Topic: Which game to start?

[Castleroid]

Hi there,

I am a big fan of the Metroid games but I never played any of the Castlevania games and now I wanna see what I've missed so far.

I only want to look at the Metroidvanias, therefore I only interest in Symphony of the Night and the GBA and DS games.

For them I have the following questions:

-Which ones are the best?

-Should I (never played a Castlevania, but I am very experienced with Metroid games) play them in a specific order or can I just play them chronologically?

Thanks in Advance.

[X]

Welcome to the Dungeon Castleroid 

I would start with playing Symphony of the Night. We all did and it's the best one you can possible experience. If you're looking for a challenge however then I would recommend circle of the Moon on GBA or Order of Ecclesia on the DS.

[shelverton.]

Definitely Symphony, but after that I think we're all gonna tell you different things. I would play them in this order:

1. Symphony of the Night
2. Aria of Sorrow
3. Dawn of Sorrow
4. Order of Ecclesia
5. Circle of the Moon

After that you will probably be pretty tired and should take a break from these games. Then come back after 6 months and play:

6. Portrait of Ruin
7. Harmony of Dissonance (not to be confused with Harmony of Despair, mind you!)

The reason I put Portrait and Harmony last is because they seem to divide the fanbase more than any of the other metroidvanias. It's hard to say if you're gonna like them or not. I think they're both very cool though.

[Charlie Walden]

The reason I put Portrait and Harmony last is because they seem to divide the fanbase more than any of the other metroidvanias. It's hard to say if you're gonna like them or not. I think they're both very cool though.

Harmony of Dissonance was my first Castlevania, so my heart attached to it 

[shelverton.]

Harmony of Dissonance was my first Castlevania, so my heart attached to it 

It was actually my first Metroidvania, but I had already played most of the older Castlevanias as a kid/teenager, but never Symphony of the Night, oddly enough! Harmony was the reason I came to these forums in 2002 (geez... has it really been that long?). I absofrickin'lutely loved Harmony. It is such a weird and eerie game, and sort of "rough" around the edges in a great and atmospheric way.

Then I played Symphony next and it quickly became one of my favorite games in the series. Harmony is still great though, but I dunno if it's the best place to start (even though I contradict myself here cause it was an excellent start for me! But there were only three metroidvanias released back in 2002 so less to choose from, I guess).

[Shiroi Koumori]

@Castleroid: Welcome to the Dungeon! shelverton.'s list is the order I also prefer people to start with.

I suppose if you asked most people here, they would say Symphony since that is the game that inspired people to coin half of the term "Metrodvania".
I knew Castlevania from its NES days but it was Symphony that made me care about this series. It's all because of Alucard, really...

I do understand that first Castlevania one plays does have a special place in a one's heart. Harmony of Dissonance is a weird one for me, though. But I love Juste, the interior decorator!

[SilentCircuit]

Order doesn't really matter. Just play Aria of Sorrow before Dawn of Sorrow, since the latter is a sequel to the former.

The best ones are going to vary depending on who you ask. I'd say Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow are the best ones.

Symphony of the Night is probably the best starting point, either way.

[RichterB]

If you're limiting this to Metroid-style...

Start with Symphony of the Night (SotN). Factoring in everything, it's still the best, honestly.

If you like SotN, you will probably want to transition into Aria of Sorrow, as it's the closest game overall to SotN.

From here, you have choices to make. If you want "more of the same," go with Aria of Sorrow's direct sequel, Dawn of Sorrow. If you want something similar but different, I'd go with Harmony of Dissonance (HoD) or Circle of the Moon (CotM). I just replayed HoD, and it was a lot better than I remembered it being. It's a cross between SotN and Circle of the Moon. Its map can be very confusing and frustrating, though. Circle of the Moon is more of a cross between the original style of Castlevania and SotN, so it's quite challenging.

I unfortunately cannot personally speak for Order of Ecclesia, but I've heard good things about it.

As for Portrait of Ruin...it's a really mixed bag. It's "fresher" than some of the Metroidvanias with its gameplay, but its maps are more tedious and repetitive overall.

Again, I skipped Order of Ecclesia (I was burned out on Metroidvania); but for me, SotN, CotM, HoD, and AoS were the most worth playing. DoS and PoR felt like "leftovers" in one way or another.

If you want games that are transitional Metroidvanias (meaning, they were precursors to SotN, but started to add exploration and RPG elements), you might try out Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

While even less Metroidvania, the two underrated albeit rough-around-the-edges N64 titles (Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness) also have questing/RPG elements to an extent. The two PS2 games, Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness do also, but I felt they weren't as good 3D efforts overall as the N64 titles. It depends on what you're looking for.

Bottom line: If you want Metroid-style, try SotN first.

[Belmontoya]

Play Symphony of The Night. It's the holy grail of Metroidvanias.

After that get over your prejudice of action games and play Super Castlevania 4.

Those are the two must play Castlevania games IMO.

Most of the other 2d Castlevania games are great as well. You can't really go wrong.

if you get into 3d do Lament of Innocence. It's a 3d metroidvania.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

SotN is the life of Castlevania.

[KaZudra]

SoTN for sure, I'm letting a friend borrow my PSP to introduce her to SoTN, it's been two weeks and she hasn't put it down yet, playing walkthrough-less and only asks me when she gets stuck, brings me back to the glory days of pre-internet gaming

[Donvermicelli]

I absofrickin'lutely loved Harmony. It is such a weird and eerie game, and sort of "rough" around the edges in a great and atmospheric way.

I tend to agree. One of HoD's biggest problems is that the poor sound quality combined with the overly bright graphics tend to overshadow all the cool stuff it did. It's hard for them not to honestly since those two elements are in your face the entire game. On the other hand the whip customization and the back and forth dashing were all really cool things, the bosses weren't that bad either.

As for the main topic: I agree with shelverton's order, it sort of shows how the series evolved and it keeps the story elements in a mostly chronological order (release wise, as to avoid confusion about parts)