Others - Completed - Castle Of Succubus [Libra Heart]

This game sucks.

Midnight Castle Succubus was a great romp to play through (especially as a classic Castlevania fan), but the same cannot be said for this game. The hentai scenes are pixelated still shots, and I imagine nobody plays a game like this for the H-content. So I'll go over the problems the gameplay has instead.

• Jump Controls: Absolute balls. Instead of a nice arc like most games, you drop like a sack of bricks as soon as your jump peaks. Platforming becomes a nightmare because of this, requiring pixel-perfect precision.
• Knockback.: Fine in most old school games, but the knockback in this game draws you towards any pit regardless of direction. So you can get hit by an enemy in front of you, yet still be pulled forward if there's a nearby pit. Goes against all gaming logic whatsoever.
• Passwords.: Honestly, how hard could it have been to program a save functionality into the game? It stings extra hard with how long stages are and how, if you're farming for the H-scenes, the game doesn't give you any password to save your progress.
• Sub-Weapon Ammo: Sub-weapons require gold coins to use, which are sparse but not too hard to find. The main issue is you max out at 16 uses for seemingly no reason whatsoever. It seems like a lot but, as soon as you hit a boss fight, you'll wish that limit was increased.
• Cryptic Secrets: In every stage there's a key and a crown. The crowns are used to unlock a single image in the gallery, while the keys are used to rescue girls (which I assume unlocks the final boss's second phase and the good ending). I can't verify that last point because finding the keys (especially for stage 3 and 5) is nigh impossible without a guide. I would go back and try again for the good ending, but I honestly don't have the patience to play through the game again.

I'm glad to see the developers have grown from this outing and went on to make spectacular projects based on the Castlevania series. However, that still doesn't erase the fact that this game is a miserable shitload of fuck.

Castle of Succubus definitely captures the nostalgic feeling of the original Castlevania games, even if you've never played them. The difficulty can spike rather suddenly in some places and could feel a bit unfair, which is why most "proper" games aren't made with these design issues any more. The pixel art is surprisingly detailed and thoroughly enjoyable. There aren't any bugs I encountered beyond a couple of invisible blocks that weren't intended, but it happened to save me from a lethal fall, so not a bug that frustrated me. The replayability may be limited, however, unless you want to give the challenge runs a go for the bonus pictures. If not, there's tips and a full save file in the thread.

Tip: get used to jumping at the last possible frame. Simone can hang on with her tiptoes, use that to your advantage.