Rondo of Blood - Annoying and Frustrating

[Doomed_Gary]

2 minutes ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

i did come to appreciate, but i got pretty pissed off wth how the controls were a bit awkward in places. i really liked the log ride down the waterfall lol. have you seen this ?

 

im gunna try it some time soon. looks amazing.

 

I'm only a few minutes into the video and yeah... that looks really fun.

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

7 minutes ago, nyarLOLhotep said:

I'm only a few minutes into the video and yeah... that looks really fun.

also if you haven't played it, another game similar im going to do soon. strangely this game manages to look even better then slain, and somehow it's not made by the same people.

 

 

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

I actually really enjoyed Rondo of Blood because of the difficulty. Which is saying something, because I generally suck at games and usually just get frustrated and annoyed with games I find too difficult, especially when the difficulty just feels too "artificial" or just flat out unfair/disrespecting the player's time. But there's certain games that are challenging, but actually feel really rewarding and fun to get through, such as Cuphead and the Demon's/Dark Souls games. Rondo was one of those challenging but fun games for me, for the most part. In general, I don't find Castlevania games that hard, this one was definitely the hardest I've played so far aside form Castlevania Chronicles (which was just irritating to play through, especially with its weird disco soundtrack).

 

I did pretty much play through the whole of Rondo with Maria though, Richter is indeed just too frustrating to play as, far too slow and clunky. So I guess I essentially played it on easy mode even though it was still fairly difficult.

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

2 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

I actually really enjoyed Rondo of Blood because of the difficulty. Which is saying something, because I generally suck at games and usually just get frustrated and annoyed with games I find too difficult, especially when the difficulty just feels too "artificial" or just flat out unfair/disrespecting the player's time. But there's certain games that are challenging, but actually feel really rewarding and fun to get through, such as Cuphead and the Demon's/Dark Souls games. Rondo was one of those challenging but fun games for me, for the most part. In general, I don't find Castlevania games that hard, this one was definitely the hardest I've played so far aside form Castlevania Chronicles (which was just irritating to play through, especially with its weird disco soundtrack).

 

I did pretty much play through the whole of Rondo with Maria though, Richter is indeed just too frustrating to play as, far too slow and clunky. So I guess I essentially played it on easy mode even though it was still fairly difficult.

yeah, castlevania was the origins of all souls games, severance blade of darkness and many of the pre dark souls era games that released like that, all owe it to castlevania in a way, i'd love to see a myazaki konami castlevania collaboration.

[Doomed_Gary]

2 minutes ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

also if you haven't played it, another game similar im going to do soon. strangely this game manages to look even better then slain, and somehow it's not made by the same people.

 

 

Oh my... this game sounds.... wonderful. It looks great too, but that sound is a beaut.

[SnowxSakura]

1 hour ago, Sunnyburrito said:

For real? I didn't know that, I played the original Castlevania few times and all of them I suffered against Dracula.

 

Holy water is completely broken in CV1 and 3

[VoidVictorious]

On 5/26/2019 at 10:17 PM, Elvick_ said:

Maria is easy mode. Are you using her punch move thing?

 

If you're replaying through entire levels you definitely aren't saving properly.

I think this is dead on. Once you perfect a section, save and move on. The worst mistake you can make is to save your way into a corner.

[Doomed_Gary]

This thread needs the Minibosses!

 

[Sunny]

9 minutes ago, SnowxSakura said:

 

Holy water is completely broken in CV1 and 3

Now Terminal Montage spoof makes a lot more sense lol "the battle has consummated" -shoves holy water down throat-

Edited July 11, 2021 by Sunnyburrito

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

3 minutes ago, VoidVictorious said:

I think this is dead on. Once you perfect a section, save and move on. The worst mistake you can make is to save your way into a corner.

i never had a nes and so, missed out on much of theese. dracula x chronicles looks amazing too. not sure which pllatform it's on i've not checked

[SnowxSakura]

11 minutes ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

i never had a nes and so, missed out on much of theese. dracula x chronicles looks amazing too. not sure which pllatform it's on i've not checked

It was on PSP

[AJ_Radio]

5 hours ago, nyarLOLhotep said:

I'm not trying to big dick this at all, but I was pretty good at Rondo. I'm not saying I'm elite or anything (I suck at games) but, let's just say, I have a very particular set of skills... when it comes to this era of 2D platformer at least. Rondo is hard because it's not like current gen, then gen before current gen, the gen before those gens, or a lot of other gens  ad on ad infinitum... until the early 90s at least. 

 

Retro games, cheap knockoff indies, and revisiting similar games via emulator got me ready to 100% SOTN+Rondo with little or no trouble. It's a different way of attacking bosses, if you aren't used to it, those bosses are going to take your lunch money for awhile... UNTIL YOU GET USED TO IT SON :<  The game isn't going to play itself on your terms through, you gotta figure out what it takes to do things the game's way.

It’s definitely hard if you did not grow up in this era like I did. Your Chrono Trigger avatar tells me you did as well. 
 

I basically made this thread to vent some frustration. 

[SnowxSakura]

3 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

It’s definitely hard if you did not grow up in this era like I did. Your Chrono Trigger avatar tells me you did as well. 
 

I basically made this thread to vent some frustration. 

That avatar is Kefka from FF6, but still same thing about the era

[dieselmanchild]

21 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

Ouch, castlevania 64 as your first. SoTN is great, glad you're enjoying it! There are a bunch of those metroidvania games, hopefully more of them come to modern systems

Haha! Was it really that bad? I honestly don’t remember much of it at all except that I enjoyed the gothic/medieval atmosphere because it was quite different than anything else I’d played at the time.

 

From what I’ve seen, the 3D Castlevanias don’t seem to be held in high regard by fans. Lords of Shadow (the only other one I’ve played) seems to have a bad reputation as well, but I absolutely loved that game. It kind of borrowed a lot of different ideas from different games, and put it all together into a melting pot that became one of the most fun hack-n-slash games I’ve yet played.

 

The soundtrack from Lords of Shadow is absolutely phenomenal too. It might be the best orchestral soundtrack I’ve ever heard in a video game up to this point. To give you an idea, this is one of the tracks that plays during a Shadow of the Colossus style fight against a giant titan boss:

 

 

16 hours ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

one bit specifically made me rage, the scythe boss, but once i figured out you nail him hard and keep pushing him away from you, don't let him cross to the other side and you can wear his health down fast enough to force him to stop flying around. then he's easy....

Death is definitely one of the harder bosses in the game, mostly because luck plays such a large factor in the first phase of the fight when he’s spamming his scythes and flying all over the place. Once you get through the first phase he’s a piece of cake.

 

16 hours ago, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

hollow knight, apotheon and slain back from hell aswel as val faris to do soon.

 

I’ve got Hollow Knight & Slain: Back From Hell in the backlog and I’m greatly looking forward to them.

 

Hollow Knight seems to be regarded as the crown jewel of the modern metroidvanias and by all accounts is a phenomenal game. I’ve played it for a couple hours on my alt account and the controls feel amazing, tight and responsive, and the artwork is beautiful.

 

I’ve tried a little bit of Slain: Back From Hell also and it’s very cool. The art style and metal music makes for a really unique experience. My only negative observation after a quick test was that the combat seems rather simple and seemed to amount to little more than blocking and parrying every enemy, and shooting your magical ranged attack. The platinum itself looks to be a challenge though due to all the no-damage boss fights and the restrictions on some of the subsequent playthroughs (ie. no mana use). The game has a small handful of ultra rare trophies because of this. 
 

14 hours ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

I actually really enjoyed Rondo of Blood because of the difficulty. Which is saying something, because I generally suck at games and usually just get frustrated and annoyed with games I find too difficult, especially when the difficulty just feels too "artificial" or just flat out unfair/disrespecting the player's time. But there's certain games that are challenging, but actually feel really rewarding and fun to get through, such as Cuphead and the Demon's/Dark Souls games. Rondo was one of those challenging but fun games for me

 

It’s interesting that you felt that way because felt the complete opposite and disliked Rondo for these exact reasons!

 

I’m also a huge fan of From Software’s games, and to me they are the prime example of a game that does difficulty right. Their games can be very challenging but somehow they never manage to feel too unfair or needlessly frustrating. You die over and over,  but you feel like you actually get a little better and make a little progress with every death & renewed attempt. And most of all, perseverance through the struggle pays off big time, as every little victory in those games feels earned, incredibly rewarding and satisfying.

 

With Rondo of Blood I felt like the difficulty was a good example of being very “artificial” as you said. It felt like the developers intentionally designed everything to be punishing and frustrating in order to artificially extend the length of what is otherwise a very short game. I didn’t find the experience to be very rewarding either. Upon successfully pushing to the next stage, all I would really feel was relief that I was one step closer to being finished.

 

I’m glad that you enjoyed it though! I’m a bit envious that you had such a good time with it and I didn’t. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by dieselmanchild

[bikeman223]

The Former Room track still gives me slight anxiety when I listen to it. Funny story about my experience with Rondo, I really struggled with it, so much that I temporarily got buyers remorse. I put it down for the day because I just wasn't having fun. The next day I was able to finish it in 2-3 hours. I think the Guardian Knuckle combo is more trouble than it's worth, the Cat, Red Bird and Dragon Sub Weapon are the way to go. Anyway, you can't beat the Divine Bloodlines track from Rondo. Here's a compilation.

Edited July 11, 2021 by bikeman223

[SnowxSakura]

2 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

Haha! Was it really that bad? I honestly don’t remember much of it at all except that I enjoyed the gothic/medieval atmosphere because it was quite different than anything else I’d played at the time.

 

From what I’ve seen, the 3D Castlevanias don’t seem to be held in high regard by fans. Lords of Shadow (the only other one I’ve played) seems to have a bad reputation as well, but I absolutely loved that game. It kind of borrowed a lot of different ideas from different games, and put it all together into a melting pot that became one of the most fun hack-n-slash games I’ve yet played.

 

The soundtrack from Lords of Shadow is absolutely phenomenal too. It might be the best orchestral soundtrack I’ve ever heard in a video game up to this point. To give you an idea, this is one of the tracks that plays during a Shadow of the Colossus style fight against a giant titan boss:

 

 

Death is definitely one of the harder bosses in the game, mostly because luck plays such a large factor in the first phase of the fight when he’s spamming his scythes and flying all over the place. Once you get through the first phase he’s a piece of cake.

 

 

I’ve got Hollow Knight & Slain: Back From Hell in the backlog and I’m greatly looking forward to them.

 

Hollow Knight seems to be regarded as the crown jewel of the modern metroidvanias and by all accounts is a phenomenal game. I’ve played it for a couple hours on my alt account and the controls feel amazing, tight and responsive, and the artwork is beautiful.

 

I’ve tried a little bit of Slain: Back From Hell also and it’s very cool. The art style and metal music makes for a really unique experience. My only negative observation after a quick test was that the combat seems rather simple and seemed to amount to little more than blocking and parrying every enemy, and shooting your magical ranged attack. The platinum itself looks to be a challenge though due to all the no-damage boss fights and the restrictions on some of the subsequent playthroughs (ie. no mana use). The game has a small handful of ultra rare trophies because of this. 
 

 

It’s interesting that you felt that way because felt the complete opposite and disliked Rondo for these exact reasons!

 

I’m also a huge fan of From Software’s games, and to me they are the prime example of a game that does difficulty right. Their games can be very challenging but somehow they never manage to feel too unfair or needlessly frustrating. You die over and over,  but you feel like you actually get a little better and make a little progress with every death & renewed attempt. And most of all, perseverance through the struggle pays off big time, as every little victory in those games feels earned, incredibly rewarding and satisfying.

 

With Rondo of Blood I felt like the difficulty was a good example of being very “artificial” as you said. It felt like the developers intentionally designed everything to be punishing and frustrating in order to artificially extend the length of what is otherwise a very short game. I didn’t find the experience to be very rewarding either. Upon successfully pushing to the next stage, all I would really feel was relief that I was one step closer to being finished.

 

I’m glad that you enjoyed it though! I’m a bit envious that you had such a good time with it and I didn’t. 

The castlevania series doesn't have a great relationship with 3d games, think only the ps2 games have a pretty good reputation

[AJ_Radio]

9 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

That avatar is Kefka from FF6, but still same thing about the era

Ah my mistake. Please release FF6 with trophy support, that would be amazing. 

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

5 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

It’s interesting that you felt that way because felt the complete opposite and disliked Rondo for these exact reasons!

 

I’m also a huge fan of From Software’s games, and to me they are the prime example of a game that does difficulty right. Their games can be very challenging but somehow they never manage to feel too unfair or needlessly frustrating. You die over and over,  but you feel like you actually get a little better and make a little progress with every death & renewed attempt. And most of all, perseverance through the struggle pays off big time, as every little victory in those games feels earned, incredibly rewarding and satisfying.

 

With Rondo of Blood I felt like the difficulty was a good example of being very “artificial” as you said. It felt like the developers intentionally designed everything to be punishing and frustrating in order to artificially extend the length of what is otherwise a very short game. I didn’t find the experience to be very rewarding either. Upon successfully pushing to the next stage, all I would really feel was relief that I was one step closer to being finished.

 

I’m glad that you enjoyed it though! I’m a bit envious that you had such a good time with it and I didn’t. 

 

It definitely did have some frustrating moments that made me contemplate just dropping it, but for the most part, I had fun.

 

I'm sorry to hear you didn't have a great time with it. I can definitely understand the sentiment though, I wouldn't say it's quite on par with how FromSoft games generally feel challenging but rewarding, but it was fairly close, at least for me. I imagine I would have hated it a lot more if I had stuck with Richter though.

 

There's a few games I really wish I could enjoy but simply can't, and I've always been a bit jelly of those that seem to get tons of enjoyment out of them. The Hitman and Animal Crossing series have always been the two big sticking points for me. I wish I could enjoy them, I like Harvest Moon style games and generally enjoy stealth games, but AC is just insanely boring to me, and Hitman just feels too rigid and clunky.

[SnowxSakura]

15 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

Ah my mistake. Please release FF6 with trophy support, that would be amazing. 

FF4, 5 and Chrono Trigger as well

[AJ_Radio]

9 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

FF4, 5 and Chrono Trigger as well

Mate, I would literally piss in my bed if these were re-released, especially if the trophy lists were entirely separate with a platinum each. 
 

What is far more realistic, is Square Enix releasing these as a bundle -WITH- a platinum. 
 

Earthbound would be amazing too, but that is exclusive Nintendo property right there. So that will never happen.

[dieselmanchild]

On 2021-07-11 at 0:26 PM, SnowxSakura said:

The castlevania series doesn't have a great relationship with 3d games, think only the ps2 games have a pretty good reputation

Castlevania seems to be one of those really interesting series that has undergone a drastic evolution with every entry of the franchise. I am guessing that maybe the difference in tone, feel, and gameplay of the 3D entries are just off putting to veterans who fell in love with the classics.

 

I was still quite surprised to see the disdain for LoS though. I thought it was so cool. I am trying to source a copy of LoS2 and I just hope it is as fun as the first one was.

 

On 2021-07-11 at 3:28 PM, SuperSmexy500 said:

There's a few games I really wish I could enjoy but simply can't, and I've always been a bit jelly of those that seem to get tons of enjoyment out of them. The Hitman and Animal Crossing series have always been the two big sticking points for me. I wish I could enjoy them, I like Harvest Moon style games and generally enjoy stealth games, but AC is just insanely boring to me, and Hitman just feels too rigid and clunky.

I feel ya! I think everybody has a few of these in the closet haha. I’ve been pretty lucky with my selections and have enjoyed the majority of everything I’ve played so far. But there have been a couple here and there that I just couldn’t get into.
 

One that really sticks out to me was Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I’d done my research beforehand and liked everything I’d read & watched beforehand. I got several great reviews from friends who recommended it to me. I saw the game was critically acclaimed and won one or two GOTY awards. So I was expecting to love it, and ended up being totally gobsmacked when I dived in and found myself struggling to pick up the controller after a couple days and force my way through it.

 

I got the GOTY edition so I still need to go back and finish the DLC one of these days… ?

[SnowxSakura]

2 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

Castlevania seems to be one of those really interesting series that has undergone a drastic evolution with every entry of the franchise. I am guessing that maybe the difference in tone, feel, and gameplay of the 3D entries are just off putting to veterans who fell in love with the classics.

 

I was still quite surprised to see the disdain for LoS though. I thought it was so cool. I am trying to source a copy of LoS2 and I just hope it is as fun as the first one was.

 

I feel ya! I think everybody has a few of these in the closet haha. I’ve been pretty lucky with my selections and have enjoyed the majority of everything I’ve played so far. But there have been a couple here and there that I just couldn’t get into.
 

One that really sticks out to me was Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I’d done my research beforehand and liked everything I’d read & watched beforehand. I got several great reviews from friends who recommended it to me. I saw the game was critically acclaimed and won one or two GOTY awards. So I was expecting to love it, and ended up being totally gobsmacked when I dived in and found myself struggling to pick up the controller after a couple days and force my way through it.

 

I got the GOTY edition so I still need to go back and finish the DLC one of these days…

It mainly has to do with the fact a majority of the 3d games are just not good at all. They range from being terrible to mediocre. Personally I don't like lords of shadow at all, it's a mediocre god of war clone 

[Arcesius]

On 7/11/2021 at 4:15 AM, MatThaRiPP3R84 said:

also if you haven't played it, another game similar im going to do soon. strangely this game manages to look even better then slain, and somehow it's not made by the same people.

 

Sorry to go off-topic here, but Slain: Back from Hell and Valfaris are indeed from the same creator (Andrew Gilmour)   I haven't played Valfaris yet, but Slain was pretty cool for sure. Simple combat (learn how to parry and it's a piece of cake), but nice gore and soundtrack! 

 

[bikeman223]

8 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

I was still quite surprised to see the disdain for LoS though. I thought it was so cool. I am trying to source a copy of LoS2 and I just hope it is as fun as the first one was.

Personally, I didn't think LoS2 was as fun. It has some really questionable mandatory stealth segments and the ending is quite weak. By all means give it a go and experience it for yourself. Don't forget about Mirror of Fate HD, in fact maybe play that one before you play 2. There's some important story beats in MoF that 2 sort of skims over. I still think the first LoS is a really solid GoW clone with some fun and memorable bosses. I'm a big fan of the Vampire Killer design from those titles and I appreciate how Gabriel's armour design is inspired by the cover art for Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest.

Edited July 13, 2021 by bikeman223

[dieselmanchild]

14 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

It mainly has to do with the fact a majority of the 3d games are just not good at all. They range from being terrible to mediocre. Personally I don't like lords of shadow at all, it's a mediocre god of war clone 

I think the criticism lobbed at LoS for being a clone or ripoff is kind of fair. It’s obvious they tried to capitalize on the popularity of GoW at the time, and seemed to “borrow” (I use that term generously) a number of ideas and elements from other games as well. Off the top of my head I remember noticing a couple things like the climbing and puzzle sections felt very Prince of Persia like, and the Ice Titan boss clearly trying to emulate that Shadow of the Colossus feel of climbing all over a giant boss.

 

However, for me it was the way that it all kind of meshed together on top of the visuals, atmosphere, and actually music that made it feel unique and fresh, and less like a copycat. I’m also a huge God of War fan so playing a clone of GoW is not exactly the worst thing in the world. ?

 

9 hours ago, bikeman223 said:

Personally, I didn't think LoS2 was as fun. It has some really questionable mandatory stealth segments and the ending is quite weak. By all means give it a go and experience it for yourself. Don't forget about Mirror of Fate HD, in fact maybe play that one before you play 2. There's some important story beats in MoF that 2 sort of skims over. I still think the first LoS is a really solid GoW clone with some fun and memorable bosses. I'm a big fan of the Vampire Killer design from those titles and I appreciate how Gabriel's armour design is inspired by the cover art for Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest.

I’ll be playing it regardless, hoping for the best! At the very least I’ll get a shiny new platinum out of it. I’d also completely forgotten about Mirror of Fate so thanks for reminding me. When I bought LoS I was originally looking for the collection which came with a voucher code I believe, but I ended up settling on the vanilla version and forgot all about Mirror of Fate. I’ll have to check if it’s on the PS3 store.