Topic: DS Castleroids overall better then GBA Castleroids?

[Sinful]

The DS Castleroids are games I always wanted to have and play ever since I heard of the first one. Right off the bat I assumed that they would be way better then the GBA ones (only the first two of which I played & beat when they were new). And though my tastes vary greatly from others, I wonder what others think about this?

I do own all 3 for the DS (almost forgot too, lol, due to me finally getting into the classic vania games. And in a big way too), so it's inevitable that I'll get to them soon enough and especially as I start to hunger for more new Castlevania content. So what I want to know is if others were more let down with the DS games then the GBA ones, or more impressed overall?

[kingu]

to be blunt, harmony and aria take after symphony in more crafty and interesting ways while dawn and portrait take advantage of their outsource in symphony and steep into kleptomaniacal territory.

circle and ecclesia are exceptions with circle's overall clumsiness and ecclesia's handling of combat/evasion tactics, new resources, and inventory condensation

[Abnormal Freak]

I like all three GBA games more than all the DS ones, personally.

[GuyStarwind]

The gba games are better imo. The DS games are good but the gba ones are better.

[Archangel]

I like them all equally, to be honest. ^^

Except for CotM.... but only because I´m still too stupid to play this game

[shelverton.]

IMO, the gba games are pretty different from eachother, while the three DS games look, feel and play pretty much the same. The gba are more interesting to me because of that, but at the same time I'm one of the few people here who actually think that Dawn of Sorrow is a better game than Aria. I'm really torn between the gba and the ds vanias. There's some awful level design and recycled areas in both Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia though.

[Chernabogue]

They're all worth at least a play.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

It depends highly on what you want out of the game. The DS games all feature smooth animation and good combat and generally polished gameplay.

I find the GBA games to be far rougher and less perfected, but at the same time, they really capture the atmospheres of Super Castlevania IV and Symphony quite well. They feel like solid evolutions of Symphony's formula, whereas the DS games felt more like variations on a theme by comparison.

Neither is truly better overall in my eyes, but I do favor the GBA games for capturing the mysterious ill-defined "Castlevania Feel" better than the DS trilogy.

[Sinful]

Hmm, things didn't go as I expected it seems? Most so far seem to prefer the GBA games more overall... not that this should put a dent in my high expectations for these games, it does make me wonder?...

One of my main interest is these games are the graphics/atmosphere. In particular I'm happy to hear of some outside of the Castle areas.

They're all worth at least a play.

Well yeah, the ways I see it is that if you a big enough Castlevania fan, you'll eventually play through all of the Castlevania & related (ie. Kid Dracula) games. But for me being a vania fan, it's also nice to hear others thoughts on what what they think, prefer, hate, etc. too alongside playing the games. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.

[CastleDan]

The GBA ones are better and for one HUGE reason.

1) Level Design...  It seemed once it they got to making the DS games they started to get more and more lazy and resorted to copy and paste square rooms more and more.

Circle of the moon, harmony and aria had interesting level designs and far more unique rooms.

That alone to me means a lot. Everything else was just icing, I picture Aria getting a symphony of the night graphical make over and it makes me joyous inside.

[K.G. Morder]

The GBA games have amazing atmosphere, and for HoD and AoS at least, pretty good graphics. (HoD actually focused on the graphics, thus leaving the music to suffer a bit)

the gba games really feel like legit sequels and inheritors to the metroidvania design, while the DS games really feel like cheaper cash ins just riding on the metroidvania bandwagon. The generic anime art stylke used for PoR and DoS doesnt help either, and neither does the fact that both have not only a terrible art style, but equally terrible 'sequel' stories. their atmosphere is also just really nonexistant. I would really recommend Dawn for Julius mode, and ONLY for Julius mode. Just ignore that the Soma main game exists and play the CV3 homage story. Which, actually has a story, unlike aria. Julius mode here takes place after Soma's bad ending.

TLDR, play them all, they all have their worth, but if you have to pick, go for the GBA ones first. At least Aria, because Dawn is a direct sequel to it, so you should really play it first.

[CastleDan]

The GBA games have amazing atmosphere, and for HoD and AoS at least, pretty good graphics. (HoD actually focused on the graphics, thus leaving the music to suffer a bit)

the gba games really feel like legit sequels and inheritors to the metroidvania design, while the DS games really feel like cheaper cash ins just riding on the metroidvania bandwagon. The generic anime art stylke used for PoR and DoS doesnt help either, and neither does the fact that both have not only a terrible art style, but equally terrible 'sequel' stories. their atmosphere is also just really nonexistant. I would really recommend Dawn for Julius mode, and ONLY for Julius mode. Just ignore that the Soma main game exists and play the CV3 homage story. Which, actually has a story, unlike aria. Julius mode here takes place after Soma's bad ending.

TLDR, play them all, they all have their worth, but if you have to pick, go for the GBA ones first. At least Aria, because Dawn is a direct sequel to it, so you should really play it first.

Very Valid points all aboard I especially agree with the story/atmosphere mentions.....

Dawn and the other DS versions really came off cartoony in the story itself whereas Aria had such a dark tone to it in line with castlevania of old even though it's set in the future.

The atmosphere too, I remember in aria where you are in the chapel area and you see the swirling clouds with lightning...So amazing for the GBA.

[RichterB]

I played all three GBA entries and the first two DS entries. From my experience, the GBA games were better in most areas except maybe graphics. The DS games feel more repetitive and feel like they're cutting corners. They're still fun, but not as meaty.

[Abnormal Freak]

From my experience, the GBA games were better in most areas except maybe graphics.

That's one of the biggest reasons the DS games bummed me out so much. I was like, "Finally, the games are on a system again that'll handle SOTN-caliber graphics," and while they delivered on good looks, the games themselves were just...bland. The GBA ones are all really fun, so it really bothers me that the DS ones are lesser...especially DOS which had so many long corridors with nothing interesting happening in them. Worst. castle design. ever.

[shelverton.]

I think it's important to remember that many of us played the GBA games before the DS ones. By the time DoS and especially PoR came out, the novelty had sort of worn off. Because of that I tend to prefer the GBA games as a whole. I do think Dawn is better than Aria, but Portrait and Ecclesia just weren't that interesting to me. They're still great games - probably some of the best action games on the DS, but there's no denying I would've liked them a lot more if the formula hadn't been EXHAUSTED by the time of their release.

Still, you can't go wrong with these games. They're too easy (yes, even Ecclesia IMO) but they're fun for what they are.