Topic: Ideal Castlevania

[theANdROId]

(I guess I'll start by apologizing if this has been done or if I'm posting it in the wrong place.  There are lots of topics, and I'm still finding my way around I guess.)

As much as I love the Castlevania series, I've often thought of features I wished they'd use/reuse, all combined in one new game.  I've worked on ideas, explanations, and story for how such a game would work even though I have no means of ever making said game a reality.  Here are a few of the features I would wish for though:
- Multiple playable characters.  I know most of the games do this in some way, but a few of them stand out more to me.  I loved how you could have a teammate in Dracula's Curse, and even more loved how there were 4 different characters to play in LoD.  Sure they all played through almost identical courses, but it still felt fresh and exciting because they all handled differently.  The extra game in DoS and the sets of characters in PoR were pretty cool too.  I always hope for something like this in each new game that comes out.  I think it'd be really cool to do another more similar to Dracula's Curse though where you have or find characters to join you on your way.  Maybe this time they can all join though instead of having to pick just one.  What if they split up at different points to each take a separate path on the map, eventually converging on one area?  Assuming a game played out this way, how about...
- At least one "secret" character...like, post game style.
- Recognizable tunes.  It would be great to get some awesome new tunes, but I think at least a few of our old favorites should show up somewhere.
- A little familiarity.  By this I mean the game doesn't have to exactly mimic any past Castlevania game -- some poetic license should be allowed -- but at the same time let's make it a reasonable facsimile.
- "Little stuff".  Whether details or quirky things, the little things are kinda like the cherry on top.  Stuff like we're talking about over here.  Then there's quirky stuff too, like: Why was Yorick in SotN?  Why does Juste collect furniture in HoD?  Why does Hector collect chairs in CoD?  Why do the Cockatrice and Basilisk trip in CoD?  And...what's the deal with Pumpkin?!!  The answer to all is: the cherry on top!

What would you say are some of the features that would make an ideal Castlevania game?

[shelverton.]

Dark Souls. I can't be bothered to explain cause a select people will understand and the rest won't. I just know it's the way to go. FromSoft knows.

[crisis]

At this point, I wouldn't mind another sprite-based Metroidvania in the vein of AoS and OoE.

[Ratty]

I'd consider the recognizable tunes and enemies an essential for a real Castlevania. The music and more iconic enemies (Knight Armor, Medusa Heads, Medusa Boss, Flea Men, Death, Dracula final boss) are what definitely tie the series together in the face of vastly different gameplay styles. But as for some of your other points hmm. Well CV3 and SOTN seem to be just about the perfection of their respective genres in my eyes, so in some ways I feel I've already got ideal games in the series.

But hmm thinking about it more, I love to see extra modes handled well in future games. Some of them just feel tacked on out of obligation but then there's ones like the Lecarde sisters mode in PoR which not only changed the gameplay considerably, but also tied in as a sidestory/prequel to the main storyline. So it felt like it actually had a narrative point, as did the similarly enjoyable "What if..." stories in the Julius mode in DoS and Joachim mode in LoI. I'd love to see more of those little touches. Though of course making an excellent and tight regular campaign is most important.

[KaZudra]

I would like a vanillaware Styled castlevania game

[Nagumo]

Dark Souls. I can't be bothered to explain cause a select people will understand and the rest won't. I just know it's the way to go. FromSoft knows.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God said, Let there be awesome: and there was Dark Souls.

[GuyStarwind]

This is just a post from another topic but it applies here too.

All I want is a Belmont wielding a whip and tossing sub weapons to make his way through a castle that's impossibly huge while killing monsters and finally having a showdown with Dracula himself. Obviously I want things like The Grim Reaper, candles, hearts, wallmeat, The Belmont Pimp Strut, etc. Honestly they could keep crapping out games like what I've described and I wouldn't get bored of them. All in all I just want some Classicvania.

[X]

I said this in another post, but I feel it's relevant here too; ^^^WORD.

My ideal Castlevania game would take what was the epitome of, or the height of Castlevania ie Super Castlevania IV and expand upon it. Same principles such as the Belmont warrior (Male or Female) journeying alone to the hell house in a classicvania style gameplay and a campy Halloween feel--to defeat the true Count Dracula; Vlad Tepes and not some poor imitation. And of course the story would come first then I would build the game upon it.

[Jeepy]

I would like a vanillaware Styled castlevania game

This.

[Intersection]

You're forgetting Kojima's art. Call me crazy, but a game just isn't 'Castlevania' enough for me without it.

[theANdROId]

Maybe I'm just agreeable, but I like what all of you are saying...maybe just because I could wholeheartedly agree with this guy:

All I want is a Belmont wielding a whip and tossing sub weapons to make his way through a castle that's impossibly huge while killing monsters and finally having a showdown with Dracula himself. Obviously I want things like The Grim Reaper, candles, hearts, wallmeat, The Belmont Pimp Strut, etc. Honestly they could keep crapping out games like what I've described and I wouldn't get bored of them. All in all I just want some Classicvania.

...although, I still really wanna see "the trio" (Belmont, Belnades, Alucard) together in a heavily detailed, thoroughly fleshed out, phenomenally written main-game.  All this wishing and dreaming and thinking is what I tend to do between games.



The vanillaware and Dark Souls ideas were neat.  I'd never heard of Dark Souls before, but it looked and sounded interesting.  If I were to pick it up, is there a particular console version that is "best"?  I have a PC, and hope to get a PS3 or 4.  Never really found much to interest me in the XBox, though I could borrow my sister's I'm sure.

[KaZudra]

Maybe I'm just agreeable, but I like what all of you are saying...maybe just because I could wholeheartedly agree with this guy:

...although, I still really wanna see "the trio" (Belmont, Belnades, Alucard) together in a heavily detailed, thoroughly fleshed out, phenomenally written main-game.  All this wishing and dreaming and thinking is what I tend to do between games.



The vanillaware and Dark Souls ideas were neat.  I'd never heard of Dark Souls before, but it looked and sounded interesting.  If I were to pick it up, is there a particular console version that is "best"?  I have a PC, and hope to get a PS3 or 4.  Never really found much to interest me in the XBox, though I could borrow my sister's I'm sure.

Depends on your PC, If its mid to high end, get the PC version with DSfix (only way to play it), playing it in 60fps makes the game feel more smooth

[DragonSlayr81]

I still want my ultimate dream CV:

- 3D CV with graphics similar to LoS, as in they are well polished and breathtakingly beautiful.

- Combat that relies on combos, but isn't heavy feeling. You get stronger through the course of the adventure, but it doesn't take you many, MANY hits to take down early foes, while later enemies make you work for your meal. Depending on certain combos, you can chain subweapons into them for stronger effects. All destructable objects can be broken with a SINGLE hit.

- More focus on platforming(REAL platforming), and at least half the stages featuring vertical areas. No plank-walking, shimmying or climbing.

- The area of exploration is massive. It covers the immediate area around the castle(few towns, graveyard, forest, marsh and maybe a mansion) and the castle itself(which would include a second castle-esque area, making it even LARGER).

- No QTEs. Weed those out once and for all.

- Return of classic CV style music. Lots of organ, horror motif-sounding songs, baroque tunes and such. A balance between that and ambient SCV4-esque tracks.

- A story that is rooted in the bare basics, Belmont Vs Dracula, monster mayhem with lots of nods to classic horror movies. The meat of the story could be deeper, with more emphesis on the Belmont's need to rise to the occassion and Dracula's motives, but being spared of a lot of the annoying betrayal/twist plot devices seen in a lot of modern games(in general, oddly enough).

- Classic horror atmosphere, something taking inspiration from not only gothic art, but horror movies.

- Easter eggs to the series. Could include nods like CoD's Abandon Castle's areas alluding to the areas in CV1, stepping into an abandoned archway and waiting for a while for a mound of treasure to magically rise from the ground nearby, among others. Hell, I'm a good sport. You could even make a nod to LoS by having the masks being displayed in the background of some vault area.

It might be impossible, but that's still my ideal CV nonetheless.

[TheRetroArtist]

I think one of the feature they should bring back is the 8 directional whipping in SCV4. I thought it was a great feature because you had more control of Simon than before. I know they somewhat brought it back in Bloodlines (which is also a great game), but it wasn't really the same thing.
Another feature I would love to see in a castlevania game is multi-player. I always wanted to play castlevania with a friend but never been able to since most of them are single player (and yes I am aware of Harmony of Despair's online multiplayer). Maybe one day they'll include it in a future game.

[nokundhi]

If it was a classicvania, something like Chronicles in regards to music and atmosphere but with multiple characters.  One of the things I really liked about that game was great area designs, very morbid aesthetic that reminded me of SOTN. My ideal freeroamvania would have the music and art of Yamane and Kojima with high quality and well animated sprites and backgrounds with some baroque music. Level layout would be significantly more complex and difficult, and while bottomless pits wouldn't work when you have an interconnected world (except maybe at the very bottom of the map) there could still be lethal traps and well positioned enemies to challenge the player. Save points and healing items would be rare and limited, possibly with animations or cooldowns to prevent the player from spamming potions when near death. The abilities you get would be unique and useful outside of just one or two instances, stuff like the beam weapon upgrades in Metroid not only unlocking doors but also improving your attacks. I'd like if combat was a bit more indepth, not just dial a combo repetition but something with more meat, taking after fighting games with things like cancels and parrying and other things that require some skill to be proficient at.

I disagree that Dark Souls is at all like Castlevania, as I don't recall any of the Castlevanias floundering at 15 fps while fighting the controls during some very awkward pseudo-platforming (hollow tree, ugh). Even the slower games moved at a deliberate pace and required timing your jumps, attacks or whatever even when you know the boss/area like the back of your hand. Dark Souls, on the other hand, can be beaten with relative ease once you figure out the predictable patterns and tells of the bosses. While I do like the level up system of the game (and if any CV decides to bring back stats, then the souls system should be how its done) they are very different games with different sets of goals and challenges. CV is not a dungeon crawler.