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Castlevania Portrait Of Ruin (DS) thread

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
The game came out in Japan today! :)

Pretty nice so far, although more of the same as expected. Not sure how much I dig the soundtrack yet (I know Yuzo Koshiro contributed to some of it), and the character animation isn't as smooth as Soma's in the previous game, but that's likely because you now control two of them at once. You can choose to alternate between characters or summon the other onscreen and let the CPU play as him/her. Just got the dual crush super attack, but didn't try it yet. Jonathon uses different types of weapons (he's not limited to a whip), and Charlotte uses magic attacks from her book (the first weapon you get for her makes a sword come out of her book when you attack). Despite the animation, the graphics are better than all previous versions, with new 3D elements, backgrounds, and even some enemies. There's also a good amount of new enemies this time around, too, which is a welcome addition. I hear this game is a bit short, but there's multiple endings and apparently something like seven or eight secret characters to use. I expect to least be as long, if not longer (which is what was said earlier on) than the previous game.

BTW, if you hold the L button while selecting your file, you can change the character voices (NOT text) to English.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I would totally pick this up on my way home, but the US Collector`s edition has me in its icy grasp. :(
 

Jiggy

Member
Lyte Edge said:
The game came out in Japan today! :)

Pretty nice so far, although more of the same as expected. Not sure how much I dig the soundtrack yet (I know Yuzo Koshiro contributed to some of it), and the character animation isn't as smooth as Soma's in the previous game, but that's likely because you now control two of them at once.
Wow, that's saying a lot since it was pretty bad to begin with. :/ They should really take some lessons from the Mega Man ZX animators or something.

But whatever, it doesn't matter. They got rid of the stylus gimmicks and added a ridiculous number of unlockable characters and each can only be a good thing, more than outweighing animation problems. Even Dawn of Sorrow did that much.
 

MarkMan

loves Arcade Sticks
This is the best CV title on a handheld to date.

I've had the US version for about 3 months now and I'm still playing it to this day. There is a LOT to do. And the story/gameplay is much better and well laid out than DoS.

The only complaint I have is the level design isn't as innovative as past games, but other than that the experience is awesome.
 

Captain N

Junior Member
should I order it right now? I'm gonna get this or wait now or wait and get the US version as a christmas gift and go pick up Final Fantasy III tomorrow.
 
When is the US street date for this game again? Please let it be before the end of November...

Also, I like to abbreviate Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Nintendo DS) to C:poR(NDS) for admittedly immature reasons.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
I have to warn any potential importers: If you can't read at least basic katakana and hiragana, don't buy this game. Wait for the English version; the quests given to you are all in Japanese, and you WILL be stuck wondering what item you need to go any further.

Although right now I'm stuck trying to figure out how or where to get "mince meat."
 

kiryogi

Banned
Lyte Edge said:
I have to warn any potential importers: If you can't read at least basic katakana and hiragana, don't buy this game. Wait for the English version; the quests given to you are all in Japanese, and you WILL be stuck wondering what item you need to go any further.

Although right now I'm stuck trying to figure out how or where to get "mince meat."

Punch them with your bare fists.
 

castle007

Banned
Lyte Edge said:
I have to warn any potential importers: If you can't read at least basic katakana and hiragana, don't buy this game. Wait for the English version; the quests given to you are all in Japanese, and you WILL be stuck wondering what item you need to go any further.

Although right now I'm stuck trying to figure out how or where to get "mince meat."

I think you should spoiler tag that. Unless it is not important at all.
 

Error

Jealous of the Glory that is Johnny Depp
how's the music?

and I always thought the sprites animated poorly in those trailers, I think capcom did a better job with ZX in the animation department.
 

Sapiens

Member
Lyte Edge said:
I have to warn any potential importers: If you can't read at least basic katakana and hiragana, don't buy this game. Wait for the English version; the quests given to you are all in Japanese, and you WILL be stuck wondering what item you need to go any further.

Although right now I'm stuck trying to figure out how or where to get "mince meat."



I imported HoD from Japan (as the US version was scheduled to come out months later) and I was shocked at how quick the guide came out on Gameefaqs to help us poor bastards out.

THat being said, no one will take your warning seriously (no true Castelvania fan, anyways)

Nice try :)
 

Jonnyram

Member
For some reason I assumed the US version was out already, and dug into Illust Logic, thinking GAF didn't need any Castlevania discussion... oops.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
kiryogi said:
Punch them with your bare fists.

I swear I couldn't unequip any weapons! I bought brass knuckles, but that didn't work...

castle007 said:
I think you should spoiler tag that. Unless it is not important at all.

It's not going to ruin anything. It's freaking MEAT. :)

Error2k4 said:
how's the music?

and I always thought the sprites animated poorly in those trailers, I think capcom did a better job with ZX in the animation department.

The music is so-so to me so far. About on par with how I felt about DoS' music in the beginning. I've still only gone to one area outside the beginning of the castle, so there's a lot more places to go.

MoxManiac said:
Does the game really have areas outside the castle setting via the portraits? this was a big selling point to me.

Yes! You go to England first, and I know there's also Egypt from early screenshots.

Sapiens said:
I imported HoD from Japan (as the US version was scheduled to come out months later) and I was shocked at how quick the guide came out on Gameefaqs to help us poor bastards out.

That's true, very true. But I'm still going to warn people. This game is not as straight forward as previous titles, since you HAVE to do the quests before you can move on.

THat being said, no one will take your warning seriously (no true Castelvania fan, anyways)

Nice try :)

:lol Hey, I know how it is. I've played every Castlevania released in Japan before the U.S. myself, since I also can't wait, even when it was just a matter of weeks. :)

Jonnyram said:
For some reason I assumed the US version was out already, and dug into Illust Logic, thinking GAF didn't need any Castlevania discussion... oops.

I think the U.S. version will get a lot more attention here. The Japanese release has been sandwiched right between the PS3 launch and the Wii U.S. launch. No one is paying any attention to the DS right now, it would seem.
 

TheCardPlayer

Likes to have "friends" around to "play cards" with
Big spoilers here.

The game features alot of fanservice....alot.



You can go in a secret area called Demon's Den via a painting. Inside there's a crapload of ultra tough enemies and secret bosses including the CV3 trio of Trevor/Sypha/Grant. If you complete the area you gain a spell that allows you to summon every Belmont to date to whip the crap out of things.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
This game is getting better and better the more I play it. I think the weakest part of the game so far is the castle itself, and that's only because it has that "been there, done that" feel to it (reminds a lot of SOTN this time around), but even then it's still good because there are new enemies to take out. I found two more portaits to go through and am currently in
Egypt
. There's also a
European village with a large big-top circus tent
.

With the two characters, basically Jonathon is the brawler, uses many kinds of weapons (and for the first time in a CV game, I'm actually switching between them), and gets martial arts-style techniques, not just typical CV heart moves like axes and knives. Charlotte gets all the spells and can do summons. I think she's probably more powerful than Jonathon is, since not only can she get books (main weapon) that do a lot of damage, but also perform spells or summons that attack at long long range.

I've forgotten all about the PS3 and Wii launches because of this game. :D

Pedobear said:
Big spoilers here.

The game features alot of fanservice....alot.



You can go in a secret area called Demon's Den via a painting. Inside there's a crapload of ultra tough enemies and secret bosses including the CV3 trio of Trevor/Sypha/Grant. If you complete the area you gain a spell that allows you to summon every Belmont to date to whip the crap out of things.

HOLY HOLY HOLY SHIT if true!! :O
 

kiryogi

Banned
I know people keep saying it per entry, but PoR is most definitely the best igavania to date. The partner system, the MUSIC (this can't be emphasized enough), the design. Everything! The partner system and the puzzles they toss at you are pretty creative but there aren't too many unfortunately. Jonathon and Charlotte are basically Soma/Alucard seperated. As lyte suggested, Jonathon is the melee char, meanwhile charlotte is the mage. And damn is she powerful. The only downfall is that she's frail so she takes a lot more damage than Jonathon. I've only played mainly as her since it does offer a good challenge. I've seen the game over screen so many times now. The level design is pretty sweet, the level lyte mentioned was very creative. There's a lots of fun platforming obstacles and when you get hit by something, you get flung back really far. Extremely annoying of course when youre trying to climb a room. And the music? It actually stands out and really holds the mood through out the entire game unlike Dawn's. Also the soul system returns in a different form of skill/spell system in PoR. You'll can find them via the conventional means like from enemies or just lying around in a room. But it's not like every enemy has something to offer this time. (thank god, soul collectathon was really irritating) It's actually nice that I can progress through out the castle without feeling the need to spam any new enemy over and over until I get it's soul.

Anywho, I'm about 8 hours in, I think I'm almost done but damn it's kept me glued since it arrived this morning. Also, despite what everyone says about the AI. It's been pretty helpful to me. But I can see where the complaints come from. Charlotte seems dumb as a partner, but if youre using her and letting the ai handle Jonathon, it's all smooth riding from there.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
kiryogi said:
Also, despite what everyone says about the AI. It's been pretty helpful to me. But I can see where the complaints come from. Charlotte seems dumb as a partner, but if youre using her and letting the ai handle Jonathon, it's all smooth riding from there.

People have been complaining? I think it's very competent with both characters, and you can easily recall your partner should he/she be taking damage. The partner system in this game is great. It's actually just like a Capcom Vs. game in many ways. You can:

-Switch out at any time
-Call out your partner as an A.I. at any time
-Make your partner wait, attack, or help you push something
-Call out your partner to do their special attack (whatever is equipped)
-Call out your partner to do a "tag super move" attack (different ones can be earned and equipped)
-Use your partner as a "stool" and jump off his/her head (has to be earned)

It rocks, and I love hearing that there are two more sets of characters to play as. :D This game is already on my list as one of the best games of 2006, easily.
 
Lyte Edge said:
I have to warn any potential importers: If you can't read at least basic katakana and hiragana, don't buy this game. Wait for the English version; the quests given to you are all in Japanese, and you WILL be stuck wondering what item you need to go any further.

Items are described in hiragana/katakana only or kanji too? And text is in different color?


(I'm still waiting for my copy shipped from Yesasia, grrrrr)
 

TreIII

Member
Normally, I'd be probably importing something like this with the gusto, but 2 things stopped me from doing that.

First of all, the sweet-ass pre-order bonus. To me, it's worth it just for the Music CD alone, the other things are just the icing on the cake. :D But the other thing that gave me pause is how, more or less, CV's main demographic lies outside of Japan. Thus, it's up to those of us who can to support the localized version of the game as much as we can...

So, I'm willing to wait. Besides, now that it's moved up to the 5th, that's even better! :)

I guess my only complaint I can make, as one who doesn't have the game yet is...

Why did they choose Juste over Trevor/Ralph for the "Greatest 5" Dual Crash? Leon, I can understand, since he was technically the first Belmont to even take up Vampire Killer, but Trevor was the one who actually KILLED Drac! Juste doesn't have anything over the others besides being Simon's grandson (which automatically makes him at least some what good), and he's supposedly got powerful magic abilities. They really needed to make it Greatest 6, or should've used Trev instead. And yes, I know that the Zombie Trevor is back with the other dudes in the Arena, but it's not the same... >_<
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
Moor-Angol said:
Items are described in hiragana/katakana only or kanji too? And text is in different color?


(I'm still waiting for my copy shipped from Yesasia, grrrrr)

Items are mostly in hiragana/katakana.
 

Mikey 2x4

pick up your hentai tomorrow
Well wtf? I just got it and (keeping in mind I don't know a bit of Japanese) I can not figure out where I need to go next. Usually I can just happen to figure out what I need to do, but not this time...

So for anyone who can help I just
learned how to have the team mate stay and pushed that statue to get up higher. I found the ghost looking guy and the shop
but what to do from there?
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
I actually played online co op last night and had no lag, I was shocked! DS online can actually be playable with action games!

Game ****ing rules btw. Best music in a cv game in a long while.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
About four hours in now...stayed up until 4am last night playing since I couldn't stop! I don't want it to end! :D

Mikey 2x4 said:
Well wtf? I just got it and (keeping in mind I don't know a bit of Japanese) I can not figure out where I need to go next. Usually I can just happen to figure out what I need to do, but not this time...

So for anyone who can help I just
learned how to have the team mate stay and pushed that statue to get up higher. I found the ghost looking guy and the shop
but what to do from there?

Hence my warning to importers, but don't worry...it will be okay. :)

You need to talk with the "ghost guy" (his name is Wind) and accept his quest. I can't remember exactly what the first one is, but literally just talking to him again should make you pass it, and you'll earn the slide skill. Then use the slide in the big room right outside the shop room to get to the first portrait.

A guide for the quests is definitely going to be needed for importers.
 

Mikey 2x4

pick up your hentai tomorrow
Awesome, thanks!

:continues on with the game:

er... maybe once these damned customers leave first. :lol
 

Sagitario

Member
sp0rsk said:
I actually played online co op last night and had no lag, I was shocked! DS online can actually be playable with action games!

Game ****ing rules btw. Best music in a cv game in a long while.


YAY! :D
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
sp0rsk said:
I actually played online co op last night and had no lag, I was shocked! DS online can actually be playable with action games!

Game ****ing rules btw. Best music in a cv game in a long while.

It's because you were playing with Japanese players. DS online is smooth for me too when playing in Japan...
 

B-Genius

Unconfirmed Member
sp0rsk said:
I actually played online co op last night and had no lag, I was shocked! DS online can actually be playable with action games!
Holy poopy! I had no idea this had co-op, let alone any online stuff :O

Must bumrush through the rest of DoS!
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
sp0rsk said:
I actually played online co op last night and had no lag, I was shocked! DS online can actually be playable with action games!

Game ****ing rules btw. Best music in a cv game in a long while.

YES!:D :D
 
MarkMan said:
This is the best CV title on a handheld to date.

I've had the US version for about 3 months now and I'm still playing it to this day. There is a LOT to do. And the story/gameplay is much better and well laid out than DoS.

The only complaint I have is the level design isn't as innovative as past games, but other than that the experience is awesome.

You've already had the US version? (P)Review copy?
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
kiryogi said:
Hey lyte.
story q, you realize who wind is right?

Of course,
He's Eric LeCarde. :) I can't figure out if he's a ghost or what, and what his relationship is with the two sisters since I skipped through all that.

Got any tips to beat Death? $#$#er keeps killing me.
 

linsivvi

Member
Lyte Edge said:
Got any tips to beat Death? $#$#er keeps killing me.

Pay attention to his color. When he's white, physical attacks do a lot more damage to him, when he's black, use magic.
 

Lyte Edge

All I got for the Vernal Equinox was this stupid tag
linsivvi said:
Pay attention to his color. When he's white, physical attacks do a lot more damage to him, when he's black, use magic.

Yeah, I figured that out. :)

Now I
Cured the two sisters and am getting my ass kicked by Richter. Might have to come to him later when I find the nebula whip...

I used to say that (new CV game) is second only to SOTN!!" every time, but this game is ON the same level as SOTN. It's so ****ing good...can't believe I'm only halfway done!
 

linsivvi

Member
Lyte Edge said:
Yeah, I figured that out. :)

Now I
Cured the two sisters and am getting my ass kicked by Richter. Might have to come to him later when I find the nebula whip...

I used to say that (new CV game) is second only to SOTN!!" every time, but this game is ON the same level as SOTN. It's so ****ing good...can't believe I'm only halfway done!

Wait until you unlock the secret modes, you might even consider it BETTER than SOTN. At least I do.
 
It IS better than SoTN. More to do, carries over the AoS/DoS polish, adds lots of weapons, spells etc. I think only the music falls short, but they're so different. PoR goes for the upbeat, more old school CV feel this time, love it though. :)
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
Lyte Edge said:
Yeah, I figured that out. :)

Now I
Cured the two sisters and am getting my ass kicked by Richter. Might have to come to him later when I find the nebula whip...

I used to say that (new CV game) is second only to SOTN!!" every time, but this game is ON the same level as SOTN. It's so ****ing good...can't believe I'm only halfway done!


The nebula whip rules btw. it may take more hits but man, it rocks.
 
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