Topic: Castlevania in 2015

[Nagumo]

From my experience, navigating sandbox games isn't any fun since the terrain you walk through is just there to fill up space with nothing much going on. I suppose it's interesting the first time around when you're searching for a particular location, but it becomes a chore afterwards, which is why the fast travel feature exists. I think if they would do a Castlevania game like that there would be lots of dull environments, probably lots of dull forests. The idea sounds good on paper, but the execution fails almost all of the time, if not always.

On a side note, sandbox games I think have always a day/night cycle, but why would you want to play a Castlevania game which takes place during the day? I did kind off work in Simon's Quest, but that's because the landscape has that gloomy, Überwald, stereotypical Transylvania feel to it. I don't have the confidence they would be able (or willing) to replicate that atmosphere in such a game.

[Neobelmont]

From my experience, navigating sandbox games isn't any fun since the terrain you walk through is just there to fill up space with nothing much going on. I suppose it's interesting the first time around when you're searching for a particular location, but it becomes a chore afterwards, which is why the fast travel feature exists. I think if they would do a Castlevania game like that there would be lots of dull environments, probably lots of dull forests. The idea sounds good on paper, but the execution fails almost all of the time, if not always.

On a side note, sandbox games I think have always a day/night cycle, but why would you want to play a Castlevania game which takes place during the day? I did kind off work in Simon's Quest, but that's because the landscape has that gloomy, Überwald, stereotypical Transylvania feel to it. I don't have the confidence they would be able (or willing) to replicate that atmosphere in such a game.

I really don't care for sandboxes but let's think how day/night would be an awesome concept.
1. The most obvious being the strength and weaknesses of certain monsters. Not going to explain this one

2. Side questing would be interesting. For instance let's say one would have to go into Hoia Forest( here's a link to some information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoia_Forest and more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reportedly_haunted_locations_in_Romania). Now it's been stated that forests have been a thing for weird stuff to occur.  and when one goes into it even in the day strange things start to happen maybe a trickster( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster) starting to play mind games on you and as time went on things start to get worst yet the best time is to get on during the day because no one wants to mess with stuff like this at night.

Yes the night would of course be bad but the day could be just as bad due to the unknown especially in the case of the supernatural day or night it should not matter if one should not be there well then one should not be there.

[e105beta]

If they do choose to go an open world route, I'd prefer the Dark Souls method over a sandbox.

Level design in Castlevania, at least to me, has always been a showcase of sorts. It's one of the major stars of the games, and in the best levels it has always been easy to recall "that spot" or "that room". Simon's Quest had this to an extent, but many of the "to and from" areas were flat and sameish. Portrait of Ruin was downright terrible about this. Portrait worlds were not only repeated, but the rooms within them were repetative. The non-castle portion of OoE suffered from this same lack of iconic design as well. Copy-paste four bridge, four exit, two tree room. Lots of flat hallways that tended to blend together. Most of LoS2's city suffered from this too, save for maybe the courtyard and the vista overlooking the massive chasm by the first Raisa fight.

Symphony of the Night, however, had this in spades. Aside from maybe a handful of hallways, every room was entirely unique in its design, and even the hallways had different challenges within them. OoE's castle channelled this spirit as well, and I enjoyed that LoS was able to keep the locales feeling unique as well. Dark Souls, while being open world, still has areas that have distinct entrances and exits, with unique locations throughout. Just in the first area, you have the dragon bridge, Havel's room, the boar gate, the barrel stairs, that tower with the obnoxious archer, the black knight tower, and more, and I'm sure anyone who has played Dark Souls will know all the locations I'm talking about just by reading this.

That's something I'd want to keep in Castlevania, and the logistics of making a huge sandbox world tend to take that away. Sure, you have a couple distinct rooms, like a courtyard, a park, a tower, etc, but then in between you have a whole bunch of samey roads, samey buildings, etc.

[Mike Belmont]

I agree with all of the ones who wants a Dark Souls gameplay over a sandbox, if the combat gameplay were different. Sandboxs are fun, but doing the same things over and over is not that fun with the time.

But personally, I think too that a great game needs time. So, meanwhile an HD remake would be great, or a Dracula´s Curse Chronicles for the XBLA or a Rebirth 2... a want a great game with great music and great replayability.

[shelverton.]

Oh yes, the music. THE MUSIC!
I miss the soundtracks from before LoS so much. They were such a big part of what made Castlevania special, even in the games that were less than stellar.

Whenever a new game was released, I remember being super excited to hear the new tunes, more so than with any other video game franchise I can think of. And I know I'm not the only one. The music in Castlevania had a life of its own. Today I can't tell LoS apart from *insert epic orchestral game/movie OST*

Even if the next Castlevania is an 8-bit "watch-paint-dry"-simulator I can totally get behind it if the soundtrack is as superb as it always was between 1986-2010 (or whenever Mercurysteam decided to "fix" the one thing that was NEVER broken in this franchise - the spectacularly catchy and memorable music, rivalled only by the NES Mega Man's and, dunno, Squaresoft circa 1990-1997. Oh, and NES Sunsoft and Natsume.)

[theANdROId]

How about a "LEGO Castlevania" ;-D  Might even bring back the campiness!

[Shiroi Koumori]

Did you just say Lego?! Hell yeah, bring it on! Camp is good. 

[BLOOD MONKEY]

Noooooo. Right now, I'd be happy with a PC/XBONE/PS4/WIIU remake of SotN using the Saturn version with HD graphic and music remixes the members of the dungeon got together to make!

[Kingshango]

I wouldn't mind a remaster of Castlevania Chronicles.

[piscesdreams]

LoS and MoF were good games in their own right. I haven't play LoS2 however.
But they were imo, incredibly lacking the CV "feel". Sure they were similar enough, but it didn't feel true.
I think I would have thought more highly of them had they stuck with just Lords of Shadow as the title and didn't label it as Castlevania.
Yeah, it's placebo. But to be fair, Castlevania hasn't felt the same since Bloodlines to me. Though I didn't play Dracula XX upon it's release.

All that being said, I'm down for mostly HD remasters of games (I previously mentioned SCIV, but I forgot about all of the other wonderful games that are almost just as good) such as Castlevania Chronicles, Bloodlines, or hey...even an Adventure Rebirth 2.

But if they went with a new game, I would simply want the 1999 game. Metroidvania or level by level, I don't really care.

I used to look down on IGA's style of games, and Harmony of Despair was largely a joke. But at this point, I'd rather have him back than Dave Cox.

But I really wish we could get some of the original team members from the first 4 or 5 games and have an all new, larger than life adventure in 2D format.

LoS2 isn't even a year old at this point now, so I don't expect anything anytime soon. I would just like Konami to say "yeah, we're doing something that is 2D".

[Chernabogue]

Angry Birds: Castlevania.

[shelverton.]

Angry Birds: Castlevania.

I can get behind this.

No, but seriously. I wish to play as a medusa head, flying through Drac's Castle trying to avoid Belmonts and stuff. Was there ever a Flappy Bird type game with a medusa head? It seems made for that.

No.
NO!

Must. Remain. Sane.

Next Castlevania will be a 2D retro romp by Yacht Club Games. Calling it now! (Or rather: Keeping fingers crossed)

[Ratty]

I wouldn't mind a remaster of Castlevania Chronicles.

Yeah for all of us who didn't have a PSP. A nice PC port would be cool. For that matter while I'm not big on rebuying things I already own if they put out the older games on steam and gave them achievements I'd rebuy them just for the fun of trying to get all the achievements.

[Chernabogue]

Metroidvania HD collection w/ SotN, CotM, HoD, AoS, DoS, PoR, and OoE.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Metroidvania HD collection w/ SotN, CotM, HoD, AoS, DoS, PoR, and OoE.

... for all consoles including PC!