[PSX] "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!" AKA the Castlevania topic

We had this discussion in the IRC the other day, but I'd like to talk a little bit about the evolution of Castlevania games, and my own experience with them. I first played Castlevania on the NES, and I thought it was a really hard game back then. I never really got into it, because I just couldn't get past the 3rd or 4th stage. So, I went many many years without touching a Castlevania game. In fact, it wasn't until 2007 when I finally picked one up again. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision; I only had like 3 or 4 DS games at the time, and I was looking for a new one to get me hooked. I went onto GameSpot or whatever site I went to at the time to see popular games, and I saw a new release on the front page: Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin. This game was my first experience with Castlevania's unique Metroidvania-style, since this was the first Castlevania game I played since the NES version, and I played the crap out of Portrait of Ruin. I'm not a huge fan of handheld systems, but I loved this game, and I always loved Metroid style gameplay (I still consider Super Metroid to be my favorite non-RPG of all time) so to add RPG elements to it takes it a step further. Although I haven't played every Castlevania game, I'm sure there are games in the series out there which I would place among my top favorite games ever. I played Symphony of the Night when it came out on PSN, and I loved that one, but I wished that I could get more out of it. Had I found the game back when it was first released, I'd probably, to this day, put it in my top 5 games of all time.

Anyway, there's my short little rant. Anyone else have any Castlevania experiences to share?

Lets see, my very first Castlevania that I ever played was Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

which had Rondo of Blood, and Rondo of Blood 3D graphic, but the only reason I bought that game was because it had Symphony of the Night,
So right after I beat Rondo of Blood, I feel in LOVE, and once I also playing Symphony of the Night, I became a Fanboy.
I owned orginal three Castlevania nes, on my wii but i had never past it.
Super Castlevania IV was epic, Death and Dracula are one of the hardest bosses that I have ever fought
as for the GBA and DS, I only have a few but they are much more like SotN style now
I really prefer the original Castlevania and SotN, to me that are the Best Castlevania games EVAR! imo

I think I've said this before, but I prefer the level-up/upgrade system of the newer games to the "You vs. the game" style of the old. I've always liked RPG elements in games, such as stat-building and equipment, because it allows for so many variables. With the older games, the difficulty is set from the start. If it's too hard or too easy, tough luck, you get what you get. (For the older Castlevania games, it leans more towards "too hard") However, in the newer games, you can make it harder or easier depending on what items you buy/equip, what skill sets you choose to get or use, and how many level-ups you gain. If you want it to be harder, equip a weaker weapon, or don't level up so much. If you want it to be easier, grind until you can one-shot kill everything. That's why I like RPGs so much.

[chefofdeath]

so i take it u bought that castlevania game HD

[iNeku]

As far as I remember, I´ve first played Castlevania on the NES at my cousins house, since I never owned a NES of my own . I couldn´t even get past the FIRST stage, but I´ve enjoyed it as much as a 6 year old kid can.

After that, many years later when I got my hands on the DSi, I´ve tried both Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia. Hard to say which one I liked more. I found them both pretty difficult although I gotta admit I´m not much of a gamer as far as skills go. I have my brother to thank for completing all my games ~.~...

Well, it's certainly not an easy series. Personally, I think the DS games are much easier than the NES games simply because of all the variables/factors such as level and equipment. The newer games make you think though, about what equipment might be right for the next boss, while you didn't have to worry about that in the NES games, since equipment didn't exist.

I really need to complete Symphony of the Night.

[homie_jiraiya]

serious question anyone ever get 202% on sotn if so why come your so awesome

[chefofdeath]

i got 201 coudlnt find 02

There's a new Castlevania game out for PS3 and 360, and it actually looks pretty fun, despite being in the 3D format. The 3D format failed on N64, but I think it looks like they got it right this time, since it looks a lot like the new Zelda games.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow remind me of God of War, just that with vampires and no mythical Gods to kill

Originally Posted by ZshadowX Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

Thats barely a shadow of a Castlevania game...

Originally Posted by Zero Gravity Thats barely a shadow of a Castlevania game...

I'm not gonna judge it until I play it. I know it's not the traditional style I like, but maybe it's worth trying something new now and then.

[Shadowrun20XX]

Most ridiculous one was the arcade ver, "Haunted castle". I played that a pizza hut here in Vegas, way back in the day. Game ate me alive. Super Castlevania was probably the easiest. My favorite too.