Castlevania: What's so great about it?

[Gadfly2317]

I admit: I'm totally ignorant about the greatness that is apparently Castlevania. I'm aware it's very popular, but it's just one of those series I missed when it was young, and then never got around to getting into (it always feels weird to jump into the middle of a long series, not knowing any of the history.)

What's so great about this game, you Castlevania fans? When did you get into it? What's your favorite? What do you think of the GBA Castlevania? The Original NES? The new Ps2 one? And where in the hell can I find Symphony of the Night? Which Castlevnia do I avoid, if there is a bad one?

I'd meant to try the GBA Castlevania's and I went to five different places and couldn't find it used OR new. Specifically, I was looking for Aria of Sorrow because the DS Castlevania sequel is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow, so I figured that would give me a decent background to get ready for what people are calling the DS's "Killer App." I finally found Aria--the last copy at a Toys R Us. I couldn't even find the PS2 castlevania anywehre; the only other one I saw was the $19 NES version on GBA, but I it looked a little primitive. Has its gameplay aged well?

Anyway, any background or fan enthusiasm anyone wants to share about this series, I'd love to hear it. I quickly found out Symphony of the Night is one of those hard to find things you're gonna pay an for on Ebay; and talking to numerous people at game stores; I'm hearing that there are a lot of people that bought DS's almost solely for Castlevania. I wonder if everyone'll sell their DS's back after they finish Castlevania DS this fall.

Enough from me. . . . hoping against hope for feedback down here in General Discussion.

[Glockstar]

...And where in the hell can I find Symphony of the Night?...

You can have mine.

Er, maybe not have. Maybe trade?

The series is... too hokey. I tried it, but I didn't like it. I can see why people like SOTN, really, I can, but to me the story is juvenile; it's - dare I say it? - queer.

[Cuddly Knife]

When did you get into it? What's your favorite? What do you think of the GBA Castlevania? The Original NES? The new Ps2 one? And where in the hell can I find Symphony of the Night? Which Castlevnia do I avoid, if there is a bad one?I first got into it when part 1 came out. I'm guessing in 85-6-ish? I keep going back between SotN and IV as my fave, it just depends which one I've played more recently. The only ones I own are SotN, Lament of innocence, IV, and Castlevania Adventure for the Gameboy. The GB one is the worst, for obvious technical reasons.

Parts 1, 2, and 3 are not as good as far as gameplay is concerned, but that's because there is limited control of the whip. Of course, part 1 set the stage for the whole Belmonts vs Vlad Drac. Part 2 tried to break away a little bit by making it more of an action-RPG. I seem to remember 30 character passwords, but that could be another Nintendo game. It was good, though. Nice and long. Part 3 introduced Alucard, and a few other playable characters, making for great re-playability. IV introduced full control over the whips movements. It was very impressive, if you followed the series from the beginning. 'Vania IV is probably the one that I can play and still say wow. The bosses are some of the funnest if not frustrating suckers I've faced, and Konami made the sickest use of scaling and mode 7 effects for awesome level design. Sotn is the combination of all titles before it, coming together to make one of the best 2-D games ever. LoI is probably the least loved by Castlevania fans, but I thought it was an above average action game. The level design is what set it back, but other than that, it was a 3-D SotN. It also tells the tale of the origin of the Vampire Killer, the whip created to destroy any who vamp out.

i'd meant to try the GBA Castlevania's and I went to five different places and couldn't find it used OR new. Specifically, I was looking for Aria of Sorrow because the DS Castlevania sequel is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow, so I figured that would give me a decent background to get ready for what people are calling the DS's "Killer App." I finally found Aria--the last copy at a Toys R Us. I couldn't even find the PS2 castlevania anywehre; the only other one I saw was the $19 NES version on GBA, but I it looked a little primitive. Has its gameplay aged well?
Sure, if you're a fan of the series, and respect the NES limits.

I've also been looking for AoS for the GBA, but alas, no luck. This one is supposed to be deep, as far as building up your arsenal of weapons and what-nots. I've only played twice on a half-assed rom version, but it seemed to be Vania to the purest, the exception being a futuristic timeline.

I quickly found out Symphony of the Night is one of those hard to find things you're gonna pay an for on Ebay; and talking to numerous people at game stores; I'm hearing that there are a lot of people that bought DS's almost solely for Castlevania. I wonder if everyone'll sell their DS's back after they finish Castlevania DS this fall.
I lucked out and found SotN at Gamestop for twenty bones last year. It was SotN or the original version of Silent Hill...SotN or Silent Hill...SotN or Silent Hill...

...I bought my DS for 'vania DS, but I'll stay for Iridion,2-D Mario and Zelda DS.

The series is... too hokey. I tried it, but I didn't like it. I can see why people like SOTN, really, I can, but to me the story is juvenile; it's - dare I say it? - queer.
What's so juvenile about the ongoing battle between the ultimate evil and purest good? That's what it's always been about. Dracula plagues the land with his army of the undead, who will stop him? Clan Belmont, that's who! At least 1, 2, 3, IV, and LoI are about Belmonts. Eventually his own son sees what a bisnitch ol Vlad is, and he too joins the fight against the creatures of the night. Aria of Sorrow pulls away from the tale even more by twisting things up with characters, but staying true to the G vs E formula. I wouldn't call it queer. If anything, it's just cliche.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Just as Cuddly Knife mentioned, EGBames and Gamestop has the game (SotN). Bad news is that $20 price. I like Symphony, and miss playing it, but there's no way I will pay $20 for a PS1 game. Those gamestores are too proud of themselves to keep that price that high.

I thought Lament of Innocence was pretty good, though I wouldn't want to play it again (too much backtracking for me). The music for the game was great, even better than SotN, IMO.

[Superjoint Ritual]

First, I'm really not a hardcore Castlevania fan. I played and enjoyed the Nes games, really liked AoS on the GBA, but I don't really consider myself a hardcore fan. Which means I never played Bloodlines on the PC. ;)

However, Casltevania SotN is by far, my favorite game of all time and I would say part ways with the twenty bucks, or try Blockbuster where I bought a brand new version for 10 bucks if your a fan of 2-D gameplay. If you lived close to me, I would let you borrow one of mine, seeing how I own two copies just incase something happens to one. Like loaning it to you and not getting back becuse you like it so much. ;)

To put it simply, SotN is the pinnacle of all 2-D games. The gameplay flows at a perfect pace; great challange, smooth as butter animation, cool as hell bosses, and some rpg elements throw in ( leveling up, hit points, armor and weapons ect. ). Also, there a slew of cool secrets and when you think you've beat the game, you'll discover the inverted castle.

But, I never really considered games an art form until I played SotN. The graphics are freakin unbelievable if you can appreciate 2-D graphics, and don't get me started on the sound. The soundtrack contained in this game is the best I've ever heard. It's what Mozart would sound like if he had a heroin addiction and a electronic keyboard to go along with his symphony.

Now I've probably built it up too much, but I just can't help it. I love this freakin' game. I don't understand the queer reference Glockstar made, unless he was refering to the actual meaning of queer.

So my advice is, play SotN, and you will enjoy the GBA games more than likely. Just avoid the Ps2 version as it is totally devoid of what makes 2-D Castlevania's great.

[Glockstar]

I don't understand the queer reference Glockstar made, unless he was refering to the actual meaning of queer.

The story revolves around Dracula fer cryin' out loud. Not an original big bad boss vampire like in the Anne Rice novels or in the movie Underworld - or in any number of other vampire tales, for that matter - but Dracula. As in the Dracula. Come on! The story seems like it was written by some high-schooler as it is, but when you queer the Dracula mythos, that's really amatuerish. The Castlevania games just about sicken me in that regard.

I feel the same way about the Metal Gear Caca games. It's part of why I hate them so. But at least with the Castlevania's the gameplay is decent. There's nothing redeeming about the Metal Queer games.

Sorry for the rant there. And... well... you'll have to forgive me for this one too... :o ...

It's just that I'm getting a similar feeling from RE4. WTF do the japs know about our military?!? The hero's premise in RE4 is just ridiculous! It's otherwise a great game, and the bad guys' story is alright (because it's totally fictional!), but I think I'm playing my last Americana-based jap game here. I can't take anymore. It's obvious - unless the story is based on their own society - or parts thereof - or they're totally inventing a world from scratch - that they don't know nothin' about nothin'.

[Mochan]

Castlevania was one of the first, if not the first, Famicom game I ever played. I stopped playing Super FamiCom and Sega versions since I didn't have those consoles but I still hold Castlevania III to be an ultra-classic. Symphony of the Night, was one of the best games on the PSX.

Simon's Quest did indeed have passwords, although I believe they were only 16 digits.

I didn't like Lament of Innocence. Seemed to much like a Devil May Cry ripoff.


It's obvious - unless the story is based on their own society - or parts thereof - or they're totally inventing a world from scratch - that they don't know nothin' about nothin'.

I guess now you know how the rest of the world feels whenever we get an American blockbuster movie set in China, Philippines, Guam, Caribbean, Russia, you name it.

[Gadfly2317]

OK, I located the Ps1 SotN. It plays fine on my Ps2, but the problem is it doesn't recognize that there's a memory card in the system so I can't save. Is this a common problem? Is there a way around it? I have a Sony 8MB Ps2 mem card; I have other Ps1 game saves on it. Anyone encounter this?

It's a pretty neat game, but if I can't save on Ps2, then I'm going to have to take it back.

The story revolves around Dracula fer cryin' out loud. Not an original big bad boss vampire like in the Anne Rice novels or in the movie Underworld - or in any number of other vampire tales, for that matter - but Dracula. As in the Dracula. Come on!

Sorry for the rant there. And... well... you'll have to forgive me for this one too... ...

WTF do the japs know about our military?!? The hero's premise in RE4 is just ridiculous! It's otherwise a great game, and the bad guys' story is alright (because it's totally fictional!), but I think I'm playing my last Americana-based jap game here. I can't take anymore. It's obvious - unless the story is based on their own society - or parts thereof - or they're totally inventing a world from scratch - that they don't know nothin' about nothin'.

I know you made a pre-emptive beg for forgiveness, but come on man. Sure Castlevania takes a the mythos of a villain from Western culture (Dracula) and give him a work-over from their own perspective. Cultural borrowing is one of the best things about living in the inter-connected 21st century that's worth a crap. Hollywood borrows from foreign works all the time and gives them the American treatment, and I like this . . .while you lose something of the original cultures vision, you get something new in the cultural exchange.)

You just received Gadfly's "Xenophobic Hick Award" for the month. You really worked hard to earn it too, because I know you are better than that. I'm going to pretend it's low blood-sugar and give you the benefit of the doubt. (WTF do the japs know about our Military? That we are willing to fire bomb and nuke civilians and non-military targets when its convenient, and then label other groups "terrorists" when they kill civilians? But you don't have to be "jap" to know that, you just have to be a citizen of planet earth.)

[slade]

I don't see much different in RE4 and MGS when you compare them to a typical 80's action movie. MGS even has a better plot then most 80's action movies. I think you're just getting caught in the whole, 'it has to be real,' spiel that PC gamers are so fond of.

[DrunkenThumbmaster]

I would love to see a castlevania in the Survival Horror mode. All the games that take place in the castle are usually a maze. Imagine a game where you were lost in Dracula's castle and everytime you thought you found the way out the rooms would change. And when you finally did escape you realized that Drac had control of the surrounding town as well. Done right with good controls I think that could be a cool game.

Then after that Konami can smarten up and remake Contra as FPS

[DBS]

Castlevania SoTN was a great game bar none. I need to find another copy of it for old time sake..

[Cuddly Knife]

Then after that Konami can smarten up and remake Contra as FPS
Holy sh!t. That would be insane.

Insane.

I'd still like to see Castlevania done in a Viewtiful Joe style. Better yet, just re-make part IV in that style.