CV64. I've decided to release both these movies at once.
WRITE UP:
Emulator: mupen64 v8
Aims:
- Fastest time (schneider)[1]
- Takes damage to save time
- No death/save
- Luck manipulation
- Abuses programming error? (double jump against certain walls ... see 'SPECIAL' below)
- Best ending (fights actual dracula)
[1]Yeah, there is some text about 10 minutes later, but its nothing vital to the story ... it just asks if I want to save or not. See ... I've always been confused as to when to STOP the movie. Should it be when the last boss is dead or after the last taken action IF you can return to the title screen? In this, I chose to end it sooner.
STORY (reinhardts): once again, dracula rises and once again, a BELMONT relative comes to the rescue to beat back the prince of darkness and all of his dark minions. there is a bit of a twist in WHO the real dracula is.
Movie making was ok, though I do wish the bug that controlled the save states wasn't off by about a second or so. I can't complain. I'm only happy we have a N64 emulator now.
Why would anyone wanna watch it? The programming errors and shortcuts for one. The games horrendous camera control and cheap shots from some bosses may make it worthwhile as well. Also, the messed up graphics are hilarious. I don't think it should hinder the quality, just add to its entertainment (especially since I can't even see the end credits until SAVE pops up a few minutes later, or if I save state and reload). Enjoy the mountain texture as a part of trees and suddenly invisible floorways.
The language has also been modified as BEST as possible, considering I took some notes when I was frustrated it got a WEE bit vulgar (every other word isn't so bad, right?). Also, ANYTHING below here is either findings or walking you through areas. I felt submitting this as well might explain certain things for no one who has played before.
MISC STUFF: (note, these are my findings, and there is prolly more technical stuff about the game I don't know of)
So here is the original ... or the incomplete release. And yes, I will trash this game very often. It PALES in comparison to its better half LoD. im wondering if anyone would actually want to see this one at all. some differences are:
the level designs (and lack of some levels)
- the opening level is forest of silence, not the ghost ship
- forest of silence is altered (notably the mausoleums before the weretiger)
- watch tower's central area between the 2 towers (where you fall through after pulling either lever) is slightly altered
- the underground tunnel actually looks untouched. maybe some enemy placement, but other than that, its pretty much in tact.
- villa's 'secret stash' at the beginning is activated differently; theres an invisible platform to the far right above the candle that isnt there in legacy; you can find frankenstein prior to aiding malus (couldnt be done with henry) just gardening (its really kind of funny; he doesnt even pay attention to you unless you get to close or attack him; then you better run like )
- there is no boss in underground tunnel (Spider Queen), underground waterway (Medusa) or tower of science (Energy Core).
- castle center has different enemy setups (you don't get there via Cornell, but when playing as Schneider and Carrie, you'll notice some differences... notably that Schneider's opening is with Cerebi while Carrie has Skeleton Bikers)
- duel tower has no save points; level design is vastly different; 2 bosses can be skipped entirely with some good timing
- tower of execution is actually seen SINKING in the lava of Legacy's ToE (seriously); level is completely revamped by legacy (vast lag is almost gone)
- clocktower has a completely different final area in this version (as well there being an area added in LoD between area 2 and area 3; the massive PITs)
more random enemy encounters, even in boss battles (weretiger)
slide doesnt go as far/isnt as fast, or damages as well (if at all)
holding R and trying to jump to better the camera will lock you in place upon landing
camera's are much less player friendly (opinion)
camera angles after loading a new area are almost all different... and yes, they are all much worse (as far as trying to advance further with ease.
day and night have an effect on enemy defense (never noticed this in legacy)
weapons powered up do not share the properties in Legacy (no Thunder Axe, Flame Dagger, etc.)
only two characters to play as, but both are immediately accessible
in the latter game, pressing the 'pick up' C button (right) had no effect. here, if pressed consistently, your character will appear to be in stop motion.
jumping is handled differently in many aspects; in the latter game, the quick side jump (or back jump) leads right into the character facing a direction and then going about normal jumps. in this game, the character will continue on this quick jump.
the text goes at its own pace... a slower one, i might add.
drops seem to be happening much more often in this game
the targeting isnt as helpful (shouldnt it want to help you kill the skeleton coming at you instead of targeting the one with no head whose fleeing in terror?)
the platform/jumping seems to take a page from CV-Adventures because of how unforgiving they are.
the latter does away with that stupid NORMAL view which ends up having the camera stuck if you move too sharply on corners.
this game seems to want to LAND you on platforms and ledges rather than have you fall forward and catch it. at least moreso than its successor.
character's who jump and hit the ceiling (namely doorways) will not continue forward; they will instead just land where they hit their head directly beneath them.
jumping/climbing and camera changes dont seem to go well together. for example, if im clearly facing right and trying to climb, you'd push forward. and in that direction, forward would be right. but no, it is instead still up. to make matters worse, clinging to the edges is still done with that direction being pressed instead of up.
PRECURSOR:
most important is a powerful weapon... and that takes 2 power ups. unfortunately, this game seems to have a much defined use of day and night... at night the monsters take many more hits to die off (simon's quest, anyone?). but there shouldn't be too much trouble since only boss fights will be the only times that matters much.
second is choosing a powerful subweapon. and in this game... eh... not really sure. the holy water seems to be the median as far as power and jewel cost.
third, the ever importance of the sun and moon cards. SUN CARD - useful for making all enemy encounters much easier... notable mostly with vampires and bosses. MOON CARD - used to turn day to night in order to run into rosa at the right time (theres no real reason to use this otherwise). theres also that little matter of it needing to be day or night in order to enter certain areas...
watch tower - so it can be sound that dracula would appear at night time (though, its quite funny if you can wait until JUST before daybreak and enter with the sun out).
(Reinhardt) underground tunnel - so you can watch rosa try and kill herself...
(Carrie) underground waterway - so you can have actrise try and intimidate you...
lastly, this game is FAR more linear than its better half... everything has an order it has to be done in. there are a few go places for shortcuts (duel tower).
ok, with all that behind us, ill move on.
i chose schneider. if i were actually trying to beat the game, id choose carrie because she has DISTANCE attacks... and im a big wussy about combat. but i chose schneider.
COMMENTARY:
forest of silence. level 1 got a MAJOR shortcut i didnt think possible. maybe saved a minute. its just a shame that i had to still fight the were tiger. oh, and that nifty double jump can only be done in certain areas. so no, you can scale walls or dive into the abyss, hit the other side and scale up it.
one thing... because of that massive shortcut, it REALLY messed up a sequence i go through. see, in level 3, you have to meet rosa in order to get the archive key from vincent in order to get the garden key in order to access the garden where i can continue with my game. and yes, i had to write it in that ridiculous run on because rosa's "appearance" and its tie to time is ridiculous. ... so, in order to make up for this, i use the moon card early. thats why i use it. and no, the sun card cant save you here. which is ridiculous.
castle walls. the boss battle is a PRIME example of how F@CK'd up this camera is. im sorry, i really cant forgive this game for those camera angles. i mean, try falling down here to the beginning area after climbing a tower. the camera just goes crazy and spins around really fast. as far as taking damage on the boss... ya know what, @#$% IT. im really sick of this prick's breath attack and reinhardt's horrendous delay after he jumps at certain points. im gonna take damage and beat him even quicker. sorry... this battle just doesnt set well with me.
villa. the CEREBI! yah... these are some mean puppies... they actually spit fire unlike their Legacy counterparts. and as with all monsters, they're much more agressive. im a tad late to see rosa, but its much better this way than being there early and doing nothing for about 15-20 seconds and wasting precious time. so im leaving it. is it really all that bad?
jumping is in general the quickest way to move around. the exceptions are low ceilings and the archive room in the villa (yeah it sounds funny but that crappy camera will drive you insane because guess what... WE CANT SEE THROUGH WALLS!).
the maze was a breeze (inspite of the terror and dread this level instilled in me when first playing the game). frank and his stoned pups couldnt keep up. and yeah, because of the camera, you missed it when malus walks RIGHT THROUGH the door at the beginning of the chase (you can view it in LoD's SUPERIOR camera angles if you're quick enough; but no, not here with this crap). also, you can go back through the hedge maze. you'll run into frank and his pups again, but no worries.
i had to manipulate the vampire duo so they wouldnt jump to the rafters/turn to mist and prolong the battle.
underground tunnels. the music here is my favorite in the entire game. unfortunately, it has a MAJOR slowdown while awaiting for the second lift to take you further. sorry. i couldnt really do much.
castle center. notorious for being the sole reason not to continue further, the magical nitro trip in this level is perhaps the most frustrating "task" (the duel tower and underground waterway MAY have just a BIT harder tasks, but nothing as unforgiving as this). you cant jump or take damage or fall or its game over. as well, you are always obligated to fight: 3 vampires on first floor, lizard men on floor 2, 2 vampires on floor 3. and yes, this has to be done to open the doors. its tedious. and to make it even more tedious, the vampires as well as their mist must disappear before you can exit the room.
and i know what you're thinking about the gears... and no, you cant get through there, at least not in this version. in Legacy, your slide is much quicker and if you have enough luck and timing on your side, you can make it through and skip the gears. but not here.
the lizard knights take 3 hits in the day. they'll generally block before 3 consecutive attacks can get in... but theres a way around it, by jumping for their heads and attacking then, you'll bypass their shields. holy water also works well.
vampires take TWICE as many hits at night as they do in the day. however, it has to be daylight BEFORE you encounter the enemies. so, if you walk into a room of vamps and use a sun card, they will still require the same damage they did at nighttime. likewise, before going inside the doorway, use a suncard and the vamps will be more prone to damage.
the demon bull is considered harder than dracula by some FAQ... i REALLY disagree... even when not time attacking. he does big damage, but the attacks aren't all consuming. rosa generally gives me more problems because of her fire attacks.
duel tower. you can bypass 2 battles here so you just face the beginning and end bosses. and yes, the end boss IS that pathetically easy. that jump glitch didnt work as well here for some reason. i officially dont understand it.
tower of execution. uh... the LAG (at least for me). this is why you dont build a giant tower, give it tons of gadgets and NOT make zone portals from one place to the next. somewhere around here is that nifty treasure to give you an alternate costume (looks just like simon's from CV1, while the LoD gives you a more CV2 looking simon, except hes blue).
room of clocks/death. 'oh death, come near me and stay by my side' (sorry). hes a pain because the targeting system is paralyzing when trying to leap up to him. in LoD, its fixed, and makes him a breeze.
clocktower. so all that really stands between you and drac now is the toothed wheel? pretty weak, but we'll take it. the gears are NOT friendly as far as allowing you to move from jump to jump easily. you STICK... badly.
dracula. not much to say about him. he seems to wanna "dance" more in this version.
vlad tepes. not as intimidating as his servant... but he kind of reminds me more of the "dark prince".
drago. HOLY SH!T ... kidding. hes actually a LOT easier than his servant's ascended counterpart. which is sad... very, very sad.
and once more, the ending is delayed by about a second or so because of how ending the movie occurs.
SPECIAL:
double leap glitch: its extremely similar to the SMB jumps. ladders, aren't they?
you have to be able to leap to that area and latch on to the side and climb up (so you can't use this to scale a 100 foot tall solid wall structure... drat). even then, the success rate is odd... it seems if you're running and closer to where you're going to attempt it, then it will be more likely to work. also, it won't always work, especially on moving platforms. admittingly, i dont understand how it works fully.
POST:
The rerecord count comes from 2 things ... the first is trying to manipulate the time with the moon card so as not to waste much time on rosa's appearance. i redid the game a few times for this (from areas in the first level... which made me hate the bone dragon twins more and more). the second comes from discovering the glitch (and yes, i accidentally found it on my own). i found it in the tower of execution... and then thought about where i'd save time with it... and whaddayaknow... LEVEL 1. so we redid the entire game. but im glad i did. i really got frustrated, but the games very easy to play... and my time's been reduced by close to 90 seconds.
As well, I suppose a Carrie game could be attempted should anyone wish to see it. her attack being used without distraction would be something to see... but i doubt anyone would notice the effort.
As well, I owe a debt to marshmallow of SDA. I used his video as reference through some areas, since they changed so much between the 2 games (I play legacy WAY more than this).