True fans

[TaintedPriest]

As an admirer of castlevania I want to know if you all have noticed a certain "cynicism" creep into the fan base. By definition a fan is someone whome "admires" and "respects" a person, thing or franchise.  Yet surfing between forums I always get a heaping pile of negativity from people making fun of Iga and critiquing his take on the series to people slamming Ayama's art work.

Now when people bitched about LOI I understood somewhat. One you cannot level up  and secondly the most powerful armor was ridiculously expensive. The "orb" enhancements were nice to see how each orb effected Leon's arsenal but overall it could have been alot better. Personally my only fault of the game is it took place entirely in the castle. There wasn't even a courtyard or small forest area of enemies before you made it to the keep. 

However when I picked up curse of darkness I was amazed first of all by how good it was but secondly by the harshness of the reviews.
Alot of people said the battles were very repetitive and you just went from area to area smiting enemies to level up hector and his innocent devil famaliars. Well yeah, and frankly the 2d castlevanias follow this same premise yet people put them on pedestals as works of genius. Below were some obivous good things about this underapreciated title.

Variety of weapons: Not only can Hector use a variety of weapons but all of them can be powered up by combining different metal ores. It was fun using the spear, punch knuckles, axes, and various swords again while not being constricted by using just a variety of whips as in LOI.

Better area design: Yes there is still a repetitiveness to some of the areas but at least there is a variety. So far I've been through mountains, castle ruins that went under and above ground, a cathedral, and know there is at least a forest and few other areas before reaching the main tower. Also for the first time some enviorments are interactive. My favorite example of this is manning an orc cannon and using it to break down a barricade and killing other enemies.

Trevor makes an appearance: Ok, fans like to bitch about the lack of Sypha, Grant, and Alucard yet they fail to at least give a minor thumbs up for the fact Trevor belmont is not only a character in the game but you get to play as him once you beat it the first time through. Lastly he is "not" a bishi so at least Ayama gave us variety with the artistic design.

You have a good reason to be pissed: If anyone can relate to Dracula it's poor ol Hector. As with Dracula he lost his wife to an angry lynch mob. Issac the antagonist orchestrated a witch trial that took her life. No wonder you want to beat the crap out of him.

Julia: She's much easier on the eyes as a shop keeper then Reynaldo. Her wit and caring demeanor also compliment the fact she's hot at least for a very pale romanian chick. 

Saint Germaine: Alot of people proably found his dashing debonair british charm to be annoying but I liked this polite fellow right away though technically he is around just to discourage you from completing your quest.

Zead: Is it just me or does this guy give off the creeps? Well he's a catholic monk, what else is there to expect? However as with Saint Germaine there are personality quirks that make him belivable and very human. (If he is human, wouldn't be the first time castlevania had one of your "allies" betray you and turn into some sort of demonic jerk.)

Great music: Yeah I know the graphics are a bit drab but at least the music score is riveting and deep. For me it is one of the best castlevania orchestral scores to date.

The innocent devils: This made the game for me. Not only do your famaliars aid you in healing and combat but they interact with the enviorment as well allowing you to open magically sealed chests and get past obstacles. It has been fun evolving my innocent devils just to see how they change and what new skills they pick up.

Having problems? Level up!: As with sotn you can actually gain levels making combat seem as if it is actually important. At least slaying monsters has more of a purpose then just collecting hearts and potions.

I know some here will crucify me for sticking up for this game, but in my opinion it finally met the expectations of what fans wanted...a 3d castlevania more akin to sotn.  Sure it could have been better but give Konami a break. They actually did decently this time. For once try to see the glass as half full.

Ps: I'm sure there are mis-pronounced names and spelling errors but cut me some slack it's late peeps.

[Fizzbit]

Actually, if you listen to the soundtrack by itself, it's rather dull. CoD is one of those soundtracks that's better heard in-game.

[TaintedPriest]

I do realize many songs repeat  but for me it matches the mood of the game so I don't feel the urge to turn it down to listen to cradle of filth or rip the game  cd from my PS-2 to use it as target practice.

Also what's with this whole "If you're emo and you know it slit your wrist" crap? Noone I know is emo or has ever been emo so whatever "popular" implications this clique had on mainstream society died out long ago. People say "emos" are emotional sots that sit around whining about problems while not doing anything to fix them....to me that sounds lile the majority of society. Hell even complaining about emos is bitching thus obivously no better then what they do themselves.

Sorry, but I must say in the castlevania forums it seems nothing but a contest to see who can be more cynical and jaded then the people that came before.

Granted being hyper sensitive is a trait that is annoying as fuck moot then again so is attempting to be "cool" by acting rude, edgy, and uncaring. If you constantly drink bitter piss and wallow in shit eventually it's going to attract flies. 

[Fizzbit]

Eh, my avatar is actually very, very tame compared to what some of the other members do

[TaintedPriest]

(chuckles) Yeah I know Fizzbit. Like the lady pooping on herself in the inverted dungeon forums. Not a fan of skat despite my german/austrian ancestry. Perhaps shock gross out humor doesn't tickle my fancy anymore.

Guess I'm just tired every thread seems to be an "emo" reference or "Ayama is a crazy bitch that ruined the series with her art!" thread.

For a site that proudly announces to hate a certain group they sure do talk alot about it, almost to the point of being obcessive compulsive.

Anyway I liked curse of darkness. It's not up there with sotn, but it's not the most vile uninspired castlevania I ever played either and certainly it's better then LOI.

[Darkmoon]

Better than LoI aint saying much, considering how shitty that game was.

[Xuzaf D]

LoI just felt like they went through the CV checklist and then just stopped working on the game.

[Fizzbit]

It's Ayami, not Ayama

[Darkmoon]

I mean in all fairness, it waqsn't an awful game. LoI had some good points to it. The combo system was fun for a bit. Some of the enemy fights were cool. But, for the most part, the levels were too flat, the boss battles too simplistic, and the game just too boring to trudge through.

It's great if the old CVs of the past were simplistic. We've moved beyond them as gamers and expect more now.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

The argument fails because what the original post does not comprise what the old CV's did.
A very big part of CVs old old is the Platforming.  LoI had no platforming at all ('cept for those two parts or so that had mild whip-jumping).

CoD has a little more, but it's still a flat room.  What's worse, is they fool you into thinking it's more by making a pretty landscape but making you unable to reach it.  There's still a boundary on the room you're in (usually square, rectangular, or sometimes if it's a room with a corner, angular).

It'd be nice if the borders were the actual landscape, not a magical force field that mysteriously prevents you from reaching the 'walls' in the game.

Also, what's with the UnAttackable Candles?

[TaintedPriest]

Why hell peeps nothing is perfect. I thought they were onto something with Legacy of darkness, the remade cv-64 game...Yeah I caught alot of flak over that too. The flat enviorments really are a problem it seems. I agree the different scenary was visaully pleasing but Jorge is right ....it's still just a nicely painted room.

However many of those enviorments did have a few interactive features. For example busting apart the wine barrels and using the rotating orc cannon in the mountain pass. If they would have put more of these things in each of the areas perhaps there would be less of a reason to complain.

I did think the innocent devils, level up options, and the varied weapon forgery system was a vast improvement over the "orb" theme in LOI.

My argument wasn't that curse of darkness is perfect.....rather simply that people focus on all the flaws of the recent castlevanias and not their merits.

The world is screwed up enough as it is without the additional burden of my cynicism. Guess I personally just rather be a bit more of an optimist then I used to.

[Darkmoon]

Well, it feels to me like they are trying to develop a good 3D CV on their own without taking into account the good things CV64/LoD did. Instead, they scrapped all of it and went for a different kind of game, one that borrows everything it does from Devil May Cry without being as fun as that series.

[TaintedPriest]

Yeah that did sort of piss me off Dark-moon. I think it was mentioned somewhere castlevania was an inspiration for DMC so to me this seems like an under-handed way of the developers being like "You stole from us well looky here, we can steal from you!"

I'd really like to see more of a "legacy of darkness" type engine with today's graphics and minor upgrades. To me that game really felt "3d" and being able to play as 4 different characters didn't hurt either.

[Darkmoon]

More importantly, it felt Castlevaniaish. Platforming, bottomless pits...

[Xuzaf D]

... the conveniently placed enemies that would knock you into those pits...

[Darkmoon]

That is CV. To a tee.

[TaintedPriest]

I think the hardest castlevania was the very first one for the nes. When I beat it I actually felt like a true gamer. The medusa heads and ravens have always been my most hated adversaries when jumping from pillar to pillar. Dracula truly was a sadist back in those days.

However I am also a fan of the castleoids. Symphony of the night was a nice casual outing for me. It was a game I could play for hours discovering secret areas while leveling up my imp or faery. I also liked how open and free everything flowed between the areas. Running around as a wolf or flying around as a bat added alot to the experience. Lastly it was cool being a vampire.

Legacy of darkness really blew my mind when it came out. I didn't even expect an alternate form of Dracula or for two new characters to be added especially not an awesome werewolf fighting for the forces of good. They really overhauled everything in that game. To this day I keep hoping for a remake for the PS-2 but I know that is an empty pipe dream.

I still have to say however curse of darkness is a blast. To be honest to an extent I do not miss the bottomless pits. I cannot remember how many times I threw my controller down in utter frusteration or cussed like a sailor as a parade of ghosties or medusas sealed my fate. Only good thing about the pits was when you beat a level you felt like you were the king of the world.

It's true the enviorments are flat, but other then that there is not much I can think to bitch about. It's alot bigger then LOI and though the backgrounds serve as nothing more then scenic back drops it's still a nice diversion compared to rows and rows of the same tiles again and again. I know the areas get much more repetitive later but for me the real fun is  evolving my innocent devils, leveling up Hector, and making more powerful weapons. I suppose for those that prefer castlevania more as an action platformer and less as a "castleoid" it can be a bit drudging and repetitive though. To each their own.

[DragonCub]

I really like Curse of Darkness. I also really liked the N64 Castlevanias. Apparently I'm in the minority again. Oh well.