264 replies to this topic

[Shane]

Christopher Belmont is the best!

[The Satellite]

That's Simon. Or "Simon." Captain N did a lot of dumb shit. How is this:

 

 

... supposed to be Alucard?!

[Shane]

I don't even.

 

Also whoops. I looked up "Captain N Christopher Belmont" and he popped up. Blame Google and... my lack of knowledge regarding Castlevania and Captain N.

[The Satellite]

Well. I did it. Popped a translation patch onto the Famicom version of Castlevania 3, one that is actually a more direct translation rather than just taking the NES translation, and played it through. I took the higher paths each time, if I ever go back to it I'll try the other paths, though I liked the paths I took. Either way, hot damn, that was a good time. ... mostly.

 

Firstly, the segment where the screen raises a chunk at a time is just downright annoying and not to mention nonsensical; what kills you? Is the building collapsing? If so, how are you reaching the top? It makes no sense! And rushing only to get a spawning knight to the face isn't fun...

 

Anyway, level nine was a damn brutal gauntlet that happens to include another of these segments, making it a sheer pain to play through; if it weren't for the boss exploit I might've quit.

 

And lastly, getting a game over at Dracula doesn't put you back at the staircase... not cool. Though in reality, Dracula was easy to take down with Sypha's magic, so the only one of these complaints that's really large is the second; that level is such a damn pain.

 

Otherwise, the rest of the game was super solid and the controls didn't often feel like a hindrance, like the game design complemented the controls perfectly. Most of the time. That or I've just gotten used to them. The music was amazing, the levels and pathway mechanic and partner system was neat... Honestly, the complaints above are the only thing keeping this from being my favorite Classicvania, even with the stiff controls. Mostly everything fit together into a perfect package, but Super Castlevania IV never had anything to truly frustrate me, and also I can't get enough of that eight-way whip. Had level nine been much more forgiving... well, things may be different.

 

But yeah, if we'e ranking the Classicvanias, right now it'd be Super Castlevania IV > Dracula's Curse > Castlevania > Dracula X. Bloodlines isn't ranked seeing as I'd prefer to play it through using that "save state at the beginning of each stage, reload state after getting a game over" strategy to simulate if its continues were programmed like the other games, like it should've been...

 

[Koh]

If you're going to play 1, there are two ways to play it.  The old, stiff, frustrating NES original version, and then Chronicles on the PS1, which is a port of the X68000 version with the option for an arranged OST.  You can also  whip diagonally downwards, which removes some of that stiff frustration.  Compare the two and you'll find the level design is mostly the same, except the Chronicles verson has much better graphics, using parallax scrolling and such to bring out the levels more, and smoother animations to better define the actions taken by player and enemy alike.

Edited by Koh, 17 August 2015 - 07:19 AM.

[Air Luigi]

Bloodlines have unlimited continues in the jap version . Good that you liked 3, try a playthrough with Grant

Chronicles is one of my favorites classic games, the perfect edition of Castlevania 1.

Compare the two and you'll find the level design is mostly the same

Lol, no, only the first stage is the same. There are parts that are reminiscent later, but they are totally different games in design.

Chronicles is awesome, but it isn't a Castlevania 1 substitute. It's a harder game that the original despite the less stiff controls.

Btw, I don't like the arrange music, I always play classic mode, with classic sprites, music and original difficulty.

Edited by Air Luigi, 17 August 2015 - 09:48 AM.

[The Satellite]

Bloodlines have unlimited continues in the jap version .

... for real? Seriously, Konami...

[Air Luigi]

Konami Megadrive games are always harder in the west. They think western gamers were awesome and deserve good challenge xd For example, Contra Hard Corps has a lifebar (three hits) in the jap version and unlimited continues, while in the western editions you are killed with a single hit and you have limited continues. The game is balanced for working with the lifebar, obviously. Amazing game, btw. Rocket Knight Adventures is another classic.

Edited by Air Luigi, 17 August 2015 - 01:44 PM.

[The Satellite]

It's the opposite of Nintendo, who thought Lost Levels was too hard for us.

 

Also apparently, according to the Castlevania Wiki, the Japanese version of Bloodlines was also a touch easier than the American version as well, like Dracula's Curse. I'd probably feel different if I tried playing the entire level on each set of lives instead of continuing in each section, but the game's design didn't seem very hard to me.

[Air Luigi]

The biggest offender is SMB3, they nerfed the game difficulty for the overseas =(

 

The easiest classic game is Rondo of Blood, it's a fantastic game but it doesn't poses much challenge. You probably will breeze it if you find Bloodlines easy. Stay away of Maria until you beat the game completely, it's the VERY EASY mode xd It's like playing a classic game with Alucard from SOTN, lol. 

 

Honestly, the difficulty of the Castlevania series is quite overrated, it's normal to struggle a bit in the first blind playthrough (that's part of the fun), but after that, you learn the tactics and all becomes second nature. Only the first Castlevania and Chronicles (only if you play the Classic Mode, Arrange is easy) offer an above average challenge, imo. Even Castlevania III jap is really accessible for anybody. Castlevania II doesn't require any skill, it just hard for the bad translation xd

 

Ok, time for a run of Chronicles!

Edited by Air Luigi, 17 August 2015 - 05:23 PM.

[Haylee]

More good casltevania music:

 

[Air Luigi]

The original song is better:

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=yjdVflSHxN4

 

I finished Chronicles and Castlevania III in a row, lol. I had a blast.

 

Aquarius forever

 

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=yyCXhfUqU88

 

Btw, Chronicles has FOUR soundtracks

Edited by Air Luigi, 17 August 2015 - 09:51 PM.

[Koh]

Lol, I keep seeing some people complain about how some of the later games had anime art styles.  Either they've been hit on the head with a brick and lost their memories, or are ignoring the fact that Castlevania has always had a very anime approach to its character art.  the only ones that haven't were the Lords of Shadow games, but those are considered the black sheep of the series.

Edited by Koh, 18 August 2015 - 12:40 AM.

[The Satellite]

Does this look anime to you? Or this? Or this? And before you point out those are the American covers, the Japanese covers used similar artwork for the first two; the third used different artwork, and it still doesn't look like anime. Super Castlevania IV didn't break the trend. Japanese cover of that one's different too? Still not really anime. Castlevania: Bloodlines for Genesis was not anime. And the Japanese one again is different, and while it features an androgynous style for one of the main characters, it's still not very anime-like. Rondo of Blood's, which came before Bloodlines, was closer, but still not there; the game itself did feature anime-style cutscenes, or primitive versions, however. The Ayami Kojima art style used in Symphony of the Night and dominated the series for a time is more stylized than anime. Until then, the closest to anime style other than Rondo of Blood I can think of is Circle of the Moon.

 

The Castlevania series began as a tribute to old Universal and Hammer horror films, so its art style was generally more stylized and European, discounting the chibi monster designs found in manuals. So it went with that, and even with the switch to Kojima's style, it was still pretty stylized, albeit I'm not so sure Europeans are as androgynous as her art style made them out to be. So when Dawn of Sorrow suddenly made the jump to a full anime style, of course it would be jarring! Compare it to its predecessor, Aria of Sorrow, which still used Kojima's art style; it's quite a jump. I don't entirely mind it, seeing as the Sorrow games feature Japanese protagonists, so hey, anime style works, but I definitely understand why people didn't like the switch in art style especially if they've been so accustomed to the series for so long.

 

I've yet to play Portrait of Ruin or Order of Ecclesia, so I don't really know what their art style goes by.

[Tabletpillow]

Harmony of Dissonance and Portrait of Ruin are my favorites.