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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Isbiten on May 07, 2013, 02:07:25 AM

Title: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Isbiten on May 07, 2013, 02:07:25 AM
Trying to figure out which games play like Circle of the Moon.
I love the whole going around exploring, backtracking, the Cards that you collect.

Which other games are like this?
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Ratty on May 07, 2013, 02:16:56 AM
Those are called "Metroidvanias", it's actually an entire genre of game. (Albeit a small one as compared to say shmups.) And you can get MetroidVanias both in the 2D entries in the Metroid series from Nintendo and in lots of indie games like this http://www.desura.com/games/bunny-must-die (http://www.desura.com/games/bunny-must-die)

Within the Castlevania series the games that are definitely Metroidvanias are-

Symphony of the Night (PS1, PSP, Sega Saturn, PSN & XBLA)

Circle of the Moon (GBA)
Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Dawn of Sorrow (DS)
Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Order of Ecclesia (DS)
------
There are other games in the series which have Metroidvania elements but those are the ones that unquestionably qualify for the title. Not sure about the new one on the 3DS but I think the general consensus seems to be that it's just sort of a quasi-Metroidvania.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Isbiten on May 07, 2013, 03:05:12 AM
Thanks a lot.
Saved me a lot of time going through EVERY game, there are quite a lot of them now.

What is the opinion on the 3DS game, Lord of the Shadows.
I saw a little gameplay and it seems it plays like an "ordinary" platformer.

Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: son_the_vampire on May 07, 2013, 05:23:17 AM
Ratty pretty much summed up the Metroidvania experience. Far as difficulty i would choose OOE as it somewhat mirrors CotM in that aspect. Thief mode was the hardest for me in CotM, yet i was able to beat it compared to Hard Albus mode in OOE. So if you are up for backtracking, saving villagers and killing 450 Lorelais just to get 1 Merman Meat this should definitely be your next title. Unless u have a 3DS then get MoF and tell me all about it!
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on May 07, 2013, 05:58:11 AM
MoF ehehehehe... there is an entire thread dedicated to that.  ;D
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: son_the_vampire on May 07, 2013, 07:41:43 AM
Exactly! Ill just value the opinions of my peers for MoF and just keep waiting for LoS2
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Pfil on May 07, 2013, 12:18:35 PM
You can also try the 3D MetroidVanias, Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence for PS2, and also Metroid: Other M for Wii.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Lelygax on May 07, 2013, 04:31:53 PM
Try Order of Shadows. :P
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Ratty on May 07, 2013, 05:24:14 PM
You can also try the 3D MetroidVanias, Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence for PS2, and also Metroid: Other M for Wii.

Try Order of Shadows. :P

This are the games I mentioned that have Metroidvania elements but it's hard to say if they would really qualify. I've not played Order of Shadows but it's pretty bad from what I've heard, as you might expect of a primitive cell phone game. The PS2 (and original Xbox for Curse of Darkness) games Pfil mentioned are pretty good though.

Circle of the Moon is one of the best MetroidVanias in the series (games with more Castlevania 1 like gameplay are usually called "ClassicVanias" in the fandom to distinguish) but the others are mostly good to. Personally I recommend either Symphony of the Night or Aria of Sorrow as the next one you should hunt down.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Pfil on May 07, 2013, 11:10:18 PM
My favourite one is Portrait of Ruin but I'm, like, the only person in the whole world  :P (well, me and my brother, by the way).

Yes, Order of Shadows is plain terrible. I'd recommend Mirror of Fate first, against OoS, but none of them are MetroidVania in my opinion.

It could also be said that Harmony of Despair is MetroidVania... kind of, sort of...

To be honest, Metroid games can't be MetroidVanias. They are just Metroid, yes. But they are definitely not Vanias.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Lelygax on May 08, 2013, 12:21:44 AM
That was supposed to be a joke, like "install gentoo" or "delete system32", but more inoffensive :(
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Sul_Yong on May 08, 2013, 08:12:51 AM
My favourite one is Portrait of Ruin but I'm, like, the only person in the whole world  :P (well, me and my brother, by the way).

Hey now, PoR is one of my all time favorites... It lets me roleplay any type of Vampire Hunter I wish to be; classic Belmont, Ninja Hunter, Monk Hunter, or my personal fav: Spearman of Doom!! (Yeah I know that mostly covered Jonathan, but I tend to prefer might over magic...)
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: GuyStarwind on May 08, 2013, 12:14:23 PM
PoR was my first Metriodvania game. So, it has a special place in my heart.

Speaking of CotM. That game was awesome. I think I'm going to start a game on it today.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Pfil on May 08, 2013, 12:26:06 PM
That was supposed to be a joke, like "install gentoo" or "delete system32", but more inoffensive :(
Haha! I know.

Hey now, PoR is one of my all time favorites... It lets me roleplay any type of Vampire Hunter I wish to be; classic Belmont, Ninja Hunter, Monk Hunter, or my personal fav: Spearman of Doom!! (Yeah I know that mostly covered Jonathan, but I tend to prefer might over magic...)
PoR was my first Metriodvania game. So, it has a special place in my heart.

Speaking of CotM. That game was awesome. I think I'm going to start a game on it today.
Always nice to know I'm not alone liking PoR  :)
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: son_the_vampire on May 08, 2013, 05:39:42 PM
Johnathan is very fun to play. I love knuckles and straight up martial arts in that game.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Phoenix7786 on May 08, 2013, 08:02:08 PM

What is the opinion on the 3DS game, Lord of the Shadows.
I saw a little gameplay and it seems it plays like an "ordinary" platformer.

PERFECT way to summarize it. It's strictly ordinary.

If you have access to Symphony of the Night (SotN) it's more-or-less the Metroidvania that put Metroidmania's on the map. It's easy and tame by today's standards (far easier than CotM), but you might still enjoy it.

My favourite one is Portrait of Ruin but I'm, like, the only person in the whole world  :P (well, me and my brother, by the way).


I did like PoR the most out of the three DS games. To me, it had the most replayability; like DoS before it it was a sequel to another Castlevania; and I liked the partner system (although I can't help but feel like it didn't reach its full potential).
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Ratty on May 08, 2013, 10:44:10 PM
That was supposed to be a joke, like "install gentoo" or "delete system32", but more inoffensive :(

Yeah we knew :P just wanted to make sure any new people to the series wouldn't get confused.

PERFECT way to summarize it. It's strictly ordinary.

If you have access to Symphony of the Night (SotN) it's more-or-less the Metroidvania that put Metroidmania's on the map. It's easy and tame by today's standards (far easier than CotM), but you might still enjoy it.

I did like PoR the most out of the three DS games. To me, it had the most replayability; like DoS before it it was a sequel to another Castlevania; and I liked the partner system (although I can't help but feel like it didn't reach its full potential).

Don't forget Super Metroid, I've never played it but a lot of people swear by it. Personally I'd say SOTN is as hard or as easy as you let it be, like most Metroidvanias. Depending on how much you level and what items you choose to equip. I think the general consensus though is that the two hardest Metroidvanias in the Castlevania series are CotM and OoE.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Pfil on May 09, 2013, 11:34:56 AM
Totally. Those games literally kicked my a**.
Until today, I still can't beat the arena stage in CotM, nor can I beat the final boss with Albus in OoE.
The 3DS game is more enjoyable than LoS in my opinion, but it still lacks what I'd like it to have.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: X on May 09, 2013, 05:23:01 PM
Quote
Totally. Those games literally kicked my a**.
Until today, I still can't beat the arena stage in CotM, nor can I beat the final boss with Albus in OoE.

When it comes to CotM I just grind in the catacombs. Those giant blue bears and spider women drop life potions and heart healers so as I'm leveling up I'm also stocking up as well. This gives me the edge I need to conquer the Arena.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: VladCT on May 09, 2013, 05:41:37 PM
Totally. Those games literally kicked my a**.
Until today, I still can't beat the arena stage in CotM, nor can I beat the final boss with Albus in OoE.
IMO CotM is the one that's genuinely hard, while OoE's Albus Mode is only hard if you don't know how to utilize all of his abilities properly. He has quite a few moves that grant him invincibility frames, and he has the potential for some pretty damn high DPS too.

And hoo-lee shizz, there were a lot of unwarranted -1's here, fixed.
Title: Re: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?
Post by: Pfil on May 10, 2013, 12:16:41 AM
I'd have to see some gameplay video to learn how to beat the final boss with Albus. I just can't. I tried it a lot of times.
And worse with the CotM arena. I try to find spots to gain some levels, but then I die instantly again.