Topic: Worst Game in Series

[narkolepsi]

I enjoyed Portrait of Ruin. I don't understand the hate, really. The anime style had to go (even the art style on the soundtrack poster would've been nice) and the story could have been elaborated upon a lot. It's still a decent platformer in its own respect, but I don't see how it could possibly try to be a sequel to Bloodlines, which blows Portrait out of the water when it comes to that whole "wartime Castlevania" vibe (and Castlevania, period.) Can't get the HoD hate either, I'm playing it now and I think it's great.

(I know I have a Loretta avatar...I just love that character )

I don't want to gripe about Adventure. Sentimental value, I guess, because it was the first game that I played in the series. Though I will admit that Christopher moves waaaaay too slowly.

And honestly, Legends was a good idea in theory, but not in execution. Nothing to write home about, but it had potential. Mostly wasted potential, but eh. I didn't walk away from it feeling disgusted, but I didn't feel satisfied, the normal reaction when I play a Castlevania (a good one, anyway.)

In the end though, Curse of Darkness. Though it did have beautiful art, the familiar system was gimmicky, the characters and situations were awkward, and the camera actually made me sick. :X A classic case of coulda-woulda-shoulda-didn't.

[Aridale]

wow 2 ppl actually voted for CV2... fuck you guys whoever you are =D

[Kale]

Well, there were an incredible amount of crap in that game... and I mean it in a derogatory term.

[shelverton.]

For me, Simon's Quest is somewhere in the middle - not the worst but certainly not the best either. It had truckloads of potential though. The music is incredible (though there aren't that many tracks really), the atmosphere is unparalleled in the franchise (except for Super Castlevania 4 which blows every other game out of the water) and the structure of the game world is somehing that I would like to see again. Order of Ecclesia tried something similar, but ultimately the areas felt disconnected...

[The Silverlord]

I don't understand the hate, really. [Portrait of Ruin]

I think I said at the time after its release that if you came into the series with this game, or come to it fresh, you'd absolutely love it.  Technically it is very good and it's visually impressive.

I think for me though it was just a Castleroid too many, it felt like going through the motions, there was an auto-pilot feel playing it, if that makes any sense?  That's maybe more to do with my mindset than the game being poor to be honest, however all the room and platform structures seemed essentially the same, go right, jump up there, go left, jump up there, next room do the same, etc.  It felt monotonous, bland, and lacking in charisma.   The game is colourful enough to look at, a lot of work had gone in there, they’d even tried the odd set piece and such (e.g. rolling boulders), but it was without any real substance.  The dual hero system was a gimmick I didn’t appreciate, with cheesy dialogue and indulgent combo set-pieces.  The Wind fetch quests I actually did welcome as an attempt to mix things up and get the brain thinking—it marked a change from the Castleroid norm.

There are people who claim Lords of Shadow is not a Castlevania game, or at best uses superficial references.  I would argue that to date Portrait has deviated just about as far from Castlevania as we know it as any other entry in the series I’ve played.  A watered-down anime/kiddie style, naive characters, alien locales like the Egyptian pyramids, abysmal level-design and just a mediocre feel overall which did not evoke an atmosphere or anything of gothic horror.

Order of Ecclesia was much improved in terms of its darker setting.  I agree it did feel disconnected, I don't think that map screen did it any really favours.  It could have done with some imagery in-between, or something akin to Dracula's Curse with the choice of direction, not sure though.

Should also say, I haven’t played Curse of Darkness, Judgement or Order of Shadows or either may have taken my vote.

[narkolepsi]

I think I said at the time after its release that if you came into the series with this game, or come to it fresh, you'd absolutely love it.  Technically it is very good and it's visually impressive.

I think for me though it was just a Castleroid too many, it felt like going through the motions, there was an auto-pilot feel playing it, if that makes any sense?  That's maybe more to do with my mindset than the game being poor to be honest, however all the room and platform structures seemed essentially the same, go right, jump up there, go left, jump up there, next room do the same, etc.  It felt monotonous, bland, and lacking in charisma.   The game is colourful enough to look at, a lot of work had gone in there, they’d even tried the odd set piece and such (e.g. rolling boulders), but it was without any real substance.  The dual hero system was a gimmick I didn’t appreciate, with cheesy dialogue and indulgent combo set-pieces.  The Wind fetch quests I actually did welcome as an attempt to mix things up and get the brain thinking—it marked a change from the Castleroid norm.

I completely understand what you're saying. I'm not exactly a neophyte to the series, but I haven't been with it from the beginning (Order of Ecclesia was my first bought game, but I played The Adventure 7-8 years prior.) Since I got hardcore into the series with Order of Ecclesia, I got used to the DS games, but I was able to find pure gold in the old-school entries, the way it was meant to be (IMO.)

Portrait was my 3rd game (I'm working backwards) so I'm honestly more used to metroidvanias/castleroids - however, I'm trying to break the habit by going to the old-school consoles (currently: Bloodlines.) As a stand-alone game it's very good, but the more I think about it, as a Castlevania, it's a little awkward, forcing itself into the atmosphere. As the 20th-anniversary entry, it could have been more. I don't consider it the worst CV ever though, like a few apparently do; the gameplay engaged me enough and I thought Stella and Loretta were awesome. **is shot**

There are people who claim Lords of Shadow is not a Castlevania game, or at best uses superficial references.  I would argue that to date Portrait has deviated just about as far from Castlevania as we know it as any other entry in the series I’ve played.  A watered-down anime/kiddie style, naive characters, alien locales like the Egyptian pyramids, abysmal level-design and just a mediocre feel overall which did not evoke an atmosphere or anything of gothic horror.

Order of Ecclesia was much improved in terms of its darker setting.  I agree it did feel disconnected, I don't think that map screen did it any really favours.  It could have done with some imagery in-between, or something akin to Dracula's Curse with the choice of direction, not sure though.

I agree with you there too. The "accessible" Castlevania didn't do it for me, not in Dawn nor in Portrait. I did not like the Egyptian stages either, I thought they were totally out of context. Some stages were okay. 13th Street with Iron Blue Intention playing in the background...yeah! But two identical pyramid stages, two identical circus stages...that's a little much. The flaws in Portrait's level design weren't as apparent in the beginning. I'm on my second playthrough, currently at 999.5%, and the more I play it the more I see similarities at the level designs. (Burnt Paradise is the City of Fools! 13th Street is the City of Haze! Dark Academy is the Forest of Doom!...etc...etc..)

I don't like what happened to Wind/Eric in Portrait. The more I play Bloodlines, the sadder I get about Eric in Portrait. His quests were great though, and that one quest with the statue's tear was just awesome in terms of atmosphere. When that statue started bleeding I crapped bricks.

And I loved OoE, especially in relation to Portrait now that I think about it, because of that darker feel it has.

--

Now the inevitable Judgment comment...it isn't all that great. It's a good way to kill a half-hour but then I feel compelled to play something else. As a fighter it's a little awkward, but as a Castlevania it's WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN. I've taken a liking to recreating the characters in Soul Calibur IV (wearing approximations of their original attire, sans crap character designs) and fighting with them...that's way more fun than Judgment in itself.

[GummiCandyful]

wow 2 ppl actually voted for CV2... fuck you guys whoever you are =D

Yeah, that's pretty sad. I actually enjoyed that game, despite some of its flaws.

Should also say, I haven’t played Curse of Darkness, Judgement or Order of Shadows or either may have taken my vote.

If you ever get a chance to play one of those two games, I would recommend CoD, because despite some of its flaws, it is stil 324567989765654 times better than Judgement.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Eh, Judgment isn't that bad.  I go back to it from time to time, and I have recreated some of their characters in Brawl... >_>

But I think 'most' of the crap Judgment gets is because of the super-supers and the artwork.  Really, if the characters looked like their original counterparts, the game probably wouldn't get as much of a problem.  It's certainly easier to play than SoulCalibur (I play it more than I do SoulCalibur IV, even though SCIV is a sexier game **winkwinknudgenudge**), but, like IGA's most recent Castlevanias, it's always falling short.  A little platforming here, a little panache there, and it could've made it.  I certainly enjoy a good bout inside the Clock Tower and at the Castle Gate (lol water snake kill).   It also does give you a nod to a lot of the other games, so it does try.  And the music kicks a lot of ass.

I haven't voted, but my least faves in terms of how boring they are as I play, are CoD and HoD.

[Thomas Belmont]

wow 2 ppl actually voted for CV2... fuck you guys whoever you are =D

I agree. Castlevania 2 is my favorite Castlevania.

[GummiCandyful]

Eh, Judgment isn't that bad.  I go back to it from time to time, and I have recreated some of their characters in Brawl... >_>

But I think 'most' of the crap Judgment gets is because of the super-supers and the artwork.  Really, if the characters looked like their original counterparts, the game probably wouldn't get as much of a problem.  It's certainly easier to play than SoulCalibur (I play it more than I do SoulCalibur IV, even though SCIV is a sexier game **winkwinknudgenudge**), but, like IGA's most recent Castlevanias, it's always falling short.  A little platforming here, a little panache there, and it could've made it.  I certainly enjoy a good bout inside the Clock Tower and at the Castle Gate (lol water snake kill).   It also does give you a nod to a lot of the other games, so it does try.  And the music kicks a lot of ass.

I haven't voted, but my least faves in terms of how boring they are as I play, are CoD and HoD.

Yes, Soul Calibur IV is a very awesome game, even though I dislike the Tower of Lost Souls mode, compared to SCII's Edge Master mode, but the customization is my favorite part of that game. 

When you speak of HoD, do you mean Despair or Dissonance? No matter which one it is, I'm always hearing bad things about both. LOL.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

For me HoD is Harmony of Dissonance (the one with Juste, for GBA).
For me HD is Harmony of Despair (only because, coincidentally, it's the only one in HD so far).

Hope that clears that up.  Seems to be what other people are using as well.

[Innovator]

For me HoD is Harmony of Dissonance (the one with Juste, for GBA).
For me HD is Harmony of Despair (only because, coincidentally, it's the only one in HD so far).
Hope that clears that up.  Seems to be what other people are using as well.

Thanks for the precisons Jorge.

But both HD and HoD are poor games which are named Castlevania but aren't not Castlevania.
(at least HoD is a good game but completely cut off Castlevania's roots)

[GummiCandyful]

For me HoD is Harmony of Dissonance (the one with Juste, for GBA).
For me HD is Harmony of Despair (only because, coincidentally, it's the only one in HD so far).

Hope that clears that up.  Seems to be what other people are using as well.

I see. Thanks for clearing that up.  Anyway, was it Juste's hidden love for interior decorating that made you dislike the game? Or is that one of the many problems? LOL.

[crisis]

(at least HoD is a good game but completely cut off Castlevania's roots)

It features Simon Belmont, even including his original sprite. That alone is enough to call it Castlevania.

[thernz]

which are named Castlevania but aren't not Castlevania.

They are not not Castlevania. Yes, they are Castlevania.