Topic: Ideal Castlevania

[13th Street]

General criteria for the ideal Castlevania:

• Great soundtrack (no bland, souless orchestral crap)
• 2D platformer with 3D elements
• Gothic setting w/macabre atmosphere
• Produced by MercurySteam a reputable Japanese developer

[EstebanT]

Produced by a reputable Japanese developer.

[Munchy]

One containing the best elements of the old games (lots of environmental stuff to jump on/get hit by, high difficulty) and the post-SotN games (crazy enemy ideas pulled from random literature/mythology, loots, some non-linear exploration).

Spooky and/or experimental music would be appreciated (see SCV4, SotN), with one caveat. Any remixes should be of songs that haven't been rearranged somehow before. I don't need to hear how Bloody Tears sounds with canned orchestral effects or yet another heavy metal arrangement.

Experimentation with different locales would be nice too.

Whether the game is 2D or 3D isn't really a sticking point, so long as the 3D avoids heavily scripted shit. Metroid Prime would be a great inspiration as far as variety of locales and general area design (tons of unique rooms, a lot of things to jump on, hidden stuff to find).

[PyramidHead]

My ideal Castlevania is somewhere between Simon's Quest and Order of Ecclesia. The fan-made Lecarde Chronicles is pretty close to it, but still not there . I want more "quest", more towns, more npc. I want the World - not just another castle.

Yes, it should be called "Castlevania: the World."

[EstebanT]

This has been said time and time again but....

It's a good thing there is no "true" castlevania. It's the reason castlevania is still around. I know people used to complain about castlevania not changing since symphony of the night. But people bitch when it tries to change, the reason I don't mind LOS is because the standard was very low before it. I love castlevania, but the series has so many shit games.

LOS isn't:

Using sprites dating back to super castlevania 4. See harmony of despair.

A shitty Japan only slot machine.

A bad fighting game with sometimes irrelevant characters (why golem? wheres soma?ripped of all familiarity, taken from obatas scrapped Deathnote character designs, (see grant,Maria,death) since we're talking about story plots... What the fuck is up with Maria's boob quest? Facepalm.

Another Sotn copy.

Yet another identical copy of a story we all have heard since the 90s

Allowing children to defeat both dracula and death simultaneously. With artwork so animu it would make deviant art proud.

Los isn't great. But it's certainly boosting castlevanias popularity. I think it's what castlevania needs. Maybe when mercurysteam is done they will allow someone more creative take over.

[EstebanT]

Crap, I started a rant and didnt even make a point
God, Its not even relevant to what we're talking about, whoops.... LOS fanboy over here.

[Intersection]

Crap, I started a rant and didnt even make a point
God, Its not even relevant to what we're talking about, whoops.... LOS fanboy over here.

Well, at least you've figured it out yourself. 

You've guessed it, anyhow: this is a thread about what Castlevania should be, and not the other way around. Of course there is such a thing as "true Castlevania" -- it's the very reason why the franchise is still around. Konami certainly wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it tried to reboot the series with every title; you move a series forward by evolving it, not by rupturing it. Every series needs a breath of fresh air from time to time, but remember that Castlevania has its very own soul that every game must carry.

Some good advice for MercurySteam as well.

[EstebanT]

It's been 27 years... The timeline was awkward and sometimes dates didnt match. Most fans didnt even understand it. I don't think every title should be a reboot... But the best choice mercury steam made was to start over. The only thing not castlevania about Los was the music in my opinion.

[X]

Esteban you've missed one more reason about what LoS isn't:

A game not saturated with pretty boys.

Perhaps the only good, refreshing, realistic thing I've seen in LoS.

[EstebanT]

Exactly. And also not all steroid barbarians. Los might not be the ideal Castlevania... but its the what the series need at the moment. Something new after Los would be awesome. I just hope its not Iga...

[EstebanT]

I would like a vanillaware Styled castlevania game

Well this is in Dragons Crown's unlockable artwork area... This is what Castlevania needs minus the stupid amounts of fanservice they are known for...

http://www.vgwallpaper.com/file/4360/2560x1600/crop/dragons-crown-29.jpg

[Darkweaver]

First off, no more reboots or remakes.  The current reboot is fine but let's continue on with it at this point.  I heard LoS2 is MercurySteam's last Castlevania game and I'm hoping that doesn't mean we won't be getting another CV game and also hoping it doesn't mean another reboot.

So, from here on we should continue on with the LoS universe.  I understand LoS2 might be the conclusion but there's plenty of stories involving other characters in the universe and whatnot.

Also, Metroidvania is my favorite Castlevania so I would love to see more of that.

What I'd like really like to see, realistically?  Off the top of my head, a next-gen (or is it current gen now?) game of SotN proportions.  3D Castlevania with the vast scale of exploration SotN had in the LoS universe.  Really large.  PS4/Xbox One should be handle games like that so let's do it!

[theANdROId]

...Of course there is such a thing as "true Castlevania" -- it's the very reason why the franchise is still around. Konami certainly wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it tried to reboot the series with every title; you move a series forward by evolving it, not by rupturing it. Every series needs a breath of fresh air from time to time, but remember that Castlevania has its very own soul that every game must carry...

I think that's exactly right.  I mean...if you start to peel away the outer layers of things like fan service or square-peg-in-a-round-hole style additions to the timeline, isn't it still an onion...or, artichoke heart...underneath?  Sure the story is the same at it's most basic parts (some guy [or girl, on rare occasion!] hunting down Dracula) and there are lots of similarities (explore the castle, dodge medusa heads, look - another clock tower, whatever...) but there is still a difference in the experience.  There's still something new, fresh, and exciting.  Isn't that what we like about it though?  The similarities...the throwbacks...new stories?  I guess that's (at least part of) the "soul" that I think the games must all have.

...Los might not be the ideal Castlevania... but its the what the series need at the moment....

I can't disagree with this at all though.  As Intersection said, a fresh breath (like LoS) is healthy every now and then.  It may upset a few fans or purists, but it probably won't drive them away.  It will just bring in a wider fan base, which is probably good for business.  And by business, I mean "Castlevania" business -- new games down the road business, not "making money" business, but I'm sure it's that too!  More fans means more reason to make another game in the series...maybe crappy, maybe not. 
Ideal will never happen anyway...it's just fun to fantasize...fun to imagine...fun to wish!  It's "what it you could snap your fingers and have *your* perfect Castlevania game."  What parts would you keep or copy from other games...what new ideas do you have that you'd wanna see?  That's all! :-) 

EstebanT...Your ideas of what it shouldn't be make sense...so what *would* you put in it?

[EstebanT]

First off... Bring back Ayami, for main character designs and promotional artwork. Vanillaware for enemy designs and animation.

The pandering Dragons crown is known for needs to stop, Include succubus and others if you want fanservice (After all, she exists for that purpose and I know it sells) But you know who also buys games? GIRLS. Don't over do the fanservice, it drives away the female audience.

For music, try to use more unique sounds (Like a theremin for example) Make your soundtrack stand out, and of course add the sweet horror elements castlevania is known for (Use Harpsichords, Organs, Etc,) Am I the only one who associates dracula with a creepy pipe organ? I think not. And the most important part, make at least 30% to 40% of the music remakes of the old series.... slightly more underground gems. We don't need another Bloody tears or vampire killer remake... Black mass, Chandeliers, Flashback, Sorrows Distortion, Forest of monsters, Dance of pales, The Gears go Awry, A Toccata into Blood Soaked Darkness... WHY THE FUCK DONT WE GET MORE REMAKES FOR THOSE?? 

If the PS1 could handle a map as big as SOTN, The SNES could hold metroid, Imagine the size of the castle we could make with our current consoles/PCs! Metroidvania is not dead, Iga was just uninspired.
How about including randomization like some indie games are doing (Rogue Legacy, Binding of isaac, Don't starve, FTL) on a small scale? Randomize the drops of weapons you find first from equal level pools. Maybe every boss could have a few different sets of unique battle animations that the game chooses at random for unique battles. (On my run medusa could fight me hanging from a chandlier while on your run she uses more petrification attacks while she fights you on the ground)

No more handhelds, the series belongs on modern consoles. The most successful Castlevania titles were not appealing to children. Don't be afraid to keep the series on 2D like they used to be. More and more 2D games have been successful in recent years. (Most Indie games, Rayman origins, Amongst many others)2D is making a comeback, and we all know most Castlevanias sucked on 3D. You cant have medusa heads (or candles without making it weird) on a 3D environment. And some might say its unimportant, but like theANdROId said... Its part of it "soul"

Come up with a story that takes more than 5 minutes to come up with, Ever heard of Final Fantasy? Maybe you have. They have wonderful worlds and stories. You can make a detailed story and still make it about dracula and the belmonts, (Like LOS but less predictable, If you start out with a bland story you can add all the TWIZTS you want... it will look forced.)
The story can branch out a bit more from the main quest (Ecclesia was heading the right direction)

Be proud of the titles that came before you. (You can do more than name a random character "brauner" as an homage to the old series) Specially when it comes to music.

Everyone loves symphony of the night... Yet all alucard gets to be in some shitty multiplayers and as a side character in games revolving around some nobody who is suddenly Dracula... Why doesnt SOTN get a sweet remake or a sequel? Not only would fans love that, but the whole gaming community would. Shit would spread by word of mouth like the old SOTN or even better now that most gamers have internet connections. Use the nostalgia to your advantage! Iga was going to before LOS but it probably would have been shit.

And thats just the surface...

[X]

First off... Bring back Ayami, for main character designs and promotional artwork.

I would personally let her back on CV only if she would not do any of the artwork for the guys. This is Castlevania here and not a Yaoi sausage fest. CoD I feel is a good example of a borderline Yaoi tale, it just went too far (Issac and Trevor to name a scene) and that's just not the Castlevania I remember growing up with. As for everything else of her's she does great detailed backgrounds and Gothic architecture, and I do love the way she make her female characters stand out from the norm. But the guys? No. Just no.