Following the Tradition.

I admit it, I'm a BIG FAN of the Castlevania series, I never get tired of them. Man I Even liked Simon's Quest and it's the more hated.

So I decided to this in order to gather all the people who love this series and let's discuss about what are the good things & the bad things about this saga.

What's your fauvorte castlevania game & why?

What do you think about 3D castlevanias? Including PS2 & N64

Some time later I will make a post about what I feel about the Post Symphony of the Night Castlevanias. So let's enjoy ourselves.

I guess I can call myself a Castlevania fan. Excellent soundtracks, awesome gameplay and basically a lot of awesomeness going around there. I've played Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance, Curse of Darkness(<3), Lament of Innocence, a little bit of Dawn of Sorrow on the DS a friend let me borrow it for a few days but I didn't finish it in time, and all 3 on NES but no more than 1 hour was just curious if anything. Can't really say there's anything I DON'T like about these games.

I've enjoyed the Castlevania games overall. Looking forward to the next gen console game coming out this year. Looks promising.

What's your fauvorte castlevania game & why?

Symphony of the Night cos man it's excellent


What do you think about 3D castlevanias? Including PS2 & N64

varying degrees of suck

Love Simon's Quest, in spite of itself.

Favorite is Symphony of the Night, cuz wot DJ said.

I've never played a 3D Castlevania.

Yeah SOTN is a great castlevania, not my fauvorite, but it's still an awesome game.
My fauvorite is Super Castlevania IV...

So watch these videos it made me laugh a little, you surely already know them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4we8iFk-fY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbto1neHWQA

I lost 8 months to my favorite game in the series, SOTN (PSX). I wasn't even that into it at first, until I found out about the inverted castle. Then I started getting into collecting all of the rare items and swords in the game, LVL'ing up as much as I could.....and it was all over. Played that game every single (if not, every other) day for those 8 months straight. I don't regret it one bit. :D

I'd have to say my favorite two Castlevania titles would be, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon for GBA, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for DS. Both have a certain nostalgic charm to them and hours of awesome gameplay. The graphics are also top-notch on both, and the music is great as always. Circle of the Moon has some awesome bonus content after you beat the game, where you can unlock various powers by naming your character a certain thing, such as all magics, super strength, etc. Very well-rounded game that keeps you playing for months after you've watched the closing credits.

You know, I can't get into Circle of the Moon really, they say it's the best from 3 of GBA, but I just don't like the card system, I feel that there's to much gravity in the game, a mob hits you with a bone and you blow away half of the screen, it gets really annoying, plus the whip in this castlevania is too slow.

I need to played a little of the DS titles & Order of Ecclesia is the one that caught my attention, my only complain is that there are no Sub-Weapons, you know... Holy Water, Cross, etc...
Portrait of Ruin was nice too, but the controls seemed a little awkward.
Anyway, I don't have a DS...

For me, everything in CotM felt completely natural. From the card system all the way to the controls. I admit that it became a tad bit tedious to keep switching your cards, so normally I just chose one combo that I liked the best and stuck with it for a while. A lot of times, enemies in the area were based on one certain element, so I just went with the one that they were opposed to, and viola! :D

With Portrait of Ruin, it felt more like an oldschool Castlevania. I did like the controls a bit better, and having dual characters to work with (you control one, while the other fights alongside you) was an added bonus. The enemy designs were a little over-the-top in their wackiness in some places, but that's nothing major; all part of what makes the game so much fun. I actually haven't even beaten this one yet, so we'll see what kind of new features it brings. I'm at the final battle now, so I've seen the whole game, and can honestly place it as one of my two favorites. I give both games two thumbs up :D

i played (though, some not beaten) all castlevanias released in the USA.
some are good, some are soo ugly no power on earth will make me play them again.
my favorites are castlevania legacy of darkness and castlevania 3.
sotn is good but after a while it gets really boring.

the ones i dislike the most are lament of innocence and castlevania 2.

some are good, some are soo ugly no power on earth will make me play them again.
my favorites are castlevania legacy of darkness and castlevania 3.
sotn is good but after a while it gets really boring.

the ones i dislike the most are lament of innocence and castlevania 2.

I actually enjoyed Lament Of Innocence & Castlevania 2. Legacy of darkness I didn't played it yet, I'm playing 64 now & I'm getting a little pissed off with the gameplay.

Castlevania 3 is great.

The one that I hate the most is TAMAGOCHIVANIA, also known as Curse of Darkness

The dislike for Lament of Innocence is a damn shame. While I agree there were issues with the game(though the only issue I had was the LOLSAMELOOK halls), the story was enough to make me forgive it all.

And let's not forget the infamous, "I'll kill you AND the night!!!"

My most hated has to be the 64 ones. For a first attempt at a 3D Castlevania, they were pretty poor. Magical Nitro rage aside, when the camera switches in mid-jump, causing you to fall, or when it won't let you see the next platform you're trying to jump to...that's shitty game design there, IMO. It was a shame too, because I liked the story and new characters that they popped in(Skeletons on motorcycles, YEAH!).

Most loved...aside from the DS ones and Curse of Darkness(none of which I've played), I'd say all of them.

You know I felt the same with the 64 games with the first impression, but then I watched a review & I fell in love with the level design of Legacy Of Darkness, So I'm giving them a 2nd chance, but I perfectly agree that the gameplay is shitty, but hey, I think castlevania past IV except for SOTN they'd never could get a good consistent & solid gameplay.

I've played Super Castlevania 4, Symphony of the Night, the 2 N64 ones, Lament of Innocence, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia.

I would class myself as a fan of the series, even if the story is a little hard to follow, what with all the remakes and possibly non-canonical entries etc.

Dracula's 100 year rule seems little more than a joke now, as it's broken so often and the series constantly changes its mind over whether you actually need the Holy Vampire Killer whip to beat Drac.

But at its core, it's just a great series. The quality ebbs and flows at times, and the recent titles have all been much of a muchness, I suppose. But there is a definite air about the series that keeps you coming back.

To be honest, it could do with a truly great entry sometime soon though. Super Castlevania 4 and Symphony of the Night are classics, but the recent ones have been good, but not great (Portrait of Ruin being by far my favourite of those).

Lament of Innocence was okayish, but after a promising start, it was a bit bland really. Rinaldo's great though, so I still enjoyed it. And surely only the Japs can have the Hero literally whipping the evil out of his girlfriend and not see a problem...

And I have to say that as dodgy as they were, I quite enjoyed the N64 games. The jumping sections were outrageously unfair and hard, but once you got going, the game's atmosphere and stories were actually surprisingly involving.

I also think that they have one of the better portrayals of Dracula. He very often isn't written and/or voice acted as well as you'd hope, but he's great in the N64 versions (gave me a right beating as well, until I realised the slide knocked him out of that 'magnetic pull and bite' attack).

So all in all, top series, but it could do with one of those truly visionary updates that the Japs pull out for their series every so often (Ocarina of Time etc).

I consider myself a fan of the series and I have played through Castlevania 1-3 on NES, the Gameboy titles, Castlevania IV, Dracula X, Bloodlines, Symphony Of the night, Castlevania Chronicles, Castlevania 64, Lament Of Innocence and Curse Of Darkness. I haven't gotten to the Gameboy Advance or DS titles yet.

Overall I love the series and could nitpick each game but overall I really do like the games, however there are some I still have trouble liking i.e Castlevania The Adventure on Gameboy. Some of my biggest complaints with that title is every time you get hit by an enemy you lose your whip power up and the levels were a bit ridiculous getting through. Thankfully Belmont's Revenge fixed a lot of those issues and was a much better Gameboy title. Also I do have the original Castlevania Rondo Of Blood which was the PC Engine version of SNES Dracula X and all I can say is America did get pretty screwed with the SNES version, however even the PC Engine didn't have the controls like IV did but the PC Engine levels were better than Snes's Dracula X. Castlevania 64 was the first time into the 3D realm and while it wasn't perfect I did adjust to the shitty controls and manage to get along alright, however some levels were frustrating as hell. Castlevania Chronicles was a bit of a surprise, Simon Belmont always kind of reminded me of Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously like from Conan, so when they changed Simon's look over I was a bit shocked. I liked the Conan Simon look from IV but oh well, I guess we won't see Simon the same way anymore.

As for the rest there's not much I can add that's already been said. The music is great Michiru Yamane does a great job and the artwork done by Ayami Kojima is great as well, she really does do a good job on portraying the characters through her art. IV and SOTN are the prime titles of their own genre. IV being the best action adventure castlevania game and SOTN being the best action-rpg castlevania game. However opinions may vary...

i have that shirt, in the 2nd youtube vid.

LOL I love that vid :D

lol it was pretty damn funny.

Ahhhhh, the notorious Holy Water wringing :O The horror, the horror!!!! :O

hahaha

My favorite Castlevania is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Symphony_of_the_Night). Great gameplay and story, but what really got me about this game is the soundtrack. Truly atmospheric and beautiful. Bought my copy off of Enkidoh's younger brother for about 10$AUSD... and he's hated me for that LMAO.

So all in all, top series, but it could do with one of those truly visionary updates that the Japs pull out for their series every so often (Ocarina of Time etc).

Yeah I agree on this, I played & finished most of the Castlevania Except for the DS & early gameboy titles(Adventure, legends & belmont's revenge)...

And I ended up with this conclusion: As much as I love this series, it's Shapeless, as they go through the games they added things to the gameplay in some titles & in other ones they erased things about the gameplay, for example, the only castlevania title we can do an 8 direction attack with the whip is only in SCIV, another one is the Legacy of SOTN, they only did castlevania titles with an explorable castle but you can't do 1/4 of the things you could do on SOTN, such as using familiars, secrets here & there, shapeshifting, a large vast of equipment, relics & items, character customizing etc...

Taking the first NES game as the core, you can see that after the third title (Dracula's Curse), they started with this thing of adding & substracting things to the game & what kills me is that they substract the good things.

About N64 Castlevania I think they were bad mainly because they literally tried to bring 2D Castlevania to 3D, the cameras were awful, water kills you, the enemies constantly spawn & it's tedious.
At the PS2 they tried at Lament Of Innocence to make a fun action Hack & Slash game Devil May Cry style with little of platforming & at Curse of Darkness they killed totally this aspect & that made the Scenarios & the map designing the biggest boredom ever & what really attracted me about the Whole castlevania series was how creative were the maps(Main Reason to be SCIV as my personal fauvorite).
I think a 3D castlevania will be good if they made it more similar to MediEvil.

About the storyline, well, I think this is not an example game to follow because of it's storyline xD, it has really nice elements that they could work with, but they just don't, all they did was excuse storylines so the game may have a reason to be.

About the Reboot, Yes this is what castlevania needed, a new team with fresh ideas & a reboot.

Wellcome Vrykolas I read your post at the RPG hero concept & liked your perspective =D...


The music is great Michiru Yamane does a great job and the artwork done by Ayami Kojima is great as well, she really does do a good job on portraying the characters through her art. IV and SOTN are the prime titles of their own genre. IV being the best action adventure castlevania game and SOTN being the best action-rpg castlevania game. However opinions may vary...

Michiru Yamane did a great job with the music(Specially with SOTN & Lament Of Innocence) I can't deny that, but I miss the old sound of the ClassicVanias, I think SCIV have the best Soundtrack too, it's original tunes didn't abuse of classic movements such as the Fugues & about Ayami Kojima, partally agree, though her art did fit good in SOTN, I think her bishonen style hurts the game, a lot of fanservice, every character is way too feminine, the Order Of Ecclesia artwork did a better job In my opinion, it balanced this aspect, male characters in that castlevania weren't that femenine & Yeah I also agree that the IV the best action-adventure castlevania & SOTN the best action-RPG.

Yeah I agree on this, I played & finished most of the Castlevania Except for the DS & early gameboy titles(Adventure, legends & belmont's revenge)...

If you do try the earlier gameboy titles I'd recommend trying Belmont's Revenge. It's far better then it's predecessor The Adventure.




Michiru Yamane did a great job with the music(Specially with SOTN & Lament Of Innocence) I can't deny that, but I miss the old sound of the ClassicVanias, I think SCIV have the best Soundtrack too, it's original tunes didn't abuse of classic movements such as the Fugues & about Ayami Kojima, partally agree, though her art did fit good in SOTN, I think her bishonen style hurts the game, a lot of fanservice, every character is way too feminine, the Order Of Ecclesia artwork did a better job In my opinion, it balanced this aspect, male characters in that castlevania weren't that femenine & Yeah I also agree that the IV the best action-adventure castlevania & SOTN the best action-RPG.

Yeah, SCIV does have a great soundtrack and it has probably my favorite Dracula theme of the series. As for Ayami, while I was speaking more about her work on SOTN, LOI and COD, I didn't care much for the new Simon look, like I said. I haven't yet look much into the GBA or DS stuff.

Yeah, SCIV does have a great soundtrack and it has probably my favorite Dracula theme of the series. As for Ayami, while I was speaking more about her work on SOTN, LOI and COD, I didn't care much for the new Simon look, like I said. I haven't yet look much into the GBA or DS stuff.

In the GBA & DS, she's only on the Sorrow games (Aria & Dawn) & Harmony of Dissonance... I don't know I guess I'm tired of white haired pretty boys(Leon, Hector, Alucard, Soma, Juste)...sucks.. xD... Oh, and Isaac is disgusting,

A great big 'Yo!' thrown to Topopoz... He catches it, he runs, he scores!

Hurrah! Hurra... ahem.

Yes, my dear old 'Vania is looking a bit long in the tooth (oh, someone stop him...) these days. The games are still pretty decent, but they are never going to win over more than a handful of new converts, each.

I think a good place to go would be to have a proper (and properly good) 3D Metroidvania, where you play as Simon Belmont (or at least someone from the Belmont clan - no more offshoot familiies and associates for a change).

Give the pretty boy vampires and slayers a rest for a while and go back to basics - a big guy with a big whip, fighting big evil.

Sprinkle some towns about, give it a decent story (the N64 ones had prett good stories, not amazingly 'change your life forever' ones, but solid enough), and just make sure it's got plenty of action, scares and adventure.

Yeah, and while you're at it, paint the Mona Lisa 2...

I know it's not as easy as all that. Armchair developing aside, I hope some bright mind can pull off an Ocarina and give us a Castlevania that we really weren't expecting.

The series deserves to be back up there. I mean, the pedigree of the series mixed with good game design should be a winner. Bayonetta got rave reviews, but its world and look hasn't appealed to people (it's basically flopped horribly, over here in Blighty).

And with Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry stalling, why not give Vania another...

...

No, I just can't say it...

Another crack of the whip...

(And so VK is stoned to death, amid a chorus of groans. A sad end to a promising career. But he'll return in 100 years - or in a few hours, going on recent 'Vania canon...)

I dug this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIU3IdSp-yA) up. Not sure if anyone has heard this track before but I thought it sounded interesting. It's from the canceled Castlevania Resurrection title.

resurrection had a character bearing a striking resemblance to tim curry, he was probably gonna be voiced by him.

The castlevania that never saw the light, featuring sonia belmont as the main character, if they've developed it for the PS2 probably this castlevania would have existed.

Just started playing Symphony of the Night. I don't know if I'm gonna finish it now, but it definitely gave me a great first impression and I loved it.

Just started playing Symphony of the Night. I don't know if I'm gonna finish it now, but it definitely gave me a great first impression and I loved it.

Great!, try to finish it, there aren't to much hours of gameplay in the game, but there's a lot to unlock, discover & to make fun about.

Great!, try to finish it, there aren't to much hours of gameplay in the game, but there's a lot to unlock, discover & to make fun about.

I'll definitely try. It's just that I'm playing a lot of games right now. and I want to finish what I've already started. Currently I want to finish Silent Hill, again on psx. However for some reason it seems a bit boring. At least compared to Origins. It doesn't scare me as much, it's way easier, I don't know it's just a little... boring. There's way too much exploring. I will definitely try to finish it at least once. After that I'll knock back and enjoy me some Sypmhony of the Night :)

I am a great fan of Castlevania. I have played all U.S. released titles, save for Legacy Of Darkness, Chronicles (PS1) and Judgement. My favorites would probably be Dracula's Curse, The Dracula X Chronicles and, perhaps Portrait of Ruin. While amongst fellow Castlevania fans, I would ask if anyone knows where I could find rips of certain tracks from Order of Ecclesia. I am talking about the records of the original Castlevania music available for purchase after completing the musician's requests at the general store and records one and five found in treasure chests within Ecclesia.

I felt that this thread need a little revive. So anyone is getting excited by the upcoming Lords of Shadow?

Did anyone tried Harmony of Despair on the X360?

I honestly didn't think too much of Lords of Shadow when it was first announced, but after reading and hearing some interesting things about it, I am willing to give it a chance. Not too excited, though.

Lord of Shadows looks promising. I hear it mimics God of War to a certain degree, but I've never played God of War, so this'll be an interesting game for me to play. I planned on buying it on release day, but September has been a pretty expensive month, so I may delay it to November...

Yeah it looks promising and different. I'm really curious about how it's going to be.

its castlevania and legacy of darkness all over again... now in HD!


also: im of the few who DID like CV and LOD, im not liking this new one with its copy pasta gameplay of GOW

It's more like a combination of GoW, Shadow Of The Colossus & Legacy Of Kain Soul Reaver. I don't have any problem with that since I liked all of those games.
I'm curious on how the level design is & how the storyline turned out.

But really what's the deal on complaining about that? Nobody cried when they ripped off metroid by the time SOTN was released & now that they're actually doing a something good with the 3D castlevania games & people are getting "Blah Blah, it's a copy of GoW, Blah!".

Can't make everyone happy...

well, back then, i didnt even liked metroid.

I am amazed at how many people dislike Simon's Quest. You know, without Simon's Quest there would be no Symphony of the Night. Back in the day, Quest was the shiznit. Castlevania was no longer just a hack n' slash, but an action/RPG all in one. We were introduced to the awesome "Bloody Tears" song for the first time and Simon could return to previous levels to uncover secrets. Of all the games, my fav would have to be Symphony PS1 with Dracula X PC Engine a very very close second.

But really what's the deal on complaining about that? Nobody cried when they ripped off metroid by the time SOTN was released & now that they're actually doing a something good with the 3D castlevania games & people are getting "Blah Blah, it's a copy of GoW, Blah!".

Can't make everyone happy...

I can sum it up for you with one picture...

I know I should bring up thoe GoW comparison again, because that picture summed it up, but I do have a somewhat witty retort to people who will make that ignorant claim. Ahem.

"Oh I'm sorry, was God of War around for 20 years?"

Unfortunately, just as I was about to write it, I forgot it... But, the above statement is basically a different way of saying it. Moving on, I do feel kind of bad for not being able to buy Lords of Shadow when it comes out, already have my cash set on Sengoku Basara 3 and Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage. Have to save most of my cash for college.

I don't mind it using elements from God of War, as long as its limited to merely taking elements and not copying. Even God of War was partially inspired by Devil May Cry, and nobody blamed it for copying that game. As long as it has it's own little quirks and originality I'll be satisfied with it. But excuse me for expressing a little skepticism when there's shit like Dante's Inferno and Darksiders coming out these days.

I don't mind it using elements from God of War, as long as its limited to merely taking elements and not copying. Even God of War was partially inspired by Devil May Cry, and nobody blamed it for copying that game. As long as it has it's own little quirks and originality I'll be satisfied with it. But excuse me for expressing a little skepticism when there's shit like Dante's Inferno and Darksiders coming out these days.

I know what you mean. I love Legacy of Kain: Defiance even though it copied elements from Devil May Cry. Still did not make it any less of a good game.

Lead Designer talks about Castlevania: LOS (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/09/24/castlevania-lord-of-shadow-interview/)

Personally, I resort to my default policy of 'cautious optimism' when a new game with elements of another game is coming out. This HAS bitten me in the @$$ before(*coughcough*APB*coughcough*), but most times, I get to enjoy a good or great game.

Oh, and here's a little gem for you guys. This song had me in tears of laughter, which is ironic considering the BGM used(Bloody Tears). WARNING!!! This song may ruin Bloody Tears for you...but it really won't be all that bad.;)

YouTube - Castlevania Birds Nnemonic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-2-rw3irfU)[COLOR="Silver"]

YouTube - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Preview Walkthrough Part 1 HD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjUeDQuY8wM)

YouTube - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Preview Walkthrough Part 2 HD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-MSmQ-gWrs)

Take a look at this. It looks amazing to me.


EDIT: CASTLEVANIA BIRDS IS SO FUCKING HILARIOUS LOL!!!!!!! & it's fucking true.

Also they mentioned Hideo Kojima had a lot to do with this game, but never actually mentioned anything more than that. Anyone know any more info about that?

Also they mentioned Hideo Kojima had a lot to do with this game, but never actually mentioned anything more than that. Anyone know any more info about that?

The project was handled completely by MercurySteam when it comes to game design, story etc. Kojima was more or less only involved in the project as a supporting adviser (giving his input on quality, design tweaking, etc...) while the rest of Kojima Production ended up providing their help on the technical aspects (graphics, Programing, etc...).

Yeah, Kojima's role was something like "Creative Advisor". Fix things & provide another perspective on the development.

It's not quite clear which IS the role from Kojima, but I think it's more like a guardian that keeps the development team on the right track.

Well if that's the case, he's been doing a pretty damn good job then. Of course, his role isn't officially known yet.

Really can't wait for this game to come out. Funny that the demo is coming out so close to the release of it. Any one here getting the limited edition?

I will unfortunately be unable to... unless SOMEHOW a LE copy remains within a GameStop for about a couple weeks.

Ohh that sucks man. The only reason I'm getting it, is because my B-Day is Oct. 3, which I'd should have some money for it.

Well in that case, congrats. And don't worry about me, I'll get the game at one point or another.

What's your fauvorte castlevania game & why?

I think it's Aria of Sorrow, because that the first I beat and I really like the weapon and soul system.


What do you think about 3D castlevanias? Including PS2 & N64

I can't say very much about this. I only beat Curse of Darkness (Which I loved) and played Lament of Innocence (And I didn't like it too much).

Well anywho, My favorite castlevania game is Super Castlevania IV, probably due to its upgrade in movement and whipping in 8 directions. Not to mention the really great music. As for the 3D games, I've only played Castlevania Legacy of Darkness, which I thought was ok. As for the other ones, I've only seen Lets Play versions on Youtube.

Every console Castlevania game I've played since Symphony of the Night has had an excellent soundtrack... so I'm hoping Lord of Shadows has a memorable one as well. :)

Since SOTN only? You didn't liked the Classic's Music?

I really didn't play any of the games before Symphony of the Night to be honest. I did play the first NES version, but couldn't get into it. When my bro bought Symphony of the Night, that's when I started to get into them to a certain degree.

my favorite castlevanias are castlevania and legacy of darkness.

i dont know, they have something.... special..
it may be carrie fernandez in annette's costume, or something else

New Gameplay Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guXsYWtasFg&feature=player_embedded)

I gotta say, this game looks great in motion. Not many HD titles have that. From that trailer, it's pretty obvious which games inspired it, but I don't think I'll mind.

Smarty that footage is awesome, I've totally love the editing with the Prelude+Dracula's Theme from SCIV.

Apparently the critics started their talking. Getting 7.5 from IGN and Gamespot...

Yeah, I stopped caring about Gamespot and IGN for a while now. A lot of the people rating it down are doing so because it's not like any other CV so far. Although most of them do make the point that the story isn't particularly impressive. I guess I'll have to wait and see. Game Informer mentioned that ending is satisfying, but again I doubt it. I'll probably give this a shot at around Christmas when I'll have more free time (and money...)

Yeah, I understand, well I ain't gonna give it a shot until I get the console & the game. So I'll have to be patient.

Remember kids, you can't spell ignorant without IGN.

Now that that little obligation has been taken care of, I have this to say. This is Castlevania we're talking about, I don't care who is where on the development team, the story is just going to be adequate at best. Let's face it, the REAL reason we love CV is the fact we go around killing all sorts of monsters, demons, and other Godless entities as a NORMAL person with JUST basic melee weapons at said person's disposal. And before anyone says anything, I love CV as much as the next guy, though my collection is rather small (only own SoTN, AoS, DoS, and HoD/HD/Whatever).

Remember kids, you can't spell ignorant without IGN.

Now that that little obligation has been taken care of, I have this to say. This is Castlevania we're talking about, I don't care who is where on the development team, the story is just going to be adequate at best. Let's face it, the REAL reason we love CV is the fact we go around killing all sorts of monsters, demons, and other Godless entities as a NORMAL person with JUST basic melee weapons at said person's disposal. And before anyone says anything, I love CV as much as the next guy, though my collection is rather small (only own SoTN, AoS, DoS, and HoD/HD/Whatever).

My sarcasm meter might be broken... But Alucard is anything but a NORMAL person. �_�

Remember kids, you can't spell ignorant without IGN.

Now that that little obligation has been taken care of, I have this to say. This is Castlevania we're talking about, I don't care who is where on the development team, the story is just going to be adequate at best. Let's face it, the REAL reason we love CV is the fact we go around killing all sorts of monsters, demons, and other Godless entities as a NORMAL person with JUST basic melee weapons at said person's disposal. And before anyone says anything, I love CV as much as the next guy, though my collection is rather small (only own SoTN, AoS, DoS, and HoD/HD/Whatever).

That really is no reason for them not to try. Just because they haven't had any decent storytelling so far doesn't mean they can't or that they shouldn't. Besides I would have hoped Kojima's input would make it (if not good) at least slightly interesting.

The only thing that I expect from this that I hope that it's successful, because the series needs to get shaped into something.

Played the game loved it. Want to see what happens with the 2nd game as it would take place after Lords of Shadow and before the reveal in the epilogue.

My sarcasm meter might be broken... But Alucard is anything but a NORMAL person. �_�

and grant, and sypha, and yoko, and carrie, and soma.
who else am i missing?

I find it hilarious that the first person to come to mind is Alucard. Although, I do realize my argument is flawed considering the only normal people that are playable protagonists are Simon, (and IIRC) Trevor, and Leon.

belmonts are the only playable characters that can be considered normal, as they cant really summon familiars, cast magic ( super effect of secondary weapon doesnt count). hang on the walls, etc etc.

The stories might not be that memorable, but they're entertaining enough. The series used to be just platforming with 1 line of story 'X Belmont sets out to kill Dracula'. The stories have been far more involved than that for ages now.

In fact, I remember quite enjoying the story for... I think it was just called 'Castlevania' on the PS2. The one with that shopkeeper called Rinaldo. Whatever it was called, I got quite into that one.

My favourites of the series are no surprise - Symphony of the Night and Super Castlevania 4.

But I've enjoyed several of the recent ones. Portrait of Ruin is probably my favourite of those. Order of Ecclesia was okay too.

Actually speaking of Lords Of Shadow, it's good to kinda see a return to the ol' barbaric style character again. As for the game itself, I don't really know what to expect. I've heard God Of War get thrown around a bit when talking about Lords Of Shadow. I'm hoping it will be something a bit different, hopefully a bit darker like how the older games were.

I don't know why it is, but I'm just a bigger fan of the older games, all of them from NES to SOTN with exception of Lament Of Innocence, Harmony Of Dissonance and Dracula X Chronicles. I thought that was the prime era of the series. The more recent ones I have a harder time getting into, but that's just me.

Well, based on footage I've seen, it's taken elements from many games. God of War (combat) is probably the most obvious. Others would include Shadow of the Colossus (giant monster battles with extremely specific weak spots) and Prince of Persia (platforming). As for the story, I have no idea since I haven't played it, but I wouldn't hold my breath for actual quality in that respect. I will say it's very pretty, though :D

The Platforming aspect is more like a combination of the first Soul Reaver with PoP.

Well, I just read a review of it, and it got 7/10.

The site (Metro) was broadly positive, but they raise an eyebrow at the fact the game has stolen basically everything from other games, and has essentially nothing new of its own to offer. They enjoyed the combat, but said it was quite hard (a good thing IMO) and that it was too long (again, a good thing to my mind).

They didn't have much time for the story, saying it was suprisingly simplisitc in the same way as the usual games (that's very disappointing to me, as I was hoping they might be a bit more adventurous than that).

Overall, they seemed to think it was a good game, if not particularly amazing in any way (but they also stressed it has no glaringly obvious flaws either).

As for my thoughts upon reading this, well the idea that a game can be too long these days, is ridiculous IMO. Companies should be being encouraged to make longer games, I'm sick to death of games that end just as you're getting into them.

As for it being hard, I'm pretty sure I can take this game. I survived the mental anguish of playing the horrendously unfair N64 Castlevanias (the Duel Tower is still one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in a game - dozens and dozens of hard, precise 3-D jumps, some fights, and no checkpoints or save crystals!).

So bring it on - no Castlevania gets the better of me!

(And Dracula had better be the last boss - it really pisses me off, when they put other final bosses in).

I hope the new 3D one isn't total trash.

Shame on you Vrykolas, for not knowing the full title of the PS2 Castlevania! :D j/k

I do wholeheartedly agree with you that the story was a HUGE gem in that game. Definitely made the whole feud between the Belmont clan and Dracula more personal beyond, "I am the only person able to/willing to stand up to evil, and I just happen to be in the neighborhood!".

Strange too though...I had no problem playing that, but Castlevania 64 I simply could not stand. Maybe if I give it another try sometime soon...when I find it underneath all my other crap. Oh, and while I agree Duel Tower was ridiculous, I still say the Sorcery Tower was worse.

This new CV seems promising, based on opinions and reviews...maybe I'll give it a rent if possible.

Rinaldo was an ace character. He looked like he was just this old guy, but given all he'd been through and everything he knew about vampires and alchemy, it's not hard to see why the local monsters give his hut a wide berth!

You know, I actually really enjoyed the N64 Castlevanias. Partly because they were so ridiculously hard, but I quite enjoyed the stories as well. I loved the bit where you rescue that villager, then notice he doesn't have a reflection. Awesome.

As for hardness, well I can only go on my experience. Sorcery Tower was... the bit with the ice platforms yes? I don't remember that being too bad (but of course, I could just be blocking out painful memories).

The 2 bits that stand out as particularly harsh, were the triple accursed Duel Tower and that bit where you had to carry the nitro bottles without jumping, falling, running or being hit... Makes me gouge great chunks out of the desk in ahger just thinking about it.

i hated the tower of duels (too big to be a tower, dont you think?)
but i liked the nitro part, quite a challenge.

It didn't do my heart any good at all, I can tell you.

*Magical Nitro*

ALL OF MY EFFIN' HATE!!!! MAXIMUM RAGE!!!

I took great pains to have a save after that point for both characters, and then stored it on a separate save cartridge. I never went through that BS again...would play the game up to that point, quit, use the save, and then continue on.

And yes Vrykolas, Sorcery Tower was the ice part. Part of the difficulty I had there might have had something to do with the size of my TV at the time...I sometimes missed the cue for the platforms fading.

BTW guys, on the garden maze...did either of you know the trick to staying ahead of the stone dogs, or did you rely on a lot of (American) football maneuvers to keep them from getting you?

Castlevania experiences...

Talking about Hard Difficulty.

Didn't you bitched by the end of CVIII? If Dracula Kills you, back to the beginning of the stage... That was really frustrating...

Honestly I didn't even liked that battle.

I've been a fan of Castlevania since the beginning. I've played a number of the games. I never got around to the GBA versions, CV64, nor the Genesis versions either. I mainly avoided them because i heard they sucked. I began to get irritated a bit with the series after they introduced the pretty boy aspect into the games. And Issac was just too much, totally over the top. I remember looking at him and going, "WTF!? who in the hell pulled this pansy out of their gay faggot orgy wet dreams?! Nobody dressed like this in the 15th century or whatever?" Thankfully the games themselves were well made . The music was always great to me. I loved it. Now i must admit i'm a little skeptical of this news reboot or whatever they are calling it. But the original series had basically hit a dead end Which is sad because they did it to themselves when they did the Sorrow series. Not to mention the fact that the back story made almost no sense. But we shall see what becomes of this new game. For now though my favorite game is Order of Eccelsia.

if youre unsure, play the demo first like i did.
sure enough, it has GOD OF WAR plastered everywhere, but its a good game on its own merits, and just because it copies another game's engine doesnt mean it sucks.
look at symphony of the night and its blatant copy paste of metroid. it is the second best CV ever, after CV3

I don't really remember that much about the Garden Maze. I remember that huge Frankenstein guy with the chainsaw chasing me about, and I do vaguely recall the stone dogs. I think I sort of jumped and slid my way past them. It's an awfully long time since I played either of them now.

I was watching a guy playing Duel Tower on YouTube the other night. He nails it in one try, no problem at all. He's not even remotely worried. That's some skill right there...

Order of Ecclesia was okay, but it felt too much like a side story to me. You didn't even play as someone even vaguely related to the Belmonts. I know the villagers were, but I don't remember them saying Shanoa was. Still, it was pretty decent, but Dracula was way too easy (equip the Death Ring and you can kill him with about 3 special attacks).

I mean come on, no way some girl with a bit of glyph magic can beat Drac easier than the Belmonts! She doesn't even have the Holy Whip or anything!

*Possible spoilers about Lords of Shadow, but not really, since I've only played a couple of hours*



The return to the muscle bound heroes is welcome (and fair enough, Gabriel Belmont is one brawny soul), but I could really have done without the 'pining for his slain wife' and sullen brooding. He's a dour Scot through and through! It could have been worse though, I suppose. It could have been...

'Och Aye, mae name's Gabriel Belmont and ah hail frim bonnie Transylvania. Dinna ye ken my Vampire killin' skills, or the tales ah mae heroic dids?'

Not played through much of the game yet, but my first impressions are that it looks really, really great, and it's reasonably good fun, but I'm not hooked quite yet. it doesn't feel much like Castlevania at the minute (I'm a couple of hours in and Vampires have been mentioned once, and then only in passing!)

I understand that they're trying to tell the story at a proper pace, and this is one of the earliest tales, set some time after the PS2 game, so the Belmonts haven't yet begun their quest to rid the world of Dracula. But the story with Gabriel and his dead wife isn't gripping me, and I just feel like the game hasn't got going yet.

But like I say, it's early days and nothing has made me want to throw the game down in disgust. I'm just not that into it at the moment, and I may go back to Valkyria Chronicles and The Last Window and finish them first.

But like I say, it's early days and nothing has made me want to throw the game down in disgust.

You're still in brightly lit areas wait until chapter V then darkness creeps in

Whip is the new Sword!

I've been a fan of Castlevania since the beginning. I've played a number of the games. I never got around to the GBA versions, CV64, nor the Genesis versions either. I mainly avoided them because i heard they sucked. I began to get irritated a bit with the series after they introduced the pretty boy aspect into the games. And Issac was just too much, totally over the top. I remember looking at him and going, "WTF!? who in the hell pulled this pansy out of their gay faggot orgy wet dreams?! Nobody dressed like this in the 15th century or whatever?" Thankfully the games themselves were well made . The music was always great to me. I loved it. Now i must admit i'm a little skeptical of this news reboot or whatever they are calling it. But the original series had basically hit a dead end Which is sad because they did it to themselves when they did the Sorrow series. Not to mention the fact that the back story made almost no sense.

Okay, whoever told you that should die in a fire (yes, I used that tired old meme). While the GBA versions have had their ups and downs (Harmony of Dissonance being the universal down, with most others being variations of up), the Genesis version was awesome, albeit short. CV64...yeah, that was a 'love it/hate it' deal. Few things are as annoying as prepping yourself for a jump for five minutes(because the camera switches on you, and you can't see and judge your distance) and then dying because not only did the camera switch AGAIN, but so did your controls. Still worth at least one playthrough, though...

I'm gonna say one thing, though, and probably catch hell for it...I liked Simon's Quest, and managed to figure out everything(including where to go) without the internet when the game first came out. And it's still one of my favorites today.

I liked Simon's Quest AND Harmony of Dissonance.

Of all the SOTN Clones HoD was the most interesting & the most faithful to me. Besides I thought that it was kinda twisted, the map design on the outside appears to be the same as SOTN but then you see the changes as you continue the game. Some boss battles were good others were hilariously laughable(BIG SLIME I'M LOOKING AT YOU DIRECTLY). The game mechanics were simplistic & dynamic. The real deal of this game was the music, GBA soundchip sucks from the start & the sound design for this game made it even worse.

Circle of the Moon was just OK. The game would be a complete masterpiece if it weren't for the Gravity, you get hit by a needle & you fly away 10 yards. Also the card skill system I thought that it was horrendous.

I didn't liked Genesis CV.

CV64 games were a failed experiment IMO, bringing CV literally to 3D without modifying the formula at all is what makes it a failure.

Aria of Sorrow... Puke!... Starting with the setting, then the artwork. The soul system was horrible because of one thing... The fucking console, 4 buttons for the blue magic(yeah call it enemy skill or soul blah blah) & the basic mechanics.
Shifting the skills in the middle of the battle made the game obnoxious. It reminded me MGS3 health system.

Circle of the Moon, I was torn on...it had a great deal of potential IMO, and used a good portion of it. Maybe I'd been spoiled, but the big downer to me was the lack of a shop (yeah, I've been spoiled...). Its difficulty however, was a nice balance...didn't tolerate much error, and gave you serious incentive to save at EVERY point instead of passing by five of them because you're blazing through.

Dissonance just didn't work for me. The plot was predictable (come on, they could have done a LOT better than that!), music was recycled unnecessarily (as a concession, almost all of the recycled music was good music), and the 'collection mini-game' was a serious "WTF?!?".

I would also like to know what precisely you didn't like about the Genesis CV?

As for AoS...well, you have valid points. But while the soul system was annoying on GBA, by your own admission, it's not the fault of the console, since you cite its similarity to MGS3 (and I would use the example of MGS3's camo system, not the health system).

Sorry dude...didn't mean to sound like my whole existence is to nitpick, but I wanted to voice my own opinion.:) Even with its duds, Castlevania remains fucking awesome!

Dissonance just didn't work for me. The plot was predictable (come on, they could have done a LOT better than that!), music was recycled unnecessarily (as a concession, almost all of the recycled music was good music), and the 'collection mini-game' was a serious "WTF?!?".

I would also like to know what precisely you didn't like about the Genesis CV?


Sorry dude...didn't mean to sound like my whole existence is to nitpick, but I wanted to voice my own opinion.:) Even with its duds, Castlevania remains fucking awesome!

By the time you start playing a CV game because of the storyline. You started with the wrong foot... I've never expect good storylines in CV games... Except maybe in Lords of Shadow, because that was kinda the objective, give the game a storyline. But I don't have a PS3 or X360 so I'll have to wait.

I can't explain what is wrong about the Genesis CV, I couldn get into it, that's it. The graphics & art design were kinda weird to me. The gameplay was a regular Classic CV, but the Map Design I didn't found it clever & that's the base of all CV games IMO.

Castlevania IS FUCKING AWESOME! CHEERS!

I liked Harmony Of Dissonance but I did also like Simon's Quest and Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis). I will say one of my big problems with Dissonance was the music. Now I know the GBA didn't have the best soundchip in the world built into it but still the music wasn't that good. And isn't the series infamous for it's music?

As for Bloodlines, I think one of the reasons it might have been made was because it was a way to sort of tie in the Bram Stoker's Novel in with the Castlevania series because the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula released a year prior in 1992 and the game was released in 1993 and so because in the movie, the character Quincy Morris is the one who stabs Dracula in the heart but Quincy also dies in the fight. Therefore in the game Castlevania Bloodlines you can play as John Morris who is the son of Quincy Morris. Well, anyway point is I liked Bloodlines. Bloodlines was better than the real Bram Stoker's Dracula game they made for the movie anyway, that game was shit.

Still out of everything my preference of Castlevania games will always be Super Castlevania IV, Symphony Of The Night and Rondo Of Blood. Those still remain my all time favorite of all of them.

I hope that the sales are good here in the U.S., Europe, & Asia so we can get a 2nd game. This game was perfect as The Origin of Dracula. The 2nd game should have the Belmonts meeting Gabriel Cronqvist for the 1st time as enemies.

I was watching a guy playing Duel Tower on YouTube the other night. He nails it in one try, no problem at all. He's not even remotely worried. That's some skill right there...



you have to do the tower in one sitting anyway.

modernmusicman, I've never understood the fascination with Super Castlevania 4. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great game, with excellent new and old music (Clockwork Mansion was fucking YUMMY for a new track!), new enemies, and of course, Simon's new swinging and octo-directional whipping.:D But none of that was ever able to put it above being a memorable game for me, not the pile of awesomeness that people (there's many besides you, if you couldn't tell, lol) constantly claim it is. Can anyone maybe help me understand, or did I hit it?

I couldn't speak for other people, but the reason I love Super Castlevania 4 is as follows:

1) The difficulty is just right - challenging at times, but fair. Many platform games of that era tended to be massively unfair or much too easy.

2) The locations and baddies (particularly the bosses, including fan favourite Slogra), were all very good. There weren't any poor levels IMO.

3) The game is a great example of a 'complete package.' Excellent gameplay, graphics (for the time) and superb music make for a compelling argument.

4) The hero is Simon Belmont, and he's the favourite series hero of many fans (including me).

My fauvorite is SCIV too, because of what Vry said and for this...

The level design is just superb, perfect, twisted, clever, spinning rooms, spikes, moving platforms, weird, challenging, beautiful.
It has the most adventorous gameplay in any Castlevania game with a linear formula & that's saying something.

Dracula's Battle is the most awesome & faithful to me, no silly transformations, just the guy banging you with powerful spells. Plus the music, it's the best Dracula's Theme ever done in the Castlevania History.

Man that game is just amazing.

modernmusicman, I've never understood the fascination with Super Castlevania 4. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great game, with excellent new and old music (Clockwork Mansion was fucking YUMMY for a new track!), new enemies, and of course, Simon's new swinging and octo-directional whipping.:D But none of that was ever able to put it above being a memorable game for me, not the pile of awesomeness that people (there's many besides you, if you couldn't tell, lol) constantly claim it is. Can anyone maybe help me understand, or did I hit it?

Super Castlevania IV was in my opinion the "Final Prototype" from the first three. The first three on NES were great but had a lot of "trial and error" especially when it came to controls and enemies, plus in SCIV the challenge was just right but not too hard. In previous titles on NES certain parts would get way too hard such as in Castlevania III when having to go up stairs while having to dodge projectiles such as Medusa's flying at you, plus the controls were a bit more stiff. In SCIV the controls were more fluent and you were able to do things you couldn't do previously such as crouch and walk and whip into multiple directions. The game's graphics for the time were actually quite good especially for SNES. The only other game I can think of right now that could match SCIV on graphics was Donkey Kong Country but even that was released 3 years after SCIV in 94. The music was great too, it had a balance of it's own original material while also including classic themes in as well and it probably has the coolest creepiest Dracula theme, even to this day.

Sadly though, Dracula X on SNES took all of that and went back to "square one" again, stiff controls, hard level designs etc. Plus it was just a badly butchered Rondo Of Blood.

Rondo of Blood in general went to "square one"... Not just the SNES port.

I didn't liked that CV that much...

Some things were pretty cool, but in general the game wasn't very good IMO. It's the last of the ClassicVanias(I think) & the game had too many flaws for the time it was released...

My fauvorite is SCIV too, because of what Vry said and for this...

The level design is just superb, perfect, twisted, clever, spinning rooms, spikes, moving platforms, weird, challenging, beautiful.
It has the most adventorous gameplay in any Castlevania game with a linear formula & that's saying something.

Dracula's Battle is the most awesome & faithful to me, no silly transformations, just the guy banging you with powerful spells. Plus the music, it's the best Dracula's Theme ever done in the Castlevania History.

Man that game is just amazing.

One of my big favs as well. The first stage was my favorite. The music to the intro added a true feel to the game. My other favorite was the rotating spike room

There's a noticeable absence of comments about the new game. Has no-one else played it?

There's a noticeable absence of comments about the new game. Has no-one else played it?

i don't think it's even out yet...is it?

It's out.

I don't have a PS3 or an X360 =(

So I can't comment on that one.

It's out.

I don't have a PS3 or an X360 =(

So I can't comment on that one.

I don't have one either. Too many bills to pay =(

There's a noticeable absence of comments about the new game. Has no-one else played it?

Yeah, I got it for 360. It must be a long game because it came with two discs for 360. When I bought it at gamestop they also gave me a free shirt, which the design looks like this:





The symbols make more sense when you play the game as to what they mean. The shirts though were limited time promo deal only with gamestop. They're not being made available anywhere else. I didn't like that they put the facebook link on the shirt. (I have a serious personal hatred toward facebook).

The game itself however is good. It still lacks in my opinion but overall it's an improvement over the other 3D Castlevanias. No tacky character design or dull gameplay like Curse of Darkness. No shitty controls or frustratingly ass camera problems like CV64. The voice over is quite decent. It has quite a bit more story than previous castlevanias which takes a little bit to follow. There is some story narration which is done by Patrick Stewart and he even has a character in the game as well. The gameplay is back to the ol' action adventure style, they're finally giving the "stuck in Dracula's Castle SOTN action rpg" style a break, which is nice, it's good to get outside the castle every once in a while, just not like COD. However it does copy a lot of God Of War in regards to gameplay, so don't expect too much in originality there. I haven't played enough of it yet to justify a full opinion, but this was just what I think of it so far. There's still a lot of game left to change my opinion for better or worse.

I have completed the game and am now on my way to Platinium it. I got it on the PS3 since the reviews said it was the better version of the 2 (runs smoother than on the 360, mostly due to the fact the PS3 was the lead platform for it). The comparison to God of War3 as far as the gameplay is concerned is justified. That being said, I had more fun with Castlevania than with God of War 3 (and you should know that I had one heck of a good time with the God of War series). The battle engine is a bit more refined and there is a lot of moves made available to you via Experience unlocks. It can be repetitive if you just mash the buttons endlessly, but if you're playing on a higher difficulty level, Knight or Paladin) then pure button mashing won't be getting you far.

Visually, the game is quite impressive. There's a lot of diversity in the environments and no backtracking at all so in the 15-20 hours the game will take you to beat, you won't see the same things twice, except for monsters. That is where the game can get a bit repetitive. There is just not much of diversity when it comes to enemies and monsters. Lycans, vampires, Skeletons, goblins are the types of monsters you'll battle with during almost the entire game. With some rare appearances by wraith, small demons and some other oddities. This is one aspect I wish they'll improve for the sequel.

In conclusion, I think the game is very good. And it certainly offers a really good foundation from where they can and should build upon for upcoming 3D titles. The formula of the game is level based, similar to the earlier games in the series. My hope is that they will build upon what they have achieved here and get the formula more and more intricate and deeper, potentially reaching something similar to what they achieved in Symphony of the Night for the 2D formula. I'm not holding my breath on this one, and even if it doesn't get there, what they've done is good enough in my book.

Well, I thought it was fairly good, but nothing I got too excited about.

After all the talk, it wasn't that long a game after all (it just seems long, because the first couple of levels take forever). Once you beat the first of the Lords of Shadow, the game both speeds up and improves.

It's also not nearly as hard as people were saying. Being able to heal yourself pretty much all the time, along with the extremely generous checkpoints (you even get in the longer boss fights), makes it a case of when, not if you will complete the game (unlike say, Ninja Gaiden Black).

I wasn't much for the story, because the game only really has much story at the start and the end. You get a suppoesedly big revelation after meeting the first Lord of Shadow, then there are no further developments until the final chapter (a gap of about 9 chapters which are fairly standard 'Gabriel travels and kills the evil monsters).

The voice acting was very disappointing for the main characters. Patrick Stewart tries too hard to sound interested and Robert Carlyle doesn't try at all.

All of which probably makes it sound like I hated the game. But I didn't, because it was reasonably good fun throughout. Some issues with the story aside, it's probably the direction Castlevania needed to go in. And there were some great sequences (usually the boss fights).

But next time I hope they will have a hero who has a stronger personality (Gabriel is very easy to root for in the action sequences, less so in the talking scenes, as he's got no charisma at all).

And at the end of the day, it did feel a bit lightweight. Like it didn't really matter that much, which definately isn't the feeling I was hoping for with a Castlevania semi reboot.

Still well worth checking out, though.

Lords of Shadow Sequel Announced... (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6281674.html)

Here's a Fun yet Interesting Video that Manages to Address Everything I love and Loathe in the terms of gameplay about this Beautiful Series.

Sequelitis: Castlevania 1 vs. Castlevania 2 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aip2aIt0ROM)

While it's a comparison to CV1 and CV2, it manages to address about the strengths and weaknesses of the formula MetroidVania and ClassicVania.