That's actually what I did before getting to that conclusion lol
Why guys why do you hate me
OF COURSE I like more 2D Castlevanias, OF COURSE I want retail sized 2D Castlevanias, only thing I don't want are Mainline entries, as, say, Mirror of Fate that is a direct sequel of the new main line,I think that's the worst possible move ever made by MercurySteam. I'd love the 2D games to have its own timeline or something like that, but I just don't think of a developer that has enough experience, resources and most importantly confidence in a 2D game to be "complete" enough to warrant the title of Mainline entry. The fact that Symphony was the last one in 15 years says something about the viability of that.
I'd LOVE to be wrong, of course.
Surprise me, Konami.
It sounds like you backpedaled a bit. No 2D Castlevania at all?! Say you did not mean that.
URGH Please, no one bring up Harmony of Despair. That game is bloody awful... having said that, I do agree that the 'stages', were largely-scoped.... though that's as far as I go with that.
No 2D Castlevania mainline series entries? That's crazy talk.
In my opinion, Castlevania Rebirth was the true step in the right direction... even though technically it took steps waaaaay back to the old CV's with stage progression.
I think what people really want (based on a couple of good ideas mentioned in this forum over the years) are the the following:
1. Kickass memorable music to go with our vampire killing efforts.
It cannot just be 'good' music or even 'great' music. I think the general populace wants the music to be 'kickass' music. That is, music that, no matter what style it chooses to do, manages to earworm into your head way after you're doing playing the game. It cannot be throwaway generic music, it has to stick. It doesn't really matter the style or the composer, but it has to be stuff that you're done, and you're like "mmmm...mmmmmMmmmm mMmm" in your head. That kind of thing. It's a little difficult to explain, but I can tell you that, while LoS had great music, it was not 'this' type of music. Can you hum any of the LoS tunes except the music box? On call? If someone put a gun to your head right now and told you to hum the seventh stage's battle music, could you really do so? However, tell anyone here to hum "Poison Mind" or something like that, and it'll be VERY difficult not to instantly recognize that tune. Again, it's not the style of the music, or the composer... it's that it sticks.
2. Development that looks like it gives a damn.
This is where Harmony of Despair falls terribly short, and Castlevania: Rebirth (sort of) does better. As many people here have mentioned, since Symphony of the Night the titles have started to just recycle sprites, which starts to scream 'lazy and shoddy'. Harmony of Despair cranked this up to 11, with pretty much everything (except the music) being exact elements directly copied from previous games. LoS (and Mirror of Fate, from the looks of it) actually did a great job here at having the production values high enough. You played the game and, although you cannot recall much of the music, the locales were quite breathtaking. Going to Malphas's Tower and crossing the Ruins of Agharta, or trudging through the Castle or even the otherwordly Necromancer's Abyss are stuff that looked proper, beautiful, and at the same time a touch scary. So, good production values, and try not to recycle stuff.
3. The core game must include platforming. Anything else is secondary or even tertiary.
Seems to be that Castlevania cannot be a flat affair. From what the critics of titles like Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence say, long flat hallways and boxy rooms are not cool. In the 2D titles it was somewhat more forgiveable because there either were platforms in the rooms, or enemies to break up the monotony but in the 3D titles, this is important. The N64 titles and the LoS series did a fine job here (though LoS overdid it with wall climbing and it wasn't fun... at least, not "Assassin's Creed 'fun'). In the 2D games there were some instances where the long room/big room thing worked against the design (Portrait of Ruin with large rooms with little platforming, Harmony of Dissonance with large but only zig-zagging corridors). Also, this is not Dynasty Warriors; Not every room needs to be a battle of 1 vs. 20. It is also not Final Fight; stop locking the door and forcing the player to defeat a horde of enemies before proceeding in every chamber. Make tougher enemies, but put only a few in a room. And 'toughness' comes in terms of attacking and attacking patterns, not just oodles of oodles of health (this is where Mirror of Fate worries me terribly). But the core gameplay should be platforming, not battling. And by platforming, it means jumping on platforms and interacting with the terrain, not just wall climbing, rope climbing, or whip-swinging.
I think these are the three core aspects that most people can truly agree upon.
They also work whether the game created is a 2D title or a 3D title.
Again, this is an opinion, but one forged from years spent with you guys as a community. I am also trying very hard not to be biased toward any one particular game, just noting the best aspects of the tiles so far.
Ahasverus:
People like some of the 2D titles, and there have been more of them that are considered 'good' than there have been 3D titles that have been considered 'good'. So cutting out all forms of 2D gameplay, or reducing it to 'side stories' (which is what I think you're meaning to say? Not sure, you flip-flopped there at the last moment) would clash against most people's opinions, so I can understand why you would get a few cringes from that statement.
Sumac:
Please do not fuel the flames.