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Castlevania Community Thread | What is a man?!
- Thread starter Kokonoe
- Start date
anatomyhorror
Banned
Nice. Maybe we'll get another Metroidvania rehash.
They really could have fit a game in pretty much wherever they wanted to seeing as Dracula was written so he could pretty much be revived whenever. Off the top of my head they could have fit a game in anywhere between Symphony of the Night and the Battle of 1999 or at any point after Dawn of Sorrow. Particularly the Battle of 1999 itself as that had been referenced quite a bit and had fans practically begging for a game.
Realistically the series is it's connection to what came before it. You are entitled to whatever opinion you have, but I'm not going to bother with games that don't interest me which are part of the "series" solely as the result of Konami being unsatisfied with the series fanbase. It's their IP they can do what they want with it as long as they don't expect me to play or buy it.
Tell to the mainstream gamer that the game you are about to play carries a legacy of 25 years behind and takes place between a 16 years old game and a 8 yeard old game. See what happens.
I mean THREE threads! Oh this is castlevania day on gaf wooo
I love how this day Castlevania has remained on the top page of GAF, with two threads notheless.
It warms my heart
I mean THREE threads! Oh this is castlevania day on gaf wooo
kevo_huevo
Member
awesome thread. loved the games as a kid (dracula in castlevania 2 used to freak me out).
portrait of ruin was my first DS game actually, and now that i have learned yuzo koshiro (streets of rage) helped compose tracks, it makes so much sense at how awesome the first stage was, with a dope bassline to boot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SALcnafOZQQ
playing through castlevania chronicles on PSN but this has been a grind to say the least. will probably end up getting SOTN soon.
portrait of ruin was my first DS game actually, and now that i have learned yuzo koshiro (streets of rage) helped compose tracks, it makes so much sense at how awesome the first stage was, with a dope bassline to boot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SALcnafOZQQ
playing through castlevania chronicles on PSN but this has been a grind to say the least. will probably end up getting SOTN soon.
Starsunder
Member
You and I, lets be friends.
I would LOVE another Castlevania that was 2d, free-roaming, and town laden. Take the best aspects of Metroidvanias such as the multitude of items, number of monsters, and great atmosphere. Then pair it with what Simons Quest did well, such as the sense of exploration (as in one continuous world to explore, not broken up like OoEs was), multiple towns to visit, and a cool day/night cycle, which I thought was a really neat idea even if the execution was a little off.
Wrap it altogether with a tight story and it could be something special.
Samurai_Heart
Member
Free Iga I want that promised Alucard game T-T
Anyone else think a Castlevania with elements from Zelda will actually work well as a 3D Castlevania game, I mean don't get me wrong I don't mind LoS but wished it wasn't so influenced by GoW =/
Anyone else think a Castlevania with elements from Zelda will actually work well as a 3D Castlevania game, I mean don't get me wrong I don't mind LoS but wished it wasn't so influenced by GoW =/
There are a [/i]ton[/i] of Castlevania games stuffed into that time period. In IGA's canon, there are Order of Ecclesia, Bloodlines, and Portrait of Ruin. That period also includes Legacy of Darkness/Castlevania 64 and Circle of the Moon. There are also the events of Bram Stoker's original Dracula novel, which are semi-canonical to the series. There was going to be that Castlevania Ressurection (sort of, it had a Belmont from the 19th century), but that was cancelled and a game key to it was stricken from canon. It would have explained the whole "Belmonts are forbidden from using Vampire Killer" thing, too.
Post-Dawn of Sorrow is also tricky since that is still in the future. Castlevania isn't exactly Mega Man where you can comfortably set games five hundred years from now.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Equip Nitesco on both hands, get some healing items from the village, and use all your hearts on the Umbra + Luminatio summon.I like OoE as well, but I just can't beat the wolf boss
Here's a video of a guy beating it using Macir only.
Mental Atrophy
Banned
I was always really bummed Resurrection got canceled, but it is probably for the best. If there's no room in the timeline then they should just remake the Game Boy games (well, the other two since they already did Rebirth). They are terrible and a makeover wouldn't hurt.
I think Belmont's Revenge is pretty good but I agree that a remake would be awesome.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
I would do this: If LoS 2 is profitable enough, renew the contract with Mercury Steam. I haven't played it but let them develop the Lords of Shadow saga into something of high quality akin to how Persona and SMT co-exist and are both solid franchises.
However, do not let them make handheld games ever again. Give handheld Castleroid back to Iga and test the waters with a downloadable game with a decent budget for the 3DS and Vita. The 1999 battle would be awesome. If that doesn't do well, give Classicvania a 2nd chance and again do something cool on handhelds.
In summary, give 3D and 2D Castlevanias to different teams. Let them work independently of each other.
IrishNinja
Member
didn't realize telebunny had the whole thing up, thanks a lot man! this should make the decision easier.
Stevetopsy
Member
I never hear much praise for it, but I really really enjoyed the PS2 Lament of Innocence. It felt stiff compared to something like Devil May Cry, but I still think it did a great job of translating Castlevania to the 3D space. Cool story, great music, and great art design and graphics for its time. It also contains probably my most favorite castlevania track: House of Sacred Remains http://youtu.be/uQhLG4dOk7o
I actually wouldn't be opposed to a Castlevania game on consoles using the Metroid: Other M engine. Certainly in the vain of SOTN with equippable weapons and armour, big map with lots of secrets, heck even similar cheesy voice acting would be fun. Just make it twice as long as Other M coz boy that game was pretty short.
I can get behind that.
Unfortunately, Konami will probably fuck it up. No "modern" Igavania for fans despite successes such as Shadow Complex, Guacamelee and indie games such as Rogue Legacy (probably also Strider, Shadow Complex 2 in the near future) and they will probably try to milk the LoS brand and contract inferior developers to make a few lackluster games that'll ruin the good reputation of this sub-series.
I think the LoS series and a new Metroidvania series could even co-exist on consoles. Instead of more games for portable devices, I'd rather want another Metroidvania on a console, but with new hi-res spritework.
Curse of Darkness was a huge step back in some ways though. Iga's team just didn't understand 3d space. It was painful. They used traditional castlevania 2d layouts, which are confusing in 3d and the speed at which you move through an empty, boring hallway is NOT COMPARABLE to the way you'd move through space in 2d.
Compare kamiya (who truly is a master of 3d space and motion with games like RE2, Dmc, and okami) to iga's design.
Still, I actually like some aspects of the 3d castlevania games. I've never been able to finish curse of darkness. As much as I like the concept and systems design it's just much too boring.
That's because you're supposed to flip through the hallways! At least, that's how I did it. Yes, traversal and map design was probably the weakest link in Curse of Darkness' slip-ups.
Still, I managed to beat it, and I'm playing through again on Crazy difficulty. Empty corridor design may still be boring, but at least enemy encounters most certainly aren't!
One thing I really liked about the Harmony of Despair DLC is that they added in Fuma from Getsu Fuma Den, and his world from the game.
Harmony of Despair DLC - The Legend of Fuma - Chapter 11
http://youtu.be/XjVa6_-1SEI?t=35s
The music is also amazing, once again.
I'll have to do that, then! I actually would've played by now, but I have a 39 inch TV coming in on Wednesday so I'll wait to play on that. Sounds like good fun.
Harmony of Despair DLC - The Legend of Fuma - Chapter 11
http://youtu.be/XjVa6_-1SEI?t=35s
The music is also amazing, once again.
I'll have to do that, then! I actually would've played by now, but I have a 39 inch TV coming in on Wednesday so I'll wait to play on that. Sounds like good fun.
kevo_huevo
Member
i just dl'd SOTN last night. i hope to find spare time to play through this twice.
i'd like to play it first completely on my own, no use of gfaqs or wikis and see how i do, then go back and go for the highest completion percentage.
i'd like to play it first completely on my own, no use of gfaqs or wikis and see how i do, then go back and go for the highest completion percentage.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
One of these is not like the other...
I'll have to try out Lament after Bloodlines.
1. Bloodlines
2. Lament of Innocence
3. Castlevania 64 (maybe)
kunonabi
Member
CV64 is completely deserving of a playthrough. It's a much better CV game than LoI could ever dream of being.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
This is what Judgment should've been. Have you seen what they did with Persona 4 Arena? It breaks my heart that not only the game looked awful, but is also a Wii exclusive. Fucking Konami man.
SlasherJPC
Banned
This whole thread warms my heart! Probably one of the all time favorite series. Through the ups and down. I just have such a soft spot for this. I must have rented SC IV a dozen times before my parents bought it for my birthday back in the day.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
My man. I really loved Lament of Innocence back in the day, and I actually rebought it just a week ago to see if it still holds up. I feel like people were really just expecting something different out of the game than what they got. The focus obviously wasn't on exploration -- the repetitive level designs are proof of that. This was a game about combat, and I thought the combat system was actually excellent. Really satisfying whip swinging, more than enough new techniques to draw on as you progress, and a solid level of challenge. There was a lot of hidden stuff to find in the game if you wanted to look for it (though it wasn't necessary), but yeah, this was a 'Vania with a totally different focus.
So I dunno. I can see why some people didn't like it, but I am not among their ranks.
Gillian Seed
Banned
I need to open OOE and play it. SOTN is one of my favorite games of all time. And i hear people say it is a better game. COTM, AOS, DOS, and POR did not match the Magic. Imo
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Ecclesia isn't better than SOTN... but it's definitely damn good.
All right, I'll give it a a shot. Well, I was going to anyways, but I'll do it sooner.
OoE isn't as good as SOTN, but it is good. I feel it has issues with the mana being your main source of attack, and doesn't have as much diversity as SOTN. I find it hard to even compare to SOTN, though since it plays a lot different.
Gillian Seed
Banned
I'll start it later today. The graphics in the trailers look gorgeous!
The Lamonster
Member
Finally found my old Aria cart. Aw yiss. Time to charge the DS Phat.
Shame it was never ported to Virtual Console or PSN/XBLA.
Shame it was never ported to Virtual Console or PSN/XBLA.
Time to dig out the Gamecube & GBA Player?
The Lamonster
Member
Time to dig out the Gamecube & GBA Player?
oh snap! Maybe so! How'd you know I had that, and also forgot about it
Everyone should have a Gamecube & GBA Player. It's a requirement of life!oh snap! Maybe so! How'd you know I had that, and also forgot about it
Relaxed Muscle
Member
So I finally finished Mirror of Fate and the taste it left me is not very good, a bittersweet feeling with way more bitter than sweet mixed.
The main problem is that the game is mediocre in all what it tries, nothing it does is good or oustanding. Plataforming? Incredible simple and unispired filled with less than perfect controls. Puzzles? Box puzzles straight up from 1995, well that's an insult to those puzzles because except 2 every other in MoF is for braindead people. Combat? the best part of the game, although is nothing to write home, although I apreciate that the game punishes you hard for trying to buttonsmash your way, since evading and blocking is key in more than once.
The problem is that except a few enemies, much of them aren't really fun to fight. The same can be said about bosses, some are very good, others not so much even I'd say quite boring.
At the end what we got is basically a GoW in 2D, the same stupid QTE sections, the setpieces, the simple plataforming all in 2D. Is not the Metroidvania, is neither the classic Castlevania is, yet another, try to make CV in a more souless version of GoW this time in 2D. Yeah it got a few secret rooms placed in their awful linear designed maps (which are a pain to backtrack), but is not enough.
That said, the game is somewhat enjoyable and far from terrible, but you can feel is one of the worst portable CV games and it left you incredible empty and unsatisfied for a taste of the real deal.
Some final notes:
- Graphics are pretty good for 3DS, even given the constant drops in the framerate. The art is not that nice, though, some good locations filled with other that lacks detail and are to gritty and draw.
- Music is totally insipid for me, Oscar music may fit an epic console production, but not here... I missed Yamane or even I would have contented with Yuzo Koshiro...
- 2D with 3D character cutscenes looks soooo much better than the actual game, I wish they went that route instead of full 3D.
Edit: Now thanks to MoF I feel hungry for real CV, are the GB games any good?
The main problem is that the game is mediocre in all what it tries, nothing it does is good or oustanding. Plataforming? Incredible simple and unispired filled with less than perfect controls. Puzzles? Box puzzles straight up from 1995, well that's an insult to those puzzles because except 2 every other in MoF is for braindead people. Combat? the best part of the game, although is nothing to write home, although I apreciate that the game punishes you hard for trying to buttonsmash your way, since evading and blocking is key in more than once.
The problem is that except a few enemies, much of them aren't really fun to fight. The same can be said about bosses, some are very good, others not so much even I'd say quite boring.
At the end what we got is basically a GoW in 2D, the same stupid QTE sections, the setpieces, the simple plataforming all in 2D. Is not the Metroidvania, is neither the classic Castlevania is, yet another, try to make CV in a more souless version of GoW this time in 2D. Yeah it got a few secret rooms placed in their awful linear designed maps (which are a pain to backtrack), but is not enough.
That said, the game is somewhat enjoyable and far from terrible, but you can feel is one of the worst portable CV games and it left you incredible empty and unsatisfied for a taste of the real deal.
Some final notes:
- Graphics are pretty good for 3DS, even given the constant drops in the framerate. The art is not that nice, though, some good locations filled with other that lacks detail and are to gritty and draw.
- Music is totally insipid for me, Oscar music may fit an epic console production, but not here... I missed Yamane or even I would have contented with Yuzo Koshiro...
- 2D with 3D character cutscenes looks soooo much better than the actual game, I wish they went that route instead of full 3D.
Edit: Now thanks to MoF I feel hungry for real CV, are the GB games any good?
kunonabi
Member
the game does no such thing. being able to cancel into a defensive maneuver at any time coupled with painfully telegraphed attacks makes button mashing extremely viable.
I think the cutscenes are fully 3D, aren't they? They don't look like 2D backgrounds.
But I agree, they look great and my mind was blown when I realised they were realtime and not FMVs.
Personally I loved Mirror of Fate as a game, not as a Castlevania title though.
The gameboy titles are very slow and not quite good. Great music in 'em though.
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Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
lol no.
Both of the GB games suck, honestly. Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth salvages Adventure by uh... well, pretty much throwing out everything in the original game.
If anybody's hungry for some Castlevania-like games, then i recommend
Majuu Ou - King of Demons (Super Fami; get an English translation patch)
This is a solid recommendation. Mechanically, the game doesn't feel as good as a real Castlevania (well, it's different - feels looser), but it's more than serviceable. The game's a good bit of fun when you get into it, and transforming into shit is cool.
cartman414
Member
AoS and DoS were better in my book.
Wow, I would love like this very much as well! Actually I'd like someone to attempt to make a good, slow paced and exploration-heavy 3D Castlevania as well (though a 2D game would also be cool). I know this is almost a cliche by now, but Dark Souls might in some ways be a good blueprint to copy for that. Think about it: Dark Souls' methodical combat but with whips and subweapons and a bit more mobility, and combined with its open world structure that would also feature towns and more platforming. (One of the things Lords of Shadow did quite well in this regard, is to hint at the vastness and variety of the Castlevania world, though it lacked any real exploration and adventuring in it unfortunately due to level by level structure.)
Whatever they do, as long as they at least acknowledge Simon's Quest innovative aspects and sense of exploration, then I would be happy.
(And in general: gaming isn't complete without Mega Man AND Castlevania, two of its oldest support pillars, so please don't make us lose this second pillar as well Konami!)
Seven Force
Banned
Eh... Belmont's Revenge is okay. Still not all that great by CV standards, but it's certainly playable.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
I feel that since most enemies abuses on unblockable attacks (and enemies do quite damage) at least they kept you in your toes, if it feels button mashing is because the lack of combos and attacks and the poor enemy design.
As I said combat system is not great but is decent
It feels that at least it uses a similar technique than Bravely Default. I don't know but it looks really great, the art really shine there...
A shame, I wanted something to play on my 3DS...
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
You've played the DS Castlevanias right? Cause otherwise, not sure if serious...
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Yeah, of course. But I wanted to play one that I didn't played before.
I actually like that Castlevania a lot, despite it's flaws. It kind of reminds me of Zelda II where if you play it with a guide, it becomes a lot more fun. I need to do that myself, guess I'll chalk that on the list for 4.