IV and Bloodlines are better than Rondo of Blood

godzilla43

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I can understand people's gripes with every Castlevania, but this series is famous for being impossible to crown a true #1 game. It just shows how many quality games were released over the years.

Little over saturating going on here well anyways what is the best Zelda game?
1, 3, Ocarina of time, Wind Waker or Breath of the Wild?
 

LoneSage

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Little over saturating going on here well anyways what is the best Zelda game?
1, 3, Ocarina of time, Wind Waker or Breath of the Wild?

dude gtfo of here with that zelda nonsense this is CASTLEVSNIA
 

RAZO

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dude gtfo of here with that zelda nonsense this is CASTLEVSNIA


Yea Seriously, what's wrong with this dude? We have members giving us some wonderful insight on some of their favorite Castlevania games and this guy brings up Zelda. Save that rpg shit for another thread.
 

godzilla43

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Yea Seriously, what's wrong with this dude? We have members giving us some wonderful insight on some of their favorite Castlevania games and this guy brings up Zelda. Save that rpg shit for another thread.

Sorry that I brought up Zelda that is just one series that it hard to say which game is best. I also thought Metal Gear but I think Metal Gear Solid is generally considered the best.
 
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Ip Man

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although i love the entire series, i would have to agree that the metroidvania games are hit and miss where as the old style games are all gems.

but i think we have to understand that after a certain time, 2d side scrollers was a thing of the past, so it wouldn't of made sense for a company to keep on making games that way. every thing was changing, 2d games were making a jump to 3d and konami had no luck with castlevania in that department. so they made the jump in a different way. metroidvania.
 

Ip Man

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SOTN > Bloodlines > CV IV

Fight me.

giphy.gif
 

Yoshi

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This. Exactly this. If Castlevania had gone back to the classic style with the next game, SotN would be one of the greatest of all-time. And objectively, it is fantastic. But I grew a little bitter towards it with each subsequent less-good metroidvania sequel. Chronicles for PSX made me realize how much I prefer original style over Metroid style.
I'll third this. I feel nostalgic for II for the reason you described with what Bloodlines could have been, because they went back to one of the best in the series with III.
 

Lastblade

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Speaking of Simon's Quest, I have a really great homebrew modification for that game on EMU. It's still the same game, but it offers a number of improvements that make the game playable for English speaking audiences.

It had a save system and not a passcode system. On EMU, save states make this largely unimportant but there are some that have put the ROM on a cart to provide a more authentic experience.

Near perfect English translation so that the dialogue makes sense and is actually useful.

An in game map of the world that can be accessed at will with the Select button. And surprisingly enough, it's a very well drawn map.

An opening 'film reel' sequence that explains what happened in the first game and contextualizes the story behind the second game.

The ability to switch between weapons and whip types. In the original build, you were stuck with whatever whip you bought last, which could be frustrating and needlessly grindy. This way, you can just change the equipped weapon for maximum efficiency.

My file shows it as 'Castlevania II-Retranslated with Enhancements' If you haven't tried it yet, I'd recommend you give it a spin. It's an interesting version and who knows how things might have gone had the NES release not been so clumsy.

I don't feel this made the game 'easy' so much as it made it 'playable' and a satisfying Castlevania experience. While it is a non linear game and there are RPG elements in it, Castlevania III didn't try to carry that formula forward (which I think was the right move at that time). Instead, it returned to the more traditional platforming of the first game with some alternate path choices as well as your option of which companion to bring with you on your journey. Or, alternately, you could just go it alone the whole way. The game has four different endings depending on which companion you beat the game with (or none at all) too.

I need to try this. Thanks.
 

munchiaz

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Its Rondo for me, but out of the linear CV games,CV3 is probably the best one, but I have a special place for Rondo. I think bloodlines is also better than IV. I have the boring feeling that many other experience with IV, but man do i love the ending theme to IV
 

Taiso

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I was bored so I was poking around PSN this morning and found a few interesting titles. I bought Dead Cells because it's getting a lot of positive reviews lately. It's a'rogue-lite' game that is one part SotN, one part Dark Souls and one part Strider. Its Castlevania roots are threadbare, but it's a side scroller with interesting enemies, loot questing and level exploration.

More interesting to Castlevania fans would be Chasm, which is pretty much a reskinned SotN that looks like an indie game, right down to item equipping, leveling, interacting with merchants, platforming and Metroidvania style exploration and progression. An extra interesting wrinkle is rescuing the townsfolk that have been captured by the monsters. As you free them, they offer services that enhance your ability to progress. I found the lore in the game (books you can read, journal entries and the like) particularly compelling. The thing I really like about this game is how easy it is to just pick up and play. The challenge ramps up at a reasonable rate, whereas with Dead Cells there is a higher barrier of skill-based entry.

I might also pick up Momodora for ten bucks later. I skipped on Death's Gambit but may go back and get it.

But that's four games for about 70 bucks on PSN that are all side scrollers with some Castlevania themed gameplay elements.

Anifyadonno...now ya know.
 

SouthtownKid

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I have the boring feeling that many other experience with IV
Don't kid yourself. There aren't "many others." There are just a few contrarians here in this thread and that's it. Yours is not a widely held opinion among Castlevania fans.
 

LoneSage

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Hmm, this is a pretty good thread, I'm glad I made it. Even it inspired Taiso in real life to play Chronicles and beat it for the first time. Good enough for me.
 

roker

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Bloodlines is far and away my favorite.

2nd Rondo

3rd Castlevania III

4th Super IV

yeah, I'm rolling with that. I just could never get into IV even with all the hype.
 

Renmauzo

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I never got a chance to rent the Castlevania games on the NES, they were always checked out at the rental store, so I didn't actually get to play a Castlevania game until IV came out and loved it; the Mode 7 elements really rocked my socks back then.

That said, I got SotN and all of the GBA Castlevania games day and date with each release and have always loved going back to those ones from time to time; it's fair to say they are my favorites. Other than The Order of Ecclesia, I haven't played the other DS entries yet. As silly as this might sound, Konami/Iga not being able to get Kojima for the artwork for those other DS titles was a real turnoff; the anime aesthetic just doesn't fit at all. I have read that Portrait of Ruin is considered a top Castlevania game by many, so I'll get around to it eventually; I'm currently doing a run through of all the Castlevania games.
 

roker

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ok rokester but why tho

Bloodlines music and general atmosphere win me over

Rondo had the story and polish on point

III has the branching paths, character changes, and good 8 bit music (esp the jpn version)

IV ... I dunno. It's not exciting. Maybe I waited too long to play it. I like the multidirectional whipping. But the character moves slow and I never really got into the music.
 

roker

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did anyone else read this and audibly mumble 'wtf'

I think the SNES audio chip is great for orchestra type music, but I always felt the Genesis had the edge with drums and rip roaring synth. For some reason, the SCIV soundtrack never clicked with me. That whole game never clicked with me. Bloodlines and Rondo will always be my favorites of the series.

A big shout out to:

Vampire Killer
Castlevania 1

And even those ones I don't really consider Castlevania games, but are good one timers:

SOTN
GBA Castlevanias
 

Late

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Once a hipster, always a hipster.
 
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