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RTTP: Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U/GBA/PS4/PS5/Switch/XBOX)

fart town usa

Gold Member
"Dissonance in classical music was explained by the chief music critic of the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, in a recently published video on the New York Times website, as the urge to move a note away by one to move the sound perception from dissonance to consonance. Tommasini said the ear tells you that a note has to move either in or out by one note to resolve the dissonance and dissonant music demands resolution to harmony." https://www.sciencedocs.com/dissonance-explained/

SI_WiiUVC_CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance_image1600w.jpg


Released in 2002 for the GBA, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance has a less than stellar modern reception. If you check reviews, they are glowing for the most part. However, the playerbase generally regards HOD as the worst in the Igavania games. One of the main reasons for the "worst of" label is the fact that the music fidelity was severely compromised due to the game placing the bulk of its resources in the visual department. I think another element at work might be the dissonance itself within the music, as explained above by someone much more intelligent than me.

As I've mentioned in other threads, I've been on a massive Castlevania kick the past few weeks. I've played through 3, 4, ROB, GB games, Bloodlines and recently played through SOTN and now HOD. I gotta say, HOD is a damn fine game and here are my thoughts that I typed down last night, shortly after the end game credits rolled.


Music gets knocked by most people but it's great to me. It doesn't quite fit the graphics cause the music quality is like early NES, lol. The dissonance aspect might be a legit factor too in why some people dislike it so much. I like dissonant melodies but it's creates a negative reaction in some people. Some people are wired to only enjoy consonance. I really enjoy the music, I think most of the tracks are super catchy and keep the mood/energy up for me. I think it just comes down to each person.






Combat is insanely fun but it's easy to get overpowered with certain spell/sub-weapon combos. The bolt spell book and bible sub-weapon make you invincible for the most part and you can literally just sprint forward and one-shot most enemies. This is a great thing though for backtracking but abusing it isn't advised unless you're terrible at the game. It really does take away the already minimally existing challenge. (all the gifs below are from me)

whU5CMC.gif
iSPNYpz.gif


I can see why some people dislike the backtracking but at the same time, it's no worse or more cryptic than Super Metroid and it's not like people say anything bad about that game. The backtracking definitely artificially extends the length of the game but it also kept me engaged, you really do have to wander a lot to find the one section that may have opened up. The combat isn't the challenge, it's finding where you need to go. I finished in about 6 hours and collected everything/got the good ending. One thing I didn't realize until like 4 hours in is that you can press down in the teleport rooms and it'll teleport you within the castle you're in. For those who aren't aware, HOD has 2 castles, the teleport rooms initially seem like they only transport you from Castle A to B, or vice versa. The game doesn't clue you in at all that you can teleport to other areas within the same castle, it helps with some of the backtracking but all the same, this game forces you to wander, it's not until the end game in which you truly have everything you need in order to unlock some of the rooms.

Movement in this game is phenomenal. The jumps do feel floaty at first but you get used to it, it helps that the height of your jump depends on how long you hold down the button. It feels fantastic using the sprint ability and stringing jumps together with your overpowered sub-weapon/spell. You literally plow through everything at breakneck speed. This game would be really fun to speed run.
HQGnQW1.gif

The above is a great example of how responsive the jump mechanics are. You can see the initial jump can easily be short, or long, etc. It's a great responsive feeling, makes you feel like a total badass.

Graphics and art style are really stunning. The presentation has aged incredibly well. A lot of asset reuse with sprites but that started with SOTN reusing Rondo's assets, it's to be expected with Igavania games. There are a load of really dark and evil looking rooms. Some really twisted bosses too. Tons of stuff going on; various enemies on screen, multi-layered backgrounds, lightning effects, etc. It even has it's own 3D clocktower outside the stairs that lead to Dracula in Rondo/SOTN. The game is basically SOTN-lite.

pJJYfn6.gif
fjxSzrF.gif

I love how the skeleton moves due to the gear spinning. Nice touch.

Story may as well not be there but it's cool to have a direct sequel to Simon's Quest. Takes place 50 years after CV2 and Juste, the guy you play as, is Simon's grandson. I like the idea of having to collect Dracula's pieces in order to resurrect him and actually kill him.

Overall, Harmony of Dissonance is true to it's name, off-putting for some, a total treat for others. Don't sleep on this game if you've avoided it due to people saying bad things about it. It's a great game, just a bit too easy. Easy 8/10 for me.

Played roughly 50% on the Wii U off and on but bought the Advance Collection the other day and started fresh. Finished it over the course of 2-3 days.

Beating the game unlocks a Boss Rush mode and similar to SOTN, if you start a new game and put MAXIM as the name, you'll play as Maxim, similar to the Richter campaign in SOTN. You also unlock a Sound Test.

So gaf, are you a fan of Harmony of Dissonance or is it truly the worst Igavania? Let's hear your thoughts!
 
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dave_d

Member
So gaf, are you a fan of Harmony of Dissonance or is it truly the worst Igavania? Let's hear your thoughts!

Personally thought Castlevania Dawn of Sorrows was the worst one because I really hated the whole drawing mechanic to defeat bosses. (IE you can beat any boss but if you don't do the symbol correctly at the end they don't die.)
 
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fart town usa

Gold Member
Personally thought Castlevania Dawn of Sorrows was the worst one because I really hated the whole drawing mechanic to defeat bosses. (IE you can beat any boss but if you don't do the symbol correctly at the end they don't die.)
Yea, I don't think I ever played that one but I downloaded a DS emulator the other night, curious how that aspect will work with the emulator. I also have a soft-modded DS Lite but would prefer to play on a larger screen. At the very least, definitely using the emulator to play Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia once I'm done with the 2 remaining GBA games. I don't think either of those games rely heavily on the stylus.
 

dave_d

Member
Yea, I don't think I ever played that one but I downloaded a DS emulator the other night, curious how that aspect will work with the emulator. I also have a soft-modded DS Lite but would prefer to play on a larger screen. At the very least, definitely using the emulator to play Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia once I'm done with the 2 remaining GBA games. I don't think either of those games rely heavily on the stylus.
CDS has a few other usage of the stylus but they all feel shoe-horned in, especially that "seal" mechanic. (IE you're literally supposed to drawing a magic seal to prevent the boss from coming back to life.) It's not that annoying at first but the later bosses require a more complex seal which is what does become annoying.(I've never fully beaten it because I just got too annoyed. Admittedly I was playing on an original DS. Not sure what it would be like to play it on my New 3DS XL with the larger screen.)
 
Taken as a whole, I love it. But the music and level layout are not great imho. The music in particular is pretty painful, but that's the case with so much of the GBA library due to hardware limitations.

But it's great fun and very worthy of the Castle/Igavania brand.
 

Saber

Gold Member
One of my favorite Castlevanias from my young times, despite me having some criticism. Beat it on hard and no-magic modes. Music grown onto me, even though I know it isn't for everyone in terms of quality. The way they make it sounds very classic, as if it's an old NES game.

The game is not on the same level as Aria, Dawn or Ecclesia though, but the game is pretty damn straightfoward in terms of presentation and design. You still retain the classic whip, sub-weapon and can use magic(mp usage is questionable though). The best thing they ever did in Castlevania games is finally retain the names of the enemies. For instance, you know exactly what is a Legion(theres 2 version in Harmony), because sequels still retain their names.
 
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kunonabi

Member
I didn't care for it all. The music was indeed awful and it looked like garbage too. Your best friend/rival looks like a damn Atari sprite. The game itself is just mediocre. It's less annoying than Ecclesia but that's probably the nicest thing I can say about it.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
Incredible OP - really well done.
Theres a 'no glow' hack out there that removes the weird outline around the main character.

I only played it back when it released and still have it complete in box.
Unfortunately my memory of Harmony is that wasnt very good. Poor music - and its a complete cake walk - making it kind of pointless. These types of games need at least some challenge. Im not sure it stood the test of time.
Sorry, Farts.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Incredible OP - really well done.
Theres a 'no glow' hack out there that removes the weird outline around the main character.

I only played it back when it released and still have it complete in box.
Unfortunately my memory of Harmony is that wasnt very good. Poor music - and its a complete cake walk - making it kind of pointless. These types of games need at least some challenge. Im not sure it stood the test of time.
Sorry, Farts.
No worries and thanks for the compliment on the OP.

I can definitely see the pointless aspect with the lack of difficulty, story isn't memorable either. For me it was the forward/backward dash mechanic and navigating the castle that made it worth sticking with.
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
HoD is a very solid game, but it has many flaws.
I like that it’s easier than the brutal Circle of the Moon, but most bosses pose no challenge whatsoever.
Movement is the best of the GBA trilogy - but room design makes traversal a chore. Notice how many rooms have U-shaped or zigzag designs, meaning when you need to backtrack there’s no shortcuts to speak of.
I don’t like how closely the overall design of the game copies SotN. The final boss area is basically identical, even the way you ultimately access it is the same.
Most of all, as you said, is that it’s so bloody hard to remember where to go when you get a new key or power. The map gives no hints. Some keys are needed for literally one door, good luck remembering which one it is, and every roadblock is usually at the same distance from where you got the latest key anyway. So much backtracking just to find out you got back to the wrong door. Ugh.

The music is good in its own way, but I couldn’t hum a single tune from the game to save my life. It’s not memorable at all, that’s its problem.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
The map gives no hints. Some keys are needed for literally one door, good luck remembering which one it is, and every roadblock is usually at the same distance from where you got the latest key anyway. So much backtracking just to find out you got back to the wrong door. Ugh.
:messenger_grinning_sweat: 100%. Couldn't tell you the number of times I went to a spot on the map and was like, "shit! I just checked that 10 minutes ago but forgot..." That's actually the best use of the rewind feature in the Advance collection, never had to use it for deaths but definitely used it a few times to reset my position while backtracking.
 
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SpiceRacz

Member
I mentioned it in another thread, but Harmony has the worst castle layout out of the 3 GBA games. It just killed the experience for me. I didn't find anything about the game to be very memorable. Konami redeemed themselves with Aria though.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
"Dissonance in classical music was explained by the chief music critic of the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, in a recently published video on the New York Times website, as the urge to move a note away by one to move the sound perception from dissonance to consonance. Tommasini said the ear tells you that a note has to move either in or out by one note to resolve the dissonance and dissonant music demands resolution to harmony." https://www.sciencedocs.com/dissonance-explained/

SI_WiiUVC_CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance_image1600w.jpg


So gaf, are you a fan of Harmony of Dissonance or is it truly the worst Igavania? Let's hear your thoughts!
Loved the game.

Agree with all the reverse castle comments though...dropped the ball* on that feature in this installment.
 
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I can see why some people dislike the backtracking but at the same time, it's no worse or more cryptic than Super Metroid and it's not like people say anything bad about that game. The backtracking definitely artificially extends the length of the game but it also kept me engaged, you really do have to wander a lot to find the one section that may have opened up. The combat isn't the challenge, it's finding where you need to go. I finished in about 6 hours and collected everything/got the good ending. One thing I didn't realize until like 4 hours in is that you can press down in the teleport rooms and it'll teleport you within the castle you're in. For those who aren't aware, HOD has 2 castles, the teleport rooms initially seem like they only transport you from Castle A to B, or vice versa. The game doesn't clue you in at all that you can teleport to other areas within the same castle, it helps with some of the backtracking but all the same, this game forces you to wander, it's not until the end game in which you truly have everything you need in order to unlock some of the rooms.

Super Metroid is much quicker to traverse through and provides plenty of shortcuts via powerups.
 
Yea, I don't think I ever played that one but I downloaded a DS emulator the other night, curious how that aspect will work with the emulator. I also have a soft-modded DS Lite but would prefer to play on a larger screen. At the very least, definitely using the emulator to play Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia once I'm done with the 2 remaining GBA games. I don't think either of those games rely heavily on the stylus.
Here is a patched version that removes that drawing stuff. Sorry I don’t have a link, but I’m sure you can find it out there, matey!
 

Astral Dog

Member
I thought it was a very solid game that has an unfair reputation because it couldn't surpass SotN, followed Circle of the Moon and specially, the music quality. The latter is mostly a result of this team working around the GBA limitations, when they had no previous experience with the hardware they designed this game to push the graphics first

The end result is some of the most impressive boss sprites made on GBA, had this game released with a higher quality soundtrack on DS for example the reception would have been much more positive overall
 
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Closer

Member
I love me some Castlevania and this game was somewhat hard to digest. I like how Juste controls, but at the same time, I think the game suffers so much from it. Every enemy is just so easy to overcome, and you have no reason to actually fight. You can just zip around like you're Speedy Gonzales and finish the game.
Soundtrack is OK, but the only one I remember is Successor of Fate but for the wrong reason, it makes my ears bleed when those damn high pitched notes come in.

I like it these days, but propably because I'm a Castlevania bitch and suck up every game like a cat in heat.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I prefer AoS and CotM over HoD. Level design is kinda bonkers at the beginning. It felt like it was taking a lot from SotN, but it didn’t quite replicate it very well. It’s one Castlevania title I haven’t finished. I love the series, but I get Castlevania fatigue every now and then. I’ll try it again now that there’s some positive energy going around about it. I tried the latest iOS Castlevania on Apple Arcade and it felt so artificial. You know when the formula works and when it’s been copied. Hopefully my experience with HoD is a lot better.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
I prefer AoS and CotM over HoD. Level design is kinda bonkers at the beginning. It felt like it was taking a lot from SotN, but it didn’t quite replicate it very well. It’s one Castlevania title I haven’t finished. I love the series, but I get Castlevania fatigue every now and then. I’ll try it again now that there’s some positive energy going around about it. I tried the latest iOS Castlevania on Apple Arcade and it felt so artificial. You know when the formula works and when it’s been copied. Hopefully my experience with HoD is a lot better.
Yea, the castle is a slog for a bit, it really makes you wander a lot in the beginning.
 
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