Best and worst Castlevania games

BrawlMan

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Laggyteabag said:
Wow, people really dont like the Lords of Shadow games, do they? I have a friend that loves both of those games to death.

What exactly are the issues with it, other than the obvious fact that it is a departure from the normal 2D perspective?

Also, for someone who does enjoy those kind of 3D hack-and-slashers, what games would you recommend? (it is his birthday soon).
Killer Is Dead
Bayonetta 2 (if he has a Wii U)
Transformers Devastation
 

dscross

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Laggyteabag said:
Wow, people really dont like the Lords of Shadow games, do they? I have a friend that loves both of those games to death.

What exactly are the issues with it, other than the obvious fact that it is a departure from the normal 2D perspective?
You'll probably like them more if you aren't a Castlevania fan. It's more to do with continuity for me which they really screw around with. There are actually 3 Lords of Shadow games, the middle one being Mirror of Fate for handhelds.

In all of them, they changed some of my favourite characters to be completely different, the timeline doesn't work and the Belmont lineage is different. I don't like it! If they did a softer reboot where they didn't change as many elements I'm sure people would have been less opposed to it. Don't mess with the Belmonts, man!

Gameplay wise, Mirror of Fate felt more like Castlevania than the others, but the 3D hack and slash element of the other two didn't really bother me as much. They've tried that before to a lesser extent.
 

stroopwafel

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dscross said:
You'll probably like them more if you aren't a Castlevania fan. It's more to do with continuity for me which they really screw around with. There are actually 3 Lords of Shadow games, the middle one being Mirror of Fate for handhelds.
Lords of Shadow 1 was actually pretty good and no doubt the best 3D 'Castlevania' game. The gameplay was a solid derivative of God of War and the backgrounds in particular were detailed and diverse. It had some cool boss fights as well. It actually mixed various games; God of War being the most obvious one but it also had traces of Shadow of the Colossus and the mountain climbing of Uncharted. Lords of Shadow didn't really have that trademark Castlevania cheese of having every classic horror villain provide this eccentric undertone(very hard to replicate I imagine) but it was still a solid game in it's own right. The second game however dropped the ball in my opinion. The environments were drab and boring and the entire game felt like running in circles. Making it all take place in this one city was a big mistake. I guess they tried to make a 3D Symphony of the Night but failed miserably at that.

Anyways my favorite Castlevania game is Super Castlevania 4 followed closely by Symphony of the Night. I enjoyed the NES games as well back in the day but there is nothing really that Super didn't do better(similarly with Metroid). I also played the Gameboy versions but man..memory is getting fuzzy there. :p I remember the N64 Castlevania being garbage. Haven't played any of the handheld Castlevania 's from GBA and upward other than Mirror of Fate which I didn't really like that much.

A recent game that reminded me a lot of classic Castlevania is Momodora reverie under the moonlight. Surprised by how good it was. Really glad this kind of side-scrolling action found a new home at indie developers after such a long absence.
 

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stroopwafel said:
dscross said:
You'll probably like them more if you aren't a Castlevania fan. It's more to do with continuity for me which they really screw around with. There are actually 3 Lords of Shadow games, the middle one being Mirror of Fate for handhelds.
Lords of Shadow 1 was actually pretty good and no doubt the best 3D 'Castlevania' game. The gameplay was a solid derivative of God of War and the backgrounds in particular were detailed and diverse. It had some cool boss fights as well. It actually mixed various games; God of War being the most obvious one but it also had traces of Shadow of the Colossus and the mountain climbing of Uncharted. Lords of Shadow didn't really have that trademark Castlevania cheese of having every classic horror villain provide this eccentric undertone(very hard to replicate I imagine) but it was still a solid game in it's own right. The second game however dropped the ball in my opinion. The environments were drab and boring and the entire game felt like running in circles. Making it all take place in this one city was a big mistake. I guess they tried to make a 3D Symphony of the Night but failed miserably at that.

Anyways my favorite Castlevania game is Super Castlevania 4 followed closely by Symphony of the Night. I enjoyed the NES games as well back in the day but there is nothing really that Super didn't do better(similarly with Metroid). I also played the Gameboy versions but man..memory is getting fuzzy there. :p I remember the N64 Castlevania being garbage. Haven't played any of the handheld Castlevania 's from GBA and upward other than Mirror of Fate which I didn't really like that much.

A recent game that reminded me a lot of classic Castlevania is Momodora reverie under the moonlight. Surprised by how good it was. Really glad this kind of side-scrolling action found a new home at indie developers after such a long absence.
The other problem with Lords of Shadow 2 was the genius who decided to put stealth section in a Castlevania game! WTf? As for having a 3D Symphony of the Night; unofficially, Devil May Cry 1 & 3 hold that department.

They both have trappings for a Casltevania title: The half-human/half-supernatural protagonist, white hair, an evil demon lord who might as well be Satan (first game), absurdly hard difficulty, and DMC1 even takes place in castle. DMC3 takes place mostly in a Gothic tower. Come to think of it, Hideki Kamiya, the lead director of the first game, is a huge fan of Castlevania I. So we know where the inspiration came from.