Just hacking away. Chapter 5 presents a much meatier segment of the game, whereas Chapter 6 seems to be fairly light, beaten in just a couple of hours, if not less. This section of the game is light on new stuff, with only one piece of equipment unaccounted for, as far as I can tell. Still, though, with this section being the formal introduction of the big, giant castle the series is known for, it's just good to see some familiar creepy environments to slaughter hordes of monsters in.
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CHAPTER 5:
LEVEL 1: Seven levels in full! An icy forest this time around, a change of pace from the sun-basked ruins and fortresses of previous levels. The snow effects are great. It's also here that I made a mistake about the summon crystal: While you can find whole ones from enemy drops, you still have to collect four shards from the crystal deposits scattered around levels to make a whole one. So, that wasn't completely removed from the game after its use was up.
There are a bunch of breakable walls here, utilizing the Shoulder Charge which you earn from the boots. There's not much to the level; think back to Chapter 1, Level 3 in the bog, where there are a bunch of branching paths all leading to the same point, then take out the latter half and the sluggish parts, and you've got the right idea. We finally get to see the Castle!
LEVEL 2: Taking place in a village near the castle, this level's new enemies are Ghouls. You finally get to fight alongside someone else, and it does take the edge off, as Ghouls can be particularly nasty. They're not much different from Lesser Lycanthropes, aside from the typical "tougher, faster" sort of upgrade, except they can EAT their fallen allies [!!] and upgrade themselves into poisonous Ghouls, which will allow them to spew noxious toxins at you. That in itself doesn't do damage, but the poison usually needs to be treated quickly, as you learn back when fighting Giant Spiders.
More usage of your new gauntlets and boots, and you get yourself a new add-on for your cross: The Stake. The only major purpose thus far is opening all those winches with no rods you see smattered across previous levels.
LEVEL 3: Once again, you've got a buddy with you the entire time. This level is more puzzle focused; none of them are really all that difficult, though the answers are just obvious enough to be completely missed for a moment. I actually spent about ten minutes on what should have been a ten second puzzle to solve simply because I wasn't paying full attention every second.
This is also the first area where you fight actual Vampires; granted, they're lowbies, but they're a little tougher than Ghouls, and can take to the air for some unblockable attacks. These guys' info in the travel book also give a little lore in just how vampires work, specifically why the lowbies are so ugly compared to the rather dashing high-level guys.
LEVEL 4: Who likes mirror puzzles? If you don't, this level isn't going to be your best friend. However, it's fairly easy, and it's mixed well with moments of combat. New enemies to fight, giant posessed suits of armor, whose shields have to be taken out of commission to really deal with. You're alone again for most of the level, no more assistance for a bit.
LEVEL 5: This one wasn't all too impressive; just a standard traversal with a tower climb. This is about the point where the game stards "equalizing," I like to call it, where there are not a lot of upgrades to get, and it's really just a different assortment of the same challenges. The last level was the reintroduction of those little devils, and they're back in bigger throes in this one.
LEVEL 6: A gauntlet level. A bunch of vampires and a big vampire boss. You're introduced to the Holy Water subweapon, which is fantastic against vampires, as it stuns every single one they hit. The boss itself isn't much to talk about, except for how it dies. It's worth it just to see how badass Gabriel is. Really, this level is just for a little extra narrative.
LEVEL 7: This is your first time dealing with Skeletons. They're annoying for the simple fact that, not only are they a bit tough, they also reanimate after you defeat them. You have to finish them off with a powerful blow [or a single dose of holy water] after they've shattered, and before they reassemble.
The last puzzle is actually something of a bit of genius. It's a stretch of hallway with a spiked floor and a gate at the end. You punch a button to open the gate, but you have to get past the spikes at the same time. The solution is a bit ingenious, though I won't go into it. It's worth solving on your own.
CHAPTER 6:
LEVEL 1: We finally get into the castle somewhat proper. We're actually still just dealing with the courtyard and some outer areas for a couple of levels. Not much to say about this level; we're dealing with a LOT more skeletons now, but the levels seem to be fairly straightforward.
By this point, I have every advanced move I can buy, with money to spare for all the concept art you can buy using the same experience points you use for abilities and such. I re-did quite a few levels early on, however, so it seems there might just be a bit of leverage toward always having a couple of abilities early on which you don't quite have. The game's done a good job of always giving me reasons to go back and check the abilities menu, however. And, luckily, there are PLENTY of relic moves to go after, somewhere around 20 or 30K in points I need to get everything. So, I've got quite a bit to look after.
LEVEL 2: The hedge maze is fairly tricky to navigate, though it makes sense after a few minutes of wandering. There's a new enemy type, the Mandragora, who only sap a small amount of health from you over time. It appears you get that health back if you can destroy them before they disappear, though. The only major enemy here is a Giant Spider, who you need to ride in order to get everything.
There's another puzzle, very similar to Chapter 1, Level 4, the ring puzzle, only you also have to pay attention to the orientation of the marks [in this case, statues], which will turn after the ring is rotated. However, it's not timed, so luck should always be something to count on.
I should also mention that whenever this game gives you a level with a lot of forking paths, or some kind of maze-like area, the developers really made sure to stow away a LOT of different items that can be easy to miss.
LEVEL 3: Now here's where things get interesting. Being a puzzle-heavy level, light becomes a huge aspect. You fight vampires in a room in the late afternoon with a whole bunch of curtains darkening up the place. However... Thankfully, Vampires in this game really ARE incredibly susceptible to light, to the point where they can actually be destroyed without even going near them. There's a rune puzzle at the end, but I still haven't figured out what the hint scroll means, so I just kept at it til I won.
The end of the level involves Castlevania's version of Chess. It's worth seeing for yourself; it really boils down to luck in the end, since you don't really get to choose which piece you wield, but it's a fun diversion, and after beating it [it CAN be skipped], you gain access to it in the Extras menu, it looks like.
LEVEL 4: You traverse a mess hall and a kitchen, as well as one giant chamber here. There's a pretty nifty if obvious puzzle [most of the puzzles in this game save for a few are fairly obvious, or merely succumb to simple trial and error], but the star of the show is the boss fight against a giant butcher. While the first half of the fight is standard, save for a few interesting attacks which are difficult to avoid and can't be blocked, the latter half can either be very tough or insanely easy depending on how long it takes you to figure it out. This also wins for having one of the best boss deaths by far. You can sort of tell by this point just how much of a hand Kojima Productions had in helping tell the story.
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The game's still got a ways to go. We are at the halfway point in terms of chapters, and there's still a lot of castle to explore, just as the game is starting to lose a little steam, so we'll see how things pick up. It's still not afraid to mix things up every so often, thankfully, and the levels are still featuring a decent balance between heavy action and puzzles, with enough secrets in between to keep up interest.
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