Monday, November 20, 2017

Cursed Castilla EX Review (Nintendo 3DS)



Written By: Patrick Orquia

TITLE: Cursed Castilla EX (Maldita Castilla EX)
DEVELOPER: Juan Antonio Becera (Locomalito) (programming)/Javier Garcia (Gryzor87) (music)
PUBLISHER: Abylight Studios
GENRE: action-adventure, run-and-gun, platformer
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
RELEASE DATE: 13 July 2017
PLATFORM: 3DS system (also available on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and PSVita)
PRICE: $11.99






Games in the 80s, especially those in the arcades, are super hard. One-hit-and-you’re-dead hard. Perhaps because they are designed to gobble up coins from players, and the harder the game, the more coins an arcade player has to spend to play it. One of those notoriously hard ones is Ghost ‘n Goblins, published by Capcom. Released as an arcade game in 1985 and then subsequently ported to home consoles such as the NES later, it is a run-and-gun platformer that features a knight named Arthur, out on a quest to save Princess Guinevere and in order to do so, he has to battle demons and monsters along the way. Classic storyline, and as I mentioned earlier, has a very high difficulty.
Ghost ‘n Goblins has had many sequels and spin-offs that has been released on almost all platforms over the years, making the series the 8th best-selling franchise for Capcom. The series is well received and one of the pioneers of the run-and-gun genre.


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Flash forward to the present: with the rise of indie game development and publishing, many indie developers look back to the past for inspiration for their games. Some of them, like the awesome Shovel Knight, borrowed heavily from different games from the past. Others, like this game, Cursed Castilla EX, is only inspired by one, the aforementioned Ghost ‘n Goblins series, but the developers improved upon a winning formula to create a game that can stand on its own.




Cursed Castilla EX was released on the Nintendo 3DS system on 13 July 2017. It is an enhanced version of Maldita Castilla released on the PC in 2012, with additional levels, enemies, and bosses. This 3DS version of the game looks very good in stereoscopic 3D and it makes the visuals pop up more and gives added depth. I really like it when an indie developer takes time and effort to integrate 3D in their games released on the 3DS. Anyway, aside from the 3D, the game is also presented like an arcade cabinet, complete with a hatch at the bottom that can be opened via the touchscreen to toggle DIP switches to alter video settings and controller options (these options can also be changed in-game). 




The game is set in the cursed land of Tolomera. You play as Don Ramiro, one of the knights of the Kingdom of Castile tasked to lift the evil that has plagued the land. Like in the Ghost ‘n Goblins games, Don Ramiro wears an armor and throws his weapon as projectiles in four directions. His default weapon is a sword, but he can acquire other weapons like daggers, hatchets, bolas, etc. with different trajectories and power. He can also acquire a secondary equipment, like a shield, a pair of boots that gives a double jump ability, or a Blue Fairy, which act like a secondary character that also shoots projectiles. He can also pick up items like keys, an item that doubles loots, or temporary invincibility. There are also coins dropped by defeated monsters or taken from chests that does nothing but adds to your score.




The game also encourages the player to perform speed runs, with a speed run timer that can be set on or off on the screen. That is, if you are good enough to do it, because, again, this game is tough as nails. Unlike in Ghost ‘n Goblins, you are given 3 hearts per life which act as your hit point. Whenever you get hit, a heart gets consumed, and once all hearts are gone, you die. And depending on how many lives you have (the default is three, but you can pick up additional lives in the game), once all of your lives are out, it’s game over. You are given the chance to continue the game, with 3 lives, but your score resets to zero. If you care about getting a high score, you have be really good in the game. Fortunately, the developers makes you continue in the section of the level where you died last, so you don’t have to start from the very beginning of the level, which could be pretty tedious and frustrating, especially in the later levels. The game only has 7 levels each divided into at least 4 sections, with a boss to beat in the middle and in the end. Sounds pretty short, but with the level of difficulty in this game, you may need multiple continuations to get past a level.




By all intents and purposes, Cursed Castilla EX is a spiritual successor to the Ghost ‘n Goblins series. It is a very good game that honors the past while making itself stand on its own merits in the present. Players nowadays may find this game particularly tough to beat. I know I do. At one time, it took me more than 20 continuations to beat a boss. I just couldn’t nail the attack patterns and my hand-and-eye coordination seemed to be failing me. I guess, I’m getting old. But this game really brought out the best of my gaming abilities and I consider beating the game an achievement. I recommend this game to anyone who are fans of retro arcade games and also to those who don’t mind getting their asses handed to them multiple times before finishing a level. The game may have a high difficulty, sometimes almost too frustrating to play, but it can be beaten. And again, it is an achievement to do so. Go for it, and be rewarded.







REPLAY VALUE: high
 




PROS:

  • Awesome retro arcade visuals, music, and gameplay
  • Has a high difficulty, since it is heavily inspired by 80s arcade games, but not unfair
  • Programmed by only 2 people, that in itself is impressive
  • Has a high enemy variety
  • Awesome boss fights
  • This game is more lenient than Ghost ‘n Goblins, as it allows up 3 hits before losing a life, compared to only 2 in that game. Don Ramiro doesn’t get stripped down to his boxers, though
  • Has unlimited continuations, but the score gets reset. At the start of the game, the player is given 4 coins as credits, since it is presented like an arcade game, complete with the arcade cabinet, and once the 4 coins are consumed, the player may continue with their soul as credit. This doesn’t really mean anything and has no bearing in-game, but it’s cool nonetheless
  • Stereoscopic 3D is implemented quite well in the game, making the visuals pop up more and gives added depth
  • The game has an achievement system and has multiple endings, depending on how the player does in the game


CONS:
 
  • The completed levels cannot be replayed. This is quite frustrating because at the end of the game, another level becomes available if the player manages to collect all 5 Maura’s Tears. I didn’t know about this item and didn’t even collect a single one, and I got damned to only getting the bad ending since I no longer have the chance to get those items. The only way to get the real good ending is by replaying the entire game
  • Per continuation, not only the score gets reset, but also the acquired weapons and items. While this is understandable, some items, such as keys, are very vital in getting hidden items and better weapons and equipment can make a boss battle easier


 



RATING: 4/5 for God and Castile’s



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