Topic: Which Castlevania(s) do you feel is/are the most underrated?

[DrLight66]

Bloodlines, Belmont's Revenge, and ReBirth are all extremely underrated. I don't ever see them getting as much love as the other games. I think I'm the only one who loves Rebirth as much as I do.

LOL i was thinking of both Bloodlines and Belmont's Revenge, while Rebirth i've never played.  Bloodlines because it was released at the very end of the Genesis' lifespan and Belmont's Revenge because it seems very few people remember or ever played the original Gameboy Castlevania games. 

And of course, the most underrated game in the entire series is Legacy of Darkness, a game that a lot of people don't even know exists lol and when they do find out what it is they think it's just a cheap director's cut version of C64 released by Konami to sucker gamers into spending more money, much like how Resident Evil: Director's Cut was basically Resident Evil with an optional arranged mode and new soundtrack (and surprisingly it didn't have the battle mode featured in the saturn port and it didn't contain the promised uncensored scenes from the opening FMV.

[Munchy]

Bloodlines, Belmont's Revenge, and ReBirth are all extremely underrated. I don't ever see them getting as much love as the other games. I think I'm the only one who loves Rebirth as much as I do.

Rebirth was alright but the stage lengths were sometimes really disproportionate, not to mention a lot of them just looked too... samey. It could have had more stuff taken from the Gameboy games too.

I loved all the routes with the keys though.

[TheouAegis]

The simple answer to sum up and close this whole topic is ANY Castlevania game predating 1996. It's a fact, because kids these days are hung up on anything made when I was in high school, when it's a fact that many of the games made before I was in high school were far superior to most of the games in the series now.

[DrLight66]

The simple answer to sum up and close this whole topic is ANY Castlevania game predating 1996. It's a fact, because kids these days are hung up on anything made when I was in high school, when it's a fact that many of the games made before I was in high school were far superior to most of the games in the series now.

Nah, the original Castlevania, Castlevania III and Super Castlevania IV everyone seems to know about and revere, even the younger gamers who are fans of the series.

[Ratty]

The simple answer to sum up and close this whole topic is ANY Castlevania game predating 1996. It's a fact, because kids these days are hung up on anything made when I was in high school, when it's a fact that many of the games made before I was in high school were far superior to most of the games in the series now.

I wouldn't say that. As DrLight66 already pointed out CV1 and 3 are usually revered as NES classics. The kids who dismiss them are the same ones who are likely to think ALL games that aren't current gen are crap. And who have no historical perspective or grasp on hardware limitations/gameplay evolution whatsoever. Super Castlevania 4* seems to regularly make "Top 10/25/etc." lists of SNES games. Right up there with the first party and Sqaure / Enix classics.

Part of it is that kids raised today have a completely different view on games. While we are more apt to look at a game as a challenge, they seem more prone to view it merely as an "experience" like a book or movie. So they don't get the sense of reward finally beating a difficult game, only the unfamiliar sensation of frustration at losing. Because they've been raised on games that were designed to hold your hand for 40+ hours.

*Perhaps tellingly one of if not the easiest Classicvania.

[CrashDiary27]

well said...but the only good thing that comes of this is that my son isn't throwing around controllers...yet!

[Kale]

You better give them harder stuff! If you don't, he'll be easily frustrated later and it won't be a controller he throws, but a tv.

[Maddux]

Simon's Quest

[Belmont Stakes]

Basically any CV game that doesn't get it's full commitment from the programmers and the designers. Simon's Quest is the prime example.

I almost want to say Castlevania II: Simon's Quest since I do think that there are some incredibly interesting ideas in that game.

There is the issue at large. The series is neglected by the people making the games and then by the public.
Simon's Quest, Dracula X, Bloodlines (very innovative),CV 64 and LOD, LOI, COD, Judgement and LOS: all of these games have the substance and flash to grab more notice from non CV fans like ourselves. The problem is it's too popular for it's own good due to the people that are managing it's legacy. Aside from that I don't know what the issue could be. Maybe because it is too heavily rich in religious referencing for a overly religious populous, maybe vampires are not chic enough (damn you Twilight), maybe the game is seen as something goth kids would be involved with, maybe the games are on the wrong systems. Or maybe people have too much of a hard on for Link, Mario, Master Chef, or whoever else in the gaming universe to get it's proper dap. I don't know.

[Johnny Alucard]

Kid Dracula, easily.  It being a spinoff on the NES/GB makes it that much more obscure.

[vyck_st.judas]

Circle of the moon.
It's basically the FULL Belmont whip slinging awesome sauce game we never got from SoTN. You could still play as him if you beat it with Alucard, But it was a very lackluster experience. I remember the first time I played SoTN. I was FLOORED (AS IF BOLO YUENG HAD SLAPPED BANANA SHIT OUT OF ME, FLOORED!) by all the cool moves Richter had in the beginning. Granted, We didn't have much money, so I went from a bargain bin NES with 4 Funcoland used games, and 1 from the video rental store, (TMNT1, CV1, CV2, CV3, and Double Dragon1) directly to shoveling cars out of the snow all winter so i could have it... I regret nothing.
Anyway, back to the point. The first five minutes were just WOW! Then it was suddenly over and I was introduced to this new/revamped guy. Alucard. He looked Freaking great, but I was not impressed at all with his moveset... at first. I decided to keep playing. I had busted my ass all winter to get this game, a playstation, and a TV that didn't require that co-axial thing with the little two prong feet. (remember those?) I'd be damned if if i wasn't gonna finish. As I progressed, I found that I just kept liking the game more and MOAR!!! I couldn't wait to get home from school for another fix. I was taking my time at first, but once i heard you could play as Richter again, I burned though that bad-boy Like a crack head fresh out of rehab. I beat the game @ 200% and immediately input the code. I was severely disappointed. Alucard had gotten me accustomed to a certain type of gameplay. It seemed like everything that made the game amazing had been stripped away, and Richter's flashy new moveset despite the initial cream my pants feeling, just couldn't hold a candle to what i had just finished playing. I wouldn't touch the game for years.
Then "Circle of the Moon" came out. I figured why not. I had a real job and more money by then. Despite What all the reviews said, I bought an N64 and had an absolute blast with those titles... but i was still chomping at the bit for that 2d experience. (Just one more hit dammit!) I figured why not. So i bought a GBA and a copy of the game. I was never so NOT disappointed. After all that time had passed I finally got to play as a "Belmont" (I know he's not officially, but c'mon. He's a better Belmont than most.) With all the bells an whistles that made Alucard's gameplay kick ass! I spent hours on end sitting in so very many uncomfortable positions under my light bulb that I just don't have a proper expletive for it. The game saw me buy every GBA that came out, A GameCube solely for the GBA player, a DS, a DS lite, several PSPs for emulation, and eventually a hacked XBOX. I even learned to hack my WII and Jtag my first 360, Just to have most of my CV games on one console. Fanboy 9000! It's the game that first inspired me to rip sprites, and eventually start sprite editing. (Which coincidentally, has brought me so much joy over the years I just lack the communicational skills to give it it's proper due.) I even learned to code and script with the OpenBor engine to breathe life into my little creations. The only downside is they never used that art style again. I found it to be the perfect bridge between the NES days of my youth and the 32 bit, "LETS JUST ADD ALPHA BLENDING TO EVERTHING!" Games like SoTN.

Sorry about the long trip down memory lane. I posted in the requests section before reading the rules. I could have been a lame ass and made 3 single word replies, But; Looking through the forum I've seen a LOT of posts by people who it would seem have walked down the same road, and had a Belmont to keep them company for every stage of their life. The series just seems to be that old and beloved here. a single word answer would just not have been enough respect.
Inadequate.   

[DrLight66]

I have yet to play the GBA Castlevania games.  I'll be getting a Gameboy Player for my Gamecube shortly and then i'm gonna have a huge marathon with all 3 games, unless i decide to play the two Metroid games first.  It's gonna be one big Metroidvania month lol.

For Legacy of Darkness, i just wrote an updated and very different review for it here" http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php/topic,5110.0.html explaining not only why it's so much better than C64 but also why it's such an underrated classic

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Legacy of Darkness and Circle of the Moon.

Both are solid, and marry the feel of a classicvania with another style of play.

[KyleVoakes]

I always thought Dracula X was a bit under-praised. Sure, it's a port of the more complete Rondo of Blood, but at the time when I had a physical copy, I never knew that, and I saw it as another great Castlevania game. Seeing how SCV4 used the 8-directional aiming of the whip, Dracula X is a more faithful translation of the NES formula than an evolution of the series.

[Mooning Freddy]

Circle of the Moon, like st. Judas said. It was the first CV I played after the NES ones and encouraged me to learn more about the series. Also, I loved the way you start the game in the catacombs, instead of in the castle entrance like most other CVs.