Topic: your opinions on lament of innocence

[JooohnShaft]

Okay, i'm back! now i know i am gathering a bit of hate from my previous polls, mabe i just suck at starting interesting convos? anyway i just hope this will lighten things up, but to the point, i want to hear you opinions and rants about castlevania l.o.i.

The graphics at the time just blew my balls off, i was like 10 at the time and they were spectacular! no two areas ever look alike and the music and sound was just as good. My only problem is it's waaaaayyyyy too open ended there are abosolutely no ''pointers'' so in scatterish place like the garden you'll get lost VERY fast, if your not careful, but the movement and control is so good that it is possible to overlook this. So leave a comment and tell me what you think of lament of innocence.

[Kale]

It's not the conversation.. it's the fallacy in it... like saying you don't want to have popular characters while maintaining 2 of the most popular one. (MK fighter)

That said, it's better than the forum dying. So go crazy, just don't spam... Jorge might smack you some if you do.

As for LoI, I hated it. I hated the level design, I hated the weird whip swing which wasn't swinging, but more like hit a pole and suddenly get a boost mid air. And I actually hate Leon, although Sonia was denied placement regardless, Leon sort of made sure of that, and Sonia > Leon. I need am Ayami Sonia pic with all the goodness off art or a really insanely awesome fan art is fine too. Sadly Sonia is few in comparison to the others and a lot of them suck. Not all mind you. I also didn't like the story, though the whole crusader thing was kind of cool I guess.

[PFG9000]

I thought Lament was great, except for the level design.  It has some really good production values.  The animation is gorgeously smooth, the enemies are really detailed, and the environments are very CVish.  But the level design is so atrocious that it pulls the overall quality of the game down too far.  Had the level design been on par with games like Devil May Cry and God of War, I believe Lament of Innocence would have put CV back on the map, bigtime.

[X]

Lament of Innocence kinda spelled the beginnings of doom for the series in just a few areas. While I enjoyed playing the game and loved some of the tunes, I was vastly disappointed with the story arc for Dracula's origin; it was nonsense and not needed. It made a mess of what was already known at the time. The origins of the Vampirekiller I didn't mind as the whip never had any real origins to begin with; Just rumors from fans and the fictitious 'Poltergeist King' in the American manual. Leon Belmont... He comes off as IGA's attempt to remove and replace Sonia Belmont. The two do look alike with the same short hair (excluding Sonia's french braid style) and blue eyes. He came off as more of a youth then a man due to the voice actor in question. A little too youthful in my opinion. The part involving the Ebony and Crimson stones. While they were important plot points for the story, the true Dracula would have no need of them (which was  not what happened at the end). Dracula became the king of vampires through the power of his own will. A feat which Mathias could never hope to accomplish and thus used the two stones to gain his power. Walter was kinda cheesy but in a classical B-movie way. I thought that he made a good villain albeit a temporary one. I also didn't like how Castlevania existed before the reign of Dracula. Dracula created Castlevania through his own power, and as such the two are bonded. Whenever Dracula is ripe for another resurrection, the castle will sense this and prepare. Over-all, LoI was an interesting game but not suitable for a proper origins story as too many contradictions make it fall flat on its face.

[A-Yty]

The level design was horrible, the combat was mostly repetitive and the CGI looked cartoony. But it still had the atmosphere and every now and then, my guilty pleasure is going over the dialogue from Walter's defeat onwards

[Munchy]

's alright. Flatass levels and incredibly hokey story and hilariously cheesy dialogue didn't do it any favors, but the atmosphere in some levels and the music make a brilliant combination.

Especially the Opera House level. Holy crap.

[GuyStarwind]

LoI got me into Castlevania. It is my favorite Castlevania game. The fighting in fun, the VA is good, I admit the level design isn't the best but it's not the worse either, the backgrounds all look good, the music is great, and I think it has a good story. Not to mention Walter Bernhard is one of the best villains in the series IMO.

Before LoI I was like what kind of a pussy uses a whip? After LoI I'm like only a badass uses a whip! Period!

[KaZudra]

Dislike, but not enough to not play it.
The Story had alot to it, but was extremely poor in execution
Combat was shallow but somehow not too boring...
Bosses.... LOL
Level Design... Poorest aspect of Both PS2 Castlevania games, this one is okay-ish in a bad way.
Detail..... The rooms were there, yet there was nothing that gave you an eyeful, The best looking area is the one with the black reflecting floor.
Music - Oh yeah, this is awesome, absolute best aspect of the game other than the artwork.
Joachim was pretty cool, but Pumpkin was sheerly for novelty as it was a Leon clone with no upper stats.
Cutscenes... Looked worst than the game itself.

Despite it being pretty bad almost all around, the game is pretty good... after beating it I only picked it up around 5 times over the 5+ years I have the game.

[crisis]

I feel like I've been reading these same opinions since 2003.. there's nothing new anyone can say about LoI is there

(sad panda face)

[Flame]

The part involving the Ebony and Crimson stones. While they were important plot points for the story, the true Dracula would have no need of them (which was  not what happened at the end). Dracula became the king of vampires through the power of his own will. A feat which Mathias could never hope to accomplish and thus used the two stones to gain his power.

he only used the Crimson Stone to that extent. Leon destroyed the Ebony Stone with vampire killer when he faced Walter.

I also didn't like how Castlevania existed before the reign of Dracula. Dracula created Castlevania through his own power, and as such the two are bonded. Whenever Dracula is ripe for another resurrection, the castle will sense this and prepare.

that isnt exactly castlevania. that's Walter's castle, and I would guess somewhere in Europe, but not eastern europe. (names range from french to itallian, with Walter's being English.) When Walter was killed, his castle crumbled to pieces. Wouldnt make sense for that to happen if mathias took over it. Dont forget mathias went into hiding after that, starting a new life in Romania under the name Dracula Vlad Tepes. Thats where, I imagine, he forged his castle through the powers of chaos.

 

Over-all, LoI was an interesting game but not suitable for a proper origins story as too many contradictions make it fall flat on its face.

because Legends was a much better origin?

Sonia > Leon

Sonia has no real character aside from a dead father/grandfather. leon was fleshed out in his game.

legends was a terrible origin story because it really didnt tell us anything new. It didnt give us an origin for why vampire killer is anything special, and the antagonism between the Belmonts and Tepes, is pretty bland.

[A-Yty]

But Mathias did become a vampire through his own will; he didn't let himself be bitten. Instead he used his skills to steal Walter's power. I mean, would stabbing a cross and drinking its blood have been a better option? Or a homoerotic conversation with a vampire that looks like Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt or Placenta-Muncher Cruise?

I liked LoI's story, for the most part. "I'm gonna betray my best friend in a terrible way to rebel against a God I've spent my life fighting for.
- And I or someone in my family is gonna stop you, old friend!"

certainly beats

"My grandfather gave me some whip to fight a bad guy. Why? Just because" or

"RAWR! I IS GONNA MASSACRE YOU ALL CAUSE I THINK A MASK CAN RESURRECT MY WIFE BEFORE HER CORPSE GETS FILLED WITH MAGGOTS. THEN I'M GONNA PUNCH SATAN".

LoI had plotholes, obviously, but not jarringly more than the other available origin stories.

[Nagumo]

But Mathias did become a vampire through his own will; he didn't let himself be bitten. Instead he used his skills to steal Walter's power. I mean, would stabbing a cross and drinking its blood have been a better option? Or a homoerotic conversation with a vampire that looks like Antonio Banderas, Brad Pitt or Placenta-Muncher Cruise?

I don't think it was just about becoming vampire, he wanted to be a strong one as well. Hence, the Walter plot.     

[darkwzrd4]

Well, let's see what I can say:

Good Points:
Provided a plausable origin for the whip
detailed areas
Playing as Joachim was fun
Great Music
Interesting Boss fights

Bad Points:
Areas were too flat (not as flat as CoD and thus are superior)
Game was too short
Mathias's reason for what he did was childish
Lacked most of the traditional areas (clock tower, chapel, etc.)

This game is a mixed blessing.  It provides a explanation for the whip's origin and how the Belmonts became vampire hunters, but the Dracula origin and the reason for the Belmonts going after him were just bad.  It would just be so much better if the reason they went after him was because he was a powerful vampire that was a threat to humanity.  You don't really need anymore than that.  That being said, the Mathias character was kind of pointless.

[Rugal]

Lacked most of the traditional areas (clock tower, chapel, etc.)

Um. The first stage of the game is called House of Sacred Remains which contains many chapel like rooms.

Anyway, I thought LoI was awesome.

[knightmere]

I have never actually played LoI but the whole backstory IGA created for Dracula is stupid and was totally unecessary.