The Castlevania Thread

[DickNixonArisen]

nobody has mentioned the Fami-only one so far? Akumajou special boku dracula or whatever... Chibi alucard. Supposedly pretty good.

[Blarginatorr]

Ah you mean Boku Dracula-kun, also known as Kid Dracula.

Yeah, he got a Fami title, but also a GameBoy one, one which got even an english localization.

I havent tried either of them tho.

I've heard the GameBoy one would be pretty good.

[BrianC]

nobody has mentioned the Fami-only one so far? Akumajou special boku dracula or whatever... Chibi alucard. Supposedly pretty good.

 

I like Akumajou Special Boku Dracula Kun a lot so far, but I didn't mention it becuase it plays quite a bit different, though it is a spin off (it's to the Castlevania series what Parodius is to the Gradius series). There's a GB one with some differences that came to the US as Kid Dracula, as well.

Edited May 12, 2011 by BrianC

[Austin]

nobody has mentioned the Fami-only one so far? Akumajou special boku dracula or whatever... Chibi alucard. Supposedly pretty good.

 

I like Akumajou Special Boku Dracula Kun a lot so far, but I didn't mention it becuase it plays quite a bit different, though it is a spin off (it's to the Castlevania series what Parodius is to the Gradius series). There's a GB one with some differences that came to the US as Kid Dracula, as well.

 

Yeah, I never bothered to play it but did watch a review of it recently. Gameplay is definitely different.

 

Speaking of Japanese knock-offs though, wasn't there a game that Konami made that featured a variety of their properties? I think I remember hearing it had a Castlevania-themed level in it.

 

*digs a little*

 

Yeah, it was Konami Wai Wai World. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_Wai_Wai_World

[BrianC]

nobody has mentioned the Fami-only one so far? Akumajou special boku dracula or whatever... Chibi alucard. Supposedly pretty good.

 

I like Akumajou Special Boku Dracula Kun a lot so far, but I didn't mention it becuase it plays quite a bit different, though it is a spin off (it's to the Castlevania series what Parodius is to the Gradius series). There's a GB one with some differences that came to the US as Kid Dracula, as well.

 

Yeah, I never bothered to play it but did watch a review of it recently. Gameplay is definitely different.

 

Speaking of Japanese knock-offs though, wasn't there a game that Konami made that featured a variety of their properties? I think I remember hearing it had a Castlevania-themed level in it.

 

*digs a little*

 

Yeah, it was Konami Wai Wai World. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_Wai_Wai_World

 

There was a second Wai Wai World. Plays different from the first, but I think it still has CV references.

[DickNixonArisen]

And the Bizarre part in Contra hard corps where you fight bobblehead simon... yeesh.

[Austin]

And the Bizarre part in Contra hard corps where you fight bobblehead simon... yeesh.

 

Haha, that part of Contra HC was awesome..

[GameGirl420]

the first Castlevania for NES is my favorite of the series.

 

 

i think Castlevania 2(NES) has the best soundtrack of all. the gameplay for that one is really boring tho.

[DickNixonArisen]

Yes, Castlevania is a truly awesome series; like Star Wars. But we've become so used to them and their awesomeness that we have forgotten how bad their names are.

 

Castlevania - a portmanteau of Castle and Transylvania. Like a western named Gunville, or a political thriller named Bombmerica.

[Eltigro]

The first NES Castlevania was one of the first games I got for the system. I remember having it, 1943, Metal Gear, and of course the pack-in SMB/DH. I loved the game and still have very fond memories of it. I didn't beat it for years, but it was damn fun trying.

 

Never owned CVII, just rented it a few times.

 

I don't think I've ever even played CVIII.

 

I have Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Genesis and it's pretty fun, but I haven't played it enough to get very far. I get a little past the area where everything fills up with water I think. It's been a while.

 

I used to have Symphony of the Night, but it was in a binder full of games that I let a friend borrow when I got my PS2. The friend moved and lost the binder in the move. (This binder also had my copies of FF VII, Einhander, Suikoden I and II in it!!!) But it was amazing when I first played it. I cringed at the voice acting at the beginning, but the game seemed revolutionary at the time. And it has become the standard by which almost all 2D CV's have been measured. I never repaced the Playstation disk, but I downloaded it on XBox.

 

I have Super Castlevania IV on the Wii Virtual Console. Again, I haven't played it enough to get very far into it, but it does remind me more of the first one than Bloodlines. More visual tricks though with the SNES, like the turning rooms and whatnot.

 

I have Dracula X on the Virtual Console as well. It reminds me even more of the first CV. Kind of a cross between it and SCV IV. It's really fun but I don't play it much. I was very excited to try it though. The price of playing the actual game was/is prohibitive and many people say it's still the best CV out there.

 

I have Castlevania Adventure for the Gameboy. Never could get very far into it. Controls too stiff it seems and there's one place where I have to jump across some blocks that I can't seem to get past.

 

I have Harmony of Dissonance and enjoyed it quite a bit. But I got to one point where I have to make it through a maze like room faster than a rolling ball so that I can get into a room to get something and have not been able to get past that point. Haven't played it in years.

 

I have a downloaded Castlevania on the 360. I don't even remember the names now. It is big on online multiplayer and has several characters that can be leveled up. I don't play it much.

 

I have Lords of Shadow and like it for what it is. It doesn't seem very Castlevania, just because, as you can see through my CV history, it's the first one I've played that was 3-D. It, as many people have mentioned, plays more like God of War. It is fun, but again, as seems to be the case on many games lately, I got to a point that started frustrating me and haven't played it in a while. (The music box level.)

 

I've never played any import Castlevania's (except Dracula X: Rondo of Blood) and I never played any of the 3-D games (except LoS), but I have been a fan of the series for quite a while and have fond memories of the games. I would guess that my favorite would have to be the first one, but this base more on nostalgia than anything I would assume.

Edited May 14, 2011 by Eltigro

[toptenmaterial]

I have Harmony of Dissonance and enjoyed it quite a bit. But I got to one point where I have to make it through a maze like room faster than a rolling ball so that I can get into a room to get something and have not been able to get past that point. Haven't played it in years.

 

 

I remember that part! There are actually two levels to it, one in Castle B and the other in Castle A. It's a bitch but you can beat it. If memery serves me right, I did it by equiping the wind spell with the boomering, which creates that ring around you that pretty much shields you from everything, and then dig the gravedigger slide. The real trick is knowing when to drop below the ascending platforms.

[jvgs]

The Castlevania series is one of my favorites (at least the 2D games). Symphony of the Night is my favorite, followed by Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on the NES. (I love the ability to switch into other characters to climb walls for shortcuts for example). Castlevania IV on SNES is my third favorite.

[Zing]

The first and fourth games are my current favorites. When I was young, Simon's Quest was my favorite.

 

I'm not sure what everyone saw in Symphony. Sure, the music was great, like almost every other in the series. The gameplay wasn't very fun for me. There was no challenge. The game was far too easy, and if I want to play "Metroid", I will just play Metroid.

[Bloodreign]

A fan of the original NES 3, and the first 2 GB games, as well as Bloodlines, Rondo, SCVIV, and the PS 1 port of the X68K Akdra X68.

 

Once 1 lifed two loops of CV 4, and 1 lifed CV 1, I can't even do that anymore. As for the newer titles, I've kinda lost my love for that series unless it's the old games.

[DickNixonArisen]

The first and fourth games are my current favorites. When I was young, Simon's Quest was my favorite.

 

I'm not sure what everyone saw in Symphony. Sure, the music was great, like almost every other in the series. The gameplay wasn't very fun for me. There was no challenge. The game was far too easy, and if I want to play "Metroid", I will just play Metroid.

 

Symphony is easy as hell. I probably died once on my first playthrough; I remember seeing the game over screen and being like "oh... so that's what it looks like.". I still do see the brilliance, though. Does a game need to be challenging to be good? Interesting question.

[StanJr]

The fun of Symphony was the exploration and the depth of the world. Plus the fun of finding all of the secrets and leveling up the familiars. There were some tough bosses, particularly dependent on what weapons you had, but overall it wasn't difficult. That said, I found I didn't mind too much.

[Algus]

I actually like Symphony of the Night a lot. What makes me mad about it though is that they decided every Castlevania ever had to be just like that. I guess by the time of SoTN, arcadey type platformers were already dead but I do wish they had tried more classic style games or heck, went back to Simon's Quest and tuned that type of game up. Castlevania lost a lot when the series went from "countryside + castle" to just the danged castle.

[Austin]

I actually like Symphony of the Night a lot. What makes me mad about it though is that they decided every Castlevania ever had to be just like that.

 

Yeah, it's been a bumpy ride with the six SOTN-like titles released across the GBA and DS, IMO. That's not to say any of them even fall as far as being completely average or mediocre, but there comes a point where they just need to let a good thing die before it gets too stale..

[toptenmaterial]

Here is an article I wrote last year for my school paper, basicly giving a summery of the series. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Castlevania!

 

A look at the series in its entirety by Jonathan W. Pressman

 

 

 

Dracula has risen. Again. Go kill him. With the passing of another Halloween, I’d like our readers to reflect on Castlevania, the video game series that has been scaring the living shit out of kids and adults alike since 1986. Thrilling, frightening, captivating and above all, unrelentingly difficult, the Castlevania series will always be my favorite. Nearly 25 years later, CV remains one of the only 2D platforming series to produce new games; indeed, there have been 5 games to date that are viewed in a modernized first person perspective, but they lack the intuitive game play of the original formula.

 

I must have been about eight when I played Castlevania for the first time, and it scared me. It wasn’t bloody or graphic (the NES couldn’t even convey that), but there was something real about it. Playing the first CV game today, there is a sense of desolation, of being one behind that eight ball as the slow and underpowered hero Simon Belmont (now that’s an authentic Transylvanian name) fights his way through Dracula’s house of horrors. The game notoriously difficult, and to date I have never beaten it. The simple, 8-bit NES graphics are beautiful and the decaying castle reads nicely on an old tube televion. The soundtrack is one of the most memorable and iconic of 8-bit era titles. This game is a classic. Two more titles ensued for the NES, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. Simon’s Quest is an often maligned side scrolling, non-linier RPG. Notwithstanding some serious criticism, Simon’s Quest was revolutionary. Dracula’s Curse was a return to the more traditional formula of the first game, with one major change: different playable characters. For those of our readers who own a Nintendo Wii, I would strongly encourage you to download Super Castlevania IV, a Super Nintendo reimaging of the original Castlevania, and Rondo of Blood, a Turbograffix-16 game which was previously released only in Japan. As we moved forward into the 90s, there were numerous other titles for the Nintendo Game Boy (Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revenge, and Castlevania Legends), Super NES (Super CV IV and Dracula X) and one game for the Sega Genesis (Bloodlines). However, these were all the same in nature, with a linier level design, slow walking speed and harder-than-hell enemies. Fans needed something new.

 

The major breakthrough occurred in 1997, when Konami finally released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the original Sony Playstation. This game is ridiculously rare and commands very high prices on ebay. If you have a copy, hold on to it! The good news is that it has been ported to the 360, PS3 and PSP for a much more attainable price. This was the beginning of the “Metroid-Vania” games, as they have been often called. For anyone who has played the original Metroid, it has a distinct emphasis on non-linier exploration, and this has become the focal point of most subsequent releases. This game truly is a work of art and features a beautiful soundtrack by Japanese composer Michiru Yamane (which I recently bought off of iTunes). The protagonist of SOTN is the ancient vampire Alucard, son of Dracula, who has awoken from slumber (and the obscurity of Castlevania 3) to end his father’s reign of terror on Transylvania. The cimematics and voice acting “so bad it’s good” and watching the cut scenes never gets old. But all joking aside, it’s probably the best game since Super Mario Bros 3!

 

 

 

The new millennium brought the Game Boy Advance and a trio of new CV games along with it. The new hardware, with its 32-bit graphics processor and power sound card allowed programmers to go beyond the simple monochrome games of the old school Game Boy era. The first of these offering was Circle of the Moon. With lush, vivid graphics and a catchy soundtrack, it continued to promote the new emphasis on platforming and exploration, this time, with a new story and different clan of vampire hunters. That being said, it is a very difficult and frustrating game to play, and the control scheme doesn’t work well. These issues were fixed the following year, with 2002’s Harmony of Dissonance. Originally intended as a portable version of Symphony of the Night, HoD developed it’s own life and revived the series once again, getting back to it’s roots as a gothic horror franchise while furthering the new Metroid-Vania style . There is, again, a palpable sense of fear when descending into the depths of the castle. On a more personal note, this is the first CV game that I ever got into, and after a few minutes I was hooked. Though HoD took place in the early 18 th century, it’s successor would branch into the year 2035, in Japan! Aria of Sorrow takes further advantage of the Game Boy Advance hardware, giving us another brilliant game that happens to take place in the future. Yes, it’s kind of weird. James Rolfe, known more commonly to millions as the Angry Video Game Nerd, remarked that Japan not only has Godzilla to contend with, but Dracula too! Nevertheless, it’s another great game. The anime-centered art and ethnocentric storyline seem to exude confidence in the Castlevania series; CV is strong enough where is doesn’t have to placate only to the interests of North American consumers.

 

 

 

The Nintendo DS, now the current standard for hardware, gave us stereo sound, two screens, and three new Castlevania games. The first was Dawn of Sorrow, a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow. This is only the second sequel in the entire series, the first being Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest for the NES. This game makes use of the touch screen, and smartly used the top screen to display the map. This was an ingenious feature. The second title was Portrait of Ruin, taking place during the Second World War. It introduced us to an innovative co-op system, where two characters are controlled at the same time, each doing different actions. It’s hard to explain, and not easy to learn, either. However, once you get the hang of it, Portrait of Ruin is a blast. It is also notable for having an increased difficulty level, after having been tempered down a little doing the GBA-DS years. Lastly, there is Order of Ecclesia, which marks a departure from the Metroid-Vania formula, being more linier in nature. Continuing on the trend of it’s predecessor, it is also really, really hard. Around this time, an excellent CV game was also released for the Sony PSP, The Dracula X Chronicles. It is an enhanced remake of Rondo of Blood, which was outside of Japan at the time. It also contains Symphony of the Night and the original Rondo, as well as an extensive sound mode with unlockable soundtracks for the three games. As usual, the artwork is beautiful.

 

 

 

There have, on occasion, been attempts to bring the series on 3D, and why not? Mario, Zelda and Metroid have all successfully made the leap. Castlevania titles in the first person perspective are often panned, however. Having not played any of them, except for the new Lords of Shadow (more on that later), I cannot really comment on them, except to say that the old school, 2D platformers are alive and well. If you are still interested, there are five 3D Castlevania games in total: Castlevania (N64), Legacy of Darkness (N64), Lament of Innocence (PS2), Curse of Darkness (PS2, Xbox), and more recently, Lords of Shadow (Xbox 360, PS3)

 

There have been other games too, which don’t really fit anywhere: Judgment for the Wii, which is a Mortal Kombat-type fighting game, Order of Shadows for mobile phones, the obscure Haunted Castle, an 80s arcade game, and recently Encore of the Night, which is a Bejeweled-style puzzle game with a Symphony of the Night theme for the iPod Touch and iPhone.

 

 

 

In the past year, we have seen the release of four new Castlevania titles. Castlevania: The Adventure, the older-than-dirt monochrome Game Boy game, was remade for the Nintendo Wii. The result is superb. Each sprite is brilliant redrawn with a full color palate, the music has been remade with the advantage of a modern sound chip, and the classic game play of the 80s hasn’t been altered at all. There is also a setting which allows you to change the difficulty, for those of us who forget how unrelenting tough 80s games were. The Encore of the Night puzzler is available from iTunes. Xbox live is also offering a new platformer, Harmony of Despair, which has gotten excellent reviews and supports a multiplayer mode.

 

 

 

The most recent Castlevania is Lords of Shadow, a full-length title for the Xbox 360 and PS3. This highly anticipated title was promoted as being a reboot of the series; indeed, there is very little about this game that feels like Castlevania. It is a linier action game with a strong emphasis on combat, and has nothing to do with the previous Metroid-Vania games. From a visual standpoint, it has the best graphics that I have ever seen in a videogame, hands down. It also features first-rate voice acting from A-listers like Sir Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle. Perhaps the intent was to gentrify the series by bringing in such heavy weights, but I’m not sure if there are really any benefits to it. Castlevania cinematics are supposed to be bad, and making the theatrics mainstream isn’t appealing. It’s overdramatic and doesn’t work. If the voice acting in Symphony of the Night was so-bad-it’s-good, then Lord’s of Shadow’s is so-bad-it’s bad! However, it was tough for me to get into it. The controls are unforgiving, and I often had a hard time figuring out what to do next. One of the joys of CV is that it’s always intuitive, and Lords of Shadow isn’t. Those of you who preordered the game were treated to a boxed set, which included the original soundtrack and 30-page art book.

 

 

 

So is that enough Castlevania for you? I do look forward to future games, especially with the arrival of Nintendo’s 3DS in March of 2011. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to reach me at....

[BrianC]

Not bad, but there are some things I would like to point out.

 

I must have been about eight when I played Castlevania for the first time, and it scared me. It wasn’t bloody or graphic (the NES couldn’t even convey that), but there was something real about it. Playing the first CV game today, there is a sense of desolation, of being one behind that eight ball as the slow and underpowered hero Simon Belmont (now that’s an authentic Transylvanian name) fights his way through Dracula’s house of horrors. The game notoriously difficult, and to date I have never beaten it. The simple, 8-bit NES graphics are beautiful and the decaying castle reads nicely on an old tube televion. The soundtrack is one of the most memorable and iconic of 8-bit era titles. This game is a classic. Two more titles ensued for the NES, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest and Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. Simon’s Quest is an often maligned side scrolling, non-linier RPG. Notwithstanding some serious criticism, Simon’s Quest was revolutionary. Dracula’s Curse was a return to the more traditional formula of the first game, with one major change: different playable characters. For those of our readers who own a Nintendo Wii, I would strongly encourage you to download Super Castlevania IV, a Super Nintendo reimaging of the original Castlevania, and Rondo of Blood, a Turbograffix-16 game which was previously released only in Japan. As we moved forward into the 90s, there were numerous other titles for the Nintendo Game Boy (Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revenge, and Castlevania Legends), Super NES (Super CV IV and Dracula X) and one game for the Sega Genesis (Bloodlines). However, these were all the same in nature, with a linier level design, slow walking speed and harder-than-hell enemies. Fans needed something new.

 

That's overgeneralizing a bit, since they aren't all the same in nature, and they vary in difficulty and play mechanics. The level design in Rondo of Blood has hidden and branching paths, for example. Not to mention the GB games have a different feel. Also, no mention of the spinoff, Akumajo Special (aka Kid Dracula), Castle X68000 and the PSX remake, or the differences with the JP CVIII?

 

I just beat CV1 recently. It's hard at first, but it just takes a lot of memorization to beat. It's not easy, but it's not insanely hard either. I like it quite a bit.

 

The major breakthrough occurred in 1997, when Konami finally released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the original Sony Playstation. This game is ridiculously rare and commands very high prices on ebay.

 

It's not rare (it even had a greatest hits re-release) and the prices, while over 30, aren't that high. Definitely good stuff, though.

 

The Nintendo DS, now the current standard for hardware, gave us stereo sound, two screens, and three new Castlevania games. The first was Dawn of Sorrow, a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow. This is only the second sequel in the entire series, the first being Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest for the NES.

 

It wasn't the second sequel. Symphony of the Night is a sequel to Dracula X and Castlevania II GB is a sequel to Castlevania adventure (same hero, Christopher Belmont).

[toptenmaterial]

Thank you for your critisism. The collective wealth of information on AA cannot be underestimated.

[DickNixonArisen]

Are you SURE you don't want to react defensively to corrections?

[toptenmaterial]

Did anyone see the Castlevania skit on Robot Chicken tonight?

[Austin]

Haha, what?? I need to see if that's been posted online.

[toptenmaterial]

yeah it's funny/retarded, Simon is just repeatedly whipping the shit out of everybody