Topic: Design-a-Boss! (CV2 Final Boss Edition)

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Most of us know, Dracula's final boss form in CV2 is... well, let's just say he's not that much of a boss.
If you had the power to redesign or add another form, within the context of the game, what would it be like?


Would you go the Harmony of Dissonance route and make it a disembodied bunch of parts (spoiler?), or would you go more of a ghostly wraith? (he's already kinda there in CV2).

[Darkmoon]

Take a page from the later games. Have Dracula summon the spirits of four of the bosses from the previous game -- Frankie, Mummy, Bat, and Medusa -- one at a time before a final, demonic form.

[BLOOD MONKEY]

I really like the idea of CV2 as more of a horror game than the rest so,,, perhaps a background tile-based boss. A giant demon embedded in the castle wall, with all kinds of crazy magical attacks. Defeat him by severing each of his 4 arms, and then the head. idk.

[Holy Diver]

I really like the idea of CV2 as more of a horror game than the rest so

A bit off topic, but I've always wondered what Castlevania would be like if it had gone full on horror. I mean, how would one even pull off making you feel like a powerful Belmont and at the same time make you feel fear, helplessness... So far the closest we've got to horror is SC4 with it's spooky atmospheric music(also SotN and LoI in a few places.

perhaps a background tile-based boss. A giant demon embedded in the castle wall, with all kinds of crazy magical attacks. Defeat him by severing each of his 4 arms, and then the head. idk.

Nice.

Also let his presence be known before you even meet him. I don't know how to put it much better. So like, the moment you enter his ruined castle you feel a different atmosphere. The closer you get to him the more "off" everything feels. Mess with player's mind, but also add some spooks. Now this trope has probably been overused, but there's probably a thing or two you can do to keep it fresh. Mess with the controls, make him run around in circles, ambush him when he least expects it.
That's the best I can put it.

As for the boss itself, kinda like what bloo said, but dunno.

[The Puritan]

I don't how the fight would go, but a second phase where Dracula absorbs Simon's curse as a last-ditch powerup would be pretty cool.

[X]

I don't how the fight would go, but a second phase where Dracula absorbs Simon's curse as a last-ditch powerup would be pretty cool.

I'd second this.

[DragonSlayr81]

I don't how the fight would go, but a second phase where Dracula absorbs Simon's curse as a last-ditch powerup would be pretty cool.

Believe it or not, I wanted something of the sort for the end of Curse of Darkness.

To be honest, the end of that game disappointed me. I DO love the bit how, pre-CoD, it took 100 years for Dracula to be resurrected in full. I'd keep that had I been in charge of the story. My ending would be with Isaac being used as the vessel for Dracula (same as CoD, but his appearance would be Isaac with the energy silhouette of Dracula's form), but when Hector defeats him, Dracula's spirit is sent back into the abyss (no second form) and with the Curse lingering, Hector uses his Devil Forging abilities to transform the curse, not into something harmless like in the game (because I'd say that devil forgemasters could only forge physical monstrosities from evil energy), but into a singular form of evil, a giant beast made up of multiple demons, heads, arms and such. I'm visualizing something akin to a CV-take on Neo-Exdeath (Final Fantasy V) and less Menace from DoS.

Now getting back to CV2, had I designed the game, Dracula's Ghost's first form would look more like Dracula and less like Death. After the first form's defeat, Dracula's Ghost would pull all his remaining power and transform into something similar to HoD but more modeled after the final form of the final boss of Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES). Simon will be warped to a dimension of darkness (black background) and Dracula will appear as a giant demon with is own demonic face attached to a giant, rotted skeletal body, chest ribs open, giant heart beating (weak point), and massive floating hands with sharp claws, a giant eyeball that appears in his mouth that shoots out beams and sharp bones shooting out from his spine. He appears in three places, the right of the screen, the left of the screen, and from above. Right or left, he'll function the same, attacking then exposing his heart for damage. When he appears above (like his head is peaking down from above the screen), he'll drop deadly wads of blood on Simon.

[X]

DragonSlayr81@

Was this idea conceived over time or was it an in-the-moment thing? Cause it sounds awesome 

[DragonSlayr81]

DragonSlayr81@

Was this idea conceived over time or was it an in-the-moment thing? Cause it sounds awesome 

About which one? The CV2 one was sorta spur-of-the-moment after first stumbling upon this thread, but the hint of the idea was kinda always there. I was one of those folk here that, back in the day, came up with their own bosses for the bossless mansions in CV2.

For CoD, it was literally something that started as speculation while I was playing it when it came out (the whole bit about Dracula's resurrection failing and some other demonic thing being the REAL final boss) and something I kinda expanded upon after I finished the game.

[X]

CV2 actually. It still sounds cool