Bloodstained 25 questions!!! Do you DARE to answer them all?

 never in my life i have finished a game in 1 run with 100% of everything, honestly i dont even think its posible at least not for a RPG unless you use guides or get help from others and never in my life i played an igavania game less than 3+ times trying to get everything. a game without replay value its a game that i will not enjoy.

when i said critical items i wasnt talking about plot or game progress, i was talking about how for a completionist things like this are critical and its super enfuriating to have to make use of a guide to find what you are missing. 2 rooms + 1 unique item <--- those are critical and yes im exagerating but i cant say i finished the game 100% and found every single item and room in them if dont get that item and those 2 rooms right :c?

honestly i cant see the wolf/bat thing as a clever thing its mindblowing yes, its ultra secret, its actually quite original but not clever its more random than anything else, im not attacking SOTN im arguing about cryptic secrets in general but i had to bring that one because lets be honest.. its extremely hard to find and this is an igavania forum. i have played games with super silly secrets and one of them was the reference of the monster+ring+room.
now look at the clock tower and the gears to open the door to the starflail now thats a clever thing even though its  not to hard to figure it out. in HoDissonance we had some really hidden secrets but the game gave you hint cards so that you could try to find those secrets on your own.

 i could have played SOTN 20+ Times and i might never have been able to find the the wolf/bat thing but then again i could have completed the game normally thinking i missed nothing.
and if im mistaken then let me ask you a question: did you find the way to open that wall by yourself? its hard and im sure someone somewhere actually did it while trying random things but i can tell you for sure 99% of the players that know about it had help from a guide or the almighty internet.

now that i think about this could have had its own thread.

I notice you keep repeating the phrase "What's the fun in that?". I have to remind you that fun is subjective.

So, without further ado, here's 25 questions for all of you to answer, about these themes: Overall (Enemies, Plot, Content, etc), Equipment & Shards and Stratch Goals. Again, some of those questions i did before in old threads, but mosf of them are new.
1) Do you prefer less enemies, but they are all unique, or more enemies but with pallete swap ones among them? Biggest Igavanias normally have 100+ enemies, but all of them had pallete swaps. Considering Bloodstaine's scale, it can reach a number around 150 or more. So, would you prefer, for instance, 150 enemies with 30 pallete swaps or 100 unique enemies?

Honestly, I would much prefer less enemies that are all unique, but I'm not going to complain if palette-swaps are present in the roster of demonic enemies.

2) What are your thoughts over cryptic secrets? Secrets that are so hard to find or require so out-of-the-box thinking that is almost impossible to find out without a guide, like turning into a wolf inside a cavern and getting out in the form of a bat to open a passage (Symphony of the Night)?

Sure, I'm all for it.  That way, people may still be discovering secrets in Bloodstained for [potentially] years to come... though I doubt it will really take that long.  In general, I do like the little things that keep me crawling back to a game.

3) Some Igavanias had secrets, items and equipment that could only be found by sheer luck. Enemies with extremely low percentage drop rate for those things, or something even more challenging, like Order of Ecclesia, that had rare chests randomly appearing at scenarions and having random rare items, forcing the player to replay areas countless times to get them. What are your thoughts over luck-based gameplay like that?

It gives the player an extra incentive to keep going back to the areas these items are found in, so I'm all for it.  You might find other things you didn't quite expect to find the first time around.

4) Say the name and make a small description of a scenario you would like to see in the game that is NOT Entrance, Library, Clock Tower or anything related to Caverns or Dungeons of any sort.

Something like THIS, as an easter-egg.



It doesn't matter to me where exactly in Gebel's Castle this is found; it could even be in a Hidden Room that isn't accessed via breakable wall.  I'd personally love to see a tribute to the Metroid series again.

5) IGA said in a old interview that Miriam has her heart crystalized already (we can see that by the fact that her left breast has a crystal rose) but Gebel has almost all his body crystalized, EXCEPT his heart (we can see that by the fact that his chest has a left-angled area clean of crystals) and IGA said that this is relevant to the plot. What do you think that could mean?

I said it before, and I'll say it again, despite it possibly being the silliest thing.  Miriam might turn out to be this game's True Villain in a Secret Ending! (You heard it from me first, folks!  Ever since a past "multiple ending" thread, which I think was by Enkeria )

6) "Hard Lock" is a term for areas that it is completely impossible to reach without the right progression ability, while Soft Locks are areas that you cannot traverse normally without a progression ability but you CAN find a way to do that without it, by clever thinking. For instance, a Hard Lock would be a door that requires a key or a absurdly high plataform with walls covered in spikes that requires flying. A Soft Lock would be a high plataform that requires double jump but you can reach it using a specific Shard combined with a specific set of weapon moves to propel yourself up in a really intricate way. Igavanias always had both of them. Hard Locks are mandatory to stop sequence breaking, but even so, Hard locks VS Soft Locks. What do you prefer?

I'm all for Hard Locks, but I'm sure the special Speed Run Mode will turn some of them into Soft Locks anyway.

7) Igavania games are famous for offering a lot of options, gameplay-wise. Lots of powers, dozens of weapons, crazy combinations of equipments. There is a developer term called "Decision Paralysis" and that is also a psychology term. It means when you have so many options that you don't know what to do and feel overwhelmed in a bad way. Some people reach the point of paralyzing to do anything. Some criticism towards some Igavania games (specially Symphony of the Night and the Sorrow series) is that they offer a lot of options (weapons, items, souls) that a ton of them are rendered useless by others, inducing in a overwhelming feeling of either not use anything or trying to use them all. Playing Igavania games, did you ever felt that? Do you think Bloodstained could have that problem?

I only ever felt that in the case of the Spells in SotN.  With the exception of Soul Steal & Wing Smash, none of them felt particularly useful.  I don't think Bloodstained will have issue with that, especially since IGA & crew have experience developing several of these Igavania games in order to try solving that problem (which I think OoE especially did nicely).  Besides, some people seem to prefer the "challenge" that comes from deliberately using 'weaker' options.

8) What would be the worst offender for you, considering Bloodstained overall, between the options below. YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE:
a) Microtransactions (the ability to use real money to buy stuff that would require game-money, like buying a ring at Anne/Dominique shop for 2 real life dollars instead of 20.000 in-game gold).
b) Plot-relevant DLCs (A fundamental piece of the plot can only be played by buying DLC)
c) Out-of-place Boob jokes (Anne complaining how small her breasts are comparing to Dominique or Miriam, the first time she mets Miriam, considering she just lost her parents).
d) The main aspect of plot turning out to be a love triangle, with Miriam being the love interest of Gebel and Johannes.

I'd have to say "D", because I don't think it'd be truly relevant to the overall story, though I'll keep playing the game even if this is a thing.  I don't find microtransactions particularly offensive because I've never spent money on them.  Plot-relevant DLCs are okay with me since the entirety of Gebel's 1,600+ Room Castle is in the main game.  I may not find breast-envy jokes as humorous as others might, but it's up to IGA whether anything like that is in the game (either way, it won't matter to me).

9) Miriam should move and fight faster than she is right now, by default? (considering her without any powerups whatsoever)

Doesn't really matter to me.  To me, she's fine the way she is now, and we've already seen comparison videos.

10) Exp degradation is something that was used on Symphony of the Night and Harmony of Dissonance to prevent grinding. The same enemy started to give less and less exp (A LV 10 enemy gives 10 EXP when player is at LV 10, but gives 5 EXP when player is at LV 20 and 1 EXP after LV 30+, for instance). This was abandoned in later games. Do you think Exp degradation could make a comeback to prevent grinding?

I think that ArtPlay is going to allow grinding to remain as an option.  So no degradation; simply deliberately avoid fighting every enemy if you want a lower-level challenge.

11) Choose ONE enemy from any Igavania that you would like to see a comeback at Bloodstained. State it's name and from what game that enemy is.

Since the vast majority of Bloodstained's enemies will be demons (if not every single enemy in the game), I feel obligated to choose one of the Ars Goetia-themed enemies (from the 72 of the "Lesser Key").
^
I choose Vassago.  I'd like to see the return of this demon as an enemy (or perhaps as a familiar) from his only appearance in Curse of Darkness (so far).  Vassago is also one of the few Ars Goetia demons that is literally stated to be "good natured".

12) IGA loves references. Symphony of the Night had The Magic of Oz, Aria of Sorrow had Black Kamen Rider and a lot of Igavania games had Jojo's Bizarre Adventure references. What reference would you like to see in Bloodstained?

Ooh, this is a hard one.  Other than the vague reference to Metroid I mentioned earlier, I'd still like to see certain Tome weapons (an idea I had previously) named after famous books/plays.

13) Choose ONE Weapon from any Igavania that you would like to see a comeback at Bloodstained. State it's name and from what game that weapon is.

Vajra ~ It originally appeared in Symphony of the Night (in the NA version under the name "Thunderbrand", and called "Indra's Light" in Harmony of Despair).  It is also misspelled "Vjaya" in Aria of Sorrow.  In Hindu mythology, Vajra was forged from the spine of a wise old sage by Indra himself.

14) Choose ONE Power / Magic from any Igavania that you would like to see a comeback at Bloodstained. State it's name and from what game that power / magic is.

"Vector ZERO" ~ Guardian Soul power obtained from Medusa Heads; first obtained in Aria of Sorrow, also in both Dawn of Sorrow & Harmony of Despair.  It allowed the user to become suspended in mid-air as a way to escape harm from otherwise extremely-difficult-to-avoid ground sweeping attacks.  As an added effect, it allows the user to build up momentum as they normally would from falling, and can unleash a devastating dive-kick (complete with an energy-wave) if they are held in this state long enough.

15) Bonus-increasing Enchant Shards, like CON boost or element resisting ones like Holy Resist (mentioned to exist at E3 2017 demo) are things that can be easily covered by equipments. What do you think of shards like that? Clever, necessity or lack of creativity?

Those kinds of Shards are simply there as an option.  Some would actually find a CON-boosting Shard preferable if they want to stack the bonus with quality armor for an incredible DEF score.  Personally, I'd love to take advantage of anything that gives a boost to Miriam's INT & MND stats.

16) Regarding progression abilities, abilities and equipment required to keep going at the game, like double jump and such, a lot of Igavanias had some clever ideas. Symphony of the Night had the Mist form, that could traverse grids. Portrait of Ruin had Frog transformation, letting the player enter at really tiny areas while Order of Ecclesia had Paries, a magic that let you enter inside walls at certain spots to reach the other side. 
Create a progression abilty that you would like to see in Bloodstained, aside from the basic (Double Jump, High Jump, fly) and what was used before (armor to break spikes, glasses to see hidden spheres to attack them...).

I've created some before, two of which are here.


18) Mention a SILLY CHEAT CODE, something comical and funny, that you would like to see in the game.

CHIBI MODE: (Similar to "Big Head" Mode)  All playable characters & NPCs will become super-deformed and cutesy (like Mega Man Powered Up), and their voices will be high-pitched like chipmunks.

19) There is a Stretch goal called "New Boss" that went completely overlooked. It was created as a filler to fill up the space when Bloodstained got funded in less then a day and reached 1.5 million. It's description was "New Boss! You unlocked this one while we were writing this update! Now IGA and Inti Creates will be able to add another boss to the castle. We'll profile the extra bosses, enemies, and weapons you earn this way in a future update."
The game didn't had any decided size at that time or any of that. Regarding that, do you think that this stretch goal was useless and just a filler to fill up space because they didn't had any idea what to do or it still has any meaning?

We shall never know... unless one of us asks the question for a future #AskIGA video.  Personally, I'd like to see one of our ideas in the Enemy Ideas thread become that extra boss.

20) Should Classic Mode, where the game will be rearranged to at least six punishing and hard stages like the old times of Nintendo hard games, unlock items and stuff for the main game? Or that would be unfair for completionists that can't beat Classic Mode due to how hard it will be?

I'd like to see it be eight or nine stages, personally.  It wouldn't necessarily be "unfair" for it to be relatively difficult, because the "trial & error" nature of such a game would be a learning experience (I doubt it would punish the player for failure).

21) Do you think Nightmare mode, a really hard difficulty mode for the main game,  could have items and stuff exclusive for it? Or that would be unfair for completionists that can't beat Nightmare mode due to how hard it will be?

Absolutely.  I also doubt Nightmare Mode would be "too" hard due to the likely options of setting the Level Cap & the New Game+ feature.

22) IGA's biggest castle is promised to be at least 1600 rooms. Both Symphony of the Night castles have 1890 rooms combined. Do you think that means that IGA's biggest castle stretch goal WILL NOT BE REACHED if the game ends up having less than 1890 rooms?

Symphony of the Night's 1,890 Rooms counts as two Castles, not one.  A single Castle with 1,600+ Rooms will absolutely reach the "Biggest Castle" stretch goal.  We also still have no clue if there's going to be a 2nd Castle of some kind in Bloodstained (If there is?  Doubtless it will be a surprise).

23) Roguelike dungeon should be like most roguelike games (random generated dungeons that are hyper hard and has no saving) or it should be "Igavania's style" roguelike dungeon, something different? (random generated dungeons maybe easier or with checkpoints).

To possibly make it easier for those who've never played Roguelikes before, there should still be Safe Havens ("Save Rooms") scattered around the randomized Castle in this mode (standard-fare).  Maybe there can be an option to set it so, while you can't "Save", you can still completely heal when visiting these rooms.  It will likely be hard enough for most people to face high-level demons/monsters that are normally encountered much later in the game.

24) We will be able to play with bosses in Boss Revenge Mode, in special areas against heroes. Do you expect Vepar to be playable in that mode?

No, not really.  At this point, I only expect human-sized Bosses like Bloodless to be playable.

25) How much do you think would be fair to ask for a fourth playable character in a slacker-backer campaign before the game's release? 100.000 (the same amouth for second playable character), 250.000 (the value for the third playable character) or 500.000? Or the game doesn't need a fourth playable character?

The game doesn't really need a 4th playable character.  I imagine what we're getting now will be enough.  However, I wouldn't complain if at least a year down the line after Bloodstained's release, a 4th character is offered as DLC.

lol that's beautiful.

I was just thinking about changing my #12 answer: I'd like references to things that happened on the forums, during the Kickstarter/streams, moments from shows they've done, etc. For example:

Bismark Kappa III, wall mac (or a different manifestation of IGA's mac experience), takeover, a reference to Mana herself, some kind of "train" which we could refer to as the "hype train!", Astaroth's idea above (item that costs the amount the KS raised), donuts!!!!!

This idea, especially!

Dominique (or Anna, hilariously): "That'll be exactly 5,545,991G."

Miriam: "Why does that specific number sound so familiar?"

(*The shop-owners just shrug)