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

[Ahasverus]

Well I actually think they'd benefit from being, say, a launch game for next gen, avoiding the Curse of Darkness syndrome.

[thernz]

curse was just a bad game

[somasworld]

i hope we will ever see a new Castlevania game on the next gen consoles :/

if we ever get a new castlevania game after LOS-Saga???

[Ahasverus]

This is the one and only thread

(Until release, that is... I just get nostalgic of that LoS mega thread)

[Flame]

This is the one and only thread

(Until release, that is... I just get nostalgic of that LoS mega thread)

I dont. way too much arguing.

[Ahasverus]

I dont. way too much arguing.

But it was a behemot, it's like everyone HAD to voice their minds. I like that!

curse was just a bad game

Released at the worst possible time. Your game won¿t have a single headline when the hot news is "next generation starts next week"

[Kingshango]

This is the one and only thread

(Until release, that is... I just get nostalgic of that LoS mega thread)

I just revisited that thread a few days ago, what a grand old time that was from beginning to end.

This thread seems tame in comparison.......for now.

[Flame]

Just wait till the next Castlevania reimagining after the LoS series. We'll have another thread like that one sure enough.

[Maedhros]

I hope we get some good remake then...

[crisis]

As for "remake," I'll be satisfyed with Castlevania ReBirth 2: Belmont's Revenge. However, if they decide to make it a Wii-U exclusive then I'll be disappointed, because then I'll have no choice but to buy a Wii-U.

[Weiss Belmont]

Well I actually think they'd benefit from being, say, a launch game for next gen, avoiding the Curse of Darkness syndrome.

Could you elaborate? I'm not being a smartass or anything I've just never heard that term.

[Ahasverus]

Could you elaborate? I'm not being a smartass or anything I've just never heard that term.

Of course no problem.
As you may know, Curse of Darkness isn't only a 3D Castlevania and back in the day (and even now) that was already cause of apathy. It was a hard sell, as it was a RPG inspired by DMC and Pokemon with some hardcore systems, very japanease and... not that good looking. The game is a little bland and it was evident back in the day too. Those looong empty corridors can't be disguised very well.
Not to mention that it was the sequel to a 15 years old game (Dracula's Curse).

The thing is, if released another date, the game could have sold a little easier, but of course, it was delayed to the worst possible launch window ever: September 27 2005.
The first HD console, the Xbox 360 would had been out 3 weeks after.

To put it simply, not only it was ignored by the press and general public, people were at the time when they last gen is SO last gen (That period tends to end some months after, as GoW2 proved it) it's untouchable. Also, people were saving money for the next big thing. And so, it was a complete and absolute critical and sales flop. Not Judgment levels, but flop anyway.

Were the game released a little earlier, or some time later, story could had been different but as you can see, there's simply no way of beating a new console generation launch on its ground.

And that's what i fear could happen to LoS. Don't forget that GTAV comes in september so September is out of the question. It would leave them October and THAT'S IT. Unless they want it delayed 'til the next year. Whch to be honest is not a bad idea.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Cox twitter snippets:

@CastlevaniaLOS at the beginning of CLOS2 will there be a summary of previous events for people who couldn't play the other game(s)? #noDS3D
@Criz_Zone - yes!

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? My head says, uh oh....that recap might be long.

[DragonSlayr81]

Cox twitter snippets:

@CastlevaniaLOS at the beginning of CLOS2 will there be a summary of previous events for people who couldn't play the other game(s)? #noDS3D
@Criz_Zone - yes!

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? My head says, uh oh....that recap might be long.

It should be a rule that intros should be no more than 5 minutes long(that's if there's some story/background info to relay). And I mean in ALL games, even RPGs. They should let you enter control of your character as soon as possible to the player could get a good feel of the gameplay, because, esepcially in story heavy games(RPGs in particular), there is ALWAYS time for story exposition and character interaction, but let the player get the feel first of what they are going to be dealing with, THEN load on some more cutscenes after that. There's been some games I've played where the intro story and dialog drags on and it seems like you don't actually get to START playing the game until a good 30 minutes in. That's inexcusable. That, and games shouldn't "become good" late in the game. That's a problem I had with some games, Final Fantasy XIII included. People ask, "When does it get good?" and others replay, "Wait until you get into a later chapter near the end of the game!". Really? The rule should be, the game should be GOOD from square one! If it takes that long to get good or open up, the game's CRAP! C'mon developers, you don't even fuckin TRY anymore!(And I mean YOU Square Enix).

Anyways, yeah, the intro should be bare basics and to the point.

[Weiss Belmont]

Ah I see now. Thank you sir.

As you may know, Curse of Darkness isn't only a 3D Castlevania and back in the day (and even now) that was already cause of apathy. It was a hard sell, as it was a RPG inspired by DMC and Pokemon with some hardcore systems, very japanease and... not that good looking. The game is a little bland and it was evident back in the day too. Those looong empty corridors can't be disguised very well.

Those are all exceedingly good points.  I personally enjoyed the game but yeah, the "Gotta Catch Em All" style gameplay nearly turned me off. I understand the Innocent Devils system kind of built on SotN's familiars but at least with SotN Alucard was pure beastmode without them. But goodness Hector depended on them almost to the extreme. Like a certain Pokemon Master.

Not to mention that it was the sequel to a 15 years old game (Dracula's Curse).

Now THAT is a very good point I never thought about. Dracula's Curse is my second favorite game in the series (it was also the first Castlevania I ever played) so I was totally stoked about Curse of Darkness picking up not long after that game. But your post certainly puts it in perspective. Unless a gamer has been with the series since the NES they wouldn't have much cause to care about Curse of Darkness let alone buy it. It would have made far, far more sense to make a sequel to Lament of Innocence.

To put it simply, not only it was ignored by the press and general public, people were at the time when they last gen is SO last gen (That period tends to end some months after, as GoW2 proved it) it's untouchable. Also, people were saving money for the next big thing. And so, it was a complete and absolute critical and sales flop. Not Judgment levels, but flop anyway.

Lol damn! THAT'S the Curse of Darkness.

And that's what i fear could happen to LoS. Don't forget that GTAV comes in september so September is out of the question. It would leave them October and THAT'S IT. Unless they want it delayed 'til the next year. Whch to be honest is not a bad idea.

Hmm, you make a lot of good points. Bad part about that though is Arkham Origins comes out in October as well. And November sees the release of Watch Dogs and another gotdamn CoD. Unless they somehow ship this thing in August they're kind of screwed.