Topic: Why a whip?

[theANdROId]

Has anyone ever wondered that?  Does anyone know if there was a reason the developers went with a whip?  I mean, the whip certainly doesn't seem to be a popular weapon.  It seems like it's always guns and swords, with a fair smattering of magic or staves or bow and arrows.  Don't get me wrong, I love it!  I just wonder sometimes.   

[Zetheraxza]

[crisis]

it could be somethign as simple as the original creator's (who is a mystery) favorite movie being Indiana Jones. Or that the time it takes after hitting the button and Simon reeling back & swinging adds a unique level of strategy to the game they were making that a sword or other weapon can't provide

[Dremn]

I remember reading somewhere that a sword was too hard for them to animate, so the idea of a whip eventually came from that.

[X]

Why a whip?

Why not. 

The whip is an awesome weapon that helped make Castlevania the unique series that it is today. To me it just feels right to use a whip whenever playing Castlevania. Sure I've used other weapons when playing the IGA games, but the whip itself is special to me. And It is an iconic weapon of choice for the series.

[jestercolony]

Well, I'm honestly not certain as to why Konami choose to use the whip as the main herald weapon of the famous Belmont Clan. But to my own speculation, that the whip itself (Vampire Killer) in lore is the Bane of the Night and the only weapon that can even harm Dracula. I believe that the whip is a form of symbolism of the whipping of Jesus Christ before he was nailed to the cross. Other then that, I really don't know.

Perhaps Konami saw that swords and or guns was basically a mundane thing and decided to go with the whip because it was something fresh and new at the time.

[Ratty]

I've wondered this question myself, there are a lot of places it could have come from and maybe it grew out of more than one source of inspiration. At first I thought Indiana Jones was probably the inspiration. But these days, while I don't dismiss Indie, I think it's more likely inspired by the female protagonist in the first Vampire Hunter D novel and film (which came out in 1985) she wielded a whip passed down to her from her father who had been a werewolf hunter. This taken together with some other things that really seem to be inspired by the first VHD movie makes a convincing argument to me.

Though wherever it came from the whip was a stroke of genius. Not only the delay but the length which varies with upgrades added extra layers of strategy to the game, something which would have* looked silly with a sword.

*And does with the Metroidvanias, though less so because obviously the graphics are above 8bit.

[Ahasverus]

Daddy issues

[shelverton.]

I remember reading somewhere that a sword was too hard for them to animate, so the idea of a whip eventually came from that.

I know absolutely nothing about animation, but that sounds really... backwards. A whip would arguably be harder to animate in a realistic way than a sword, at least back in those days. I guess it all depends on how the character swings the sword/whip though. Castlevania made it look really good without complicating things. Anyway, it would've be really easy to just give Simon a sword and animate it like in the first Zelda, which had little to no animation at all. It was just kinda... poking stuff.

[Dracula9]

YOU'RE TELLING ME NOBODY HAS POSTED THE ROBOT CHICKEN PARODY YET
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOZ1TdS72d4

But in seriousness, and Ratty beat me to it (*shakes fist*), I think one of the best theories is the Vampire Hunter D inspiration. Doris Lang could kick some serious ass with that whip. I mean, the technical issues of the time are undoubtedly a factor, but surely the inspiration played a large(r) role. Given the wow factor of Vampire Hunter D at the time (because that novella could hold its own even today), and the extremely close similarities and time windows of both it and Castlevania's debut, it's not a far cry to guess Doris' weapon of choice had a hand in it.

[Zetheraxza]

Maybe the original creator took a trip to the west and heard the phrase "imma. Whip the shit outta this mofo" and thought, why not?

[theANdROId]

Robot Chicken Parody = hilarious! X-D

Whatever their reason behind picking a whip over anything else, it's definitely my favorite pick.

[KaZudra]

Since the first CV game had some damn good inspiration, I'm going with Vampire Hunter D where the Hunter was equipped with a whip, that and All the stages were from Lupin III's Movie

[Shiroi Koumori]

I know absolutely nothing about animation, but that sounds really... backwards. A whip would arguably be harder to animate in a realistic way than a sword, at least back in those days. I guess it all depends on how the character swings the sword/whip though. Castlevania made it look really good without complicating things. Anyway, it would've be really easy to just give Simon a sword and animate it like in the first Zelda, which had little to no animation at all. It was just kinda... poking stuff.

If animating a whip is hard, then Konami just showcased that they are awesome enough to prove the naysayers wrong.

[theANdROId]

They are, indeed, awesome!  Now...if only they'd up the ante and chunk out a few more (knock your socks off style...or knock-your-whole-dang-outfit-off for that matter) Castlevania games in rapid succession!