Topic: "The Dragon Returns" - Castlevania Lords of Shadow Sequel (HERE BE SPOILER INFO)

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

I side with the strongest. Take what you will from that.

Depends on what your definition of "strongest' is.

Do you mean physical?

Or do you mean in battle in general?

If its the later, its historically proven that a without a good tactician battles would be lost. Having power means nothing if you charge head first into enemies without thinking. A lot of the times having a good mind for battle will save you before having brute strength.

[A-Yty]

Personally, I'm talking about which character I like the better.

[crisis]

Skill & technique will always beat brute strength, hohoho

[e105beta]

Skill & technique will always beat brute strength, hohoho

If that was true, combat sports wouldn't have weight classes.

[Chernabogue]

Personally, I'm talking about which character I like the better.

This.

[crisis]

If that was true, combat sports wouldn't have weight classes.

perhaps but this is a video game discussion, not sports hohoho

[DragonSlayr81]

When it comes to the debate over strength or intelligence all I have to say is

That's what I was thinking. Before LoI, I always saw CV Dracula as being the type of vampire lord that could've basically gone out in the night, slaughter villagers, leaving orphans and stealing all the lovely young women of the village to add to his vampiric harem. Sure, the Belmonts could kick his ass, but that was mainly because:

1. The Belmonts were holy warriors, some of the best fitted in skill and means to combat the evil forces.

2. They were heralds of light, and good always conquers evil.

But aside from most humans, I think only a handful of top tier warriors and magic users were able to pit themselves against the Dark Lord and walk away. Any normal human being, you, me, them over there, would likely be butchered by him in an instant, and our meat either fed to his monstrous legion or our bones reanimated to do his bidding. I always felt that WAS how OG Dracula was. Not Mathias, not Gabriel, but THIS GUY:



Of course, that's not Dracula Dracula, but from D&D Ravenloft, but you get who I'm referring to. THAT Drac, not Mathias, not Gabe, but the original fictional character the early games were based upon. The Lugosi and Lee Drac! The one who appeared in Monster Squad(which I love the scene where all the police officers are running towards him, and his dispatching them, tossing them aside like rag dolls and snapping necks like twigs without even getting worked up). THAT is what I always saw old school CV Drac to be like, both brains and brawn. I mean, he's not frail. Some of his designs(art and sprite) have him built like a linebacker. 

[Zetheraxza]

Like I said, both the characters have their traits and weaknesses. And it's an endless discussion comparing both, especially in a neutral mind. Yes, he was tricked but what was he supposed to do? Find clues about who's responsible?

"But at forest, I saw the footprints. And it matched your boots. IT WAS YOU WHO MADE ME MURDER MY WIFE!"

"NO, YOU LIE! MEDDLING KID!"

Gabriel lost his wife, and the world was coming to an end therefore he wanted to slay the Lords, even if it was for Revenge, he is saving the world at same time. He can't control his fate. No one can, some are lucky to be able to control others' fate, let alone their own. Gabriel wasn't that lucky. And who's saying Gabriel is a brute? The guy is a combat tactician, not an army strategist. Generals and Soldiers are like Ying Yang. They can't live without each other. You may be a king and have your army, but when there's a revolution, that's all brute strength of the people combined together to get to the king. Strategists use their resources to fend for themselves, because they can't do it themselves. You can be a Scrawny Math Nerd who gets dominated by a muscular bully in high school, or you're the Scrawny Math Nerd as a large corporation owner in 20 years who's robbing away the muscular bully's bank dry in vengeance without being detected by the government and their cyber agents because he is an unreal tactician like that. Apples and Oranges. It's different situations. Mathias being a genius man is also the biggest fool in the series, he couldn't accept how life is and wasn't fortunate that he is a rich manor, a royal and an alchemist. According to Castlevania LoI, only handful of people carry this gift and yet... He cursed himself and ruined thousands of life in vain of his wife's death in Span of 1000 years, somewhat not including Lisa. This man wasn't a rational thinker using his best friend and his love's life to gain his power and trying to prove a point to his friend later only after deceiving his friend so he could sympathize with Mathias. This guy was fucked up and needed a psychiatrist for thinking this way. He doesn't even deserve the anger and grief, yet alone become a being of death and wrath for his sad cause. People die, that's that. That's how the world works, and people have being grieving over their loved ones for thousands of years and some take longer than others and curse life because they have to live their life without their family significant others, but Mathias... Wow my boy, his tale is just depressing...

For Gabriel, let's just say there was no forgotten one and Laura was either dead because her master is gone or she was gone and is free forever or whatever after fighting Satan. Gabriel is only left with grief and sadness as he says in the narration minus Laura's voice in Reverie. After what he has been through in span of few days with the death of his childhood friend then his wife, death of an innocent girl and her guardian, death of a spiritual being who sacrificed himself for Gabriel's cause and then find out that his ally betrays him and find out he's responsible for Claudia and Marie's death. You're broken. Gabriel feels there's nothing to really live for. Maybe he would go back to the brotherhood and say "F*** You!" Throw his cross and discard his uniform for good. Would he turn against the world just because of his personal problems? Of course you can't get over his event and his grief and hatred is far stronger than Mathias, and we know Gabriel's character for being a moody, yet strong and kind man with good heart. After this event he probably lost some of those traits, but as his life went on... He would get more softer in his loss and would remember Marie's dying wish and repent for his undeserved sins, unlike Mathias who cursed not only God but disrespected Elizabetha as well. Elizabetha probably would be grieving herself knowing that Mathias has become a monster. Gabriel might find someone else, even though you can never replace your "Childhood friend and then wife", he would have found some nice village girl to keep him happy and get that old feeling of love to give back like he did to Marie. Since I'm subtracting Laura away from this, this means the Brotherhood of Light never had the Prophecy or were wrong about Gabriel being evil later on and then maybe reveal that everything was okay after all and reveal Trevor to Gabriel (There are conflicts in this statement but with Laura gone, some things change as well). Worst case scenario, Gabriel isolates himself and tries to, but fails to get over  the events and cannot bare the pain any longer and commits suicide therefore, trapped in Limbo. Gabriel's desire to Curse humanity is highly unlikely.

[Kingshango]

"My Dracula's better than yours!" This discussion in a nutshell.

Bottom line is, both Dracula's are dicks, so there!

[Zetheraxza]

Dracula in general is a dick... even the Stoker's version. F*** it, ALL DRACULAs are dick, no matter!

[beingthehero]

THAT Drac, not Mathias, not Gabe, but the original fictional character the early games were based upon. The Lugosi and Lee Drac!

But Lugosi n' Lee Drac was also used in PoR and ReBirth. Also made a cameo in DoS too.

[Heuss]

Dracula warrior

[crisis]

hohoho Gabriel never impaled his enemies like that, but perhaps he will in LoS2 (in fact, that should be his signature move, not some "blood whip")

Akumajo Dracula never impaled anyone like that neither, at least we've never seen him do it in-game. However in SotN upon confronting Death you can clearly see numerous impaled corpses in the background, and Vlad III's portrait even appears in-game as a summon, so perhaps he did impale his victims "behind the scenes." At least he still used the traditional name "Vlad Tepes" in the canon timeline. LoS Drac will prolly never call himself Vlad (hell, he doesn't even call himself Dracula)

[beingthehero]

Well there was this guy too:

[Zetheraxza]

Gabriel Impaled Carmilla...