Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: darkwzrd4 on May 27, 2010, 01:19:00 AM
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I know this may be an old topic and may also be considered blasphemy by CV fans, but I just have to ask the question: Why is the vampire killer a whip? Why not a more elegant weapon like a sword? etc.
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Why not?
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Same reason they chose a whip for Indiana Jones, its unique and romantic. Heroes with swords, guns, spears, and bows and arrows are all over folklore and popular culture, but the whip is a rarity.
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I kinda wish we coulda seen Leon wielding his sword in a cutscene or extra mode or something
& maybe later games coulda referenced it, like how they included Maxim's sword in PoR.
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I kinda wish we coulda seen Leon wielding his sword in a cutscene or extra mode or something
& maybe later games coulda referenced it, like how they included Maxim's sword in PoR.
Well, that's one of the things that made Castlevania 64 interesting. You could use the whip or the sword (mapped to different buttons), and they had different purposes--the sword being quicker for close-combat but also weaker than the whip. I don't really like the CV games that force you away from whips due to swords being more powerful. CV64 created a solution to that. In conclusion: Whip = Castlevania (it is the more unique and versatile weapon, as seen in CV IV).
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I have always wanted to know this. I feel like they used it because it would be easier to program.
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Because it's radtastic.
And perhaps they were inspired by Doris Lang in the first Vampire Hunter D novel (published 1983), or its film adaptation (1985), since she uses a whip quite prominently.
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I have always wanted to know this. I feel like they used it because it would be easier to program.
In the early games having a whip or a sword didn't mean squat.
Programming-wise neither is any easier or harder.
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Especially when the whip was just like a sword in the old days.
And nowadays, it is harder, since it's animation is harder. And yea, programming, not much difference...
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Because it's radtastic.
And perhaps they were inspired by Doris Lang in the first Vampire Hunter D novel (published 1983), or its film adaptation (1985), since she uses a whip quite prominently.
Thats the most likely reason. Its been said countless times the first VHD was one of the major inspirations for the original CV
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I have to agree with all of the above. Each game has its own type of weapon or combat system and castlevania is no different except it uses the whip rather then any other weapon type (Not counting sub-weapons).
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A sword pretty much just cut through and kills evil guys. A whip PUNISHES while cutting and killing them. It pleases the S&M inside of us all.
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Another answer: Christ was whipped. Whip = connection to the passion. Castlevania heroes = slayers of evil, therefore, castlevania heroes = wielders of whips.
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Why is the vampire killer a whip? Why not a more elegant weapon like a sword? etc.
YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.
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It's a fetish.
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Another answer: Christ was whipped. Whip = connection to the passion. Castlevania heroes = slayers of evil, therefore, castlevania heroes = wielders of whips.
He was also stabbed with a spear (which indeed is much more famous, never heard of the whip that whipped Christ before). But I guess you can always say... Bloodlines had a spear heh.
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I think it's because swords are completely overrated. That and whips kind of have more range.
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It's a fetish.
hahahahaahaha!!!!!TOTALLY!!!!!!!!! :-*
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A whip wielding heroe is more unique and was probably more intriguing at the time.
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Also, a whip allowed them to do some cool/interesting things, like grabbing on to things in SCIV. :)
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He was also stabbed with a spear (which indeed is much more famous, never heard of the whip that whipped Christ before). But I guess you can always say... Bloodlines had a spear heh.
Yes there was a spear, but Jesus was also whipped by the Romans prior to being put on the cross. While on the cross he was stabbed just under his ribs to pierce a lung. (Possibly to kill him faster, you die from lack of oxygen when crucified. Though historically he was more likely crucified to a tree then a cross.) The whip was used of course as torture. It was meant to tear apart the flsh on ones back. By the time it's use is over, it's likely left your skin in a shredded tatters.
Whips are thus a very punishing weapon. But they are hard to control, require much skill, and was widely used once up until christianity took over europe. I
Besides, the whips in Castlevania are pretty badass compared to other games and stories. We've seen the clasic leather whip, the chain whip. The morning star Vampire killer, which is a chain wjip with a mace at the end. The fire whip, rose whipe of thorns, and so much more. Props to Konami for doing something original.
Personaly, I want to see more weapon options. If you use the whip, then you should be able to use other weapons too. I don't understand why Belmonts can only use the whip and subweapons, but other characters can use a lot of diverse weapons. It makes sense for a Belmont to at least carry a short sword with them. And no the throwing knife doesn't count. C64 had the right idea in it's weapon use, it just needed bettter execution.
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Personaly, I want to see more weapon options. If you use the whip, then you should be able to use other weapons too. I don't understand why Belmonts can only use the whip and subweapons, but other characters can use a lot of diverse weapons. It makes sense for a Belmont to at least carry a short sword with them. And no the throwing knife doesn't count. C64 had the right idea in it's weapon use, it just needed bettter execution.
Because that's the way the game was designed. In tearms of Belmonts using only the whip, it's a family tradition as that is their primary weapon. Anyone can use a sword or an axe, it isn't rocket science. But as stated on this thread, it requires great skill to master use of the whip. Especially if that whip is a ten foot long chain with a spike-ball at the end of it. And besides the Belmonts always have a secondary whip at their disposal. It's true that it was only truely emphisized in CV64 but all Belmonts have a backup weapon of some sort. I'd feel very vunrable myself if I was going on a hunt with only one weapon.
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Yes there was a spear, but Jesus was also whipped by the Romans prior to being put on the cross. While on the cross he was stabbed just under his ribs to pierce a lung. (Possibly to kill him faster, you die from lack of oxygen when crucified. Though historically he was more likely crucified to a tree then a cross.) The whip was used of course as torture. It was meant to tear apart the flsh on ones back. By the time it's use is over, it's likely left your skin in a shredded tatters.
He died before being pierced with the spear. Thar wuz a storm a-brewin', so the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves so they'd die off quicker (usually crucifixion victims would stay nailed to the trees for days or however long they could live—it was a humiliating torture meant to last a while), but they had seen Christ was already dead as a result of the severe scourging He received, so they did not break His legs but pieced His side with a spear instead. (The Book of John doesn't mention Him having been pieced in the lung, so...I don't know where you're getting that.) This was for the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies ("not a bone of Him shall be broken"; "they shall look on Him Whom they pierced"). The not breaking His bones part had something to do with a sacrifice during Passover, I believe; taking the sacrifice outside the city gate is another such Jewish observation. Many of the things of which Christ did were fulfillment of OT prophecy, and His crucifixion was very much done in the style of a Passover sacrifice, though the Romans and even the Jews who wanted Him crucified had no idea they were doing it in such a fashion.
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the piercing of of Christ is usually depicted either through the ribcage or just under the ribcage. Considering the purpose of the crucifiction and the location of the piercing in most depictions, I presume it was the lung. Actually an umber of scholars have named it wound like aimed at the lung or liver.
You know, all this talk of crucification brings me back to ROndo of blood, with the awesome backgrounds at the start of the game with victims bodies hanging off in the background. it makes me think of the mass crucifiction of those 6,000 survivers of Sparticus's slave army along the Appian Way.
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I really think you're taking the religious overtones to an obscene extreme. What makes you think that, especially in the 80s, the Japanese knew more about Christianity than we did of Shinto?
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^^
Ive been thinkin it since the whole christ comparison started but didnt care enough to type it
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I still think the most reasonable answer is they took the whip idea from Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D, ha ha. Someone would have to ask him, "WHY A WHIP?" The answer would probably be, "Whips are cool."
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D uses a whip, I've only see him use a sword.
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D doesn't use a whip, but Doris from the first novel and film does.
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Hmm, out of all the whips we've had. i think the one whip that would of been super awesome in actual history has never been used in games. I am of course talking abut the Urumi. Castlevania tends to have the belmonts use a whip of either leather eurpean origin, or a chinese style chainwhip. So why not the Urumi? It's basicly a whip that functions like a sword by the use of flexible steel, and people could tie it around their waists when in need to conceal it or traveling.
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Hmm, out of all the whips we've had. i think the one whip that would of been super awesome in actual history has never been used in games. I am of course talking abut the Urumi. Castlevania tends to have the belmonts use a whip of either leather eurpean origin, or a chinese style chainwhip. So why not the Urumi? It's basicly a whip that functions like a sword by the use of flexible steel, and people could tie it around their waists when in need to conceal it or traveling.
An Urumi is useless against enemies. In the US, there is a tv show called "The Deadliest Warrior" in which team consisting of an ER doctor, a biomedical scientist, and a computer programmer match up two different warriors for example, a samurai and a viking, and run tests on the weapons which are fed into a computer. The computer then runs a battle simulation between the two warriors 1000 times and the one who wins the most battles is declared the winner. The reason I bring up this show is that on the most recent new episode, one of the weapons used in a test was a urumi and the test showed that it is slow and takes a great deal of effort to effectively control. Plus, it wasn't able to inflict serious damage on the dummies in the test. This is why I said it is a useless weapon. Even the most skilled warrior wouldn't survive long in the castle if all he/she was wielding was a urumi.
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D doesn't use a whip, but Doris from the first novel and film does.
I think this is the best answer, too. I think I read an interview once that said the Vampire Hunter D books/movie were influential on Castlevania. Doris Lang had the whip in Book 1 and Movie 1 in the right time in the 80s, so it makes sense. Also, consider Alucard in SotN later on. In my opinion, he is handled very much like D himself.
PS: the Urumi discussion/notes by VGuyver and darkwzrd4 were interesting.
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"The Deadliest Warrior"
Love that show
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I'd like the show even better if all those idiots would just shove their egos in a lock box and do comparasons on a more professional level. There's nothing worse then watching or listening to somebody talking out of their @$$ like some spoiled child who's receiving no disciplin in theire entire life. And also some of the simulations were not accurate. An example would be the The Ninja Vs the Spartain.
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yeah they talk alotta shit thats for sure. But I guess its to be expected a lil but Im sure the ppl that get em on the show pick em cause they know theyll act like that or they tell em to do it. I mean besides the demonstrations of the various weapons thered be no need for anyone but the programmer who puts all the info in to run the battles and then the show would be a commercial durin some other show
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I'd like the show even better if all those idiots would just shove their egos in a lock box and do comparasons on a more professional level. There's nothing worse then watching or listening to somebody talking out of their @$$ like some spoiled child who's receiving no disciplin in theire entire life. And also some of the simulations were not accurate. An example would be the The Ninja Vs the Spartain.
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Yeah, the ninja should have won. I think it really came down to the weapons that were tested and no computer program can be 100% accurate. Computer programs work in a logical way and battles are anything but logical.
yeah they talk alotta shit thats for sure. But I guess its to be expected a lil but Im sure the ppl that get em on the show pick em cause they know theyll act like that or they tell em to do it. I mean besides the demonstrations of the various weapons thered be no need for anyone but the programmer who puts all the info in to run the battles and then the show would be a commercial durin some other show
Well, I agree that they could do without them giving their opinions and arguing about the results of the tests. However, I do think that they need the ER doctor and biomedical scientist. The computer programmer cannot assess whether a wound is fatal or not. That is what the ER doctor and biomedical scientist are there for.
Now then, let's get back on topic. I only brought up that show to make a point about the urumi. That's all. I didn't mean get off topic.
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I saw that particular weapon in action and thought it might not be very reliable it is original. Once it gets going in a room full opponents they had better run for cover cause that dual bladed whip will slice and dice. :-X
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lol, the Urumi is not useless. I've seen that show, they do some things right and do others horribly. Really, if you gave them a blunt katana, they'll probably label it a useless weapon, but fact remains that the blunt katana can still sever limbs through brute force, much like a broadsword. The Urumi is not much different, it's almost no different then the whip, except heavier and less of a snap, but it can definitely cut things with the proper strength. The one thing the show doesn't seem to take into consideration is the body type of the soldiers which is partially why the tests fail. I'm no expert, but even I knw a few basic principals about combat.
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lol, the Urumi is not useless. I've seen that show, they do some things right and do others horribly. Really, if you gave them a blunt katana, they'll probably label it a useless weapon, but fact remains that the blunt katana can still sever limbs through brute force, much like a broadsword. The Urumi is not much different, it's almost no different then the whip, except heavier and less of a snap, but it can definitely cut things with the proper strength. The one thing the show doesn't seem to take into consideration is the body type of the soldiers which is partially why the tests fail. I'm no expert, but even I knw a few basic principals about combat.
You do have a point. It also depends on how the wielder is trained to use the weapon.
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Because it's radtastic.
And perhaps they were inspired by Doris Lang in the first Vampire Hunter D novel (published 1983), or its film adaptation (1985), since she uses a whip quite prominently.
One of my favorite book series I think Ive read up to the "Rose Princess" so far "Stuff of Dreams" is my favorite because of the twist.
Also D would murder Alucard.
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One of my favorite book series I think Ive read up to the "Rose Princess" so far "Stuff of Dreams" is my favorite because of the twist.
Also D would murder Alucard.
yeah, if Alucard turns into mist, D's left hand would swallow Alucard.