Castlevania - 3D vs. 2D (rant) (1 Viewer)

[Steve Y]

Rant on the heels of playing Curse of Darkness...

All of the the Castlevania games available for the Nintendo handhelds have been very fun. While I think the last two are the best, all were enthusiastically well-received and continue the classic Castlevania "line".

I think a good fighting system, while important in any Castlevania game, is secondary to the fun of actual exploration -- that feeling that you're in a "real" castle and climbing/descending to new areas in the giant structure. It's what I originally loved about the first Castlevania (Harmony of Dissonance failed for me a little because its castle was too sprawling and repetitive).

But now the last two 3D Castlevania games have reduced the environment to corridors and world hubs filled with creatures to fight. It's like Soul Calibur on Gothic, with very little platforming fun.

I hate to bring up the infamous N64 versions of these games, but for all their poor control and graphics, there was a definite exploration element that is missing from the latest 3D offerings. If the N64 games did nothing else right, they conveyed the sense that you were exploring a castle and its surrounding environment. The landscape was PART of the gameplay, for better or (usually) worse.

These older games' poor reception probably scared Konomi into releasing what are essentially fighting games with a vaguely Castlevanian plot and environment. Maybe due to the success of the Devil May Cry series (which I like, but isn't Castlevania).

I know gamers seem to like like the bad-ass fighting/combat systems, but to me they don't capture the Castlevania spirit.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

It's amazing how beloved this series is to gaming fans. With that in mind developers take a big 'ol roll of the dice when they try a different approach. I tried the demo on the latest Xbox demo disc and didn't get much of a flavor for the "Castlevania thing" that I've read about in the past.

 

[James T]

I was a Castlevania fan back on the NES/SNES. I never tried any other version as I was absent from the console wars until I bought an Xbox and recently a PS2. A friend gave me Lammnt of Innocence and I'm just not feeling it. I'm not far in the game(really, just got past the training level), but I have no desire to play further. With that said, I really don't know what I was expecting.

 

[CaseyL]

I agree completley. There's a feeling of castlevania that just doesn't translate well into 3D. I'd almost rather see a well thought out side scroller in the vein of the Side Scrolling Quasi 3D Contra that was released for the PS2 about 3 years back. The best Castlevania Stuff in a while has been on Gameboy Advance, and probably the one for the DS will be equally great.

 

[Scott_lb]

I don't care for "Curse of Darkness" or "Lament of Innocence" at all. You know what I want? Some sort of 2-D Castlevania game on my PSP. A tricked out verion on the Xbox or 360 would be great, but I know that will never happen. Give me a "Symphony of the Night" style game with great graphics and I'm a happy man!