Nocturne in the Moonlight - Castlevania SotN (PSP version) Blind

[raocow]

I have to say this, when this game gets good, it's kinda hard to stop!

[Sorel]

I have to say this, when this game gets good, it's kinda hard to stop!

I played SotN last year for the first time and it went like this:

Played until the chapel in like 2 days, then stopped a week because the chapel was boring.

then I got the double jump and I played through the game in the next 2 days, including the upside-down castle.

the upside-down castle is especially cool, I bet you don't even want to stop to play the game at that point.

[Nimono]

It's interesting how the ability to double jump is typically what opens up the most paths through metroidvanias. Heck, look at Metroid Prime- a heck of a lot of stuff opens up once you get the double jump there, ESPECIALLY if you get them upon reaching the first real area of the game!

[BobisOnlyBob]

It's interesting how the ability to double jump is typically what opens up the most paths through metroidvanias. Heck, look at Metroid Prime- a heck of a lot of stuff opens up once you get the double jump there, ESPECIALLY if you get them upon reaching the first real area of the game!

It's pretty much the simplest possible navigational improvement besides maybe a dash ability, opens up the Y-axis and X-axis for player movement... a higher jump would usually do the same trick for just the Y-axis, but lacks a corresponding input change (pressing a second time during your first jump). It's a really intuitive unlock with obvious consequences compared to other key-and-lock type interactions (whether they're missiles that open doors or an alternate form that lets you squeeze through narrow areas like mist or morph ball etc.)

[Willhart]

It'll be interesting to see, what raocow does with these new powers.

[Rex Ganymede]

Oh man he should have gone back to the library or descended downwards. He should have remembered those paths right about now.

And yeah. If I remember correctly, Olrox's Quarters can really smash one's face in at this point in the game. Best to find other areas.

(quote from ztarwuff)

i'm fine with raocow visiting areas he probably shouldn't be — as i've said elsewhere, that's what the Save Points are there for , if/when raowie bites the steak

i don't like encountering normal enemies that take longer than 20 seconds to deal with, so I'd rather die and return to where it's appropriate for me to be

[Tenlade]

I have to say this, when this game gets good, it's kinda hard to stop!

the "one more place" mentality really works in castlevania because unlike metroid, it actually has teleporters making backtracking not an utter pain.

It's pretty much the simplest possible navigational improvement besides maybe a dash ability, opens up the Y-axis and X-axis for player movement... a higher jump would usually do the same trick for just the Y-axis, but lacks a corresponding input change (pressing a second time during your first jump). It's a really intuitive unlock with obvious consequences compared to other key-and-lock type interactions (whether they're missiles that open doors or an alternate form that lets you squeeze through narrow areas like mist or morph ball etc.)

Double jumps also radically improve the player platforming, and areas in a game need to be specifically be designed over whether you have a double jump or not, so you tend to be locked out of a lot of areas until you get it. You notice once you get the double jump, a lot of areas suddenly start being larger and having bigger gaps you can now cross. there's a similar effect like with the screw attack areas in metroid where they just expect you to just fly everywhere now.

[YelseyKing]

i'm fine with raocow visiting areas he probably shouldn't be — as i've said elsewhere, that's what the Save Points are there for , if/when raowie bites the steak

i don't like encountering normal enemies that take longer than 20 seconds to deal with, so I'd rather die and return to where it's appropriate for me to be

The problem with raocow doing that is that he's historically proven to be stubborn to the point of insanity in those situations. He seems to get it in his head that, even though a game has been on the easy side, whatever he's encountered is just disproportionately difficult, as opposed to being something he's not actually *meant* to do at that point.

Honestly, I think the main reason I'm enjoying this LP as opposed to some of his other RPGish Metroidvania LPs is that SotN is on the easier side, so his many mistakes and trying to play every game like a Mario game aren't as big an issue, and there's also no "Hard Mode" for him to foolishly rush into.

Oh, and raocow: Don't assume that just because you have the double jump, you can get everywhere in the castle through some crazy jump combo. There *are* other mobility upgrades later. Just want to save you some headaches.

[Alice]

He seems to get it in his head that, even though a game has been on the easy side, whatever he's encountered is just disproportionately difficult, as opposed to being something he's not actually *meant* to do at that point.

To be fair while the newer games don't really do it so much anymore, the older ones do have a habit of somewhat wonky difficulty curves at times as well as not making it clear you're not supposed to be in an area. That latter part can especially be damning if the only place you're finding that you can actually go is a very difficult area you're not actually intended to go but the only thing stopping you is something like being able to tank the damage.

As I pointed out some amount of pages ago, I ended up beating the underground waterway in Circle of the Moon without the item that makes the water there no longer poison you. That was exactly the reason I ended up doing that. Even if the difficulty seems out of whack compared to the rest of the game, if you haven't found anywhere else that you can go then it's easy to get it stuck in your head that you have to make it through there. (Though obviously this doesn't apply in this particular case with raocow and he does indeed have a habit of doing that but it's still something that can legitimately happen not simply from stubbornness.)

[YelseyKing]

As I pointed out some amount of pages ago, I ended up beating the underground waterway in Circle of the Moon without the item that makes the water there no longer poison you. That was exactly the reason I ended up doing that. Even if the difficulty seems out of whack compared to the rest of the game, if you haven't found anywhere else that you can go then it's easy to get it stuck in your head that you have to make it through there. (Though obviously this doesn't apply in this particular case with raocow and he does indeed have a habit of doing that but it's still something that can legitimately happen not simply from stubbornness.)

Fair point. I suppose we've all done things "the hard way" unintentionally our first time through any given game. I remember having a hell of a time with a boss midway through the first Breath of Fire game because I wasn't aware that its vulnerabilities shifted between physical and magical attacks depending on the state of the battle. Cue me wasting an hour and a half slowly whittling it down with piddly physical attacks and wondering *why* it was taking so freaking long. Oh well. Live and learn.

[Sorel]

Heh, when I reached the Arena Area in Aria of Sorrow I was way too underleveled, yet I still insisted on doing every "challenge room" there AND defeating Balore who two-shot me. I wouldn't blame raocow if he would do something like that in Symphony of the Night, we are both pretty stubborn. (Though I kinda am faster at finding solutions for puzzles sometimes. Not a lot faster, but still.)

[Tenlade]

He seems to get it in his head that, even though a game has been on the easy side, whatever he's encountered is just disproportionately difficult, as opposed to being something he's not actually *meant* to do at that point.

To be fair while the newer games don't really do it so much anymore, the older ones do have a habit of somewhat wonky difficulty curves at times as well as not making it clear you're not supposed to be in an area. That latter part can especially be damning if the only place you're finding that you can actually go is a very difficult area you're not actually intended to go but the only thing stopping you is something like being able to tank the damage.

As I pointed out some amount of pages ago, I ended up beating the underground waterway in Circle of the Moon without the item that makes the water there no longer poison you. That was exactly the reason I ended up doing that. Even if the difficulty seems out of whack compared to the rest of the game, if you haven't found anywhere else that you can go then it's easy to get it stuck in your head that you have to make it through there. (Though obviously this doesn't apply in this particular case with raocow and he does indeed have a habit of doing that but it's still something that can legitimately happen not simply from stubbornness.)

I think its less odler games having odd difficulty curves and raocow just used to the user submission projects where things are nice and easy then suddenly scarlet devil mansion.

also going through the water section without the item is understandable since it came out right after this game, where water damaging you was normal and its just used as an obstacle.

[Razzling]

also going through the water section without the item is understandable since it came out right after this game, where water damaging you was normal and its just used as an obstacle.

Actually

there is an item in SoTN that lets you go in the water, though it's optional and hidden behind a breakable floor

And also Olrok's quarters place is pretty much the way raocow's suppose to go, as there's a door that leads straight to the Coliseum map area, this game just likes having certain rooms with just a single really strong enemy for some reason. It's the same as that one Sword guy back in the church area

[Gardenolva]

Well, I guess it's up to raocow now.

PS: How to censor my comment with blackness?

[Dragon Fogel]

PS: How to censor my comment with blackness?

Code: Select all

[ispoiler]Like this.[/ispoiler]

[Tenlade]

also going through the water section without the item is understandable since it came out right after this game, where water damaging you was normal and its just used as an obstacle.

And also Olrok's quarters place is pretty much the way raocow's suppose to go, as there's a door that leads straight to the Coliseum map area, this game just likes having certain rooms with just a single really strong enemy for some reason. It's the same as that one Sword guy back in the church area

was trying to avoid saying that because just going "actually" kinda spoils the fact it happens by way of admitting there's an exception. wasnt sure how to hint to people not to say anything though :/

Im going to assume the reason floating sword is by himself in rooms is each weapon surrounding him is another sprite with a health bar, and he would propably lag if multiple enemies were in the room with him.

[InsaneIntentions1]

I certainly won't complain if you want to make the videos longer

[Bean]

Well, I doubt all the terrors inside Tracula's castle will know what hit them now that you have your new pickups.

[Mata Hari]

I guarantee that you will laugh quite a lot.

You'd have to know more than he did to get the joke.

[Willhart]

I'm pretty sure all those "Alucart equipment" are fake. You do 21 damage with bare hands.

[Sorel]

I guarantee that you will laugh quite a lot.

You'd have to know more than he did to get the joke.

I thought it was a pretty obvious joke there but raocow is raocow I suppose.



Ah, the "UNDERGROUND CAVAAARNS". I really love the track that is playing there.


Also, you were more or less supposed to go there after you bought the jewel of open, hence why Scylla was pretty easy. But the cloak is my second favourite cloak you can get in the game. (first one is still Josephs Cloak)

[Voltgloss]

The Underground Caverns were accessible at the same time as the Chapel (i.e., you're right when you guessed you didn't need the double-jump for this area). That's why Scylla felt like an easier boss fight - it's on par with the Hippogryph in terms of power, and now you're stronger than you were before. That's also why you found the Scimitar, which is weaker than other weapons you have now (but would have been useful had you come to the Underground Caverns before the Chapel). That's not to say you've done things "out of order" - just, the game gives you lots of options, and you can go where you like (and are able to go)!

The Crystal Cloak doesn't give you any special properties besides upping your defense and looking cool. Yes, this means Scylla is a wholly optional boss. But it's a nice defense upgrade, so you didn't waste your time going to get it!

When you play next, go ahead and try pushing that crate you saw all the way to the left. You don't NEED to, since you have double-jump... but you'll get a laugh out of it.

You're right that deep water is a no-go for Alucard now. You'll be able to handle that area later.

On the special properties of the Alucart equipment:

It's all "fake." The sword does not increase your attack power; the armor does not increase your defense power (and does not resist any elements - that's why the subscreen adds a question mark in the item description); and the shield can't block anything. It's Alucart stuff, NOT Alucard.

But unlike the Tyrfing, there's a point to this stuff that actually is useful: If you equip all three Alucart items, you get a very large Luck boost. This means (i) enemies are more likely to drop items, and (ii) you are more likely to score critical hits. That makes this equipment the set of choice for players trying to farm rare item drops from enemies. Since you're not full-percenting, you probably won't need it.

Separately, the Alucart Sword - though it doesn't boost your attack power - IS the best combo of speed and reach that you currently have available, making it an actually not-terrible weapon choice at this point in the game. The biggest drawback of the Alucart set is the fact that you get no defense boost from it, making you take a LOT of damage from enemy attacks.

[ztarwuff]

You know... we forgot to warn raocow about the purple save point. It's a good thing he decided to go down that side-shaft instead of the main one.

renaedit: spoiler tags

[Tenlade]

The crystal cloak is another victim to 30 fps video, as ingame its constantly flickering between visible and invisible to look transparent.
here's how it looks slowed down to 33 fps, as fast as gifcam allows.
at 60 fps it looks more like this.

On the special properties of the Alucart equipment:

In addition to this, there is an additional effect to equipping all 3 alucart items at once.

you become alucart, son of tracula, with your name and "status" changing in the pause menu, in addition to the +30 luck boost

also congrats to raocow on finding a breakable floor, considering the only way to even figure out its there, let alone that its a breakable floor instead of wall is pretty obtuse as well.

[Mineyl]

You know... we forgot to warn raocow about the purple save point. It's a good thing he decided to go down that side-shaft instead of the main one.

raocow doesn't have any of the things that'll allow him to get in there (bat form, extended mist form, gravity boots). It's why I kinda' wish he'd stuck with doing the Colosseum instead, but at least he's covering a pretty good amount of new ground, now.