The Castlevania Thread

[toptenmaterial]

What Castlevania games are you favorites, and why? Does the series have a future different platforms other than platforming? Why do you love Castlevania? What rumors have you heard about CV's future? Feel free to add anything else in regards to the series.

[Austin]

Wow, that's a tough question. I like 'em all. Well, asides from that Symbian cell phone game they released a few years back. And i can do without that iPhone puzzle-quest knock-off they put out a while back.

[toptenmaterial]

I must say that I really love Harmony of Dissonance, that was the game that really got me into Castlevania.

[Austin]

Yeah, that's a cool one. I was kind of jaded when I initially played it (thanks to SOTN), but nowadays I like it.. Come to think of it, I think it's the only Castlevania game I haven't finished. I should get on that..

[MagitekAngel]

Harmony of Dissonance was the first Metroidvania game I played and it hooked me. Beat it through and through, loved it, then inexplicably sold it. I'm kicking myself.

 

A couple of years later I bought SOTN on XBLA, and liked that one even better. Since then I've tried the ones on DS, but I like SOTN the best, with HOD a close second.

 

As for the classic games... well I like them all about equally, but can't beat any of them! I suck!

[toptenmaterial]

Yeah, that's a cool one. I was kind of jaded when I initially played it (thanks to SOTN), but nowadays I like it.. Come to think of it, I think it's the only Castlevania game I haven't finished. I should get on that..

Really? It's one of the few that I HAVE finished!

[NE146]

I'm not sure if I could sit still through a playthrough of NES Castlevania 2 today, but the game remains a constant in my memories as far as playing it.. maybe it's the music. But I can't say that for a lot of games.

 

Aside from that SOTN is the other one I have a lot of memories of.. everything else after that just seemed to be trying to repeat the metroidvania formula but the one that still sticks out to me is the original SOTN.

 

I'm not a huge huge fan of SNES CV 4 however.. I just remember trudging through it just to finish it and once I did, I forgot about it.

[StanJr]

I was with them up to the PS2 releases, which were not terrible, but not very Castlevania. There has not been a truly great game since those PS2 games on the consoles. That said, the handheld games have all been winners since the GBA.

 

The original is my favorite, with SotN a VERY VERY close second. Runners up include Dracula's Curse, Rondo of Blood, and Castlevania IV. The N64 games are better than their rep, but they are basically the same game with more stuff in the second one. Simon's Quest is a great game as well, but the Engrish and some of the very non-linear aspects could use some refining. Dracula X and Bloodlines are good, but Rondo is better and I am not thrilled about the more modern stuff in Bloodlines. The PS2 games are certainly Castlevania themed, but they do not do justice to the spirit of the games (the N64 games do a better job of that with much rougher graphics in 3D).

 

On the handhelds, all of the GBA games are big winners with Harmony of Dissonance being the purest true sequel to SotN, but all three are great games in the same vein. I've not played the DS games, but I hear they are very good and look forward to getting at them. The original GB games are good, but they are very obviously GB games. Belmont's Revenge is a lot of fun.

 

All in all I love the whole thing about Castlevania, the story, the legends, the characters, the whole deal. I love Zelda, but Castlevania may be my favorite series in all gaming.

 

I think they need to get back to the roots of CV if they are going to make a future game great. Step one, get back on a Nintendo system, step two, get back to platforming style, you can keep aspects of the SotN stuff, but get back to the pure heart of a side-scrolling platformer, third, don't try to reinvent the wheel, stick with what works and then flesh it out from there. I would love to see a great CV for the Wii or Wii2.

[toptenmaterial]

The night music in Simon's Quest actually scared me when I was eight years old! I used to turn the volume off. I never got very far in it until my best friend Brad showed me the code.

 

I played Super CV IV for the first time a couple of years ago, and liked it a lot. The farthest I got was the block level where everything moves.

[Austin]

Not much love for the series, eh?

[BassGuitari]

I was a huge Castlevania fan as a kid, but I lost interest around the time the 32-bit era hit. I still like the original NES/SNES/GB games.

 

Castlevania II is my favorite (there I go again with liking the weird one the most!). It would be impossible to figure out without a strategy guide/internet help, but I like the exploratory nature of it, and the more gothic feel of it. The whip upgrades are cool, and the Flame Whip is my favorite weapon of any NES game.

 

Castlevania II for GameBoy is good too, but I never could beat it.

 

[Blarginatorr]

I was actually quite scared of Castlevania for the NES when I was 6 or 7, especially the sudden flying medusa head boss.

But I guess at that age it wasnt that strange. Even blocky NES graphics seemed way too real.

 

I think the metroidvanias are more in my taste. Really loving Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow. For some reason I just prefer CV characters that dont wield whips.

Only lot later got Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, which included SOTN, and I was pretty much glued to that game until getting a 200% finish on it. Such an exellent game, and astonishing music quality for a PSX game.

I've tried HoD, but that game seemed technically inferior to the better polished up AoS.

Saying this probably makes me sound quite ignorant, and I really understand I should give that game another try.

It's been ages since I played AoS, so might look into finding a cart of it again and giving it a playthru.

 

Out of DS titles, I must say DoS is my favorite. It keeps the technical stuff from AoS, but with better sprites, sound and some spirits.

I've tried Portrait of Ruin, but the gameplay gimmick of switching between characters seemed a bit silly, felt like a relic from Castlevania III.

Also levels inside levels, no Konami, that is not good level design.

Also.

"JONATHAN!

CHARLOTTE!

JONATHAN!

CHARLOTTE!"

 

Order of Ecclesia is a nice return to the slightly darker tone similar to the old titles.

However, devs noticed that previous DS titles had been "too easy", and decided to up the difficulty of OoE some.

I actually lost interest on that game before "the good part starts" as some friends have told me, which was well 10-15h into the game. So apparently its a very long game.

Reason for this was that most of the beginning of the game is spent running around visiting small, very linear levels, which at somepoint start re-using sprites, backgrounds and even music.

But, bosses are challenging. Really, if you pick up OoE, be prepared to be slaughtered by each of them atleast a couple times.

Its actually something I noticed with SotN. Bosses, you just ran up to them and stabbed them to death and they died. In OoE its actually about memorizing their patterns and trying to avoid their death barrage.

 

As a closing comment, handhelds. That's where Metroidvanias at.

3D console titles arent true CV games.

[toptenmaterial]

@Blarg: The GBA/DS titles are also my favorites. Personally, I think that HoD is the best of the bunch, but maybe that's because it was the first Castlevania game that I really got into, and I played it before I played SotN. I have often read complaints about the music in that game, but personally I dig it. There is a real sence of isolation and scariness that builds up in HoD, like a decent into hell (the luminous cavern stage comes to mind). I also didn't really get into the last two DS games. I didn't understand the mechanics of PoR and OoE was just too damn hard. The Dracula X Chronicles for PSP is really great by the way.

[Emehr]

How did I miss this thread? I try to keep up with the Castlevania series as best as I can. I've been a fan since the original. I remember making a map for Simon's Quest back in the day just to figure out how to get from place to place. Dracula's Curse was a welcome return to form and remains one of my favorites. When the SuperNES came out Castlevania IV was one that I looked forward too. I thought the music was well done and memorable. Bloodlines on the Genesis is one of my favorites, too. It also has some memorable tunes and I really like the visual effects in the game. Good stuff. Symphony of the Night, of course, ranks up there too. I initially didn't like it when I played it due to the "extreeeeme" guitar riffs and bowel-churning acting but it eventually grew on me once I looked past that stuff.

 

I have Castlevania for the N64 but I haven't played enough to make up my mind on it. The PS2 Castlevanias are completely lost to me. I can't find myself to become interested enough in them. They look like every other 3rd-person PlayStation game out there.

 

Harmony of Dissonance, I gotta say, is not my favorite. I bought it, beat it, and haven't looked back. The music (except for the title screen) was forgettable, the level design felt pretty weak, and the protagonist looked like he was wearing high tops. Each part of the castle felt like it was intentionally designed to be a big open space just to make it feel like a bigger game. Lots of running with not much happening, if I remember correctly.

 

The DS Castlevanias are pretty sweet. I love that the map is right there. Dawn of Sorrow seems to be the best of the three, in my opinion. It has nice music, which is a huge plus for me when it comes to Castlevania games. They're almost defined by their music. Portrait of Ruin was okay. I got to the last guy and I can't remember if I beat that game or not. Order of Ecclesia had a nice change of pace with regards to the artwork. I love the portraits of the characters in the dialogue windows, especially the villagers. The artist really nailed some facial expressions. It's good to see them get away from the anime look, which doesn't quite fit the series.

 

The Dracula X Chronicles are the only reason to own a PSP, in my opinion. Rondo of Blood is classic Castlevania action refined to a nice blend of old-style game play and modern visuals. The remake is pretty good too.

 

That about sums up the games I've played. I tried out the original GameBoy Castlevania games on an emulator but couldn't get into them. I think the series is at its best as a side-scroller with minimal inventory-juggling. I like the "Metroidvania" games for what they are, but I'll like it better when they scale back on the RPG elements and get back to the basics.

Edited April 30, 2011 by Emehr

[toptenmaterial]

Some nice perspectives here. @Emehr: I made dunguon map once for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link once (in all fairness I drew what I had read through a walkthrough). Still it helped.

 

Has anyone played Lords of Shadow? I couldn't really get into it....

[Austin]

I got the itch a while back and ended up spending the last couple of nights after work trying to play through Castlevania III. I played it a lot as a kid but never finished it anywhere near the amount of times I did the first one (or part IV after it). MAN am I realizing why now.. I remember it being tough, but sheesh.. This one really kicks it up above the first one in terms of difficulty. The start-backs are terrible later on in the game, the enemy placement is downright nasty at times (walls of bone pillars on vertical segments that consist entirely of staircases), and the enemy damage is worse than in the first game (instead of taking four life pellets when you get hit later in the game, it's five). Funny thing is, the bosses aren't all that bad (except for that $*@&$(% doppleganger)--it's the levels (from the halfway point and on) that are the killer.

 

Asides from complaining about difficulty, I still love the choose-your-path style. Some paths lead you to certain characters you can team up with, some don't.. The first night I took one path and found Alucard (very helpful with his flight ability, but super-weak). The next night I got Grant at the clocktower (climbing on walls is always awesome) and then switched him out for Syfa later on (super-strong magic spells = awesome). Can't say enough good things about how the game is laid out, but damn does the difficulty ruin the fun-factor towards the end..

[Blarginatorr]

If you love CVIII, but think its too hard, you should give the Japanese version a try.

It's a lot more balanced when it comes to taking damage, also Grant is actually useful in it.

 

Also it got some cool visual effects and FM-chip boosted music.

[Austin]

If you love CVIII, but think its too hard, you should give the Japanese version a try.

It's a lot more balanced when it comes to taking damage, also Grant is actually useful in it.

 

Also it got some cool visual effects and FM-chip boosted music.

 

I knew about the extra sound hardware used in it but had no idea about the extra visual effects. I'll definitely have to check it out.

[Blarginatorr]

Dont take my word on it.

It's been ages since I played CVIII, but I remember there being some lightning FX at one point of the game, which were "better" in the japanese version?

Either way, the localizations have so many differences that its still worth a try.

[DickNixonArisen]

I greatly enjoyed all three DS castlevania games. Order of Ecclesia was my favorite of them, but I wouldn't call it hard by any means. I played SOTN after I played those, so the shine was diminished slightly, but it was still pretty great. I like the GBA Metroidvania styled ones as well; even circle of the moon although that one took me a while to slog through as it's not quite amazing. I did not like the GB one, the castlevania adventure. The three NES titles were good; though the first one is too hard and the second one too loose (need a map). IV and X are ok; but I really like Bloodlines. Almost beat it, a few hits away from killing the last form. Heh. Have never played the arcade games, lords of shadow, or the Iphone game. Have only played one of the n64 titles and was not pleased. The four-player platformer on Xbox does appeal to me but I don't have the system.

[BrianC]

I did not like the GB one, the castlevania adventure.

 

There are two other b/w GB Castlevanias. I heard mixed things about the third, Castlevania Legends, but Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge is good stuff. Some of the best music on GB and excellent gameplay. Definitely worth checking out.

 

I got the itch a while back and ended up spending the last couple of nights after work trying to play through Castlevania III. I played it a lot as a kid but never finished it anywhere near the amount of times I did the first one (or part IV after it). MAN am I realizing why now.. I remember it being tough, but sheesh.. This one really kicks it up above the first one in terms of difficulty. The start-backs are terrible later on in the game, the enemy placement is downright nasty at times (walls of bone pillars on vertical segments that consist entirely of staircases), and the enemy damage is worse than in the first game (instead of taking four life pellets when you get hit later in the game, it's five). Funny thing is, the bosses aren't all that bad (except for that $*@&$(% doppleganger)--it's the levels (from the halfway point and on) that are the killer.

 

Asides from complaining about difficulty, I still love the choose-your-path style. Some paths lead you to certain characters you can team up with, some don't.. The first night I took one path and found Alucard (very helpful with his flight ability, but super-weak). The next night I got Grant at the clocktower (climbing on walls is always awesome) and then switched him out for Syfa later on (super-strong magic spells = awesome). Can't say enough good things about how the game is laid out, but damn does the difficulty ruin the fun-factor towards the end..

 

I heard the difficultly is more balanced in Akumajou Densetsu (the JP version) due to how the damage is based on enemies rather than stage (Akumajou Densetsu's enemies always do the same amount of damage, but different enemies do different amounts of damage). I need to play both more to see (I have both versions), but this seems to be the case from what I played so far. oh yeah, I see another post mentioned some of this. The music is definitely higher quality due to the special chip (this does prevent the music from playing properly on US hardware, though), and, as was said, there are graphical differences as well (the JP version seems somewhat smoother in places and the hunchbacks are gargoyles in the JP version). Grant has throwing knifes instead of daggers in the JP version.

Edited May 11, 2011 by BrianC

[Austin]

There are two other b/w GB Castlevanias. I heard mixed things about the third, Castlevania Legends, but Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge is good stuff. Some of the best music on GB and excellent gameplay. Definitely worth checking out.

 

Agreed on Belmont's Revenge.

 

Legends is pretty average and doesn't really do anything special. The visuals aren't as detailed as the other two, the level design gets pretty repetitive and monotonous and the music is a mixed bag as well (some of it's good, much of it is not). It does have Super Game Boy support, but I don't recall it doing much to enhance the game. I do recall the gameplay being pretty smooth/quick, unlike the first Adventure game, and it moves quicker than Belmont's Revenge, but that was the best part about it. It's far from worth the price it goes for, but if you happen to find it in the wild for cheap, it's worth trying out if you're really into the series.

[toptenmaterial]

There are two other b/w GB Castlevanias. I heard mixed things about the third, Castlevania Legends, but Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge is good stuff. Some of the best music on GB and excellent gameplay. Definitely worth checking out.

 

Agreed on Belmont's Revenge.

 

Legends is pretty average and doesn't really do anything special. The visuals aren't as detailed as the other two, the level design gets pretty repetitive and monotonous and the music is a mixed bag as well (some of it's good, much of it is not). It does have Super Game Boy support, but I don't recall it doing much to enhance the game. I do recall the gameplay being pretty smooth/quick, unlike the first Adventure game, and it moves quicker than Belmont's Revenge, but that was the best part about it. It's far from worth the price it goes for, but if you happen to find it in the wild for cheap, it's worth trying out if you're really into the series.

Doesn't Alucard knock up the chick at the end?

[Austin]

Legends ...

 

Doesn't Alucard knock up the chick at the end?

 

Haha! I don't recall, but I'm pretty sure there's some dialogue between your character and Dracula or Alucard.

[Algus]

Castlevania II is actually my favorite as well. I love the music and gameplay. Post SOTN games are ok but in general I prefer the classic gameplay.

 

I really, really like Harmony of Dissonance though. Great game to play with friends.