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Castlevania Portrait Of Ruin (DS) thread
- Thread starter Lyte Edge
- Start date
Okay, I need some serious help here. Fighting Death.
Level 26... and I don't have a bat thing. I can't fly. Should I be able to? Where can I get the ability?! This has been driving me nuts. I haven't been avoiding battles or anything, either.
Also, when I went up against Stella, I defeated her in battle, and Loretta came to her rescue. Can I still do the sanctuary dealy? Or am I too late?
And if there's nothing else I'm supposed to do now (unlocked and beat four portraits), then how the hell am I supposed to defeat Death?
Also, when I went up against Stella, I defeated her in battle, and Loretta came to her rescue. Can I still do the sanctuary dealy? Or am I too late?
And if there's nothing else I'm supposed to do now (unlocked and beat four portraits), then how the hell am I supposed to defeat Death?
you're confused from reading too many spoilers.AniHawk said:
no, there's no "bat thing" when you fight death for the first time. you'll get the ability to fly later. you won't be able to miss it. you will need it to progress at some point. first death fight with level 26 should be pretty easy. what exactly is your problem when fighting him?
you're supposed to defeat stella the first time. don't worry, everything's pretty obvious - you'll notice when you have to "heal" the girls. that's much later in the game.
you're supposed to defeat stella the first time. don't worry, everything's pretty obvious - you'll notice when you have to "heal" the girls. that's much later in the game.
jarosh said:
So RIGHT NOW
I have to defeat death? He's got his scythe bouncing off all sorts of these chain hands. I'm doing a measly 18 damage on his 4444 HP bar each time I hit him, AND whenever he's not being a dick, it's only 58 damage (which is still around 80 hits or so).
AniHawk said:
death has 2 forms,when he is black he will take crappy damage from phsyical attack and when he's grey he's immune to all sort of magic,so pick charlotte and start casting spells for crazy damage personaly i used dancing lights because i thought he was weak to holy but he isn't so just pick the best spell you have and after he becomes gray switch to jonathan
AniHawk said:
dunno about the 18 damage. i don't remember how much damage i inflicted when fighting him but you're definitely supposed to fight him now. just try to stay out of the chain thing. the chains don't do any damage, you can jump/walk right through them. if he grabs you with his chain hand things when doing that other attack just switch to your other character and free 'yourself'. i'm not sure how you do that anymore, i think you just need to hit his hands.
and despite what teasel says (i suppose he's right about his strategy), you can actually kill death pretty easily with jonathan only. but yeah i guess it's even easier with the spell/charlotte strategy.
and despite what teasel says (i suppose he's right about his strategy), you can actually kill death pretty easily with jonathan only. but yeah i guess it's even easier with the spell/charlotte strategy.
One thing I don't like about this game is that you can tell the awful anime art style is seeping into the actual graphics. Death looked badass in DoS and looks like a JOKE in this game. Many new enemy sprites too (even zombies look dumb). Heck, even Charlotte and Jonathan look cartoony.
I beat Death like 20 minutes ago at level 15. :lol
Good luck!
I hope you have the Volcano (Up + X) skill because it will come in really handy. Basically, I'd initiate the battle and go right under Death activating Volcano. Each rock would do around 68 damage. I'd then restore MP via items and start running around dodging all his crap waiting for another Volcano to charge. The only viable time to attack him is when he is in his grey form: either Volcano him or attack him with Jonathan.
To dodge his spinning scythe attack just run to the opposite end of the hall and hop on the ledge (where the doors are locked). If Death starts coming close just try and time the bounce of the scythe and dash to the opposite end. Apply the same strategy to his grabbing attack and you'll avoid it most of the time (watch out for the top hand portal getting above you). As for Death's slashing forms, this is the real time to dish out damage via magic/melee (assuming he's grey, which he likely will be). Make sure to dodge his annoying scythes too.
I died loads of times at first (largely due to my level) so I went shopping for potions, came back and owned him.
To dodge his spinning scythe attack just run to the opposite end of the hall and hop on the ledge (where the doors are locked). If Death starts coming close just try and time the bounce of the scythe and dash to the opposite end. Apply the same strategy to his grabbing attack and you'll avoid it most of the time (watch out for the top hand portal getting above you). As for Death's slashing forms, this is the real time to dish out damage via magic/melee (assuming he's grey, which he likely will be). Make sure to dodge his annoying scythes too.
I died loads of times at first (largely due to my level) so I went shopping for potions, came back and owned him.
Good luck!
modkennylaine
Member
Anyone else with a DS Phat having trouble pulling off that goofy spin thing? Half-roll back, forward+Y? I usually have no trouble inputting moves for fighting games, but this isn't registering. I was wondering if it'd be easier on a DS Lite's d-pad.
Battersea Power Station
Member
I thought I had trouble performing it, but it was just some stupid thing about having to talk to Eric twice or whatever. Just offering that up as a thought.modkennylaine said:
modkennylaine
Member
Battersea Power Station said:
Well, that worked, thanks!
So, I just
And man, the bad level design is really starting to get to me. It IS much worse than previous Metroidvanias - the castle is okay, but the paintings are an absolute bore and dreadful to slog through.
Also, my complaint about the art style seeping into the sprites still stands. The
battle would have been better if he hadn't looked like a Saturday morning cartoon character. The soundbites from the enemies ("PLEASE OBSERVE!" "I SEE YOU!") are silly and generally don't enhance the game. I don't really like the characters themselves, though I wasn't a fan of DoS's either (except Julius).
And I'm not such a fan of the bosses either so far.
Oh yeah, and IGA said there would be a lot more focus on the items this time around. I kind of expected there to be a whole lot of interesting and unique items. That isn't the case so far.
Now, it's not a bad game. I still enjoy it somewhat. But it is disappointing.
cured the sisters.
Also, my complaint about the art style seeping into the sprites still stands. The
Death
And I'm not such a fan of the bosses either so far.
Death was cool (besides his really stupid look), the first boss, Stella and the Egyptian woman were decent. But the green goo thing was absolutely pathetic, the bull thing was kinda weak, and the water monster was pretty stupid. Legion is a rehash, only less interesting because the room is a lot bigger.
Oh yeah, and IGA said there would be a lot more focus on the items this time around. I kind of expected there to be a whole lot of interesting and unique items. That isn't the case so far.
Now, it's not a bad game. I still enjoy it somewhat. But it is disappointing.
Well got done playing it last night. Completed all of wind's quest, 1 more charlotte spell to grind monster and find. Maps 100%
Definitely inferior to DOS. Charlotte is pretty damn pointless and you hardly ever used her. The skills she brings could easily have been replaced via rings/items that change your forms...etc. So the 2 player mechanics simply don't work. Half the time, she's not even on the screen because otherwise you'd lose mana. And to use an item to prevent it? Useless.
As for main game, like many others who've posted, didn't ever really find this great+superb. It was mind numbingly so-so. When I was done, I wasn't too in love with it. The game has so few secrets / obscure shit that you can do that I wonder if they were phoning this in. At least in DOS, there were a couple of cool secrets.
OVERALL SCORE: 6.5/10
Definitely inferior to DOS. Charlotte is pretty damn pointless and you hardly ever used her. The skills she brings could easily have been replaced via rings/items that change your forms...etc. So the 2 player mechanics simply don't work. Half the time, she's not even on the screen because otherwise you'd lose mana. And to use an item to prevent it? Useless.
As for main game, like many others who've posted, didn't ever really find this great+superb. It was mind numbingly so-so. When I was done, I wasn't too in love with it. The game has so few secrets / obscure shit that you can do that I wonder if they were phoning this in. At least in DOS, there were a couple of cool secrets.
OVERALL SCORE: 6.5/10
Finished off the main mode and working on the others right now. Some final-ish impressions:
Pros:
+ Best Preorder Bonus EVER.
+ Music is fantastic, even if some of the catchy tunes sounds similar to each other.
+ Secret Modes very nice.
+ Several cool boss fights
+ Main Castle design was slightly better than DoS.
Cons:
- Everyone's already mentioned it, but count me in as well. Portrait designs were as dull as ditchwater, and having to backtrack through them to get essential items made the flaws even more apparent.
- Most bosses were completely forgettable, except for the ones I previously mentioned. I think part of the problem was that you don't get any skills or items for defeating them. Brauner is an awful awful villain and boss.
-The second character system didn't really live up to its potential. I rarely used Charlotte, and pushing heavy objects and riding carts with two people were just pretty much gimmicks.
- I can only have 5 quests at once? Annoying rare-drop quests for worthless items are preventing me from accessing better quests. Retarded.
- Subweapons/Weapons also disappoint. I never used 90% of them because 1) it's not worth the time to master and 2) are downgrades of a weapon from a stupid easy quest. (Royal Sword) WTF? At least in Dawn of Sorrows, you had to trade in valuable souls to get GOOD weapons.
- Julius Mode is still better than the secret modes in this game. There was a lot of strategy in boss fights because 1) Yoko could heal 2) Julius had a long reach and good specials 3) Alucard has a quick strong attack and can transform. From what I've played so far from the modes, I could do without the other character and get along just as well.
Even though I still enjoyed the game, I can't in good conscience give this game more than a 7/10. There are just too many flaws that keep popping up. And here I was thinking that it was going to give EBA a run for its money as the North American DS GOTY.
Not even close.
Pros:
+ Best Preorder Bonus EVER.
+ Music is fantastic, even if some of the catchy tunes sounds similar to each other.
+ Secret Modes very nice.
Richter is one speedy bastard
Legion, Whip's Memory and Dracula/Death come to mind.
Cons:
- Everyone's already mentioned it, but count me in as well. Portrait designs were as dull as ditchwater, and having to backtrack through them to get essential items made the flaws even more apparent.
- Most bosses were completely forgettable, except for the ones I previously mentioned. I think part of the problem was that you don't get any skills or items for defeating them. Brauner is an awful awful villain and boss.
-The second character system didn't really live up to its potential. I rarely used Charlotte, and pushing heavy objects and riding carts with two people were just pretty much gimmicks.
- I can only have 5 quests at once? Annoying rare-drop quests for worthless items are preventing me from accessing better quests. Retarded.
- Subweapons/Weapons also disappoint. I never used 90% of them because 1) it's not worth the time to master and 2) are downgrades of a weapon from a stupid easy quest. (Royal Sword) WTF? At least in Dawn of Sorrows, you had to trade in valuable souls to get GOOD weapons.
- Julius Mode is still better than the secret modes in this game. There was a lot of strategy in boss fights because 1) Yoko could heal 2) Julius had a long reach and good specials 3) Alucard has a quick strong attack and can transform. From what I've played so far from the modes, I could do without the other character and get along just as well.
Even though I still enjoyed the game, I can't in good conscience give this game more than a 7/10. There are just too many flaws that keep popping up. And here I was thinking that it was going to give EBA a run for its money as the North American DS GOTY.
Not even close.
Battersea Power Station
Member
This might be a cheap way, but I just ran away from him and used the Nebula. It's longer than the VK so he can't hit you while you can hit him. It's also longer than the range of his Bwakakakwkakaka knife throw.castle007 said:
Of course, the Nebula is a lot weaker than the Royal Sword or whatever, but its speed + autoaim lets you get many hits in. Like I said... it felt a little cheesy ):
castle007 said:
Nebula, jump towards and attack then press back in midair. You can beat him without every getting hit, very easily.
Anyway, I got 1000% on the map, now just working on maxing out the items... this means 9 playthroughs, but that's okay. I always play these games multiple times anyway.
I don't understand the complaint about Charlotte being useless... she's basically the equivalent of the dual-equipment option in DoS, and on some enemies she's actually more useful than Jonathan.
The one thing I found pretty funny is in
nest of evil... when you get to the end and fight the doppleganger. If you equip charlotte with the encyclopedia before you go in there and enter the room as jonathan, you can stand right in front of her without moving, and just whip away on her until she dies... the range of the encyclopedia won't reach you
Pureauthor
Member
And no, you do not have to have played DoS.
Pureauthor
Member
Oh, please. Nebula is where it's at.
Pureauthor
Member
AZ Greg said:
At main menu (The one where it shows the castle in the background and the graveyard on top screen), hold down 'L' while selecting any of the options.
Doing it correct, you'll hear Jonathan yell 'SHOWTIME!' when you select something.
sixteen-bit
Member
Pureauthor said:
fixed.
Rocky_Balboa
Member
I need some help here. I just got the COG from the fun house. I know that I should go to the tower, but I just can't push the glowing greeny pillar so I could jump higher. I tried to push it and it won't budge. I also pressed <-+A and got Charlotte to push too, but it still didin't budge. What do I need to do?
E: Ah found the strength glove.
E: Ah found the strength glove.
Hmmm ... I got the game shortly after launch (the postman was probably playing my copy or something) and right now I'm at the last boss at 33 levels (
), 860% of the castle and just 10minutes shy of 7 hours (6:50 for the slow) and ... the game's short. Shorter than Aria of Sorrow even, and that game was fiendishly short, like it was neutered or something. And I didn't rush the game or anything, if anything, I took the time to wander around to fill up as much space in the map in a hurry as I can and only stunning whatever enemy I can't kill in one blow to rush past them. And since I only use hand daggar weapons only, I spend a lot of time (and I do mean a lot) killing bosses. Regardless, it's fun.
I haven't read the entire thread yet (about 600 posts in) but I don't really get the complaints about the game being easy though with the quest glitch and buying all the most powerful weapons, that's to be expected. But then again, even without the quest glitch, with just whatever weapons you find and enemy drops the game would be easy anyway. Really the game, in addition to Dawn of Sorrow, was designed with low level runs or weak weapon or no weapon usage in mind. I wouldn't have played the game for this long if I had just used the strongest werapons I'd run into.
And the music though? The remix of Pressure (stairs leading up to the final boss) is awesome, just like the original.
Time to finish off the game.
PS. Shurikens are too overpowered in the game. With enough mp you can kill any boss using just this subitem.
still working on second form, though this isn't much of a spoiler ... I mean COME ON!!!
I haven't read the entire thread yet (about 600 posts in) but I don't really get the complaints about the game being easy though with the quest glitch and buying all the most powerful weapons, that's to be expected. But then again, even without the quest glitch, with just whatever weapons you find and enemy drops the game would be easy anyway. Really the game, in addition to Dawn of Sorrow, was designed with low level runs or weak weapon or no weapon usage in mind. I wouldn't have played the game for this long if I had just used the strongest werapons I'd run into.
And the music though? The remix of Pressure (stairs leading up to the final boss) is awesome, just like the original.
Time to finish off the game.
PS. Shurikens are too overpowered in the game. With enough mp you can kill any boss using just this subitem.
jwj442 said:
Since the combat in this game is simplistic to a fault, there is no reason to take the time to charge Charlotte's magic. It's much quicker just plowing through the game with Jonathon. One or two hits kills the vast majority of enemies. Charging spells takes time and gets quite boring after a fight or two.
That and Charlotte is no more than a glorified summon. Castlevania games are action games not turn based affairs. While it sounds fun to kill things with nothing but books (that's a future playthrough for me), it's just not a first run sort of thing (monk run yes but not with a spellcaster).
If you can jumpkick downwards to him to death than that means you're so overpowered that you can finish the fight faster if you just used weapons. 
On the same subject, another nitpick about the game is, unlike previous games the flying kick is not as useful due to a much higher chance of getting hit from using it. The only near gauranteed way to not take damage while using it is to kick straight downwards. In SotN, this attack was a great way to quickly get through annoying areas in a hurry and I even beat Granfaloon once this way (well broke off whatever parts of it I could without taking off damage that is). Very disappointing and annoying (mind you not gamebreaking but annoying nonetheless).
On the same subject, another nitpick about the game is, unlike previous games the flying kick is not as useful due to a much higher chance of getting hit from using it. The only near gauranteed way to not take damage while using it is to kick straight downwards. In SotN, this attack was a great way to quickly get through annoying areas in a hurry and I even beat Granfaloon once this way (well broke off whatever parts of it I could without taking off damage that is). Very disappointing and annoying (mind you not gamebreaking but annoying nonetheless).
Oldschoolgamer
The physical form of blasphemy
yudaan said:
Hell yes. Things get insane when you play at level 1. All the enemy positions actually seem relevant then.
Gigglepoo said:
I don't know...I used her for the majority of the game. Chain Lightning clears out rooms like nobodies business. Her books later on get ridiculously powerful. Added with the right equips, she outright rapes Johnathan in terms of attack power. A lot of times, I found it easier to just hop in a room, use chain lightning, and keep on rolling. Johnathan was being used for sub-items. lol
Well I haven't unlocked the level cap yet but I'm playing the game using only hand daggar weapons. In addition to that, skipping whatever enemies I can or just killing things that die in 1 hit (and these enemies have to be really pathetic if they die from one jab from a hand daggarOldschoolgamer said:
). And this is how I played Dawn of Sorrow as well. The games are actually fun this way.Unfortunately, this goes against what the previous paragraph states.
The harder they die, the better the game.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
Hey I have a question.
I haven't played Castlevania since SNES. I don't particularly care about the storyline, but I liked the gameplay mechanics from the 2d series.
1. Should I pursue the DS sequels?
2. How hard are they/how far of a stretch between saves?
3. Tell me I don't have to really know any of the back stories from all the sequels. Please?
4. Do I get a whip?
I haven't played Castlevania since SNES. I don't particularly care about the storyline, but I liked the gameplay mechanics from the 2d series.
1. Should I pursue the DS sequels?
2. How hard are they/how far of a stretch between saves?
3. Tell me I don't have to really know any of the back stories from all the sequels. Please?
4. Do I get a whip?
Error2k4 said:
I thought
maria
Went from Lvl 27 to lvl 44 in an hour? Her normal attack is great for killing those things.
That said, I don't really want to play the game anymore. Its a major disappointment to me. I kind of want to sell it but then It'd sit nice with DOS on my shelf... Dilhemma. :S
Enjoy, I did.
And one thing I just found out
And final impressions, I pretty much got what I expected. Fun boss battles, decent to nice music, crap for level design, and that's it. I'm glad I got it and will play it again (doing lvl1 Jonathan as we speak).
And one thing I just found out
if you don't unlock the power of the vampire killer before beating the game, you won't get Richter as a playable character. ;_;
And final impressions, I pretty much got what I expected. Fun boss battles, decent to nice music, crap for level design, and that's it. I'm glad I got it and will play it again (doing lvl1 Jonathan as we speak).