Author [EN] [PL] [ES] [PT] [IT] [DE] [FR] [NL] [TR] [SR] [AR] [RU] [ID] Topic: How would you reboot Castlevania?  (Read 7427 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Zydalc

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Awards
How would you reboot Castlevania?
« on: October 12, 2019, 03:05:06 PM »
0
As much the title says, does anyone have any ideas how to reboot Castlevania?

Fore example, I think Migami Games's "Wallachia Reign of Dracula" might be shaping up to be a nice template for a Castlevania reboot which I would ditch IGA's story completely and I would simply merge the historical Vlad Tepes with the original character from Bram Stoker's Novel as in he's the same character described in the novel while ditching the 1924 play high collar cape and tuxedo to make way of having him clad in all black well kinda like this:


As in Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel got his vampirism from black magic and alchemy from the scholomance where he might have been more likely the Tenth Scholar who was chosen by the Devil to ride the Dragon (well hence his name) and control the elements as well.

Offline piscesdreams

  • Legendary Hunter
  • ****
  • Posts: 559
  • ...
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2019, 10:38:20 AM »
+3
After seeing how they nailed the atmosphere of the original games, I'd give it to the Smash Bros Ultimate developers.

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2019, 11:37:22 AM »
0
Quote
As in Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel got his vampirism from black magic and alchemy from the scholomance where he might have been more likely the Tenth Scholar who was chosen by the Devil to ride the Dragon (well hence his name) and control the elements as well.

Dracula got his name because his Father Vlad II was a member of the Order of the Dragon 'Dracul'. Dracula means Son of the Dragon. And that's putting aside the Church propaganda spin; Son of the Devil. But that would still be interesting for Dracula's character in CV none-the-less  ;)

In terms of Castlevania I'd bring the series back to basics: Classicvania style. None of the gimmicks we saw in the IGAvanias. And no mention of any of the IGAvania games, characters, elements, etc. either. I would wipe the slate clean and start anew (this includes all the Japanese influences as well since CV is European-themed). The play-style of Super Castlevania 4 would be a good entry point for a reboot (8 directional attacking and whip swinging). And while I wouldn't have a game of it, there would be a cut-scene prologue telling us how Dracula came to be the king of Vampires from the once mortal warrior/autocrat of Wallachia; Vlad III. Of how he was assassinated during a battle and would later-on rise from his grave as the Vampire King leaving behind an empty grave. Kinda like it is in real life though the vampire bit isn't there, again, in real life.
The Belmonts would still have their supernatural abilities via the mystical properties of their bloodline. Only they can use the whip as was the case even before the IGA games. It would not be strictly males wielding the vampirekiller as it was with the IGA games. And the whip itself would not be an instrument of alchemical concoction but rather a divine holy relic that the Belmont family had been blessed with. I'd also bring back the hammer horror campy Halloween feel to the series as that was what it started with.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2019, 11:39:44 AM by X »
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Offline Zydalc

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Awards
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2019, 02:35:53 PM »
0
Dracula got his name because his Father Vlad II was a member of the Order of the Dragon 'Dracul'. Dracula means Son of the Dragon. And that's putting aside the Church propaganda spin; Son of the Devil. But that would still be interesting for Dracula's character in CV none-the-less  ;)

And while I wouldn't have a game of it, there would be a cut-scene prologue telling us how Dracula came to be the king of Vampires from the once mortal warrior/autocrat of Wallachia; Vlad III. Of how he was assassinated during a battle and would later-on rise from his grave as the Vampire King leaving behind an empty grave. Kinda like it is in real life though the vampire bit isn't there, again, in real life.

Well I also knew about Dracula's actual name origins but I was pointing out that the 10th scholar of the Scholomance that the Devil collects as his due also fits his name since he's been taught to ride the Dragon as well hence becoming Solomonari.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholomance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomonari

I guess it's possible that he may have been killed by a Belmont during when Dracula was mortal as Vlad III but he has a risen from the dead as a Extremely Powerful Vampire due to the black magic and alchemy he learned at the scholomance and now envisions that Vampires "deserve to be the dominant race of the earth" hence he envisions where a Vampire Nobility/Aristocracy rule the world and Human Mortals as a whole reduced to no more than "commoners" or cattle.
 
Of course keep in mind this is also the same character from Bram Stoker's novel of course but I'm trying to figure how Death and Castlevania comes out of this especially I like the idea of a sentient castle tied to Dracula's power and able to command legions of Demons and I'm trying to find how Death or Azazel the Angel of Death comes to his side as well.

Of course as for Carmilla I'm thinking of also using the same character exactly as she's portrayed from the book in contrary in her In Name Only renditions of her character from the series but I would rather not have her antagonistic but rather I would have it that the entire Karnstein Bloodline are Vampires as well which means either the Mother from the carriage wreck from the beginning of the book or Carmilla's father Count Karnstein could serve as better antagonists.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2019, 02:56:15 PM by Zydalc »

Offline The Puritan

  • Vagabond
  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 433
  • Gender: Male
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1/SS)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2019, 05:18:32 PM »
0
I'm in the back-to-basics camp too: return to the pre-IGA era-- Castlevania's very foundations--- and start fresh from there. But after playing Grimoire of Souls, I wouldn't mind them simultaneously continuing the original timeline. Or... would it be too confusing/unwieldy to have more than one continuity going?

About combat: I've noticed the mainline Belmonts are always confined to wielding the Vampire Killer, so I'd like a future 3-D title to be more like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden. The whip can be the default all-around weapon, but as the game goes on, let the player find a small handful (about 4-6) of named unique weapons to tackle different enemies and situations.

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2019, 09:17:58 PM »
0
Quote
About combat: I've noticed the mainline Belmonts are always confined to wielding the Vampire Killer, so I'd like a future 3-D title to be more like Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden. The whip can be the default all-around weapon, but as the game goes on, let the player find a small handful (about 4-6) of named unique weapons to tackle different enemies and situations.

Well CV does have its sub-weapons: Axe, Boomerang/Cross, Holy water, Dagger, Stopwatch. These could be expanded to fill the role of more prominent secondary weapons like we saw in Ninja Gaiden. And maybe they could be upgradable too like it was in CV64/LoD.
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Offline Zydalc

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Awards
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2019, 09:10:47 AM »
0
Of course another thing too is go to a similar route like the Bloodstained games like for example the first game in the series is done in a SNES style which is getting to point A to point B with a Belmont which they meet other characters along the way to recruit like in Dracula's Curse or Curse of the Moon and of course the sequel though is a full blown metrovania done in the same engine as Ritual of the Night starring a Vampire protagonist who can't use the Belmont sub-weapons like the Crosses, Holy Water due to her being susceptible to it but she can use Vampiric raw powers though and magic/spells pretty much.

And of course unlike Curse of the Moon/Ritual of the Night or any IGAvanias though, it'll instead have the same gothic horror atmosphere as Super Castlevania 4, the Lecarde Chronicles and of course the recent Blasphemous game. Anyways the reason why I've picked the SNES like graphics for the first game is because I don't think NES style can capture gothic horror atmosphere.

Of course the characters themselves and the artstyle would be less anime and more realistic approach that is.

Of course also because I've also longed for a game where you play as a Vampire where you face mortal vampire hunters along the way using Holy weapons against you like throwing Holy Water at you or using crosses and such especially villagers fearing you of course.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2019, 12:00:44 PM by Zydalc »

Offline Aceearly1993

  • Nothing absolute
  • Legendary Hunter
  • ****
  • Posts: 628
  • Gender: Male
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • 1993P Doubleguy at Youtube
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania Chronicles: Akumajo Dracula (X68k/PS1)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2019, 05:42:51 PM »
0
I wouldn't mind mixing the game engine of Touhou Luna Nights with play style and art design of Lecarde Chronicles (1), Castlevania Chronicles, Castlevania Rebirth, etc. in 9~10 stages stage-based structure for main game with several hidden dungeons/scenario unlocked upon finished the main game. Also wouldn't mind seeing "FM Synthesizer-like" music return to its rightful throne like it once did in Castlevania Rebirth.

Quote
"Did you know when one's most desperation time is? It's when he was beaten up by someone critically...
And he can't find who caused this."

Offline VladOfWallachia

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 347
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Carpathian Night
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #8 on: October 15, 2019, 07:04:19 AM »
0
I would begin with SCIV as a starting point. My reasons being that SCIV is my favorite game in the series, a sequel in its style has never been made, and the formula has room for iteration and improvement.

For improvements on the formula, I would focus first on restoring the difficulty balance of the game while retaining the free form controls.

The dark, gothic horror atmosphere of the Castlevania games has always been a huge part of its appeal for me, so I would ensure to keep a fitting atmosphere throughout.

I would keep the Stoker Dracula as the primary villain, but I would mix his character with the historical Dracula. I think the world that Vlad Tepes lived in makes for a great origin story setting for the Stoker Dracula. Dracula was a brilliant man, who mastered every discipline he attempted to conquer, and was considered a master alchemist. What drove him down the path to Scholomance? This is what I would want to see as a long time fan of the legendary character.

I would also like to play as Dracula! The iconic lord of the vampire himself, give him a lead playable role in one of the games. I would love to play through a set of dangerous trials within Scholomance that test the worthiness of an aspiring vampire lord candidate.

I would make one game that's like a traditional Castlevania- you play as a vampire hunter that fights through the countryside and into Dracula's castle. But I would also make a game that takes place in Scholomance and you play as Dracula, so you can see the experience from the opposite point of view.

I would have a set of "regular" levels, but I would also create a lot of optional sub-levels that test some specific skill. Maybe you are forced to fight a buffed up version of a previous boss, or two of the previous boss at the same time, or perhaps you are given a short but difficult platforming obstacle course.

and I could go on forever...

I will be answering this question in the form of a playable demo soon.



Offline Zydalc

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 122
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Awards
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2019, 12:04:19 AM »
0
I would also like to play as Dracula! The iconic lord of the vampire himself, give him a lead playable role in one of the games. I would love to play through a set of dangerous trials within Scholomance that test the worthiness of an aspiring vampire lord candidate.

But I would also make a game that takes place in Scholomance and you play as Dracula, so you can see the experience from the opposite point of view.

I think that would rather work best as a flashback cutscene than a game than anything else.

Of course Dracula also happened to be 10th scholar that the Devil picked as his due of course to ride the Dragon and control the elements hence ironically fits his name.

Of course there's this comic coming out which serves as a nice prequel as well not to mention Matthias Corvinus what IGA's Castlevania Dracula is based on (Mathias Cronqvist) also enrolled at the scholomance as well.

https://www.comixology.com/Dracula-Son-of-the-Dragon-comiXology-Originals/digital-comic/812466

https://dailydead.com/exclusive-comixology-originals-to-release-new-graphic-novel-dracula-son-of-the-dragon-on-october-23rd-check-out-new-preview-pages/
« Last Edit: October 19, 2019, 12:33:39 AM by Zydalc »

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2019, 10:31:30 AM »
0
Maybe they'll explain it in the book but I don't get why Matthias Corvinus was at that school. That, and he and Vlad did not become friends until during Vlad's six year imprisonment at Corvinus' castle. They should also mention the Bathory connection as that was near the end of Vlad's reign as well. The book looks interesting so I definitely want to see how it will all pan out.
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Offline AlexCalvo

  • The man.
  • Legendary Hunter
  • ****
  • Posts: 548
  • Gender: Male
  • No longer a jerk, but still wonderful.
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania: The DraculaX Chronicles (PSP)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2019, 08:49:01 PM »
0
I would honestly like a minimalist 3D action game.  You are Simon Belmont come to slay Dracula.  No dialogue, no story beyond the absolute basics.  Just badass combat and platforming, all the staple monsters, and a kick ass Dracula fight at the end.  Also do it on the epic sword and sorcery art style of the classic game covers.

Now, I have ideas I would prefer, but they are less of a reboot and more reimagining/sequel to the original timeline.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13104670/1/Castlevania-Birth-of-the-Dragon

Dracula was not always a monster. He was once a man named Mathias Cronqvist. A flawed, conflicted, genius of a man. How did the educated, aristocratic, crusader who piously served the church become a vampire, and eventually the Dark Lord himself, the opposing force to God? From a very young age terrors and tragedy shaped the man into the king of all evil. This is his story.

Offline X

  • Xenocide
  • Master Hunter
  • *****
  • Posts: 9361
  • Gender: Male
  • Awards SuperOld Dungeonite: Members who have been around since the oldOLD days. The Unfazed: Never loses his/her calm, even in the most heated arguments. The Retro Gamer: Has a heated passion for the oldschool VG Titles.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2019, 10:19:06 AM »
+1
Quote
Now, I have ideas I would prefer, but they are less of a reboot and more reimagining/sequel to the original timeline.

That is what's known as a 'soft reboot'. It does its own thing but is still in some ways connected to the series. They did this with J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek.
"Spirituality is God's gift to humanity...
Religion is Man's flawed interpretation of Spirituality given back to humanity..."

Offline VladOfWallachia

  • Vampire Hunter
  • ***
  • Posts: 347
  • Only at the Castle Gate...
    • Carpathian Night
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2019, 06:56:25 AM »
0
I think that would rather work best as a flashback cutscene than a game than anything else.

Of course Dracula also happened to be 10th scholar that the Devil picked as his due of course to ride the Dragon and control the elements hence ironically fits his name.

Of course there's this comic coming out which serves as a nice prequel as well not to mention Matthias Corvinus what IGA's Castlevania Dracula is based on (Mathias Cronqvist) also enrolled at the scholomance as well.

https://www.comixology.com/Dracula-Son-of-the-Dragon-comiXology-Originals/digital-comic/812466

https://dailydead.com/exclusive-comixology-originals-to-release-new-graphic-novel-dracula-son-of-the-dragon-on-october-23rd-check-out-new-preview-pages/

Thanks for informing me about that comic! I’m excited to read through it once it’s released.

Offline Foffy

  • Legendary Hunter
  • ****
  • Posts: 649
  • Awards One-Time Show: Not quite a lurker, but posts infrequently and in only few areas.
    • Awards
  • Favorite Game: Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis)
  • Likes:
Re: How would you reboot Castlevania?
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2019, 04:34:38 AM »
0
The closest I can imagine is just making a Classicvania with a very simple story. I think they were already burned by the Lords of Shadow reboot, which despite having the best selling entry in the franchise, its two followups were some of the worst selling at release. Mirror of Fate might remain the worst selling Castlevania game ever released on a portable, and the sales for the series on such platforms was usually quite strong.

Tags:
 

anything