A Gaming Diary
DS
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Oct 2nd
I’m stuck.
I have gained the power to stop time (i.e. freeze enemies – cogs still turn annoyingly) and now I have no idea where to go next.
I’ve done a pretty comperehensive survey of all the open-ended spots on the map and I can’t seem to get through any of them yet. Looking at some of them, I really think I’ll be needing to turn into a bat or moth or something at some point. But I can’t yet, so those areas are out of bounds.
Maybe I’ll wander for years until I find the answer. Be level 2,373 and have a beard down to my balls before finally stumbling over a door I didn’t realise I could open.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Oct 2nd
::deep breath::
You remember the other day when I mentioned how I’d just had the most annoying death in any Castlevania ever?
Well…
::another deep breath::
…well, it can’t begin to compare to my last dying. It was… quite vexing.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my happy place.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Oct 2nd
One more boss down. Killed first time.
Lots of annoying jumping later and I think about to meet the Medusa Heads for the first time this game. Oooh, I hate them.
Uncovered 44.4% of the map now and have played for a little voer four hours according to the clock.
My thumb’s very sore now, though, so I should probably give things a rest for a while.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Oct 2nd
Valkyrie souls really don’t drop very often.
No more bosses, just wandering around trying to find out the place to use my new power that will open up the next huge section of the map. I keep finding loads of dead ends where I can’t jump high enough or haven’t got the right magical seal or haven’t got the correct amount of gold or whatever.
You know, it could really do with a system of map annotations to help keep track of things. They could be hand-written and everything. Sure it wouldn’t be that difficult to do.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
…And it’s one more boss down – great looking, pathetically easy – and time to put the DS on charge and go to bed.
I like this game.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
God, I hate, hate, HATE, HATE sliding block puzzles. Especially ones with reset buttons just next to the square I need to click to solve it. Especially ones with reset buttons THAT DON’T ASK FOR CONFIRMATION just next to the square I need to click to solve it.
I got there in the end, though.
Another boss down, too. Easy one. A little bit too easy…
Oh, and I hate rooms full of towers of fire-spitting dragon heads that take ages to kill and only has a hole in the ceiling, which I can’t get through yet. Hmm, unless you can stand on the dragons’ heads and build a staircase… Man, that was way back. I’ll just try to remember that in case I don’t find any flying powers later on in the game.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
And what was behind that dragon that kept killing me?
A halbred.
A fucking halberd.
Ah well, at least I was able to sell it for potion money.
Oh, and I bought a handgun. It’s really fun to use against weak enemies. Not much use when you’ve got a horrible ghostly being dropping down on to your head, though.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
Ack!
Same monster killed me again!
It’s not a boss or anything complicated, just one of those dragon skulls on the end of a really long neck. It’s just way down in the bottom of a pit after a load of other monsters. Luckily, I’d saved a bit later than I did last time.
I got a Great Armor soul again. Turns out I didn’t need it, anyway. It’s a Valkyrie soul I need. Not sure if I’ve met those yet, I’ll have to check.
I’ve lost ghoul souls both times I’ve died, too, but they seem to pop up often enough that I’m not too bothered.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
MOST ANNOYING CASTLEVANIA DEATH EVER.
I’d got another Great Armor soul. I’d uncovered loads more of the map. I’d found tons of new equipment.
I just hadn’t found a save room.
Buggering, bollocking fuck.
Horrible, horrible unclean game.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Sep 30th
Two more bosses down – in an annoying “kill one boss, find the second two screens later” bit. Luckily, while the first one is tricky and took me three goes, the second is easy as piss. I’ve now got a lovely new move, so I’ve got to wander back through the places I’ve been looking for somewhere to use it.
I want to go back to Yoko’s shop at some point, too. After about fifteen minutes of trying I got a Great Armor soul, which I think is the next one I need to upgrade my halberd. Unfortunately, it’s a useful soul power, so I’m not sure if I should use the soul or not. So I probably need to go back and get another Great Armor soul, so I don’t actually have to choose.
According to the game’s clock, I’ve only played for 1 hour and 42 minutes, which seems very wrong indeed. I’m sure it must be more like three or four hours now. I’ve also uncovered 20.3% of the map already, but you always start off finding loads of new places. Later on I’ll be searching out a 0.3% here and a 1.2% there.
Oh, and those summoned zombies can actually be quite useful. Hooray!
