EndlessSky said:
I also disagree with you of what built the castlevania name. The earlier games that were mainly built on just platforming and using the whip weren't that good in my opinion.
Uhh, that's not up to agreement or disagreement... That's how it is and if you disagree you're just wrong.
EndlessSky said:
I think it was Symphony of the Night that made it really take off and that had some RPG elements and exploration.
Well like CowTip said, you think wrong. What was the first Castlevania game you played? I'll laugh if you say SOTN, be warned.
EndlessSky said:
Why do you think its a stupid analogy?
Because it's completely irrelevant. Judgment was just bad. It's a bad
spin-off. The comparison is useless.
CowTip said:
Just for the record, Castlevania Syphony of the Night definitely was not the game that catapulted Castlevania into the spotlight. It was plenty popular before, the game just added to an already popular formula. As an old-school Castlevania player, I have to tell you you're dead wrong about SotN being the launch point for the series. It's like people who claim FF7 was the launching point for the Final Fantasy series.
Yeah and let's not forget how much SOTN takes from past games. From Vampire Killer to Rondo of Blood, not to mention Castlevania 2, Castlevania 3 and Super Castlevania IV. The characters, the enemies, the levels, the items, the plot devices... Basically the stuff all those people who obsess over the Super Metroid-like map have consistently failed to notice for the past 12 years.
CowTip said:
Castlevania 3 is probably my favorite out of the whole series.
(I'm humming the music right now, that's how little it takes)
By the way, in case you haven't heard yet:
http://kotaku.com/5358367/castlevania-rebirth-rated-coming-to-wiiware
CowTip said:
That said, I still don't want the game to be like God of War. Castlevania is not so much about just straight fighting with brief running periods and that's almost all you get with Devil May Cry and GoW clones. A lot of what has made Castlevania good has been the atmosphere presented in all the games, and that above all is probably the most important aspect. In that respect, I thought Castlevania 64 did a pretty good job, which is why I still enjoyed it. That and it was a good mix of fighting and platforming which is how I personally think the series is best. To make the game revolve mainly around 3D combat only would be a mistake in my opinion. You need to also appreciate the backdrops that you're set in, or you've got just another generic action brawler. Don't forget in the old games you could either kill almost any monster in one hit or choose to avoid them completely which was one of the best parts of the game. Any fight where you're stringing together combos and pulling off flashy moves until nothing's moving anymore? It's the last thing I want for this game. The original genius behind Castlevania was it's simplicity. Whip, jump or run on, it was just choosing the right actions depending on the environment and the enemies you were faced against that made the games challenging.
I heartily agree with what you're saying here, including when it comes to Castlevania 64. However, for obvious reasons the original gameplay can't be retained in 3D form. One-hit kills are mostly a thing of the past, even when they shouldn't be (thinking of the Berserk games here, with enemies needing a half-dozen hits from the Dragon Slayer to die). I don't think God of War-style gameplay is a bad thing in itself (and really, you'd better be prepared for it, considering what we've seen in trailers), but it needs to be cleverly integrated to the rest of the game, including some platforms elements. Now the problem is platforming in 3D is very difficult. The genre thrived in 2D, not so much anymore.
If we get platforming segments that resemble Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (or even Assassin's Creed), which is what the trailer reminded me of, then they might have the recipe for greatness. Using the whip to swing from a point to another Ă la SCIV, climbing the outside of the castle like in PoP... The only thing left would be for the action-packed fights to not be locked to the area (i.e. allowing you to progress without killing everything). We'll see but that's not something I'd really expect though.
EndlessSky said:
Well then, I am a fan of the newer generation of Castlvanias then and think the series is at its best with exploration, finding upgrades, improving your character etc and not the action part of it.
What are the last few Castlevania games you've played, just for info? And what did you think of them?
EndlessSky said:
That is why I think the new one is going to be bad, that and the developer mecruysteams' previous work was very very bad in all aspects, atmosphere, level design, action, etc. So until they prove otherwise I'm going to assume as such.
No, their previous work was mediocre, but it wasn't complete shit. Scrapland's got an average of 73 on Metacritic, and Jericho has 63. And the main complaints on Jericho were the lack of atmosphere, poor acting and general production value, and bad AI (for a game where team mates play a huge part). I think the Lords of Shadow trailers have showed that production value is there this time. I actually marvel at Natasha McElhone's short speech in the latest trailer as I think her delivery is nothing short of amazing. So the acting will be stellar and provided by renowned actors. The atmosphere is also top-notch as far as the trailers go, in line with the rest of the series. Really, it looks to me like you've decided this would be shit on principle of it not being what you expected and that nothing will make you change your mind.
Being cautious is a good thing, but being absolutely opposed to a game before it comes out is as bad as mindlessly professing it'll be the best thing ever. Could even be worse. The point I'm making here is that I don't think it's very smart to slam a game simply because you don't like its genre. And as a side note, going back to Mercury Steam, you should know that the producer also plays a huge role when it comes to the quality of a title. RARE's games wouldn't have been half of what they were during the N64 era if Nintendo execs (among them Miyamoto) hadn't been breathing down their necks 24/7. So with the Konami people to oversee the development process, most notably the famed Hideo Kojima, I think you should ease up a little. Mercury Steam's lack of reputation is probably the reason Konami put him on the job in the first place.
EndlessSky said:
I just don't think going the linear, action-oriented way is the right direction for the series.
Hahaha, funny to read that when you know that the series has never been as unoriginal as after SOTN. I'd love to talk about how linear Castlevania 2 and 3 are, it'd be lots of fun. Anyway, don't be worried, we haven't heard about IGA lately but I'm sure he's got another SOTN clone in the making. And don't get me wrong, I love those games too, I have all the GBA and NDS releases. It's just that Castlevania can genuinely aspire to being more than just that.