Topic: The Architect

[X]

This is an old thread??? I never knew... Well it new to me.

-X

[uzo]

The castle is not an earthly castle taken over. Multiple games have proven otherwise. Harmony of Dissonance - "A castle not on any map" had appeared out of the fog. SotN also states similarly. The castle appears and disappears. Even to the point of two versions of itself, ala SotN. I believe even PoR states that the castle simply appeared.

That said; Some titles suggest that Castlevania is rebuilt and destroyed as different castles. As we see in Castlevania II, and Curse of Darkness, the ruins remain. I believe Bloodlines also has this concept in place for the first stage.

So it would stand to reason, that either Dracula creates a new castle entity every time, or the entity that shapes the castle, is directly fueled by Dracula's magic to construct the physical castle, but once Dracula is out of the picture it cannot keep the physical castle together and waits for another suitable magic source. It forges a new one every time Dracula links up his powers again, and cannot sustain it without his presence, unconscious or otherwise. Either way the castle has been proven to never stand without Dracula's immense power being present behind the scenes. Even Maxim was taken over by Dracula's remains which fueled the castle, and Brauner had to seal Dracula but draw his power to sustain the castle's form.

As for LoI's castle? Was that even Castlevania? I don't believe there was any indication it is the same. I believe it was just a castle Walter either had built, or took over long ago. Did it even crumble at the end? I can't recall. This raises the question of, did the castle exist before Dracula, or did Dracula create the entity that is what forms the castle.

The castle itself being a sort of living entity is really cool in my opinion. It both serves a game mechanic of never the same map, while also being a unique and interesting explanation in itself. In the way that the castle itself is alive with traps, and is your enemy, it makes sense.

[darkwzrd4]

In LoI, the castle did crumble, but I don't think that it was Castlevania.  Walter was a powerful vampire.  It's possible that he either built his castle, inherited it while he was still human, or conquered it.  After which, he likely warped it with his vampiric powers.

As for Castlevania itself, I believe that it was said that the castle is a product of Dracula's magic and that it is a spiritual world.  In essence, Dracula created the castle with his powers, which either come from or are reenforced by Chaos.  Thus, there is a connection between Chaos and the castle.  And being connected to both Dracula and Chaos means that it cannot hold a physical presence in our world without Dracula or someone connected to him.

As for how it is around in 1797 without Dracula, Shaft probably used the power of Dracula's remains.

[A-Yty]

Nothing wrong with the "Creature of Chaos" explanation, IMO. I like to think the castle is a monster Dracula usurped, along with most of his recurring minions.

[JR]

I kinda like the "Creature of Chaos" explanation (in terms of explaining a new castle every time) and the "extension of Dracula's dark will" thing, too. I never really sat down and thought about it, but I guess I just assumed that Dracula seized an actual castle early on, and each successive one he's had was just an extension of his essence, but not an entity in itself. Which, if that were true, might make it hard to explain why it exists without him in AoS. Or maybe it could just be remnants of the eclipse seal, and could also tie in to why Chaos exists in Dracula's absence. Eh, I don't really know.

[uzo]

Come to think of it, there are hints that the castle from AoS is the exact same from 1999. This makes sense, since it was sealed and not destroyed. If you think about it, Julius Belmont didn't know the layout of the castle because he had amnesia. Furthermore, when he did regain his memory he knew EXACTLY where to find the whip.

[X]

Come to think of it, there are hints that the castle from AoS is the exact same from 1999. This makes sense, since it was sealed and not destroyed. If you think about it, Julius Belmont didn't know the layout of the castle because he had amnesia. Furthermore, when he did regain his memory he knew EXACTLY where to find the whip.

This makes quite a bit of sense in that regard. If they do plan to have the 1999 game then the areas in AoS should be reflected in the 1999 game. Although not necessarily in the exact same layout, but familiar enough so the players know what it's all about.

-X 

[darkwzrd4]

Come to think of it, there are hints that the castle from AoS is the exact same from 1999. This makes sense, since it was sealed and not destroyed. If you think about it, Julius Belmont didn't know the layout of the castle because he had amnesia. Furthermore, when he did regain his memory he knew EXACTLY where to find the whip.

This makes quite a bit of sense in that regard. If they do plan to have the 1999 game then the areas in AoS should be reflected in the 1999 game. Although not necessarily in the exact same layout, but familiar enough so the players know what it's all about.

-X 

Well, that may not be true.  Even if the castle is the same, we could be exploring areas that we didn't in AoS.  I mean in every 2D game we see doors and hallways in the background that we don't ever access, which leads the the idea that we never see the entire castle.  With each incarnation of it, we likely omit exploring certain places.  For example, in SotN in Olrox's Quarters you see in the background hallways that have a lot of depth to them but are never explored by us.  Plus, when you go by the fountain, you see what appear to be mansions in the background.

In essence, what I'm saying is that the castle is always a lot bigger than we see and experience.  It would be nice to go to the AoS castle and venture deeper into the castle.  This could be done in the 1999 game so that people who have played AoS don't know their way around.  Who knows what else is in that version of the castle.  Dungeons? Torture chambers? Laboratories? Who knows.

[Ridureyu]

If they made a 1999 game and over half of it was either the boring guest hall/study combo or reused SOTN cave sprites, I would not be happy.