Topic: Just feels good man

[Lumi Kløvstad]

There are certain things in any game series that just feel good. Can't describe it any better-- they just scratch a particular itch and leave you feeling good.

For me, in Castlevania, playing as a Belmont protagonist in a console release with the full use of the whip is one of those things.

This is mostly because my fandom was born in the Igavania Era, where he made two games starring a Belmont (Harmony of Dissonance and Lament of Innocence) with the Belmont character in his other entries usually was just an unlockable character with minimal or no story, and not a whole lot of console releases either. As a result, I tended to get a greater satisfaction when I can play a Castlevania game on a console, controller in my hand, and on the big screen.

These days, there's not much special about that experience, but it still gives me the warm fuzzies.

Is there anything in Castlevania that gives you guys similar good feelings?

[zangetsu468]

I think in general unboxing a new Castlevania game and clicking "New Game" for the first time will do this for me.
Especially prominent during the Igavania era - LOS 1 when I was collecting a lot of games.

[TatteredSeraph]

Playing SotN just makes me happy, even when I'm pulling my hair out at trying to navigate a section/defeat a boss in the inverse castle and have no more health potions left.  I get warm, happy feelings inside when playing through Lament of Innocence, or the LoS games, and reach particular cutscenes.  For example, Trevor's ending in MoF, or the reunion with Marie in LoS2.  They make me cry (yes, I'm a bit of a softie like that).   I also love reading good Castlevania fanfiction.  I love decent fanfics, such as demonfox38's stuff (Whole Tatteres is gut-wrenching), or eiahmon's Blood Is.  I've been following Aria of the Ascending Soul since it was still Aria of Sorrow: Second Wave of Tears.  There's a long list of fics I love.  Sitting back with a good fic, especially long ones, and a huge mug of tea is a favourite thing of mine to unwind.

[Gunlord]

Nice topic, friend! It's been a while since I've played a CV game, but I have to admit the classic "Igavania strut/powerwalk" makes me feel good to watch it in action

[X]

I think in general unboxing a new Castlevania game and clicking "New Game" for the first time will do this for me.

This! Definitely this! Especially whne it's Christmas day and you get a game you've been wanting for a long time. Then you unwrap it, jump for joy, plug it into your console, jump for joy, play it, get killed, swear and cuss, and jump for joy, lol.

[TatteredSeraph]

When playign Aria or Dawn of Sorrow, it was a very frequent thing for me to yell out "Give me your soul, damnit!" to either my laptop or to my DS.  I sued to want it on a t-shirt, with a pic of Somacula to go with it.

[zangetsu468]

I'll tell you what, scowering or dungeon crawling the depths of Castle B in HoD was doing my head in. Last night I reached the Skywalk area, it was like finding Nirvana. 

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Whacking Granfaloon/Legion over and over and watching him fall to bits and eventually explode in a giant fireball is another one of those things that's just great, regardless of the game.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Getting a 100% completion rate (map, items, etc.) would make me very happy.

[TheTextGuy]

One thing is hitting multiple targets in the classics with either the holy water or the cross, especially since in some of them you'd get point bonuses, which could net you extra lives.  Oh boy did I need those lives, especially for CVIII and CV Chronicles.

Also using Albus' 'Fei-Long' kick in OoE is satisfying, since it deals a lot of damage, has invincibility, and the hitstop just feels so good.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Getting a 100% completion rate (map, items, etc.) would make me very happy.

Or glitching out Symphony to get an impossible level of map completion after you've explored everything legit.

Using the Void Sword against run of the mill enemies in Lords of Shadow 2 is also way more satisfying for me than any other weapon possessed by Dracula. Part of it is the virtual invincibility it affords you with health regen per hit, another is that Lords 1 & 2 clearly got how to make weapon strikes feel solid, and then there's also the fact that Gabe is a fantastically show-offish swordsman, especially compared to his generic looking punches and recycled-from-the-last-game whip movements.

Also from Lords of Shadow 2: KILLING AGREUS THAT LITTLE [LONG BLEEPED OUT EXPLETIVE CHAIN]. He may be a good hunter (and almost got me to put my controller through the screen several times before I figured out that I was supposed to Mist Form across the maze), but he's not a good fighter, and by the time I'd killed him, it got personal between us. Most satisfying boss kill in the game, if you ask me.

[The Puritan]

Clearing out all those ?s in every single Bestiary in every CV that has them. It's usually the last thing I do in such games before I put them away.

Also: dropkicking from the highest point of Gergoth's boss room in DOS and watching that dot on the map plummet. Never gets old.

[CastleToastM]

Also: dropkicking from the highest point of Gergoth's boss room in DOS and watching that dot on the map plummet. Never gets old.

This, so much this. I also loved using the medusa soul to hold myself in air for a bit, then slamming down on an unsuspecting schmuck. (it was medusa that allowed you to pause in mid air, right?)

[Belmontoya]

I have so many good Dawn of Sorrow memories that...

[EstebanT]

I totally get the "feels good" vibe from unique enemy behavior. Like being able to ride Amphisbaena, Boomerang skeletons cowering, Alura Unes changing colors with blood, AoS Minotaur dropping his axe, Bloodline's Harpy decapitation , Healing Frozen Shades with Icebrand, Skeleton apes elbowing you when you get to close, Spear knights patroling back and forth until they notice you, Homunculus drowning on his own, Bloodlines Skeletons ripping their own heads off. Yorick panicking without his head. Disc armors hurling their discs upon death. PoR Succubus calling charlotte a filthy cow. SotN Dullahan's lighning attack. Lorelai pretending to be a mermaid. MoF hunchbacks making weapons from castle parts, OoE Arachne's baby spiders. PoR zombies turning into skeletons.
Wow. Got carried away with examples. There are many more too.