Cadence of Hyrule

[Hero-of-Time]

6 hours ago, Ronnie said:

That said, switching to fixed beat mode probably shaved a couple of hours off your playtime, but still!

Edit: Wow. Editing a post reveals spoiler tags, so I now know the final boss. Great.

Yeah, I imagine not playing the Fixed Beat mode would have added to my time but it's something I wasn't a fan of. I found what @Sheikah said to be true. I just couldn't find the rhythm enough times to attack reliably. Once I turn on Fixed Beat mode I had a much more enjoyable, if easier, experience.

Shame about the spoilers. I done my part by hiding them but it seems the forum has screwed you over.  To be honest, i've never been a fan of the spoiler and quote boxes ever since we switched to this new style of forum. They are a pain to manage, especially when on a phone.

[drahkon]

Spoiler

To be fair...it's not a surprise who the last boss is  

 

[Glen-i]

I found Bard Mode (Fixed Beat in Cadence of Hyrule) to be perfect for learning enemy patterns, and then I switched to rhythm mode because my rhythm is impeccable!

It does make the game a lot easier though. The challenge from Necrodancer comes from thinking on your feet while moving to the beat.

4 hours sounds about right for Cadence of Hyrule, I imagine Necrodancer is harder, so I'm not surprised. Could someone ask @Hero-of-Time if the game tracks progress for Link/Zelda/Cadence separately? I liked playing through Necrodancer multiple times because the game tracks different characters progress separately.

I'm never beating Aria on that. Bloody impossible!

Edited June 14, 2019 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

  Final Boss Spoiler (Hide contents)

To be fair...it's not a surprise who the last boss is  

 

 

Spoiler

...Ronnie has now been spoilt on the design on the boss. To be fair, the game telegraphs a few times that it will be Ganon who you will be fighting in the final battle.

 

[Sheikah]

That completion time is not that surprising to me, Necromancer is really short too. I think it's intended you play through the different characters to add to the playtime. Pretty sure playing fixed beat does mean you complete the game a lot quicker than you otherwise would as well.

 

Bit of a shame the length isn't something like Binding of Isaac or Enter the Gungeon but it's still pretty enjoyable. If they made a Bard mode-only game with lots more levels I'd very much be down for that. Crypt of the Tactician? [emoji4]

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Shame about the spoilers. I done my part by hiding them but it seems the forum has screwed you over.  

I mean, I question the need to put a screenshot of the final boss in the first place, but never mind

[Hero-of-Time]

9 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I mean, I question the need to put a screenshot of the final boss in the first place, but never mind

Given the amount of grief I've had on here in the past for finishing games quickly, I tend to post ending screens/bosses etc to prove that I've actually played finished a game.

[Ronnie]

This game is amazing, I can't put it down for more than a few minutes. Beautiful visuals, incredible music, polished, perfect gameplay.

I've managed to not put it on fixed beat, and playing it as intended, it's tough but doable. Just beat the first dungeon. Took a dozen+ deaths before the game started to really click.

Very very impressed.

Reviewers seem very positive too

Polygon review

Quote

The greatest compliment I can give to Cadence of Hyrule is that if I didn’t know any better, I would say this was made by an in-house Nintendo development team. The amount of care and affection found in every area of the game makes it feel astounding that an indie developer was able to pull this off with such confidence.

Even more astounding is that Nintendo was willing to grant the team at Brace Yourself Games so much control over one of its most successful and iconic franchises. It was a risky endeavor that paid off, and I hope this heralds a future willingness to be even more experimental with the faces and franchises we’ve come to know so well.

Destructoid Review

9.5/10

 

[Hero-of-Time]

I went back to the game tonight and I got another couple of hours out of it. I unlocked another character, completely cleared the map, collected every heart piece, upgraded my arrow and bomb bags to the max and nabbed every item.

Spoiler

There's no way I'm using the secret character for a playthrough but look at him getting down to the funky beats.  

Spoiler

 

Given the position of the new character on the player select screen, it would appear there is another one to unlock. Whether this is actually in the game or DLC remains to been seen.

With that playthrough completely done I may have a crack at the game with the beats still intact. I know the best weapons, enemy movements and what items to aim for first so it should make things easier for me. I'll probably go with Link this time though as I started with Zelda on my first time through the game.

[Jonnas]

19 hours ago, Glen-i said:

I found Bard Mode (Fixed Beat in Cadence of Hyrule) to be perfect for learning enemy patterns, and then I switched to rhythm mode because my rhythm is impeccable!

It does make the game a lot easier though. The challenge from Necrodancer comes from thinking on your feet while moving to the beat.

4 hours sounds about right for Cadence of Hyrule, I imagine Necrodancer is harder, so I'm not surprised. Could someone ask @Hero-of-Time if the game tracks progress for Link/Zelda/Cadence separately? I liked playing through Necrodancer multiple times because the game tracks different characters progress separately.

I'm never beating Aria on that. Bloody impossible!

Funny, the only thing stopping me from declaring Necrodancer "Beaten" is Aria Mode. I'm stuck on Zone 3 (how can that floor have trickier beats than 4?). I'm stubbornly preservering, and I'm not sure whether that says more about me or the game.

Anyway, @Hero-of-Time could you please confirm whether CoH tracks each character's individual progress separately? It would be much appreciated.

Edited June 15, 2019 by Jonnas

[Hero-of-Time]

5 hours ago, Jonnas said:

Anyway, @Hero-of-Time could you please confirm whether CoH tracks each character's individual progress separately? It would be much appreciated.

I'm not sure what you mean. All the characters on a single playthrough share the heart pieces and items that you collect. So when you switch characters at a sheikah stone they will all have the same stuff as the character you were just using.

You can start a new game with a different starting character but the same applies once you find the others to use.

[Hero-of-Time]

Just a warning to those bothered about their play time not being accurate. I left the game in sleep mode last night and this morning my play time went from 6 hours to 15. Looks like time is still counted when the system is asleep, much like the bug in Xenoblade 2 when that first launched.

[Jonnas]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm not sure what you mean. All the characters on a single playthrough share the heart pieces and items that you collect. So when you switch characters at a sheikah stone they will all have the same stuff as the character you were just using.

You can start a new game with a different starting character but the same applies once you find the others to use.

Ah, so it's a single party sharing the same progress? In Necrodancer, each character's progress is individual, that is, unlocking, say, zone 3 with Cadence doesn't unlock it for everyone else. I thought CoH was similar in that regard, but apparently not.

Thank you  

[Ronnie]

When this game clicks, it really CLICKS. So incredibly satisfying taking out enemies to the rhythm of the music, wow. The overworld theme is so, so good.

[Hero-of-Time]

28 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

The overworld theme is so, so good.

Which one?  Every time the Wind Waker one hits I have such a huge grin on my face.

My no fixed beat run is going very well. I think I've only died around 5 times. I've yet to do a dungeon and instead I'm methodically working my way around the map and clearing every square before moving on to the next. This will leave me in a very strong position when I eventually take on the dungeons.

[Aperson]

Fun fact, Youtuber FamilyJules was involved in the soundtrack for this game

 

 

[Glen-i]

9 minutes ago, GenericAperson said:

Fun fact, Youtuber FamilyJules was involved in the soundtrack for this game

Yeah, I remember seeing him show up in the original Necrodancer. So it's not too surprising.

[Hero-of-Time]

I've just finished my no fixed beat run with 4:02 on the clock and 7 deaths, all of which came at the very start of the game.

Now that I know how that game works I found it very simple. So much so that I actually beat my original time, even though this mode was supposed to be harder. Plus, I got 100% before fighting the last boss rather than after.  I don't think it's that much more difficult, it just slows you down that's all. I definitely found it more fun playing it with fixed beats though.

Playing through the game twice, as well as getting 100% of the stuff twice, has notched my play time up to just over 10 hours, which is more what I was expecting for the price I paid.

It's such a shame the game is so short, even when playing the game the way it was intended. I hope they release some DLC for the game to expand upon what they started with this. Who knows, maybe they will try their hand with other Nintendo franchises in the future. 

*gets back to Dragon Quest*

 

[Ronnie]

[Ronnie]

Rolled credits on this just now, absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended. I almost never rush through a game like this in a weekend but I couldn't put it down!

Those just starting out, I'd recommend not switching to fixed beat mode. You'll die a dozen or two times at the start but you'll soon get the hang of it, then the game really clicks. I'm glad to have experienced the game first time as it was meant to be.

The only things I'm missing from a 100% run is 2 heart pieces and a space in the middle of two bottles?

LOVED the overworld, so many secrets to find, enemy variety was great too.

People mention the difficulty spike towards the end but I can't say I really noticed. I think because I'd cleared the map and gotten loads of hearts it wasn't too bad. Only needed one fairy in the final boss. The weapon on Hyrule castle is a godsend too, that really helped.

Spoiler

Hinting at a sequel I wonder? At first I thought I'd maybe gotten the "bad" ending but it seems there isn't one.

For me, this is on par with top tier indies like Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight, Celeste etc. 

Games can be pretty samey these days, so I appreciate this putting a fresh spin on a classic formula.

[Hero-of-Time]

Permadeath mode complete.

Having played both Fixed Beat and normal mode I think this is easily the best way to play the game. Playing through the game the other two times was fun but it’s far too easy, whereas this added a fantastic challenge to the game, with enemies being more powerful and bosses having new attack patterns. Every encounter with the regular enemies becomes a lot more meaningful and satisfying once cleared. The 4 hour run time doesn’t represent the actual amount of time it took to get through the game in permadeath mode. I did have a fair few unlucky runs and a couple when I got too aggressive and I ended dying, as well as kicking myself in the process. It’s actually not that bad once you get the hang of things. Finding both Kakariko Village and the Lute early one are essential to helping you to survive. With both of them being found it allows you to teleport back to base so to speak and replenish your hearts. Likewise, finding bottles and a magic shop early becomes really helpful because this gives you some cushion should you fall in battle.

[Glen-i]

Credits just rolled for me. I can imagine that final boss being really hard for people who never played Necrodancer. It demands a lot of attention.

Spoiler

I thought it was an interesting case of "Hijacked by Ganon". The antagonist isn't trying to summon him or anything, he was just trying to get monsters together to beat Ganon, before you ruin everything.

In fact, in the present, I'm pretty sure that guy playing the organ in Gerudo Valley is Ganondorf. Interesting move, making him a random NPC you can talk to.

What was even more surprising was seeing a Hyrule Warriors reference. That Naginata you can find in Hyrule Castle is literally the same one Impa uses in Hyrule Warriors. What a random thing to have a nod to.

Great game, would play again. Gleeokenspiel is a marvelous punny boss with sweet music.

Although it's a shame there's no way to play through the whole thing as Cadence...

At least the shopkeeper from Necrodancer is in it and is still the best character in the game. But I think I preferred him when he sang to the tune instead of singing harmony.

So good.

Edited June 23, 2019 by Glen-i

[BowserBasher]

Started playing this but finding it a bit awkward to get to grips with right away. I think I’m going to try it on the one you don’t need to keep the beat with first. 

[Ronnie]

26 minutes ago, BowserBasher said:

Started playing this but finding it a bit awkward to get to grips with right away. I think I’m going to try it on the one you don’t need to keep the beat with first. 

Noooo, stick with it a bit longer.

I sort of wish that fixed beat mode was only unlocked half way through or something. It's a real shame so many people ditch the main mechanic of the game so early.

[Hero-of-Time]

34 minutes ago, BowserBasher said:

Started playing this but finding it a bit awkward to get to grips with right away. I think I’m going to try it on the one you don’t need to keep the beat with first. 

If you're not enjoying it then switch it to fixed beat. Once you get a feel for the game then switch it back. You can toggle it on and off as you please so you can easily switch it back on once you find your rhythm.