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Offline Nagumo

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So in order to unlock the best ending in Aria, Soma has to be equipped with the Flame Demon, Giant Bat, and Succubus souls when fighting Graham. However, in the context of the game's story, what difference does this make? I think in all the other games it's pretty clear why peforming certain actions lead to different outcomes but here it seems completely arbitrary. As far as I know, it isn't explained in the game. Anyone got an idea?

Offline Dracula9

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because dracula's best three powers are fireballs, turning into a bat-creature, and lifesteal

graham was a scrub, he only had fireballs


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Offline AlexCalvo

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I always kind of felt that it was because they were representative of Dracula.  The fire demon and giant bay because duh.  And the Succubus because Dracula has always been portrayed as a seductive figure, and vampires in general are very sexual creatures.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13104670/1/Castlevania-Birth-of-the-Dragon

Dracula was not always a monster. He was once a man named Mathias Cronqvist. A flawed, conflicted, genius of a man. How did the educated, aristocratic, crusader who piously served the church become a vampire, and eventually the Dark Lord himself, the opposing force to God? From a very young age terrors and tragedy shaped the man into the king of all evil. This is his story.

Offline X

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Graham does mention -if you have said powers equipped- as to how Soma acquired those powers.

Graham "How did you come by those powers!?"

Soma "Those powers?"

Graham "I'm Dracula, and you're not the one!"

Though it seems minute if you have said powers Graham notices and thus when beaten, the game's true ending is assured. So long as you don't fail to sever the Chaos connection to the Castle that is.
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Offline redrum

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because dracula's best three powers are fireballs, turning into a bat-creature, and lifesteal

graham was a scrub, he only had fireballs
wow, that's actually a really solid answer.  gotta admit, i never gave it much thought.

Offline Dracula9

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And the Succubus because Dracula has always been portrayed as a seductive figure, and vampires in general are very sexual creatures.



yes dracula's a handsome boy but obviously more important aspect of succubus characteristics are obviously more important

and also just so it's completely clear as to why this shit's important

Quote from: Nagumo
but here it seems completely arbitrary. As far as I know, it isn't explained in the game.

those three souls as I mentioned are Big D's Big Three™

aria explains the whole "claiming the throne" rule and that theoretically anyone can do it but someone stronger can always usurp it

combine the "claim the throne, become master" rule with Big D's Big Three™ and hey look it's the literal reincarnation of dracula's soul and what do you get

literally dracula (in spirit at least) with Big D's Big Three™ claiming the throne and as a result going from "spirit of Big D in a rando kid's body" to "oh hey you have Big D's soul and Big D's Big Three™ and have claimed the throne of Big D's monster castle guess what bitches it's morphin' time only this time you get to keep your clothes and don't change into an obnoxiously bright-colored onesie"

why does this shit matter?

well something something plot progression something something "place which only you, dracula, can go" something something finish the 1999 job and cut chaos off at the source since nobody but dracula and the baddest old man on the planet can go through the door to get to chaos in the first place something something

so there ya go

it's not arbitrary at all really
« Last Edit: August 27, 2017, 10:53:33 PM by Dracula9 »


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Offline Nagumo

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I also noticed those souls have the same abilities as Dracula. However, I still don't really get it. Soma absorbs Dracula's powers if he has those souls equipped, but if he doesn't have them this doesn't happen for... some reason, I guess.

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Big D's Big Three™ sounds like...
a dollar menu combo meal...
from a burned up old restaurant...
in between two questionable porno shops...
and it's only open in the middle of the night, all run by this guy

-Big D?

Offline Dracula9

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I also noticed those souls have the same abilities as Dracula. However, I still don't really get it. Soma absorbs Dracula's powers if he has those souls equipped, but if he doesn't have them this doesn't happen for... some reason, I guess.

Nagu, girl, please tell me you're screwin' with me here

claiming the throne with Big D's Big Three™ while literally being dracula 2.0 tells the castle to give him all his memories and shit back

chaos and the castle are a long-lost dog

Big D's Big Three™ are the special call the dog's owner used to use

one day some dog-abusing shithead picks the dog up and tries to get it to listen to him at the local dogpark

but then the dog hears that special call from its original owner who wound up being there on a hunch

what's that dog gonna do but take off straight to the source of the call and reunite with the original owner

or in nonmetaphorical terms:

having Big D's Big Three™ and being dracula 2.0 make soma better equipped than literally anyone else to reclaim the throne from not-joel-osteen

killing the evil s'more cracker releases all the shit he'd taken into himself, only when it's dracula 2.0 with Big D's Big Three™ the castle recognizes that person as dracula, since presumably just being the reincarnated soul of mathias isn't enough to retake the throne

having the primary powers on top of the reincarnation is the last key in the door for the castle to go "AYY WAIT A MINUTE THERE'S DAD HI DAD" because in the castle's eyes dracula soul + dracula's big powers + killing the throneholder means dad's home
« Last Edit: August 28, 2017, 08:59:20 AM by Dracula9 »


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Offline Nagumo

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or in nonmetaphorical terms:

having Big D's Big Three™ and being dracula 2.0 make soma better equipped than literally anyone else to reclaim the throne from not-joel-osteen

killing the evil s'more cracker releases all the shit he'd taken into himself, only when it's dracula 2.0 with Big D's Big Three™ the castle recognizes that person as dracula, since presumably just being the reincarnated soul of mathias isn't enough to retake the throne

having the primary powers on top of the reincarnation is the last key in the door for the castle to go "AYY WAIT A MINUTE THERE'S DAD HI DAD" because in the castle's eyes dracula soul + dracula's big powers + killing the throneholder means dad's home

I suppose that makes sense if Dracula's castle has some sort of conscience (and I suppose there's evidence for this being the case).  Though I still a bit iffy on why this is. How did this end up happening? Did Dracula just wake up someday and decide to give his castle a conscience for some reason? For what purpose?

By the way, I  suppose I could take this thread as an oppurtinty to raise  a couple of questions about stories from other IGA games as well. 

Offline Dracula9

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i wouldn't really call it a "conscience"

it's why i used the dog metaphor--dogs have minds capable of processing thought and recognition, but we wouldn't consider them to be fully sentient


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Offline theplottwist

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I suppose that makes sense if Dracula's castle has some sort of conscience (and I suppose there's evidence for this being the case).  Though I still a bit iffy on why this is. How did this end up happening? Did Dracula just wake up someday and decide to give his castle a conscience for some reason? For what purpose?

I also think "conscience" is going a bit too far. A "will" is more like it, I think.

And, why else? Having your castle to the hard work of luring and killing hunters for you sounds like a good deal for a Dark Lord with more important stuff to do.

I mean, if I were Dracula, I very much would "program" my Demon Castle to assist on my daily activities. And, of course, "program" it to recognize ME when I show up to take its throne. Just in case. Dracula IS supposed to be a brilliant strategist, after all.
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Offline Nagumo

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I got another one:

So Barlowe wanted Shanoa to use Dominus on Dracula's seal and break it because it was the only thing powerful enough to accomplish this, right? But then Barlowe manages to accomplish this himself because Dracula gives him power from beyond the seal. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? The only thing I can think of is that Dracula wasn't aware Barlowe wanted to resurrect him until he told Shanoa.

Offline zangetsu468

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I got another one:

So Barlowe wanted Shanoa to use Dominus on Dracula's seal and break it because it was the only thing powerful enough to accomplish this, right? But then Barlowe manages to accomplish this himself because Dracula gives him power from beyond the seal. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? The only thing I can think of is that Dracula wasn't aware Barlowe wanted to resurrect him until he told Shanoa.

The resurrection was incomplete the way that it happened. I'm certain this was previously covered in at least one other thread.

Because Shanoa refused, Barlowe became enraged and tried beating Shanoa into submission. When this didn't work he pulled a Vegeta, which was the last ditch effort to try and release Dracula. He didn't just do this in the first place because he didn't need to, Shanoa was going to use Dominus (and die in the process) instead. 

Basically the Barlowe MO element is debatable. Majority believe Dracula was controlling Barlowe, Minority believe that Barlowe wanted to resurrect Dracula all along.

My belief is Barlowe planned for Dominus to break the seal, knowing it would take Shanoa's life. At that point, Barlowe himself (or another?) could've potentially been the host body or sacrifice completing Dracula's resurrection in full. Instead Dracula's soul escapes the seal of the vessel and his form resides in the underworld, albeit within Castlevania. As a comparison, this is different to the intro to Rondo, where a woman is sacrificed and Dracula materialises in the physical form instantaneously, and in COD Isaac was the host body.

Whatever one believes the reasoning behind Barlowe/ Dracula's resurrection, it was clear that things didn't go quite according to how they were first planned.
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Offline theplottwist

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So Barlowe wanted Shanoa to use Dominus on Dracula's seal and break it because it was the only thing powerful enough to accomplish this, right? But then Barlowe manages to accomplish this himself because Dracula gives him power from beyond the seal. Why didn't they just do that in the first place? The only thing I can think of is that Dracula wasn't aware Barlowe wanted to resurrect him until he told Shanoa.

I want to respond, but first I want you to clarify what do you mean by "Why didn't they just do that in the first place?". What is "that"?

Also, Dracula cannot be aware of who Barlowe is. At the end of the game he is surprised to realize that Shanoa is not his benefactor, indicating he has no idea about who revived him. Whatever happened in that scene, must be some kind of "automatic response" unrelated to Dracula's actual awareness.

« Last Edit: August 30, 2017, 04:32:22 PM by theplottwist »
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