Topic: In which continuity should a future Castlevania game be set?

[chainsawmidget]

You know, this argument is starting to sound like the whole "Alucard knocked up Sonia" thing.

How do we know that was really Alucard and not just John Schmoe claiming to be Alucard?

[Nagumo]

You have to ignore basically all of the back story the character himself provides, and then on top of that, ignore the very name of the character himself to come to your conclusion Nagumo.

You could use any character of any book and use that same logic to say that they are someone else.

What exactly am I ignoring? Dracula himself says he is a different person than Vlad Tepes. Seems like a good enough reason to me to conclude they are not the same. Regarding the name, when Dracula talks about his ancestry it's evident in the text he takes great pride in it. The book says he was inspired by the original Dracula. It's not too far fetched to assume he took on the title of Vlad Tepes. Besides, what you're suggesting makes no sense. You say he lies about being a descendant of Vlad Tepes but him being called Dracula still proves he and Vlad Tepes are one and the same? Seems like a rather ineffective method to hide one's identity.         

[Ratty]

You know, this argument is starting to sound like the whole "Alucard knocked up Sonia" thing.

I still think that would be a fantastic origin story for the Belmont clan. And explain not only why they have such "terrifying power", but why they and Dracula are so eternally, inextricably linked. And I think it was probably the original idea for the game to, until later in development management decided to make the game non-canon and it was left more ambiguous.

[Belmontoya]

Even if your argument were true and Dracula was telling the truth to harker and not concealing that he was vald tepes, he would still be Vlad's descendant, and Vlad would still be a part of his backstory. That would be a stretch I could live with.

Mathias and Gabriel would still be broken stretches of Dracula.

[13th Street]

It would make the most sense to conclude the main series, but in grandiose fashion. They really need to go all out with the soundtrack and bring back veteran composers like Hidenori Maezawa/Yamashita. That, and have a decent storyline that ties everything together (maybe have a 70 y/o Johnathan Morris as Julius' mentor).

[DoctaMario]

I have kind of a crazy idea.

What if we had three separate timelines all happening at once, and each one would culminate in the War of 1999. Each timeline would be a "possibility" of how the events leading up to the War of 1999 could happen. None of them would be THE canon per se, but they'd all be canon in a way because they'd all be one possible outcome of the origin events.

Timeline 1 could be the original timeline. Dracula is Dracula and isnt related in any way to the Belmonts.
Timeline 2 is the LoS timeline where the Belmonts and Dracula share blood, Trevor as Alucard, etc.
Timeline 3 could be something else, maybe Vlad Tepes as Dracula.

And because they'd all be technically happening at once, but in different continuities, we could have more games, different characters that don't necessarily have to overlap timelines, etc. It might get kind of convoluted if not done right, but if the devs took the time and care to organize it could be pretty cool and give everyone the opportunity to tell their story.

The War Of 1999 could be the end of the world or could be where the Belmonts avert such a crisis. Dracula may not even necessarily be a person but more an "essence" that inhabits a worthy vessel when such a vessel is found, hence difference "people" being Dracula.

I dunno, it would be an interesting idea to me. What do you think?

[Nagumo]

Essentially, it's the same thing I would like to see, so I definitely agree. Though I personally wouldn't go with the what-if approach. Other big franchises use systems like that, so it definitely can be done.

[DoctaMario]

Essentially, it's the same thing I would like to see, so I definitely agree. Though I personally wouldn't go with the what-if approach. Other big franchises use systems like that, so it definitely can be done.

Personally I think the "what-if" approach yields the most interesting results because it allows for more games to be created without interfering with other games. It gives the devs more leeway to create a story without having be like, "Oh shit, this game already takes place in 17xx so I guess we can't do that. Now we have no choice but to go and do a futuristic CV game!" As long as there are a couple big events (in this case the "birth" as it were, of Dracula and the War Of 1999) then everything else can be whatever the devs want it to be based on the other stories that are already in each timeline.

[Nagumo]

Yeah, I get the reasoning behind it. Though personally I would just say they are seperate worlds, but are connected. You know, like how all Final Fantasy worlds are connected by the Void. It would be basically the same, but I think a "what-if" approach would be a little too complicated and difficult to explain. For example, what would cause the "what-ifs" to come into existence? Would there be a certain point where the timeline would start branching out, or could it happen at any time? etc. That's just personal preference, though. Your idea seems perfectly valid to me.       

[DoctaMario]

Yeah, I get the reasoning behind it. Though personally I would just say they are seperate worlds, but are connected. You know, like how all Final Fantasy worlds are connected by the Void. It would be basically the same, but I think a "what-if" approach would be a little too complicated and difficult to explain. For example, what would cause the "what-ifs" to come into existence? Would there be a certain point where the timeline would start branching out, or could it happen at any time? etc. That's just personal preference, though. Your idea seems perfectly valid to me.       

Maybe what would set each timeline into action would be Dracula's origin. Like, we know he's going to be "born" it's just a matter of how. Regardless, his existence is the event that culminates in the War of 1999.

If a Belmont becomes Dracula then it sets off the LoS timeline, if Vlad Tepes is Dracula, then it sets the 3rd timeline into motion, etc.

I always like the idea of several different possibilities happening all at once in adjoining timelines but having a couple key events that join them. We've already known that the War Of 1999 is one of those events and it would be interesting to make more of it without making an actual game about it.

Maybe Aeon and St.Grrmain could be the arbiters of said timelines, trying to keep them moving along,  observers who have a certain interest in seeing a particular timeline prevail or something like that. Maybe they fight each other in an attempt to gain the upper hand. There are a lot of interesting possibilities with a multi-timeline universe I think.