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Holy moley, Circle of the Moon looks gorgeous on the Wii U. Their emulation team is doing amazing work, especially when my memories of this game are on the criminally dim O.G. GBA screen.
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Oct 9, 2014 23:39
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Jetfire posted:Holy moley, Circle of the Moon looks gorgeous on the Wii U. Their emulation team is doing amazing work, especially when my memories of this game are on the criminally dim O.G. GBA screen. The darkness of the palette may have something to do with it's richness. But yeah, it is quite striking, isn't it?
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Oct 10, 2014 04:07
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I'm glad to hear the detail comes through, that game looked great on the DS Lite and SP. Probably going to download very soon. It's October so I did my traditional playthrough of CV, Simon's Quest, Dracula's Curse, and Super Castlevania IV.  Simon's Quest is so weird, you know if it didn't have those two mega-bullshit things with the crystals and showing the ferryman Dracula's Heart you could pretty much figure everything else out without a guide. I'm still perplexed that in Vampire Killer you get money and buy stuff with money, in Castlevania you get money bags for points, it's not like the sprites aren't there, yet in Simon's Quest there is no money, only hearts for everything. It's also weird how Simon's Quest has totally different sprites for everything, but then in Dracula's Curse they used ones from the original Castlevania again instead. A very notable example for me is the bats. In Simon's Quest there's two types of bats that fly around and both look waaaay cooler than the ones in Castlevania/Dracula's Curse. Also, as always, LOL at the game's two bosses and the "fight" with Dracula at the end. But despite all those flaws, I still love Simon's Quest.
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Oct 10, 2014 05:44
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I'd kickstarter a new Castlevania in a heartbeat, Japanese Shame Of Handouts or no. Wherever foot is being liberally applied to vampire rear end, I want to be there. Edit: Speaking of Simon's Quest, I'd like them to revisit it and make it more "complete", give it actual boss battles and more engaging differences for night/day. They could do so many cool things with a dynamic time and weather system, puzzles, etc. without resorting to straight "level up" tactics like in Metroidvanias. Konami acts like they want to forget Simon's Quest, so I'd grant them a do over. I want either beautiful 3d models on a 2d plane (see: Guilty Gear XRD), or give me hand drawn sprites that don't borrow a goddamn thing from Symphony of the Night. Special moves like Richter had in SOTN, but expand on them, and hell I'd take Item Crashes, too. I was watching AVGN the other day and one thing he touched on that I was unable to pin down was the feeling of Simon's Quest and some of the other Castlevanias (Super 4, for ex.) that are "outside of the castle". I like the idea of the shifting, magical castle where everything is different but exploring the cursed graveyards and arenas and haunted forests were great for character. Basically what I'm saying is I loving hate the Lords of Shadow games and want them to go away. I prefer the old stories, the old gameplay, and the old themes. Edit 2: You know that platformer with Rogue-like elements where when you die you play a descendant with randomized afflictions (like dyslexia, or blindness, or whatever)? That'd be great for a Castlevania spin-off. Firstborn fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Oct 10, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 05:53
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That said, Lords of Shadow did a great job with the build up to entering the castle itself. The part where you're in the village with Patrick Stewart and he's cussing out vampires as you slaughter a ton of them followed by you heading up the mountain to the castle and those first few parts of the castle itself were the high point of the game. Great atmosphere. Castlevania 64 was kind of crazy in that it attempted the full out platforming and had day/night cycles with changes to how strong vampire enemies were and what crypts were open, pretty open levels, cool atmosphere. It was so close. I like the "outside the castle" stuff a lot too. It's best in Super Castlevania IV because of the way the map changes and the map music changes to something more intense. Like the original Castlevania it has both a manor and the castle proper connected by some outdoors/ruins areas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXIp7y7BCNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S66wDsni_YI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_RcrmSozAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irCJqWErdkU Notable because each one is similar to the tone of the music in the heart of the areas you're going through. Also holy gently caress lookit this poo poo this owns: http://mudron.bigcartel.com/product/nes-castlevania-map-color So, playing Circle of the Moon again for the first time in a while, I know I talk it up a lot but I forgot how truly awesome this game really is. The controls are so tight and I like how fast the main character can move and how high you jump/large the areas feel. It also does a good job of making you feel like you're wandering off wherever.
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Oct 10, 2014 06:51
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Simon's Quest owns and I love the color palette Simon had in that game. Remake it as an iga style metroidvania please!
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Oct 10, 2014 08:05
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Simon's Quest is so many good ideas married to terrible, terrible execution.
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Oct 10, 2014 11:42
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Neo Rasa posted:That said, Lords of Shadow did a great job with the build up to entering the castle itself. The part where you're in the village with Patrick Stewart and he's cussing out vampires as you slaughter a ton of them followed by you heading up the mountain to the castle and those first few parts of the castle itself were the high point of the game. Great atmosphere. The lead-up to the castle in SCV4 is seriously one of my favourite things in video games. Aside from the map variations, they made two pieces of music for both the outside and inside areas that only play in those two screens and you don't even get to hear them for very long, it's awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1SrZvH-kOc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ver18ZHcH3k
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Oct 10, 2014 13:07
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Jetfire posted:Holy moley, Circle of the Moon looks gorgeous on the Wii U. Their emulation team is doing amazing work, especially when my memories of this game are on the criminally dim O.G. GBA screen. Yeah, Circle of the Moon is beautiful on anything except an unlit GBA screen. Harmony of Dissonance, on the other hand, looks horrendously garish unless you're playing it on an unlit GBA screen. They balanced the palette pretty well from Aria onward, though.
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Oct 10, 2014 13:16
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Looking it up I forgot how awesome the soundtrack in CotM is. It's basically a "best of" compilation of Castlevania music. Aside from the wonky GBA instrumentation and sound quality, I actually think a lot of those compositions are better than the originals too.
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Oct 10, 2014 13:26
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Anyone know if the GBA Castlevania games are likely to be coming to the EU eShop any time soon? 
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Oct 10, 2014 14:53
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Neo Rasa posted:Also holy gently caress lookit this poo poo this owns: My wallet really wishes you hadn't linked that.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:09
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Hakkesshu posted:Looking it up I forgot how awesome the soundtrack in CotM is. It's basically a "best of" compilation of Castlevania music. Aside from the wonky GBA instrumentation and sound quality, I actually think a lot of those compositions are better than the originals too. Aria and CotM had amazing aural callbacks to past games. Harmony is a step down from those games in the sound department but has its own chiptune charm; the "Sky Sanctuary" music from it is great.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:14
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Is there a reason Nintendo/Konami aren't releasing the GBA games on 3DS? I mean, I still use my GBASP far more than anyone should in TYOOL2014, but I would think it would make way more sense to have them on a portable system, like they were intended. 
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Oct 10, 2014 15:44
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The Grimace posted:Is there a reason Nintendo/Konami aren't releasing the GBA games on 3DS? I mean, I still use my GBASP far more than anyone should in TYOOL2014, but I would think it would make way more sense to have them on a portable system, like they were intended. I wonder the same thing, because I still have my GBA SP and original DS, but I'd love to play the GBA games on the eShop on something from this decade. And I don't even have a WiiU.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:50
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I don't think they've even released any sort of SNES games on the 3DS either, which is really... loving stupid. The 3DS is capable of doing far more than they actually give it, and it's frustrating. I think the only time I've heard of the 3DS getting GBA games is back when the 3DS came out and sold so terribly that they had that early adopters program, giving out GBA games as thanks. Even worse, I don't plan on getting a Wii U any time soon, but it would be fantastic to be able to transfer the games I own on Wii to my 3DS. I own Castlevanias 1-4 on my Wii. As much as I love them, it's loving criminal to ask me to pay full price for them again without any sort of 3D upgrades.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:55
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The Grimace posted:I don't think they've even released any sort of SNES games on the 3DS either, which is really... loving stupid. The 3DS is capable of doing far more than they actually give it, and it's frustrating. I think the only time I've heard of the 3DS getting GBA games is back when the 3DS came out and sold so terribly that they had that early adopters program, giving out GBA games as thanks. I can sort-of understand from a marketing point in keeping console games on consoles. Not that I agree with it, because I want Super Metroid on my 3DS, but I sort of understand it. GBA games on WiiU only though? Especially when GB/GBC games are on 3DS is asinine. I can get all the GB Zelda games, except Minish Cap, on 3DS. Why?
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Oct 10, 2014 15:59
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3DS screen resolution is actually lower than the SNES standard resolution is one reason why you don't get SNES games on there and the GBA games that are on there from the Ambassadors program are hacked together versions that barely work and use the fact that the 3DS basically contains a DS which still has some GBA compatability to run at all, the 3DS honestly isn't powerful enough to run a true GBA emulator.
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Oct 10, 2014 16:04
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Maybe once more Wii U VC games are out they plan on dumping them all onto 3DS and doing a similar upgrade for $1 thing discount thing? Or more realistically, if it's true that 3DS sales plateaued about a year ago and are declining they're probably waiting until to see how the new 3DS XL does and or whatever actual new handheld they're going to put out next. Hakkesshu posted:The lead-up to the castle in SCV4 is seriously one of my favourite things in video games. Aside from the map variations, they made two pieces of music for both the outside and inside areas that only play in those two screens and you don't even get to hear them for very long, it's awesome. I totally agree with this this part of the game really blew me away as a kid. Also the very short pathway to the castle in between those two areas is awesome because it's the music from when you first begin the game but with the ominous beginning added on. It's towards the end of the first track you posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB3dvr7OFGQ#t=1m28s This is awesome because it's such a short area but like most areas in Super CVIV it has a totally unique palette and feel to it. I love how decrepit it looks compared to the rest of the game. It's also ominous because right when you enter that path and that music starts you encounter a skeleton using a bone whip. "This could be you!" Castlevania series in general was one of the earliest action games to have a lot of personality to it and to have songs specifically written for the feel of the levels and it's great how effectively they kept that up. We talk about the crystal knight and the lake and cliff now but when it was new, one of tne of the complaints about Simon's Quest (and Dracula's Curse to a lesser extent) when it was new wasn't the puzzles but the repetition and lack of variety to its areas. Castlevania has six levels but each one looks different and has unique music, part of the reason Super Castlevania IV and Dracula X and Bloodlines are so awesome is because they follow suit (SCVIV most appropriately since it's a remake of the original), each game is huge compared to NES Castlevania but has unique music on each area, unique enemies to each area, cool backgrounds that only pop up briefly, that incredible variety is really what made the series stand out to me as a kid even if it wasn't something I "noticed" with the front part of my brain at the time. Super Castlevania IV and Dracula X especially, some of the differences are subtle, but every single enemy in the game has a different sound effect for when you kill it, and Dracula X actually has a unique animation for every enemy. While they are reused in Symphony of the Night they actually have less attacks/animation and less aural variety. I still can't believe a game as flawless as Dracula X exists on a system that's basically still the 8-bit turbo graphx but with more RAM.
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Oct 10, 2014 16:15
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I would, with great shame, buy a 3DS cart that just had the GBA Castlevanias and like nothing else on it. The Supercard DSTwo GBA emulation isn't perfect dammit 
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Oct 10, 2014 16:22
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Sakurazuka posted:3DS screen resolution is actually lower than the SNES standard resolution is one reason why you don't get SNES games on there and the GBA games that are on there from the Ambassadors program are hacked together versions that barely work and use the fact that the 3DS basically contains a DS which still has some GBA compatability to run at all, the 3DS honestly isn't powerful enough to run a true GBA emulator. I've played all of the Ambassador games and they work perfectly.
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Oct 10, 2014 16:35
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Adam Bowen posted:I've played all of the Ambassador games and they work perfectly. The screen is stretched and I'm not sure there's any way to get it 1:1, there's no sleep mode, no way to get into the home menu and it's not a thing you should be paying money for.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:01
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ChaosArgate posted:The screen is stretched and I'm not sure there's any way to get it 1:1, there's no sleep mode, no way to get into the home menu and it's not a thing you should be paying money for. You can get native resolution by holding start when you launch. Also those other functionalities are nice to have but completely loving immaterial compared to actually being able to play the games.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:17
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Hakkesshu posted:You can get native resolution by holding start when you launch. Also those other functionalities are nice to have but completely loving immaterial compared to actually being able to play the games. The fact that they're running in a completely backwards rear end compatibility mode is kind of a dealbreaker though. Those games are literally running on legacy hardware built into the 3ds and it'd quite frankly be embarassing for Nintendo to sell GBA VC in a state like that. Proper emulation takes a lot more horsepower than the 3DS can muster.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:24
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Not really, those games look and run perfectly fine?
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Oct 10, 2014 17:32
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ChaosArgate posted:The fact that they're running in a completely backwards rear end compatibility mode is kind of a dealbreaker though. Those games are literally running on legacy hardware built into the 3ds and it'd quite frankly be embarassing for Nintendo to sell GBA VC in a state like that. Proper emulation takes a lot more horsepower than the 3DS can muster. You can play GBA games on your 3DS and they work 100% perfectly, what kind of turbo sperg do you have to be to get upset about what method is being used to make that happen?
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Oct 10, 2014 17:35
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Hakkesshu posted:Not really, those games look and run perfectly fine? They don't have sleep mode or any other form of basic functionality. They are only acceptable because they are literally free. Adam Bowen posted:You can play GBA games on your 3DS and they work 100% perfectly, what kind of turbo sperg do you have to be to get upset about what method is being used to make that happen? If they released those in this format, people would bitch nonstop about being expected to pay for such a low-effort thing. They already don't like paying $5 for stuff that actually has proper functionality.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:36
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ImpAtom posted:They don't have sleep mode or any other form of basic functionality. They are only acceptable because they are literally free. They have one important form of basic functionality, which is that the actual games work perfectly and are indistinguishable from playing them on original hardware.
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Oct 10, 2014 17:37
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Adam Bowen posted:They have one important form of basic functionality, which is that the actual games work perfectly and are indistinguishable from playing them on original hardware. That is generally not considered basic acceptable functionality for modern devices. An inability to properly go into sleep mode is considered a defect in most modern mobile products. Like, I don't personally have a problem with it. The convenience of having SNES/GBA stuff on a 3DS would be worth it to me but that isn't remotely universal. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Oct 10, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 17:37
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Is this a generational thing or something? I always turn my 3DS off when I'm done with it, I never use sleep at all. Regardless, I'd rather be able to play the game than have the option to make it loving go to sleep.
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Oct 10, 2014 18:57
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I can understand why it would be a big thing when you're playing some lovely phone game that only allows you to play for 2 minutes at a time before having to wait to recharge your energy or whatever. I don't see the need so much when you're playing a game that isn't designed to be played in 30 second bursts.
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Oct 10, 2014 19:12
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Adam Bowen posted:I can understand why it would be a big thing when you're playing some lovely phone game that only allows you to play for 2 minutes at a time before having to wait to recharge your energy or whatever. I don't see the need so much when you're playing a game that isn't designed to be played in 30 second bursts. Except part of the appeal of a portable device is the ability to pick it up and play for short bursts? As someone who commutes, I play a lot on trains and buses and I'm hesitant to load up a game that prevents me from putting my device to sleep so I can conserve more of my battery to play more throughout the day.
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Oct 10, 2014 19:41
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ChaosArgate posted:Except part of the appeal of a portable device is the ability to pick it up and play for short bursts? As someone who commutes, I play a lot on trains and buses and I'm hesitant to load up a game that prevents me from putting my device to sleep so I can conserve more of my battery to play more throughout the day. Those games have save points all over the place, they were actually designed to be played for 15 minutes on a train. e: And HoD and AoS actually have built in suspend functions. Pneub fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Oct 10, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 19:58
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Yeah, If you need to talk to somebody or pee you can just flip the clamshell shut and do what you have to do and resume exactly where you left off. It's a really handy feature, and it's been part of the portable generation since...the PSP I wanna say?
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Oct 10, 2014 21:38
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Full Battle Rattle posted:Yeah, If you need to talk to somebody or pee you can just flip the clamshell shut and do what you have to do and resume exactly where you left off. It's a really handy feature, and it's been part of the portable generation since...the PSP I wanna say? You can do that with all of the GBA games on the 3DS as well. There's that message about how sleep mode doesn't work but if you close the 3DS while a GBA game is running it turns off the sound and the screen, and resumes where you were as soon as you open it. I'm guessing it's not as energy efficient as a real sleep mode would be, but the functionality is there.
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Oct 10, 2014 22:35
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Adam Bowen posted:You can do that with all of the GBA games on the 3DS as well. There's that message about how sleep mode doesn't work but if you close the 3DS while a GBA game is running it turns off the sound and the screen, and resumes where you were as soon as you open it. I'm guessing it's not as energy efficient as a real sleep mode would be, but the functionality is there. That's not sleep mode at all, that's just turning the displays off. BlazBlue for 3DS does the same thing and battery on that drains at its normal rate.
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Oct 10, 2014 22:37
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I'm listening to old Castlevania songs on youtube, and I think the Order of Ecclesia soundtrack is pretty underrated. An Empty Tome is a pretty kick-rear end theme for our heroine, and most of the area themes are pretty good. Special mentions go to A Clashing of Waves and Rhapsody of the Forsaken, used in the Kalidus Channel and the Prison respectively. I also just noticed how much the Game Select menu theme takes from the Castlevania 3 Prelude.
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Oct 12, 2014 07:22
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The fact that you can't play GBA games on the 3DS is the stupidest loving thing
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Oct 12, 2014 08:04
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Firstborn posted:Edit 2: You know that platformer with Rogue-like elements where when you die you play a descendant with randomized afflictions (like dyslexia, or blindness, or whatever)? That'd be great for a Castlevania spin-off. It is a Castlevania spinoff in everything but name. Rogue Legacy is awesome and if you can stand roguelike elements (Spelunky-style, not Nethack) you'll have a blast with it.
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Oct 12, 2014 09:34
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THE AWESOME GHOST posted:The fact that you can't play GBA games on the 3DS is the stupidest loving thing The fact that people are arguing against the inclusion of GBA games into the 3DS library because of a lack of loving sleep mode is even goddamn stupider.
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Oct 12, 2014 11:05
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