@Migami Games. I've been doing more reaction on X/Twitter and elsewhere with the recent trailer. I got a buddy of mine who's a streamer onboard and he's hyped now. I did see your messages here, though, and greatly appreciate them. I especially appreciate the insights and transparency you've given on this website.
You already know I'm all in.
I'm starting to contemplate if I need to get it for Switch AND PS5 now. I've been biding my time catching up on some Resident Evils I had missed and returning to Devil May Cry 1 and 3 for the first time some two decades (now in HD); all have been amazing experiences that surpassed my expectations...but also like appetizers for the Wolf that is coming. I did not mean to sound sarcastic with my comment about Switch 2 (which I got down-voted for here!), but I was trying to figure out how CotW was going to get a January/February release at that point, new publisher or not.
From an outside perspective, it's been amazing and surreal to see this hidden gem get more exposure, so I imagine it's even more rewarding from the inside. And while I have seen some snide comments about things like the walking cycle animation, please ignore the haters. They don't get it. (It's also sad to see that Lecarde Chronicles 2 is not as well known as I would have hoped...but then Castlevania in general is largely known as a Netflix animation these days.) I am wondering how much the input of a new publisher might have changed things in the game, but I trust the core vision is still there. It certainly looks like it from the trailer, and the old demo was already great.
By the way, during the delays, I played the Castlevania DS Collection. It'd been a long time since I played Dawn of Sorrow and I never got around to Order of Eccelsia, as I was burned out on Metroidvanias at the time of its release. Two things stuck out to me. Did Order of Ecclesia's Wygol Village and world map structure play into Lecarde Chronicles 1's design choices at all? (I always assumed Simon's Quest and Belmont's Revenge were the inspiration points for that in LC1.) Also, was Dawn of Sorrow's mirror traversal an inspiration point for the mirror world parts in Lecarde Chronicles 2?
Back to Wolf, I almost didn't want to watch the trailer...but I don't think it spoiled too much. I heard the game is very large, and some of what was in the trailer was in the demo, so I think I'll be okay. I saw in the trailer what I wanted. Puzzles, lots of platforming, and a variety of locations. And of course--ATMOSPHERE--visual and musical. (Someone noted on social media how your graphical style is like a painting turned into pixel art, and I agree. It just washes over you and doesn't feel overproduced or artificial. By the way, this game has A LOT of great promotional art behind it now. The last art to come out was cover-worthy already, and now we have more. Great stuff.
Interesting to see the air dash have that effect in front. I wonder if it creates a shield effect eventually. The warp effect is intense, and I love how it zooms in on the statues on the side when selecting an area. I saw the obligatory river guide, which get two thumbs up. I hope the game utilizes more ideas that were already in the Lecarde games so people can experience that vibe even as it expands outward.
I'm glad Bloodstained's Bloodless being in it gives the game some more reach, and the cameo looks well done, but no offense, I'm largely indifferent about it. I like your material all by itself and, no disrespect, I personally feel Lecarde Chronicles 2 was superior to Bloodstained. But I understand some need that push, and I hope they give it a chance. From my own creative endeavors in life, I've seen this weird thing where if you try to make something that's inspired by something (or several things), but isn't the same thing, people find a way to not explore it and stay entrenched in their own camp. Related to that, it was strange seeing even Bloodstained fans turn on Dominique's Curse, which I thought was among the best material to come out of Bloodstained so far. My only concern about Bloodless is if it breaks the fourth wall too much or if it is subtly included. Your games are so immersive that I'd hate for this to stick out and distract from the story/quest too much.
There is a rumor that a new Castlevania might be announced this year now. If so, I hope it's a 3D entry that builds off the vision of the N64 era and updates it because you've got nearly everything I'd want in the 2D realm for Castlevania except a whip and a grapple-swinging mechanic like Super Castlevania IV.
What more can I say? Congratulations! Seeing this kind of game take flight out there makes me feel good. CotW is directly in the vein of things I had hoped to make. With the June release, I may have to draw the Woman in Green at some point. And I am also contemplating going public with the mostly never-off-the-ground projects I spent the last few decades on. I never could get on the ground floor in the gaming industry and ended up investing my time in novels as a parallel track alongside being an educator. But I have a ton of design and story work done on a bunch of original IP since the N64 era that I'm just not sure what to do with at this point, despite my passion for it all. Here's a sampling of that:
All the best!
EDIT: Finally got the pic to attach after the full resolution wouldn't fit in either the image feature of this site or the attachment feature.
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