Topic: Are the Castlevania storylines important to you?

[Sumac]

2 option.
Though it's really between 2 and 3.

For me Castlevania was always about gameplat, with some story thrown in to amke it more interesting. I like some of the stories and some of the characters, but I never took it seriously. For me it's just oranment and the gameplay is the real meat of the game.
Of course if, by chance, Castlevania somehow had masterfully crafted deep and interesting storyline I'll be all for it. But I think it never happen, since from the look of it people in charge care mostly about gameplay (not that I blame them). Though there are some exceptions form this rule.

In the end as long as Castlevania game delivers good gameplay, I could care less about story being less than original or not very deep. Though if story is outright bad or badly executed like HOD and POR, for example, it could hurt my opinion about this game.

[K.G. Morder]

Even Symphony...  ...while adding more dialogue and fleshing out its characters, didn't go too heavy on story and background details and were mostly self contained, so those also worked well.

Symphony is after Bloodlines, which established that the Bram Stoker book is part of the timeline. Meaning Count Chocula here is the same one from the novel.

They created a backstory around the whip, and then later added a bunch of rules as to when the whip could be used by Belmonts.

 
I thought this was actually a sensible idea. How is it that of all the weapons and items that Vampires are normally weak to, a WHIP is your main weapon. Not even a sword, which depending on your vampire interpretation, could be silver and thus harmful, no. A WHIP. That better be some damn special whip! And Lament established that it is. the otherwise average magic whip couldnt damage Walter. It required something more. It basically required using a Vampire's power AGAINST a vampire. And since the blood pact was made by the Belmonts, others who use the whip, cannot properly handle it's power, and have their life drained, unless they defeat the whip's memory of the previous Belmont owner.

The significantly altered the events that immediately followed Castlevania III, in the process minimizing Trevor's role in Dracula's defeat that century. 

CoD was somewhat unnecessary... But it is still significant. Trevor was the first Belmont to ever slay Dracula after Leon swore his blood would forever hunt him. Now, it would have been better if they didnt have Trevor get stabbed like that... He defeated an army of monsters, and Count Dracula, but he gets suckered by another Human? Really?

 

and then Dracula being reincarnated as a smartass Japanese teenager. 

I dont recall Soma being that much of a smartass. No more than any other protagonist in the series. In fact, I distinctly recall all description sof him stating that he is in fact very imposing, and difficult to approach. He seemed pretty serious to me. he took the being trapped in Castlevania rather much like a normal person in his position would. (His position= Unknowingly the resurrection of a demonic being, who is moderately brave, and has an abnormal demonic power that he can use to his advantage against the forces of darkness.)

I'd prefer a Belmont that doesn't say much,

They dont ever seem to say much. Most "talkative was Julius if I recall, and even then, it wasnt much the dialogue rather than the backstory that gave him expose. Ive never played Portrait so i cant comment on that one.

What you mean is You want a Belmont who doesnt talk at ALL. Like Simon, Trevor, and the early ones.

and a Dracula that doesn't have an origin story forced upon you that contradicts your own conceptions of that character.

I like to think that the creators of the game have a right to define their story that they put so much effort into making a game. as the games evolved, they needed more story, they needed a narrative, otherwise they would lose to other games that had more complex stories.

The problem is more the different producers. it went from whoever did the originals, to the guy who made Symphony, to IGA.