Let's Play Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow!

Well, it's a week before Halloween, and how better to spread a little holiday cheer than to start an LP!

Attachment 37651
Of course we have these brilliant people to thank for this game.

Attachment 37652

Attachment 37653

Attachment 37654

Attachment 37655
Oh my, what a truly ominous way to start a game!

Attachment 37656

Attachment 37657
Starring your's truly!


(Hi everyone! I thought I'd do this for fun. I'm uploading these screencaps now to see how they look before I actually get into the meat of this game. Are they too small?)

They work perfectly!

Hell, alright then.

Foreword: Ah Castlevania; it was a series I had never heard of until about 4th grade, when Nintendo Power had a featured article concerning this game and the history of Castlevania (I believe the cover issue was about the second Golden Sun). I was instantly wowed by Ayami Kojima's beautiful artwork. I mean, LOOK AT IT

Attachment 37658
AWESOME! I mean, SWORDS DEMONS BLOOD and a cute chick to top it all off!
...Wait. Yeah, this was one of those rare times I mistook an effeminate male for a girl; the other notable time being Raiden in MGS4.

So yeah, my mom took ONE LOOK at this game case and said "no". It's a good thing my Grandparents are awesome :kakapo:.

Anywho, Aria of Sorrow was my first journey into Dracula's domain, and I gotta say, it got me hooked. In fact, to this day, this game and it's sequel are some of my favorite handheld games of all time. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say I think this game tops Symphony of the Night (gasp!). You guys might have to bare with me a bit, this is my first time playing the game since... 2010, I want to say. This is also my first LP, so I'm going to take a bit of time to make sure I have all the screenshots I need for the first couple areas of the game. I be back soon enough.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Edge7

In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say I think this game tops Symphony of the Night (gasp!)

---

Well, it's definitely not a bad game. But... really? :freak:

Trust me, I'll explain myself, and even if you don't agree with me, I won't hold anything against you.

I don't think it tops SOTN, but I love the hell out of both Aria and Dawn of Sorrow.

I can easily see how you mistook him for a female. Holy androgyny, Batman!

PART ONE: What a Horrible Night to Get C**kblocked!

I think the best thing to do would be to describe the opening scene in text, because using screenshots looks somewhat sloppy, especially since the text sometimes gets lost in the background, or on our main hero’s sprite.

Attachment 37661
Like so.

So the main concept of the scene is our main hero climbing a stairway to a shrine. A lone bat constantly stalks him as he makes his way to the shrine at the top. The scrolling text reads as follows:

“The year is 2035.
Japan.
Crowds of spectators are gathering around in anticipation of the first full solar eclipse of the twenty-first century.
My name is Soma Cruz, and I am a high school exchange student studying abroad in Japan.
I live near the Hakuba Shrine, an ancient shrine with strong ties to Japanese mythology.
Mina Hakuba, the only daughter of the shrine's caretaker, is both my classmate and my childhood friend.
I started making my way to the shrine to see the solar eclipse with Mina. But, for some strange reason, the stairway leading up to the shrine felt longer than usual, as if something was trying to keep us from our destination.
When I finally managed to get through the shrine gate, and my senses began to dim...
The pitch black sun is holding chaotic darkness together, trying to rouse a sleeping soul as if looking for its missing other half...”

Attachment 37662

Attachment 37663

Attachment 37664

Attachment 37665

And with that, our story is ready to begin.

By the way, if you couldn’t tell, this localization isn’t the hottest. I underlined and bolded everything I don’t like. Soma’s a foreign exchange student now? Who decided that one, 4kids? Alright, I suppose it would make sense for someone with a Spanish last name to come from a European background (haha, “Cruz is Spanish for “cross”). The European background would also add credibility to other aspects of the plot, but I won’t go there… yet. Second of all, if you’re going to make Soma European, why continue to make Mina his childhood friend? That confused the hell out of me as a kid. Also, I have to laugh at Soma’s attempt at poetry waxing. That trout’s deep.

But enough of this bull-shigginshat, we got a game to play!
And what awesome way are we going to start this Castlvania game? An epic stare-down between our main hero and the castle? Praying in front of a Cross despite having every reason to want to renounce God due to a life in exile? Getting ambushed by Death while riding a carriage to save a burning village? Running at breakneck speeds through the forest, and leaping into the castle?

Attachment 37666
Our hero, ladies and gents…
Symphony of the Night: 1, Aria of Sorrow: 0
…Sigh.

Everybody, let me formally introduce you to our hero, Soma Cruz. Suffice it to say he’s nowhere near as awesome as Alucard or ANY of the Belmonts… yet.
More on that later.

Attachment 37667

Attachment 37668
It’s at this point we’re introduced to this rather striking fellow (who happens to be slightly more masculine than Soma)

Attachment 37669

Attachment 37670
Oh, by the way, this is Soma’s friend, Mina. She’s basically useless. Also, I believe the translators went to the Squaresoft academy of ellipses abuse.

Attachment 37671

Attachment 37672

Attachment 37673
I stand by my theory.

Attachment 37674

Attachment 37675
Way to dodge the bullet Soma. We all know what you wanted; hell, it’s like Teddie from P4 puts it:
"A couple walking together at a festival...Unused to wearing it, the girl's yukata comes loose...Summer has begun."
You crazy kids!

(By the way, I’ll use italics either when I want to stress something, or when I’m talking to the characters directly)

Attachment 37676

Attachment 37677
You can use “we’re” Soma; it helps with sentence flow.

Attachment 37678

Attachment 37679
Even assuming Arikado was being sarcastic, Soma is WAY too defensive. With a sense of humor like that, I’d love to see him at parties.

Attachment 37680

Attachment 37681
Lighten up man!

Attachment 37682

Attachment 37683

Attachment 37684

Attachment 37685
Wow Arikado, how’d you let this ambush escalate so quickly?

Arikado makes short work of all the enemies save for one Winged Skeleton.

Attachment 37686

Attachment 37687
Whenever I read this, Soma sounds like Tidus in my head.

Soma stabs the monster.

Attachment 37688
Out flies a red orb.

Attachment 37689
Which circles around the air for a second and joins Soma’s body.

Attachment 37690
Oh? What’s this?

Attachment 37691

Attachment 37692

Attachment 37693

Attachment 37694
Okay, so here’s what Aria of Sorrow (from now on being referred to as AoS) did for me that Symphony of the Night (SotN) didn’t; the use of the power-ups. SotN used the typical Castlevania style of secondary weapons being found throughout the castle. This works great for linear Castlevania games like the original, but an Action-RPG Exploration-based platformer like SotN feels hampered by restricting the freedom to choose your own sub weapon whenever you want. I know Alucard did have permanent spells, but I’ve rarely ever been a fan of fighting game inputs for the Playstation control pad. Even using Sabin’s blitzes in FFVI (which I have done successfully, which is more than I can say for SotN or Street Fighter Alpha) leaves my thumb calloused as hell. But I digress. Long story short, the ability to choose your sub-weapons (which are all based on the enemies you kill) at any time really help the player customize a playing style. SotN: 1, AoS: 1

Attachment 37695

Attachment 37696
Oh gee, thanks Arikado! It’s great to know that I was simply born with the power to absorb souls.

Attachment 37697

Attachment 37698

Attachment 37699

Attachment 37700
That seems sound enough; I believe I will trust you, Michael Jackson lookalike whom I’ve only just met.

Attachment 37701

Attachment 37702
Should we really trust this sketchy dude alone with our unconscious kinda-sorta girlfriend?

Attachment 37703

Attachment 37704

Attachment 37705

Attachment 37706

Attachment 37707
Arikado: “So yeah! I’m much more experienced than you in navigating these zombie and demon infested hallways, but I’mma leave you to the task of saving this helpless, innocent girl.”

Attachment 37708
What a douche.

Well, without any further ado, let’s enter the door to the left and start our journey!

But first!

Attachment 37759
When you enter the first real area of the game, you can come back to Mina, who is now fully conscious. If you talk to her by pressing up on the control pad, you get this conversation:

Attachment 37760

Attachment 37761

Attachment 37762

Attachment 37763
Gee Soma, we get that you’re jealous. Maybe he just introduced himself while you were unconscious.

Attachment 37764
He’s probably a Turk.


Attachment 37765
Eh, same thing. Although I guess you could interpret the Turks as Yakuza as well.

Attachment 37766
I guess that's a good reason to be weary of him...

Attachment 37767
HAVE YOU SEEN THE GUY?!
Attachment 37768

Attachment 37769
DUHHH

Attachment 37770
Hey, that sounds just like Tseng!

Attachment 37771

Attachment 37772

Attachment 37773
Mina, are you trying to say something about Soma? I mean, he’s not the most MASCULINE fellow around, and I also know that character designer Ayami Kojima is a fan of Shonen-Ai, but…
I’m digging myself into a hole, aren’t I?

Attachment 37774
Odd way to dodge the bullet there, buddy. All those AerithxTseng fanfics must’ve gotten to your head.

Attachment 37775
Gonna take a moment to point out the ellipses.

Attachment 37776
You can just SMELL the sexual tension.

Attachment 37777
As the pot calls the kettle black.

Attachment 37778
I picture Marvin Gaye playing right now, until Soma opens his mouth again.

Attachment 37779

Attachment 37780

Attachment 37781
Soma: (But implying that I might be like some of the creatures that dwell here… that’s a turn-on, right?)

Attachment 37782

Attachment 37784

Attachment 37785

Attachment 37786

Attachment 37787

Attachment 37788

Attachment 37789

Attachment 37790

I joke about Mina being useless, but I do appreciate that they try to build a relationship between Soma and herself. The dialogue isn’t overtly romantic, but you can sense something there. Talk to her again, and Soma will even check up on her; this leads to some actual drama later on in the story, where Mina will describe how she starts blacking out and the like, but for now, everything’s peachy keen.

Attachment 37793

Attachment 37792

Also, if you exit the area and come back, she’ll give you useful gaming tips through word from Arikado:

Attachment 37791
Like so.

Furthermore, talking to Mina will instantly heal your HP and your MP, which is useful if you’re low on health, and you’re closer to a warp point than a save point, as the nearest warp point is literally two rooms away from here.

Well, this part was WAY longer than expected, but look forward to ACTUAL GAMEPLAY in the next part!

How is she getting these messages? Soma looks like a bit of a lameoid, hopefully you play him better than he acts!

I figure Arikado comes back to check on her like Soma does. As for Soma's character, well, it'll all get better in due time (though I'm pretty sure "in due time" means the sequel, where Soma even talks a little smack with some of the villains). I've blasted my way through the first level, so I'll update that soon enough.

UPDATE: Sorry for the delay guys, School just got a bit more work intensive. I'm piecing together the next segment as we breathe.

Looking forward to seeing it :D

Quick update: Sorry about the delay guys. I meant to upload something over Thanksgiving break, but I spent a huge chunk of my time meeting up with people I haven't seen in months. That, and Classes really started cracking down.

Once again, I'm sorry guys, I just didn't see any obligations coming when I started this. I still plan on finishing it though.