Topic: The Future of the Castlevania Series

[Darkweaver]

Being that Lords of Shadow 2 will be the last Castlevania in the Lords of Shadow saga and the last MercurySteam Castlevania game, where do you think and where do you hope the series goes from there?

It looks like the Lords of Shadow saga is really becoming an awesome series and what worries me is that we are either going to get another reboot or that the series may come to an end.  I'm hoping for more games in the LoS universe even with this story coming to a conclusion but with the end of this story and with MercurySteam no longer in charge, I don't know what's going to happen.  There's a lot of potential and Castlevania is still one of my favorite franchises of all time.  I'm already a bit sad to see the Ghosts N' Goblins series seemingly dead, Devil May Cry getting the axe, Legacy of Kain getting the multiplayer treatment, etc.  What do you think?  What do you believe will happen to the series and what do you hope to see for the future of Castlevania?

[darkwzrd4]

Well, everything eventually comes to an end. What I'm hoping for is either for Konami to take it back and finish up that mess we call the old timeline, or it will be given to some else which would almost certainly mean another reboot. I have no problem with another reboot so long as it has the classic castlevania elements: Whip wielding Belmonts, Dracula, classic sub-weapons, demonic castle, Death, etc.

[X]

^^^Exactly. And no QTE's or sponge enemies.

[crisis]

I gotta hunch that the next top-secret CV game is already in development, probably for handheld (and it might be a "stand-alone" title, not a full-blown reboot like LoS was)


about Ghosts n Goblins, DMC, etc.. that's all Capcom's fault. They mismanaged their properties and are totally out of touch with their fans (have been for quite a while), which is why they're in such dire straits right now. Hopefully Konami isn't in the red like Capcom is (i don;t think so, they haven't given any indications that they're nigh-financial ruin like Capcom has publicly)


It will be a sad, sad day in the gaming world if Capcom goes under, guys.

[Ratty]

It will be a sad, sad day in the gaming world if Capcom goes under, guys.

Maybe, but they brought it upon themselves by shamelessly exploiting and looking down on their customers. "Oh you want more of X franchise/gameplay style? Well we've decided that's not got enough mainstream appeal so you can just eat a shit sandwich with a side order of on-disc 'DLC'." to be fair, we are talking about the company that released 2354,65406 editions of Street Fighter 2, so maybe exploiting their fans isn't that new to them. Of course if they do go under they'll probably be bought up by EA or Activision or some company that's even worse to their customers.

As for the future of Castlevania well, it's cliche but true that the only certainty in life is change. Even the things that are "the same" aren't really. Just look at Final Fantasy 13 and the Tomb Raider reboot, those are ostensibly in the same genres as the original entries. I'd love to see more good Castlevania titles but if the franchise ends it's already had an incredible 26 year run with some of the best, most challenging and most replayable games ever made under its belt. Which is a lot more than most series will ever be able to say.

[Darkweaver]

I gotta hunch that the next top-secret CV game is already in development, probably for handheld (and it might be a "stand-alone" title, not a full-blown reboot like LoS was)


about Ghosts n Goblins, DMC, etc.. that's all Capcom's fault. They mismanaged their properties and are totally out of touch with their fans (have been for quite a while), which is why they're in such dire straits right now. Hopefully Konami isn't in the red like Capcom is (i don;t think so, they haven't given any indications that they're nigh-financial ruin like Capcom has publicly)


It will be a sad, sad day in the gaming world if Capcom goes under, guys.

I almost don't even want to get into how bad Capcom is.  And they're not alone.  Look at Squeenix and their upcoming Nosgoth multiplayer game.  Legacy of Kain was all about story and characters and it's been reduced to a battle arena.  If that's not out of touch with fans and of course the game series itself, I don't what is.  Sadly, everything is about microtransactions, downloading, multiplayer where it shouldn't be, etc.  Just useless.  Even that Lords of Shadow collection.... None of it except the original game is on disc and requires vouchers to download.  Would it be so hard to include it on disc or include it on an extra disc?  Ah crap, I'm ranting.  But, one good sign is Konami/MS apparently did listen to watch the fans were saying and took it to LoS2 from what I understand.

At this point, I personally hope they stick with it and we get to see further installments in the universe, even if it's side stories or a new chapter that continues from there.  It seems like Konami is interested in further Castlevania games only that they want it under a different developer.  Only time will tell.

[Maedhros]

Oh, hey, it's this topic again.

I think that it'll be a reboot. Or maybe a new game on the old series, but a 3D one... or maybe a new LoS, if LoS2 sells well, like hotcakes.

[Darkweaver]

Oh, hey, it's this topic again.

I think that it'll be a reboot. Or maybe a new game on the old series, but a 3D one... or maybe a new LoS, if LoS2 sells well, like hotcakes.

Yeah, I just don't know what the policies are regarding bumping old threads but I figured something like this already existed.  It was something that occurred to me after hearing that LoS2 was the conclusion to the story and that MercurySteam was no longer going to be involved in future Castlevania titles.

I don't think they're going to add anything to the Igavania or should I say old series mythos.  Like someone said above, it may be another standalone game.  If that's the case, it'll probably be "retro" and have the simple "kill Dracula" plotline.  That, or we'll get a game that's not part of the main story in the LoS universe.

[theANdROId]

I don't think it will come to an end completely.  Maybe in another few years I could see it taking a hiatus or something like that...but it would eventually be back.  Somewhere along the line someone would look back, see how popular it was, and bring it back with a remake or something.  In other words, our grandchildren will get to play some newfangled game called Castlevania, about this guy who uses a whip and who is hunting Dracula.  It'll be totally retro, just like those old games "grandpa and grandma" used to play...and none of us will be able to figure out how the controls work and we'll tell stories about walking uphill to the game store, both ways, and in 4 feet of snow...

[son_the_vampire]

Gonna be a reboot. Start by re-doing the CotM game.


Edit::: I will be saddened at the passing of Capcom. After all these years

[Intersection]

Seems this topic can never die off. I guess it's only natural for us to wonder what the future has in store -- but here's one answer we should content ourselves with: LoS2 is coming next. Why don't we worry about the rest later?

For that matter, I'd suggest that future threads in the line of "the future of Castlevania", "what should the next Castlevania be like?", or "should developer X lead the series?" be integrated into the classic threads board. These questions end up getting asked so often that they'd be easier to follow there.

It will be a sad, sad day in the gaming world if Capcom goes under, guys.

Damn, I certainly hope that doesn't happen. There are too many good franchises on the line.

[Kingshango]

I swear there's a thread about  "The future of Castlevania after LOS2" on the first page or the second page at least.

Short answer: Nobody knows.

Long answer: stay tuned for E3 2014.

[13th Street]

You know there hasn't been a new 2D platformer on a console since SotN? Imagine a true spiritual successor to SotN (with full voice acting) on PS4/XBOX/PC. Aside from potentially being f**king amazing, it would fly off the shelves and Konami would regret ever doing business with Mercury Steam..(assuming they find a reputable developer to succeed them)

[Darkweaver]

You know there hasn't been a new 2D platformer on a console since SotN? Imagine a true spiritual successor to SotN (with full voice acting) on PS4/XBOX/PC. Aside from potentially being f**king amazing, it would fly off the shelves and Konami would regret ever doing business with Mercury Steam..(assuming they find a reputable developer to succeed them)

Here's the problem.  Unfortunately, we live in an era of people obsessed with Call of Duty and similar games.  2D platformers like Rayman Origins and Legends have a devoted cult following as do 3D action games like Castlevania and God of War.  But even then, these games don't always do well.... see DmC.  God of War does well because of brand recognition and being a Playstation exclusive.  For you and me, a 2D SotN console game would be a dream come true but most people would rather look down a gun sight and shoot enemy soldiers.

I can almost bet what comes next is either another retail 3D action Castlevania game and/or a downloadable 2D one.  Assuming a 2D version, it's going to be budgeted at a more "indie" level but it could maybe give an excuse to pull Iga out, which is very unlikely.

[VladCT]

Unfortunately, we live in an era of people obsessed with Call of Duty and similar games.

I've heard that Ghosts isn't selling as much as the previous games used to though, so there might be hope.