Topic: The new games make me want to cry

[Kamirine]

LMFAO, wow, after reading this entire thread, I almost completely forgot what I was going to say!  You crazy kids and your arguments and seeing people without shirts and ghettos.  I blame Grand Theft Auto because it's easy.

Anywho:

I have to hands down agree about PoR and DoS on some extint:
as much as I like Dawn, I have to agree with the TC in saying that it's pretty much just a upgraded version of Aria, dumbed down with the kiddie anime feel.

A tweak in the soul system here, a much less impressive story (Aria's was much better IMO) that only got interesting if you got the bad ending there, and a few new places to visit here.  The fun I had with that game was collecting the different souls and making new, badass weapons, but little else.

Now PoR...wow.  Just wow.  I have to say though, I don't agree that the story was horrible: I find that the way it was displayed was really downfall, not the storyline itself.  It had the potiential to be quite dark:

A young man that wasn't completely trained in the ways to use the VK but is determined to carry the burden along with issues reguarding his now dead father.
Char was...okay, pretty annoying overall.  But had they tried being serious, they could have gone on the whole 'feels like a child' thing with a much better approach, giving her the insecurity and need to prove herself as a mistress of magic and intellgence and not just to be assumed to be useless, meaningless, and uneffective simply because she's 'just a child'. 
Wind's entire story was the making for tragic story telling.  A father who loves his two and only daughters that is killed by a vampire, the last thing he sees is those same girls he loves so much being turned into something he most likely despises and there is absolutely nothing he can do.  His so his at unrest and it's trapped within the walls of Castlevania.  So he helps Johnathan, the son of a old and fallen friend, in the hopes that he can help himself and those same girls along the way.
Meanwhile, you have Brauner, who was devistated by the death of his own daughters, to the point that he learned to despise humans (sounds familiar) only to see two girls that resemble those very same girls he lost and in his...whatever you want to call it, joy, grief, hope for a second chance, he steals them and their humanity.
The girls forget who their actual father is and seemed doomed to be damned for all eternity only to be rescued later and have to deal with their father's death by seeing him one last time.
Brauner shows (in all endings) how deeply he cares for the girls--

You know what, you get the point.  It had a pretty nice, deep story and it got completely ruined in the ridiculous, anime presentation.  I would have loved to seen PoR's story in the usual dark, Castlvania manner I'm used to.

The two games weren't bad by any means, I just hated the presentions of each's story, the been there done that feel I got (esp. with Dawn) and the disappointment at the second half of PoR's portrait stages.

[Marto]

Wow, we have some serious self-loving immaturity here.

Now enough of that, and can someone please lock up this topic? It's gotten too long, too argumentative, and there's too much hostility in it.

As for the DS titles, they're entertaining, great Castlevanias, but not that good if you compare them to many, MANY other ones. The end.

[crisis]

In Reply To #47
Lol.. mini-modding now, are we? Sounds like you need to relax with the insults, too.. trying to get the last word in, then ask for a locked topic. I like your style, heheh..

[Marto]

In Reply To #47
Lol.. mini-modding now, are we? Sounds like you need to relax with the insults, too.. trying to get the last word in, then ask for a locked topic. I like your style, heheh..

I'm sorry you're right. I modified my post so it isn't as hostile. I guess there's no need to complain of the dog's bite if you the complainer shows their teeth in anger too.

[Successor The Cruel]

I will meet you in the alley of the worst ghetto with my shirt off, and teach you a lesson you'll never forget!

 

[Richter ZX]

Well, where to start....

For the most part, I like Dawn of Sorrow. Of course, I prefer Symphonies' more lush and detailed anime, but the game itself was pretty fun. I thought it had a couple of good tunes, in my opinion.

As for Portrait of Ruin, I have to agre with Esco there. There are WAY too many subweapons and spells. I realize that the point is to customize things, but if we're given that option, it would be nice to have things that we would actually WANT to use.  That game was interesting, due to the fact that you can travel to different locations outside of the castle. Does seem a bit watered down, very colorful, not very gothic.

Harmony of Dissonance... I REALLY don't like this game. The sound quality is terrible, and the songs aren't even catchy. The bosses were un-imaginative, and very easy. Alright,

[VoDkA]

In Reply To #47

...it's a message board thread on the internet.  Godwin's Law states that things will only get worse before they get better.

That said, I actually didn't mind DoS.  PoR left a bit to be desired, but it still wasn't horrible, IMO.

To me, the low points of the series are the PS2 games--in both story and level design.  I know many people here don't like the N64 games (for various nebulous reasons that are, IMO, somewhat unfounded), but even those who hate them admit that the N64 games had an epic storyline and an as-of-yet unmatched atmosphere.

That said, I agree that humor will be the death of Castlevania.

[John Capricorn]

Agreed the hostility is overwhelmingly unnecessary.  People feel their opinion can only be validated by others'. 

But yeah, disapointing the CV DS games were (remember, if I don't like it, don't become scared and worried nobody likes your paticular game).  They felt a less like Castlevania and more like a cookie cutter action series.  Whereas the older games, like CotM, Bloodlines, SotN etc had an adult side to them.  Here's to the Rondo of Blood remake and hope it brings back the coolness.

[ringo]

... but even those who hate them admit that the N64 games had an epic storyline and an as-of-yet unmatched atmosphere...

Not really. The "atmosphere" in that game is a horribly short draw distance that resulted in the developers adding a ton of fog everywhere.
Lament had way more ambiance and atmosphere than the 64 titles. The aesthetics in the game's corridors combined with it's haunting soundtrack evoked atmosphere at times reminiscent of SCV4.

Also, while the story is better than most CV games I would hardly call it epic. It's not Metal Gear/Final Fantasy or anything like that. Just as it should be. Castlevania isn't about epic tales.

[VoDkA]

Not really. The "atmosphere" in that game is a horribly short draw distance that resulted in the developers adding a ton of fog everywhere.

Uh...first, it was a game on the N64.  So, obviously, the draw distance is going to be shorter than, say, a game on the Playstation 88 or whatever number they're up to now.  Second, you seem to have a nice, narrow definition of "atmosphere."  When I use the word, I refer to the overall gestalt of the thing: music, aesthetics, artwork, storyline, enemies (vampires?  In a game about Dracula?  WTF?), and more which I won't mention right now because I ran out of things to list.  That said, for being on the N64, it was pretty snazzy.

Lament had way more ambiance and atmosphere than the 64 titles.

Maybe for Devil May Cry...

The aesthetics in the game's corridors combined with it's haunting soundtrack evoked atmosphere at times reminiscent of SCV4.

"Haunting" soundtrack?  The soundtrack for the whole game was like the rave scene from Blade.  While I agree that most techno is quite nightmarish (and not in a good way), I would hardly label the majority of LoI's soundtrack as ambient.

Also, while the story is better than most CV games I would hardly call it epic. It's not Metal Gear/Final Fantasy or anything like that. Just as it should be. Castlevania isn't about epic tales.

Epic for CV is pretty epic, though perhaps not as epic as (lol) techno music or Saint Germain.  Even so, the story was awesome.  It had innovative twists and turns, interesting and original characters (such as Actrise, Rosa, and Malus--and Death was genuinely frightening), and the level lay-out made you feel like you were tackling a huge, huge demon castle all alone.  Somehow, LoI and CoD didn't feel the same.

[crisis]

So, obviously, the draw distance is going to be shorter than, say, a game on the Playstation 88 or whatever number they're up to now.

Uh, what? Where'd you get 88 from?

[ringo]

Uh...first, it was a game on the N64.  So, obviously, the draw distance is going to be shorter than, say, a game on the Playstation 88 or whatever number they're up to now.

And much shorter than most other games on the N64. Sure, it has Superman 64 beat, but not much else. Ocarina of Time was much better looking than Cv64 and it's draw distance was massive in comparison.

Second, you seem to have a nice, narrow definition of "atmosphere."  When I use the word, I refer to the overall gestalt of the thing: music, aesthetics, artwork, storyline, enemies (vampires?  In a game about Dracula?  WTF?), and more which I won't mention right now because I ran out of things to list.  That said, for being on the N64, it was pretty snazzy.

I don't know about you, but any atmosphere the game may have had was lost on me the moment the motorcycle skeletons popped up.

"Haunting" soundtrack?  The soundtrack for the whole game was like the rave scene from Blade.  While I agree that most techno is quite nightmarish (and not in a good way), I would hardly label the majority of LoI's soundtrack as ambient.

You don't like the LoI soundtrack? I thought it was pretty awesome. Don't see how it's rave-ish or techno-like. I think each track complimented it's area extremely well.

Epic for CV is pretty epic, though perhaps not as epic as (lol) techno music or Saint Germain.  Even so, the story was awesome.  It had innovative twists and turns, interesting and original characters (such as Actrise, Rosa, and Malus--and Death was genuinely frightening), and the level lay-out made you feel like you were tackling a huge, huge demon castle all alone.  Somehow, LoI and CoD didn't feel the same.

Yeah I agree the story is probably better than either of the  two PS2 titles. But I am not one to dwell on the storyline in a CV game.

I did think Death was quite freaky in LoI though.

[VoDkA]

And much shorter than most other games on the N64. Sure, it has Superman 64 beat, but not much else. Ocarina of Time was much better looking than Cv64 and it's draw distance was massive in comparison.

Well, sure, when you put ANY N64 game next to Ocarina of Time, it's going to look less stellar...that game was/is considered "best game of all time" for a reason.  The blasted thing is damn near perfect.  As for other games and their draw distance, I'd say that it's comparable to GoldenEye in areas.

I don't know about you, but any atmosphere the game may have had was lost on me the moment the motorcycle skeletons popped up.

I'll admit that the skeletons were a WTF moment for me, too, but they were pretty much explained away for me when I encountered in the Castle Center models of different futuristic modes of transportation--sort of a hint that Dracula has a bit of (possibly supernatural) foresight. 

That, and since they weren't that integral to the story (or at all integral), they didn't exactly detract from the atmosphere as much as, say, a time-traveling Victorian in a silk hat finding himself in Fifteenth Century Wallachia.  Not to beat a dead horse, but let's call a spade a spade, here.

You don't like the LoI soundtrack? I thought it was pretty awesome.

Didn't say I didn't like it.  I just don't think that the majority of the songs were as atmospheric as those in CV64 or LoD.

Don't see how it's rave-ish or techno-like.

Anti-Souls Mystery Lab and Melancholy Joachim, just to name two.  They sound a bit like house-techno dance mixes.  Again, it's not that I don't like them...I just think that they're not quite as...dark or foreboding as those in CV64.

Yeah I agree the story is probably better than either of the  two PS2 titles. But I am not one to dwell on the storyline in a CV game.

In the older games, I certainly wasn't, either.  However, I'm finding myself sucked in more and more by the complexities (or lack thereof) found in each new CV game.

I did think Death was quite freaky in LoI though.

Agreed, though I wish he would have been in the game a bit more.

[SymboliC]

I agree, Hideo Kojima should just make ar....


...oh. Ayame Kojima? Er..my bad.


If Castlevania should bring back that sexy hunky-looking, conan-like Simon from the NES, it will, blow away all art.

[Azmodan]

If Castlevania should bring nack tha sexy hunky-looking, conan-like Simon from the NES, it will, blow away all art.

Or just blow in general. Ha-HA!
Actually, I think the return of the old-school artwork is nostalgic enough that it would add some extra flavor to any upcoming games. When given enough time Ayami Kojima's artwork is beautiful, but you can tell when some of it's rushed. And the kiddy anime...let's not go there.