Castlevania Dungeon Forums

The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Einzige on February 22, 2011, 01:15:09 PM

Title: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Einzige on February 22, 2011, 01:15:09 PM
My first post on the subject. How exciting.

I've heard some pretty hilarious stories about Haunted Castle, but I've never had the (mis?)fortune to play that one myself. Of the ones I have played, though, Rondo of Blood certainly takes the cake for me. I'm not sure if it's because my hands are reacting instinctively to a console controller that is not there or what, but I don't recall any of the past games being anywhere near this difficult. And while I'm aware that a lot of people find Bloodlines challenging, that was my mainstay game as a lad, so I'm used to it. It'd be nice if Rondo had a difficulty selection feature like that game did.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Foffy on February 22, 2011, 03:40:21 PM
Out of all of the games that are difficult that are balanced in doing so, Chronicles probably takes the cake. In terms of cheapness, I think it'd be between Haunted Castle and Adventure.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: DragonSlayr81 on February 22, 2011, 04:11:55 PM
I'd put Simon's Quest into that group. Unless you know what you're doing, a lot of it could be confusing.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Successor The Cruel on February 22, 2011, 04:40:41 PM
Haunted Castle and Vampire Killer are the toughest to me, but they're pretty much broken games.  As far as reasonable, well thought out difficulty, perhaps Order of Ecclesia's Hard Mode.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Chernabogue on February 22, 2011, 05:21:21 PM
Curse of Darkness' CRAZY MODE. I cried playing it.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: DarkPrinceAlucard on February 22, 2011, 05:24:35 PM
For me it was Curse of Darkness.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on February 22, 2011, 05:27:22 PM
I still stay with Haunted Castle (even version K), Castlevania Chronicles (Original mode), and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES).
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: PFG9000 on February 22, 2011, 05:36:55 PM
Vampire Killer MSX for me, assuming we're talking about the standard difficulty level.  If things like Crazy mode count, then it's probably the Hard-level-1-cap of PoR with no carryover equipment.  I couldn't even make it past the underground area of that one.  One hit from a boss will kill you, and you can only be hit like twice between save points.  To be fair though, I haven't played hard mode of all the CVs that offer it.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Harrycombs on February 22, 2011, 06:37:54 PM
Haunted Castle. I got to the second level of that thing and it was bullshit. I don't think even God could beat that game.

I'm not considering the hard and crazy modes of the later games, as they were rather poorly designed and generally just made everything deal more damage and made you take more damage, and the lazy level design and enemy placement artificially made the games more difficult.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: VampirehunterB on February 22, 2011, 09:27:58 PM
Vampire killer, Haunted castle, CV chronicles, Cv adventure
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: shelverton. on February 22, 2011, 09:56:59 PM

Haunted Castle is pretty much impossible to me. And the final boss battle in Vampire's Kiss was brutal too, but the game itself wasn't too bad.

Also, I absolutly suck at certain types of 3D action games, so Lords of Shadow proved to be rather difficult for me. Or maybe it was more tedious than difficult... let's just say it's one of the more painful experiences I've had with the series. I thought the enemies had waaaay too much health, not to mention the bosses. Anyway, I felt overwhelmed by the painfully drawn out fighting and thus never finished it (I had already seen a walkthrough on youtube though, so I knew how everything ended)
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: X on February 23, 2011, 12:24:26 AM
I'd have to vote Haunted Castle and the original Vampirekiller. I've only ever finished Haunted Castle twice and that was usually a fluke concidering that if you don't plan ahead in that game, it'll wipe the floor with you... :'( I never did finish Vampirekiller cause those stupid Medusa heads in the second area kept on knocking off the ledge or I'd just get bombarded to death. CV3 I would also vote into the category but because I've essentially mastered the game (no-matter which of the four endings I wish to see), It's not really all that hard anymore.

-X
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Munchy on February 23, 2011, 03:35:49 AM
MSX Vampire Killer. I've gotten to the second stage maybe once. It's a charming game somehow; I wish they'd remake it for something, minus the absolutely retarded input method for the subweapons.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Einzige on February 23, 2011, 09:13:33 AM
I'd put Simon's Quest into that group. Unless you know what you're doing, a lot of it could be confusing.

That's definitely true. CV2 was the very first game in the series I ever played, and I remember endless nights as a boy trying to figure out just what the Hell I was supposed to do with the red crystal. But now that I can pretty well beat the game with my eyes closed, I definitely find it to be one of the most fun Castlevanias I've played (which is admittedly limited to the first nine games or so - pretty well everything pre-PS2). The difficulty in Simon's Quest doesn't stem from the core gameplay itself, but rather the somewhat poor integration of the story with the gaming mechanics.

EDIT: Actually, now that I think about it, I'm of the opinion that CV2 had the best pure platforming mechanics of the three NES releases. CVIII had some extraneous things mostly involving melting blocks, and CVI was pretty basic.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Dremn on February 23, 2011, 11:36:07 AM
Bloodlines.

Having only a limited amount of continues makes it marginally more difficult than most games in the series easily.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: DarkPrinceAlucard on February 23, 2011, 04:21:24 PM
Bloodlines.

Having only a limited amount of continues makes it marginally more difficult than most games in the series easily.

Yea Bloodlines would have to be my close second for the reasons you mentioned.

It did get pretty tuff at some points.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Foffy on February 23, 2011, 05:42:47 PM
Bloodlines.

Having only a limited amount of continues makes it marginally more difficult than most games in the series easily.

But the limited continues was largely a counter to a pretty forgiving checkpoint system. You didn't have to do a whole stage over after a game over, like almost all of the other games. That and you had passwords too, so it wasn't as hard as older titles...minus the emphasis on bosses everywhere, of course.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Asgardwolf on February 23, 2011, 08:14:22 PM
Curse of Darkness' CRAZY MODE. I cried playing it.
LOL yeah, Try to steal Death's Pulse from Death on Crazy was a suicide... This mode is certainly hard but doable.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.wikia.com%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F7%2F75%2FTime_Reaper.JPG&hash=f44a71177ccdd7480b0be9536d0861f5eaa5e610)
Most difficult Castlevania... Hmmm... I'll go with:
1- Haunted Castle
2- Vampire Killer
3- Chronicles
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: shelverton. on February 23, 2011, 08:30:06 PM

For me, Chronicles only ever got difficult in the clocktower stage. It's not very challenging up to that point, when suddenly it becomes positively infuriating. The level itself is manageable after you know what's gonna happen, but the boss..... Jesus christ, was the werewolf annoying? Throw EVERYTHING you can grab at me, why don't you.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: crisis on February 23, 2011, 08:40:17 PM
Quote
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.wikia.com%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F7%2F75%2FTime_Reaper.JPG&hash=f44a71177ccdd7480b0be9536d0861f5eaa5e610)
t-that's not Death!!!

THIS is Death
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20080822163942%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F4%2F46%2FDeath.jpg1&hash=452b102f1725de53f8b15722469524606214d5b4)

(they have the same character model lol)
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: thernz on February 23, 2011, 08:42:40 PM
iga, master of reusing
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Asgardwolf on February 23, 2011, 09:23:40 PM
t-that's not Death!!!

THIS is Death
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20080822163942%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F4%2F46%2FDeath.jpg1&hash=452b102f1725de53f8b15722469524606214d5b4)

(they have the same character model lol)
Yeah, yeah... Same model, different colors, different games... Time Reaper is just the equivalent of Death from ten thousand years in the future but now serving Galamoth...
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on February 24, 2011, 03:29:54 AM
What's funny is when you face him as Death.
"Even your visage mocks me!"
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Grim_Creeper on February 24, 2011, 08:08:36 AM
Define 'difficult'?

Do you mean difficult in the sense of 'wow this game is genuinely hard', or do you mean difficult as in AAAAGH MY FREAKIN CONTROLER WON'T DO! *beat head against wall scream obscenities and cry*?

The jumping in the original castlevania drives me absolutely nuts. I hate having to caaaaarefully aim ANY jump period like that, and often find myself wishing some... pretty unpleasant things on whomever wrote the controllers I/O logic.

Dang medusa heads and their dang propensity to knock me into holes. Sometimes I feel like their golf comentators.

Medusa head 1: Oh there he is, player 1 is sizing up the next jump, he's aiming carefully, trying to position himself just inches to the left to make it--- OOOH!

Medusa head 2: Yes that really bites doesn't it then? Falling into a hole of death while trying to position your jump. Lets all fly down there and laugh at him and call him a moron and make him wear a dunce cap and a chicken suit.

Medusa head 1: A chicken suit?

Medusa head 2: C'maaaaahn duuuuuuude~
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Odile Kuronuma on February 24, 2011, 11:33:32 PM
Bloodlines.

But all CV games are cake compared to the  Daimakaimura game(Ghouls and Ghosts) on PC Engine  ;D.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Munchy on February 25, 2011, 06:56:01 PM
Bloodlines.

But all CV games are cake compared to the  Daimakaimura game(Ghouls and Ghosts) on PC Engine  ;D.

I agree, as hard as Castlevania can be, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts truly brings on the paaaain.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Pemburu Vampir on February 25, 2011, 11:07:14 PM
I agree, as hard as Castlevania can be, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts truly brings on the paaaain.

Is it harder than Haunted Castle?
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: Grim_Creeper on February 25, 2011, 11:22:34 PM
Ghouls n Ghosts for the nintendo is listed as being amongst the top 10 or so hardest games of ALL TIME -period-.

I should know. I've beaten the game.

I think though that one of the main reasons its difficult is that there is generally a huge number of enemies on the screen at any given time, and that in most of the games you must go through it twice, though why you do that I won't say, since it involves the games plot.

Also, (like the original castlevania) you have to correctly aim your jumps, once your in jump motion, you can't direct yourself.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: ShinAkumaXX on February 25, 2011, 11:34:59 PM
Bloodlines.

Having only a limited amount of continues makes it marginally more difficult than most games in the series easily.

I agree, Genesis games seemed to have this a lot! Puts a lot more pressure on you to play perfectly that's for sure. I've not beaten Bloodlines yet myself, though I've not tried too many times either. I think the NES Castlevanias are the hardest that I've played. I have a hard time understanding how Rondo could possibly be the hardest to anyone. Same with Curse of Darkness... Then again we are all good/bad at different games. I'm not counting Vampire Killer or Haunted Castle, I've never played them and probably never will. They don't look that great. Chronicle is hard, but I like that one a lot and got pretty decent at it. I've still got to play though ReBirth! It's really not sucking me in though.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: danceofgold on February 26, 2011, 11:41:39 PM
I'd say Castlevania III. But strangely, I found it enjoyable at the same time. I'm not a hardcore gamer and would've given up if it were any other game, but for some reason I kept persevering at CV III till I beat it. Maybe it's the music, I don't know.

But all CV games are cake compared to the  Daimakaimura game(Ghouls and Ghosts) on PC Engine  ;D.

Yeah the worst thing about Daimakaimura was that you could only take 2 hits (armour, then skin) before dying.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: VeteranVk on February 27, 2011, 08:56:40 AM
Funny Ghost's 'N Goblins was just mentioned I had just played it last week actually, the arcade version. From my recall, Haunted Castle was at least manageable, GnG is unforgiving in almost every way, save for the re-suiting of armor at the end of every level and 5 drops of armor in the entire game in case you lost it earlier in the level. It Makes you go through it, twice! It hurts your wallet, if you're not using MAME, (heres looking at the two red guards at the end of level 5 during the 2nd quest)! Haunted Castle at least gives you the courtesy to cut you off at a 5 credit limit.
Title: Re: What's the most difficult Castlevania game?
Post by: darkjak951 on February 27, 2011, 05:35:56 PM
The original(mainly for stupid stage 5), Castlevania 3, and Bloodlines. Didn't find any of the others to meet the level of difficulty those games had.