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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: discoalucard on August 12, 2021, 09:11:42 AM

Title: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: discoalucard on August 12, 2021, 09:11:42 AM
Posted here:

https://www.segasaturno.com/portal/exclusividad-en-segasaturno-iexclla-rom-beta-0-5-del-castlevania-bloodlines-vt10077.html (https://www.segasaturno.com/portal/exclusividad-en-segasaturno-iexclla-rom-beta-0-5-del-castlevania-bloodlines-vt10077.html)

MEGA Link:

https://mega.nz/folder/TxlSDAYB#aH8-7B6EqGwZ9G94MZuFNQ (https://mega.nz/folder/TxlSDAYB#aH8-7B6EqGwZ9G94MZuFNQ)

A few pics I posted on Twitter. I only played it a bit to see new areas, but it'll be cool to see the ROM hackers pick it apart and see what's different from the final release. This is indeed the one with the foundry and the blimp!

https://twitter.com/HG_101/status/1425830700075343872 (https://twitter.com/HG_101/status/1425830700075343872)

Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on August 12, 2021, 09:39:15 AM
Sweet!
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Flame on August 12, 2021, 11:32:05 AM
niiice
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Aceearly1993 on August 12, 2021, 03:41:25 PM
Wowa so this is groundbreaking. Will check it later since I'm currently too busy on other game projects...
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: PFG9000 on August 12, 2021, 04:07:32 PM
Holy crap, this is crazy news!  The legends about this version have circulated for decades.  I didn't think it would ever surface.  Did you make this happen, Kurt?
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Foffy on August 12, 2021, 04:19:42 PM
I got as far as 4-5 and the room with the coals. Couldn't progress further. I wanted to see the blimp!!!
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Aceearly1993 on August 12, 2021, 04:26:53 PM
I think there's a stage select secret command which can help. Same command adapted from 0.1
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Castlevania:_Bloodlines/Version_0.5
That deleted molten steel areas were plagued with bugs. Maybe also try some player 2 command combinations?
https://tcrf.net/Proto:Castlevania:_Bloodlines/Version_0.1#Controller_2_Commands
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Bloodreign on August 12, 2021, 08:33:08 PM
The game has the final Drac battle.....in stage 4-10! You still get the 3 forms, but they die easily anyway (thanks to that second controller stage skip code to see what the game has to offer). Stage 5 is completely devoid of enemies, save for the swinging vines, which are now garbage sprites, and the Princess of Moths, who now looks completely different in human, and moth form. Almost a cartoony look for the original prototype form, but likely just placeholders till the final Princess of Moths design was finalized.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: discoalucard on August 12, 2021, 09:22:30 PM
Holy crap, this is crazy news!  The legends about this version have circulated for decades.  I didn't think it would ever surface.  Did you make this happen, Kurt?

Nope, the guy who had it just decided it was time.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: JR on August 13, 2021, 08:46:17 PM
The game has the final Drac battle.....in stage 4-10! You still get the 3 forms, but they die easily anyway (thanks to that second controller stage skip code to see what the game has to offer). Stage 5 is completely devoid of enemies, save for the swinging vines, which are now garbage sprites, and the Princess of Moths, who now looks completely different in human, and moth form. Almost a cartoony look for the original prototype form, but likely just placeholders till the final Princess of Moths design was finalized.

I wish they expanded upon the original design for the moth form in the beta instead of completely changing it for the final version. The one in the beta looked pretty cool.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Inccubus on August 19, 2021, 10:18:42 AM
Damn! That's awesome news!
This should fuel some good romhacks.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Super Waffle on August 28, 2021, 05:53:27 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t7jG5LpnJQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t7jG5LpnJQ)

ngl John turning into a skeleton when he dies is kinda hardcore.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Sindra on August 30, 2021, 02:11:11 PM
Nope, the guy who had it just decided it was time.

I guess the rom was circulated among private circles for a while prior to the owner of the rom deciding it was time to release it to the public. So there were others who had advanced copies of the rom but just kept it to themselves in order to not burn bridges with the original owner. This is likely how we got the "fixed" version of the rom along with the original version released at the same time.

I actually did a runthrough of all of the differences between the 0.5 beta and the final game build that I could find. I'm sure I missed a few. I also only recently found out the 0.1 beta had already been dumped as well, though it looks like there were a whole lot of significant differences between the 0.1 beta and the 0.5, except for tweaks to the game intro, mechanics and a few unused tunes. The sprite differences remain in 0.5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6pim59re5k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6pim59re5k)
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on August 31, 2021, 09:49:02 AM
Sindra@

I liked the vid! One thing I noticed is that you talked about the zombies that have flies buzzing around them in the prototype but not in the final version. That's actually not the case. Playing through Bloodlines multiple times in the past (even on console) I have encountered the occasional zombie that does indeed have flies buzzing around them. It's not something that happens frequently but more rare. But it is definitely in the final release.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: rasgar on September 23, 2021, 08:11:09 PM
It seems the MEGA link has gone down. Could anyone share this again?
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Aceearly1993 on September 23, 2021, 09:51:53 PM
It seems the MEGA link has gone down. Could anyone share this again?

You can take a look at hiddenpalace.org:
https://hiddenpalace.org/Castlevania_Bloodlines_(Oct_3,_1993_Prototype)
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: rasgar on September 24, 2021, 10:43:15 AM
Thank you!
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: LuxKiller65 on October 02, 2021, 07:17:49 AM
If you like reading, Mr. Perfect went through it:
http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/2/bl-beta2.htm (http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/2/bl-beta2.htm)
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on October 02, 2021, 10:46:16 AM
I've played it but the game got glitchy even with the fix that i wasn't able to finish it (as much as the prototype would allow anyways). I also tried the stage select trick but never got that to work  :P
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Belmontoya on November 09, 2021, 05:52:41 AM
More unreleased info about the plot of Bloodlines from my friend Mike Levy.

https://youtu.be/XkCWw8KzTYA

Figured this was a good thread to post it!
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on November 09, 2021, 10:03:08 AM
That was a very interesting Vid! Holy ****! I never thought the mystical whip was called Excalibur, lol. That's kinda impressive. It feels like there could be a connection to King Arthur in there somewhere (that's just speculation on my part). About the character Lucy Seward. Your friend did seem confused with this entry so perhaps I should offer my own tid-bit of clarity for him (please tell him this I would like to hear his feedback).

Lucy Seward sounds like she's the daughter of Dr. John Seward. No doubt Dr. Seward married after the events of the novel. Dr Seward loved Lucy Westenra (Holmwood) however she was transformed by Dracula and subsequently killed by Helsing and company, he probably named his future daughter after his first love in honor of her memory. This sounds to me to be the most plausible explanation as you don't hear the name Seward and not have your mind go directly to the infamous doctor of the asylum.

The info later on helps also to establish that Vlad the impaler (historical person) and Count Dracula (the CV series) are in fact one and the same. This leaves no doubt in my mind and firmly puts to rest some of the debates we've had here on the dungeon forums about whether or not they are the same person. That document confirms what I've strongly felt all these years. Now I know that IGA has taken the series into it's own direction and retconned a whole lot. But to me this document solidifies things for me about the series since I much prefer the pre-IGA Castlevania series on the whole. This document isn't filled with your typical Japanese cliché story-telling that IGA was obsessed with. Instead those at Konami were really trying to do actual historical referencing in order to flesh out the series. Would it have killed IGA to go along with that instead of where he actually went?

Another thing I noticed is that Rondo of blood is nowhere to be found. This document was printed in 1994 and Rondo was made in 1993. Kinda wondered what was going on there.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: AlexCalvo on November 09, 2021, 02:22:09 PM
That was a very interesting Vid! Holy ****! I never thought the mystical whip was called Excalibur, lol. That's kinda impressive. It feels like there could be a connection to King Arthur in there somewhere (that's just speculation on my part). About the character Lucy Seward. Your friend did seem confused with this entry so perhaps I should offer my own tid-bit of clarity for him (please tell him this I would like to hear his feedback).

Lucy Seward sounds like she's the daughter of Dr. John Seward. No doubt Dr. Seward remarried after the events of the novel. Dr Seward loved Lucy Westenra (Holmwood) however she was transformed by Dracula and subsequently killed by Helsing and company, he named his future daughter after his first love in honor of her memory. This sounds to me to be the most plausible explanation as you don't hear the name Seward and not have your mind go directly to the infamous doctor of the asylum.

The info later on helps also to establish that Vlad the impaler (historical person) and Count Dracula (the CV series) are in fact one and the same. This leaves no doubt in my mind and firmly puts to rest some of the debates we've had here on the dungeon forums about whether or not they are the same person. That document confirms what I've strongly felt all these years. Now I know that IGA has taken the series into it's own direction and retconned a whole lot. But to me this document solidifies things for me about the series since I much prefer the pre-IGA Castlevania series on the whole. This document isn't filled with your typical Japanese cliché story-telling that IGA was obsessed with. Instead those at Konami were really trying to do actual historical referencing in order to flesh out the series. Would it have killed IGA to go along with that instead of where he actually went?

Another thing I noticed is that Rondo of blood is nowhere to be found. This document was printed in 1994 and Rondo was made in 1993. Kinda wondered what was going on there.

Don't believe everything you see on the internet.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Belmontoya on November 09, 2021, 03:47:34 PM
Don't believe everything you see on the internet.

It's authentic. I was watching the auction with him that he bought the documents from way back in April.

Mike Levy is an honorable dude.

Not sure what your issue is here. Not everything is a conspiracy you know.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: JR on November 09, 2021, 11:09:40 PM
That's some pretty awesome stuff. Also, Death Mercury is a strangely awesome name for a vampire hunter whip.


Another thing I noticed is that Rondo of blood is nowhere to be found. This document was printed in 1994 and Rondo was made in 1993. Kinda wondered what was going on there.

I assumed that "Lihiter" was meant to be Richter and the date of the document was pre-Rondo, until they decided against having Richter be Simon's grandson, or something. But I didn't realize Rondo had already been released.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: The Puritan on November 10, 2021, 09:01:49 PM
So the Alucard Spear may have been the lance that displayed Vlad Tepes' head after the Ottomans killed him. I like that. Sounds like a dark take on the Spear of Longinus.

That's some pretty awesome stuff. Also, Death Mercury is a strangely awesome name for a vampire hunter whip.

And it's described as "lost." Who knows what the game writers would've done with that had they followed this outline more closely? Pre-IGA Castlevania had a stronger foundation than I imagined.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on November 11, 2021, 09:41:52 AM
Quote
Pre-IGA Castlevania had a stronger foundation than I imagined.

That it did. But unfortunately we'll never fully know now.

Quote
So the Alucard Spear may have been the lance that displayed Vlad Tepes' head after the Ottomans killed him. I like that. Sounds like a dark take on the Spear of Longinus.

I found this tid-bit to be very informative as well. It also explains some of the original Konami timeline before IGA replaced it with his. According to history both the head of Vlad and his body disappeared from said locations, never to be found. This to me indicates (in the pre-IGA series) that Dracula was a living man before he was assassinated. However he would have already dabbled in the forbidden arts to gain powers no mere mortal ever dared (calling upon dark gods, the infamous Scholomance, etc). It was only after he was killed that this completed what ever he had planned and thus rose up as the undead Vampire King of evil. Only of course to have Trevor and company to slay him in 1492, again according to the Konami timeline (not the IGA timeline).
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Sindra on November 11, 2021, 02:36:05 PM
More unreleased info about the plot of Bloodlines from my friend Mike Levy.

https://youtu.be/XkCWw8KzTYA

Figured this was a good thread to post it!

I just hit him up for a copy of the PDF, if he was willing to share it. After going through and doing a vid on the Bloodlines beta, I'd love to do more. Eventually doing a speculation video on the series lore based on cut and hidden content would be pretty damn killer, and this info would be awesome to use.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: JR on November 11, 2021, 04:54:29 PM
I just hit him up for a copy of the PDF, if he was willing to share it. After going through and doing a vid on the Bloodlines beta, I'd love to do more. Eventually doing a speculation video on the series lore based on cut and hidden content would be pretty damn killer, and this info would be awesome to use.

I requested the same, and he provided me with a copy. Seems like a pretty cool guy. I think the info is entirely plausible, given the circumstances, but either way, it's extremely interesting.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Dongled on November 12, 2021, 07:47:10 AM
Hey all, Dongled here. Big thanks to Belmontoya for sharing this here. I finally found my login info and changed it to represent my channel. Been ages since I've been here.

I'm happy to answer any additional questions or discuss anything in the video here or if you wanna set up a separate thread, I can do that. Thanks :)
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on November 12, 2021, 08:56:34 AM
Dongled@

Some out there probably feel that your document isn't valid but feel it is otherwise. Just looking at the ink and the way the letters are printed out is what one would normally see from an older styled early 90's printer or one of those IBM typeball typewriters.

PS. How long has it been since you were at the Dungeon? I don't believe I recall the last time you were here.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Dongled on November 12, 2021, 11:43:11 AM
Hey X,

So according to my posts, last time I was here was back in 2007. Been a while, I suppose.

I don't really care about people questioning the document's validity. I have zero reason to believe this was faked. Accessing naturally aged almost 30 year old paper and creating a font style that makes it look like a fax...This document surfaced around April of this year and was being sold with a ton of listings for old EGM layouts. I showed pictures that his widow sent me of a bunch of his old business cards. He died in 2009. Pretty sure this is his obituary. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/andrew-baran-obituary?id=2556617 (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/andrew-baran-obituary?id=2556617)

If someone went through the trouble of intentionally faking an almost 30 year old document, looking up the identity of an old EGM writer and his wife, all for the sake of making some money on ebay? Hats off to them.

If they're questioning why I released it for free, I did it for the good of the community. I look at situations like The Great Hanshin Earthquake, where Castlevania as a franchise lost almost the full body of artwork, lore and behind the scenes info aside from articles that people cultivated (i.e. shmuplations salvaging all the old BEEP articles), Box art and manual art, and maybe some Nintendo Power/Magazine style stuff that's circulated over the years. There's been almost nothing pre-Iga's generation that has surfaced outside of Konami's walls save for the recent Anniversary Collection digital art book, which is thankfully getting a physical edition via LRG.

I didn't HAVE to release this at all. I could've locked it away in my collection of Castlevania stuff and never let anyone know about it. I could've put it behind a paywall or made people subscribe to my Patreon to get it which would've been scummy. I paid for it so I could release it to everyone so we could all appreciate it together. But I guess some people will always either be jealous of what others have or always be skeptical someone that did something nice for them is lying. Oh well. 




Dongled@

Some out there probably feel that your document isn't valid but feel it is otherwise. Just looking at the ink and the way the letters are printed out is what one would normally see from an older styled early 90's printer or one of those IBM typeball typewriters.

PS. How long has it been since you were at the Dungeon? I don't believe I recall the last time you were here.

Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on November 12, 2021, 05:16:11 PM
Oh believe you me, I very, VERY much appreciate this  ;)
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: C Belmont on November 21, 2021, 05:11:12 AM
I wonder if any of the new information from the document is still considered canon by Konami.
I really like the idea of the Helsing family being one of three branches of the Belmont clan. Grimoire of Souls has introuduced a few new characters based off the Dracula novel maybe the Helsing family will make an appearance in that game eventually.

Also, is this the earliest mention of the Belmont family being involved in the crusades? I can’t remember if any of the earlier games actually mentioned the crusades at all.

Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Holy Diver on November 21, 2021, 03:05:11 PM
Also, is this the earliest mention of the Belmont family being involved in the crusades? I can’t remember if any of the earlier games actually mentioned the crusades at all.
Leon lost his rank as a baron because he didn't want to go to a crusade while monsters were running amok.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: GuyStarwind on November 21, 2021, 05:28:47 PM
I've been reading over this thread and have a question. Do we have to request this document people keep talking about? I'm curious to read it for myself.

Also, not the point of the thread, but I thought I would chime in about pre and post Iga. I don't mind the Iga timeline and feel it has some cool things, but I don't like certain things about it. I feel like everyone and their dog has the means to kill Dracula, and imo it belittles the Belmont family and the Vampire Killer. Like why have this legendary family use this whip when a basic sword can do the job fine? I get it's to add variety to the game, but it still doesn't feel right. Also, I like AoS, but I'm not a fan of the Japanese elements. I know this is a Japanese series, but the theme have always been European. Anywho, I feel like as I get older I'm moving away from the  Igaverse.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on November 22, 2021, 09:12:24 AM
Quote
I've been reading over this thread and have a question. Do we have to request this document people keep talking about? I'm curious to read it for myself.

Trust me, it's painless and quick. Just contact/PM Dongled and he'll be happy to send you a copy.

Quote
Also, not the point of the thread, but I thought I would chime in about pre and post Iga. I don't mind the Iga timeline and feel it has some cool things, but I don't like certain things about it. I feel like everyone and their dog has the means to kill Dracula, and imo it belittles the Belmont family and the Vampire Killer. Like why have this legendary family use this whip when a basic sword can do the job fine? I get it's to add variety to the game, but it still doesn't feel right.

This has been my very complaint with the IGA series as well. Many games in the IGA-verse have non-Belmont warriors battling Dracula and his minions. If that's the case then what is the point of even having the Belmonts let alone their importance to the series? There was a reason why the series had only one family fighting against evil and that was the theme of the series. However IGA wanting to tell his own stories bent several rules here and there, and unfortunately by doing this, made the importance of Belmont family not nearly as necessary as they should have been. Although he did try to explain how these non-Belmont warriors were able to defeat Dracula it still felt like a blatant cop out.

Quote
Also, I like AoS, but I'm not a fan of the Japanese elements. I know this is a Japanese series, but the theme have always been European. Anywho, I feel like as I get older I'm moving away from the  Igaverse.

This was also a concern of mine. It felt like the series was becoming way to Japanese for its own good. Castlevania is a European-themed game and should not be forced to change up its own identity in order to appeal to other audiences who aren't North Americans. IGA did go out of his way to explain things in CV and he did so by putting a Japanese spin on it. This left me questioning his intentions a bit. A European warlord/Vampire King is not going to find himself imprisoned in a Japanese underworld till he's summoned again. That makes no sense. Or having a Japanese ritual seal away Dracula when an ancient Germanic, Celtic or even a Romanian ritual would suffice. The Europeans also had their ancient pagan practices too. As much as I enjoyed playing IGA's games (and I still do) I did not like where he was taking the series story-wise.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: JR on November 23, 2021, 09:29:05 PM

Also, not the point of the thread, but I thought I would chime in about pre and post Iga. I don't mind the Iga timeline and feel it has some cool things, but I don't like certain things about it. I feel like everyone and their dog has the means to kill Dracula, and imo it belittles the Belmont family and the Vampire Killer. Like why have this legendary family use this whip when a basic sword can do the job fine? I get it's to add variety to the game, but it still doesn't feel right. Also, I like AoS, but I'm not a fan of the Japanese elements. I know this is a Japanese series, but the theme have always been European. Anywho, I feel like as I get older I'm moving away from the  Igaverse.

I agree with this. IGA knows how to make some fantastic 2D games that are a blast to play, but I always kind of wished he delegated the writing to someone else.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: Hayoam on December 01, 2021, 05:32:54 PM
@X
You make it sound like IGA wrote all these games by himself, remember Nathan Graves the guy who wasn't created by IGA also John and Eric they weren't created by him either. I think it's pretty clear people at Konami never had the intention to make Belmonts the only ones who can kill Dracula also I'm pretty sure IGA based his work on the already existing lore from his team at Konami and it's pretty faithful work.

I say it's for the best that there are other powerful non Belmonts out there because it wouldn't make sense that they are the only ones that can fight creatures of the night. They are the main and most powerful then I agree but being only ones mmm not so sure.
Sometimes the Belmonts may produce a weak heir, does that mean the End of the World? Surely someone would step up like Trevor did.

I agree on the Japanese complaint but the European setting has been capped because I don't think Dracula would be cool in 2000 onward so Aria of Sorrow was a good idea by IGA also Castlevania is dead unless someone at Konami understand the spirit of Castlevania, pick up on his predecessor work just like Megaman 11 did (Which is highly unlikely) we'll get our beloved Castlevania back other than that we'll watch it get bastardized by Netflix and others who doesn't understand Castlevania.
Title: Re: Castlevania Bloodlines 0.5 Prototype ROM released!
Post by: X on December 02, 2021, 09:49:52 AM
Quote
You make it sound like IGA wrote all these games by himself

Hardly. I never said such a thing as I know better. Ya might wanna read my posts again if that was the conclusion you got. Legends, CotM and the two CV64 titles were handled by other directors. IGA didn't like those titles because a) he didn't make them himself and b) they don't fit into his story chronology which he was working on at the time. If anything he saw them as a hindrance to his work and thus retconned them. This doesn't include the mobile CV game which he helped oversee of course. That was not intended to be part of his timeline either even though he was involved with it.

Quote
I think it's pretty clear people at Konami never had the intention to make Belmonts the only ones who can kill Dracula also I'm pretty sure IGA based his work on the already existing lore from his team at Konami and it's pretty faithful work.

It's mentioned in the Bloodlines instruction manual that Eric Lecarde is in pursuit of Countess Bartly due to the fact that she turned his beloved into a vampire that he was force to slay. Eric's goal wasn't Dracula. I would say that he assisted John Morris in helping to fight Dracula but was not the one to deal the final blow. Story-wise mind you, story-wise. Gameplay is different.

Quote
I say it's for the best that there are other powerful non Belmonts out there because it wouldn't make sense that they are the only ones that can fight creatures of the night.

There are other creatures of darkness out there that other heroes could tackle. Absolutely. It'd be a somewhat lacking world if otherwise. But Dracula is the one being who no-one else but a Belmont could ever hope to best. That was pretty much established since Castlevania's inception. Otherwise past games that were made before IGA came along would have featured non-Belmont heroes.

Quote
Sometimes the Belmonts may produce a weak heir, does that mean the End of the World?

No Belmont has ever produced a weak heir. In fact I've never heard of this before till you brought it up just now. The magical properties of the Belmont family blood are not dictated by genetics. It's magic after all; God's blessing (I believe it is anyways as it makes sense). This magic ensures that if one member of the family is not available to counter Dracula, then another member will step up to plate and take him down. All Belmont descendants have this magic flowing through their veins regardless of what family name they carry. As long as they are tied to House Belmont by blood decent they will have the ability to counter Dracula. But again, IGA wanted to tell his own stories and brought in several non-Belmont characters to be the heroes whom defeated Dracula. I just don't agree with that part is all.

Quote
I agree on the Japanese complaint but the European setting has been capped because I don't think Dracula would be cool in 2000 onward so Aria of Sorrow was a good idea by IGA

I don't believe there would be any issues for Dracula not to be cool in the 2000s and beyond. Dracula is one of the most popular villains in Castlevania (if not THE most popular) and I seriously doubt that that's ever going to change. I actually have no real issues with the Soma Cruz character. I fact, for many years, I had wondered what it would be like to play as the infamous Count. But there is much about AoS that is Japanese-themed, and as a European-themed game it does skew things a bit in terms of the game's identity. This is Castlevania here, not Getsu Fūma Den.