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 It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh... Just to be clear, yes the hero of this game is a white-haired Wikipedia posted:Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is the third and final installment of the Castlevania series on the Game Boy Advance] and was released in North America on May 6, 2003. In short, you play a dude who gets told he has to do the Dracula Shuffle and smack down ol' Vlad for the Xth time, this time not because you're part of the family that just does that sort of thing, but because you and Drac have a sort of father-son-holy ghost thing going on, which the game will further elucidate as we unravel the (dead loving simple) plot. What's cool about this game is that it's the first one since SotN to feature a ton of different weapons as opposed to the Vampire Killer, and they're a great deal of fun to play with. Also making its debut is the Tactical Soul System, which allows you to steal your enemies' attacks and abilities by farming them for hours on end - because how else would you know the game was Japanese? ~+ ABOUT THIS LP +~ This playthrough will be focused mainly on talking through the game's features - I'm recording post-commentary and am gearing it towards a mostly informational experience, with some jokes. When I unlock Julius, I'll be doing a speed=through with live commentary, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Please use Spoiler tags for stuff I haven't gotten to yet - I know it's an old game but let's preserve a bit of the mystery shall we? ~+ VIDEOS +~ Episode 01 - Soma Cruz and the Kingdom of the Creaking Skull Episode 02 - Let's talk about souls, tactically speaking Episode 03[A] - Meeting Graham Episode 03 - Soma vs. The Manticore Episode 04 - The Study Episode 05 - Armor-Piercing Whip Episode 06 - The Ol' Duck-and-Dash Episode 07 - Exploring the Inner Quarters Episode 08 - Hangin' in the Garden Captain Q fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Jun 13, 2015 |
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May 16, 2015 00:44
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Might want to record at a higher Res, so you can avoid YT's <720p poo poo compression.
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May 16, 2015 01:00
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 NEW VIDEO!Episode 02 - Let's talk about souls, tactically speaking In this episode we make marginal progress, destroy a lot of priceless art (for money), get moshed by a group of rowdy undead, and talk a bunch about the Tactical Soul System. I took the advice of some folks in the Sandcastle and Tech Support threads (and you too, Rigged Death Trap!), and thanks to them this video's resolution looks much less like you're watching it in the reflection of a dirty toaster. Enjoy!!!
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May 17, 2015 00:16
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One reason to fight zombies: They drop a soul that becomes very useful against a boss later in the game.
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May 17, 2015 01:29
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Lustful Man Hugs posted:One reason to fight zombies: They drop a soul that becomes very useful against a boss later in the game. If I remember correctly the Zombie Soul Increases STR when poisoned but I don't recall using it. However I am already using attacking souls a lot more than I did when I was actually playing it on GBA so I plan on using a lot of souls I never tried before. Some bosses I'm really not looking forward to. Balor in particular is a huge loving dick, but fortunately I love his level. It's probably among my favorite areas in the game. Also you have a great username.
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May 17, 2015 02:38
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You have a style very reminiscent of MeccaPrime when he was still around here. This is not a bad thing. not at all.
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May 17, 2015 23:11
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Captain Q did you decide to do this LP because of the Bloodstained kickstarter or did it just work out that way?
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May 18, 2015 02:57
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This looks like a pretty dang good game so far. I'm old enough to remember when the first Castlevania was new. I'm a big fan of metroidvania type games but due to the fact that most of the early installments really aren't that at all (making the coined name a bit of a misnomer) means I never really got a chance to get into the series because the non metroid style ones are usually balls hard and I'm a weirdo spergy type that feels like it's just not right to play series out of release order if I can help it. This comes right when I've been letting the pendulum swing towards really needing to scratch that metroid itch, recently also buying Axiom Verge (if you like Metroidvanias, you need this game. it's incredibly well made). Are you planning on following up with the direct sequel, Dawn of Sorrow on the DS? Also, seconding that you have a great voice for this sort of thing. Honestly, it reminds me of a good game show host the way you just roll with everything somewhere between planned and spontaneous.
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May 18, 2015 03:09
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LateToTheParty posted:Captain Q did you decide to do this LP because of the Bloodstained kickstarter or did it just work out that way? Hell, I didn't even find out about it til today. Feel free to hype that poo poo up in this thread, I'm ready as hell. Gonna kick in some sweet  and get me a digital copy
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May 18, 2015 05:18
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I'm pretty sure this is the only Metroidvania outside of SOTN I've finished. The nice theme for the opening area helps my favorable half memory of this game I spent way too much time grinding souls in. I expect it's wrong, but I've always been convinced it was faster to travel through empty areas by mashing the back dash than walking 
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May 18, 2015 05:33
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I know I've played this, but I don't remember backdashing...ever. I think I just jumped out of the way of stuff constantly v vCool LP, great voice, looking forward to the rest of it!
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May 18, 2015 06:26
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I'm always happy to see new Castlevania threads. You're doing a great job with the informative commentary so far. I know alot of people give the Sorrow games a hard time because of the sequel, but man was this first one amazing at the time. The soul system was one of the best new things the series ever introduced, and I always remember how much more exciting that made this game on the first play through back then.
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May 18, 2015 06:57
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Been busy at the old nine-to-five lately, expect a new episode either tomorrow night or Tuesday.
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May 18, 2015 07:33
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This would a be a great metroidvania if the bosses were the slightest bit interesting. Also there's gross overuse of water-themed areas and platforming but that's later - most of it is pretty drat enjoyable. edit: As for the LP, I only really have one complaint - it is customary to strike a silly pose whenever you pick up one of those health orbs. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 10:40 on May 18, 2015 |
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May 18, 2015 10:15
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Your commentary is genuinely great to listen to and despite playing this game to death I'm enjoying this a lot. Keep up the great work!
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May 18, 2015 10:32
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The Sorrow games loving own and this is shaping up to be a great LP, I'll be following this for sure!
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May 18, 2015 18:35
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Behold! Like Dracula, I am reborn! And I come bearing updates Episode 3A (Cutscene) - Meeting Graham Episode 3 - Soma vs. The Manticore I practiced that Manticore fight a lot. Don't expect the next boss to go so smoothly. The next few videos are all recorded, they just need commentary and editing. But I think we'll keep updates at one per day at maximum. Btw this is what you get if you google image search "manticore."  Food for thought.
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May 19, 2015 20:06
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The manticore video is private.
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May 19, 2015 20:08
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ChaosArgate posted:The manticore video is private. Maybe try again? Youtube's telling me it's set to public.
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May 19, 2015 20:16
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It works now, I dunno what happened the first time.  That Manticore fight went so much smoother than mine do.
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May 19, 2015 20:19
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ChaosArgate posted:It works now, I dunno what happened the first time. The trick with the Manticore seems to be staying in a position where you can backdash to that platform and jump on it if he charges up a mouth blast. They're harder to dodge when you're in his face wailing away. When you refight him souls that hit multiple times like the student witch help a lot. I can't wait to get more souls - the game is still just getting started and there's a lot of cool stuff later on. Aria of Sorrow is a pretty good game.
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May 19, 2015 20:35
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Oh, cool, I didn't know you could get the manticore soul from this one. Saves you a bit of farming later on.
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May 19, 2015 20:39
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anilEhilated posted:Oh, cool, I didn't know you could get the manticore soul from this one. Saves you a bit of farming later on. If only I'd been so lucky with the Tsukinocho soul... 
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May 19, 2015 20:44
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 New Episode Time!Today we're not fighting any bosses but we ARE exploring a new area!  Episode 04 - The Study This game has catchy music. I'm whistling it to myself now. Hopefully new video tomorrow, but my work schedule may intervene. We shall see!
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May 21, 2015 06:33
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If the trend continues, I predict that the final update of this LP will be just long enough to contain the second half the last sentence.
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May 21, 2015 07:04
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The last video will actually just be 30 seconds of Soma getting juggled by Monster Graham's creepy fingers. BTW can we talk about Bloodstained for a second? If you guys haven't seen this Kickstarter then hold on to your butts  Kickstarter posted:*An exploration-focused, side-scrolling platformer featuring RPG and crafting elements. Blah blah blah crystals orphans whatever - I don't give a poo poo, it's a loving Koji Igarashi Castlevania-style game, so obviously I must have it. Good thing it literally hit its backer goal within days of opening. There's still nearly a month left and it has raised literally five times its intended amount. Wow. Imagine if people cared as much about real life charities as they do about Castlevania. Anyway here's the link, give them money: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night
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May 21, 2015 18:27
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Ooh, that looks amazing. Anyway, if it isn't too much of an issue, maybe you could try pacing your updates a bit more? Six minutes is awfully short when there doesn't seem to be any climactic moment or anything - you could have easily drawn that out until a next setpiece, area or cutscene thing. It's not bad - you're entertaining, technically your LP is very sound, but the extreme fragmentation does hurt the experience a bit. Just my opinion, though. Oh, and you got the wrong final boss planned.
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May 21, 2015 18:39
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Yeah these last two especially kind of grated on me how short they were - I just upgraded from a laptop with jack poo poo hard drive space to a Desktop with a TB hard drive so I'm still jumpy about recording too long. And how could I forget about the true final boss??? It's been forever since I beat this game.
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May 21, 2015 18:54
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One of the already met funding goals for that Kickstarter is to have David Hayter voice Gebel, said Crystal Orphan friend.
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May 22, 2015 02:18
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There's one short video left from this session, and I'll be recording more tomorrow evening, that batch oughta be more substantial I'm planning on making the whole Dance Hall one update, which should fill up time nicely. No update today, as I'll be working late.
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May 22, 2015 03:00
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Happy Saturday folks! Hope your 3-day weekend is off to a good start. And if you work in the Service industry then.... Happy Monday, basically. Here, have a video. Episode 05 - Armor-Piercing Whip I was getting feedback that the updates were too short so I banged my head against AviSynth for a while and eventually performed some See Below for the actual update Captain Q fucked around with this message at 02:35 on May 24, 2015 |
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May 24, 2015 02:12
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Uh, it kinda sounds like you're missing your commentary.
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May 24, 2015 02:18
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Hitlers Gay Secret posted:Uh, it kinda sounds like you're missing your commentary. Definitely. Thought it was maybe it was off at the start since it was a quick hop into a cut scene, but it never cut in.
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May 24, 2015 02:20
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Looks like my video surgery was not as successful as I had originally hoped. New version is encoding now, should be uploaded in a couple hours or so.
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May 24, 2015 02:32
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This time with feeling: Episode 05 - Armor-Piercing Whip Soul grinding is well underway, by the by. Next time I record I will have every soul available up to this point in the game, so our options for both offense and defense have become quite a bit better.
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May 24, 2015 04:17
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This is my favorite Castlevania game (and, for my money, the best one) so I am happy I found this. Looking forward to seeing more! E: In episode 3 I'm pretty sure you missed a secret room off the chamber where you get the Silk Robe  The ceiling is breakable though I could be thinking of a different area.
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 21:45 on May 28, 2015 |
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May 28, 2015 04:05
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Holy poo poo this LP is still happening? DID SOMEBODY SAY NEW VIDEO??? No? Well you're getting one anyway.  Episode 06 - The Ol' Duck-and-Dash Not much else to say here. Stay tuned for some very exciting shenanigans next time. The Creaking Skull soul is especially good for a laugh. Next video may be finished by tomorrow night, if not then, you can expect it on Tuesday. Sunday and Monday are my biggest work days so I don't often have much time to edit Let's Play videos on those days.
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May 30, 2015 05:30
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This is a reasonably entertaining let's play! Thank you for the saturday entertainment.
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May 30, 2015 14:48
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This starts showing where the game is really lazy. Throwing the golem boss fight right after the armor bossfight doesn't really help since you're not only fighting the same thing again but you're doing it right away. They had really good ideas for the soul system but the castle itself is one of the worse ones in the series.
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May 30, 2015 15:55
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anilEhilated posted:This starts showing where the game is really lazy. Throwing the golem boss fight right after the armor bossfight doesn't really help since you're not only fighting the same thing again but you're doing it right away. We haven't even begun to see the worst of it. Just wait til the Hanging Gardens! . For all its flaws I can't help but love it though
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May 30, 2015 16:03
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