Any Castlevania Fans Here??

[OBleedingMe]

Just curious if there were any Castlevania fans here. I hope I'm not the only big fan around here. I've got every last game of the Castlevania series there is and I was just wondering if anyone wanted to chat about the series.
Oh, and if there are fans here, anyone hear the rumors that Konami is making a sequel for the Gamecube?

 

[Flatfoot]

Symphony of the Night was my favorite. It offered the best soundtrack, although there could've been more story involvement, as well as dialogue that didn't sound like it was being said in a recording studio that doesn't have soundproof walls. Other than that, it's a great series. I couldn't tell you where Konami is taking it. Since for the most part, the story involved Dracula coming back every two-hundred years, I wonder if they'll stick to this, and we'll wind up with a modern-day Castlevania, or ( God help us... ) a futuristic one. That'd be strange, to say the least.

 

[primetime]

i havent followed the series when it was a Nintendo game. since i never upgraded, i never continued. but, the Castlevania series is probably one of the best series ever. i love that game. what's the latest version anyway??

 

[mabus]

Castlevania is awesome! OBleedingMe, you're a genius for loving that game. I hope you don't have a problem being called that...

I was thinking about that game the other day, saying how I haven't played video games in a few years, but when I did, that was my favorite. I played Castlevania I, which was good. Castlevania II was easier than I, and different, kind of like how Super Mario Brothers II was so different than I and III. Castlevania III went back to the roots, and was good also. But Castlevania IV was spectacular, with the chandelier and the dancing ghosts and the full orchestra soundtrack as background music. When I saw Haunted Mansion in Disney World, I always wished they would do a Haunted Castlevania Mansion. My brother had the next one after that, but there was a lot of story telling, with characters talking, and I hated it, and never played it! Simon Belmont was always silent, a man on a mission. His advesaries were always silent monsters. The sound effects were great in IV, for example, and the music, but the total absence of voices made it spooky as hell. To have him talking cheesy dialogue just killed the whole thing for me.
The Game Boy one, the first one, was great also, the music great, and was the hardest game to play because he moved so slow. That versions came after those I mentioned, and did any of them go back to the basics or keep the silly dialogue?

 

[OBleedingMe]

To Primetime: The latest version is the Game Boy Advance game called Circle of the Moon. Before that, there were two 3-D versions of the game that weren't exactly spectacular... they were for the Nintendo 64. My favorte has always been and always will be Super Castlevania IV for the SNES.

To Mabus: No, I certainly don't have a problem with being called a genius. 😀
I ALMOST completely agree with your point of view. Super Castlevania IV, as cited above, is certainly my favorite. I remember playing it for the first time... I couldn't stop listening to that first level music... hey, you know of the three secret item areas correct?
Symphony of the Night was a good game... but you're right, the dialogue KILLED the mood. Now, if they had good voice-overs, and added some more "platform" game elements, they could have retained the atmosphere and true spirit of the Castlevania series. Music was just as awe-inspiring as Super Castlevania IV, though.
You might want to give a look at another Castlevania game for the SNES - Castlevania: Dracula X. It doesn't retain the exact same atmosphere as Castlevania IV, and the music is a little less impacting, but the gameplay is as close to Castlevania IV as you can get.. and there are diffeent paths you can take, depending on the mistakes you make in certain levels, and has three or four separate ending.

To Flatfoot: A futuristic/present-day Castlevania. Wow, that would be the ULTIMATE sellout, no? Simon Belmont... call me SB, dawg. (shiver)
They must keep it in the medieval times era to retain that oh-so-important signature atmosphere that makes a Castlevania series game. I really hope the rumors that a 3-D Castlevania for the Gamecube is being made turns out to be true...