General Info

Emulator used (why isn't this detected automatically...? some guys don't even write this anymore) Snes9x 1.43+ re-recording v10
Aims for fastest time...
Takes damage to save time...
Manipulates luck...
Best ending...

Lalala...

Well, here it is, after a few months of hardcore work. This run obsoletes the published run by 2 minutes and 44 seconds (9880 frames) and multiplies the re-record count by 6. This is my first "professional" run. There's just no useless input in the whole movie. If the command would be ignored, it's not entered. Cosmetic effect...
Note: I tried to end the run as early as possible, so don't press anything before you see the ending sequence... you will die in if you fall into the pits in that room, silly...
Note2: When I save Maria and Annet, you notice I jump to get closer to them. Those cutscenes are scripted, so no time is lost (if you look closely, you'll see that when I save Annet, the screen fades out before Richter leaves the room, proving my point).
Note3: This game doesn't have the II and III upgrades. Instead, it uses a rather weird system: if your hearts amount starts with 2(20-29), you can have 2 sub-weapons on screen at the same time. If it's 3 or greater(30+), you can have 3. To kill Dracula that fast I need exactly those 35 hearts I get in that room right before the fight.

Game Info

There isn't too much to say about the game... It's conversion of the PC Engine game Akumajou Dracula X - Chi no Rondo. The hero is Richter Belmont, the one I read somewhere he's the son of Juste Belmont. Even though the game is pale when compared with Chi no Rondo, it's playable. It's main features:
  • Good graphics (better than Super Castlevania 4... at least this one doesn't look like a Genesis game!)
  • Good soundtrack (mostly remixed versions of the classic BGMs from the previous 8-bit games, very different from the gay techno of Super Castlevania 4!)
  • Old school gameplay (almost the same of the NES games. There's no Tarzan-like swinging with the whip, like it was on the other game... the hero's name is Richter, not Indy)
  • Nice dificulty level.
It has multiple endings as well. In this run, both Maria and Annet are rescued, to reach the best ending.

Versions

There are 3 different localized versions of this game:
  • Original Japanese: Akumajou Dracula XX
  • American: Castlevania - Dracula X
  • European: Castlevania - Vampire's Kiss
The differences between the original and the traslated games:
  • The original Japanese game doesn't have a "Licensed by Nintendo" screen at the start;
  • The collectable Cross sub-weapon is a little different, with one extremity a litlle longer than the other 3;
  • The western versions have white blood.
I've choosen the US version because it's the most popular and easy to find.

Windows on Possible Improvements

If you're interested in obsoleting this movie, it won't be easy (even for you, Shinryuu), but I'd say these are the best points to try:
  • The 3rd boss, the headless knight: if you can manipulate him to jump twice in a row, you're awesome.
  • Stage 5'.1, with the stupid mermen popping out everywhere...
  • Stage 5'.2, if you can manipulate the first moving platform better than I did.
  • Stage 5'.5, mermen again...
  • The 6th boss, Death. Luck manipulation again. When you hit him and he flinches downwards, the axe can hit twice. Maybe you can do better then I did.
Also, if you can figure out that godmodeknockback thing, it would make a big difference, I guess.

Please forgive me a lot and see you next mormon mission!
...goes home backflipping

Truncated: You inserted the key on the first try! Accepted!
I think it's fun that you mentioned that SCV4 looks like a Genesis game when the Genesis Castlevania looks better than both that and this game. :>
Maza: Encoded. I will publish it after couple hours.

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. Here goes! Feel free to clean up the list.



Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 2
I get a massive desync problem, unfortunately =[ Richter goes left at the start for some reason, backflips into the side a few times, then goes right, and gets his ass kicked by the skeleton in the next room. It's not NESVideoAgent being screwed x] There is actually a screenshot in there of Richter dying.
Joined: 3/1/2005
Posts: 46
moozooh wrote:
The game is called "Castlevania", which doesn't make much sense to begin with. What does the word even mean? Like, the "castle" part obviously means a castle and "vania" is a… typical russian name, isn't it?
Well, since the Castlevania series involves Dracula, the logical source of the name would be "Transylvania."
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
Thanks, Captain. You may as well want to check what "transylvania" means and how "castlevania" as a word doesn't make a bit of sense.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Active player (315)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Hey, Esperanto. What version of the Snes9x are you using? I used 1.43+ v10, but it works on v9 too. Maybe you're using a special version designed for some specific game...? Oh, and I vote yes... I loved NESVideoAgent's screenshots.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.
Joined: 1/5/2008
Posts: 2
I'm using v.1.43. Where can I get a version that allows me to watch this movie? I think we should use this screenshot. x] https://files.tasvideos.org/autosnaps/1823_3.png EDIT: I got a different emulator version and I was able to watch it. I was very impressed by this run - excellent work. I'd vote yes if I was yet able to.
Yrr
Joined: 8/10/2006
Posts: 289
Location: Germany, Bayern
Very good run, and it looks pretty optimized too. Clear yes vote!
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15586
Location: 127.0.0.1
This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [1037] SNES Castlevania: Dracula X by pirate_sephiroth in 14:07.60
fruitbane
He/Him
Joined: 3/28/2005
Posts: 216
Wow, I didn't think anyone could make this game so entertaining. I owned the PC Engine version for several years and this SNES conversion always disgusted me (except for an excellent translation of the music), in part because the levels seemed to bland by comparison. Thanks for reinvigorating (if only a little) a bland game for me!
Joined: 7/28/2004
Posts: 57
moozooh wrote:
Thanks, Captain. You may as well want to check what "transylvania" means and how "castlevania" as a word doesn't make a bit of sense.
The etymology of the name Castlevania for the series isn't that hard to figure out. Remember, the Japanese name for the original Castlevania is Akumajou Dracula, which translates approximately to Demon Castle Dracula. This is not very impressive sounding in English, however. Since it's based on the Dracula myth, however, and everyone knows Dracula comes from Transylvania... You get: Castle Dracula + Transylvania --> Castlevania. A name which evokes obvious connections to both the Dracula myth and the obvious importance of the castle itself to the game. Or perhaps I'm deliberately overanalyzing this.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
Sabikage wrote:
Or perhaps I'm deliberately overanalyzing this.
Rather, you're deliberately missing my half-serious remark basically stating that, while "Transylvania" is a word that does make sense, "Castlevania" is one that doesn't, not where the name comes from (it should be obvious to anyone knowing a bit of history behind the series' general plot). Anyway, if you feel like analyzing this further from that particular perspective, here's some food for thought: trans is Latin for "across, beyond", silva (or sylva) is Latin for "woods, forest". Trans + sylva + nia basically means a land across/beyond a forest, a forest land. Makes sense, considering its geographic whereabouts? Indeed. Add "castle" so that it chops a syllable off of "sylva", and you get… nonsense. You, user Sabikage, just made a post on this forum — loosely following this naming scheme, it can be called Sabikapost! At best, if you stretch it so that "-stle" serves as a phonetic replacement for "syl", you get a forest castle. Sounds quite lame, and not always true. And even "Transylvania castle" is too vague a description considering there were multiple castles there back then. And I would like to stress once again that my original post wasn't a serious criticism of any of the game's aspects, and was more of a sarcastic remark aimed at pirate_sephiroth's nitpicking.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960
So...on a totally unrelated note. Finally got around to watching this, and I have one question. On the giant bat boss fight, there's a lot of lag at the end. I assume most of this is due to the processor-intensive death animation, but you do also have a cross flying across the screen during this period which it seems like you could have thrown earlier; would that have made any difference?
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Joined: 7/28/2004
Posts: 57
moozooh wrote:
And I would like to stress once again that my original post wasn't a serious criticism of any of the game's aspects, and was more of a sarcastic remark aimed at pirate_sephiroth's nitpicking.
You did mention that I was deliberately ignoring the fact that your remark was sarcastic. This is a technique I learned quite some time ago. Far from ignoring the sarcasm out of hand, such a response is itself a higher order of sarcasm. I intended no offense if you took any.
Active player (315)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Hmm... I forgot people still discuss published movies... About the lag after the giant bat, I don't know... the game goes at half speed when the boss is burning, apparently regardless of what I may do. The same thing happens when Dracula evolves to the strange blue demon... And, you should consider moozooh's words, because he really knows the subject. You know, he lives in Moscow... Transylvania is just around the corner.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.