Castlevania III: Akumajou Densetsu (Famicom)

For my next trick, I'll be playing Castlevania 3. However, this isn't Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. It's the Famicom (read: Japanese) version of the game, Legend of Demon Castle. (Note: Pay no attention to the title screen spelling it "Akumajyou", as this is evidently a typo in the version I got ahold of).

This version has vastly better music and a more down-to-Earth challenge level. It's still more difficult than CV1, but it isn't as insanely frustrating as Dracula's Curse. The U.S. version is so difficult that it might as well have been a game about birthing a meteor. Keeping all of this straight? Good. I figured that between this and the U.S. version, I was better off playing the one with good music that doesn't give me a heart attack. Now let's see how this measures up in the pantheon of great action games of the 80's.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES)

The second game in the series is...well, how to say this. It is not like the others. It emphasizes exploration and collection of powers.

It's kind of like Zelda 2. It kind of sucks. It's no Metroid 1. And I don't even like Metroid 1.

What's up with the word "Metroidvania"? Shouldn't games of that style simply be referred to as "Metroid-esque" since Metroid did all this stuff first? Ah hell, I don't even know. I don't approve of the word "JRPG" either. Just a simple "RPG" worked for us for two decades to describe the same exact thing. Even if U.S. RPGs like Fallout 3 beat the complete crap out of most Japanese RPGs (and I would argue that Fallout 3, in particular, probably does), it still doesn't mean we can go creating a whole new genre to regulate those other games to.

You know what? We did the same thing to the Native Americans. And it wasn't cool then either.

Castlevania (NES)

Time to take a look at the original Castlevania, as this October-fest of sorts thunders onward. I'm going to try to hit all of the first four games in the series over the course of the month, if I can. The way I see it, those four games are really the core of the Castlevania series, before it began to meander off in different directions.

Get ready for some bad-ass 80's graphics. It's on now!

For anyone unfamiliar with the concept of Castlevania, it's a series where you play as various vampire hunters and battle Dracula and his minions, usually while forging through his expansive lair...Castlevania.

Look at that title screen! Awww yeah! Reagan was still president and the world was a magical wonderland of super awesomeness. At least, according to our selective memories. And unless you lived in Iraq or Iran. Void where prohibited. This post is rated M for mature, so kids should cover their ears while reading.

Chosen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Retrospective)

Some thoughts on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, mostly written upon finishing the last season:


Caution: Spoiler-riffic

Well, wow. What to say here. The seventh and final season was a step down from the previous seasons (namely, five and six). It wasn't bad or anything, but there were a lot of story elements I could have done without. There was also a lot of rushing, as if they had to get as much done as possible before the buzzer. Seemed like the characterization suffered from this throughout. Kind of the same issues I had with Serenity, actually. Also like Serenity, it's tough to see characters you care about die in the final battle.

I may have had some issues with the final season, but it picked up hugely in the last seven episodes. The last episode, "Chosen", was pretty amazing.

I'll get it out of the way right now... this may well be the best TV show I've ever watched. What starts out as a campy "highschoolers-fighting-demons" show quickly evolves into something incredibly thoughtful, insightful, and self-aware.

Originally the series was seven years long, but for me it took a lot less time to traverse. Join me for this trip down memory lane.

Demon's Crest (SNES)

Today I'm going to be looking at an old SNES game, Demon's Crest. It's actually the third game in the Gargoyle series, a forgotten little group of games by Capcom. I've never played the first two, but Demon's Crest is decent. This should be a fun little jaunt.

Demon's Crest. It sold about 1000 copies, so no one knew it existed.


UNTIL NOW.

Movie Review: Buried

Buried

Starring Ryan Reynolds

Directed by Rodrigo Cortes

Let's get this out of the way first - Buried is a disturbing, deeply uncomfortable film, and claustrophobic moviegoers in particular would do well to avoid it. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, an American truck-driver working for a company in Iraq. After an attack on his unarmed convoy by insurgents, he awakens to find himself trapped in a coffin; armed with a phone, a zippo lighter, and a knife, he frantically searches for a way to escape before it becomes his tomb.

Dark Autumn

It was a lean September here at the Corona Jumper, but things are about to change.

My favorite month of the year, October, is upon us. Here in the northeastern U.S., it's a month full of magic, wonder, and nostalgia... and the dread of winter being on its way, rushing in to turn the landscape into a frigid wasteland not unlike the nether-regions of Ann Coulter.

In order to celebrate October and its tradition of darkness, over the course of the month I'm going to undertake in a number of posts pertaining to dark things.

-A review of the upcoming movie "Buried"

-Image-blogs related to the Castlevania series

-A special, not-so-in-depth-yet-still-mildly-deep look at Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the groundbreaking Joss Whedon show - not the awful 90's movie or the upcoming awful movie brought to you by those strapping Kuzuis)

And possibly more. Stay tuned.