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StarTopic Castlevania Appreciation Thread |ST| You Belong In This World!

Comapred to Rondo, Bloodlines isn’t that bad…… for the first three stages. After that…..
Hmm I dunno, Rondo in general is probably the easiest of the Classicvania games.

I kind of get what you're saying though, because weirdly enough Rondo's first two bosses are some of the more challenging ones in the game (the werewolf not so much once you learn
how to use item crash

Edit: I should clarify that I've only played a little of Bloodlines so I guess I'm a fraud for even saying that lol, but from what I remember of the first few stages they seem generally a bit harder than Rondo's.
 
Hmm I dunno, Rondo in general is probably the easiest of the Classicvania games.

I kind of get what you're saying though, because weirdly enough Rondo's first two bosses are some of the more challenging ones in the game (the werewolf not so much once you learn
how to use item crash

Edit: I should clarify that I've only played a little of Bloodlines so I guess I'm a fraud for even saying that lol, but from what I remember of the first few stages they seem generally a bit harder than Rondo's.

I don't really find Rondo all that challenging, Bloodlines felt more difficult when I played both as an adult.
Well it was my first lol. But yeah Bloodlines got WAYYY harder it’s definitely eclipsed Rondo in difficulty at this point. I’ve also started SCIV which seems to be the easiest so far.
Yeah, not the easiest game ever, but I was able to finish it on actual hardware, where Bloodlines was a challenge even with save states.
Exactly my experience haha. Well the requiem collection which doesn’t have save states
 
I’m looking at the Castlevania Advance Collection on Switch right now. Should I go with the PlayStation version instead? Are there any downsides to the Switch version?
 
I’m gonna jump into Aria of Sorrow tomorrow. My only experience with Castlevania is Lords of Shadow on PS3, which I enjoyed at the time. I’ve got loads of experience with Metroid games though. Anything I should know going in?
 
Just finished Order of Ecclesia earlier today, great game, felt like it was inspired a lot by Simon's Quest. Shanoa is easily my fav protagonist.
 
Just finished Order of Ecclesia earlier today, great game, felt like it was inspired a lot by Simon's Quest. Shanoa is easily my fav protagonist.
I'm not too fond of Shanoa, but gameplay wise the inspiration is clear. It works very well.

Building the maps separatedly and then distributing them through a map was the right choice.
 
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Going to try to start and finish OG Castlevania this weekend, no rewind or save states. It's been on my list for a long time but after the first few hours of trail & error I'm always discouraged. Saw same youtube videos with tips & tricks and I think i'm up to the challenge now.
 
I’m looking at the Castlevania Advance Collection on Switch right now. Should I go with the PlayStation version instead? Are there any downsides to the Switch version?
I don't think so and it was a great experience on Switch for me. They're just emulated GBA/SNES roms.

I’m gonna jump into Aria of Sorrow tomorrow. My only experience with Castlevania is Lords of Shadow on PS3, which I enjoyed at the time. I’ve got loads of experience with Metroid games though. Anything I should know going in?
There are three books scattered around the castle that have vague descriptions of certain demons. They're not just random and do serve a purpose.

Specifically, they point out the souls you will need to equip to avoid the game ending after a certain boss, so you can progress to the true ending.
 
Quoted by: GJ
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I’m looking at the Castlevania Advance Collection on Switch right now. Should I go with the PlayStation version instead? Are there any downsides to the Switch version?
None, and they look pretty good on the small Switch screen
 
Quoted by: GJ
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Well, there we have it. The soundtrack is great and it looks good, but it sure feels like an NES game. The movement is stiff and I struggled with particularly the jumps.

I abused the hell out of save states, but the continues seemed generous enough so I think I could have beaten it even without them, it would just have taken a longer time.

Most importantly however, I do want to continue with the series. I imagine I would have enjoyed this a lot more 20-30 years ago and would have enjoyed it more now had I the nostalgia for it.
 
Quoted by: Leo
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I really need to delve deeper into this series, I think I've only played Super and possibly Bloodlines? Something on SNES and something on Megadrive, and I don't believe I finished either. I also played the 2D Bloodstained and I think I've tried out an NES entry briefly too (probably the first).

I waited on getting Requiem on PS4 hoping it might come to Switch but I think that ship has sailed. I've also always been torn on which version of SOTN to play and I think when I get into these quandaries the best solution is to just say "fuck it" and play one of them, any one, rather than freeze with indecision.
 
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Well, there we have it. The soundtrack is great and it looks good, but it sure feels like an NES game. The movement is stiff and I struggled with particularly the jumps.

I abused the hell out of save states, but the continues seemed generous enough so I think I could have beaten it even without them, it would just have taken a longer time.

Most importantly however, I do want to continue with the series. I imagine I would have enjoyed this a lot more 20-30 years ago and would have enjoyed it more now had I the nostalgia for it.

The jumps in early Castlevania are infamous because you can't change their direction mid-air. They only changed this on IV, iirc.

I also played the original Castlevania for the first time last week, and it's a nice game with a great soundtrack, but it's not something I would play again. Part of the fun was seeing the origin of many of the series staples, but on its own, its a very simple game and a bit too dated for me to truly enjoy it.

I really need to delve deeper into this series, I think I've only played Super and possibly Bloodlines? Something on SNES and something on Megadrive, and I don't believe I finished either. I also played the 2D Bloodstained and I think I've tried out an NES entry briefly too (probably the first).

I waited on getting Requiem on PS4 hoping it might come to Switch but I think that ship has sailed. I've also always been torn on which version of SOTN to play and I think when I get into these quandaries the best solution is to just say "fuck it" and play one of them, any one, rather than freeze with indecision.

The Advance Collection is available on the Switch and is a great point of entry to the franchise. Aria (which is on the collection) was my first one, and I still hold it as the best. 3 of them are metroidvanias (which tend to be much more forgiving and friendly for new players than the classic ones), and 1 is on the old style.

Super Castlevania IV is also a good entry. It's kind of a reimagining of the first game, but the gameplay is revamped and made much more accessible. It's available on NSO, I think.
 
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I really need to delve deeper into this series, I think I've only played Super and possibly Bloodlines? Something on SNES and something on Megadrive, and I don't believe I finished either. I also played the 2D Bloodstained and I think I've tried out an NES entry briefly too (probably the first).

I waited on getting Requiem on PS4 hoping it might come to Switch but I think that ship has sailed. I've also always been torn on which version of SOTN to play and I think when I get into these quandaries the best solution is to just say "fuck it" and play one of them, any one, rather than freeze with indecision.
To be honest any of the versions available in English (PS1, XBLA, PSP, PS4) is fine. I prefer the old voice acting for its cheesy charm and find the new dub to be kinda lifeless, and XBLA cuts the FMVs due to the filesize limits at the time it was released, but these are minor quibbles. SOTN is fantastic however you play it (except maybe the Saturn version, but that's the least accessible anyway).
 
The ending of Castlevania 1 in my mind sets a standard for video games going forward.

At the end of the day the player should ALWAYS help in making the game what it is.

In a weird way those end credits are like the antithesis of ... some modern gaming sensibilities.
 
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Ok I know we don't need more weeb in this world but I was thinking ... if Konami ever brought back the series ... imagine a feudal Japan Castlevania. That'd be so fucking sick! With monsters based on Japanese folklore and everything.

Also would be neat if, because it will almost inevitably be a Metroidvania game, you have bosses that actually inhabit the world and block off areas, and you can chip away at them by doing certain things in the castle and/or take them on whenever you feel like it.
Well it was my first lol. But yeah Bloodlines got WAYYY harder it’s definitely eclipsed Rondo in difficulty at this point. I’ve also started SCIV which seems to be the easiest so far.
My bad! Hope that didn't come off like gatekeeping ... wasn't my intent : ( I just meant relative to the other games.

I have a weird definition of "hard" for Castlevania anyways, because the series is pretty consistently challenging, even some of the less linear ones can be tough at times. So when I say Rondo is "the easiest" of the Classicvania games...
what that translates to is the first two bosses can occasionally fuck me up (especially the alternate route first boss), Death is very hard, the multi-boss stage can be tricky, and the gear stage is unironically one of the hardest parts in the entire series (I actually just straight up don't like it lol). Also, IV might actually be easier on average, it's difficulty is much more backloaded. So again, apologies!
 
Super Castlevania IV is a Masterpiece and there should be a Remake for the Nintendo Switch!!!
I'm not sure how I would feel about a remake, I enjoy how SCIV is a product of it's time when this was the first generational transition. The clever use of new effects only possible on SNES to create a sense of scale and atmosphere makes those little moments really shine for me. The biggest concern I would have would be the OST, which is very synth heavy, but has an interesting jazz influence at the same time. I wouldn't trust Konami to do a faithful OST that isn't an overbearing orchestral affair.
 
I'm not sure how I would feel about a remake, I enjoy how SCIV is a product of it's time when this was the first generational transition. The clever use of new effects only possible on SNES to create a sense of scale and atmosphere makes those little moments really shine for me. The biggest concern I would have would be the OST, which is very synth heavy, but has an interesting jazz influence at the same time. I wouldn't trust Konami to do a faithful OST that isn't an overbearing orchestral affair.
A possible Super Castlevania IV Remake could've a great new reworked Soundtrack like the Zelda: Link's Awakening Remake for the Nintendo Switch.
 
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Finally, I've finished Circle of the Moon!

So, what were my thought? I liked it!...Mostly. Thoughts on the game from off the top of my head:

  • Exploration was pretty good for the most part! Lots of cools places to explore, my favorite being Machine Tower. My least favorite area was absolutely the Underground Gallery. Having to navigate around the poisonous bees and poison knights was awful.
  • Difficulty wise, the game starts out pretty well, but once I hit the Chapel, holy cow was the difficulty spike sharp. It evened out after I left the Underground Gallery, but man.
  • Not so much a fan of having to double tap left to right to run. I got used to it, but it was still pretty awkward at times. Run buttons are definitely the way to go with this kind of thing, but given that the game was already using every button available for other things, I can see why they did it.
  • I loved the Roc Jump. That fact that you can essentially do it indefinitely in air is godlike, and it was a blast to use.
  • My favorite DSS combo in the end was the one that upped my whip strength by the percentage of the castle I'd explored. Excellent incentive to discover as much as I can.
  • The bosses. Were bad! Like, wow! Starting with the fourth boss, the guy trapped in the wall, the bosses become WAY too hard! I disliked the bosses so much, in fact, they might just kill any desire I ever had to replay this game in the future. They could have at least given the bosses health bars or something.
  • And Dracula. Hoo boy, Dracula. He was the worst boss of all. Sure, his demon form looks cool, but the fight is so bad, by the end I was save scumming just to get past him-something I had actively tried to avoid doing the entire rest of the game. His stupid eyeball transformation and charge combo can buzz off.

So in the end, it's was a pretty good game, minus the terrible boss fights. Thankfully, I hear the outrageously difficult bosses are something unique to CotM, and that the other GBA Castlevanias are more fair in that regard. I look forward to starting those up soon!
 
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So I bought the Advance Collection, and now I’m very stuck in Harmony of Dissonance, lol. I have the double jump but every path I find is either blocked off by a locked door, a jump I can’t possibly make (like a wall jump or something?) or an unbreakable wall that looks breakable. I’ll put an image of my current map in the spoiler below. I would really appreciate some hints right now since I’ve been running in circles for over an hour now 😅.

d66b3faa-a13c-4c11-9ekkge.jpeg

edit: Of course, 30 minutes after posting here I figured out where to go. It’s the three black squares at the bottom right of the map. For some reason I never saw that entrance.
 
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You're asking for Getsu Fuma, dude




Yeaahhhhh I'm really looking forward to that! It's weird though ... the remake is apparently a "rogue-like" despite being a remake of an NES non-roguelike game.

But, I was thinking more a good version of The Messenger, maybe with the pixel-art detail of a Team Ladybug game ;)
So I bought the Advance Collection, and now I’m very stuck in Harmony of Dissonance, lol. I have the double jump but every path I find is either blocked off by a locked door, a jump I can’t possibly make (like a wall jump or something?) or an unbreakable wall that looks breakable. I’ll put an image of my current map in the spoiler below. I would really appreciate some hints right now since I’ve been running in circles for over an hour now 😅.

d66b3faa-a13c-4c11-9ekkge.jpeg

edit: Of course, 30 minutes after posting here I figured out where to go. It’s the three black squares at the bottom right of the map. For some reason I never saw that entrance.
Yeahhhh the thing is, it's very hard to give advice about where to go in Harmony because honestly, the Castle isn't memorable at all ...

Part of the reason for that is, it tries to go for the more free-roaming approach of stuff like Castlevania II. While most of the main upgrades have a specific order, I think you can get a few of the upgrades out of order and in general the pickups REALLY blend together. It's in stark contrast to something like Circle, which is soooooooo standardized Metroid almost to a fault. The plus side to that is that upgrades usually have a specific purpose that gives you a hint at which path to take. That's something I really like, and kind of prefer, about Circle in comparison to stuff like Harmony.
 
I'm having a good time with it. I'm planning on doing Circle next.
Yeah I quite enjoyed it, I just couldn't give you advice on where to go, even if I just finished it a few days ago! :LOL:

One thing I will say ....
I think there is a part later in the game where you can confused on what to do, and you have to use the wall-break ability at a save point, which seems a bit sus
 
Yeah I quite enjoyed it, I just couldn't give you advice on where to go, even if I just finished it a few days ago! :LOL:

One thing I will say ....
I think there is a part later in the game where you can confused on what to do, and you have to use the wall-break ability at a save point, which seems a bit sus

That’s good to know, thanks! I don’t have that ability yet, but at least now I know what to do when I get it, haha.
 
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This thread finally got me to try out Rondo! Only got to Stage 5, but I can see why it's so well regarded; the spritework, music and artstyle in general are incredible and the gameplay is super tight and responsive. No diagonal whipping was a bit weird at first given the very modern presentation but the game isn't really designed around it so it's not something I've missed much after getting used to it, and besides that the game isn't really particularly difficult so far so it's not really an issue. If I had to complain about something, it's the bosses, Stage 3's was good but the others have been either stupidly easy or just weird to fight.

But yeah - as soon as this played I had no doubts I was in for a good time

 
This thread finally got me to try out Rondo! Only got to Stage 5, but I can see why it's so well regarded; the spritework, music and artstyle in general are incredible and the gameplay is super tight and responsive. No diagonal whipping was a bit weird at first given the very modern presentation but the game isn't really designed around it so it's not something I've missed much after getting used to it, and besides that the game isn't really particularly difficult so far so it's not really an issue. If I had to complain about something, it's the bosses, Stage 3's was good but the others have been either stupidly easy or just weird to fight.

But yeah - as soon as this played I had no doubts I was in for a good time


Sprites are so good that they were recycled for Symphony of the Night.
 
The Castlevania Advance Collection was the best $20 I’ve spent in a while. I will say they were shorter than I remembered them being when I played them way back in the day but I haven’t 100% completed the maps or obtained all the souls/DSS cards so I still have a lot of work to do.

My annual SotN playthrough was a blast too. I’ll never get tired of that one.
 
The Castlevania Advance Collection was the best $20 I’ve spent in a while. I will say they were shorter than I remembered them being when I played them way back in the day but I haven’t 100% completed the maps or obtained all the souls/DSS cards so I still have a lot of work to do.

My annual SotN playthrough was a blast too. I’ll never get tired of that one.

I was shocked at how quickly you ran through the 3 GBA games, but then after starting my Harmony of Dissonance play through, realized that, yep... they are shorter than I remember. lol
 
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I've only ever played the first Castlevania game, but I just beat it again last night! Cross posting my thoughts from the community event thread...
After much pain and strife, I've done it. I've conquered Castlevania.
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It was an interesting experience. Castlevania is the epitome of an old school action game - all about memorizing patterns and nailing your inputs, all with very limited room for error and little forgiveness for screwing up, especially since enemy damage scales up the further you progress. Simon's limited mobility also can be tough to go back to since so many platform/action heroes have more flexibility to dodge enemies and leap over obstacles. In particular, the last room of level 5 took a lot out of me. Still, I persisted, and I felt myself getting better as I memorized the levels. I'm curious to play more Castlevania in the future!
I enjoyed it even though it was quite the old school challenge, and I want to dive into some more some time in the future!
 
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On stage 6 of SCIV and one thing I gotta say is this game is just fucking fun to play, the freedom with the whip feels soo good and responsive. I don’t even care if it’s unbalanced lol
 
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I just realized.

Since the Castlevania Anniversary collection doesn't allow button remapping for Bloodlines, i have been refusing to play that version because it doesn't use my 8bitdo M30 properly

Hopefully the NSO will allow me to remap.
 
Hey all, new to the thread. Here is the list of Castlevania games I’ve played:

All the NES games, Super, SotN, All the GBA games, and OoE.

I’m looking for a new Castlevania game to play. I typically only like 2D games, but exceptions can be made. I currently have a Switch and PS5 (with PSNow). Can anyone recommend a game for me to play?
 
Hey all, new to the thread. Here is the list of Castlevania games I’ve played:

All the NES games, Super, SotN, All the GBA games, and OoE.

I’m looking for a new Castlevania game to play. I typically only like 2D games, but exceptions can be made. I currently have a Switch and PS5 (with PSNow). Can anyone recommend a game for me to play?

Definitely play Rondo of Blood. It's included in the Requiem Collection on PS4, which also comes with SotN. If you have the Anniversary Collection, don't sleep on Bloodlines as well.
 
Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely check out Rondo of Blood, since I’ve been meaning to replay SotN again anyway.
 
I started the Netflix show

Wow it sure is violent

Also despite being genocidal, the first episode tries hard to get you to root for Dracula which is weird
 
I started the Netflix show

Wow it sure is violent

Also despite being genocidal, the first episode tries hard to get you to root for Dracula which is weird
I looooove show Dracula. I don’t think they try to get you to “root” for him perse, but they add lots of depth to him.
 
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