks; strength, the power of a character's physical attacks; and intelligence, the power of a character's magical spells. Upon encountering an enemy, the player can use a variety of weapons to attack and defeat the enemy.

Weapons from the previous games return, including: swords, axes, spears, handguns and a rocket propelled grenades. These weapons differ in their damage output, the range of the weapon, and the speed of the attack.

Dawn of Sorrow is set in a castle, which is further subdivided into various areas. Areas of the castle differ in their composition, including monsters and terrain features. In addition, each area has its own theme music that plays while the player remains in that area. The player can go anywhere in this castle, however, the areas the character can move into are restricted based upon the items the player has, similar to most platform games. Progression, however, is not linear, as the player is free to explore the parts of the castle they have access to, and can backtrack or move forward as they see fit.


Tactical Soul

The primary method for the player to gain additional abilities in the game is the absorption of souls via the Tactical Soul system, which was originally featured in Aria of Sorrow. The soul system involves Soma defeating an enemy and obtaining that enemy’s soul with its special ability. The chance for absorbing a soul varies on the enemy, as certain enemies will release souls more regularly than others. The player can absorb multiple copies of the same soul and will increase in effectiveness depending on the number of the same soul a player possesses.
Souls provide a variety of effects, and are separated into four categories:

 Bullet: souls are often projectiles, and consume a set amount of magic points upon use.

Guardian: Guardian souls provide continuous effects, including transforming into mythical creatures, defensive abilities, and the summoning of familiars. The movement and attacking of familiars can be directly controlled with the stylus. Guardian souls continually drain magic points so long as they are activated. Several Guardian souls can be used in conjunction with Bullet souls to execute special attacks called Tactical Soul combos.

Enchant: Enchant souls offer statistical bonuses and resistance against several forms of attack. They are passive, and require no magic points to remain active.
Ability : Ability souls are souls that give Soma’s extra abilities like jumping really high, can walk underwater and so on. Most of these abilities are obtain once a boss is defeated. A player can be set on or off these abilities if the player thinks they do not need them.



 The player can only have one type of Bullet, Guardian, and Enchant soul equipped at any given time. When the player acquires the "Dopplegänger" soul, the player can have two different weapon and soul setups, and switch between them at will.

Overall:
I did not care about the Castlevania series until I saw a trailer of this game. I found it interesting due to its design and how the characters look like they come right out of an anime. Once I got the game, I grab my DS and played the game. At first, I had no idea what to expect, given the fact this is the first Castlevania game I am playing. The game introduces the combat mechanics as well as the souls system. I thought it would be easy to capture souls, until I look at Soma’s status and realize there are role playing action elements implemented in the game. Once Soma heads out to Dracula's castle that is known for always changing in deisn and levels, the castle seems linear. Granted, it was there so new players would get the hang of the game before it decides to spread the places a person can go. Once the training wheels are gone, the game expands and I was on my own. Like any other platform game, a person must explore to find a solution that will help them advance to the castle. Patience is a must for this type of game. There are some parts that may feel that the player is being cheated, but it might mean the player must gain experience to make Soma stronger. If a player decides to hold on and enjoy exploring the castle for items, weapons, and secret, then they will enjoy the game. I recommend this game for those who like to explore the unknown that also has role playing action elements.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review


Final Fantasy the 4 Heroes of Light is another game in the Final Fantasy Series. This game is a spin-off as sticking to traditional RPG elements as much as possible. Random encounters when walking in the field, equipping armor, swords, shields with various effects, and letting the player choose the character’s fighting style, like a monk or a mage with the “crown system” this game introduces.

The Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy is a role-playing video game developed by Matrix Software and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS.






Story

The story starts with the main protagonist Brandt (Player) waking up from his bed to only hear his mother telling him he must meet the king to be known as a man. Oddly enough he is only 14 years old, but hey, it is culture.

As Brandt walks around his home village of Horne, it just seems another typical day in an average boy’s life.
But atlas, this would not be a RPG if something horrible does not happen.

Once Brandt makes it to the castle, the king mentions that his daughter, Princess Aire, (who is considered rather selfish and only cares for her own desires that I called her Insular) was kidnapped by the evil witch of the north. He sent a rescue team beforehand, but they never returned. The king decides this is a perfect opportunity for Brandt to show his manliness by bringing back his daughter. Not to be rude, but Brandt looks like a peasant and he does not look like he can even afford any armor, but at least they gave you a sword. Luckily, you are not alone! Your friend (I called him Cacophony) decides to help you, only because the king commands him to go with you. Not the person I would trust in a dungeon. After the Princess is saved, you soon realize that the citizens of Horne are all stone! You quickly go to the Throne room and realize there is only one person who can help uplift the curse. This is where the adventure begins


The story is a straightforward Cliché. Four Heroes are chosen by the god (in this case, a crystal) to save the world from the evil that the world is going to face. Throughout the adventure, you will team up with other allies, solving the problems each individual areas are going through and solve it. In each town, a player can get more armor, weapon, magic, and so on. In each town, there is a adventurer who wears red and is the only way a person can save. Talk to him, and he will save your game.

Combat System

The combat system is indeed different from the original final fantasy games. The Magic Point (or MP for short) is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the characters use an AP system (Attack Points) the character can attack boost, item, and use six types of magic if they have some equip. This is where the AP system comes in. The AP is represented by yellow orbs. Each character can only stock to the maximum of 5. Each action in battle will cost AP. For example, an attack will cost one AP, a specific magic attack or healing will take 3 and so on. If a person wants to use the stronger attacks, but need more AP, then the Boost option will help the person get 2 instead of one AP per turn in exchange for not attacking.
This system prevents people from spamming certain moves over and over again like in all previous FF. this really makes players think what moves they should use and what time should they boost. This game is actually hard if the person is not careful with their AP.

Another big difference is the amount of magic one person can use. Each individual character can only use up to six types of magic. This system is a major downgrade for the fact in the other final fantasy games each mage can learn up to 30 or more spells. But nevertheless it makes the game interesting since players are now forced to figure out which magic you really need to keep and think about which magic should sit out.





Crown System

The Crown System is pretty much the class system from previous final fantasy games. In older games, each class gave the character effects that can be used in battle. These classes change the outcome of battles ahead if the person knows what they are doing. The problem with the crown system is that they feel really underpowered. One example would be the freelancer. Back then, as long as the character mastered a class, pick the freelancer and they will gain the abilities of the specific class. So a character can combine being good with medicine and can kill enemies with a single blow. In this game, freelancer has no real benefit. The only benefit it has is to keep gems the player may have collected during the adventure. This really baffles the mind if they either tried to experiment how people would react to this or they think the freelancer class was overpowered in some sense, which I can understand, but at times I wish I could make the characters master the way of alchemist to make better potions while being good with swords.
Not only that but each Crown only learns four moves, which is a mix bag since certain classes I know learn more than just six moves, but others learn less than six moves. This only hurts the ones who know what they know about the class and are sadden that a specific move or skill did not make it into the game.
You can power-up the crowns. Remember the gems I mention earlier? Use those to power-up the crowns. Some take a few while other take a ton. Expect to go fight monsters for these gems.





Impression
Leveling up in this game is a must. Unless you know the dungeon by heart and know what elemental shields to put against players, new players will mostly find themselves getting their butt handed to them. This would not be a negative since it is expected for people to level grind, but dang do they show no mercy on the beginning.

I like the idea that each character has their own personality, but all 4 of them have the characteristics of either being a hero or just playing mean. Then again, all of them are just kids round the ages of forth teen and sixteen so this understandable in a pre-teen mindset.

This game does remind me of the past since this game does not give a player any direction on where to go next. Talking to the people in villages can put the person on the right track, but most of the time it feels a person must guess where to go next. I am surprised I made it this far in the game without using a guide on where to go or how to beat a specific enemy. This game felt as if it was a trial and error type of game. Could not beat that dungeon? Look in the nearby town to find out the type of enemies you might face. Need a stronger weapon because you feel under powered? Explore and you will find items that will help you. I know it sounds “well of course” but this game tells you by its game play. This is not a game that will hold a person’s hand, you got to learn what it is to be an old-school RPG.

Despite what I said, I believe this game was a good experience. If a person has the time to level grind and actually gather information from village to village, you should be fine, if not, then expect a painful experience.

8/10

Nes Review: Advance Wars (Also known as Famicom Wars)

All modern wars start in the history classroom.
Anonymous





Year: August 12, 1988
publisher: Nintendo


Famicom Wars is a turn-based tactics military game. Produced by Nintendo, it was released on August 12, 1988 for the Family Computer in Japan. It is the first game in the Wars series. This game is never released in  the U.S. It was only released  in Japan and somehow I manage to play this game.

Players take control of one of two warring nations, Red Star and Blue Moon. Both nations seek to establish turn-based dominance over each other. After selecting which stage to start the game and setting, the Red Star army is always given the first turn. The objective in each stage is to either conquer the enemy's headquarters or destroy all remaining enemy units in one turn. During each turn, the player is given a certain amount of funds which can be used to build factories, seaports, and airports in their command, as well as cities near their headquarters. Each unit has their own specialty and abilities, with ten land units (including two foot soldier units), four air units, and two sea units. Some units use fire power against the enemy, while others provide support to allies. Only foot soldier units are capable of conquering cities, which are used to repair or refuel damaged units. There are 15 maps available at the start of the game, with two secret ending maps dependent on if the player's nation when playing against the computer.

I played the Japanese version. To avoid confusion, I got a clip from the sequel that was released in the United States. 

This game is all about tactics. The player must think carefully when moving his or her units to avoid critical mistakes. In war, there is no second chance. I play this game and pretend the character's lives are at stake. I have to carefully plot out my movements in the battlefield while making sure little or no lives are lost within the war. Playing this type of game makes me question my own personality. Should I self-sacrifice someone for the greater good? Do I risk it all and perform a Blitzkerg on my enemy? Should I just nuke them? This game will make a player think for the appropriative time to play offensively or defensively. I have the feeling that this game made me think about my actions more carefully in real life. Call the idea crazy, but I believe this game gave me photographic memory because the game requires thinking ahead, looking back at previous battles, seeing what went wrong, and avoid repeating the same mistake. What do I remember? How certain units can be cheap and the game could use some balancing.


 There are already four games for the handhled system. I will recommend this game for people who are looking for a chess game with violence and a reason to save the world (gaming wise).



Look at this picture, imagine having the power to control an army. Feels like a dream, though trying to keep them all alive in a war is a different story
8/10 for those who will enjoy the concept and nothing else.
9/10 for the people who like tactics and nothing more.

site used:
http://www.siliconera.com/ds/famicomwarsds/050630.htm

Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time (N64) review

The value of history. ..is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.
R. G. Collingwood

Publisher: Nintendo

Year: 1998

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in North America on November 23, 1998. Ocarina of Time is the fifth game in The Legend of Zelda series, and the first with 3D graphics. It was followed two years after its release by the sequel The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time is considered to be Nintendo’s best work and possibly the best game ever made.

If a person was born around 1980, then this game was well known during its time.

The player controls Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest to stop Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo tribe, from obtaining the sacred relic, the Triforce. Link travels through time, navigates from a child to an adult to seek various dungeons, awaken sages who have the power, and seal Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm. Music plays an important role in this game. To progress, the player must learn to play and perform several songs on an ocarina. The game was responsible for generating an increased interest in and rise in sales of the ocarina.

Yes, I also bought one and can play a song using this twelve hole sweet potato Ocarina.

Ocarina of Time's game play system introduced features such as a target lock system and context-sensitive buttons that have since become common elements in 3D adventure games. In Japan, it sold over 820,000 copies in 1998, becoming the tenth-best-selling game of that year. During its lifetime, Ocarina of Time sold 1.14 million copies in Japan, becoming the 134th-best-selling game of all time, and has sold over 7.6 million copies worldwide. The game won the Grand Prize in the Interactive Art division at the Japan Media Arts Festival, won six honors at the 2nd AnnualInteractive Achievement Awards, and received overwhelmingly positive acclaim.

Ocarina of Time had four major re-releases on the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles. It was ported to the GameCube as part of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest, a remake with harder dungeons that all Zelda fans wanted.

My perspective: This was my first Nintendo 64 game for the Nintendo 64 console. I did not know what the game was about and I was wondering what kind of game was Zelda. I (once again) based the game on its cover. I did not understand why the game is called Zelda if Link is the main character. I played the game for a while and found the game okay. I was six at that time and my perspective to any game was “is this better than Mario in any way?” That was my view until I got bored because nothing seemed to interest me. A few years later, I decided to pick it up again and finish the game. I was glad I went back after four years. Up to this day I still do not believe how this game had grabbed my attention since the beginning. There are many other games who try to mimic the same concept, however nothing catches the same concept as Zelda does. I like the fact there are sub-quests that a player can do if they want to obtain extra items that can help them in the quest.

This game is a must play for many players if they like exploring a vast game with many secrets to be unfold. Continue the storyline or look for sub-quests. Look for secrets or go into dungeons. There is a lot of content and I will recommend this game with no disappointment. This is how to make a game unlike nowadays where games seem to be lacking and I must get Downloadable Content to finish the game fully.

P.S. They are going to re-release this game on the Nintendo 3DS. They say that they might add content that is called “Ura”. This is real content that will be in the game and not blocked because a person must pay for it to unlock the content. 

10/10

I have to buy another console for the remake. Darn my inner childhood!


site used:
http://reviews.cnet.com/legacy-game-platforms/the-legend-of-zelda/4505-9882_7-30989269.html#reviewPage1

Snes Reivew: Castlevania IV

The history of thought, and therefore all history, is the re-enactment of past thought in the historian's own mind.
R. G. Collingwood


If you read my previous review of the first Castlevania, then this should not be a surprise. I skip the other two sequel for a reason. The reason is becuase this game had tremudous potential that I must tell the world.









This game was originally released in 1991 and later re-released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in 2006. While Super Castlevania IV features the same plot and premise of the first Castlevania on the NES, it also has eleven new stages, expanded play control, and a soundtrack featuring brand new pieces based on previous Castlevania music.

Simon Belmont, the main character, can whip in eight directions. This feature allows Simon to swing his whip around and in effect, more easily block enemy projectiles or rapidly hit enemies with minor damage. Lastly, Simon can also latch his whip onto grappling points, letting him swing over various obstacles.

In comparison to its predecessors, to a limited extent, Simon can now be controlled in the air. This opens up the possibility to dodge and move away from danger. Simon can also climb stairs in mid-jump, as well as crouch while moving forward.

Like most Castlevania games, Simon can get sub-weapons and whip power-ups. Sub-weapons are powered by hearts found in candles and slain enemies. Sub-weapons include a dagger, cross-like boomerang, axe, holy water and pocket watch. The more powerful sub-weapons, such as the watch, require more hearts to use. Since the control pad is used to aim the whip, the R button is used to attack with sub weapons, rather than pressing up and the attack button. On the other hand, whip power-ups, which increase the strength and length of the whip, are automatic, usually found in candles and are not regulated by hearts.

Like previous entries in the series, the game's bestiary shows inspiration from American horror movies, Eastern European folklore and Greek mythology. Many of the more powerful monsters are reproductions of the Universal Monsters, with Boris Karloff's depictions of Frankenstein's Monster and The Mummy serving as the bosses in two of the game's later levels. Some of the other monsters culled from classical depiction include Medusa, The Grim Reaper and a Golem.

What can you say about this game that many people already call this one a classic.
Why it this considered the best of the Castlevania series and not the others?
There are three reasons why I believe this one had tremendous success. The first is the ability to use your whip in all eight directions. Okay, maybe most of you are saying "that's the reason why it's better?" yes! If any player plays previous Castlevaina games, this is the biggest relief for any fan of the series. Another reason why this game is a classic is because the controls are almost perfect. The flow on how the main character moves feels as if I am the character. Lastly would be the music. At this point, anyone can point out I am into game music too much but you cannot blame me. Give the music department a chance and you might end liking it.

I was introduced to Castlevania on the Super Nintendo. My first Castlevania game was actually on the Nintendo DS called Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. After playing Dawn of Sorrow, I wanted to know the games roots and found that the forth game is considered the best from fans. I feel in love with the game. This is a cool and short experience that anyone will enjoy if given the chance to play this game. I somehow believe this game is underrated, but I will trade sonic the hedgehog for this game (yes it is that good). I feel I am unstoppable knowing I am going to kick butt by using a whip and be able to moonwalk when I defeat a boss.

Try beating him without using a eight directional whip!

10/10

site used:

http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/screen-cv4.htm

Nes Review: Final Fantasy I

We can be almost certain of being wrong about the future, if we are wrong about the past.
C. K. Chesterton


Year: 1987
Publisher: Square (now Square Enix)







Since Square Enix re-released Final Fantasy I on the Nintendo DS, I believe this game deserves a proper review of its own. Final Fantasy for the NES was a game many people did not expect to gain such popularity.

The story follows four youths called the Light Warriors, who each carry one of their world's four elemental orbs which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the orbs, and save their world.

The game received generally positive reviews, and it is regarded as one of the most influential and successful role-playing games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Praise focused on the game's graphics, while criticism targeted the time spent wandering in search of random battle encounters to raise the player's experience level. All versions of Final Fantasy sold a combined total of two million copies worldwide by March 2003.

Final Fantasy has four basic game modes of exploration: an over-world map, town and dungeon maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The over-world map is a scaled-down version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to direct characters to various locations. The primary means of travel across the over-world is by foot, canoe, ship, and an airship. Enemies are randomly encountered on field maps and on the over-world map when traveling in any form, with the exception of bosses a player must defeat. The player begins the game by choosing four characters to form a party, which lasts for the duration of the game. There are a total of six characters to choose from. The characters include a knight, thief, white mage (a spell caster of white magic that supports the team), a black mage (a spell caster of black magic that attacks the enemy), red mage (spell caster of both black and white magic), and a monk.

Once a player picks his or her team, the player must travel across the land, searching far and wide, for the truth of the orbs each character has.

Looks good for a NES game. It was soon ported to the Game Boy Advance in a game called Final Fantasy I and II. This had both the original and the sequel. In my option, this port is the best one.

My perspective: I never actually played the actual NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) version fully. I only finished the GBA (Gameboy Advance) version, but they are the same game with only a few changes within the game. I got this game since I found at at a store for fifth teen dollars and back around 2005, it felt like a steal. I boot up my system and then I heard the song in which all Final Fantasy play when someone starts the game, the interlude. The music already got me hooked and I got into the game, picked the default characters, gave them names (based on family members), and started off my adventures into the unknown.

Nostalgic: This game is not easy. This game requires a person to "grind", a term in which a person keeps fighting enemies in a location for experience. If a person can accept this alone, with exploration, and patience, then this game is fun. This is the only RPG I will gladly replay because it is short and straight to the point. Role Playing Games these days are the longest games a person can play based on that category.

I would recommend this game to anyone if they want a short, simple RPG that anyone can get into. If you are a RPG fan, best to look where the Role Playing Action started.

9/10


site used:
http://www.thefinalfantasy.com/reviews/

Snes Review: Street Fighter

The first law of history is to dread uttering a falsehood; the next is not to fear stating the truth; lastly, the historian's writings should be open to no suspicion of partiality or animosity.
Leo XIII

Publisher: Capcom
Year:1991




Street Fighter II is a sub-series in Capcom's Street Fighter franchise of competitive fighting games. Originally released as coin-operated arcade games, this was released in 1991 as a sequel to Capcom's 1987 fighting game Street Fighter.

Street Fighter II improved upon the many concepts introduced in the first game, including the use of command-based special moves and a six-button configuration, while offering players a selection of multiple playable characters, each with their own unique fighting style and special moves.
Street Fighter II is credited for starting the fighting game boom during the 1990s. Its success led to the production of a series of updated versions, each offering additional features and characters over previous versions, as well as several home versions. Some of the home versions of the Street Fighter II games have sold millions of copies, with the SNES port of the first Street Fighter II being Capcom's best-selling consumer game of all time as of 2008.

For the record, this player is doing what certain players do for massive points. People call the method A.I. abuse.

By watching this video, a person can see that each character has thier own fighting style that anyone can enjoy if a person takes the time to learn the moves. Anyone can play, but it takes a pro like the guy in the video to master the way of Street Fighter. This game sold well since it was new for its time and made it possible for other companies to expand into the fighting genre, like Mortal Kombat.

Nostalgic: I remember buying this game because I took a look at the picture the game had. All I saw was a green monster attacking a person that looked like he knew some karate. I bought it for that reason until I notice with one match with the computer that buying something based on what the covers look like can lead to a positive find(sometimes). As a young child around the age of five, I never finished it. The reason for not finishing the game is because there was one fighter who was fast, real fast in the game. I could not keep up and he was one of the bosses pf the game. His name is Vega. He never stood still and he can easily give anyone a difficult time in the fight. However, today I can easily beat him by knowing one simple idea, hit him in the legs.

The game is fun for having six original fighters with thier own fighting style. While the game can be cheap (projectile spammers) like Ryu and Ken, the game is worth the check.

9.5 cans of whooped butt out of 10

site used:

http://www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk/review/352/street-fighter-ii-the-world-warrior.php