How would you design a new Castlevania?

SinDelta

SinDelta

Member
It's been too long, and I get the impression Lord of Shadows is considered very different from what is considered the series proper.
 
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Uh I dunno. But I'd like to see the Julius Belmont 1999 plot point as a thing.

But I think Castlevania is a dead franchise more or less.

Just like Megaman or Fzero.
 
MagiusNecros said:
Uh I dunno. But I'd like to see the Julius Belmont 1999 plot point as a thing.

But I think Castlevania is a dead franchise more or less.

Just like Megaman or Fzero.
Click to expand...
Castlevania did have the Netflix series so it's not completely dead. Just mostly dead?

Never really played Megaman or F-Zero, but to see such iconic franchises like this is just...

disappointed standing in the rain GIF
 
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If 3D:

Stamina based combat - no combos, Castlevania should be about precision and knowing the correct time to attack IMO.

Souls like exploration with small cities/locations to visit- Think Castlevania 2. Not so huge to be walking aimlessly but with enough space to explore, with tight level design.

Julius Belmont as the protagonist in the Demon Castle War. When the Belmont clan finally defeated Dracula once and for all.


If 2D:

Classicvania, a whip, and different paths, like Castlevania 3. Perhaps with some skills and new itens but the design needs to be careful to not mess with the formula too much. It should be about the action per se, not grind or loot.
 
I'm not really sure how you do it. We all want them to import parts of the SoulsBorne games but I don't think we want to see a reskin copycat either. The 2D Metroidvania games are making a comeback lately, but a new castlevania shouldn't be a 2D game either.

I'd like to see a really fun castle to explore with different areas looking and feeling really diverse. There should be some non linearity but maybe more like dark souls nonlinearity than metroidvania. A cinematic type of approach like God of War could really work too.
 
A love child between symphony of the night and bloodborne would be amazing.

Key elements for me would be: rock solid combat mechanics and prioritizing the sense of exploration. Also feel free to include some secret mechanics that while not necessary, enhance the options players have to tackle the game.

Also don't get bogged down with characters and lore from previous games. Inspiration is great, but don't ruin the fun just to solidify the entry as part of the overall franchise.
 
Just to add something of worth, I'm have no firsthand knowledge of Castlevania, both OG and Iga styles, but it seems to me that combat is a giant focus of it, compared to Metroid where ideally you just want to avoid everything/evade. So probably make sure that part of it is amazing, like someone said above with timing based combat, instead of combos.

Its just too easy for them to make it combo based when its a 3D action game, because they fear alienating spaz-hands who aren't good at timing.

kingpotato said:
A love child between symphony of the night and bloodborne would be amazing.

Key elements for me would be: rock solid combat mechanics and prioritizing the sense of exploration. Also feel free to include some secret mechanics that while not necessary, enhance the options players have to tackle the game.

Also don't get bogged down with characters and lore from previous games. Inspiration is great, but don't ruin the fun just to solidify the entry as part of the overall franchise.
Click to expand...

^^^^ This sounds great!
 
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Bloodborne very much fills that Castlevania itch. Lords of Shadow was a great start that they fizzled the sequel with. Mix Lords of Shadow with Bloodborne(or Gothic/Lovecraftian shit) and we'll see people flock back to the series.
 
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I'd have it closer to Pandora Tower than anything. The game should be more about how you use the whip and not just spamming combos and dodge rolls like every other damn game. Cut out all the damn rpg shit/loot and focus on the platforming again.
 
I've always considered Castlevania to be an action game, which is why I thought the Lords of Shadow gameplay was just fine.

I actually think the series would suit open world/rpg-lite better than most games that purport to be.
 
2D.
A Castlevania 2-like overworld, where the Mansions/Castles are like mini-SOTN style metroidvania dungeons.
No clue why Castlevania has to just stick to either one big area or individual stages.
Give us an overworld in between the castles.
 
I enjoyed Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness. I think they were pretty good at transposing the 2D formula to 3D. I would like something like this.
 
Either one of two ways.

(1) Give it to FromSoftware. Sekiro without the precise parry and a whip instead would be very Castlevania(ish) given the right atmosphere.

(2) And here is the good one. Make Transylavia open world and basically give it the plot of Simon's Quest. Multiple cities, towns, hamlets, great side stories that bring in lots of other "horror." Essentially, a darker Witcher 3. Hell, even make it a murder mystery where you don't know who the bad guy is...and that main theme drives the player around all of Transylvania. Dabble in the occult, other weridness. Werewolves....all that jazz.
 
Make it like Simon's Quest. Or Order of Ecclesia, since that was the closest they got. Nonlinear open world Metroidvania that takes place across Europe.

You spend some time travelling between villages and to different castles and mansions. You explore caves and forests and swamps. You can upgrade your whip and have to obtain garlic and stuff. Actually, a kind of soft reboot of Simon's Quest might be preferred for the story. Collecting the body of Dracula to send him to Hell once and for all.

If it is 2D I would prefer HD pixel art over 2.5D. The handheld Nintendo games showed how you could continue on from SOTN and make great things. Give me a console sized Dawn of Sorrow, is my dream game.

If it is 3D, basically just make it like Bloodborne. Just make sure that you bring in all the SOTN weapons and don't forget the Crissagraem.
 
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Open world Lords of Shadow with an RPG system and shops and shit

Could even do it Batman Arkham style with slices of levels intermingled in

I guess it would be kind of a throw back to Simons Quest
 
2 2D versions.

1 in the traditional side scrolling mode like on the Sharp 68k, no back tracking.
1 in the metroidvania mode like on GBA entries or SOTN.

Lush 2D sprites, backgrounds.
 
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