Topic: Which Castlevania(s) do you feel is/are the most underrated?

[Ratty]

With an active history of more than two decades and so many titles under it's belt, Castlevania is a series with it's fair share of games not given their fair shake by the general public. This has happened for a variety of reasons, from popular misconceptions about a title or merely obscurity or rarity of a particular game. So what entries in the series do you feel are unfairly overlooked or even condemned by the public at large, and why do you think they were/are?


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For me, as most people could probably guess, the answer is Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness and Castlevania Legends. LoD is about as close to a Classicvania as you could get in 3D without becoming overly frustrating or running into common problems associated with that dimensional jump. It's got a great story, great characters, terrific art direction and smooth controls. Even today it's visually appealing with a great deal of variety and replay value. It's just a gorgeous game in all respects in my opinion, and one of the best on the N64.
I like the story of Legends, the Belmonts being descended from Dracula is just a great concept to my mind. It extends the fascinating motif found in SOTN to all of the Belmonts after Sonia. That the eternal struggle between good and evil is between sire and offspring; the sins of the father and the eternal struggle to overcome the faults of one's progenitors while recognizing and being empowered by the positive (and powerful) things inherited from them. The gameplay wasn't bad, it was a solid Castlevania game. A step down from Belmont's Revenge but I blame most of that on the fact that the dev team was forced to add in Super Gameboy "enhancements". Not to mention they were developing for a system that was fairly outdated in 1997, but which Konami was I suppose newly interested in with the explosion in popularity of Pokemon that rocketed the little grey brick back into the popular consciousness.

Both of these games had the misfortune to follow Symphony of the Night, which for many in the general public was Castlevania. I feel they were both unfairly hated because they were Classicvania when most of said gaming public were expecting 3D and hand-held SOTN respectively. And the sense I get is that many reviewers seemed to feel that anything that was not Metroidvania for the series was a step backwards/in the the wrong direction. Which reinforced a negative perception of these games that lasts to this day. Added to this was that both games were released in somewhat limited quantities in North America and are now rare, and that many consumers who would have liked LoD were already burned by the, let's face it, incomplete experience of CV64.

PS - CV64 itself seems to have gotten a new wave of flack after a factually inaccurate review by the Angry Video Game Nerd a few years ago, which I'm sure you've all seen. But eh it's the AVGN, complaining about it would be like fussing at the weather, it does what it does.

[Raxivace]

I almost want to say Castlevania II: Simon's Quest since I do think that there are some incredibly interesting ideas in that game. I just think the NES wasn't the best system that they could have been executed on, for a variety of gameplay and cultural reasons.

[Thomas Belmont]

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest is definitely underrated.

[Flame]

I really feel like saying Bloodlines... If only because it's the odd man out on the Genesis, a system that not many Castlevania fans probably had at the time, since up 'till then, CV was on the NES and SNES mostly.

Unless they were Sonic fans too, in which case they might have had a Genesis.

But nowadays, with the powers of emulation, by no means is it underrated, it definitely gets its dues.

Yeah CV: 2 is kinda underrated. but for good reason, considering how difficult it is to progress in a plain vanilla copy of the game without Nintendo Power.

[X]

For me I feel that Legends, CVII and CV64/LoD are underrated.

Castlevania Legends is still an interesting game for me. But I think it could've been better. That is of course if it came out for, say the Gameboy color or the Advance. Either of these would give Legends much better treatment then what was presented. The story elements could have also been extended somewhat as I felt the game kind of rushed the story and they could've used story cut-scenes after a stage was completed to help move things along more smoothly.

Castlevania 2 is THE CV game I started with when introduced to the series for the first time. It holds a special place in my heart and I still enjoy it to this day. Even with all its flaws the game holds up fairly well considering.

CV64/LoD. Back when SotN was still very fresh in my mind and I couldn't wait till then next big 2D CV game, these 2 N64 titles hit the market and I had felt let down big time. Of course that was before LoI, CoD and LoS were introduced and now because of those titles, I can finally see CV64/LoD in a whole new and very accepting light. The story, gameplay, atmosphere, music, graphics all lend themselves to make an exceptional game that I just couldn't see until much, much later on and I feel it is my one great regret. For me these two N64 titles are the epitome of the 3D Castlevanias' and should they ever get the chance to be revisited for a much needed update then I won't hesitate to buy them again.

[Raxivace]

Yeah CV: 2 is kinda underrated. but for good reason, considering how difficult it is to progress in a plain vanilla copy of the game without Nintendo Power.

Oh yeah, for sure.

The idea of the villagers all being liars too just seemed like too bold of a thing for an NES game in the late 80's.

[Vampire Killer]

I'd have to say Rondo. Great game, and while most Cv favs like it, it wasn't until recently that it came out on a system that more than five people owned.

Castlevania XX is also underrated imo. Probably one of the most difficult in the series.

[knightmere]

Rondo of Blood is certainly not underrated. It was widely praised even when it was first released over seas.  If you want to talk about a great Castlevania that is underrated my pick would be Bloodlines.   It is always seems to be in the shadow of Super Castlevania IV being it was released right in the heat of the 16-bit war between the SNES and Genesis.  Dracula XX is widely considered to be an inferior version of Rondo and for good reason.  So I don't believe it is underrated at all.  The only saving grace is the soundtrack IMO.

[Nagumo]

 I would say CVA because it has good design, an amazing soundtrack and a very interesting and unique take on the Castlevania universe.

[e105beta]

I'd say Harmony of Dissonance. Get's a really bad rap, but it was a really good game.

[Omegasigma]

CV64 was one of the best in the series imo, in terms of layout etc, sure it wasnt the biggest castle in the series, but it was very satisfying games for me

Judgment would be another underated,game, sure it has flaws, but the wii never had ways to address bugs, no patching etc, unless done via mods, the game has if not one of the best soundtracks in the series, the character designs if one can look past them, is what really urked alot of fans

[Francis]

CV64 & LoD for sure.

[Harrycombs]

Definitely CV64. The only part of the game that I didn't like was the nitro. It was a fantastic take on the Castlevania series and was true to the series' roots. I'm also sad to see how many casual fans didn't like DXC. I guess its not possible to pull many of those people into the classic style, especially since DXC was by far the easiest Classicvania. In a way, the classic games in general seem to be underrated by everyone that is not a hardcore fan.

[Munchy]

Gotta give another vote to CVA.

[Lumas]

Castlevania 64 and Castlevania LOD. Honorable mention is Castlevania Legends. Im not gonna go into detail on my choices here I think everyone has explain why these games are underrated, plus is my personal opinion.