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"Dissonance in classical music was explained by the chief music critic of the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, in a recently published video on the New York Times website, as the urge to move a note away by one to move the sound perception from dissonance to consonance. Tommasini said the ear tells you that a note has to move either in or out by one note to resolve the dissonance and dissonant music demands resolution to harmony." https://www.sciencedocs.com/dissonance-explained/
Released in 2002 for the GBA, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance has a less than stellar modern reception. If you check reviews, they are glowing for the most part. However, the playerbase generally regards HOD as the worst in the Igavania games. One of the main reasons for the "worst of" label is the fact that the music fidelity was severely compromised due to the game placing the bulk of its resources in the visual department. I think another element at work might be the dissonance itself within the music, as explained above by someone much more intelligent than me.
As I've mentioned in other threads, I've been on a massive Castlevania kick the past few weeks. I've played through 3, 4, ROB, GB games, Bloodlines and recently played through SOTN and now HOD. I gotta say, HOD is a damn fine game and here are my thoughts that I typed down last night, shortly after the end game credits rolled.
Music gets knocked by most people but it's great to me. It doesn't quite fit the graphics cause the music quality is like early NES, lol. The dissonance aspect might be a legit factor too in why some people dislike it so much. I like dissonant melodies but it's creates a negative reaction in some people. Some people are wired to only enjoy consonance. I really enjoy the music, I think most of the tracks are super catchy and keep the mood/energy up for me. I think it just comes down to each person.
Combat is insanely fun but it's easy to get overpowered with certain spell/sub-weapon combos. The bolt spell book and bible sub-weapon make you invincible for the most part and you can literally just sprint forward and one-shot most enemies. This is a great thing though for backtracking but abusing it isn't advised unless you're terrible at the game. It really does take away the already minimally existing challenge. (all the gifs below are from me)
I can see why some people dislike the backtracking but at the same time, it's no worse or more cryptic than Super Metroid and it's not like people say anything bad about that game. The backtracking definitely artificially extends the length of the game but it also kept me engaged, you really do have to wander a lot to find the one section that may have opened up. The combat isn't the challenge, it's finding where you need to go. I finished in about 6 hours and collected everything/got the good ending. One thing I didn't realize until like 4 hours in is that you can press down in the teleport rooms and it'll teleport you within the castle you're in. For those who aren't aware, HOD has 2 castles, the teleport rooms initially seem like they only transport you from Castle A to B, or vice versa. The game doesn't clue you in at all that you can teleport to other areas within the same castle, it helps with some of the backtracking but all the same, this game forces you to wander, it's not until the end game in which you truly have everything you need in order to unlock some of the rooms.
Movement in this game is phenomenal. The jumps do feel floaty at first but you get used to it, it helps that the height of your jump depends on how long you hold down the button. It feels fantastic using the sprint ability and stringing jumps together with your overpowered sub-weapon/spell. You literally plow through everything at breakneck speed. This game would be really fun to speed run.
The above is a great example of how responsive the jump mechanics are. You can see the initial jump can easily be short, or long, etc. It's a great responsive feeling, makes you feel like a total badass.
Graphics and art style are really stunning. The presentation has aged incredibly well. A lot of asset reuse with sprites but that started with SOTN reusing Rondo's assets, it's to be expected with Igavania games. There are a load of really dark and evil looking rooms. Some really twisted bosses too. Tons of stuff going on; various enemies on screen, multi-layered backgrounds, lightning effects, etc. It even has it's own 3D clocktower outside the stairs that lead to Dracula in Rondo/SOTN. The game is basically SOTN-lite.
I love how the skeleton moves due to the gear spinning. Nice touch.
Story may as well not be there but it's cool to have a direct sequel to Simon's Quest. Takes place 50 years after CV2 and Juste, the guy you play as, is Simon's grandson. I like the idea of having to collect Dracula's pieces in order to resurrect him and actually kill him.
Overall, Harmony of Dissonance is true to it's name, off-putting for some, a total treat for others. Don't sleep on this game if you've avoided it due to people saying bad things about it. It's a great game, just a bit too easy. Easy 8/10 for me.
Played roughly 50% on the Wii U off and on but bought the Advance Collection the other day and started fresh. Finished it over the course of 2-3 days.
Beating the game unlocks a Boss Rush mode and similar to SOTN, if you start a new game and put MAXIM as the name, you'll play as Maxim, similar to the Richter campaign in SOTN. You also unlock a Sound Test.
So gaf, are you a fan of Harmony of Dissonance or is it truly the worst Igavania? Let's hear your thoughts!
Released in 2002 for the GBA, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance has a less than stellar modern reception. If you check reviews, they are glowing for the most part. However, the playerbase generally regards HOD as the worst in the Igavania games. One of the main reasons for the "worst of" label is the fact that the music fidelity was severely compromised due to the game placing the bulk of its resources in the visual department. I think another element at work might be the dissonance itself within the music, as explained above by someone much more intelligent than me.
As I've mentioned in other threads, I've been on a massive Castlevania kick the past few weeks. I've played through 3, 4, ROB, GB games, Bloodlines and recently played through SOTN and now HOD. I gotta say, HOD is a damn fine game and here are my thoughts that I typed down last night, shortly after the end game credits rolled.
Music gets knocked by most people but it's great to me. It doesn't quite fit the graphics cause the music quality is like early NES, lol. The dissonance aspect might be a legit factor too in why some people dislike it so much. I like dissonant melodies but it's creates a negative reaction in some people. Some people are wired to only enjoy consonance. I really enjoy the music, I think most of the tracks are super catchy and keep the mood/energy up for me. I think it just comes down to each person.
Combat is insanely fun but it's easy to get overpowered with certain spell/sub-weapon combos. The bolt spell book and bible sub-weapon make you invincible for the most part and you can literally just sprint forward and one-shot most enemies. This is a great thing though for backtracking but abusing it isn't advised unless you're terrible at the game. It really does take away the already minimally existing challenge. (all the gifs below are from me)
I can see why some people dislike the backtracking but at the same time, it's no worse or more cryptic than Super Metroid and it's not like people say anything bad about that game. The backtracking definitely artificially extends the length of the game but it also kept me engaged, you really do have to wander a lot to find the one section that may have opened up. The combat isn't the challenge, it's finding where you need to go. I finished in about 6 hours and collected everything/got the good ending. One thing I didn't realize until like 4 hours in is that you can press down in the teleport rooms and it'll teleport you within the castle you're in. For those who aren't aware, HOD has 2 castles, the teleport rooms initially seem like they only transport you from Castle A to B, or vice versa. The game doesn't clue you in at all that you can teleport to other areas within the same castle, it helps with some of the backtracking but all the same, this game forces you to wander, it's not until the end game in which you truly have everything you need in order to unlock some of the rooms.
Movement in this game is phenomenal. The jumps do feel floaty at first but you get used to it, it helps that the height of your jump depends on how long you hold down the button. It feels fantastic using the sprint ability and stringing jumps together with your overpowered sub-weapon/spell. You literally plow through everything at breakneck speed. This game would be really fun to speed run.
The above is a great example of how responsive the jump mechanics are. You can see the initial jump can easily be short, or long, etc. It's a great responsive feeling, makes you feel like a total badass.
Graphics and art style are really stunning. The presentation has aged incredibly well. A lot of asset reuse with sprites but that started with SOTN reusing Rondo's assets, it's to be expected with Igavania games. There are a load of really dark and evil looking rooms. Some really twisted bosses too. Tons of stuff going on; various enemies on screen, multi-layered backgrounds, lightning effects, etc. It even has it's own 3D clocktower outside the stairs that lead to Dracula in Rondo/SOTN. The game is basically SOTN-lite.
I love how the skeleton moves due to the gear spinning. Nice touch.
Story may as well not be there but it's cool to have a direct sequel to Simon's Quest. Takes place 50 years after CV2 and Juste, the guy you play as, is Simon's grandson. I like the idea of having to collect Dracula's pieces in order to resurrect him and actually kill him.
Overall, Harmony of Dissonance is true to it's name, off-putting for some, a total treat for others. Don't sleep on this game if you've avoided it due to people saying bad things about it. It's a great game, just a bit too easy. Easy 8/10 for me.
Played roughly 50% on the Wii U off and on but bought the Advance Collection the other day and started fresh. Finished it over the course of 2-3 days.
Beating the game unlocks a Boss Rush mode and similar to SOTN, if you start a new game and put MAXIM as the name, you'll play as Maxim, similar to the Richter campaign in SOTN. You also unlock a Sound Test.
So gaf, are you a fan of Harmony of Dissonance or is it truly the worst Igavania? Let's hear your thoughts!
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