Castlevania: CotM

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-25 10:58:53 pm

2006-01-25 12:43:08 am

I have started this topic to do a better normal run. I really want one, and I know everyone who has seen mine wants one too. My next break to record this is March 25th. This topic will probably be on page 5 by then, but that’s ok, everyone will have said what they want to say by then.

I tried doing a magician run over X-mas break, but that didn’t work out so well. I’ll need more time, like summer, to make it perfect. If anyone else wants to try it, I can give you a guide I made which is full of improvements.

So the run:
Probably multi-segment.
Here are some of my plans. Going only for the heart upgrades (for the crucifix, which I still plan on getting at the fire armor at the outer gate). I don’t need mp because I’m getting few spells, and no hp because I think I can do it without them.
For spells, I’ll be getting the fire whip. Maybe ice balls, but I’ll not get them at first because I might not need them. Any other spells you think are a must have?
I’ll try skipping bone dragons and death, which might not work, but worth a shot.
All suggestions welcome.

Thread title:

I have started this topic to do a better normal run. I really want one, and I know everyone who has seen mine wants one too. My next break to record this is March 25th. This topic will probably be on page 5 by then, but that’s ok, everyone will have said what they want to say by then.

I tried doing a magician run over X-mas break, but that didn’t work out so well. I’ll need more time, like summer, to make it perfect. If anyone else wants to try it, I can give you a guide I made which is full of improvements.

So the run:
Probably multi-segment.
Here are some of my plans. Going only for the heart upgrades (for the crucifix, which I still plan on getting at the fire armor at the outer gate). I don’t need mp because I’m getting few spells, and no hp because I think I can do it without them.
For spells, I’ll be getting the fire whip. Maybe ice balls, but I’ll not get them at first because I might not need them. Any other spells you think are a must have?
I’ll try skipping bone dragons and death, which might not work, but worth a shot.
All suggestions welcome.

Rael

2006-01-25 01:01:06 am

I personally would recommend segmented, even if it means a single segment just for a specific card or two

As for spells, the ice balls are a good choice, though i would say the poison shield is comparable

the half-damage spell might also be a good choice (i personally like using it against the zombie dragon)

Gorash

2006-01-25 01:51:09 am

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I cannot possibly imagine the run that skips the dragons and turns out to be slower than a run with them and the dragons are not exactly easy either (more like one of the hardest bosses in the game, and random like hell).

So if there's any chance, skip them... please.

LinkTheValiant

2006-01-25 05:38:23 am

May the way of the Hero lead to the Triforce

I agree with Rael, there's no reason not to do a segmented run. Especially since it should cut a little of the mining portions of a SS run. (NOT that I dislike these parts or consider them to be sloppy, just that I don't mind time being cut from a run that I'm watching. Wink

But, as always, if you choose not to, I can always do my own sometime. :))

The ice balls aren't as reliable as the poison storm. (What gets through one will get through the other in the cases that matter.) On the other hand, Manticore seems to be harder to find than Serpent.

Good call on getting hearts. Want some help planning which ones to get? And how many do you estimate you would need?

Gorash, he might mean that with no HP boost it will be difficult to jump the sewer water.
~~Speaking of the sewers, soteos, you do know the falling-through glitch to save time?~~ Of course you know that.

Rael, you can't get the half-damage in a speed run because one card is Unicorn, which comes from the Arena. . .

Rael

2006-01-25 06:01:04 am

^I was thinking of the jupiter+thunderbird combo ("you will be sent flying when damaged, but takes 1/2 damage")

sorry for not being clearer

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-25 08:12:13 am

2006-01-25 06:49:51 am

Hmm, damn you all for making me consider segmented, it sounds tempting. Maybe we could plan it out a little though. If I do it, I still want the ss run taken down.
Big thanks for the input. If this is segmented, poison mist, ice balls and half damage will all be unnecessary. Since luck is little of a factor, spells to get would be fire whip, +25% attack, and attack % based on map. The cards then are mercury, salamander, venus (from Slime) and thunderbird (were-jaguar, dear god no!). If you're confused about some of these cards combos, look at my run comments.
My plan for heart getting is basically going for all the ones in the ss run. When I planned the ss, it was to grab most every along-the-way pickup. So any other hearts would take a little going out of my way to get. As for how much I would need- there is no limit, since I know I would never get enough.
What I would love is someone to plan out awesome items I should try getting from enemies.
Ok, I’ll skim through my ss run, and plan out a rough route, which I’ll post. But I go to bed now.

LinkTheValiant

2006-01-25 09:00:21 am

May the way of the Hero lead to the Triforce

Items, eh? I'll look into getting a list sometime later today after sleepzors.

Don't have the SS taken down. It's still worth watching.

Oh, okay, rael, the flying combo. I don't use it because it tends to make attacking impossible if you get hit. Perhaps I need to try it some more.

The thing about a SS, soteos, is that there's the inevitable loss of time that is incurred from item hunting. This would be cut out and we wouldh ave to download less to watch the run. That and your nerves would have less strain worrying about restarting the run if something doesn't show up.

Rael

2006-01-25 06:02:24 pm

Nintendo power had a quarterly GBA only magazine that lasted only a year, but proved to be helpful nonetheless.

For example, the first edition gave full coverage of COTM sans the arena (which you don't need anyway), including color maps of the entire game showing the locations of all of the upgrades.

You might already know about it, but if not, hope i could be helpful

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-25 11:01:41 pm

2006-01-25 10:56:47 pm

I'll work towards segmented for now.
I bought this game after reading about it in some magazine I had, probably the same one you're talking about being very descriptive. I don't have it with me though.
Anyways there's still Gamefaqs and vgmaps.com.

I know Radix is just waiting for someone to ask, so I'll do it. What happened to your segmented fighter run?

Radix

2006-01-25 11:04:04 pm

I'm addicted to games

I was waiting for the "new" computer parts from nate so I could capture it myself. I got them a few days after christmas. And it's taken me a month but I've now got it up and running... although it'll take me months to get everything just right like I had it on the old one.

Anyway I'll be downloading avisynth and stuff shortly to get into the whole deinterlacing experience I've never done before, so maybe in a week my run will be up... woooooot! Tongue

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-25 11:24:00 pm

2006-01-25 11:18:04 pm

Wooooot indeed! Should be magnificent.
LinkTheValiant, he should have some great item grabbing strategies that focus on strength in his run, so heads up for that. Strength is good.

Route coming up soon.

Radix

2006-01-25 11:21:16 pm

I'm addicted to games

Yep, I get all the optimal +STR items. You'll want to get those too I imagine.

soteos

2006-01-25 11:27:05 pm

I was thinking my best spell, the damage based on map uncovered, wouldn't be affected by strength. But I checked, and it is affected. Strength is still good.

Gorash

2006-01-26 01:45:41 am

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Errr, damage based on map uncovered?
Don't you need like 80% to make that one worth anything?

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-26 01:59:12 am

2006-01-26 01:46:15 am

Here's the rough guide in Word on YouSendIt. Items not included. Could use some opinions on heart refilling.
http://s42.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=03E7GBC91B7PS2D6JU1BIV3V08

I was thinking of collecting heart items from enemies, but I might be able to manage without it. Will consider if it becomes a problem.

Edit: Gorash, it'll be more than double my attack power most all the time. No worry about it not being really powerful. Grin

Drains magic kinda fast though.

LinkTheValiant

2006-01-26 06:51:36 am

May the way of the Hero lead to the Triforce

Alright, sorry I didn't get back on this sooner.
This list isn't exhaustive. If you would like I can make it so. I used MetroidMoo's guide at GFAQs for some help, by the way. (Just to be fair to him with credit and such.) Since you said that strength is the only stat that matters I'll only consider that. I'll list the other stats though.

Prison Garb

Strength +5, Defense +20
Clinking Man, Ghoul, Gargoyle, Evil Hand, Zombie Thief

Stylish Suit

Strength +10, Defense +40
Harpy, Heat Shade

Night Suit

Strength +20, Defense +60, Intelligence +10
Hyena, Golem

Ninja Garb

Strength +30, Defense +80
Franken, Were-Jaguar

Soldier Fatigues

Strength +50, Defense +120, Luck +10
Franken, Catoblepas

Needle Armor

Strength +10, Defense +400
Nightmare (Outer Wall)

Wrist Band

Strength +5
Bat, Devil Tower, Will O' Wisp, Ectoplasm

Gauntlet

Strength +15
Earth Armor, Merman

Star Bracelet

(Left Arm) Strength +25, Intelligence +25
(Right Arm) Defense +25, Luck +25
Harpy

Cursed Ring

Strength +30, Defense +30, Luck -100
Poltergeist, Arch Demon, Beast Demon

Strength Ring

Strength +50, Defense -10, Intelligence -10
Grizzly

Strength Armband

Strength +100, Defense -25, Intelligence -25, Luck -25
Demon Lord (Obs Tower)

The Night Suit, Ninja Garb, and Soldier Fatigues are the only armors really worth mining. I'm not sure whether you would consider any earlier things to be worth looking for (Stylish Suit in Mech Tower, for instance. Golem would be faster and safer, but not worth it.)

As to the arms. . . there are problems because the Warehouse and Gallery are gone. No Star Bracelet or Strength Ring. (Unless Grizzlies are somewhere besides the Warehouse, someone else may need to confirm.) Gauntlets or Cursed Rings are your best bet for most of the game. Mining for Strength Armbands in Obs Tower may be a good idea for Hugh, but you'll have to figure that out yourself.

Could someone else please check my comments here for accuracy?

Alright, sorry I didn't get back on this sooner. 
This list isn't exhaustive. If you would like I can make it so. I used MetroidMoo's guide at GFAQs for some help, by the way. (Just to be fair to him with credit and such.) Since you said that strength is the only stat that matters I'll only consider that. I'll list the other stats though.

[b]Prison Garb[/b]

Strength +5, Defense +20
Clinking Man, Ghoul, Gargoyle, Evil Hand, Zombie Thief

[b]Stylish Suit[/b]

Strength +10, Defense +40
Harpy, Heat Shade

[b]Night Suit[/b]

Strength +20, Defense +60, Intelligence +10
Hyena, Golem

[b]Ninja Garb[/b]

Strength +30, Defense +80
Franken, Were-Jaguar

[b]Soldier Fatigues[/b]

Strength +50, Defense +120, Luck +10
Franken, Catoblepas

[b]Needle Armor[/b]

Strength +10, Defense +400
Nightmare (Outer Wall)

[b]Wrist Band[/b]

Strength +5
Bat, Devil Tower, Will O' Wisp, Ectoplasm

[b]Gauntlet[/b]

Strength +15
Earth Armor, Merman

[b]Star Bracelet[/b]

(Left Arm) Strength +25, Intelligence +25
(Right Arm) Defense +25, Luck +25
Harpy

[b]Cursed Ring[/b]

Strength +30, Defense +30, Luck -100
Poltergeist, Arch Demon, Beast Demon

[b]Strength Ring[/b]

Strength +50, Defense -10, Intelligence -10
Grizzly

[b]Strength Armband[/b]

Strength +100, Defense -25, Intelligence -25, Luck -25
Demon Lord (Obs Tower)

The Night Suit, Ninja Garb, and Soldier Fatigues are the only armors really worth mining. I'm not sure whether you would consider any earlier things to be worth looking for (Stylish Suit in Mech Tower, for instance. Golem would be faster and safer, but not worth it.)

As to the arms. . . there are problems because the Warehouse and Gallery are gone. No Star Bracelet or Strength Ring. (Unless Grizzlies are somewhere besides the Warehouse, someone else may need to confirm.) Gauntlets or Cursed Rings are your best bet for most of the game. Mining for Strength Armbands in Obs Tower may  be a good idea for Hugh, but you'll have to figure that out yourself.

Could someone else please check my comments here for accuracy?

Radix

2006-01-26 07:08:30 am

I'm addicted to games

There are plenty of Grizzlies to get two Strength rings from. Armbands are too far out of the way.

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-28 08:15:29 am

2006-01-28 08:01:39 am

Hello ok little update. I've been playing through a lil bit to try out the boss skipping. The heart route works very nice, I have plenty of those. I hope those items will make it even more smooth.
So I went through underground waterway and did cool. Between the save point at Camilla and the one before it, I'm not going to be leveling up much ::). Need to run through, and have some luck to bypass the ice demon (he chases me to the end of the room!), and I make it to the save with a sliver of health left.
Against Camilla, I found a good strategy that requires a bit of skill to pull of repeatedly. I actually beat her, starting out with 190 hearts and ending with 70, and that was at level 21. But on the way out, an evil hand grabbed me and forced me to hit each of the three lizardmen twice, where I died. But it's possible. Thus, Hugh is possible. But I don't know about Dracula yet.

soteos

2006-01-29 01:38:58 am

Strength enhancers will be useful for Hugh, that's for sure.
Ok, any advice for not getting owned by 1st Dracula's yellow bats, or 2nd Dracula's meteors?

KennyMan666

Edit history:

KennyMan666: 2006-01-29 02:14:47 am

2006-01-29 02:14:10 am

Precursor

Close your eyes and pray.

The meteors were INCREDIBLY FREAKING ANNOYING for me when I played Shooter and Thief.

Gorash

Edit history:

Gorash: 2006-01-29 12:28:40 pm

2006-01-29 12:14:00 pm

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But shooter is so much fun otherwise.
Did you ever built levels with homing daggers at the dark armors? Those dagger do such an incredible amount of damage...

As for the meteors, I used quadruple invincibility mostly there, although that implies you can stand the first hit...
You could DSS glitch into invulnerability.

KennyMan666

Edit history:

KennyMan666: 2006-01-29 12:19:54 pm

2006-01-29 12:18:47 pm

Precursor

What? Homing daggers was weak.

Well, really, I don't know. I tried them out in the first catacombs, switched to Holy Water for Cerberus, and then picked up Boomerang at the gate and held on to it for the rest of the game.

Gorash

2006-01-29 12:32:19 pm

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You should give them a try...
They are still weaker than most of the other weapons, but they make the warehouse a total cakewalk, because you can take down all those poison flies a screen ahead.

And if I remember correctly single dagger is stronger too, and if you spam that at the end of the game... it's like turbo on daggers in SotN. I used to get max hearts and get into that cross room to the right of the final black armor room before Hugh. Easy leveling.

soteos

Edit history:

soteos: 2006-01-30 08:38:33 pm

2006-01-30 08:35:40 pm

Ok, first Dracula is no problem. But you know what I might consider? After beating him, I go up to the wind demon area and save the game. Because the meteor attack is too impossible. I tried many things, and the best approach seems to be crouching and hoping for the best. Hell, might as well be jumping around attacking him while the shower hits, so he can die faster with any luck.
So yeah, I'll probably save after first Dracula. Will only add like a minute anyways. And overall estimated run time- about an hour, probably not sub-hour (in-game clock).

StrangenessDSS

2006-01-30 09:08:50 pm

Sleeping Terror

How much area does the meteor attack cover? Is there any chance of jumping above it with the Roc's Wing? Or is this tactic so obvious that everyone has tried it already?