Topic: Just Take a Look(Dracula X Chronicles XXX Info)

[DoctaMario]

In Reply To #9

Wow! Thanks for posting all of that! Lots of cool stuff, I'm looking forward to this game even more now! 

[crisis]

In Reply To #16
i'm ready to bust some vampire heads myself 

[Ed Oscuro]

CVIV came out a couple of years before it and IMO it does everything better.

this man speakest truth

Actually, I think I like Dracula X SNES marginally better as well!

Back on-topic, viral marketing campaign? O_o

[Long John Silver]

this man speakest truth

This man's eyes are also clouded by nostalgia.

Because while cv4 might have nicer atmosphere, it also feels kind of clunky (slow underanimated character and enemies), it's sprites are ugly and it has less replay value (1 character playing through the same levels with just more hp for enemies isn't exactly that much for replay value).

Sure, so nostalgia makes you see it as the greatest castlevania ever. However, it won't do the same to others who look at it objectively without bias.

[Donvermicelli]

I completly agree with the fact that the controllable whip was kickass and the rotating rooms were plain awensome, but I simply enjoyed DracX more. Don't know what it is but it really gave me the Castlevania feel.

[Steve]

I'm willing to forgive CVIV's lackluster animation for its incredible atmosphere.  It seriously feels like playing a silent movie.

I still think Rondo is the overall better game, though.

[awack]

CVIV does have good atmosphere but what i have found out over the years is when people are talking about games with good atmosphere they are talking about games with somber low key music plus dull murky graphics.

Due to this, most people are going to think that CVIV has better atmosphere than say POR or rondo, even though rondo and POR have better art work and animation.

[PFG9000]

This man's eyes are also clouded by nostalgia.

Because while cv4 might have nicer atmosphere, it also feels kind of clunky (slow underanimated character and enemies), it's sprites are ugly and it has less replay value (1 character playing through the same levels with just more hp for enemies isn't exactly that much for replay value).

Sure, so nostalgia makes you see it as the greatest castlevania ever. However, it won't do the same to others who look at it objectively without bias.

What?  We're talking about a game from 1991 vs one from 1993.  How can you blame appreciation of the one on nostalgia but not the other?  Even in the states, Rondo's been easily emulatable for 6-7 years or more.  It's seems you're really having trouble backing up your opinion.

[Steve]

CVIV does have good atmosphere but what i have found out over the years is when people are talking about games with good atmosphere they are talking about games with somber low key music plus dull murky graphics.

Due to this, most people are going to think that CVIV has better atmosphere than say POR or rondo, even though rondo and POR have better art work and animation.

Portrait of Ruin's artwork is, figuratively speaking, a pile of crap.

[awack]

Portrait of Ruin's artwork is, figuratively speaking, a pile of crap.

I didnt say if POR artwork was or was not a pile of crap, i just said it was better than CVIV.

[PFG9000]

CVIV does have good atmosphere but what i have found out over the years is when people are talking about games with good atmosphere they are talking about games with somber low key music plus dull murky graphics.

Due to this, most people are going to think that CVIV has better atmosphere than say POR or rondo, even though rondo and POR have better art work and animation.

From this we can determine what, class?  Exactly!  This gentleman has no clue what goes into atmosphere!

[awack]

From this we can determine what, class?

[The Silverlord]

For me, the atmosphere and immersion in Castlevania IV is where you actually slip into the game, become entrenched within it and suspend your belief in trivial things like the quality of the graphics and in-game music.

If you

[PFG9000]

Good atmosphere is related to just about every aspect of a game's production.  The graphics and music are the most obvious ones, but the believability of the game-universe and the degree to which the player can relate to the character are also pretty important.  Game "physics" have something to do with it too.

CV4 is a presented in a far more realistic way than Rondo.  The environments and characters/enemies look believable, realistic for their time, not cartoony.  And the music matches the look perfectly, which is vital to achieving the level of atmosphere in the game.  Yup, a lot of the music in CV4 is moody (but not low key!), and a lot of the visuals are dark (but not dull, not murky).  We're trekking through a possessed castle attempting to destroy the king of demons, after all.  I think it's only fitting that the atmosphere be this poignant, unless we want the game to come off as a bit of a spoof.

There's actually a great deal of upbeat, driving music in CV4.  Theme of Simon, Forest of Monsters, Pillared Corridor, Treasury Room, Bloody Tears, Beginning, and Vampire Killer are all pretty upbeat, though they still have a serious tone to them that matches the game.

As for the nostalgia thing, I don't see how we would be lauding CV4 out of nostalgia alone when we don't do the same for CV, CV2, CV3, CVA, CV:BR, and Bloodlines.  After all, I played CV and CV2 long before CV4.  While I didn't like CV2 much at the time, I adored CV1.  And a lot of the games I liked at the time haven't held up well for me today, like the Mega Man, Ghosts N Goblins, and Wizards and Warriors series.

[Ciaran]

Awesome stuff, thanks for posting this! Sadly, It'll be a while before I will have enough disposable income to shell out for this game and a PSP!

I really like Rondo and in some ways I think Rondo is better than CVIV, but there are certain elements to CVIV that really shine over CVIV. For one thing, I like the map and the varying terrain that gives you a good feel of traversing the countryside on your way to Dracula's Castle. The stages seem to coincide with where you are on the map, whereas in Rondo some stages don't seem to be congruous when you go from one to the other. This is something I think both Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness accomplished as well.