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General Castlevania Discussion / Re: Metroidvania Fan Refers to Platformers as Mariosonics

« Last post by X on May 19, 2023, 09:49:00 AM »

I've only ever -and continue to- use the term Metroidvania to Castlevania titles that play like Metroid. For other titles, if it plays like Metroid but is not a Castlevania game then it's simply an action-exploration game.

'Halodoom' I found to be a bit strange. Doom's popularity didn't happen until after Wolfenstein3D. And Halo only goes back to 2001. A space Odyssey?    So I think rather then Halodoom, it should be Wolfendoom? Doomstein?

'Chronofantasy' is another. Chronotrigger did not come about till the 90's, and certainly not until after FF6. Both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior as it was known here in the past were pretty much the first two Fantasy games we had access to, and were in competition with one-another. Fantasyquest maybe? Sounds like another game or book.

The term 'Soulsborne on the other hand just refers to one type of series which we already know of course. The Soul games and Bloodborne. However it would also include Eldenring and Sekiro as both those games were manufacture in the same way as the souls series. By the same team if I'm correct in my assumptions.

'Harvestcrossing'. This I know nothing about. Maybe Harvetsmoon is the game he's referring to. The 'crossing' part is a mystery to me. Perhaps Animal Crossing?

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General Castlevania Discussion / Re: Metroidvania Fan Refers to Platformers as Mariosonics

« Last post by Darkmoon on May 19, 2023, 09:20:04 AM »

Back in the day the community (at least here) didn't use "Metroidvania". "Castleroid" was a more common term to put the focus on Castlevania with Metroid elements... but that eventually fell to the wayside. Likely because it doesn't roll off the tongue.

I always just take it as a genre term. "This game has elements of Metroid, Castlevania, and exploration." Cu if it's a game like Axiom Verge, people usually just call it "Metroid-like". If it's Bloodstained (either Curse or Ritual) then it's "Castlevania-like" or, sometimes, "IGAvania". But the genre as a whole, with games stealing both elements, seems to make sense as "Metroidvania".

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by Kamirine on May 19, 2023, 07:26:27 AM »

Yay, more indies like the classic CVs, I need my fix! So far, this looks really good!

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General Castlevania Discussion / Metroidvania Fan Refers to Platformers as Mariosonics

« Last post by VladOfWallachia on May 19, 2023, 06:16:09 AM »

https://hard-drive.net/hd/video-games/metroidvania-fan-refers-to-platformers-as-mariosonics/

(click to show/hide)

DEKALB, Ill. — Self-professed fan of search-action games, otherwise known as Metroidvanias, Joe Agliato has reportedly begun to see the appeal in more traditional platforming games, which he refers to as Mariosonics.

“It doesn’t have to always be about a sense of exploration,” said Agliato.

“Celeste for example shows off what a Mariosonic can be: challenges that truly test your endurance and sense of timing. In that regard you could call Sonic Frontiers a Mariosonic, just… not a very good one. Sure it’s right there in the name, but it’s more about what the label means, not what it says, you know?”

Agliato continued on and stressed that his gaming palette extends further than just Metroidvanias.

“Metroidvanias have a special place in my heart, but I play all kinds of games,” said Agliato.

“My favorite Halodoom is Goldeneye, my favorite Chronofantasy is Dragon Quest, and my favorite Harvestcrossing is Stardew Valley. I’m always trying to expand my horizons, try new things, and apply labels to them by mashing up two existing examples that are already popular in the genre. I don’t think it diminishes their individual appeal at all, to be honest.”

Jake Mondragon, Agliato’s longtime friend, chimed in to argue against some of Agliato’s talking points.

“Genres have names for a reason, across all different kinds of media,” replied Mondragon.

“Nobody else uses this weird terminology to refer to music, movies, TV, or anything. Oh, what’s your favorite Rollingzeppelin? Your favorite Clockworkshining? Your favorite Simpsonsguy? See? It’s just weird, man.”

At press time, both friends agreed that using the term Soulsborne to refer to any game that has a high level of challenge and a death and rebirth progression loop was highly reductive.

I've always really disliked the use of the word "Metroidvania" to label platformers that focus on exploration. I don't have any proof since it was so long ago, but I clearly remember an era during the GBA days when the Castlevania fan community used "Metroidvania" to refer to Castlevania games specifically, not the genre as a whole, and this makes perfect sense because there is a clear cutoff in the Castlevania series between the classic, linear style Castlevanias and the clearly Super Metroid inspired ones starting with SotN. Yes, there are games like Simon's Quest that take elements from both, but SotN was clearly emulating Super Metroid really closely while SQ did its own thing.

If I ever make an exploratory platformer, I will call it just that, and I hope eventually "Metroidvania" gets dropped and used for its original intended purpose, to refer to Castlevania games specifically.

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by nokundhi on May 18, 2023, 04:08:07 PM »

Looks real good, I'm usually not as big on the classic titles but something about the CV3 formula just works.

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General Castlevania Discussion / Re: Konami teases ‘new developments for familiar series’ and unannounced new project

« Last post by Mangoaxe5 on May 18, 2023, 03:15:44 PM »

Maybe they're finally making that 1999 game. Right???

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by abdeloliveira on May 18, 2023, 03:05:44 PM »

wow amazing art!

it was something inspired by Farnese's nightmare... that horse really is creepy. 

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by X on May 18, 2023, 09:24:22 AM »

Or it could be a giant Night Mare.

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by zangetsu468 on May 18, 2023, 04:15:58 AM »

Your alpha trailer looks good. Never seen a giant horse as a boss before, so that's something new 

In my headcanon, it’s the ‘Dark Horse’ from Berserk… Those who know, know 😂

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Fan Stuff / Re: Darkest Abyss

« Last post by X on May 17, 2023, 09:29:03 AM »

Hay, welcome!

Your alpha trailer looks good. Never seen a giant horse as a boss before, so that's something new