I returned directly from my post-wedding decompression in Sonoma to the office this morning to find this on my desk:
I guess someone’s growing impatient for me to get on with the Anatomy of Zelda II. Message received. With luck, I’ll have the series wrapped by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, Castlevania hit 3DS today. If you’re revisiting the game for the first time in a while today, I would love to hear how your experience stacks up to my own opinions and observations as stated in my Castlevania anatomy series.
How far into the Zelda series is Anatomy going to cover? I’m far more interested in seeing the later games getting a good deconstructive analysis. Maybe I could get a better understanding of why I don’t like them as much as the Link’s Awakening-Wind Waker era of games.
Now that Roger Ebert’s gone, they want to hear the most similar sounding voice speak about games.
I personally don’t think” anatomy” of Zelda is required post Link to the Past & Link’s Awakening. Every game in the franchise afterwards just tweaked and expanded the gameplay mechanics established in those four, transitioning to 3Dworlds and incorporating new technology. Same to be said with Castlevania, after Rondo of Blood it makes a leap to Symphony and then that’s when the franchise changes completely and therefore doesn’t really need additional anatomy breakdowns. Metroidvania style gameplay is awesome but pretty unnecessary to be broken down as it’s mostly about stats, finding great loot, exploring and weapon/item combos. There is no thoughtful and intense gameplay memorization and control mastery required. Aka, though I LOVE the Metroidvania style. . . anyone can beat that type of game.
@ Frank: I respectfully disagree, not anybody can beat that type of game. And in case of Harmony of Dissonance that anyobody would be me: Every time I played it, I got stuck at some point sooner or later, until I lost interest and stopped playing (over the years I tried several times). At first I blamed myself (it was Castlevania after all, so it had to be good, right?) but eventually I realised it was the game’s fault: it is confusingly and somewhat sloppily designed. On the other hand a game like Aria Of Sorrow just seems to flow, leading the player subtly through the game, while giving you enough freedom to explore on your own. So I think it would be worthwhile exploring why some Metroidvanias work, while others do not.