Turbogfx

It's been a while since this thread has seen any new posts. And so I thought I'd ask you Castlevania fans about your thoughts on two of the best known 16-bit Castlevania's: - Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis / Megadrive) I admit it, I really, REALLY have a soft spot for the Genesis game. To me, Bloodlines (or The New Generation in Europe) got a lot of things right about what makes a Castlevania game great, and used the Genesis' best features to enhance the game even more: - kick-ass soundtrack (with those fat Genesis bass-lines) - character animation and sprite art are superb - backgrounds and environmental visual effects were mind-blowing for the time (just look at the Tower of Pisa level, or the Mirror palace at the end) - good difficulty level, altough I'm not a big fan of the limited number of continues - gameplay is a nice cross-over between CV III and Super Castlevania IV controls - 2 playable characters (although I have only played one of the two) - memorable boss battles In general, I really prefer Bloodlines over Super Castlevania IV. The latter, in my opinion, was a bit too easy, the soundtrack was underwhelming and it didn't really bring anything new to the table. What do you think about both games? Which one do you prefer and why would that be? Cheers!

It's very tough, that's for sure. But with the right amount of perseverance you'll get there eventually. Thank God for the save feature. The hardest stage is the clocktower IMO with the Werewolf boss fight. I curse that level..

So, I finished Castlevania Chronicles (Original Mode) last weekend on the PS1. That is one brutally difficult CV game, might be the hardest one I've played to date. I also got SOTN in the meantime, as well as Belmont's Revenge and Kid Dracula for the Gameboy Classic. I really like those games, I think Belmont's Revenge has some of the greatest CV tunes out there, definitely my favorite handheld CV game to date.

What bothers me most about this thing, is the facts that you can not use original Neo Geo controllers on the docking station to play these games. The site says: "... we have created a 1:1 all new NEOGEO X Arcade Stick. The experience is 100% the same." I'm not into handheld gaming, so the only reason I would buy this is to play it on a proper LCD TV. But if it will cost me even more to buy a second controller (to my knowledge they have not yet released a price for the controller) - which by the way I already have - I'll think I will pass. All in, their way of communicating does not lead me to think that they are very confident about this product performing well (quality-wise and sales-wise alike). I'd think twice before buying one of these...

I'll contribute some well know flaws for the Neo Geo CD: 1. "DISK I/O ERROR", followed by an error code in brackets. These error codes can indcate the following problems: 0000 = General error. Clean disc and try again. 0001 = Read error due to damaged/dirty laser lens or disc. 0002 and 0003 = Mechanical problem or copy protection alert. Source: neo-geo.com 2. Flawed Neo Geo CD joypad --> D-pad clogs up with wite plastic dust pretty easily, disabling in-game movement in one or more directions. There are a couple of clips on Youtube on how to fix this. Fix is pretty easy, doesn't require much equipment. A pocket knife, small cross-head screwdriver, exacto knife and some q-tips will do the trick.

Retro: Nintendo NES Modern: Xbox 360

Finished The Castlevania Adventure (Gameboy Classic) for the first time ever last week. Cool game.

Little Samson on the NES and Trip World on the Gameboy have a pretty good reputation in terms of being rare AND fun to play. Same for Shantae on the Gameboy Color I think.

Oh I want to play it, for sure, but I have no Wii nor a PSP. I do however plan to buy a PC Engine Duo soon, so I'll get it then.

I've got a question for any one who's played Akumajou Dracula X: Chi No Rondo (PC Engine) and Dracula X (Vampire's Kiss in Europe) on the SNES: What are the differences between those two games, I haven't played them but they look fairly similar. Are they two entirely different games or are they more or less the same? Thanks!

After playing some more of this game, I need to admit that I agree with most of what you are saying. While I still feel that the controls are good, it's kind of discouraging to backtrack through the whole castle once again, hoping to find a room in which you can progress with your newfound powers, only to find out after 30min of extra play, that you are stuck. I'm at 60.5% now, and honestly, I don't know how to proceed. Really frustrating...

I played the HoD/AoS Double Pack on GBA today, and I have some questions. Multiple times in this thread, Aria of Sorrow is preferred over Harmony of Dissonance. However, I have to say that I find Harmony of Dissonance quite enjoyable. Story seems to be rather meager but nonetheless, the gameplay is there IMO...

I especially like the items. Loved the shield as well! And that flame whipe is pretty awesome as well!

I finished Castlevania II: Simon's Quest on the NES this weekend. Despite the fact that the game's riddles are WAY too cryptic to figure out without a walkthrough (for me at least), I actually really liked many other aspects of the game, like the music, the graphics, the overall dark and desolate atmosphere, as well as the items and weapon upgrades. If they would have built in a map screen and made the riddle a bit less vague, this would have been a kick-ass Castlevania game. The few boss "fights" could use a remake as well :-)

Finished Castlevania II and Castlevania III (Alucard route) this weekend.

Wow.. THAT is amazing. We didn't even get FF III in Europe, and Chrono Trigger nowadays is even more expensive out here than the US NTSC version...

Me neither, and to tell you the truth, I already owned loose cart copies of those games when I bought the CIB ones. I just couldn't resist buying them when I saw those prices. I just bought em all out of general principle :-)

Least I actually paid for a complete SNES game (mint CIB) was € 1,50. Not just any game. I bought Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country 2 and 3, each mint CIB and each at € 1,50. Where I live, that's impossible to beat.

Hm, interesting, I'll make sure to check out some PoR gameplay first. What is it you like about PoR so much? I really like a straight forward CV game. While I love SotN-type Castlevania, I really appreciate the level design more than the RPG gameplay element. Character illustrations do look a bit darker, indeed. I don't care that much about the DoS anime style that you see in some other DS games. Although it doesn't bother me either. It's still Castlevania, you know The branching paths in CV III offer a great replay value IMO, especially for and NES game, and even more so if you're a Castlevania fan. Even after 3 playthroughs you will play levels which you have never played before. I think that's really cool. :-) I definitely like the art direction. I think I'll pick this one up when I come across it. Thanks to all of you for the advice!

Can anybody give me some advice on which handheld CV games I should get? I have a Nintendo DS so I can play GBA and DS games.

Picked up Castlevania Chronicles for PS One yesterday. Can't wait to play it :-)

Played some Castlevania III last night, Alucard route. I'm at Death now... Good lord this game kicks ass.

I would say: Vectrex Turbo Duo Neo Geo AES

I have zero back-up consoles. With the amount of money I am willing to spend on retro gaming (which is quite modest), I prefer to buy systems or games I don't yet own instead of buying backup pieces.

My personal high score is 10,850 ... don't know if that's decent or just average. Wondering what other people's high-scores are, for reference?