Game:

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)

Duration: 2:49:54

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Originally recorded: November 3, 2022
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I was always expecting this to take three streams, honestly. Finishing in two would've been great, but with my side project finally complete, I'm willing to dedicate more time to the remaining slate of livestreams for the year. There's not much left... but I'm not entirely confident that I'll be able to finish them up before Thanksgiving this year either. I guess it'll all depend on how long the last major game I've got left takes me to complete.

But enough musing about the future, we've still got a belated Halloween-themed game to discuss. My glorious no-death run came to a bitter conclusion early on this time. And who better to cut me off than Death himself? Honestly, I'm surprised that that ended up being the most difficult boss fight in the entire game... well, so far. Death usually isn't a slouch, but fighting him with such short-range weaponry... when his hitbox extended so far beyond his hurtbox. I did eventually figure out how to overcome him though. Getting the "walk underwater" power-up from beating him seemed pretty weird though.

The deaths did come pretty often after the first time I died, but at the same time, I made significant progress. I'm all but assured to finish things up next time. Hell, I even managed to cap off this session by defeating Graham and unlocking the path to the "true" final boss. I feel like the weirdest part about this whole thing was just how quickly I managed to get the three souls necessary to avoid getting the bad ending. I also can't help but comment on how OP all three of said souls are... though I am embarassed to admit that I didn't make the connection that I was effectively equipping Dracula's regular moveset until I got the Flame Demon's soul. Should've been obvious with the bat flight and the ability to recover health from normal attacks. Honestly, the Succubus ability is probably the most overpowered of the three: you don't even need to hit an opponent to recover health, even candles heal you. That's absolutely nuts.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the poor turn-out for this stream, but it seems like streaming obscure games is what gets the randos involved... while the only way to really get my usuals out in droves is by playing something horrible. I can't help but feel demoralized that playing a moderately well-known game that's actually good is essentially anathema to anyone who'd consider watching me. Good thing I never had any delusions of making a career out of content creation, eh?

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