A port of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
A port of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance included in "Castlevania Advance Collection." Harmony of Dissonance introduced a lot of new features to the franchise, such as "Boss Rush" mode and the "Spell Fusion System" that lets players combine Sub-Weapons with Spell Books to cast devastating spells. New Quality-of-Life features for this port are included, such as Rewind, Quick Save, and Record/Replay. The new Encyclopedia feature offers helpful information that helps you keep track of items, equipment, enemies, and the Spell Fusion System. With the new Collection Gadget option, you can get on-screen pop-ups that display the obtainable collection items in the current area. Play as Juste Belmont, the grandson of legendary Vampire Hunter Simon Belmont!
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Harmony of Dissonance is the most repetitive and sluggish entry of this "Igavania" direction with literal copy/paste map design and how painfully slow the player acquires meaningful upgrades. On top of a teleporting system that is not explained well in the slightest, this means repeatedly being subjected to the same hallways and enemies. I got to the point where the castle design was baked into the back of my head, and not for a good reason. The number of times I got lost looking for a specific upgrade I needed to progress in the game was frustrating, leading to multiple instances of consulting online walkthroughs. "Walkthrough games" are not inherently bad, especially considering physical manuals are all but dead, and digital ones are so muddied by menus you never think of their (alleged) existence. The sheer amount of consultation needed to overcome fundamental obstacles and reach the "true" conclusion is far too much for my taste. The game's not good if a YouTube video and/or GameFaqs needs to be constantly open in the background while I'm playing.
Despite my negative overall experience of this game, I can give credit for how it plays and offers variety on an enemy/boss front. While one could reasonably argue that Harmony has too many boss fights, the fights that are present are fun and offer enough of a challenge if you haven't cheesed the merchant for near-infinite potions. The issue is, for the sheer amount of backtracking the player does, there is no reason not to go hog wild on healing items to tank through even the most brutal battles. You will be swimming in what feels like near-infinite wealth on top of your rapid leveling up, trivializing what should be meaningful, challenging encounters.
A lack of challenge paired with poor progression pathing leads Harmony of Dissonance on a rollercoaster-like playthrough. The highs will feel phenomenal, and you'll be treated to smooth gameplay and neat bosses. The lows of being stuck for over an hour finding progression items feel as unfun as the entirety of Castlevania Legends.
لعبة جيدة ما عدى اواخرها
Maybe someday I'll come back, but as of right now there wasn't enough keeping me interested to feel the need to continue