"Juste"

[Dusk Raven]

Well, the description was amusing, but of course I now end up thinking about Harmony of Dissonance, my least favorite CV game (Except maybe Legacy of Darkness - 64 doesn't count). Of course, I found some new respect for it after i found out that Juste is the French version of my first name, Justin.

I still hate that game, though.

[Matis]

Hehe. The name was aimed at how you could relax in Juste's room for as long as you liked without ever worrying about a monster attacking you, and how it could be furnished with anything. Plus, I don't think any other area of any of the castle's iterations could somehow fit for this section.

And the game wasn't THAT bad. It does fall lower than the rest of the Metroid-vania games, but it still is FAR better than 64 and LoD, and roughly 80-90% of the GBA games out there.

[Dusk Raven]

Maybe. I guess I was kinda prejudiced against it, since I thought it would be like Circle of the Moon, and it wasn't.

There were a few other things too, like the fact that whipping while airborne saps all ability to move until you land. In CotM, I could jump in the air, whip one enemy, then turn around and hit another one behind me, something I have yet to see reproduced. Also, the bright backgrounds and touches like Red Skeleton (and the statue that bleeds them) created an atmosphere I disliked.

And then there's the pathetically easy bosses. Seriously, my mom could have beaten the living armor, and she has trouble with Animal Crossing. All it would take is pressing A over and over.

The L and R buttons were put to good us, though. If Nathan is fast, Juste is agile. The dashes became second nature to me, and they soon became necessary as well. Any other game, I ignore the back dash. It's useless to me, and I soon forget it's even there.

And the skeleton sprites were cute, too.

[Matis]

Hehe.
The backdash is actually quite useful, as it lets you attack several times without any kind of lag.
And yes, the game was easy. But so was SotN, and barely anyone complained about that. The thing is, it came right after CotM, which is probably the hardest Metroid-vania so far. That made HoD seem easier than it was(though it IS, IMO, the easiest MV out there).

The whole "bright" design was because people complained about CotM being too dark(something which was then "corrected" when the SP with backlight, the DS and the Micro were released. The original GBA was darker than all of those, and some areas in CotM, like the Catacombs, became almost pitch black). And the head of Virgin Mary spawning Red Skeletons as tears isn't something really new or used only once. If you were to check the background of the throne room in AoS, you'd see that there's a statue that is pretty similar to the one in HoD.

And for the record, HoD is the MV is dislike the most, AoS, DoS and PoR being up there at the top(in no particular order).

[Dusk Raven]

Yeah, I know the statue thing isn't new. It's not the only thing, though. I guess I prefer a "Dark" atmosphere to a "Bloody" one.

Also, the darkness was never a problem for me, since we have a DS... until it's batteries gave out during a long car ride to a camping site. I had to get in the right position with the scarce sunlight to see anything.

What's weird is that I always have problems seeing on the GBA, but the Game Boy Color I have I can see perfectly well on....

[Matis]

For some reason, the GBA is darker than the GBC. I've experienced as much myself, after comparing my Pokemon Gold in my GBC with a Pokemon Silver in a GBA a couple of years ago.

And, as I said, now it's not a problem. But back when CotM was released, there was no GBA SP, GBA Micro or DS(all of those are heaps lighter than the original GBA). If you were to play CotM in the original GBA, you'd see what I mean. That's why HoD uses almost poppy bright colors.

[Dusk Raven]

I keep thinking I've responded to this, when I haven't.

Well, all I wanted to say was that I have played CotM on the original GBA; during the camping trip, it was all I had left after the DS batteries died.

[Matis]

Oh. Some areas in CotM weren't that bad, though. I remember the main hallways(can't remember the name at the moment) being quite bright, compared to the Catacombs or the Clocktower.

[Dusk Raven]

The main hallways would either be the Audience Chamber or the Eternal Corridor... but the latter is kinda dark, so I'd have to say you're thinking of the former.

The Camila boss fight was a pain to see in... I think I waited till I got back home, to the Game Boy Player, based on the advice of a Tips and Tricks magazine article. There's not much contrast in brightness there....

[Matis]

Exactly why HoD's graphics were so bright compared to AoS and especially CotM.