The Castlevania games are very popular, but when I've tried them, I've never found them to be much fun. They seem to be just jumping around, whipping enemies and scenery (though most games are 'just' something, so it's probably unfair of me to imply that the Castlevania games are tedious), and I don't see the attraction at all. Then again, I've never given them much time (one of the best things about emulation (that you can try as many games as you like) often results in you not giving a game enough time to grab you, ironically), so I was wondering what Castlevania games were considered the best, how they differ from each other, and which games I should give a proper go to. I've heard that Castlevania Symphony of the Night is probably the most popular one, so why is this the best, and which version is best (I know it's on the Saturn and the Playstation, though the Playstation is probably the only one that can be emulated accurately at the moment). Which other ones are worth playing, and is Castlevania the series with the most games, and the series with the most platforms running those games (isn't it on the NES/SNES/N64/XBox/PS2/Gameboy/etc)?Thanks for any answers.
Really it comes down to personal taste, I would consider Castlevania:SoTN to be the best in the series. Now the systems I'm aware that it's on are PSX, Saturn, Xbox 360 and PSP (Either through PSX EBOOT or as a hidden extra in Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles). PSX would be my first choice, PSP a close second (due to some reported issues, although it worked fine for me), as I understand it the Xbox 360 version is much the same as the PSP ver (slight issues) with the Saturn coming in last. Yes you can play as Maria and it has 2 extra areas but they aren't that great and the lack of transparency doesn't help it's cause either. Highly recommended by me would also be Castlevania 4 on SNES, Circle of the Moon on GBA and the first Castlevania on PS2. Castlevania 4 is more of a linear platformer, and the PS2 Castlevania is 3rd person, whereas SoTN and CoTM are are of a more free roaming, open ended sort of style. I loved SoTN for it freedom to explore, it's sense of progression, fantastic soundtrack, and wealth of secrets if your willing to put in the effort to look for them. Castlevania indeed has the most games in a single series for it's genre, as well as the number of platform it has features on [MSX, NES, GB, SNES, GBA, N64, PSX, PS2. XBOX 360, PS3, NDS] to the best of my recollection. I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to mention the ones to avoid. The games on N64 are quite horrible, as is the fighter on Wii, bar those you really can't go wrong.
Second that. It's one of my all-time favorites. Such a beautifully crafted 2D game with a great atmosphere and lots of depth.
Super Castlevania IV and SotN are my favorites, but most of them are at least passable. As well as the N64 games you should also avoid the awful downloadable one, Harmony of Dissonance or whatever, and don't play SotN on PSP: they changed the hilarious dubbing, not to mention IIRC you're forced to play a shitty-looking remake of Rondo of Blood before you can unlock the original and SotN.
There is pretty much two different kinds of Castlevania games: Linear, old school Castlevania (Castlevania I, III, Rondo of Blood) where the objective is to go from point A to point B to finish the level, and Non-linear, exploration centric Metroidvania (Castlevania II, SotN, Aria of Sorrow) where there is an entire map to explore at your leisure and use power-ups you discover to go to new places you couldn't previously access. I prefer the Metroidvanias, but I know many people are sick of them. If you want old school Castlevanias, I recommend Super Castlevania IV on the SNES, Rondo of Blood on the Turbo CD (I believe there is an unofficial windows version with an emulator built in), and Castlevania III on the NES. If you want the non-linear games, play SotN on the PS1 (The PSP version had a worse d-pad for doing magic and f'd up the voice work. What they did to Alucard's voice is inexcusable.) Aria of Sorrow on GBA, and the three DS games. Castlevania had an awkward transition to 3D. It's basically love or hate. A lot of people hate the N64 games, but I thought they were OK. I also liked Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness on the PS2 and Xbox. I'm not a fan of the PS3/360 reboot, but it's not a horrible game by any stretch. It's probably best to stick with the 2D ones though.
SotN is the only one I've bothered to play much of. The only improvement it could have would be to have a higher sample rate for it's audio as a whole; to me it sounds a bit muffled across the board.
Symphony of the Night Cirlce of the Moon Aria of Sorrow Dawn of Sorrow Portrait of Ruin These are my favourites, they're the ones I'd reccomend most to other people.
SOTN is one my all time favorite games as well. I never really liked Castlevania IV, I much prefer Rondo of Blood or Castlevania Bloodlines on the Megadrive.
castlevania on x68000 and rondo of blood are my favs, also like the MSX2 version a lot, part 3 on famicom is also great
Rondo of Blood is pretty much the transition from Linear to Metroidvania. It has some exploration, and the music is fucking fantastic. (Though the "burning village" theme does sound much better in the otherwise inferior SNES port). Symphony of the Night is a work of art, and it should be played by everyone at least once in their lives, to completion. It's absolutely gorgeous, the music is fantastic, and the gameplay is pretty much perfect. I wish they had done more with the Richter in SOTN, as he handles beautifully. If he had those controls on any other of the linear ones, they would be heavenly. Rondo, especially. The newer ones, after SOTN, are not as good, but Order of Ecclesia is very, very fun. The PS2 one had good music, too.
I'd forgotten that the current gen Castlevania exists. Only tried the demo of that and wasn't impressed: it felt too much like another God of War clone.
I deffinately prefer the Metroidvanias, I've tried to get into the old school games but they're too hardcore for me, perhaps if I had played them back in the day I could really appreciate them. But yeah I'm a fan of action RPGs and the games have really interesting systems, the sprite graphics are gorgous and the action is adictive, they're really fun to play. Another game to mention is Harmony of Despair on XBLA, it's a lot different to standard Castlevania games but it's one of those games where you become addicted to grinding and just find your self playing it over and over. It takes a lot of time to level up your characters and really start getting the rarest and most powerful equipment, while the stages are limited the desire to keep leveling up the characters and find new items keeps you playing. I probably put 200+ hours into that game all together, having friends to play really made it all the more enjoyable.
Can it really be called that though? Serious question. Dracula X is obviously based on Rondo, but the level design past stage 1 was completely different from what I remember. I remember it being much harder too, and not in a good way. The last boss was simple enough in Rondo, but Dracula X was ridiculous. I have no idea how anyone could beat it without save states. I never understood why they didn't make linear Castlevanias using controls similar to Richter in SotN. Obviously they wouldn't allow him to jump 50+ feet in the air at will, but it would be so much more enjoyable than the tighter and more restrictive controls from the older games. That it did. But that's nothing out of the ordinary with Castlevania. The series almost always has incredible music. Unfortunately. I gave the game a fair chance, bought the collectors edition on PS3, went in with a positive attitude but I just didn't enjoy it like I hoped I would.
I liked the first Castlevania for N64, although I never played Legacy of Darkness. It was one of my more fond memories of N64 next to Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time. SOTN was what really struck a chord with me as I am a fan of the Metroid 3 style game play.
I've never actually finished a Castlevania game. I have played a good bit into SOTN, and I almost beat Dawn of Sorrow, but I got bored of it. Parts of the games I've played are a bit tedious and/or too difficult. I think they're good games, though. I just don't have the patience to finish one.
Castlevania SotN (PS1), Castlevania IV (SNES), Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PC-Engine), and Castlevania Chronicles (PS1) are my recommendations. All are awesome. If you are up for something more difficult, try Castlevania III.
I do know from my visits to N64 boards that the two N64 Castlevania games are loved by some, hated by others, and most seem to consider them so-so. I haven't played them enough to judge myself, but perhaps Castlevania is one of those series/genres that is best in 2D, such as Bomberman or Worms?* Symphony of the Night does seem to be the most popular, by far, and I think I'll give it a go, probably the Playstation version under emulation. * Having said that, I've never played a 2D Metroid game (though I certainly intend too, especially since Super Metroid is another game that is universally praised) but I loved Metroid Prime, so (to me at least) I don't necessarily think the Castlevania/Metroid subgenre should be 2D only.
I think the major problem with the N64 Castlevania's was the relative infancy of 3D and the extremely limited storage space due to the use of cartridge. My mate had grabbed a copy of Castlevania 64 on the strength of the series name and after having a go, neither of us were too impressed with it back then. I don't see any compelling reason why these series can't translate well into 3D, my issue is jumping on the bandwagon. If you can think of gameplay elements that will only work in 3D, have a fantastic idea for how 3D could allow you to develop the series, then by all means give it a go. Don't however go and do it just because that's what everyone else is doing.
