Topic: Hi I am new to the forums, my thoughts about Castlevania

[AxeArmor]

I may new to the forums, but I am not new to Castlevania series. I got my first Castlevania game for NES back in x-mas 1988, and I still got the game and NES left.

I still love Castlevania even though they're a different series today. Back when I was a kid, the games were pretty tough. Sending our favorite villain dracula back to hell was no easy feat. I remember being stuck on Death for a long long time

I love the old games, but I welcomed the change in SotN. It made Castlevania more about exploration and a longer experience.

Now fast forward to Castlevania PoR (I know OoE is coming), and Konami(IGA) are still making SotN clones.

Am I the only one who thinks that every new Castlevania game since SotN becomes more and more linear though? In PoR it was almost impossible to NOT know where to go next. I miss the bigger free roaming/exploration aspect of SotN. That is my biggest grip with that game along with the ridicilous dialogue.

I still like PoR, but it's the worst SotN clone imo. I even prefer HoD more.

I am looking forward to OoE and I hope it will improve things yet again!

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

In Reply To #1

Hi, welcome to the forums.  Nice new thread in here.
Enjoy your stay, and feel free to reply to the current hot topics (the Castlevania: Judgment, and the Order of Ecclessia ones), or any that strike your fancy.

[crisis]

You'll find that many of us will agree with your statement, meanwhile many also disagree.

The 'bigger free roaming/exploration aspect' probably won't ever be executed as well as it did in SotN. Have you played Dracula X Chronicles? There's a game that is reminiscent of the old school games.

[AxeArmor]

You'll find that many of us will agree with your statement, meanwhile many also disagree.

The 'bigger free roaming/exploration aspect' probably won't ever be executed as well as it did in SotN. Have you played Dracula X Chronicles? There's a game that is reminiscent of the old school games.

Yeah i have played Dracula X Chronicles, the game is okay, but not like wow imo.

[CVfan13]

Welcome, AxeArmor. I also agree. SotN had time where I wasn't really sure what to do, and I and the same problem with CotM and HoD. but their successors weren't as complicated. I hope we get less linear and more explore-y stuff, in the future.

[AxeArmor]

thanks a lot.

My favorite SotN clone is not SotN however, it is circle of the moon. Fantastic game

[Gimph]

In Reply To #6

Hi, and welcome to the forums.

Circle of the Moon is an excellent game, it's one of my favorites too. My number one favorite Castlevania title is Castlevania Legacy of Darkness for Nintendo 64, though it's not very popular. Have you ever played it?

[CVfan13]

In Reply To #6

Indeed, I actually prefer HoD, though. But actually my fave SotN-like game would have to be the original SotN. The castle design in CotM is truly majestic, everywhere from the Chapel Tower to the Catacombs.

[Gimph]

In Reply To #8

Harmony of Dissonance is awesome.

I think it's probably my favorite of the GBA titles. Either that or Aria of Sorrow.

[Saroor]

I don't quite get all the hate for PoR. I thought Charlotte was an alright character. It was a bit linear, but I thought Richter mode was alot of fun. The bosses on hard mode with Richter were more challenging then we have seen in a while, at least for me. I do wish Konami could find the balance between accesibility and challenging game play, similar to Super Metroid or games like that. I feel Rondo and Castlevania 4 were pretty close to that ideal.

[fallenangel86]

strange how you pick the easiest 2 of the platformers when you say that.

[corneliab]

I still like PoR, but it's the worst SotN clone imo. I even prefer HoD more.

Can't say I agree. The only thing that I really actually liked about HoD was the detail in particular areas of the castle. The castle design itself, in combination with the mostly bland music, terrible sprite animation for Juste and Maxim, and the repetitiveness of the second castle, just really turned me off from the game.

PoR, on the other hand, I found to have excellent gameplay mechanics and music. Many people say that DoS was of higher quality, and though I can understand that, I just have more fun with PoR overall.

All that aside, welcome to the board.

[CVfan13]

I also like the detail of HoD, but I think a lot of what you stated as bad is actually good. The music is far from bland: there's always so much going on, not always the right things, but often quite tasteful and genius. I think it's really an acquired taste to like that soundtrack

[Saroor]

Yeh they are the easiest of the old school, excluding Castlevania 2,  but still more challenging than the games after SotN. I love the first Castlevania but I don't think it's very accessible to average gamers, the same with 3. Of course the Japanese version of 3 is as easy as 4 or Rondo I think, especially with Grant. Still, the difficulty of the NES games is a bit exaggerated.

I guess I would rather have an old school style game that is easier than the NES games instead of the castleroid games which take  multiple play-throughs to get to any challenge, which Dracula X Chronicles may be, but I dont have a psp yet. Or least give the  difficulty option from the start, like arrange mode on Chronicles.

I guess my point is if Konami is worried about games being too hard for average players, they have already made great games with a decent but fair challenge in the old school format. I wish they would do it again instead of reiterating the castleroid format to death.
 

[AxeArmor]

I also like the detail of HoD, but I think a lot of what you stated as bad is actually good. The music is far from bland: there's always so much going on, not always the right things, but often quite tasteful and genius. I think it's really an acquired taste to like that soundtrack

I also think the music in HoD is pretty decent. The track marble coridoor or something is among my favorite castlevania tunes.