Topic: 2015 - The Year of Castlevania (For Me)

[zombi]

So, I've always known about the Castlevania games ever since I was a kid, but I really never put much time into playing them. I really can only remember renting C64 when I was younger and hating it because I had no idea what to do. It's surprising that I never even tried the NES/SNES/GEN games growing up because I was such a big horror fan.  Ah well...anyways...

Flash forward to this year. I've been heavily collecting retro games for about a year and a half and I've been playing (and beating) many games form my past that I never legitimately beat growing up. No emulators, no cheats, nothing. Original games on the original systems. I then decided to pop in SCIV (after watching the AVGN special) and I loved it! Without going too much into the obvious elements that brought us all here, I really have enjoyed my time playing through the Castlevania games in my collection. These games are all new to me and its such a cool experience to just be discovering this series and the great games within.

So far, I've made it through...

4/6/15


6/20/15


8/2/15


8/23/15


9/5/15


So, now the question is...

Now what?

I've got...

-Castlevania 64
-Legacy of Darkness
-Castlevania Adventure
-Symphony of the Night
-Bloodlines

I'm not sure if I want to try out SotN now or something else. Obviously, I've hear its a great game, but I'm not sure if I want a Metroid-style game right now.

We shall see...but its a blast so far!

[Aceearly1993]

CV Chronicles on real console!?!  If true, is the loading time slower or something? Is there any console-exclusive glitch in it?  Is there any music issue? (I've heard some rumor, I tested and it DOES have some issues on some versions of emulators, so I'm not sure what will happen on real console. Japanese PSN versions have no problems on PSV-TV though, at least I think so)
I bought physical copy of both JP and U versions, but I haven't got a PS1 or PS2 so I'm not sure

[Belmontoya]

Bloodlines man. Bloodlines all the way.

[Gaawa-chan]

Bloodlines man. Bloodlines all the way.

Yeah, do Bloodlines next.

[zombi]

CV Chronicles on real console!?!  If true, is the loading time slower or something? Is there any console-exclusive glitch in it?  Is there any music issue? (I've heard some rumor, I tested and it DOES have some issues on some versions of emulators, so I'm not sure what will happen on real console. Japanese PSN versions have no problems on PSV-TV though, at least I think so)
I bought physical copy of both JP and U versions, but I haven't got a PS1 or PS2 so I'm not sure

I just played through the whole game, from the original US Playstation disc on a PS2 and I didn't notice any issues.

[X]

There's bloodlines if you have access to a Sega Genesis. You already have a SNES so I would recommend getting a Super Gameboy, Castlevania The Adventure and its sequel; Belmont's revenge, and playing those as well.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

There's bloodlines if you have access to a Sega Genesis. You already have a SNES so I would recommend getting a Super Gameboy, Castlevania The Adventure and its sequel; Belmont's revenge, and playing those as well.

I think playing Legends and Belmont's Revenge would be better, because the adventure is very outdated-feeling

[zombi]

I do have a Genesis and Bloodlines on hand, so I'll likely play that next.

I don't own Legends or BR just yet, so I may hold off on the Game Boy titles. I have Adventure and have played it....I just need the patience to put up with the clunky gameplay.

[Aceearly1993]

I just played through the whole game, from the original US Playstation disc on a PS2 and I didn't notice any issues.

Thanks a lot!   Anyway, I'll check it by myself (If i got a chance)

[Crying Freeman]

I'd go Bloodlines as well, but SOTN asap! It is such a masterful game (I personally don't like the inverted castle at all, but its still one of the best games ever made).

[Ratty]

Ahh I envy you the chance to play through all these great games for the first time. The consensus here seems to be Bloodlines. It's a good game but it's never been a favorite of mine because it doesn't have infinite continues, which I find very annoying in a classic Castlevania, even with a password system. You also need to beat the game on Expert difficulty/New Game+ to get the "real" ending with animations I believe, which I also find very annoying. But it's still a great game any Castlevania fan should play at some point.

Whichever game you play next I strongly recommend you play Legacy of Darkness BEFORE Castlevania 64. Since Castlevania 64 is really just an unfinished version of Legacy of Darkness for the most part. (Though it does have some exclusive levels and vice versa.) You can then go back and look at Castlevania 64 with new eyes and see it for the work-in-progress that it really is, and enjoy the differences in the two versions having played through the best one first.

I plan on replaying Legacy of Darkness soon myself, I try to at least every other year around Halloween.

[zombi]

I decided to go with Dracula X. Picked up the cart a few weeks ago and just got done playing through it.

Pretty "meh".

Didn't care for the graphics, which seem worse than SC4, the music or the control.

It was also surprisingly short and easy.

Ah well. Onto the next one.

[X]

Judging from the ending you didn't rescue Annett or Maria. I also see in the ending of CV II that you didn't get the sun set ending which would have shown Dracula's hand emerge from his grave. You should go through these two games again until you get these two endings. They are in fact the best endings for those two titles.

[zangetsu468]

I decided to go with Dracula X. Picked up the cart a few weeks ago and just got done playing through it.

Pretty "meh".

Didn't care for the graphics, which seem worse than SC4, the music or the control.

It was also surprisingly short and easy.

Ah well. Onto the next one.

This is the bad ending.

There are still two additional endings and one alternate boss who is much harder if you get the best ending.

[coinilius]

Hi Zombi - I've been doing something similar to you over the past few months as well, playing through the Castlevania games, mostly for the first time and (mostly) on real hardware.  Interestingly enough, I really enjoyed Dracula X/Vampire's Kiss - it was a bit short even when going for all the endings, but I found it to be an enjoyable classic-style Castlevania outing.

Interesting to see your thoughts on the other games as you play them - I am currently very close to the end of Circle of the Moon (which I should have finished about 2 months ago but I got distracted), which I am really enjoying.