KZitem gaming channels always put up "Hidden Gem game" videos, but someone should put up a "Hidden Gem channel" video and Electric Underground should be on that list. Another great video. Appreciate you mixing things up.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Ahh that's an awesome compliment! I'm glad you enjoyed the vid, I had a lot of fun making it :-)
@jonathanlisowski5618
Жыл бұрын
"The Holy Bible not being top tier would be pretty blasphemous of Konami," had me cracking up! 😂
@ShmupJunkie
3 жыл бұрын
This one will always be my favorite for nostalgic reasons, let alone the game, as I had it nearly day 1 it released from the local import store. It was one of the few times the average joe was actually jealous of not owning a Duo system to play it, as it was all over the mags and everyone knew it was amazing. So there were more people over than usual haha. The soundtrack is simply sublime in this one. And all those extra stages are very worth finding, as they're all just as good as the main route, they cut no corners. I said it before, but Maria was pretty much the prototype for Alucard, only not as cool and without the expanded moveset. It makes total sense for Symphony and afterward where getting around quickly through huge stages and lots of backtracking was part of the design. Trying to play that with Richter sounds like a slog. In Rondo she just made it easy to blast through like you said. As cool as Symphony and some future games were, in terms of atmosphere and artistry, I never enjoyed them as much as this in terms of gameplay. They were so easy it lost a sense of accomplishment these older games had personally, having played through every one growing up. A Metroid style game can still be difficult, as the original NES game showed, and still good... I think they just purposefully took the series in a new and more mainstream direction and I don't blame them. But this will always be my fav, like a perfect evolution and compilation of all the games that came before. The punctuation on this style of Vania before it changed and my favorite next to Part 3 on the NES. Always glad to see more videos on it. If I ever did something for it, there is too much history so I can't be objective and would be more nostalgic than anything. Edit: Fun note, this was never called Rondo of anything back then. It was Dracula X and there was only the Japanese version. It was the confusion with the later SNES game also called Dracula X in the US, where it started being called by it's subtitle Rondo, to differentiate the two. Speaking of which, despite being a "lesser" version of this game, cut down a lot and changed, it's still solid on the gameplay side and can pose a fun challenge. With the final boss being moreso than here. So if/when you do play or get to it, you may be pleasantly surprised on the gameplay portion, especially for all the crap the game gets. It was well done given the cartridge limitations on the snes from what I recall.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
That sounds like a really cool history with the game! Nothing better then having the hot system everyone wants to come over and play, there was a kid in my neighborhood who was unbearable (he stabbed in the leg at one point, but that's another story) but we would go over to his place and hang out purely because he had all the hot new stuff ha. I am definitely looking forward to checking out the rest of the series and comparing the games to each other with a fresh set of eyes! I love the snes and so I am very curious how Dracula X compares!
@ShmupJunkie
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Depending on the game I may have taken a stab in the leg for the opportunity to play it too 🤣. A day of Neo Geo back then was worth some stitches.
@MegaYoYo
7 ай бұрын
I loved Castlevania ever since i played the NES one in 2006. I've always seen Rondo of Blood as the holy grail of the franchise, especially since I always enjoyed the linear entries a lot more. Loved your explanation of the mechanics. I always take for granted how some of these maneuvers and mechanics can be complicated for new players. Especially since a lot of new players see the gameplay as "simple". Konami was nice enough to give the player a fully powered up whip from the get go. I'll never forget that intro riff to bloodlines either. This game is a treat!
@robbystrange4772
3 жыл бұрын
KZitem has trained me to be bored of retrospectives, but this is easily the best rondo video on yt that I found. And I looked up a lot of them last year when I first tried this game. If this is a new format of yours, it's a great thing! :)
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I m really happy to hear that! Yes the idea of the series is to try to really dig into what makes the game fun and talk about the design concepts that probably are looked over in most reviews
@torrentthom4734
3 жыл бұрын
Another important whip mechanic is that it forces you to respect the enemies, as you need to learn their attack patterns/placement.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
For sure!
@bdotreality3561
3 жыл бұрын
Great video Mark! This is my favorite CV game, and one I've dumped a ton of time into speedrunning and mastering, so I'm always super hype to see this gem get more exposure!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh that s really cool! The speed run looks pretty dang challenging with all the backward jump setups
@100hundert
3 жыл бұрын
Maria feels like a silly gag character in this game, to be honest, like a fun, laid back extra mode. Great point with the idea that Konami certainly weren't to dumb to make an agile, fast character - they deliberately chose a slow, methodical character and tune the game around it.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah I agree 💯 maria is op and runs over the game without breaking a sweat ha
@FarnhamTheDrunk1
3 жыл бұрын
YES! More of these please! haha Basically i agree with everything u said, only a couple things i was missing here. I have no clue if u do not know or simply forgot about it, but there is an extended whip mechanic... It lets u whip a few pixels further by holding forward when whipping, and then tap forward again during the same whip. The whip extends a bit further and turns white instead of blinking... Oh, some nerdy stuff: the last boss gauntlet is an homage to the first castlevania on the NES, and the bosses are all from that NES game, an INCREDIBLE fan service AND respect to the original game. Brilliant imo. Great content as always, keep it up!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh snap I didn't know about the extender whip!
@Bofner
3 жыл бұрын
Rondo of Blood is made so well. Everything you said about the mechanics are so true. Funnily enough, Symphony of the Night kind of is the "Maria sequel" you talked about, just featuring Alucard instead. He ends up with a similar move set to what Maria has in Rondo. You can even play as a grown up Maria in the Saturn and PSP version of Symphony of the Night, though she has a different move set from Rondo, AND Saturn Maria has a different move set from PSP Maria. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Symphony. I liked it, but I think we're on the same page about Metroidvania games in general, because I definitely prefer those Arcade platformer type games much more.
@ceberuss_yt8266
3 жыл бұрын
I was nervous you doing this game.. I’m a big castlevania fan and this is my favorite one. I was starting to type and explain the jump and hitting with the horizontal whip on the way down but you explained it . The whip also does damage a little behind you btw. You did really good 👍. Yeah it’s less about jumping but about Rhythim and enemy pattern learning. Kudos from Belgium
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh I m really glad to hear that! I wanted to do the game justice for sure :-)
@ceberuss_yt8266
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground I would only have elaborated a little more and mentioned the awesome music and composer and some people who worked on it, the hammer movie references and the #’ levels ( a precursor to sotn ). You were more focused on the gameplay I guess :) Again I enjoyed your take on the game, well done. Thank you !
@jweb460
11 ай бұрын
hello I love this video and I hope you talk about other Castlevania games someday. truly the type of analysis the series needs more of.
@TheElectricUnderground
11 ай бұрын
oh i"m happy to hear you dug this video and style! yeah I was thinking the other day about getting another castlevania review on the channel. It is a really cool series with a surprising amount of arcade style design.
@0mr0masta
11 ай бұрын
@@TheElectricUndergroundplease do
@BadHumans
3 жыл бұрын
Richter's Extended Move List: Holding the Jump button locks Richter in place, Holding the Attack weapon lets Richter walk backwards/moon walk, Pressing the direction Richter is facing while whipping will activate an Extended Whip Attack (whip will become solid white when done correctly, Backflip vertical height depends on how long you prolong the second press of the Jump Button.
@thebootrex5609
3 жыл бұрын
i think your reasoning behind the jumping mechanics is the best i have heard someone try and explain it. Good stuff man. Rondo is my favorite Casltevania. Mannnn is it difficult though, still haven't beaten it to this day!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah it s no joke! Glad I was able to explain the jumping, it is important :-)
@iraplikeyoubreathe
3 жыл бұрын
Great stuff man, I was listening to this soundtrack in my car today coming home from work.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Killer OST for sure
@petercap2398
3 жыл бұрын
starting with an absolute banger. very on brand. looking forward to watching this but already know ill enjoy it.
@martinwohrle7887
3 жыл бұрын
I like the idea of in-depth gameplay breakdowns, and also of expanding the scope of games you cover! Great video, I'm looking forward to more of this type!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I m glad to hear it!!!
@TES_735
Жыл бұрын
The dagger in this game to me is proof of its amazing use of all subweapons. I watched your video talking about metal slug 3 where you mentioned the importance of routing the weapons you get to succeed at the game and it made me realize that the sub weapons in rondo works pretty much like that. The dagger is great against the penultimate boss, shaft, the cross and it's item crash do wonders on death, the bible is great to deflect most of the attacks from the boss rush... At some moment in the game one subweapon will be more advantageous than the other and the player has to experiment and understand the enemies and bosses to get an advantage. This is a thing that not even the 1st Castlevania can do properly, since the holy water there is broken to the point where no one even thinks of using other weapons unless they lose it. Same cam be said about the cros in SC IV.
@TES_735
Жыл бұрын
*****cross
@shinmegamitalks
3 жыл бұрын
Awesome vid, I've been playing a lot of castlevania lately for some reason as well. Not sure why but, The castle has been calling me. Great review!!!!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I know! There is some kind of castevania vibe in the air ha! such a great series :-) Thanks for tuning in!
@zapa160
3 жыл бұрын
Konami is making a new Getsu Fuuma Den, and this is really unexpected. Maybe there's hope... :_)
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Interesting, haven't played that series before
@censoredterminalautism4073
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground My reply just disappeared here too. KZitem has really been screwing with me lately. I wake up and half of the things that I posted that day are gone. Anyway, it's only becoming a series now. As far as I know, only one Fuuma game exists. Other than that, he's just a crossover character. He's in Castlevania Harmony of Despair (and has a stage based on his game as well), and he appears in Wai Wai World (crossover games with various Konami characters). I beat the original game and Wai Wai World, and enjoyed them. Harmony of Despair is fantastic, or at least I really like it.
@ingobauer6144
3 жыл бұрын
And it looks gorgeous. Like really, really gorgeous.
@boghogSTG
3 жыл бұрын
Hell yeah, nice review! A greater focus on mechanics breakdown is always welcome. Rondo has some great boss fights and nice movement, but I found the platforming/level design to be a bit uninspired compared to the other top games in the series. I would say Castlevania 3 captures that l old school CV quality & feel the best, but it has some real annoying bullshit too sometimes. What'd you think about the learning curve? Castlevania along with Megaman have the most satisfying learning curves IMO where they're tough and often quite punishing but you always feel like you're getting further and improving. And if you know the "solution" to an encounter, executing it will always be pretty easy and consistent. They're a little bit similar to the Zelda thing you mentioned, but way more tastefully done. Good call pointing out the timing element of the whipping. I like CV4 but it's definitely missing that Castlevania flavor, there's a whipping rhythm that you fall into in these games that's really damn satisfying after a while.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I m glad you enjoyed the video! The learning curve is fantastic! Yes I think the games a masterful at leading you along and pushing new challenges without feeling contrived or too easy. Also now I m really curious to try out Vania 3!
@censoredterminalautism4073
3 жыл бұрын
Try Bloodlines too. I think that and Rondo are both better than 4, personally, though I do like 4.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
yes gonna try it for sure!
@censoredterminalautism4073
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Good game. And a little weird too, it feels very distinct aesthetically. It has limited continues too, and you can change the settings to make the game harder and you can unlock the expert difficulty. I think you would appreciate that. It also has two characters, and that is a good excuse to play the game twice even though the difference is more minor than Richter and Maria. Eric has a polearm, and what is clearly the super jump from Doki Doki Panic/American Mario 2.
@censoredterminalautism4073
3 жыл бұрын
@@diydylana3151 The reply just disappeared, along with the Getsu Fuuma Den comment. It has been happening a lot to me, probably because KZitem hates me because of what I say, but it's strange how a lot of innocuous comments disappear too. My hot take about Dawn of Sorrow is that it's one of the "Metroidvanias" that I like the least, because it doesn't feel that good to play. Like, Aria of Sorrow is one of my favorites, possibly even my favorite if I had to pick one (which is kinda impossible because I like many of them too much), and I think it's way better. My problem with Dawn of Sorrow is that too many of the weapons feel too slow and clunky and it just wasn't as satisfying as Aria of Sorrow. Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia are both better. I actually really like Portrait. It has the crazy mobility that comes from AoS, but also has the whip, and that's pretty great. I can't pick one favorite, but maybe I could if I played all of them again now, because while I spent most of my life playing these games again pretty frequently, I haven't done it in a few years now. At some point I'm going to marathon all of them again and maybe I can pick one then. But it would be between SotN, Aria, Circle of the Moon, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia. SotN feels great, looks great, fantastic OST, has a bunch of cool items to collect, the second castle is great and Richter and Maria (Saturn) are both really cool with all of their crazy moves (and Alucard has his spells and special moves too). The luck mode (the one that raises your luck to 99 but makes all of your other stats insanely weak) is really fun too. It's a really good game and deserves its reputation. I don't consider it overrated. Admittedly it's not a challenge at all for me anymore, but I did die in a few places when I wasn't that good. Still, you can do self-imposed challenges that can be pretty fun. I should do a run without equipping any weapons at some point, and see how it goes. Oh, and for Classicvanias, my favorites are probably still 1 and 3. I played both the American release of 3 and Akumajou Densetsu. The Japanese version has better music, and it's easier in general. Another major difference is that Grant is insanely overpowered in that, so the game becomes much easier, but that's not a problem if you use Sypha. Bloodlines is up there as well. It's impossible to definitively pick favorites and compare a lot of these games, because they are so great. One of my favorite series.
@azooreus
2 жыл бұрын
Loved this analysis. I haven't really seen a lot of video essays that focus on mechanical breakdowns, and I think you really nailed the format in an engaging way. I don't personally think either checkpoint-based or lives-based progress are better than one another, they just serve different purposes, and I enjoy both, but you made a really good case for the latter. Also, love the use of fighting game terminology (such as "mixups") to describe enemy logic. Might be second nature to others, but its not something I really considered. On a side note, I actually love the cutscenes and story in this game, and as a native english speaker, I think the dub really added a lot to the experience for me. Perhaps its best that the game was dubbed long after release, because the VAs felt pretty genuine to me, despite the limited script. Overly simplistic plot, yes, but so were most 80s anime (which clearly inspired RoB), and I think for 93, its incredible that they reproduced that vibe so well. The scene at the end with Richter and Dracula speaking, albeit corny, has really stuck in my mind since I first beat it. This is one of my favorite games of all time, and I kind of wish it had made it on the standard Castlevania anniversary release, so more people could try it out. Regardless, the PS4 port is a really great option, for those who have access to it.
@TheElectricUnderground
2 жыл бұрын
I m glad you like the style of the video! Definitely going to do one of super Metroid next
@personavisceration371
3 жыл бұрын
No one who played this back in the day called Richter slow. He was by far the fastest Castlevania protagonist up to that point. And then Alucard came along...
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
yeah poor richter ha, I would say that he is slow in comparison to other characters like Samus, Mario, and Ryu from Ninja Gaiden, but he is able to offset his lack of speed with great level design and the mighty WHIP! :-D but yeah Alucard and Maria got the speed ha.
@Vrabsher_-Supreme_Perhinther-
5 ай бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Funny how in Castlevania 3 Dracula's curse for the NES Alucard just slowly walks , shoots fireballs and turns into a bat to skip a chunk of a level by flying .
@Vrabsher_-Supreme_Perhinther-
5 ай бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground You have forgotten or didn't know about the Stopwatch subweapon which can stop time for like 3 seconds .
@opaljk4835
Жыл бұрын
Just got it in the mail today and played through Rondo. It was super responsive (more so than the turbo mini) and I blazed through it in an hour. It felt really really good, way better than I expected. Can’t wait to play through symphony
@mansmo9513
Жыл бұрын
21:47 that teabag😆. that damn portrait deserves it
@doggyd5874
5 ай бұрын
great video, I just finished the psp version (vanilla and remake) last week and I find the analysis so true in every aspect. Thanks. And.. Hello everyone, play to this masterpiece 😊
@RodniDemental
3 жыл бұрын
Some may disagree but I think there can never be enough castlevania content out there and this even applies to symphony of the night.. Looking forward to that one! I am enjoying hearing about your take on the series so far, it kinda makes me wanna replay this one but I always found it quite difficult. (I remember first playing it on the PSP version of chronicles and it actually took me quite a few weeks just to unlock the 'bonus' games (Original version of Rondo and updated version of SOTN) which was the whole reason most people got that version probably. the remake of Rondo is interesting for sure though but I could never finish the original or the remake to develop any substantial thoughts on it XD.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Rondo is a tough one, no doubt about it!
@Azel954
3 жыл бұрын
Enjoying this kind of content and intricate gameplay design/mechanics breakdown. You should check out Ghouls n' Ghosts ('88, CPS1) if you haven't already. It has a similar calculated design and risk/reward movement options compared to Castlevania.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
For sure! Yeah I think that will be a good one to cover in the future
@SamStancill
3 жыл бұрын
My favourite shmuptuber analysing my favourite franchise. Based. As you say, lots of similarities between the movement options in these games and fighting games. Lots of people whose experience with platformers is just Mario just don't appreciate this specific style of gameplay. Wish there were more games like this.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I know they are an endangered species!
@thomasffrench3639
10 ай бұрын
I feel like another reason to have a lives system with Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania is the Subweapons are placed differently so you also get another challenge where you have a weaker subweapon for a checkpoint. You couldn’t have that depth with a permanent checkpoint system. I don’t know if I explained it well, but I think you get the point.
@100hundert
3 жыл бұрын
Have you played Alien Soldier for the Genesis? I really think you would love that game. It's basically a boss - rush only run and gun with an insane amount of movement options (including walking upside down on ceilings!). Quite hard to grasp at first, but incredibly satisfying. Also feels very arcade - style. Anyway, fantastic video! I love detailed mechanic analysis. You have a very good eye for subtle details in games! Definitely made me interested to check out Rondo again.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh that sounds really cool!!
@100hundert
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground It is definitely my favorite Treasure game, very underrated. It's basically the baby of one single programmer / visual artist at Treasure, and it has this "singular vision" feel to. It's such a love letter to action games and the Genesis in particular. In a way, it feels like the first character action game, just in 2D. Very good OST as well. And boy, the boss designs...
@yours_truly_
3 жыл бұрын
My favorite Treasure game, or maybe along with Sin & Punishment
@skykatchr_reflektions
3 жыл бұрын
Great review! These are exactly the type of reviews that I love to see. What did you play on pad or stick? This is a game I have wanted to play but didn't know which version to play. I'd love to hear what your top 5 or 10 desert island games are no matter the genre.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh that s a really cool video idea!! I played it on arcade stick, I play all 2d stuff on stick :-)
@Retro_Jet_Elite
Жыл бұрын
I have an unhealthy amount of time playing the Castlevania series. “Aria of Sorrow” & “Rondo” are superb games!
@Multienderguy37
Жыл бұрын
Richter’s jump isn’t fully locked, if you hold the jump button you can do a single mid air direction change. Also you are right, 1ccing the game is incredibly satisfying and rewarding, with the continue meter being an effective method to gauge improvement. (It took me 71 continues to 100% the game first try)
Solid review! I’d be curious about your thoughts on Super Ghouls n Ghosts
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I will definitely cover it at some point in the future! tough as nails, I know that much ha.
@-dash
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground It gets quite rewarding mechanically. At first it is tough as nails but as you play you can gradually treat it more and more like a regular platformer and go for speed. For example, single-jumping makes you go ~10% faster- so jumping through levels without getting hit ends up giving big dopamine, especially since the levels seemed so hard when first playing. And once you know chest locations you can strategize around them.
@DanielSavageOnGooglePlus
3 жыл бұрын
I'm appreciate that you touched on having the sub-item mapped to an additional button. So much of the game is about knowing when to do the right thing, and I like that later ports help engage with the moveset. I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a dedicated button for the backwards jump instead of a double-tap too. This might be sacrilege, but I'd really like to see a romhack for Rondo that lets the player backstep as long as they hold down R1.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
yes I agree!! I think romhacks like this would be really cool! Or a maria romhack where a bunch of extra enemies and stuff are added :-)
@FarnhamTheDrunk1
3 жыл бұрын
the reason for the backflip to be on a double tap is that u have a window of timing it... either u do it fast to avoid attacks from the front, or u do it slow to rech higher places... being on a dedicated button would be needless complication. double tap jump is the easiest way to implement this
@DanielSavageOnGooglePlus
3 жыл бұрын
@@FarnhamTheDrunk1 How about two dedicated backflip buttons? Maybe a bit like how the Dreamcast port of Mars Matrix lets you split up the contextual presses.
@FarnhamTheDrunk1
3 жыл бұрын
@@DanielSavageOnGooglePlus well yes, that could work ofc, but why do that if u can just have one button u can time it on... The player being able to fuck up the input is part of it. Besides, i think the original controller only had 2 buttons LOL
@fdevlin5932
2 жыл бұрын
Hell yeah! Great video, more Castlevania content plz!
@TheElectricUnderground
2 жыл бұрын
Yes!! Gotta do symphony of the night next
@nimbylive
2 жыл бұрын
Great breakdown of this game. I had it on PSP back in the day and I remember it being pretty tough. Worth it though. You can play as Maria in the Symphony of the Night version that comes with PS4 game you already have (Requiem has both games). You have to beat the game and then enter her name as a new game save file. Also, you can play Richter and his moveset is improved. He is a bit of a glass cannon, but he can fly around the screen so that helps.
@TheElectricUnderground
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much! I need to catch up and do symphony soon :-)
@nimbylive
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground It's no where near as hard as the older games so it may not be your favorite, but it lets you do anything with the weapon variety and drip feed of new skills. Also a Richter run is hard mode and worth playing, but you have to beat the game first.
@hooksnfangs6006
3 жыл бұрын
Hey! I was wondering when you'd talk classic Castlevania! Also good timing with Rondo of Blood since I've been wanting to clear it recently. It's still kicking my ass lol The design of the classic CV series is genius. Like a fighting game, it's all about controlling your space and the screen with the limited tools given to your character. Excluding 4 (my fav since it makes you OP AF), I like 1 and Bloodlines a lot.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Yes I m gonna check out pretty much the whole series, at least the ones before symphony of the night :-)
@AdamCHowell
3 жыл бұрын
Very much agree with your analysis of the lives system. It does take a mindset that is different to what seems to be expected now, but growing up with old games and live systems I'm very aware how much of the the crit completely misses the point. There are other things people keep cite as good or bad game design that might be right in the context of the games they cite, but then they go and apply these rules everywhere. Like when people gush over Megaman levels signposting the next challenge and think all games should mirror that. I love Celeste, but don't make every game into Celeste. Some games are better for having life systems and likewise the odd surprise death can be off putting it doesn't necessary break a game as you learn and know about it every time going forward. I also never minded jumping into oblivion in a DKC level to see if there was a hidden barrel. Exploration was a big part of those games and if you saw a juicy spot they just might have hidden a barrel, you went for it. That was part of the exploration of the game and what it took to thoroughly map out every secret, but now I'm told that was all bad and I'm wrong for liking it. Game design analysis is important when making a game, but the rules should be rules on how to make a good Celeste or rules on how to make a good Megaman game. Not rules to be religiously applied to every game everywhere. Read these rules in context of the games they were defined but then decide if it is right for your game.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Yes exactly hard and fast rules are meant to be broken. Like the whole "never blind jump" rule, well what if you want the player to literally take a leap of faith ha
@NAP8X
3 жыл бұрын
I think you’d really like Bloodlines.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
def gonna check it out !!
@nerothos
3 жыл бұрын
...also holy shit. I've beaten this game like 15 times and I had no god damn idea you could walk backwards by holding the whip button!?!?!?
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Ha glad I could help!
@Mingodough
3 жыл бұрын
Cool stuff. Last year Halloween I got all the minis and played all the classic castlevania stuff for October for the first time. Honestly something about this game wasn’t my favorite as much as others think. I liked bloodlines the best on genesis, though this one is still great Edit: hopefully you cover clockwork aquaria the new revived arcade platform we coming up, well if the game is good anyway, that game sold out on switch before there was any gameplay lol
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh you'll have to remind me when it comes out and I'll take a look at it :-)
@kagemara277
7 ай бұрын
Hi Mark, have you played Shock Troopers- quite cool soundtrack for back then and it’s a solid arcade game- wonder what’s your opinion of it.
@leodash_
3 жыл бұрын
What a coincidence! I finished this game 2 days ago playing the English-patched PC Engine version on Mednafen emulator. The musics are so good. Have you go through the alternate routes?
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I dabbled with them a bit! You can see how they foreshadow symphony, I'm gonna talk about that in the SOTN ep
@leodash_
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Cool! Looking forward to it. I still haven't played Symphony of the Night. Rondo of Blood is my first Castlevania.
@liamconverse8950
4 ай бұрын
The Minotaur is kicking my ass rn
@Quajez
3 жыл бұрын
I'd love to see this style of video for Super Metroid considering how many crazy things Samus can do in that game, feel like it would be a long video though lol.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh yes it s coming, super Metroid is one of my fav games ever
@Quajez
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Yeah me too. I have no nostalgia for it and its still one of my favorite games mechanically. I'd love having a video breaking it down just to show people what makes the game so fun.
@WindigoTP
Жыл бұрын
You didn't mention alternative levels. Did you forgot, or did you not find them? If it's the latter, then, maaan, you've got a treat of the whole 80% more game waiting for you. Anyway, where's my PSP? Now I've got to replay both the original Rondo and the remake. Used to no-damage both of them back in the day. Probably won't have the time to rebuild the skill, but soing a few playthroughs across all possible routes is going to be heaps of fun!
@nicklong27
3 жыл бұрын
Mike, the Capcom Arcade Stadium is coming to steam on monday with like 30 ish games, quite a few of them are shooters, including Progear. Will you be taking a look?
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh I ve talked about stadium already! kzitem.info/news/bejne/qG-wz2R6pn9neoI
@nicklong27
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Ah yes, I forgot... I actually watched that video too. But still it will be interesting to see how the lag is on PC.
@nicklong27
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground ARGHH Shit I called you Mike again haha... Just ignore me, i'll never learn... sorry.
@minimalmaster8489
3 жыл бұрын
Having discovered the series with the first (Castlevania 1986) which was one of my favorite games on NES, I have always preferred action/platform opuses in their genre (ex: 1, 3, 4 or Rondo of Blood ) to those more metroidvania oriented like Symphony of the Night which I recognize is a good game, but a little overpriced, in my opinion. The dark fantasy atmosphere of this mythical saga remains for me unmatched in the action/platform genre. Like shmups, 2D action/platform games are timeless. Very good video, as usual.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
yes it is a shame they stopped doing the linear style level design, I'd love to see more games of this style! Also thank you!
@minimalmaster8489
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground The megadrive's Castlevania (Castlevania: The New Generation otherwise aka Bloodlines) is really excellent too. In many ways, it is even superior to that of the SNES (Castlevania IV).
@Filmonaut
3 жыл бұрын
Beat down by a bat... I see what you did there!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I m glad! I was hoping people would pick up on the visual pun ha
@matsunaga3
3 жыл бұрын
So weird that you put up this video today.. I actually just started playing Symphony Of The Night a couple hours ago for the first time, even though I’ve had the game for 15 years..
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
That s funny when things like that line up
@nerothos
3 жыл бұрын
@Oscar Petersen word
@nerothos
3 жыл бұрын
Ok but just a heads up; it doesn't get much better than the 1-2 punch of Rondo of Blood/Symphony of the Night, these games are just nuts in terms of quality. However, I much prefer the original version of Symphony of the Night over the psp/ps4 port. YMMV. My favorite way to play SotN is in RetroArch via mednafen.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I ll keep this in mind for sure!!
@tonyvo3432
3 жыл бұрын
Best castlevania game ever
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
I'm getting the feeling :-) It's too early to call it for myself since I have more games in the series to cover, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up my favorite.
@jamessmyth3952
Жыл бұрын
Excellent analysis my man
@HollowRick
Ай бұрын
I'm 3 years late but if you're still getting into the Castlevania games I'd highly recommend bloodlines on the Sega genesis :D a lot of people will say that Super Castlevania 4 is better on the SNES but i feel bloodlines is the better balanced game I love to hear your thoughts on it :D
@mariowario5945
Жыл бұрын
If you consider this a character action, then god of war 2006 is definitely a character action game by definition, and megaman is a run and gun
@VillainViran
3 жыл бұрын
Great vid, man
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks my dude!
@adrianelice9871
Жыл бұрын
Surprised at the sub weapon tier list. Havent played this in years but i dont recall liking the Bible much
@TimoNaaro
Жыл бұрын
i am playing this on requiem double pack on ps4 never seen bible even though i am like 6 stages in. strange.
@TheElectricUnderground
Жыл бұрын
That's messed up.
@THELEGENDARYK2
3 жыл бұрын
Love this game! Konami at the height of their powers transitioning from their God tier NES games to the next level of SoTN and MGS. This is arguably the best platformer on the PCE, curious why there wasnt more representation of the genre on the console when the Super and regular Nintendo had a glut of them.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Yeah that is is wired absence on the console now that you mention it
@williambargery5855
3 жыл бұрын
Yo dude great vid. Love this game. I played it to the point I can 100 percent it without a death. Please check out castlevania bloodlines. New subscriber from today. Good work!
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh that s awesome!! Yes will definitely cover bloodlines after symphony :-)
@JMDurden
3 ай бұрын
Watching some of the old content from the channel and I've just gotta say that I'm happy Mark got rid of the crustiest neckbeard in existence.
@nilkilnilkil
3 жыл бұрын
Konami were top dogs back in the 90's ... You always knew ...
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
For sure!
@OYME13
Ай бұрын
16:30 Dude is low key doing some subliminal preaching. And it's Holy Water, not "potion" (how dare you sir). Richter is basically some super powered Christian. The best reason for using the HW is the Hydro Storm super move. Messes bosses up.
@lunaria_stg
3 жыл бұрын
If only there were more people who gave this type of reviews... Having been spoilt by how well shmups handle gameplay quality, it's so hard to trust what typical reviews say about a game. Things like bloat, clunky game mechanics, nonexistent game balancing are insufferable to me, but the average gamer doesn't even consider them worth mentioning. For instance, people will say that Hollow Knight has tight movement (which is true), and people will say the same thing about Shovel Knight. And from my experience, the latter is totally false. I played them back to back and its shocking how slippery and clunky Shovel Knight is compared to Hollow Knight. Even if we compare it to NES platformers which Shovel Knight is inspired by, I've emulated Zelda 2 on my phone years ago and that has tighter movement than Shovel Knight, in spite of mobile emulator controls being pretty awful. Or for games that are less gameplay and more narrative, the writing can be total nonsense and people will describe it as the best thing they've ever read. And these games can be particularly bad, because the focus on narrative usually means the gameplay is meh at best, and if the writing can't save it, then it is just garbage all around. I have the desire to try out a lot of games, but the lack of such in-depth, thorough reviews has made me pretty hesitant to do so. Without knowing what I'm getting into, I can just as easily discover a masterpiece as I can get burned for my purchase. And for some games because of the bloat they have, the issues only set in after a substantial amount of time, so you feel like you should just push through due to sunk cost fallacy. I don't expect everything to have incredibly refined gameplay like shmups, but games should at least get their core idea done right before they get positive reception. For an action game, make sure the mechanics are fun to use. For a narrative-driven game, make sure the writing doesn't have plot holes or flat characters. For a mystery game, make sure the solution isn't too obvious or too esoteric. But alas, the average gamer is willing to tolerate and kind of garbage as long as it looks pretty (and quite ironic that they can stomach unfair gameplay but when games are actually fair and challenging, they are considered unfair). Anyway, I've had a bit of interest in the Castlevania series, mostly from the aesthetics, but never touched a single one of the games yet. Now that Rondo of Blood has your seal of approval, I'll be looking forward to playing it after I'm done with Hollow Knight.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Oh I am really glad to hear that you enjoy the format! I am looking forward to applying it to other games as well. I agree with what you mean about more mainstream reviews ... Just imagine this format being used on cuphead ha. If you like hallow knight maybe I should check it out :-)
@lunaria_stg
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Coming back to this comment since I'm currently grinding some endgame stuff in Hollow Knight. There is this one area added in a DLC called Godhome, and it is basically all about boss fights and boss rushes. Now that I'm seriously tackling it, my opinion of how well the game was designed is falling. Ignoring Godhome, I feel like the game is a 9/10. The one point deduction is because for a metroidvania, it really lacks direction after the earlygame. Once the game opens up, it lets you do as you please. Issue is upgrades are hard to find, so it is easy to end up being underprepared. The game really lets go of your hands once it drops you into Crystal Peak, an area that is heavily interconnected and the difficulty is starting to pick up in terms of combat and platforming. There is an important movement ability to be found there, but I didn't find it and went to a new area, which ultimately led me to making a harrowing yet pointless trip to other places, and thought all these new places are pointless. And this just kept happening until I gave up and looked up online maps and guides. This is NOT how a metroidvania should be designed. I admit I don't have much experience with the genre, but I've played Metroid Zero Mission before, and it knows how to guide you on a first playthrough. A proper metroidvania will subtly guide you through on your first playthrough, then on repeated playthroughs, you are free to sequence break and do whatever you want. As a metroidvania, Hollow Knight fails at 50% of this, only becoming good on repeated playthroughs. In fact, now that I've put this out there, I should be deducting more points from it because this is an ELEMENTARY mistake for a metroidvania. I've forgotten how bad my first experience was because of how fun the repeated playthroughs are. 7/10. But oh boy, Godhome. I don't really uphold Hollow Knight to the same standard as shmups. If that's the case, no game will ever make it past 5/10 lmao. But Godhome is basically an arcade mode. Now you want to practice boss fights so you can do the boss rushes, or do the boss fights hitless. And for something that feels very arcade-y, it totally sucks. The boss fights are meant to be one-off fights. I find a lot of them to be a little sloppy. When the devs released the DLC, they made no effort to balance the boss fights properly, so you take damage in unfair ways. For instance, arenas are often too big so you get hit by stuff coming from off-screen. Some bosses move erratically and there's really no way to predict where they will go. A couple of bosses (Lost Kin and White Defender) like to suddenly move towards you. But it's not clear where they will end up at. Sometimes its right on top of you, sometimes beside you (so even if you try to dodge, they can still hit you). One boss in particular is known to be especially bad (Markoth), as he randomly spawns aimed swords at you. Those swords can spawn within walls, but the sprites are drawn BEHIND the walls so you can't even see it. Or they can spawn on one of the five platforms so you have no way to dodge it. (And also spawning off-screen which happens the most often, but I already said that.) Also, given that as a metroidvania, Hollow Knight only has one axis of free movement. Jumping and falling doesn't count as free movement, so swords shouldn't spawn right below the player. That's terrible design! The practice mode is this room called the Hall of Gods. But this is even worse than a barebones practice mode. For the first four boss rushes, it's fine since they just use the standard arena from the main game. But for the final boss rush, they change up some of the fights. The biggest offenders are those where the arena changed (usually by removing the floor). However, Hall of Gods doesn't provide you a realistic way to practice it. You are only given three modes: Attuned, Ascended and Radiant. Attuned is the standard boss fight. Ascended implements the changes in the final boss rush, but everything does double damage AND most bosses gain extra health so they become damage sponges. This makes certain speedkill strategies impossible to practice, and health management is more or less thrown out the window. It would've been so much better if we can customise the fight, like being able to set how much health the boss have, which arena is used, how much soul (for spells and healing) we start with, how much damage the boss does. This would be INFINITELY better than the 3 modes. And for the love of god, add an option to reset the fight. Oh and what's Radiant? It's just Ascended but you die in one hit. Personally, not a fan of forced hitless modes in games. No damage should always be a self-imposed challenge IMO, as having it in-game compels people to do it even though it's really luck-based and not for everyone. Anyway, Ascended is my main beef with Godhome. It's awful for practice, but you have no other choice if you want to beat the final boss rush for one of the endings. Some of the arena changes are also complete garbage. A lot of people bemoan the Ascended Markoth fight since the floor is removed, but I personally found that the core concept of the fight was bad to begin with, and the floor merely made it more bearable. The real issue is that Markoth is a damage sponge now (you want to speedkill phase 2 for instance), and now you have to actually put up with the badly designed fight. Also, a few bosses attack faster the lower their health is. See, let me just explain it this way. Let's say you have an attack pattern and you found the optimal speed to balance it. Now you increase the speed. What is the conclusion? The attack is obviously not balanced anymore! Betcha didn't see that coming right? Yeah, this is awful design. Spamming more projectiles to the point you can't reliably dodge is bad design. And because of Ascended arenas, you end up needing to also do more platforming for these bosses, but how? You're just gonna get hit no matter what. Even if you want to speedkill them, these bosses can just teleport. I much rather they just add new patterns when the bosses are at lower health, like some of the other bosses for example? Also, when we talk about shmups, visual effects is always a contentious point. Yes, it sometimes adds epicness and whatnot, but usually VFX obscures your vision. So it's common wisdom to make all VFX a setting. And yeah, Hollow Knight doesn't do that. Bosses cover the screen in orange splatter when they die, and the splatter is drawn on the topmost layer, which is an issue for fights with multiple bosses. When you take one down, you can't see yourself or what the other boss is doing. But the biggest problem is when you get hit. The screen darkens and a bunch of stuff happens, and it's so easy to lose track of yourself (and this is still happening to me after 100+ hours of playing). So you can easily end up being within the boss and eating contact damage once your i-frames expire. Chain hits, love 'em don'tcha? Speaking of, I feel like indiscriminately putting contact damage on everything is bad game design as well. Enemies with actual attacks shouldn't need to do contact damage. Like what, you don't trust the enemy you designed to be able to take out the player? Then maybe design your enemy better instead of slapping contact damage on and calling it a day. If the player is foolish enough to stick to the enemy for an extended period of time, the enemy can easily attack them and get a hit in. There's no need for contact damage. The worst is when you stun an enemy, but they land on where you are moving so you get contact damage. Like, Ocarina of Time from 1996 doesn't do this. Finally, the charm system. I've always felt that some of the charms just gave stat upgrades (like longer range, more i-frames). Now, it's fine if the basic stats were good enough, but it feels more like without using these charms, you are just kind of gimped. I often find i-frame windows to be a bit too short, which easily leads to chained hits, especially coupled with the taking damage VFX. I've learnt to leave with the shorter range on the sword, but it definitely feels better if I can hit things just a bit further away. Or just be able to run a bit faster. Or heal faster. Honestly, these charms should've been permanent upgrades. There's still one more bad thing about combat I wanted to talk about, but I can't quite remember it. But at this point, I think I've established a lot of the issues with combat in this game. I would've ignored it without Godhome, as combat was merely a part of the overall package, but Godhome is all about combat and the combat is not good. Final score of 6/10 from me. Considering what you've said in this video, I doubt you'll really like Hollow Knight very much. The linear, refined experience isn't there on a first playthrough, and the combat is... yeah. Even for a console experience, it's just urgh. I still like it, but it's really not the masterpiece I thought it was. But if you still give it a shot, I would love to hear your thoughts about it, especially on Godhome.
@slimynaut
Жыл бұрын
We have the same opinion about metroidvanias, they just waste your time, I dont understand how having three paths A, B and C but only C is the correct one but you dont know that so you go down path A only to find a door you cant open and having to backtrack and choose another path and hope is the correct one is fun or good game design. But they are very popular among the "get immersed in a world" casual crowd.
@RiRinKal
3 жыл бұрын
So you are into Castlevania game huh? I am sure you will enjoy Castlevania III Dracula's Curse HeHeHe
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
Don t you dare speak that game s name on this channel ;-) that's the really weird one where you wander around right?
@RiRinKal
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground if you are talking about super cryptic puzzle that makes no sense whatsoever, that would be the 2nd game the letter S. 3rd game is actually rather straight foreward like the 1st game. Except game is well known to be frustrating difficult kinda like Gradius III in Gradius series (May be not that difficult game as Gradius III though lolz)
@ZatohRondohoon3227
3 жыл бұрын
😂😂😂 Arcade? Last I Remembered, It Is For PC-Engine/Turbografx-16. And Yes. It's One Of THE Best Games Ever, Second To Symphony Of The Night Itself.
@TheElectricUnderground
3 жыл бұрын
yes it isn't actually an arcade game, unfortunately, but I do think it has the design sensibilities of an arcade game :-)
@ZatohRondohoon3227
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground Why Would You Think Arcade Is The Only Way In? I Mean, I Admit, Arcade Is Amazing. Is That Because DoDonPachi Influence? I Gotta Admit. DDP Makes Everything Look Like Arcade. ❤️
@ZatohRondohoon3227
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground I Mean, Let's Be Honest. Rondo Of Blood, If It Were In Arcade, You'd Toss In Lots Of Coins And Never Beat It. At Least, In PCE, You Can At The Comfort Of Your Home.
@ZatohRondohoon3227
3 жыл бұрын
@@TheElectricUnderground I Still Have Problems Emulating PC Engine On My Computer. I Need Some Guide. :(
@ender5528
3 жыл бұрын
Most reviews focus on emotion and simply repeat hollow collective surface platitudes from sources they themselves don't really know for reasons they don't understand. The source is a shallow pool piss the reason is they want to be liked. So they vomit bile with mouth wide open excited thirty times a month at things they can't comprehend let alone explain. Only hey, they are standing in front of a shelf of games wearing a lifestyles marketing t shit so guess good for something. 976-game and the influencer of your dreams will knock on your door in thirty minutes. Been thinking about doing a KZitem channel myself, but, well, its better for Bill Hicks to stay dead. Won't shill orange drink and would get deplatformed anyhow. BTW love The Electric Underground format...most likely the one would steal.
@ericschuster2680
3 күн бұрын
Zero words uttered about the music. Disappointing.
@jacobwilbers6461
3 жыл бұрын
yea you must have pissed the wrong people off with that rtype review i got unsubbed missed like your last 4 videos
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