Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Classic Castlevania Threads => Topic started by: Trevorcard on August 03, 2013, 01:14:52 AM
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I been playing Order of Ecclesia recently and I bought initially due to hype surrounding it as a worthy successor of Symphony of Night and return to form for Metrovania games. For the first couple of days I wasn't feeling it be due to the dull protagonist, ho-hum plot or the magnetic glyph mechanic takes some time to get use to. After playing it a bit I started to get into rhythm and I began to enjoy it way more. Have any of you guys ever played Castlevania game that you dismissed at first but as you played more of it started to get into it and appreciate it more?
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I was always so SUPER excited with any CV game that I never felt that, though there was one time when I acquired Portrait of Ruin together with Dawn of Sorrow, and since my brother played DoS first, I went for PoR.
Pretty much everyone here know by now that PoR totally blew my mind, so, adding that to the fact that Aria of Sorrow also totally blew my mind, the fact that I played DoS after my favourite game ever and the fact that I consider it an inferior sequel, I kind of felkt dissapointed until half way through the game.
I didn't like the touch screen gimmicks either (I liked them in Sister and Albus Modes in PoR and OoE respectively, though).
But then the game started with all its magnificent music themes in the second half, and the beautiful scenarios and all that extras like the occult periodics and that, and so it totally got me and I became fascinated like with every other CV game.
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I hate to say it but initially I really didn't like HoD... now it's one of my favourite episodes. Love the music, the graphics and the eerie atmosphere throughout the whole game. It's really just a cheap copy of SotN but it has something special.
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Yes, the atmosphere is unique on that game, and music helped with its weirdness.
I didn't like the soundtrack at first, and it took me a lot of time until I figured out what the composer tried to do.
Then, I liked it, and now I can't imagine HoD without its soundtrack.
Offense and Defense is one of my rare favourite tracks from CV :)
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PoR came off really campy to me, but grew to be my favorite of the DS games.
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HoD and Adventure, for sure. I remembered HoD as somewhat dull, and the castle being a chore to venture through for some reason, but then I played it again and enjoyed it quite a bit. Adventure...I just remember thinking about all of the faults that everyone else finds with it, but just the same as HoD, I enjoyed it the second time I played through it.
Curse of Darkness even grew a bit on me, and it's probably my least favorite. First time I beat it was without 100% completion, so I decided to give it another chance a few years back. I liked it more the second time around, but started getting really sick of it by the time I was almost done.
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cv2
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LoS
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The opposite happened where I ended up hating a quarter of the games as time passed on.
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Okay, thats the time in that I will be crucified: CotM. I've avoided this title for so many time and only finished it in my Wii, this game is very unforgiving at the beggining compared to another metroidvanias (Im looking at you elemental demons, especially the earth demon at the beggining) that I despised this game at first.
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especially the earth demon at the beggining
I'm using this one to quick level up in the beginning of the game.
For me it's legends, but after saw a friend of mine playing it and getting obsessed with it, i decided to give it another try.
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Castlevania III. I wanted CVII. It wasn't at the store I shopped at, so I bought CVIII instead. Got my ass handed to me at the early levels. So I never played it again until I started hacking it. Now I love it.
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This one's real easy; Castlevania 64. SotN had only been out for about a year? Two years maybe? And I was eagerly awaiting for another 2D CV blockbuster to tear into. But then low and behold Castlevania 64 was announced and it was a fully 3D rendered game. At the time I couldn't help but feel betrayed by this choice that Konami decided upon. But once I started to play it, it began to grow on me and to this day, despite all it's flaws it is the best of all the 3D Vanias that have ever been released. The only game that has not grown on me obviously is LoS.
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Order of Ecclesia is odd. It's the one game in the series I have never had any real love or affection for, and I heavily doubt that I ever will.
That said, I initially didn't like Harmony of Dissonance very much. I found the graphics cartoony (my initial meeting was the Castlevania Double Pack on GBA SP, so bear in mind I was watching it with the screen light on all the time), the music grating on my ear-parts, and the story cliche.
Now it may be one of my top 3 Castlevanias, though it will never be the top.
It's still a superb turnaround of opinion for me, because I was able to eventually appreciate that it sort of represented everything Castlevania had been up to that point: a Belmont protagonist using the whip, the Metroidvania play style, yet with some old-school-like stages that were a tad bit more linear than the rest of the game, some old bosses come back to bug you once more (the Giant Vampire Bat, Skeleton Knight, Legion, and the Minotaurs spring to mind), Ayami Kojima's weirdly effeminate men (the series will just never be what it used to be without them!), a simple, uncomplicated plot to move things along, cute, weird, and funny easter eggs scattered throughout the game, and of course, Dracula (kinda) at the end of it all, with an unlockable character (or two) to serve as a reward for a Dracula killed, a damsel saved, and a job well done.
In short, that game is TEXTBOOK Castlevania. Possibly the most textbook Castlevania ever.
I love that game so very dearly.
It just took me a while to realize it.
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HoD for me. I'm like c'mon this guy just glides everywhere man.... But then I realized after a while how easy this made the game so it grew on me big time. Sucks he needed a spellbook to perform a tackle tho
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I dismissed Legends due to all the negativity that seems to surround the game, but the more I played it the more I liked it. Is it as good as Belmont's Revenge? No, but it has it's own unique charm and is still a really great game imo. The only thing that holds it back is the graphical limitations, which I lay at the feet of Konami deciding to stuff pointless Super Gameboy features on.
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LoS
Yeah, I'd say this.
I think I'd say OoE too. When it was leaked at first my reaction was "Oh another DS one, that's cool I guess," and the monastery level kind of put me off at first. But I grew to like the challenge and how magic stuff was done.
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned Judgment, Order of Shadows and Harmony of Despair.
Could it be that those games didn't grow on anyone?
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In my case I never dismissed them, they are good, even OoS if we consider its for a cellphone.
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In my case I never dismissed them, they are good, even OoS if we consider its for a cellphone.
I particularly dismissed all 3 of them at the beginning, but they catched me eventually. First, with the soundtrack, and then with the look and stories (Judgment) and some character designs, and the gameplay and fan service (HD).
I can't say the same about OoS, though. I'm still waiting for it to be remade for a proper platform, phones from that time were terrible at playing games that featured a little complexity (not so much for Tetris and the likes).
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Both Harmonies. Dissonance for all the reasons said thus far (music, graphics, etc), Despair for not being a Dissonance sequel.
...I keed. Despair for being a gimmicky mashup of the last ten years of Vania. I still think it is, but I've mellowed out a bit now that I've actually gotten to play it for myself.
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned Judgment, Order of Shadows and Harmony of Despair.
Could it be that those games didn't grow on anyone?
When I played Harmony of Despair, I hated it even more.
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Both Harmonies. Dissonance for all the reasons said thus far (music, graphics, etc), Despair for not being a Dissonance sequel.
...I keed. Despair for being a gimmicky mashup of the last ten years of Vania. I still think it is, but I've mellowed out a bit now that I've actually gotten to play it for myself.
On PC HoD graphics look awful, but they look really great on a GBA/NDS (the first NDS is a the best option).
CV:HD, yeah, it's what you said, it's not even a good game, but for some reason I've played it for several hours and it was fun to do. I just can't dislike a CV game if the look and music fits right.
When I played Harmony of Despair, I hated it even more.
Hahaha! I'm aware of its lack of popularity. I kind of enjoy it, but it's not on my CV top list, either.
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned Judgment, Order of Shadows and Harmony of Despair.
Could it be that those games didn't grow on anyone?
But those 3 are irredeemable :-X Add Haunted Castle too.
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I honestly can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed CVHD since I got it. I never expected it to make sense simply because it would be hard for a book (Grimoire) to tie centuries of vampire hunters together. I love being able to haul ass and play CV with friends even with the 30 minute time constraints. I don't believe it should be discredited because it didn't follow tradition. I say it's a win for them because whenever I get online it takes no time for 6 people from all over to shred the gnar 8)
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I honestly can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed CVHD since I got it. I never expected it to make sense simply because it would be hard for a book (Grimoire) to tie centuries of vampire hunters together. I love being able to haul ass and play CV with friends even with the 30 minute time constraints. I don't believe it should be discredited because it didn't follow tradition. I say it's a win for them because whenever I get online it takes no time for 6 people from all over to shred the gnar 8)
Yep I have no problem helping either.
As for not liking a cv at first I really cannot say for me it's more so disliking over time
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I didn't like Harmony of Dissonance when it first came out, something about it was off (it was most likely the music, I dunno) but I went back to it a few years ago and completed it and I ended up liking it. Not as much as CotM and AoS but it was ok.
The music quality still sucks though. (Thank Jorge that he remastered some of the better tracks of the game.)
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LoS
I totally forgot about this. Should've added it.
But then I realized that deep-down, as much as I came to enjoy LOS from a gameplay perspective... part of me feels (or is that knows?) it's not truly a Castlevania game. :-\
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But those 3 are irredeemable :-X Add Haunted Castle too.
None of that 4 games are on the top of my CV list, to be honest. They are near the bottom, because the other games in the franchise are so, so excellent!
But personally, I find the looks, some character designs, some funny bits about boobs and especially the soundtrack the redeeming qualities of Judgment.
And I find the soundtrack and the possibility of playing again as some favourite characters the redeeming qualities of Harmony of Despair.
I voted for Haunted Castle as my least favourite CV traditional game in the poll, but it's pretty awesome for what it is: an arcade game from 1.987 (probably the best looking arcade game and one of the best arcade soundtracks), and an incredibly challenging Castlevania game (not unbeatable today, with the existance of Version K, which is easier, the fact that multicredits gives you more energy, and, if all that doesn't help, you can always save states).
I didn't find a redeeming quality, however, about Order of Shadows, with the exception of the final stage music, which I don't know if it's original or if it's a classical composition they just used, because it's so different from the rest of the game.
I still am waiting for it to be remade, though, since something good might come out from the general idea, with improved looks and music.
not truly a Castlevania game. :-\
Hail to that :)
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it's not truly a Castlevania game. :-\
Hail to that :)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.destructoid.com%2F%2Ful%2F240490-oh_you_super.jpg&hash=43facc4dfd0f0705fe5bb8e50e6aa547)
Anyway, agreed. But if we continue this conversation we will enter in the same giant conversation again doesnt you think?
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(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.destructoid.com%2F%2Ful%2F240490-oh_you_super.jpg&hash=43facc4dfd0f0705fe5bb8e50e6aa547)
Anyway, agreed. But if we continue this conversation we will enter in the same giant conversation again doesnt you think?
Haha! Ok, let's continue the original topic, or if we must derail it let's do it by talking about H-games ;)
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Ok then, someone have a link to Unholy Sanctuary? lol
On-topic: no one said anything about Vampire Killer for MSX or Tiger Eletronics Simon's Quest, really?
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I totally forgot about this. Should've added it.
But then I realized that deep-down, as much as I came to enjoy LOS from a gameplay perspective... part of me feels (or is that knows?) it's not truly a Castlevania game. :-\
Yup, it's a good action game. I approach it thinking it's a generic action game (as in a new IP) and try not to cringe with the history or names being thrown there. Or the shitty platforming.
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On-topic: no one said anything about Vampire Killer for MSX or Tiger Eletronics Simon's Quest, really?
Probably because not many have actually played them?
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The MSX Castlevania is a terrible, terrible game. I finished it only with savestates and in the end it wasn't that fun at all... =/
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I have to say, any Classicvania game I played over the years. My first Castlevania games were Metroidvanias so the broken knees, one-second delays whippin' and onceyoujumpyouhavecommitteditandnogoing back jumping turned me off, but I grew to love them for what they were and the challenge it gave.
Honestly speaking though, If it weren't for LoS, I wouldn't have looked back at the classic games. In my opinion, LoS true did give me the feel of the Classic Games regardless of it having the Classic Castlevania in the game which most fans complain about.
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Good to see you back here.
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Yup, it's a good action game. I approach it thinking it's a generic action game (as in a new IP) and try not to cringe with the history or names being thrown there. Or the shitty platforming.
It would have been as OK game with some nice scenery and good story if it hadn't had Castlevania on the title.
My opinion today would be different. I still wouldn't like the music, though. But I wouldn't hate it so much, either, because I never would have thought about CV music while playing.
On-topic: no one said anything about Vampire Killer for MSX or Tiger Eletronics Simon's Quest, really?
I never got the chance of playing any of the Electronic games (Simon's Quest or SotN).
But I did played the MSX game, and I thought it was OK. It's kind of a the first little step of Castlevania in the direction of games focusing on exploration. It didn't work that much on that one, but it established an idea that perhaps influenced Simon's Quest being born later. And then, many years later, Rondo kind of continued that trend, until Symphony arrived and changed it all.
I didn't read anything about how the game was received back in 1986, however.
For me, though I prefer the exploration games, in this case I prefer CV 1, because the MSX version's approach kind of takes away some of the CV 1 feeling of the NES. It's a little boring to have to find all that little keys sometimes.
And the jazzy theme at the ending is cool, but not very Castlevania-like in my opinion.
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Oh forgot to mention Lament of Innocence here. Though the "soon" part doesn't really apply since I really disliked the game for a few years and tried to play it a few times. Then the last time I did it clicked and I enjoyed it. Still not as good as the 64 titles but an alright game with good music.
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Curse of Darkness. When I first played it, I was almost bored to tears by the cave section in the Abandoned Castle. But by the time I got to that stage's end boss, I just grew to love slashing everything and sending blood and bones everywhere. It was by far the most mindless of all Castlevania games, but there was just something addictive about hacking your way through hordes of enemies. It had legitimately great bosses, too, and one of the greatest Dracula fights besides OoE.
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When I first played CoD I only liked the soundtrack. I expected another LoD but instead I got something else.
I didn't even finished it. I left in the final stage.
On a 2nd playthrough, though, I earned all the extras and everything the games have available, and I really enjoyed the aesthetic, one of the most beautiful worlds I've ever seen in a game.
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When I first played CoD I only liked the soundtrack. I expected another LoD but instead I got something else.
I didn't even finished it. I left in the final stage.
On a 2nd playthrough, though, I earned all the extras and everything the games have available, and I really enjoyed the aesthetic, one of the most beautiful worlds I've ever seen in a game.
Couldn't agree more.
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I never really approached any Castlevania game with dislike (so there are quite a few "games I liked at first but soon grew to dislike") but Castlevania 64 was highly dissatisfying and awkward the first few times, which encompassed only the first few levels.
There was no music (blasphemy in the Castlevania world) and when there was it was overly simple and unmelodic (equal or worse blasphemy), the camera was mentally challenged, the platforming was tedious rather than fun, Bloody Tears was present for all of about 5 seconds (which is not only blasphemy but a giant tease), and the 3D was sometimes disorienting and confusing.
Then I discovered the Villa and would have been elated if the whole rest of the game took place in a larger version of that stage. Then I discovered the Castle Center and felt the designers were getting a LOT closer to "what Castlevania should be", again finding myself wanting that stage to be the rest of the game. Over time, I grew to accept the faults and differences and just enjoy the game - but not without feeling it wasn't a Castlevania game.
A few years later, I was introducing Castlevania to my then-girlfriend game by game, and of course we eventually got around to 64. This time through, after pointing out some of my issues with it, I experienced not only some nostalgia for the better parts but also a sense of the game through the eyes of a Castlevania fan and a horror movie buff (those being hers) and really, really enjoyed myself.
A few years later, I lost my N64, due to not labeling my "going to storage" box as such and having it get thrown out instead - along with several other systems. I wasn't incredibly worried since most of my games were on the Gamecube or Virtual Console...but then I remembered the Castlevania games and downloaded some emulation stuff for the PC. For the first stage or two, I had some kind of schoolgirlish glee over having my lost games reproduced so beautifully without the real hardware. The glee managed to go on for a while, at which point I realized I was 5 stages in and the emulation accuracy novelty had worn off - I was actually enjoying the game A LOT. More than I even thought I would. Part of it was nostalgia, part was the accuracy, part was the horror-movie-esque vibe, part was that I'd recently experienced Curse of Darkness for the first time and was glad to not be playing that again, and part was knowing that even years later, the game was still one of a kind and would probably never be duplicated with spiritual successors or even released on Virtual Console - this was it, the one and only. And I was damn proud to have experienced it when it was current, in its 1999 context, and without any expectations built up from years of MetroidVanias and series plot messes - in 1999, I'd had zero exposure to the online fan community and wouldn't even play Symphony of the Night for two or three more years yet. My last Castlevania was Dracula XX. Point being, the nostalgia I felt emulating wasn't just a "glimpse into the past" "retro" kind of thing, or nostalgia for that period in my life, but a "this thing will only ever happen once and I was there when it happened" feeling.
Now it's one of my favorite Castlevania games and I'm of the opinion that it was the only 3D 'vania to "get it right", in spite of its camera with a single-digit IQ. I've found I even prefer 64 to LoD - not just because of level layouts or music versions, but right down to the inferior graphics and clunkier camera. There's just something about that specific combination of elements that brings me all of the above feelings where even Reinhardt's quest in LoD just doesn't as much. I actually bought LoS on Day 1 (soundtrack CD and all) because Cox's advertising gave the impression it was essentially Castlevania 64 with modern graphics and much more classic Castlevania feel; then I played LoS for half an hour and felt thoroughly let down and betrayed because it -wasn't- like 64. At all. (Bear in mind I'd also just had my first experience with God of War not even 48 hours before my first experience with LoS, driving the betrayal deeper.) It's been said that LoS "alienated" old fans - compared to the expectation of a new CV64, LoS felt -extremely- alien to me. But I digress.
That, I'd say, is basically the extreme of "dismissed at first but grew to like" - I went from being among the "this isn't a Castlevania game" crowd to "this is the best and only true 3D Castlevania" over the course of 10 years.
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Nice read! :)
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Thanks! It's nice to be getting respect from you in particular - I don't post much (if any), but I've read tons of your posts and tend to respect and/or agree with them (especially the ones comparing LoS's music to the old stuff). I was actually watching a longplay of Portrait of Ruin the other day and earned a new respect for it from all the love you seem to have for it - It's still not my favorite or anything, but I see it differently now; so thanks for the input. :p
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Only CV Adventure and Bloodlines. CVA was a royal pain in the ass till I finally learned how to land jumps in the game (still suck at the game though). Sure it's ploddingly slow, but the music is ace, plus it is one of the first GB titles when the system came out, Konami may not have been familiar with the hardware yet, look at Belmont's Revenge to see it didn't take them long to learn.
Bloodlines, wellll I was a Nintendo kid growing up (after my Atari 2600 days of the late 70's to mid 80's), and I didn't care for Sega at that time. I laughed at screenshots in EGM and Gamepro at the time simply because I thought it and Contra Hard Corp didn't look all that hot. Things changed when my cousin brought me over to his house to beat the Tower of Pisa level, mind you I never touched the game before in my life till then. Not only did I clear the stage, I aced the Gargoyle without being hit, needless to say he was stunned I did something he couldn't do. Long story short in 1998 I bought my first Genesis, a model 2, and bought the Majesco re-releases of Bloodlines and Hard Corp. It was then I realized I was wrong all those years about Sega hardware (and being 23 at that time helped) and started enjoying both games. I felt Bloodlines was a return to an older style of CV, stuff we saw in CV1 and 3 with some changes and stuff brought over from SCV 4 (whip swinging). Some familiar enemies looked a little different, but I managed to recognize them (though the Bone Pillar Dragons sure looked the same, the bastards) and enjoy the game even more.
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Thanks! It's nice to be getting respect from you in particular - I don't post much (if any), but I've read tons of your posts and tend to respect and/or agree with them (especially the ones comparing LoS's music to the old stuff). I was actually watching a longplay of Portrait of Ruin the other day and earned a new respect for it from all the love you seem to have for it - It's still not my favorite or anything, but I see it differently now; so thanks for the input. :p
Thanks to you, I feel flattered! :)
I'm glad I contributed to the appreciation of my favourite CV!
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Probably CV64. Only reason I didn't like it because I thought it looked dumb. Mind you CV64 was my first real experience with the series. I knew what Castlevania was but didn't bother with any of the games. Anywho I now think it's one of the most Castlevaniaish games out there.
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PoR came off really campy to me, but grew to be my favorite of the DS games.
Same for me. I wouldn't call it one of my favorites but definitely I'm liking it more than during my first playthrough.
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I think Aria of Sorrow is one that I dismissed right away. I just looked at the previews in magazines and I'm like "Oh...another Kojima white haired pretty boy." Coming off of Harmony of Dissonance which to this day is probably my second or third least favorite Castlevania, I think you can see where I'm coming from. However, when I actually did get down to playing it I found it to be an excellent game.
Second, there are the N64 games. I didn't have an N64 when they came out, so I only had the bad reputation they built up over the years to hear about them. I tried them a couple of years back, and actually really liked them. Granted, I played them on an emulator so I had a save state for that particular level where you need the Nitro (I think the game benefits from being played in such a way). I like them both, story and gameplay wise. For the most part.