Topic: Konami: "Taking risks with CV prevented it from becoming another Megaman"

[beingthehero]

I just realized that CotM's composer, Sotaro Tojima, would've been pretty bummed by the last two CV's soundtracks.

Composer - Sotaro Tojima

Recently it seems that music in video games has become more ambient...when I composed the music of "Circle of the Moon ", I specifically concentrated more on their melody...this is my opposition against recent trends.

From here:
http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Media/cotmhod.html

[Flame]

If there are any more "modern" era, (or close it modern) CV  games, I think that's a time more ripe for female protagonists.

[DragonSlayr81]

I just realized that CotM's composer, Sotaro Tojima, would've been pretty bummed by the last two CV's soundtracks.
From here:
http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Media/cotmhod.html

I tip my hat to him. There's nothing wrong with ambient music, but I still prefer really melody driving music.

[C Belmont]

^Yes, it's not outright said so, but it's implied in such a way that there is no way around it.

There are other ways around it
The conversation  between Alucard & Sonia contains a good deal of talk about decisions and lessons so I don’t think it would be completely farfetched to speculate  that Sonia may only have seen  Alucard as a surrogate brother, mentor or father.

Also
I noticed the translation for the Japanese Manual on MrP's Castlevania Realm seems to say that Sonia was looking for her father when she met Alucard while the English manual says Alucard was looking for his father when he met Sonia does anyone know which one is correct?

[Koutei]

I noticed the translation for the Japanese Manual on MrP's Castlevania Realm seems to say that Sonia was looking for her father when she met Alucard while the English manual says Alucard was looking for his father when he met Sonia does anyone know which one is correct?

It's mistranslation.

http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Sonia_Belmont#Sonia's_father

[Maedhros]

My point in bringing up the combat in LoI was to say that the influence on LoS' combat didn't come out of left field. The system of combos and such, the button layout, etc, are similar. Sure there are GoW influences, no one's saying there aren't. But the combat engine itself is very similar to what was used in LoI. That's the point I was trying to make.

I also wasn't saying that LoS should be completely separated from the previous games, and it's not if you know the influences. But like I said, it WAS classified as a reboot, so obviously it's going to be quite a bit different from its predecessors, regardless of what kinds of name-checking they do of previous games/characters. The reason it doesn't feel like anything you've played in Castlevania before is because it plays quite a bit like the previous 3D installments in many ways. Games you admittedly don't like and probably haven't spent much time on, which is why I imagine a lot of the elements of LoS seem alien to you.

It sounds to me like you don't really like 3D action games, and that's fine. But it would be like me going in and saying how terrible I think Final Fantasy games are when I'm not really all that into RPGs. In my mind, LoS is the best 3D 'vania we've gotten to date, and the 64 games are among my favorite games of all time. Is LoS the most original game ever created? No. But they did a good job of taking elements used in previous CV games and melding them with new and different influences, which is exactly what Symphony did, and exactly what LoI did.

LOL, I've finished every Castlevania game out there (exception: Order of Shadows - EDIT: And now Mirror of Fate).Your assumption is wrong. I like 3D action games, when they are done well. When they are coming from a 2D entry, they need to pass the formula well. Mario 64, for example, did it extremely well, IMO. Castlevania 64? Lol.
So yeah, it didn't feel like any other Castlevania game at all. All these elements I don't like are prominent in games like God of War, Uncharted, etc (games that I actually finished too). The only elements from the older games LoS have are names.

Yoy're actually right when you say that LoS is the best 3D entry of the series... the previous ones were simply a lot worse. But at least they felt more like Castlevania to me than LoS.

[Pfil]

I just realized that CotM's composer, Sotaro Tojima, would've been pretty bummed by the last two CV's soundtracks.
From here:
http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Media/cotmhod.html

That's one hell of a composer. CotM's soundtrack is one of the best.
My BIGGEST wish for the future of Castlevania, whatever happens with the rest, if I had to decide just ONE thing and nothing more, is to have again Castlevania signature music back.

[Nagumo]

I'm not actively advocating for female Belmonts or anything like that, but if the big issue that prevents the developers from implementing this concept is the inability to pass on family name and the whip, then don't consider me impressed. I mean come on, they're the frigging Belmonts. Why would they care about gender norms?  Besides, why does it have to be roadblock? Just have this hypothetical character be the heir to the name and whip anyway. No player is going to prostest or get upset when that happens. It's just fiction. Not to mention, they don't have to be in your face about it. It's not an issue until you consider it to be one

[DoctaMario]

LOL, I've finished every Castlevania game out there (exception: Order of Shadows - EDIT: And now Mirror of Fate).Your assumption is wrong. I like 3D action games, when they are done well. When they are coming from a 2D entry, they need to pass the formula well. Mario 64, for example, did it extremely well, IMO. Castlevania 64? Lol.
So yeah, it didn't feel like any other Castlevania game at all. All these elements I don't like are prominent in games like God of War, Uncharted, etc (games that I actually finished too). The only elements from the older games LoS have are names.

Yoy're actually right when you say that LoS is the best 3D entry of the series... the previous ones were simply a lot worse. But at least they felt more like Castlevania to me than LoS.

My assumption came from you posting that you didn't like any of the 3D CV games. It's one thing to finish a game, but another thing to actually KNOW it. There are plenty of elements of the older games evident in LoS if you know the history and the influences, but I can see we're just going to have to agree to disagree here.

[Nagumo]

Also, this is a transcript of how I feel an average player will react when asked about his feelings about a new Belmont protagonist who also turns out to be a woman:

Is she hot? No seriously bro, is she hot?

[Pfil]

I think the average player also don't want a woman as a lead character, because they want to imagine they actually are the character on the screen. We all do that as players in a way or another, but I don't have any problem with a male lead.
It's just that it bothers me a little to have so few female protagonists outside of JRPG's.

[DoctaMario]

Well, you have to figure that most of the people playing these games ARE guys, so the devs are going to want to cater to them as much as possible. Not saying it's right, but I understand, especially when budgets are as big as they are and one massive flop can mean a studio has to close up shop.

[Pfil]

That's true, but I guess it wouldn't be much trouble to make one female playable character, at least as a DLC or an unlockable extra.
That would still be relegating female characters to a secondary place, but at least I'd get to play as a girl.

[A-Yty]

Also, this is a transcript of how I feel an average player will react when asked about his feelings about a new Belmont protagonist who also turns out to be a woman:

Name one ugly Belmont. Male or female.

That is not gender-specific. It's simply rare to see ugly or average looking protagonists.

[Successor The Cruel]

I'm not actively advocating for female Belmonts or anything like that, but if the big issue that prevents the developers from implementing this concept is the inability to pass on family name and the whip, then don't consider me impressed. I mean come on, they're the frigging Belmonts. Why would they care about gender norms?  Besides, why does it have to be roadblock? Just have this hypothetical character be the heir to the name and whip anyway. No player is going to prostest or get upset when that happens. It's just fiction. Not to mention, they don't have to be in your face about it. It's not an issue until you consider it to be one

So, your reasoning is that we just... ignore everything just for the sake of having a girl? With all due respect, you can color me unimpressed as well.

Again, I'd like to reiterate that I don't have any problems with female leads. If they are to be done, I think they should just... uhm... make sense. If a female Belmont is used (especially in ancient Europe), to get her to make sense and not leave everyone (those who care, at least) scratching their heads, one would have to bring out the fact that she is a female. It would have to be an issue in the story. While that wouldn't be the biggest crime in the world, I preferred how gender wasn't an issue with Shanoa. The story did not focus on that, and her character wasn't largely shaped by her being a female. She just... happened to be that way. I thought that was very graceful.

It's sort of like how in Night of the Living Dead, a 1968 horror film, the lead character, Ben, is a black man. That was never an issue in the story. I don't even recall it being brought up once. That didn't shape his character. I would personally prefer things to be handled that way, unless, of course, the story is about a black guy being black, or a girl being a girl, but I really don't look for Castlevania to delve into things like that.

I mean, I wouldn't make a massive fuss if Konami just said to hell with everyone, make the Belmont a girl and let the fans figure it out on their own. I just wouldn't do that myself when there are other comfortable options, like Shanoa, Charlotte, and so on.