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XBLA - Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

In case anyone still doubted, IGN's preview confirms the earlier leaks as accurate:

Harmony of Despair is a 2D side-scrolling Castlevania that looks quite similar to the post-Symphony of the Night games we've been playing on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS for years. Apart from its looks, though, this is a pretty unique spin on the Castlevania formula. It's designed as a co-op game for up to six players that works like raids in World of Warcraft.

There are six levels, each guarded by a boss that must be hunted down and murdered. The maps are expansive, full of traps, shortcuts, and dead ends. Here's the thing: these levels and bosses are designed to be attempted many times over. Not only are the bosses powerful, but you only have 10 minutes to find them. You are more than likely to fail the first couple times you try. Luckily, you retain all the items and monies you collect on a "raid." So the formula goes: try a level, fail, buy and equip better items, and make it a little farther next time. You don't earn experience points and level up your character, but you are constantly finding new items and earning money that can buy you cool stuff. The next time you try that level, you'll be better equipped for it.
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To get your bearings and plan your route through a level, you can zoom way, way out. You'll be able to see all enemies and other players in the castle, but you're so small on the screen it's probably not possible to play this way. Each level will have a few special areas where you can switch your equipment, but you'll need to do it fast because the clock won't stop counting down. Enemies won't stand around waiting for you to finish, either.
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Chemo said:
Took it long enough to happen! Hopefully they'll dropkick his ass right back to Tokimeki Memorial.

The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night.
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:lol

Agreed. IGA has gotten progressively lazier and staler with each iteration of Castlevania. Time for some new blood ASAP.

P.S. Awesome Castlevania 2 reference. :D

Edit: Why the ban on Chemo? :( Not for this, I hope.
 
Pretty awful that the characters are the size of smurfs because they decided to use low-res DS sprites and SOTN assets. And a ten minute time limit? Hopefully that doesn't destroy the exploration. I'll wait and see how this turns out but doesn't seem that promising so far.
 
duckroll said:
What exactly is your complain then? That despite the fact that there might be many negative things that people might have to say about the various topics you have just pointed out, that you feel they shouldn't be allowed to be that negative because...? Please, tell us more.
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Complaining about something and railing on something indiscriminately are two different things. You get that right?

Why do you present my opinion as though I'm saying black while you are saying white, you are misrepresenting what I say by doing that.

As to whether I am seeing a shade of gray too far left or right of where it truly rests, well that is a matter of opinion and I'm willing to bow to the majority and rethink my position if enough people think it's not the way things are and "just me".
 
Looks cool! I hope this has a story like the other Metro-vania games.

From what it looks like it looks like a versus game where you compete to see who completes a level with the highest score or the fastest time.

I hope that's a separate mode and the main game is like playing a DS Castlevania game but on the 360.

I don't know how the whole co-op thing is going to work.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I think they probably made it on a shoestring budget.

For whatever reason, Iga has fallen out of Konami's favor.
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Perhaps it was the disaster that was Judgment? I don't think it sold well at all...
 
lorddarkflare said:
He was involved with that?

If so, then he deserves to be shunned.
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He produced it, and was actually quite proud of it before it came out.

I feel a bit bad for IGA sometimes. He's TRYING to stay relevant to the youth of today but it's clear he's quite out of touch with emerging gaming trends. Walking around with a hat and whip when you're out of shape just looks sad, too. :(
 
TheFLYINGManga_Ka said:
Looks cool! I hope this has a story like the other Metro-vania games.
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Doubt it.

I hope that's a separate mode and the main game is like playing a DS Castlevania game but on the 360.
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Doubt that too. Besides, all the sprites and backgrounds are straight-up rehashes from the DS games.

I don't know how the whole co-op thing is going to work.
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Probably like the online co-op modes in the DS games?
 
:lol :lol :lol

I'm laughing at all the people who, just a few months ago, said these can't be real. That IGA would NEVER stoop so low. That they looked like some cheap fan-hack. I knew these had to be real because IGA IS that much of a hack.

I've never understood IGA fanboy's claim that without him the series would be dead. It's because of him that it's in this niche dying state to begin with. Maybe their just to young or weren't around to remember that Castlevania used to be a AAA title. Hell SCIV could have sold the SNES alone!

Ridley327 said:
So what you're saying is that if IGA had never come along, Castlevania's brand of unforgiving platforming gameplay would have kept lighting the charts up with its impressive sales year in and year out.
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Yes I'm saying exactly that. Where's this idea come from that Castlevania pre-Iga was dying? It was flourishing before him. I say that had he not come along, Castlevania would have evolved just like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and tons of other 8-bit platformers changed and evolved through the years. Look at the 64 games. Sure they weren't all that financially successful but they tried to adapt to the times. In fact, the only reason I think they failed was due to CV64 being rushed out when it still needed more time to work on (especially to fix that broken camera) and LoD came out near the end of the 64 with little to no fan fair.


P.S. yeah bring Chemo back! He's one of the few people I agreed with...atleast when it came to CV.
 
Henchmen21 said:
:lol :lol :lol

I'm laughing at all the people who, just a few months ago, said these can't be real. That IGA would NEVER stoop so low. That they looked like some cheap fan-hack. I knew these had to be real because IGA IS that much of a hack.
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1. It does look like a cheap fan-hack.
2. Any confirmation of this game actually being done by IGA?
 
Dascu said:
1. It does look like a cheap fan-hack.
2. Any confirmation of this game actually being done by IGA?
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1. Yeah which is why it looks real because Iga is that lazy and incompetent.
2. Uh...second post of this page.
 
Henchmen21 said:
1. Yeah which is why it looks real because Iga is that lazy and incompetent.
2. Uh...second post of this page.
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1. The DS games by far did not rehash gameplay and graphics as much as this one.
2. I must be blind because I'm not seeing it. I don't see his name anywhere in that IGN preview, if that's what you meant?
 
Henchmen21 said:
Yes I'm saying exactly that. Where's this idea come from that Castlevania pre-Iga was dying? It was flourishing before him. I say that had he not come along, Castlevania would have evolved just like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and tons of other 8-bit platformers changed and evolved through the years. Look at the 64 games. Sure they weren't all that financially successful but they tried to adapt to the times. In fact, the only reason I think they failed was due to CV64 being rushed out when it still needed more time to work on (especially to fix that broken camera) and LoD came out near the end of the 64 with little to no fan fair.


P.S. yeah bring Chemo back! He's one of the few people I agreed with...atleast when it came to CV.
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Legacy of Darkness came out the same year as CV64, so that's hardly "end of life cycle" and more "consumers feeling ripped off for buying a half-complete game and having it resold a few months down the line."

Also, like I mentioned earlier, blaming IGA for anything he's ever done is willfully ignoring that Konami put him there in the first place and not until Kojima felt bored one day did they do something about it. Unless IGA has mind control powers or incriminating photos of the execs, I would draw the conclusion that Konami probably doesn't care that much about the franchise; certainly not to the extent that your hyperbole suggests.
 
Dascu said:
1. The DS games by far did not rehash gameplay and graphics as much as this one.
2. I must be blind because I'm not seeing it. I don't see his name anywhere in that IGN preview, if that's what you meant?
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Sorry, my bad. I thought it said IGA preview instead of IGN preview:lol the N threw me. But come on! who else would be behind this train wreck? Certainly not MercurySteam or Kojipro.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I kind of hate what Monster Hunter has done to Japanese development.
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x 1000

Nobody but a certain niche likes that outside of Japan, guys. Please stop using it. :| And please stop featuring it in games that I may give a damn about (Sup, MGS5?).

I'll give the demo a try but if it's just Castlevania: Hunting of Monsters I'll pass.

I don't mind more IGA-vanias, really. I know that sounds crazy, but I do want more Metroidvania's.

Ridley327 said:
Also, like I mentioned earlier, blaming IGA for anything he's ever done is willfully ignoring that Konami put him there in the first place and not until Kojima felt bored one day did they do something about it.
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Yeah. I don't get all the hate. "ZOMG SAME GAMEPLAY AS BEFORE." It's a Metroid-style Castlevania, what do you expect in the gameplay engine to be new and workable? Touch-screen gimmick in DoS didn't work that well. :/

"ZOMG COPY-PASTE ROOMS" Yeah, I'll admit IGA/Castlevania team is a bit lazy on that front. But I blame Konami not giving them a chance/budget to do some good work.

I'd kill for an HD Metroidvania (that isn't Shadow Complex) done with Sprite art and is NEW and not copy-paste rooms. SOME THOUGHT PUT INTO IT... oh yeah and ISN'T WHORED OUT YEAR OVER YEAR like the DS seemed to be this past decade.
 
Henchmen21 said:
Sorry, my bad. I thought it said IGA preview instead of IGN preview:lol the N threw me. But come on! who else would be behind this train wreck? Certainly not MercurySteam or Kojipro.
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Maybe the same guys who did that iPphone Castlevania puzzler? Or the pachislot game? Or the arcade game? I don't know, but Igarashi's never re-used assets this badly. My opinion on this is that this game is being done by a handful of dudes, maybe even outsourced, with little involvement from Igarashi and his team, who are probably/hopefully working on a new "real" game for the (3)DS. I'd hate to be wrong, because I think this game looks godawful.
 
Ridley327 said:
Legacy of Darkness came out the same year as CV64, so that's hardly "end of life cycle" and more "consumers feeling ripped off for buying a half-complete game and having it resold a few months down the line."

Also, like I mentioned earlier, blaming IGA for anything he's ever done is willfully ignoring that Konami put him there in the first place and not until Kojima felt bored one day did they do something about it. Unless IGA has mind control powers or incriminating photos of the execs, I would draw the conclusion that Konami probably doesn't care that much about the franchise; certainly not to the extent that your hyperbole suggests.
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I was sure LoD came out a much later than CV64 but I was wrong. Still I was right about LoD getting little to no press. I don't remember ever seeing ads for LoD anywhere compared to CV64.

What hyperbole? We have actual games that I mentioned that were able to change and adapt to the new style of gaming (ie 3d) and still be successful. Iga wanted nothing more than to keep doing the same thing over and over again. Course it didn't help that some fans were all to fine with this happening but than we saw the same types of people complain about Mario, Zelda, and Metroid moving into 3D, "oh it's a 2d game only...it'll never work in 3d". Rinse and repeat.
 
TheSeks said:
"ZOMG COPY-PASTE ROOMS" Yeah, I'll admit IGA/Castlevania team is a bit lazy on that front. But I blame Konami not giving them a chance/budget to do some good work.
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Except that budget excuse is nonsense. Konami gave him 2 chances with his ps2 games and he still copy/pasted the rooms. It's got nothing to do with budget and everything to do with talent or in his case lack thereof.
 
Henchmen21 said:
Sorry, my bad. I thought it said IGA preview instead of IGN preview:lol the N threw me. But come on! who else would be behind this train wreck? Certainly not MercurySteam or Kojipro.
Click to expand...
Im going to love when Mercuristeam fails you.
 
Henchmen21 said:
Except that budget excuse is nonsense. Konami gave him 2 chances with his ps2 games and he still copy/pasted the rooms. It's got nothing to do with budget and everything to do with talent or in his case lack thereof.
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I guess. But I'm more talking the DS/2D games (never played the 3D games, which from the sounds of it sounds like I dodged a bullet). DoS wasn't bad with the copy-paste (other than the 3D tower on the way to Dracula, which was lifted out of SotN). OoE wasn't bad with the copy-paste (other than square rooms and nothing happening).

PoR would be the biggest "copy-paste" offender, what with the "WHOOOOOOO~ NEW AREA BUT IT'S DARK/LIGHT COMPARED TO THE FIRST VERSION~ WHOOOOOOO~" going on.

I think OoE proves that IGA/Castlevania team could do a really good Metroidvania still. The problem is the level design only (IMO), and if they put some thought into the level/platforming and magic/leveling systems and tried to revamp somethings, they'd actually have a decent game on their hands.

2D Metroid-style adventures will never get old to me. But bad level design is the main issue, granted.
 
This isn't a horrible idea for a castlevania game but a new Symphony of the Night style game in HD is an excellent idea for a game and would pretty much be guaranteed to sell more than this game. It boggles my mind how they don't recognize this.
 
the nightman cometh said:
This isn't a horrible idea for a castlevania game but a new Symphony of the Night style game in HD is an excellent idea for a game and would pretty much be guaranteed to sell more than this game. It boggles my mind how they don't recognize this.
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Problem is Konami doesn't want to put in the time or money to do it. But yeah, I say they do it have it on PSN + XBLA and it'd sell gangbangers.
 
TheSeks said:
Problem is Konami doesn't want to put in the time or money to do it. But yeah, I say they do it have it on PSN + XBLA and it'd sell gangbangers.
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:lol :lol :lol :lol

I think you mean gangBUSTERS. Gangbangers is something completely different and would be just odd in CV.

ETA Although now that I think of it, it might make this game not so shitty.:lol
 
ESRB rated it:
This is side-scrolling action game in which players assume the role of heroes from the Castlevania series. Players use chained whips, swords, guns, and magic spells to fight their way through 2D-environments filled with fantastical creatures (skeletons, flying eyeballs, demons, etc.). Holy water, axes, and rocket launchers can also be used to kill enemies that cry out in pain, break apart into small chunks, or burst into small sprays of blood. Some female creatures (succubi and harpies) wear revealing outfits that expose a lot of cleavage; one enemy's vacuum attack causes a heroine's skirt to be rise up frequently. The words "damn" and "hell" sometimes appear in the game.
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TheSeks said:
Problem is Konami doesn't want to put in the time or money to do it. But yeah, I say they do it have it on PSN + XBLA and it'd sell gangbangers.
Click to expand...
I don't think they'd make enough from a full game PSN/XBLA release to make it worthwhile (considering the budget required for a lengthy HD 2D game). They'd have to sell it for 20-30 dollars and probably still wouldn't make enough.

More likely would be some kind of episodic structure.
 
TheSeks said:
Problem is Konami doesn't want to put in the time or money to do it. But yeah, I say they do it have it on PSN + XBLA and it'd sell gangbangers.
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If the remake isn't based on the Saturn version then don't waste the time. But HoD is just a different approach to the series and I'm excited for it. Depending on the price I might Day 1 it or wait for the DotW that you know will come 2 months afterward. And Judgment wasn't that bad and it has some depth to it if you look. But once it gets there it's lots of juggles with Holy Water and the Stop Watch into super but a decent game all around and maybe the best netcode for a fighter on the Wii that I can think of.
 
Gears couldn't do it, Rockstar's extras couldn't do it, Fable couldn't do it, HALO couldn't do it, but it looks like this might get me to buy a 360. I fucking love me some Castlevania.
 
Solstice said:
Gears couldn't do it, Rockstar's extras couldn't do it, Fable couldn't do it, HALO couldn't do it, but it looks like this might get me to buy a 360. I fucking love me some Castlevania.
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well more power to you i guess
 
I guess I am in the minority here, but I like the concept. I've always enjoyed multiplayer instances in MMO's, but never had the time commitment to play said MMO's. This looks like it might scratch that itch in 10 minute bursts + Castlevania.
 
Can't say I've ever played a Castlevania and thought, "man this would be much better with multiplayer". If anything I'd think 2P would work better on the older style Castlevania's.

This just looks really thrown together. The fact that you can zoom out far as fuck really kills any immersion the Metroidvanias had. It's not cool when you can see every room around you, it just looks dumb.

I've pretty much loved all the Metroidvanias except HoD and PoR. I was hoping this would be a new HD Castlevania with some new sprites and gameplay mechanics. Instead it just looks like something that will leave a bad taste in your mouth. If the whole game is just boss rushing that's pathetic.
 
Geeze even for a guy like me who appreciates a Castletroid every now and then Konami again tells me to eat shit and die. Eventually I'll be able to choose between some Monster Hunter-esque nonsense or a God of War clone. Thanks guys.
 
Foffy said:
:lol :lol :lol

Let's just hope he isn't like Dracula, hmm? I wouldn't mind Michiru Yamane coming back on board to the series someday, as she was the only consistently solid asset to the IGA generation to Castlevania. Her weak soundtracks were to weak games. And of course she was also pre-IGA, having her hand in some of the better titles on the Genesis.
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Only weak 2d IGA game was Harmony of Dissonance.


Foffy said:
I think they were given newer, more fluid sprites for SotN. So they didn't reuse those sprites.

It made sense for SotN to reuse Rondo sprites, considering it's a direct sequel. But to see literally every other IGA game use them has ruined the novelty of them. What's worse is IGA's 3D games, as all of them use pretty much the exact same assets and there's barely a level of difference.
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Not all of the sprites were reused. Beginning with Aria, they began redoing stuff like the giant axe armors.


Alex said:
Why? He's spot on, I think. The area design inmost of the handheld Castlevania games has been very derivative and bland. Castlevania really needs some actual care and attention put into it's design unless they just want to cater to the handful of people who want to play perpetual SOTN fanwank forever.
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It's not like SotN was better on the whole in that department.


MechaX said:
And that's the strangest thing here. The Training Room proves that IGA's team does have the talent to make good platforming segments. Why they always opt for straight-line corridors filled with enemies is quite beyond me.
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Which SotN had its share of as well. Not to mention longer stretches thereof, due to the oversized nature of the castle.

Henchmen21 said:
:lol :lol :lol

I'm laughing at all the people who, just a few months ago, said these can't be real. That IGA would NEVER stoop so low. That they looked like some cheap fan-hack. I knew these had to be real because IGA IS that much of a hack.

I've never understood IGA fanboy's claim that without him the series would be dead. It's because of him that it's in this niche dying state to begin with. Maybe their just to young or weren't around to remember that Castlevania used to be a AAA title. Hell SCIV could have sold the SNES alone!

Yes I'm saying exactly that. Where's this idea come from that Castlevania pre-Iga was dying? It was flourishing before him. I say that had he not come along, Castlevania would have evolved just like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and tons of other 8-bit platformers changed and evolved through the years. Look at the 64 games. Sure they weren't all that financially successful but they tried to adapt to the times. In fact, the only reason I think they failed was due to CV64 being rushed out when it still needed more time to work on (especially to fix that broken camera) and LoD came out near the end of the 64 with little to no fan fair.


P.S. yeah bring Chemo back! He's one of the few people I agreed with...atleast when it came to CV.
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What? Like how the Iga Metroidvanias were uniformly stagnant, and did nothing better than SotN? :lol

The guy's point of reference seems to be the worst of the lot, Harmony of Dissonance.
 
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