Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
This is the new Castlevania game that's coming out for the NDS around November 15, 2006.


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Handsome Rakshas and I are pretty pumped about it so I've decided to post a thread to cut down on PM traffic. :void:

The game's story takes place during World War II, in 1944, and has a vampire called Brauner along with his twin daughters planning to summon Dracula's castle to resurrect him. You get to play as two characters, Jonathan Morris (son of John Morris from Castlevania: Bloodlines) and Charlotte Orlean (a sorceress descendant of the Belnades bloodline). These two will have to help each other in real time and can both be controlled by the player alternatively as well as attack together in combos, etc.

Here are two videos showcasing the gameplay, the E3 2006 trailer and a more recent and longer video featuring additional gameplay.
 

Walter

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dwarfkicker said:
Now if only they could make a good 3D Castlevania. Yeah, that'll be the day.
I don't think they're done exploring 2D platforming yet. And why so anxious for Castlevania in 3D? We've already seen that formula fail 3 times over.

Anyway, this looks good, especially graphically. I just hope they can maintain the same level of addictiveness and genuine fun they had with SotN and AoS. It seems when Konami makes a CV game with a whip-wielding character (Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, recently) they're pretty ... meh.
 

Aazealh

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Staff member
Walter said:
I don't think they're done exploring 2D platforming yet. And why so anxious for Castlevania in 3D? We've already seen that formula fail 3 times over.

Well while I do agree that 3D is not needed (never played a 3D Castlevania myself), Konami made it clear they wouldn't make a 2D game for home consoles again (IGA once said they'd maybe do it if the fans showed enough support, and obviously he meant if a million people around the world sent them money preemptively for it). It's 2D on handheld and 3D for the "main" games. Who knows though, they might change their minds after too many failures.

Walter said:
It seems when Konami makes a CV game with a whip-wielding character (Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, recently) they're pretty ... meh.

Well I really like Circle of the Moon personally, especially the game mechanics. It was more old school than the other recent games. Anyway fear not, the Morris family cannot use the Vampire Killer innately like the Belmonts, so your character(s) will use various weapons, apparently quite a lot in fact (even modern ones like grenades and stuff). I'm also very excited about the dual characters gameplay, it's a welcome innovation.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
There better be some Nazi vampires, war torn backgrounds featuring tiger tanks, and some vague hint of a proposed alliance between Hitler and Dracula. =)
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
dwarfkicker said:
Now if only they could make a good 3D Castlevania.  Yeah, that'll be the day.

Damn, I think I'm the only person who loved Curse of Darkness!

Heres an old, poorly written post of mine explaining why I love Curse of Darkness.
handsome rakshas said:
Really think so? I think that game has enough new gameplay (weapon synthesis, innocent devils, stealing,leveling, etc) that makes it 50 times better than  LOI. I like to think of it as the "2d" 3d
Castlevania because of the numerous amounts of weapons and items and the ability to power level yourself and your familiars. I'll be honest here, unlike LOI this game kept me going to the very end and held my interest. I was not disappointed with the final battle with Dracula, ya know why? Because I was frickin' STOKED that Dracula was even in this game at all! When his castle popped up at the end of the game let me tell ya something on me popped up! (sorry, hardcore Castlevania fan). I will honestly say that I enjoyed this game just as much as Dawn of Sorrow. I may be sounding silly but I acknowledged everything this game threw at me. (awesome music, voice acting) A lot of people
have a hard time accepting Castlevania going 3d but this game did not disappoint me. Right now, I'm 30 hours in and I got a lot more to go. (and I haven't even played Crazy mode or Trevor mode)
This is the insane ramblings of a Castlevania fanatic and I think that hardcore Castlevania fans that get past the "its 3d" aspect will totally adore this game. I love it!

Hopefully that made some sense but I really do think Curse of Darkness was a worthwile game.
I am currently replaying SoTN and CoD to bide my time before this game comes out.
This is the game I have been looking forward to the most all year and I will guarantee that this game will rule. The tentative release date is November 21st so that gives everyone enough time to save for a DS Lite or trade in their PSP :carcus:. I was thinking of trading mine in but my buddy just got Rondo of Blood running on his emulator so I might try to get that running on mine. But I can't emphasize enough that Portrait of Ruin will in fact be the greatest game of ALL TIME. If there was ever a reason to buy a DS Lite this is it.
Thanks for starting this topic, Aaz. 

"Griffith No More!" said:
There better be some Nazi vampires, war torn backgrounds featuring tiger tanks, and some vague hint of a proposed alliance between Hitler and Dracula. =)

Hey, nazis and vampires are the new peanut butter and jelly! They go so well together!
Thats why I love the Hellsing manga and new OAV so much. Sadly, Hitler does not make an appearance in either of them. (Not yet, still have my fingers crossed!)
 

Oltobaz

Cancer no Deathmask
handsome rakshas said:
Damn, I think I'm the only person who loved Curse of Darkness!


Hey, nazis and vampires are the new peanut butter and jelly! They go so well together!
Thats why I love the Hellsing manga and new OAV so much. Sadly, Hitler does not make an appearance in either of them. (Not yet, still have my fingers crossed!)

Well, I really enjoyed Curse of Darkness too, but I really don't get what's Hellsing's all about. The anime is average, at best, and I really find the manga pointless.
 
the sweet thing about this one (not like I haven't enjoyed the others) is the 2 player wifi co-op. Simply amazing if you ask me. It's about time.
 

Raziel

"Each man is haunted until his humanity awakens."
Sweet, I can't wait for the new Castlevania game. :guts:

Thanks for posting the screenshots and trailer links Aaz.  I know I'm definitely going out and buying this game the day it comes out.
 

Voyevoda

Breathe and Start
This Castletroid (no no no, I'm not one of those people, honest!) game triggers feelings of utter joy deep within me.

I've also read on Gamespot about a rumour that there will be five castles. One each for Brauner and his two daughters, a castle they are working on as well as the Dracula's nest of course. There are no reliable sources to speak of whatsoever as far as I know, but it could prove to be pretty cool if they pull it off well enough in my opinion (although you've got to wonder just how large each of these "castles" would actually be if this rumour is true, or if the transitions would even be that notable at all).

Lastly, I'd really like to high five the project team for getting Yuzo Koshiro interested, although I hope there will be more than five tracks from him.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Casan said:
This Castletroid (no no no, I'm not one of those people, honest!)

Good thing you aren't because honestly it annoys me. Ok, SotN had elements inspired from Super Metroid, it's a fact. Now it's not like there was never a Castlevania with "RPG" (using the term loosely) components before (Vampire Killer, Castlevania 2), and both series went their respective ways ever since. I realize people use the word to sound cool while differiencating Castlevania games with "classic" gameplay from newer ones but I think it belittles these games unfairly, and actually doesn't make much sense anymore.

Casan said:
I've also read on Gamespot about a rumour that there will be five castles. [...] although you've got to wonder just how large each of these "castles" would actually be if this rumour is true, or if the transitions would even be that notable at all).

I don't know about five castles, but I can tell you that you'll travel around the world in this one, it was announced during the E3. And you can see the characters switching from a zone to another in the trailers, through a magical painting (akin to the classic portal system).

What I'd really like this time around though is for the localized versions to keep the Japanese in-game voices, exclamations and sound effects in general intact. They have a habit of removing them plain and simple and they're one of my favorite gimmick in these games.
 

Voyevoda

Breathe and Start
Aazealh said:
Good thing you aren't because honestly it annoys me. Ok, SotN had elements inspired from Super Metroid, it's a fact. Now it's not like there was never a Castlevania with "RPG" (using the term loosely) components before (Vampire Killer, Castlevania 2), and both series went their respective ways ever since. I realize people use the word to sound cool while differiencating Castlevania games with "classic" gameplay from newer ones but I think it belittles these games unfairly, and actually doesn't make much sense anymore.

Yeah, it's a childish and narrowminded way to look at the evolution of the series. What I wrote above was just my attempt at poking fun at it since I had to sift through quite a bit of it while digging for info on aforementioned game site. I don't mind these games at all; it's a direction and style that I gladly embrace. In fact, Super Metroid is my favourite game of all time, although the already easy game became almost unplayable after I completed SM:Redesign for the first time; http://drewseph.zophar.net/ (shameless plugs are awesome).

What I'd really like this time around though is for the localized versions to keep the Japanese in-game voices, exclamations and sound effects in general intact. They have a habit of removing them plain and simple and they're one of my favorite gimmick in these games.

A sentiment I share wholeheartedly.

I can't say the December-January release date excites me that much though!
 

FateINwaiting

Berserk must be mine!
I'll miss getting souls..that was fun for me. But im up for something new and the game looks really nice. I agree it would be awesome to see nazi vampiers and war torn backgrounds but who knows. I think controlling 2 charecters at the same time is alittle annoying im a simple guy 1 hero at a time is enough for me but i'll get used to it i guess.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Casan said:
Yeah, it's a childish and narrowminded way to look at the evolution of the series. What I wrote above was just my attempt at poking fun at it since I had to sift through quite a bit of it while digging for info on aforementioned game site.

That's how I took your post, but I felt like ranting a bit about it nevertheless. :void: I like Super Metroid a lot myself as well as the previous and subsequent games in the series, but I've never played that SM: Redesign mod. I don't like to play on emulators in general though so that goes for any kind of hacked ROM.

Casan said:
I can't say the December-January release date excites me that much though!

Well it's still a pretty short delay, I mean it's only been one year since DoS, they've outdone themselves this time.

FateINwaiting said:
I'll miss getting souls..that was fun for me.

Apparently (not promising anything), there'll be a lot of weapons/powers to collect in order to make up for it, so it shouldn't be that bad.

FateINwaiting said:
I think controlling 2 charecters at the same time is alittle annoying im a simple guy 1 hero at a time is enough for me but i'll get used to it i guess.

It's not an obligation, you can call forth your partner or dismiss him/her back to the 4th dimension (or wherever he's supposed to be) at will. Though of course the devs will probably try to exploit the dual-players system as much as they can. I'm more excited about it than anything else personally, I have faith in the new game mechanics.
 

Voyevoda

Breathe and Start
Aazealh said:
That's how I took your post, but I felt like ranting a bit about it nevertheless. :void: I like Super Metroid a lot myself as well as the previous and subsequent games in the series, but I've never played that SM: Redesign mod. I don't like to play on emulators in general though so that goes for any kind of hacked ROM.

This generally holds true for me as well, but I genuinely thought that Redesign improved on the already great aspects of Super Metroid so much that I can't say I regret my decision to try it out. It was a long time ago since I felt so good having accomplished something in a video game. I really can't help but recommend this adaption anyway. Sorry!

Well it's still a pretty short delay, I mean it's only been one year since DoS, they've outdone themselves this time.

Yeah, I guess it's just that when it comes down to it, I'm just not of one those "patience is a virtue" folks. I'm just too greedy for more most of the time.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Official release date has been announced, it's November 16 in Japan. It'll come out within the same month in Europe, apparently.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
handsome rakshas said:
Wow, this game looks amazing! The english voice acting is a tad crummy but this is going to be great! Death and the new (and old) bosses look absolutely amazing!

Yep, these vids are pretty cool. The voice acting does sound a bit cheesy, I really wish they'd just keep the Japanese ones since they're so badass in general... They're also changing Charlotte's name to "Aulin" in this version, I guess "Orlean" is too hard to write or something? :schierke:

Anyway, the game's just beautiful. It's beyond anything done in the past as far as I can tell, and the music sounds pretty good too. I can't see how it could fail after having seen all of this.
 
I just read through this thread and I gotta agree with Aaz as far as liking Circle of the Moon. It was probably my favorite GBA Castlevania, although Aria of Sorrow comes very close. Circle felt like the perfect balance between old-school Castlevania and the newer games in the series with the Metroid-inspired castle design.

Anyway, I'll definitely be all over Portrait of Ruin when it's released, even though I'm pretty lazy about playing the games I've got already, and haven't yet beaten Dawn of Sorrow. (The important thing is to own it! Then I can play it whenever I want, even if I don't!) *sigh* :puck:
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
It looks like Koji Igarashi changed his mind since E3. Back then he said it was improbable they'd ever make a Castlevania for Wii because whipping with the controller or other similar game mechanics would be much too tiresome for players.

Now he's saying they're really busy with Portrait of Ruin right now (Good thing), but that they'd like to think of something interesting to do with the Wii, and that he has a few ideas for a Castlevania. What a good man. :void:
 
Aazealh said:
It looks like Koji Igarashi changed his mind since E3. Back then he said it was improbable they'd ever make a Castlevania for Wii because whipping with the controller or other similar game mechanics would be much too tiresome for players.

Now he's saying they're really busy with Portrait of Ruin right now (Good thing), but that they'd like to think of something interesting to do with the Wii, and that he has a few ideas for a Castlevania. What a good man. :void:

Pssh, I'd be willing to push through the pain if I could use the Wii controller as a whip.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
Aazealh said:
It looks like Koji Igarashi changed his mind since E3. Back then he said it was improbable they'd ever make a Castlevania for Wii because whipping with the controller or other similar game mechanics would be much too tiresome for players.

Now he's saying they're really busy with Portrait of Ruin right now (Good thing), but that they'd like to think of something interesting to do with the Wii, and that he has a few ideas for a Castlevania. What a good man. :void:

A good man, indeed. I like hearing that he's most concerned with Portrait of Ruin at the moment, and am excited that he has expressed interest in the Wii. I look forward to what Iga will cook up for the Wii, but he could make 2D Castlevania games forever and I'll be very happy.
 

Aazealh

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Staff member
People in the US pre-ordering their games through EB Games & Gamestop will get a free OST CD commemorating the 20th anniversary of the series, it'll be a compilation of the best themes of the series. I'm disgusted, you guys always get the good stuff. I bet it's a US-only offer too so they won't ship to foreign countries.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
Aazealh said:
People in the US pre-ordering their games through EB Games & Gamestop will get a free OST CD commemorating the 20th anniversary of the series, it'll be a compilation of the best themes of the series. I'm disgusted, you guys always get the good stuff. I bet it's a US-only offer too so they won't ship to foreign countries.

Thanks for the news, Aaz! I've been hounding Gamestop about any possible preorder bonuses with this game and I'm glad we get something so cool. A shirt would be nice, too.
 
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