Topic: Circle of the Moon - which other Castlevania are the "same"?

[Isbiten]

Trying to figure out which games play like Circle of the Moon.
I love the whole going around exploring, backtracking, the Cards that you collect.

Which other games are like this?

[Ratty]

Those are called "Metroidvanias", it's actually an entire genre of game. (Albeit a small one as compared to say shmups.) And you can get MetroidVanias both in the 2D entries in the Metroid series from Nintendo and in lots of indie games like this http://www.desura.com/games/bunny-must-die

Within the Castlevania series the games that are definitely Metroidvanias are-

Symphony of the Night (PS1, PSP, Sega Saturn, PSN & XBLA)

Circle of the Moon (GBA)
Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Dawn of Sorrow (DS)
Portrait of Ruin (DS)
Order of Ecclesia (DS)
------
There are other games in the series which have Metroidvania elements but those are the ones that unquestionably qualify for the title. Not sure about the new one on the 3DS but I think the general consensus seems to be that it's just sort of a quasi-Metroidvania.

[Isbiten]

Thanks a lot.
Saved me a lot of time going through EVERY game, there are quite a lot of them now.

What is the opinion on the 3DS game, Lord of the Shadows.
I saw a little gameplay and it seems it plays like an "ordinary" platformer.

[son_the_vampire]

Ratty pretty much summed up the Metroidvania experience. Far as difficulty i would choose OOE as it somewhat mirrors CotM in that aspect. Thief mode was the hardest for me in CotM, yet i was able to beat it compared to Hard Albus mode in OOE. So if you are up for backtracking, saving villagers and killing 450 Lorelais just to get 1 Merman Meat this should definitely be your next title. Unless u have a 3DS then get MoF and tell me all about it!

[Shiroi Koumori]

MoF ehehehehe... there is an entire thread dedicated to that. 

[son_the_vampire]

Exactly! Ill just value the opinions of my peers for MoF and just keep waiting for LoS2

[Pfil]

You can also try the 3D MetroidVanias, Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence for PS2, and also Metroid: Other M for Wii.

[Lelygax]

Try Order of Shadows.

[Ratty]

You can also try the 3D MetroidVanias, Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence for PS2, and also Metroid: Other M for Wii.

Try Order of Shadows.

This are the games I mentioned that have Metroidvania elements but it's hard to say if they would really qualify. I've not played Order of Shadows but it's pretty bad from what I've heard, as you might expect of a primitive cell phone game. The PS2 (and original Xbox for Curse of Darkness) games Pfil mentioned are pretty good though.

Circle of the Moon is one of the best MetroidVanias in the series (games with more Castlevania 1 like gameplay are usually called "ClassicVanias" in the fandom to distinguish) but the others are mostly good to. Personally I recommend either Symphony of the Night or Aria of Sorrow as the next one you should hunt down.

[Pfil]

My favourite one is Portrait of Ruin but I'm, like, the only person in the whole world  (well, me and my brother, by the way).

Yes, Order of Shadows is plain terrible. I'd recommend Mirror of Fate first, against OoS, but none of them are MetroidVania in my opinion.

It could also be said that Harmony of Despair is MetroidVania... kind of, sort of...

To be honest, Metroid games can't be MetroidVanias. They are just Metroid, yes. But they are definitely not Vanias.

[Lelygax]

That was supposed to be a joke, like "install gentoo" or "delete system32", but more inoffensive

[Sul_Yong]

My favourite one is Portrait of Ruin but I'm, like, the only person in the whole world  (well, me and my brother, by the way).

Hey now, PoR is one of my all time favorites... It lets me roleplay any type of Vampire Hunter I wish to be; classic Belmont, Ninja Hunter, Monk Hunter, or my personal fav: Spearman of Doom!! (Yeah I know that mostly covered Jonathan, but I tend to prefer might over magic...)

[GuyStarwind]

PoR was my first Metriodvania game. So, it has a special place in my heart.

Speaking of CotM. That game was awesome. I think I'm going to start a game on it today.

[Pfil]

That was supposed to be a joke, like "install gentoo" or "delete system32", but more inoffensive

Haha! I know.

Hey now, PoR is one of my all time favorites... It lets me roleplay any type of Vampire Hunter I wish to be; classic Belmont, Ninja Hunter, Monk Hunter, or my personal fav: Spearman of Doom!! (Yeah I know that mostly covered Jonathan, but I tend to prefer might over magic...)

PoR was my first Metriodvania game. So, it has a special place in my heart.

Speaking of CotM. That game was awesome. I think I'm going to start a game on it today.

Always nice to know I'm not alone liking PoR 

[son_the_vampire]

Johnathan is very fun to play. I love knuckles and straight up martial arts in that game.