Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Sillek on August 20, 2010, 03:39:46 PM
-
Needz moar Juste. That guy is like testosterone in a bottle.
Anyway, as much as I like Harmony of Dissonance (it was the first CV I played; I'm kinda obligated to!), we don't have as much cool guys now. Nowadays it's all emotional problems (Jonathan Morris hating his daddy) or just plain... not masculine (Soma just didn't really... hit me as a fairly manly person. Maybe it was because I played Dawn of Sorrow first, which I probably shouldn't have done.)
What do you guys think? Hopefully Gabriel will bring some ass whoopin', Belmont style. But I don't know.
-
We will have more characters like Gabriel, bad ass with heart. But i dont think we'll see a new barbarian or something like that.
-
Yeah, we haven't had as many masculine characters because of how heavily magic-based the new ones are. I'd love to see a Castlevania that ditches those magic abilities. Actually, OoE was neat in its concept of just slamming everything together, but maybe instead of different elements, there can be different whip attacks. You can still have the whole emphasis on exploiting enemy weaknesses. And with such a character, surely, the person will look somewhat masculine.
-
Why is everyone so fixated on how manly a main char is in a game nowadays
While I was playing AoS the last thing on my mind was "lol look at Soma's pants"
-
there will be however, a secret costume for gabriel after you have beaten LOS on hard mode. It will be his barbarian look when the developers first made him as.
-
Why is everyone so fixated on how manly a main char is in a game nowadays
While I was playing AoS the last thing on my mind was "lol look at Soma's pants"
I personally just want one again for variety. Maybe I should be concerned more with personality. Juste was a subtly smug and arrogant guy which made me love him. I'm not sure how you can be subtly smug but.
there will be however, a secret costume for gabriel after you have beaten LOS on hard mode. It will be his barbarian look when the developers first made him as.
LoS gains 100 points.
-
there will be however, a secret costume for gabriel after you have beaten LOS on hard mode. It will be his barbarian look when the developers first made him as.
Conan Simon DLC would be freaking awesome.
-
Conan Simon DLC would be freaking awesome.
Depends on how much it'll cost ._.
-
I would gladly shell 2 or 3 bucks for it.
-
I would gladly shell 2 or 3 bucks for it.
I hate to say it, but me too. Hell if they could even DLC a Simon mode itself, as an extra play through, that would be pretty sweet.
-
Super Castlevania IV Mode.
-
Why is everyone so fixated on how manly a main char is in a game nowadays
It can be a fairly valid criticism, although I did laugh at your example. :)
It's not that I *need* a super masculine protagonist, or even a masculine one at all. But I do think that the appearance and demeanor of a main character can be (and usually is) representative of a game's overall aesthetic. 'Sexy cool guys' and androgynous anime boys fall a bit far from what makes sense to me for a Castlevania game. Is it a dealbreaker on a game? It depends. Not usually, but when you feel like there's something 'uncool' about a character and it actually starts reflecting other issues you may find with the game and story, then it's totally relevant.
I do wish there was more of a middle ground between the stereotypical 'girly' Japanese characters and the muscular monstrosities that often make up Western characters, though. I feel like the reaction to feminine characters usually involves going way the fuck overboard and coming up with neckless weirdos that look like they enjoy bench-pressing your grandmother and listening to the worst heavy metal imaginable.
A common problem with most video game characters is that they lack any sort of depth. That leaves the designers little room to make them interesting, so sometimes the best they can do is make them visually dramatic. Unfortunately, once you've already found yourself in the losing battle of a character not being interesting, there's not much you can do if you're relying only on looks. This is because the extremes have already been beaten to death (for the most part), and these wind up being totally mundane and boring:
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a104/tony747/Final20Fantasy20X20800x600_edited.jpg)
(http://www.morehorror.com/images/splatterhouse-xbox360.jpg)
The Anime-heavy Final Fantasy is often disappointing to me, for example, because people who dress like they're in a j-pop band is not what I like to think of when I think of fantasy nor sci-fi. So, I understand the people who complain about vg characters being 'too feminine', but I feel like attempts at masculine often wind up as equally embarrassing. I just want to be like an ugly old wizard or something. Or an average sized dude but with an obvious skill set...
Anyways, what's more important than the base level of feminine or masculine is how good the character is overall. Castlevania? Sure, it could certainly use a masculine manly manly at this point in time. I just hope that there aren't cheap attempts and tricks used to establish masculinity on the most corny of levels. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic and expecting too much from video games, but it'd be nice having characters that are interesting, first and foremost...
Something tells me I'm going to be cool or ok with Gabriel at the least. :)
-
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a104/tony747/Final20Fantasy20X20800x600_edited.jpg)
That is one awful outfit.
Anyway, I like the feminine guys in CV. But IMO they're really only feminine in appearance, not in personality nor acting IMO. And now I'm talking about stereotypical "feminine behaviour" which is a very outdated way of looking at things, cause far from all guys and girls fit in these kind of gender classifications, but I'll do it for now.
I have to agree that Gabriel is a welcome dude in the Castlevania universe at this point. Mostly because he reminds me of the series roots. But I doubt that he's more man than Soma, Leon or whoever. He's just older and has a more manly face. Other than that, Castlevania heroes are pretty much the same IMO (Jonathan Morris is the obvious exception here).
-
Eh I think they hit a perfect balance with Belmonts like Richter and Trevor who are both very masculine but not so much that it is ridiculious and their faces are a bit grim looking (and grim is MANLY) so they seem battle hardened wich is also further emphasized with Trevor's scars and him beling blind to one eye etc. The only difference between them and Gabriel is that he looks older, frowns all the time and has facial hair. His height and shoulder width are just stupid so I don't consider that a plus.
-
The only difference between them and Gabriel is that he looks older, frowns all the time and has facial hair. His height and shoulder width are just stupid so I don't consider that a plus.
Actually I find this look to be far more realistic. It's medieval Romania and nobody in that time period is ever really neat & pretty. Men especially. Asside from farming, the only other main thing for the male populous to do is to serve as a soldier. Gabriel's look is just what CV needs. it's way more convincing then the pretty-boy look. IMO if there were pretty-boys in Romania then they'ed most likely be sold of as slaves to the Ottoman turks or Saxon traders.
-X
-
Gabriel is kinda monstrously tall compared to everyone else though. And his shoulder weight is actually really unrealistic. I mean, Trevor only has his anatomical problems in the art, his in-game model is pretty decently proportioned. I'm okay with how his face looks, but his body is pretty ridiculous. I mean, Gabriel has this body builder physique, and I don't think anyone in medieval Romania had that.
-
Well I don't understand what being a pretty boy or not has anything to do with being manly. Though that is just me. :-\
-
LOL you mean besides the lack of muscle tone? I mean, that's a pretty obvious difference. Only in Japan-o-land can a scrawny twig-like kid hold a giant weapon (see Cloud, Soma, etc.). Realistically speaking, you need to be somewhat buff to be able to quickly and efficiently wield stuff like that.
Once you pick up a real chain whip with a spiked ball at the end, you realize you will need a heck of an arm to be able to swing that around.
-
Indeed... I'm not saying you can't be handsome ... but you need some muscle definition. I like how Richter and Alucard is portrayed in SotN, but when you expand that to EVERY OTHER CHARACTER, it's just a wtf.
About being nice and clean... I don't see that being a problem. I mean, the belmonts are nobleman, so they are usually not a big surprise to me that they'd be grand and clean... maybe not right after a war with demons, but still.
-
Yeah, but see. You can't even guess their muscle definition since it's hidden under clothing. I mean, Trevor in CoD is pretty toned.
-
Well, I never thought pretty boys automatically had to be scrawny, so I kinda agree with Nagumo here. They can still be manly. But yes, I agree with Jorge too - you need muscle to wield weapons like this, so the likes of Soma is rather unrealistic, though he's not really using muscle power.. it's the SOULS I tellz ya. The SOULS! :D
-
Yeah, but see. You can't even guess their muscle definition since it's hidden under clothing. I mean, Trevor in CoD is pretty toned.
And he's one character I'll probably never complain about. Though compared to how he looks on his boxart for cv3, he's scrawny.
-
I won't complain (too much) about Soma... but the weapons are real, even if the souls aren't. I can believe him summoning an ice Valkyrie who wields a large sword (AoS) from under his jacket pocket, but I won't believe he can easily swing a Claimh Solais that's twice his size in milliseconds. I just can't. Not even Alucard, who I can forgive a lot of things for, since he's a Dhampir and all, wields such a large-ass weapon so easily.
I also don't mind if the character is a handsome man (hell, the villagers themselves claim that Simon is quite the looker), but the definition has to be there.
Gabriel... has a tiny head in comparison to his body (Bayonetta syndrome?), but with his armor and tunic being large, I can at least suspend my disbelief by saying "Well, that's large armor under that tunic", and there! Done. You cannot do it with the scrawny characters going the other way, that easily. At least, I personally have difficulties doing so.
-
I won't complain (too much) about Soma... but the weapons are real, even if the souls aren't. I can believe him summoning an ice Valkyrie who wields a large sword (AoS) from under his jacket pocket, but I won't believe he can easily swing a Claimh Solais that's twice his size in milliseconds. I just can't. Not even Alucard, who I can forgive a lot of things for, since he's a Dhampir and all, wields such a large-ass weapon so easily.
I also don't mind if the character is a handsome man (hell, the villagers themselves claim that Simon is quite the looker), but the definition has to be there.
Gabriel... has a tiny head in comparison to his body (Bayonetta syndrome?), but with his armor and tunic being large, I can at least suspend my disbelief by saying "Well, that's large armor under that tunic", and there! Done. You cannot do it with the scrawny characters going the other way, that easily. At least, I personally have difficulties doing so.
I think he means, the soul improves his strength... unless I'm wrong... but that's how I thought it would work...
Alucard, I can definitely forgive. Being a dhampir, makes it work for me.
As for gabe, I don't think he's bad or disproportionate. His head size looks like it fits his body, armor or not.
-
LOL you mean besides the lack of muscle tone?
I didn't know being normally shaped had something to do with the pretty boy stereotype but ok
-
I think my avatar is pretty much the perfect protagonist for Castlevania. Always strutting, built well enough, and looks like he can definitely move and platform around Castlevania. Reminds me of Richter's sprite, which I felt was the best 2D Belmont.
Heck I'm kind of disappointed we never got official artwork of Christopher from ReBirth. :(
-
But he never lifts his feet when walking. The giant weapons in AoS and DoS were pretty terrible though.
-
The giant weapons were pretty much a product of decreased scale of graphics combined with gameplay progression and mechanics. A lot of things in the game were not drawn to proper scale as is, compared to other games. Due to the size and mechanics of monsters and the speed of the game, the large weapon sizes became a must. Just look at the long sword, that thing is beastly even.
Dawn was much more believable.
-
This is how Belmonts should look
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/c0mbat/capn_Simon.jpg)
-
lol
-X
-
But he never lifts his feet when walking. The giant weapons in AoS and DoS were pretty terrible though.
At least in DoS Soma swung 2 handed weapons with, well, 2 hands.
I mean, good grief, Soma looked ridiculous swinging the death sickle in AoS.
-
The Captain N Simon actually did not look bad. He just needed a bandanna instead of those goofy goggles, and a leather/red jacket instead of a blue one. Otherwise he does resemble CV2 Simon.
Except for the "I'm so great-looking" attitude... but then again, if every other townsperson starts telling you that, you'd probably start believing it.
-
In my view, the greatest asset for Castlevania was the different team working on all old titles. Each time, we had a new representation for Castlevania heroes :
- barbarian (Castlevania)
- warrior (The Adventure or Super Castlevania IV)
- noble (Simon's Quest)
- manga heroes (Chi no Rondo and COTM)
etc etc....
I love all these representations and pics. Each time, we've got a new design for the Arts and chara design. Long hair / Short Hair / Fair hair / Black and brown hair / Muscles / Old warriors (Densetsu II)Rookie warriors (Akumajo Dracula XX)... But since Igarashi team and Kojima work, it's always the same, pale skin and blond hair ! Wa can like her pics or dislike them. You guess my point. But the fact is that Hector, Juste, Soma, Graham etc etc.... are just heroes which have nothing to do with warriors representation.
-
But the fact is that Hector, Juste, Soma, Graham etc etc.... are just heroes which have nothing to do with warriors representation.
I'm guessing that your point here is that the protagonist in Castlevania should always be a warrior type of hero? Hmmm.
I think everyone felt that the romantic artwork of Symphony of the Night was a fantastic new step for Castlevania, and one that suited the franchise EXTREMELY well. I also think that Juste could've been one of the best heroes in Castlevanian history, based on his fantastic artwork. The actual sprite however did not do the artwork justice.
-
I'm guessing that your point here is that the protagonist in Castlevania should always be a warrior type of hero? Hmmm.
I think everyone felt that the romantic artwork of Symphony of the Night was a fantastic new step for Castlevania, and one that suited the franchise EXTREMELY well. I also think that Juste could've been one of the best heroes in Castlevanian history, based on his fantastic artwork. The actual sprite however did not do the artwork justice.
I don't quite think that's what he's saying, but a character who has been bred from birth to slay vampires or a character who is one of Dracula's forge masters should have a bit more of a warrior's bearing to balance out the nobility aspect. The clothing works pretty well, but you'd also think someone who KNEW they were going to be fighting demons wouldn't be wearing the same clothes he'd wear to a ball.
As for Soma, I think I'd have liked him better if he hadn't gone from ignorant schoolkid to badass demon slayer in 5 minutes. I know Castlevania has never been too much about character development, but the fact that he just kind of walked into Dracula's castle and started ripping zombies apart kind of irked me.
-
I don't quite think that's what he's saying, but a character who has been bred from birth to slay vampires or a character who is one of Dracula's forge masters should have a bit more of a warrior's bearing to balance out the nobility aspect. The clothing works pretty well, but you'd also think someone who KNEW they were going to be fighting demons wouldn't be wearing the same clothes he'd wear to a ball.
As for Soma, I think I'd have liked him better if he hadn't gone from ignorant schoolkid to badass demon slayer in 5 minutes. I know Castlevania has never been too much about character development, but the fact that he just kind of walked into Dracula's castle and started ripping zombies apart kind of irked me.
First of all, I think what some people are saying is that they see vampire hunters as warriors who rely purely on brute strength. And, that was true at first. The reason now that I think that the characters don't seem to be as buff is at least one of the following:
1) Their clothing hides their muscles
2) They aren't purely warriors anymore. They are a hybrid of warrior and mage.
As for Soma in AoS, that annoyed my too. Then again, the argument could be made that his power and survival instincts were responsible. After all, if you remember, when Soma first meets Yoko, he states that he felt he was losing sense of himself.
-
I think if anyone aquires a sort of power for the first time in their life, will start to question themselves. I know I would. It's like crossing the fine line of you 'current self' and the 'alien self'. But once you get use to it and accept it then the line blurs and the two seperret aspects of the 'self' merge.
-X
-
Under that fur coat is a bountiful of rippling muscles.
-
The secret reason why Mina prefered Soma over Arikado.
-
Soma is even skinnier than me.
(http://castlevaniadungeon.net/Images/Scans/Aria/art-soma1.jpg)
However, looking at people like Juste, he looks reasonably fit, but his sleeves are too puffy to really tell.
(http://castlevaniadungeon.net/Images/Scans/HoD/wnc-just.jpg)
-
Harmony of Dissonance was also the first one I played, and I loved it. Juste is so badass. All the Belmonts were badass. Jonathan doesn't bother me, however. Not a fan of Soma though. Though I have yet to play Dawn of Sorrow. Order of Ecclesia was amazing, probably one of my favorites. Anyway, Gabriel looks really badass and I'm looking forward to it.