Speedrunners Broke Castlevania's Most Annoying Mechanic

[@ChristerOsorioHoyos]

Initially thought that the "RPG route" was role playing as a vampire because of the succubus souls. Actually, it was much more literal than that.

[@ZenoDovahkiin]

Well Soma almost kind of is a vampire anyway so it's hardly even roleplaying.

[@maximinimarq6254]

same here

[@why_i_game]

Rocket Propelled Game... Role Playing Grenade... um...

[@vonmatrices]

Listen, you have a touch screen, you gotta gimmick. It's the law

[@theblaze5530]

Ecclesia had the best gimmick

[@phorchybug3286]

Thankfully Mario Kart DS has the right idea of just make up your own emblem.

[@gabrielcastejon7914]

@@theblaze5530 The Albus teleporting, right? Its obscenely fun!

[@gaspump]

You're not far off. With each system Nintendo has implemented certain mandates to get certified and for the DS it was that there must be touchscreen controls for some gameplay element. Other notables being using motion for the Wii, the pad for the WiiU and having 3d for the 3DS. They were all eventually relaxed but Dawn of Sorrow (drinking game: take a hit for every DS game that has a "DS" initialism) was close enough to release to be caught in that.

[@EduCrossHands]

​@@phorchybug3286 but it also have the microphone gimmick in Ballon Battle

[@Saryuja26]

I'm surprised you did not mention that this glitch can be used to obtain all three possible endings in one speedrun

[@huhneat8908]

what

[@GigalassII]

I like your funny words magic man

[@CommunistRainbowdash]

the fact that the other route involves a goddamn RPG is really the banana on the bread

[@someoneusedtobeknown2645]

This is the first time I have ever heard this saying, and I feel like it should be a timeless one that everyone had used at least once in their lives.

[@NoVa_Dragoon]

12:06 One point of clarification, the wiki just straight up lies about the drop odds here, the soul drop is not anywhere close to 12%. In reality the odds are around 2.35%, or roughly 1 in 43. Which, granted, when compared to Dawn's more dire drops getting as bad as 0.39% (1 in 256), still generous in that context at least. edit: 14:25 Quite generously, for being only in the final few rooms of the game, Black Panther in reality is actually 12.5%, being 1 in 8

[@pedropimenta896]

Fix the wiki

[@Jabler-]

So did you fix the wiki?

[@gegor41311]

2:11 "this bald man" This is a disrespect to Hammer, and you're about to pay dearly for it.

[@firedrake110]

I think the single best part of the game is the Soma fight in Julius Mode, it's so sick. I especially like how Soma has a voiceline for whichever character you enter the room with, plus the incredible music...

[@RezaQin]

Flint!

[@keyblader1985]

I was never bothered by drawing seals in this game. I can't imagine how much people would hate a game like LostMagic - the combat was entirely based on drawing runes in real time.

[@elivcdxv1852]

Lost Magic is ABSOLUTELY goated. Love my boy Isaac Lightbrad

[@funninoriginal6054]

Difference is that one game is entirely based on touch screen gimmicks qhile the other is 95% void of it and only throws these things on you at the worst possible noments

[@RaspK]

5:15 Fuck... Apparently, whoever localized the game assumed "kataaru" (the Japanese term for the weapon) was the name "Cutall," whereas it is literally an adaptation of the proper word for this type of bladed weapon, the katar.

[@sunasuna16]

final boss Stephen King with the Langoliers

[@TheJCHarkins2]

3 days late with the same thought...

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

I always thought they looked like goddamn Langoliers.

[@mrex666productions7]

It's just a XXL sized Flesh Golem that summons Langoliers

[@ShadwSonic]

Those seals don't even work all the time on emulator, which is why the "No Touch Screen" hack is allowed for the RetroAchievements set for this game. Did I feel silly when I realized that after failing the same boss several times...

[@gamerofthetime]

What emulator are you using? I'm using Desmume and never had any issues.

[@ShadwSonic]

@@gamerofthetime Desmume core in Libretro. This was quite a while ago. Should mention that I'm using a touchpad on a laptop.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Patching out the seals improves the flow of the game so much.

[@gamerofthetime]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Debatable.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@gamerofthetime I thought they were cumbersome, awkward, and needless at the time, they were clearly there because Nintendo mandated that the devs made use out of the touch screen gimmick, hence why this iteration of it was not seen in the other DS games. Trying it on emulator with the patch after having played it many times over the years, I thought it made it much more fun to fight the bosses. I didn't have to tear my grip and grab the stylus out of my mouth to draw perfectly on a tiny screen in an increasingly tiny amount of time, I just had to engage in the combat itself.

[@BafemousGoat]

I remember discovering the succubus-cutal glitch as a kid by accident and then going crazy around the castle with it, trying to finish the game as quickly as possible and being absolutelly taken out of my mind when i discovered that you could go off-bounds on save rooms and go around in such a way that gave you itens like Alucard Sword and the souls from Julius Mode. I was way too obsessed with this game tbh and i couldn't be happier i got the chance to feel this way, my favorite Castlevania game ev4r Note: I never could really finish the game as quick as i wanted, i avoided saves and even with them, doing Menace low-level is hell

[@CloudCuckooKing]

I not only never struggled with the seals but felt cool doing them. Perspective is a wild thing. ETA: I think I should clarify, having watched like 30 more seconds, that I only ever played casually

[@DoctorSwellman]

Nothing like drawing magic seals to zip into oblivion (also banana bread?)

[@KatouToast]

I loved this game when I was a kid. It was the source of my first ever rule breaking in my life, which was to sneak my DS up to my room in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep and playing with headphones on. We were only allowed 1 hour of video game playing a day, so this was MAJOR. Also, the soundtrack (and also obviously setting) was so sinister. It led to even MORE heart pounding excitement, cuz I would constantly whip my headphones off to listen in a panic, thinking someone was coming to catch me. The only was it could have been better is if I could have enjoyed some Banana Bread with it at the same time... ;) Excellent video, and thanks to Diagon for explaining! Very nice. When they preformed the first Zip with the Axe, I thought right away, "Wow, that's like the Sucubus-Cutall canceling glitch you can use to get around barriers and out of bounds..." only for that to also show up! That was pretty neat!

[@arkhe1n107]

I hereby state that we would indeed like a Julius run featuring Diagon.

[@Antifrost]

I've never played this particular Castlevania before, but I do feel like with what I've seen, there are a lot of games with notably more obtuse touch screen gimmicks that I imagine would drive speedrunners bananas. Bread-and-butter casual playthroughs might find it frustrating to have some of their progress undone if they mess it up, but assuming the mechanic works properly (like I said I've never played the game so I don't know how accurate the touch controls are), I don't think I would've found it as annoying as some do. Even so, it's definitely interesting how it allows for such wild skips, though funnily enough it's the tutorial that makes this possible - had Konami assumed the players didn't need to practice the seal motions, then runners would be a lot more limited in what they could do.

[@josefinae1403]

The gimmick is notably frustrating on PC emulators, its near impossible to do any kind of seal with the mouse and you can't even do it slowly since its a timed event. Thank god for patches.

[@Antifrost]

@@josefinae1403 Reminds me when I tried to play the first Megaman Starforce game on emulator. What should have been a very standard touchscreen minigame was near impossible, and it was required to progress. I had to slow down the emulator speed to get through those sections.

[@ezelalia5739]

​@@Antifrost if you played Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, this is a worthy sequel, i still prefer Aria but Dawn is good

[@Hilipinapixili]

@@josefinae1403 I actually never had any problem with the seals on the emulator, and I was dreading the hell out of them because I thought they were going to be miserable with the mouse. And yet I think I only failed a seal once.

[@Hilipinapixili]

@@ezelalia5739 I actually like Dawn slightly more than Aria by virtue of it being a bit more challenging IMO, but they're both top tiers in the series.

[@CottidaeSEA]

I actually enjoyed those seals. It was a nice touch where you do the final move yourself. It did help that I was good at it and almost never failed though. Probably saved me from a lot of frustration.

[@halfhero]

I get why speedrunners hate it, but in my casual playthroughs of dos I always thought the seals were a fun final flourish on boss fights edit : ok so i made this comment before i was somewhere i could actually hear the video, turns out speedrunners like them, regular players dont like them also banana bread

[@Kydrou]

I really enjoy these Speedrun explanations. I wonder which one will be next? Maybe how to speedrun Banana Bread? Burn %?

[@Sestren]

Love the video! I'd say more but I think I hear the oven beeping which means my banana bread should be just about done.

[@Veserius]

Was only aware of the RPG route, so it is really cool to see this route.

[@darkmage123345]

first you need a bananaa, then you need some bread....... spread banana on the bread then you have banana paste and maybe banana slices on bread

[@artmccarthy3268]

That was soo good.

[@LucianCanad]

Fun fact: "Malacoda" literally translates to "Evil Tail"

[@cellularautomatFI]

I love how there are so many exploits in this speedrun but all the RNG requirements makes speedrunning DoS seem like a gamble.

[@ericb3157]

this reminds me of a Flash game called "Salem", where you had to do a similar "seal" gimmick, using the Mouse.

[@airmanon7213]

Banana Bread. These glitches feel crazy to me as someone who hasn't attempted speedrunning, but they're quite fascinating!

[@pehhii]

Diagon just flexing with his seal skills, a true CHAD. Also BANANA BREAD.

[@nintendohunter783]

Another great speedrun explained. Thanks DB and Diagon

[@DeceptiveSS]

A yes, a type of non-yeast bakery product that is the saddest end for a certain yellow fruit.

[@AliceLoverdrive]

Ooh, this one was on my main page, I hope algorithm is picking your chanel back up! Say hi to mr. Daily for me

[@dacosmicbrownie]

These speedrun collabs are super informative and hella fun to watch!

[@delacreaux]

8:10 I remember doing this with the cutall all the time when playing the game as a kid, felt so good discovering something like that was possible, like eating a delicious piece of chocolate chip banana bread.

[@RenPenov]

This is such a cool video, basically a condensed explanation of the whole speedrun route. I hope you do more of these for other CV games. Keep it up Dr4gonBlitz!

[@BowsettesFury]

Banana Bread

[@smashbrolink]

Those little balls of teeth during the final boss have GOT to be inspired by the monsters in the old movie The Langoliers. They're almost spot-on copies.

[@SnakeHoundMachine]

"THESE LITTLE JERKS!" Sir, they are called "Langoliers"

[@bluedelta18]

now i want banana bread

[@philnagle9024]

Dancing former vice presidents

[@minirop]

pain à la banane

[@toshio1334]

I used to think the Malaconda Tail used to look like a stream of diarrhea and I'm glad it's being used as the main attack

[@blamblammcblam3922]

A Julius video would be a real treat just like having some banana bread

[@entheogenetic]

Whoa, fascinating! Cool vid - thanks for the edit/share, DB! I like tours like this

[@Drangelon]

Glad I don't have to perform a magic seal when making Banana Bread, it would be terrible! Thanks for uploading this, it was amazing to watch!

[@evandrake6269]

Banana bread? AT WORK? Hell yeah dude

[@ZinfulSD]

Homecooked Banana Bread goes hard though, no RNG about that

[@jbisthedj]

You are so good at explaining speedruns!! it's really impressive how comprehensive everything you say is

[@syranas]

Good lord do I love the banana bread from breaking walls.

[@Dom_Maretti]

So...barring speedrunning, for the average playthrough, I'd strongly recommend getting the "Auto Seal" Romhack that just automatically treats it as though you performed the seal when you defeat a boss. I would *love* the seals system if it were implemented into like a VR game where you have to do hand motions to mimic the seal...but on a tiny, resistive touchscreen...I'd rather play with input lag.

[@Dark_Mario_Bros.]

Those tricks were so insanely easy looking, that made me crave some banana bread.

[@trazodeltiempo1466]

great video! I've learned a few things here heh hmm it would be nice to have some banana bread huh

[@artmccarthy3268]

If anyone wants to chat with me, I'll be in the Load Zone.

[@DarkAuraLord]

What did they do *this* time?! 😂

[@XinZ1138]

Al Gore rhythm banana bread.

[@MadsonOnTheWeb]

All starts with Dinner Dog

[@artmccarthy3268]

I want some banana bread.

[@firedrake110]

I don't think I've ever dropped a seal, and I played through the game like 20-30 times as a bored teenager back when it came out - I also revisited it in 2020 when I suddenly had an abundance of spare time, and it was still great

[@azraelroman1]

Just here for the banana bread...

[@Morgan-ve2ow]

holy shit it's Jupiter Climb

[@samuelviden7412]

Best Metroidvania. All the DS games are great, but there’s just something about this game I can’t get enough of! ❤

[@michaeltedeschi9929]

That banana bread glitch is insane wow

[@Daemonfelis]

I'd recommend watching it, it's a pretty good show. I was caught off guard how much I liked it. If you want to do more, I'd love to see Sir Pentious and Cherri bomb.

[@midegola5623]

i loved this game when i was younger. but i never knew that soul was so strong because of how dumb it looked.

[@chabaloo8855]

Humans and drawing, such a love-hate relation

[@YEs69th420]

I should have known DoS speedruns would be super broken, it's a Castlevania game.

[@roberthiltz2741]

I prefer Zucchini to Banana Bread personally

[@GigalassII]

The fucking banana bread burnt while i was enthralled by the video, thanks for that dad

[@flipperflapper6682]

I watch what the speedrunner do and a thought come to my mind, the same thought that come when I look online about Elden Ring walkthroug "How do you find this?!"

[@minerturtle45]

my mom makes some SUPER good banana bread with chocolate chips and mini Reese's in them. melt a pad of butter on a slice and it's just. divine.

[@Veketshian]

Great video!

[@mrpinguimninja]

The seal system has single handedly kept me from replaying this game

[@SonySteals]

This and a prequel are one of my all time favorites. I love these games so much. Great to learn something new about them

[@Vandita3344]

I enjoyed hearing and seeing the speedruns, please do more!

[@se7enist]

Never thought I'd see Banana bread as a part of a major glitch.

[@toprem4037]

19:46 Langoliers time

[@Ginsekami]

Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring Banana Bread- no, wait

[@BelleMorte1979]

I just adore this game so much. Seals not so much. Great job by you and Diagon! Banana Bread!!

[@davider94]

As much as most people dislike the seal system, I always liked for making the boss fights more challenging than just pouring some damage into them. [She banana on my bread, till I SeeAJuliusModeRunWithDiagon]

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

I just don't bother and typically use a magic seal removal mod. Bless me actually being able to play emulation via ds carts

[@lemonadogirl4082]

As a Pokemon Ranger GS enthusiast, the only response I have to people in a snit over these seals is "skill issue."

[@MadsonOnTheWeb]

I want some delicious banana bread

[@ManaBirb_0.1]

You always do such an excellent job breaking down these runs and the strategies.

[@muizzsiddique]

I don't know what you did to get KZbin to bless this video with AV1.

[@coffeelover07]

I'm almost entirely certain I've never owned a gameboy.

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

The reason that the zips happen is The same reason why it happens in some mega Man X games and even Mario games where you can clip in between two walls and you're in a specific spot that the game will register you in for one frame and then the next frame you're going to be pushed aside to a certain degree and then set back into an X and y axis

[@CarissaNomadic]

The only thing better then the Soma games, it's the Soma games after a solid meal of banana bread

[@bananaslamma35]

You know, watching the video as Soma repeatedly smacks the personification of Death with a borrowed tail, I begin to wonder In the Sorrow games it... actually doesn't make a lick of sense that you fight Death. Because in a lot of official artwork, Soma has the Crimson Stone, and Death pledged obedience to whoever has the Crimson Stone (though in some artwork it's also blue so who knows if it's intentional?). Even back then it sort of didn't make sense considering Death's bestiary entry suggests it is Dracula's closest confidant and, well, near the end of the game you learn that Graham was wrong and it's actually Soma who is the reincarnated Dracula. So why does Death fight you when it should be helping you? If there was ONE game where they should've bucked tradition and not had the Death boss fight, it was the Sorrow games, hell, maybe you could've even pulled a double bluff by having Death initially help the player because it is no longer bound to Dracula, have it be like "I wish to stop Graham from becoming Dracula so that I don't become obedient to a mortal again" and maybe have Death be the prompt that gets the players looking for the tomes that are the clues for the true ending, then after you beat Graham, Death shows up and you get a choice there where Death is like "glad to see you back my good friend old buddy Matty boy, now what say you we go on to slaughter us some humans?" and if you answer yes you get the worst ending but if you say no THEN Death goes "oh well I see that you need a little bit more of a push to regain your old self so let's have a match" and then you fight, ending with Death taunting Soma about how his fall to darkness is inevitable because Chaos cannot be beat, giving Soma the impetus to go battle Chaos. Suggest on the epilogue of the game that Death actually was 100% on Soma's side whatever choice he made because he's still subservient to Dracula and the final fight was a test of his might and resolve before giving Soma his soul to empower him to go fight Chaos, and that's the reason why he even mentioned Chaos at all. Boom, instantly more involved in the plot as it traditionally has been, and you have it make sense why Death fights you in a game where by all means it should be your closest ally.

[@Keremene440]

Thank you for delicious Banana Bread!

[@SwerveStarEx]

I always really wanted to play this game, hahaha. I had no idea the seals were that problematic; I thought they looked as cool as banana bread.

[@otaking3582]

I did the sensible thing and played the ROM hack that removed the need for touchscreen controls.

[@Cactrot]

Sure do love a good loaf of Banana Bread

[@magetsalive5162]

Honestly, as a casual 100% player of this game multiple times, I never really had problems with the seals. Maybe in my first playthrough I messed up a couple times, but it must not have been that bad - I don't remember raging at the game over the seals. It just kind of felt like I was playing an anime as a stereotypical priest making gestures to seal evil spirits, which I'm sure is exactly what they were going for.

[@SeverityAsured]

We had very different experiences, I distinctly remember fighting death and bringing him down three times in one fight because I kept messing up the seal. Not that I hate the seals though. Never understood the issue some had, if you messed up it was always because YOU messed up, not the game.

[@magetsalive5162]

@@SeverityAsured I have always been good with pattern recognition and mapping things in my head. (The polite term for me is probably something dumb like "neurodivergent".) So... I am fully willing to assume that my brain having an easier time in those sorts of areas gave me an above-average competency with the seal mechanic, especially when you are shown a reminder of how to draw the seal right before you're asked to - they are short enough that I can easily recall where to start, the pattern to follow, and where to end. Different people, different strengths, I suppose.

[@DianaTaffie]

I always knew that banana bread would break the gamr.

[@vayneinsane]

Hey Dragon I wanted to ask, with a couple of Aria/Dawn of Sorrow vids out now, are you looking to grt into speedrunning those games?

[@r4tbu564]

This deserves an algo push

[@Larky90]

Who doesn't like some Banana bread.

[@noctarem96]

Not being able to do correctly the seal patterns sounds like a Skill Issue to me 🚬🗿

[@gubbothehuggo2771]

spoiled milk explosion in 3- BLEEGHUGHU!! oh fuck...

[@elivcdxv1852]

thanks for reminding me of the LAbeast

[@vonBelfry]

Man, do people actually complain about speedrunners using glitches to cheat and skip? 2 things: 1: That's the point 2: Literally every game I've seen in the speedrunning community has a "glitchless" category. Nothing is stopping you from watching that.

[@ryans5615]

Can I still join the club if I don't use the passphrase? Something about a banana or whatever. I dunno, I wasn't paying attention. Gotta make that bread.