First Impressions: Castlevania The Adventure Rebirth

Yep, it's Castlevania. How do I know? Cause....I CAN'T BEAT THE F@#KIN' GRIM REAPER STAGE!!!!.....(whew) Just like in the first one. For those gamers used to being pampered, it's a good idea to pad yourself with a few extra lives in the option menu cause you'll get no mercy from this game.

So, here comes the third installment in the Konami Rebirth series for the Wii. Strange how they named the title: Castlevania....the Adventure...Rebirth. As if to dredge up the horrifying memories from the deep recesses of the scarred minds who had unfortunate chance to cross path with that monster only to say....we made a better game...........Is it?

Don't let "the Adventure" pitch fool ya? Sure, there's a FEW similarities but rest assured, Konami threw that mess out the window and heads back to the lab to construct a truly different beast. One that captures the golden memories of our youth, injects blood flavored with old-school goodness, stitched together by good fundamentals, and megawatts of Nintendo Power (oh yeah, we're playing with power!) to give it life to fulfill one purpose....to take us back to the past....and its succeeds.

The game has six levels and no save points. That's right, you have to beat the game in ONE sitting and giving up means starting all over again (boy does that bring back memories). The difficulty ramps up the further you go along. Like in stage 5, every enemy hit takes 4 life and since our hero has 20 life, its take only 5 to kill ya. On top of that, every stage has two bosses to fight, and plenty of cheap moments (a.k.a. Medusa Heads) to give plenty of reason to scream out the seven words you don't say on television. But you're not going into monster's den unarmed....

All the Belmont's favorite tools are back including the return of the flame whip. But it bugs me a little that it's effective only for a limited time. That's like saying Mario can use a fire flower for 30 seconds. Powerful, yes, but too powerful to warrant heavy restriction like the Invincibility Star. Sure, the flames can kill enemies in a distance but the lack of attacking diagonally and the cheap ways to die helps the argument in the other direction.

There one new additional tool called the key. It opens locked doors (duh!) but those doors could lead to secret vaults providing tons of hearts, ungrades, and 1 ups. Sometimes, they unlocks hidden shortcuts that bypasses some of the minibosses and enemies, going to the stage's main boss and they're littered throughout the game, putting a big win in the replay departments. Sounds too good to be right? The catch is it takes the special weapons slot a.k.a giving up your axe, cross. etc. As the key does nothing, you'll heavily rely on your whip to fend off enemies. So, it's a risk-reward type of deal.

To say this game is a remake is like saying Dracula drinks fruit punch, nothing can be further from truth. Castlevania Rebirth (the proper title it should get) plays, feels, looks and listens like a completely NEW game that stays true to tradition but stands out among its brethren, offering a different gauntlet of challenges and secrets for fans both new and old to experience. It's the kind of game we've been waiting for since the Virtual Console inception and not this half-assed attempt.....



So far, Castlevania Rebirth does not disappoint and makes an excellent addition to the Rebirth series. However, it quite a quagmire to see Konami do great by WiiWare titles, yet so poorly for Wii titles. You'd think the creators of DDR, Guitar Freak, and Boktai would have a field day with motion controls, but so far, it's been dismally disappointing. But Konami want to get back on track, why not bring back this guy?



Happy New Year!

Yes, Sheepman is confirmed.

Happy Nerd was right. Like a dairy addict to a stray bovine with large utters, Capcom sees a great opportunity and milking it for what its worth releasing the next 8-bit adventure for their favorite blue hero. But the whole issue with Megaman 10 reminds of an episode from Scrubs (great show btw) where Turk tells the whole hospital about his wife's second pregnancy but didn't get the enthusiastic reaction he was expecting. I should be stoked the Blue Bomber makes another return but part of me has....reservations.

When news broke out for Megaman 9, I was so excited to see the Mega, Roll, Proto, Wily, and Light return to their roots, putting the retro revival into full throttle. Capcom didn't hold back on anything, they leaped from the highest diving board and dived into the pool of nostalgia like a shooting star. It was like picking up our childhood where we left off. The pixelated art, awesome 8-bit music, flicker, the box art....Speaking of cheesy box art....:D



Mmmm.....cheddar.

MM9 felt like something long overdue has finally arrived. MM10 on the other hand....what's overdue? The only thing coming to mind is connecting the dots between original Blue Bomber and X. For the last decade, fans have hysterically theorized, agonized every little detail, and nerd fight over what the hell happened and seeing as X is roman numeral equivalent of 10, it's seem appropriate to put this to bed once and for all. Unfortunately, we get something about a robo-influenza pandemic and ol' Rock has to search for parts to a vaccine machine.....'kay. On top of that, Protoman makes a return too along with a secret third character. I hope they don't screw us over on the DLC like they did last time.



Sheepman....not the most frightening name, is it? Kinda digging the leap from woolly timid animal to 10,000 volt hazard. Though Capcom seems to be taking inspiration from cute creatures that fit in your pocket.



What's next?




Pikachuman!!!

NSMBW sells 1 million in the first week!

Technically, it's 952,279 but you get the idea. No surprise Nintendo struck gold coins (again) on another Mario game but let's take a step back. New Super Mario Bros Wii is unique compared to Nintendo's other creations for their console as a fun platformer. Yeah, same can be said for Super Paper Mario but that's combines 2D and 3D elements. Strip away the 4-player co-op, improved graphics, motions controls, and Mario's new moves, you essentially have this:



Rewriting the headline: "25-year-old game becomes 3rd best selling product in the North America". It get right down to the core of this phenomenon. In an industry dominated by the notion "2D gaming is dead", something comes along and says "Screw that!" with one million passe and more to back those words.

What does it mean? It's a wake up call. If something old-school like NSMBW can become a money magnet in the modern age, then maybe 2D platforming is the potentially profitable avenue third party companies can get behind with everything thing they got. They tried about everything else for the Wii with little success but the mere thought of developers revisiting their old-school roots unlock the joyful possibilities. The idea isn't farfetched seeing these companies are still around today. Sega returning Sonic to his former glory. Konami finally has a good reason to make a 2D castlevania for console (besides the rebirth series). I don't see any reason to drop the ball cause for some it was their expertise but if they f#@ked up (on top of all the other bullsh!t mistakes they made), then they have no one to blame other than themselves.