Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Enhasa

Edit history:

Enhasa: 2006-07-28 08:02:16 am

2006-07-20 04:41:39 am

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

Although I have no idea what makes a good HOD time, this is great. I especially like the time to complete of this vs Lufia 1. Wink

Edit: No idea if anyone will see this anymore, but just in case, I reread that last sentence and it could be taken the wrong way! I don't mean to imply at all that Lufia should have been completed faster. It was more like a joke on how much time was invested in each. FO might know this already though. Wink

Quote:

For a second I thought you were gonna come in and show everybody up again. Grin

Nah, I can't really imagine Mike running Castleroid anyway. Tongue

DTaeKim

2006-07-20 06:15:24 am

5 months vs. 1 week?

I'm reviewing my run to see how much time I lost on mistakes. I estimated 2 minutes, but I might be on the high end.

Red_Scarlet

Edit history:

Red_Scarlet: 2006-07-27 02:06:25 am

2006-07-27 02:04:41 am

"I like to watch"

Cool, I'd really like to see a run with this.

I know you can sequence break one of Dracula's body parts with the fist + ice book (it's near the start of the game), and you can sequence break another part at the top of the map by head stomping one of those winged skeletons..supposedly you can use the ice book + fist to get the platinum tip or steel tip early, but I don't know how.

I've gotten 200% map at the last save with 4:05:49 and 4:06:31, so I would imagine a low 3:xx or maybe a high 2:xx are doable. I can provide screencaps from my game boy player (I have the Double Pack).

DTaeKim

2006-07-27 05:13:25 am

Quote:

Cool, I'd really like to see a run with this.

I know you can sequence break one of Dracula's body parts with the fist + ice book (it's near the start of the game), and you can sequence break another part at the top of the map by head stomping one of those winged skeletons..supposedly you can use the ice book + fist to get the platinum tip or steel tip early, but I don't know how.

I've gotten 200% map at the last save with 4:05:49 and 4:06:31, so I would imagine a low 3:xx or maybe a high 2:xx are doable. I can provide screencaps from my game boy player (I have the Double Pack).

Hmmm, I knew about the Ice Book + Fist combo to get the Steel Tip early, but I didn't know about using it to get the Dracula Part early. I don't know if it would save much time though, since the Ice Book is really out of the way compared to the other spell books.

As for the Dracula Part where you can head stomp a Winged Skeleton, that would save at least thirty seconds. Right now, a flawless run would take about 1:03:xx by my estimates (I ended at 1:04:xx).

[quote]Cool, I'd really like to see a run with this.

I know you can sequence break one of Dracula's body parts with the fist + ice book (it's near the start of the game), and you can sequence break another part at the top of the map by head stomping one of those winged skeletons..supposedly you can use the ice book + fist to get the platinum tip or steel tip early, but I don't know how.

I've gotten 200% map at the last save with 4:05:49 and 4:06:31, so I would imagine a low 3:xx or maybe a high 2:xx are doable. I can provide screencaps from my game boy player (I have the Double Pack).[/quote]

Hmmm, I knew about the Ice Book + Fist combo to get the Steel Tip early, but I didn't know about using it to get the Dracula Part early.  I don't know if it would save much time though, since the Ice Book is really out of the way compared to the other spell books.

As for the Dracula Part where you can head stomp a Winged Skeleton, that would save at least thirty seconds.  Right now, a flawless run would take about 1:03:xx by my estimates (I ended at 1:04:xx).

Red_Scarlet

2006-07-27 08:03:08 am

"I like to watch"

I'll make a video of the first Dracula part; I forget where the Ice Book is offhand so maybe it'd be better to grab earlier.

I'd imagine the head stomp for the other part would save some time, so you don't have to go back to that area later on, if I'm remembering right.

Red_Scarlet

Edit history:

Red_Scarlet: 2006-07-27 08:50:04 am

2006-07-27 08:47:55 am

"I like to watch"

Here you go:

http://redscarlet.paragonsigma.com/HoD-Early%20Vlads%20Ring.avi

Is the Ice Book that out of the way? I tend to use the Bible + Ice Book a lot on bosses.

DTaeKim

2006-07-27 08:26:50 pm

Well, compared to the Wind Book, it's relatively out of the way. Since I avoid magic for the first 2/3 of the run, it may be more prudent to pick up the Ice Book after all. I might as well do another practice run and see the effects of having the Ice Book.

You say Ice Book + Bible combo? I've never used them before...

Red_Scarlet

2006-07-27 10:16:06 pm

"I like to watch"

Oh? It does a nice flame attack that multi hits, especially if the badguy is by a wall.

DTaeKim

Edit history:

DTaeKim: 2006-07-28 01:39:50 am

2006-07-28 01:39:20 am

Hmmm, it certainly helps against some of the bosses, though positioning is certainly difficult.

As for the early Vlad's Ring, my problem with it is the apparent lack of a Sacred Fist to use nearby. The closest one I can find is in the area beyond the Marble Corridor (name escapes me at the moment). It could be there is a closer one I'm not seeing though.

Steve Mach

2006-08-08 10:40:17 pm

ok, I have the castlevania double pack with harmony of dissonance and aria of sorrow. in harmony, I have the griffins wing but have been unable to do a high jump. it says to press DOWN/UP + JUMP, this does NOTHING. I single jump, i single jump again, and again, i smash my ds in its face, no change. i try do do it like guiles flash kick from street fighter, nothing. is it the ds which is at fault here? is my cart/brain defective? why doesn't it work. soon i'm gonna smash it into tiny pieces with a hammer.

Serris

2006-08-08 10:42:13 pm

Press Down. Press Up + Jump. Done.

Steve Mach

2006-08-08 10:57:23 pm

nope, doesn't work. press down, then hold up and press jump, single short jump. down, then up and jump at same time, sometimes I hold them but nothing works, he does a normal single jump. every time. I'm not retarded, it should work.

Serris

2006-08-08 11:02:49 pm

Well, this is not a help forum, so I suggest asking at the GameFAQs boards.

Red_Scarlet

2006-08-09 06:53:37 am

"I like to watch"

Do it faster. You can do down, up + jump or down, up, jump. You can do it from the ground or in the air.

DTaeKim

2006-08-09 07:02:41 am

I'm running a test run with Red Scarlet's suggestions to see if I can shave any more time off. I'll let you guys know what happens from my practice runs.

DTaeKim

2006-08-09 05:41:24 pm

Finished my practice run with Red Scarlet's suggestions.

Time before Maxim B: 1:00:13

I saved nearly a minute and a half with her help! This doesn't include the twenty-or-so seconds of mistakes I probably made. Basically, I make a second's worth of mistakes each and every segment, mainly due to the actions of the monsters. I have to think on the fly, since the pattern of each monster is not guaranteed.

I'm going to run one more practice run: this time to see if I should fight the Giant Bat first or the Giant Bat last. I saved it for last usually because I kill the boss in twenty seconds, but with the new route change, it may be more prudent to fight it first. If I fight the Giant Bat first, I can use the save warp to get the Crush Boots and the final Dracula part in the drawbridge of Castle B and then warp to the save point before the Minotaur, which saves an incredible amount of backtracking.

In any case, I'm going to rerecord my run. I probably could do a single-segment run, but I think I want the save warp abuse run to be completed first.

Finished my practice run with Red Scarlet's suggestions.

Time before Maxim B: 1:00:13

I saved nearly a minute and a half with her help!  This doesn't include the twenty-or-so seconds of mistakes I probably made.  Basically, I make a second's worth of mistakes each and every segment, mainly due to the actions of the monsters.  I have to think on the fly, since the pattern of each monster is not guaranteed.

I'm going to run one more practice run: this time to see if I should fight the Giant Bat first or the Giant Bat last.  I saved it for last usually because I kill the boss in twenty seconds, but with the new route change, it may be more prudent to fight it first.  If I fight the Giant Bat first, I can use the save warp to get the Crush Boots and the final Dracula part in the drawbridge of Castle B and then warp to the save point before the Minotaur, which saves an incredible amount of backtracking.

In any case, I'm going to rerecord my run.  I probably could do a single-segment run, but I think I want the save warp abuse run to be completed first.

Steve Mach

2006-08-09 10:32:48 pm

High Jump Issue

I got answer from konami, If you change the default button config you cannot high jump but after switching back to the default settings it works.

KennyMan666

2006-08-10 12:35:51 am

Precursor

So a HoD run was finally done, eh...

Someone buy me a Game Boy Player and I'll fulfill my promise of doing Boss Rush. >__>

DTaeKim

2006-08-10 12:40:19 am

Well, I have a week and a half to get another trial run in and then record it.

I recorded the whole run in a couple of hours, so it shouldn't take long.

DTaeKim

Edit history:

DTaeKim: 2006-08-10 05:00:23 am

2006-08-10 04:59:47 am

Red Scarlet, I owe you a thousand thank-yous.

With your information, I managed to cut down my run by an incredible margin. Not only did I save six minutes, I also managed a sub-1:00 run!

Final Save: 0:54:25

When I enter the menu before dealing the final blow...

Final Time: 0:57:08

Before, I didn't think a sub-1:00 run of Harmony of Dissonance was possible.

Now, not only is it proven, but now we can confirm that all three Castlevania GBA games are sub-1:00.

I must emphasize the fact this was done with save warp abuse. Without it, the run will exceed well over an hour thanks to the amount of backtracking in this game (the time alone from the Castle Entrance B to Castle Treasury B is at least two minutes).

Anyway, I'm going to start recording tomorrow.

Thanks for all of your help everyone!

Sir VG

2006-08-10 06:39:08 am

Fucking Weeaboo

AWESOME.

Great work. Can't wait to verify the run.

Red_Scarlet

2006-08-10 07:59:18 am

"I like to watch"

Cool..what helped you out?
What's save warp abuse? Is it like the doors thing on the original copy of the game?

Sir VG

2006-08-10 08:06:12 am

Fucking Weeaboo

HoD has a "Quick Save" feature in the game, which if I remember correctly, starts you over at the last save point you were at. Or was it the closest to your location? I'm a bit fuzzy at the moment.

DTaeKim

Edit history:

DTaeKim: 2006-08-10 08:17:12 am

2006-08-10 08:16:10 am

The quick save function brings Juste back to the last save point you saved at. I abuse this frequently to avoid backtracking, especially between the final Dracula part and the final room in Castle B.

Red Scarlet, everything you said in your posts helped me. The Ice Book + Bible cut at least twenty seconds off each boss. The early Vlad's Ring saved me a significant amount of backtracking and opened up the Giant Bat first route, which in turn saved about two minutes' worth of backtracking. The early Dracula part in the Chapel of Dissonance, saving another minute.

In all, your input has saved me a total of eight minutes. It's incredible. To think a month ago, I didn't think sub-1:00 was even possible.

Red_Scarlet

Edit history:

Red_Scarlet: 2006-08-10 08:54:20 am

2006-08-10 08:44:07 am

"I like to watch"

Oh, so it's similar to up+a. I didn't think of any of the early stuff on my own, and I didn't use many of the spell combos..Ice Book + Bible seemed good so I stuck with that every time I played for most of the game.

So don't think I did much. Were you able to get early Steel Tip or Platinum tip? I still have no idea how that's done.

Looking forward to the video! I'm glad my 'help' was useful, though.

I'm curious about this: "The early Vlad's Ring saved me a significant amount of backtracking and opened up the Giant Bat first route". What did it do that enabled the Giant Bat first route, and what was the alternate?