Zangetsu DLC

[Zen]

Look internet. I get it. It's too much to say this game is ruined forever because of this DLC. My initial review for this game stands. I like it. It's good. Better than good, an advancement on SOTN. overall I think this game is perhaps needing a balance overhaul in the mid/late-game but is otherwise excellent.

Captures SOTN and its feeling almost exactly.

That being said... Holy mother of God, Buddha, Zeus, and all other deities, did they phone this DLC in. There's been months of radio-silence for...This. People are saying "oh this doesn't ruin this experience". But that belies the issue doesn't it? If you ♥♥♥♥ on your own product after releasing it in a very real and quantifiable sense you are depreciating the market value of that product. This is a very tangibly bad thing for their brand. It implies an inability to deliver reliably on products. I personally will eye this developer with suspicion after this and I'm sure others will too.

I honestly would've preferred if they did not release this mode. I would've been sad if they said "look with the whole Switch situation we cannot meet our promises", but not unforgiving. I got what I paid for at the end of the day.

This DLC is bad. Unbalanced, simplified... and hell, I couldn't even access it initially without finishing the game a second time.

Just wow.

Please tell me I'm being unreasonable. I really hope I am.

[Ritz]

I think it was somehow rushed (funny because it should have been released months ago, but anyway...) and some thinks could be more polished.

Someone said that when you fight Zangetsu Boss, you are really fighting Zangetsu. I mean.. there is a doppelganger Miriam Boss at the end of the game. Wouldn't it be simpler to just use that boss as Zangetsu and put Zangetsu Boss as the Doppelganger? That wouldn't take much time and would not feel so amateur. And yes, I am a long time fan of Castlevanias and I am aware that Richter modes-alike have always been like this. But yeah, 20 years have passed and 5 million dollars have been invested, you know...

[il douchey]

As far as alternate character modes in Igavanias go, Zangetsu has the widest moveset and is the most strategically diverse yet. Alternate character playthroughs in Igavanias have always been faster, more arcade-y experiences, and Zangetsu feels very much like that. I can't see how anyone who played Richter, Maxim, Julius, or Albus being terribly surprised. None of those modes expanded the story of the main game, and to be quite honest, the storylines of these games are hardly worth a deeper dive into. These modes are about providing a qualitatively different gameplay approach, and Zangetsu delivers that.

Having played a moderate amount of SotN randomizer, I'm very excited for the randomizer being added, way more than a potential rogue-like mode. Randomizers in general a re a great tool for taking a game that you love, and making them insanely replayable, adding an interesting element of puzzle solving regarding routing and combat strategy that vanilla playthroughs don't get. I'm reserving my judgment until I've actually played the mode some, but I'm very optimistic.

[Zen]

I didn't really expound on it. But even as an arcade experience I actually think Zangetsu is really lacking. When I used Zangetsu he was easily as powerful as mid/lategame or NG+ Miriam.

If there's one thing that arcade-style gameplay lives or dies by its difficulty. And I personally don't think this delivers.

I don't necessarily hope for a glorious new story mode, but this mode is neither mechanically nor narratively satisfying in my opinion.

[InstableMonster]

it's just ... meh... They really dropped the ball since the release of the game. The original product is nice, if you don't count the promises that it is lacking and was supposed to launch with, but everything they have done afterward... meh... reducing a mode to a randomizer, lackluster zangetsu... I just dont feel they'll do better with the rest of the things they promised

[il douchey]

He's nowhere near as powerful as a late-game Miriam. His balance is very similar to all the other alternate characters that I mentioned before, powerful up front, then slowly becomes less and less so. I think part of the problem for some might be the buildup of expectations. If Zangetsu were available at release, or even a month or two after, I think most people would have been happy with it.

[Zen]

Yes, I think if he were part of the core game I would be less personally affronted by him. Like Richter it would just be an extra part of the game I probably just wouldn't interact with. But they spent a lot of time supposedly polishing this and it's just not worth returning for.

[Raden]

The best part is unless you have beaten the game with the best ending, screw you, no fun times for you. Honestly, f*** this s***pile.

[Melodia]

Originally posted by Raden:

The best part is unless you have beaten the game with the best ending, screw you, no fun times for you. Honestly, f*** this s***pile.

Have you played an Igavania before? This is hardly new.

[Sergeant_Braken]

This was a perfect time to expand on what extra characters were like in previous Igavanias, but they completely squandered it. It is very, very disappointing.

I can sorta live with the lack of items (though I would really like them to be implemented), but the complete removal of any story is just... wrong. We could have finally seen things from Zangetsu's perspective, but no, we get nothing. Hell, they didn't even change the Zangetsu boss fights!

It really makes you wonder what in the world they were doing in the months since the Switch version was finally brought up to par...

[Shylaar]

It's like Code Vein. Good base game, DLC takes ages to come out, DLC ends up being incredibly lazy ♥♥♥♥.

Originally posted by il douchey:

I can't see how anyone who played Richter, Maxim, Julius, or Albus being terribly surprised. None of those modes expanded the story of the main game, and to be quite honest, the storylines of these games are hardly worth a deeper dive into.

All of those modes were included in the base game and weren't $100,000 stretch goals. So there was an obvious expectation that they would do a little better here. Julius mode in Aria replaced the Julius fight with a battle with Soma as a bonus boss, but this Zangetsu DLC didn't even do that, both the Zangetsu fights are still just Zangetsu.

[Raden]

Originally posted by Melodia:

Originally posted by Raden:

The best part is unless you have beaten the game with the best ending, screw you, no fun times for you. Honestly, f*** this s***pile.

Have you played an Igavania before? This is hardly new.

Oh geez, not since... uh... whatever the one was called that starred Shanoa, I think Order of Ecclesia on the DS? It's been a hot minute for sure lol.

[Zen]

Originally posted by Shylaar:

It's like Code Vein. Good base game, DLC takes ages to come out, DLC ends up being incredibly lazy ♥♥♥♥.

As a fan of Code Vein as well, I really hope this doesn't become a thing in the gaming market overall. Usually you have devs who deliver and care about what they put out and devs who don't. It's fairly rare you get devs who deliver on their baseline promises but who utterly fail any subsequent content.

[brago90]

The summary of my experience with Zangetsu is summarized in: Kill the final boss to unlock him (easy whit Lv.99 Miriam in normal), start with Zangetsu try it and just not want to use the character again. After this obviously uninstall the game again.

It's a copy paste from the boss without any adaptation to a playable character ... Simply disappointing and certainly not what was promised. The game was better without Zangetsu as a playable option.

[Emerald Lance]

I feel that Zangetsu is appropriate for what I expected him to be (basically a Richter mode) but I generally agree that the radio silence and the long wait for what we got is difficult to defend. However, I can't agree with your assessment that the brand is somehow devalued on the sole premise of the content being a free update. Any additional content, no matter how late or bare bones, can only be considered a plus in my eyes.

Of course, I do feel bad for those who funded the game up to specific milestones only for the associated content to be cancelled. That's a bit of a kick in the face. However, providing publishing funds is not the same as purchasing a product; in the end, the content IS free to the end user. With that in mind, I can only consider it a plus, if a bit lackluster.

For the record, I'm vastly enjoying my time with the randomizer.

[InstableMonster]

Originally posted by Emerald Lance:

I feel that Zangetsu is appropriate for what I expected him to be (basically a Richter mode) but I generally agree that the radio silence and the long wait for what we got is difficult to defend. However, I can't agree with your assessment that the brand is somehow devalued on the sole premise of the content being a free update. Any additional content, no matter how late or bare bones, can only be considered a plus in my eyes.

Of course, I do feel bad for those who funded the game up to specific milestones only for the associated content to be cancelled. That's a bit of a kick in the face. However, providing publishing funds is not the same as purchasing a product; in the end, the content IS free to the end user. With that in mind, I can only consider it a plus, if a bit lackluster.

For the record, I'm vastly enjoying my time with the randomizer.

The problem is that people who kickstarted it were promised that content, so this isn't "additionnal" content. It's just the game's content which was both rushed and late.

If a game released and said the 2nd half of it was coming at a later date and then it endend up being delayed multiple times, cut down and rushed, people would be screaming at the top of their lungs. But since some people didnt kickstart it they dont see it that way even though this is what it is.