Topic: Dracula is Pathetic **spoilers**

[Shinobi]

In Reply To #13

I like the design of Dracula's armor in the movie, as far as I know, the costume designer is a japanese woman(I forgot what her name is).

[Blue Cheese]

In Reply To #15

Adolph Hitler did many GOOD things. Vlad Dracula was a badass as he was keeping one of the most vicious and expansionist armies in the world at that time at bay pretty much on his own AND having to deal with the back stabbing methods of his fellow countrymen. Neither of these men just appeared out of nowhere and said "BOO! BWAHAHAHAH I'M EVIL! IMMA KILL YOU!"

And then you say that Dracula trying to rid the world of humans doesn't fit with him swarming evil monsters all over? Huh?  He blamed the death of his first love on God, so he vowed to defy God by never dying. The death of his second love was due to human ignorance so he obtains the power to destroy them. It's actually a pretty logical progression.

[justin312]

Blue Cheese... I disagree with several of your points.

[Blue Cheese]

In Reply To #18
Hitler did do a great many good things, read a damn book.
And I'm not saying Vlad wasn't absolutely nuts, but he kept his people safe. Mathias's actions also were a bit over the top but damn, he went 400 years without love and snapped, we already know he had a sadistic streak with what he did to Leon. He was power hungry, selfish, and reacts with an exaggerated childishness that is epic in scale.
Yes you just might burn down your own house after getting hurt on you stoop if you were crazy,if there was no one to stop you, had the power to do so and no reason not to do it.

[DoctaMario]

Dracula's not pathetic, more tragic, as some have said. There are motivations behind his methods and, while they are extreme, they're understandable. They show that he hasn't totally lost his human side entirely and could probably be convinced to go back down that road for the right reasons, should he find something good.

I agree with OP about Sephiroth though. No villain has caused me to roll my eyes more than him. Good god he's an emo kid with a sword.  :

[justin312]

In Reply To #19

I'm still not convinced but whatever, everyone's entitled to their opinions.

But since you told me to read a damn book, can you name me five good things that Hitler did?

[Battler Ushiromiya]

At the very least, Hitler pulled Germany out of a hoirrible depression. Not like the good really compares to the evil he did.

[justin312]

In Reply To #22

Thats true, but that was mainly due to military expansion, the end goal of which was to expand Germany's borders through force.  Not sure if I would call that a good thing.

[Danial]

In Reply To #23

Good and bad are assigned through perspective.  Expanding Germany's power was good for Germany.  Especially at the time since Germany was basically a broken country.  Also keep in mind that the world didn't see it entirely as a bad thing either.  When he took Austria and Czechoslovakia no one tried to stop him.  Most of Europe didn't even see it as a threat.  They saw it as a man who was successfully rebuilding his country.  Hitler was even named Man of the Year by Time Magazine because of his efforts to promote peace.

Also keep in mind that Hitler basically invented the highway system and the modern car, and without the war and his push in nationalism, modern science and medicine wouldn't be as advanced as they are today.

Ultimately the good that came from Hitler and WW2 isn't as palpable as the bad, and most of the good was not intended to improve the world in the way it was probably used.  But just because Hitler created a staging ground for some horrible things doesn't mean the same wasn't created for positive.

Regarding the topic:  Loss is a powerful motivator.  It may seem strange for a person to go to such extremes because they lost a loved one, but it happens all the time, especially in fiction.  Anakin lost his mother and wife and became Darth Vader.  Even in real life people do unimaginable things because of grief.  I work in a hospital and I've seen more than one person lose it when they are given bad news about someone they love.  It really just depends on the person and how they deal with grief, stress, and loss.

Also keep in mind that Mathias was an instrument of the Church.  He believed in God and the Church's goals enough to fight for them, to help lead crusades against those who thought different.  This leads me to think he was a zealot.  When he returned and his wife was dead by sickness, which was thought beyond the influence of men and in the domain of God, it shattered all of his beliefs.  He had done so much for God, yet God still turned his back on him.  It seems that was his mindset.  And when a zealot loses the beliefs they cling to so closely, they tend to react in extreme ways.

[Blue Cheese]

In Reply To #21
1) He unified the German people and helped them regain their sense of pride
2) Stabilized the German economy and eliminated foreign debt
3) He instituted the standardized schedule
for the German train system and a standardized measurement for rail cars
4) Created the modern autobahn system
5) Encouraged the development of the Volkswagen
6) Instituted the Kindergarten system
7) Encouraged the development of jet aircraft, and rocket development
Encouraged the rapid advancement of medical sciences.
9) Instated tobacco free zones and refused to allow pregnant woman to use tobacco rations
10) Was an accomplished artist.

As for Mathias, like it's already been stated, he felt God had betrayed him. That wasn't just a little disappointing. It shook everything that he had ever thought he knew and believed to the core. It shattered his emotional and mental state.
For us that kind of thing would just make us depressed and eat a lot of icecream because, really, what else are we going to do about it? Mathias was able to do something about it.
Also have you never hear the phrase "going postal"? People get pissed at stupid things and go on rampages all the time.

[justin312]

OK, I guess I see what you guys mean.  The wife's death could have set him off and made him snap, and he just got worse from there over time.  I do think it would be helpful if they expanded upon his becoming more evil in a future game set between Lament and Dracula's Curse.

Since RPGs that let you be totally evil seem to be all the rage these days, maybe they could make an Oblivion/Fallout 3/Fable/KotOR-style spinoff game where you play as Mathias/Dracula in between Lament and Dracula's Curse, where it shows what happens to him afterward and his descent into becoming more evil.  That might be pretty cool (although it might seem too much like a Legacy of Kain ripoff...).

[snakes3425]

Have you read Stoker's original novel or seen any of the movies? All this he became a vampire after losing the love of his life is Hollywood, in the original novel Dracula's origins are never explained

[Battler Ushiromiya]

In Reply To #27

Thank you for stating what's been already said twice before.

[Baigan]

Why the whitewashing of motives? The only way to become evil these days is for your parents to abuse you or possibly a loved one to die.

Both Dracula and Sephiroth were probably proud to a fault, and were not experiencing a normal grief reaction, but an egocentric response that many may find it difficult to relate to but which isn't merely 'childish.' Becoming a god, defying God, these are not typical grief reactions. Ah yes, Vader as well. With all his repeated talk about Obi-Wan holding him back, and his occasional skirting of the Jedi mores, selfishness and pride were the initial seed, not grief. This is the way Lucifer was said to have fallen. Should we dismiss the motivation laughingly as an outmoded 'pure evil', or was Lucifer all too human and just too big for his brithces?

When Hector asks Dracula why he started his war, he says nothing about his girlfriend, but something about humanity shunning him. This is consistent with the killing of his girlfriend as a witch, and is deeper than the killing of his girlfriend as a witch. Is society evil for fearing Dracula's withcraft prejudicially? Or is Dracula in fact evil? Probably both.

I conceive of Dracula's war against God as being more than the mere fact of 'living forever.' Probably his assuming the mantle of the 'Lord of the Vampires/Darkness' irks God too...While there is a gap in the timeline I would wager Dracula was up to no good in that timeframe. I'm sure he was doing something of significance, probably which God did not like.

[The Last Belmont]

This whole Dracula being the "Lord of Darkness" is because one simple religious human couldn't deal with the death of his first wife.