{"id":6551,"date":"2017-12-12T02:20:01","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T02:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielprimed.com\/?p=6551"},"modified":"2017-12-12T21:09:56","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T21:09:56","slug":"the-complexities-of-castlevania-sotn-tertiary-combat-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielprimed.com\/2017\/12\/the-complexities-of-castlevania-sotn-tertiary-combat-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complexities of Castlevania: SOTN \u2013 Tertiary Combat Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Death\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[When developing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, director Koji Igarashi wanted to make a game which would \u201coverturn player\u2019s ideas about Castlevania, yet also feel like a Castlevania game\u201d<\/a>. In pursuing this vision, his team made SOTN\u2019s game system much more complex, incorporating RPG systems and a wide variety of nuanced player actions. This series of articles will examine how these additions shape SOTN\u2019s core gameplay of moving through space to dodge and attack enemies.]<\/em><\/p>\n

SOTN’s movement mechanics<\/a>, standard weapons<\/a>, and subweapons<\/a> leverage the game’s core spatial and timing dynamics to offer the player various means of engaging with enemies (dancing up close with fists, aiming a projectile at a distance, etc.). However, the developers also made some weapons and mechanics too abstract, nuanced, or only particular to certain cases. As such, these parts of the game system fall way beyond the reach of the average player. SOTN’s tertiary systems generally fall into the same category, wasteful portions of the game design which contribute very little to SOTN’s core gameplay.<\/p>\n

Expendable Weapons<\/h3>\n

The player can find various single use weapons throughout Dracula’s castle, such as javelins or TNT. These items function much like subweapons, but the pick-ups aren’t very common, leaving the player with few opportunities to experiment and figure out how best to work these attacks into their repertoire.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, using an expendable weapon requires the player pause the game, unequip their current weapon, equip the expendable weapon, unpause, and then use the weapon. As players probably won’t have too many expendable weapons in hand, they’ll likely have to repeat the process soon after to re-equip their original weapon. So the interface acts as a further barrier to entry.<\/p>\n

Spells<\/h3>\n

\"sotn-spells\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After buying the respective script from the castle’s librarian, Alucard can perform a spell by inputting a fighting game-esque sequence of inputs. (Alternatively, if you already know the button combinations, say, from an online FAQ, then you can learn the spells without paying for them). Although the text descriptions for spells are quite short, they provide enough information to get the player started. However, the spells aren’t particularly worthwhile, unless you’re looking to water down the combat difficulty. Dark Metamorphosis falls back on the blunt \/ sharp weapon attributes. Summon Spirit, Tetra Spirit, Soul Steal, and Sword Brothers attack nearby enemies (with Soul Steal healing Alucard as well). These insta-win spells aren’t terribly different from the Cross sub-weapon and allow the player to opt out of engaging enemies head-on. Wolf Charge and Wing Smash function similarly to Samus’s speed booster mechanic in the Metroid games, although without the destructible environment. Given the abundance of lengthy hallways and occasional large open area, these mechanics do allow for some fast travel. Hellfire’s teleportation doesn’t have much functional purpose (most enemies can be avoided with the traversal mechanics, which is a much more engaging than inputting a spell).<\/p>\n

Familiars<\/h3>\n
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Hagihara:<\/strong> But the familiars were something we barely had time to finish in the development, and they almost didn\u2019t get added to the game. So most of the enemies aren\u2019t really balanced with regard to the player using a familiar. What I\u2019m trying to say is, please don\u2019t overlevel the familiars. (laughs)<\/p>\n

Igarashi:<\/strong> For people who think they\u2019d be helpful for them, it\u2019s fine to use them. But for those who don\u2019t want the game balance broken, it\u2019s also fine to ignore them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Interview Source<\/a><\/p>\n

Familiars are equipable buddy characters. They float around Alucard and perform certain actions depending on their individual personality. For example, the faerie heals Alucard when he’s low on health, while the sword will do various sweeping moves to attack nearby enemies. Other than choosing which familiar to equip, the player has no control over these assists. They attack on their own and level up on their own. In this sense, they generally make combat easier and introduce a weak variable factor into combat which can occasionally prompt the player to switch up tactics.<\/p>\n

Equipment<\/h3>\n

Along with standard weapons, Alucard can equip headwear (for intelligence and defence), armour (for defence), cloaks (for constitution), and accessories (for added effects). As well as increasing Alucard’s stats, these items can grant specific properties. For example:<\/p>\n