Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin: Difference between revisions

Feedback has been largely positive, despite the frequent criticism of the game's anime-based artwork and design, as well as the uncreative second half of the game ([[Symphony of the Night|a run through 4 levels that are largely simple alterations of previous ones]]). And the glitches.

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* [[Adam Smith Hates Your Guts]]: Vincent is ''incredibly'' ungrateful for Charlotte rescuing him from vampirism. It doesn't even affect the ending, let alone reduce his prices for items.

** Actually, no. There ''is'' a minor change in the ending (Vincent says something along the lines of "I haven't been cured yet!" instead of "Hey! I'm right here!")

* [[And Now for Something Completely Different]]: The basic exploratory nature of the [[Metroidvania]] titles remains the same, except that now you can enter paintings with their own mini-world levels in them. Some of the paintings depict settings that just don't normally occur in Castlevania, such as a massive underground pyramid full of Egyptian mummies, a twisted war-torn carnival of the damned, or an early 20th Century European city.

* [[Art Attacker]]: Brauner. When you fight him, he paints on an easel with blood, making a pattern on the screen that damages you when you touch it. He also uses [[Art Initiates Life]] to summon monsters by painting them.

* [[Black Magician Girl]]: Charlotte and Loretta.

* [[Bloody Murder]]: <s>"The Art of Blood!"</s> [[Engrish|"Blood Art Technique!"]]

* [[Boobs of Steel]]: Stella has the biggest boobs of the game, and she's also the strongest female character (and the only female in the storyline who uses physical attacks a lot).

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: {{spoiler|Stella and Loretta}}.

* [[Dual Boss]]: In a series first, {{spoiler|Death and Dracula fight together for the [[Final Boss]] battle.}}

** Don't forget Stella and Loretta.

** Also in Nest of Evil, the first room on one of the lower floors has two of the Frankenstein's monsters you fight in Dark Academy.

* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: The vampire twins, each with [[Mismatched Eyes]].

* [[Emotionless Girl]]: Loretta

* [[Just a Kid]]: [[Running Gag]] with Charlotte (16) who doesn't like being treated like a child.

** It should be noted {{spoiler|that once cured with the Sanctuary spell, Stella refers to Charlotte as Miss Charlotte, most likely in gratitude of being cured. Charlotte doesn't mind}}.

* [[Large Ham]]: Brauner, particularly in {{spoiler|his boss battle.}}

* [[Last-Disc Magic]]: The Greatest Five Dual Crush, {{spoiler|which summons, in order, Richter, Leon, Trevor, Juste, and Simon Belmont. Trevor and Simon would also appear in their original NES sprites.}}

* [[Lethal Joke Item]]: The cream pie, once mastered. {{spoiler|It is very effective against the Whip's Memory (Richter Belmont) once mastered, as it does Dark damage, his elemental weakness, as well as being easy on the MP (allowing for spamming) and decent range.}}

** Undead Killer is also arguably the second best whip to the fully powered Vampire Killer, being mostly similar but downgraded in power and with the aforementioned Red Skeleton and Red Armour killing ability.

* [[Panty Shot]]: Vacuum+Charlotte=Fun. Actually, Charlotte gets a lot, start with her crouch pose and work your way up from there.

* [[Pimped-Out Dress]]: The vampire sisters wear fancy dresses. Charlotte gets several as armor, although they don't show up on her sprites.

* [[Pink Means Feminine]]: Stella's dress is this with some blue.

* [[Plucky Comic Relief]]: The monk-turned-shopkeeper Vincent Dorin tries to fill this role. Let's put it this way: he is bitten by a vampire and slowly succumbs to a similar fate, and it is ''played for laughs''.

* [[Portal Picture]]: Each portrait leads to a different world.

* [[Purple Is Powerful]]: Brauner wears a purple suit. Death's robe is also purple shaded.

* [[Puzzle Boss]]: The Dullahan does massive damage (4 hits and you are dead) to your level 7 or so characters with their minimal equipment, and it is unrealistic to dodge EVERYTHING he throws. The solution? {{spoiler|He'll never use his most damaging attack if you focus your attacks on his head.}}

* [[Random Drop]]: Money, spells and subweapons can be got from the corpses (or, seeing they're undead, "recorpses") of your enemies.

** [[Rare Random Drop]]: have fun getting the drop from the Peeping Eye, an object that lets you see breakable walls. It starts at 0.69% of chance. Be ready to get Luck boosting items if you want it.

** One of the most useful weapons in the game is Nebula, a chain whip that homes on enemies and can form a protective shield with its special attack. Nebula. Chain. Nebula... Chain... [[Saint Seiya|Nope, doesn't ring a bell!]]

** The Knee Strike was "inspired by [[Double Dragon|legendary]] [[Street Fighter|martial artists]]."

** The three award items, [[Gradius|Vic Viper]], [[Twinbee]], and Konami Man, are references to ''[[The Goonies (video game)|The Goonies]]'' video game for the Famicom. The description for these items are "5000 points", which is the amount the player receives if he/she catches the item before it disappears.

** The description for the fedora says it [[Indiana Jones|just feels right with a whip]]. The leather whip's description as being for a warrior with panache could plausibly be a reference to the same.

*** In other words, Charlotte is a [[Gradius|Vic Viper]]; the colors of her costume also resemble that of the starfighter.

*** If so... then Jonathan is a [[Gradius|Lord British or a Super Cobra]].

** On top of that, in the final boss battle, {{spoiler|Death offers up his power to enhance the "not fully resurrected" Dracula. Dracula absorbs this power with a cry of "[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night|Soul Steal!!]]"}}

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Jonathan to Brauner

{{quote|{{spoiler|I don't care! Being a family means being connected by heart. Ties of blood and soul is insignificant. When I learned why my father did what he did, I understood. You used a curse to manipulate your "dear daughters"! Now THAT'S sad!}}}}

* [[Sprite Polygon Mix]]: For some reason the Peeping Eye enemy is the only one in the game rendered with polygons instead of the usual sprites.

* [[Stellar Name]]: Stella

** The Stellar Sword, once owned by [[Harmony of Dissonance|Maxim]], which is one of the last quest rewards. It's pretty good!

* [[Sweet Dreams Fuel]]: Charlotte's wedding dress and engagement ring, especially if paired up with Jon's tuxedo suit... You know what it means...

** In fact, Jon and Charlotte's adventure as an opposite-sex duet (also a reason that this Castlevania game is [[Lighter and Softer]]) already gives both a hint and a feel of romance - especially given that they are close childhood friends.

* [[Sword and Sorcerer]]: Two pairs of this actually; Johnathan and Stella as fighters and Charlotte and Loretta as witches.

** Also the dodo, the giant ghost, and the king ghoul, all required for sidequests. The dodo behaves exactly the same as it did in Symphony.

* [[Victor Gains Loser's Powers]]: Defeating the enemies may grant you with new subweapons for Jonathan and new spells for Charlotte.

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]: The vampire sisters have purple hair.

* [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]]: The barrier at the top of the castle should be a giveaway that {{spoiler|Brauner isn't the [[Final Boss]].}}

[[Category:Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin]]

[[Category:Castlevania]]