CASTLE-friggin-VANIA 25th Anniversary project

JWK1 · Postby **JWK1** » August 17th, 2011, 5:00 pm

Alright, so I was VERY upset during Konami's E3 pre-conference announcements... not because of what was announced (Transfarring, etc), but because of what WASN'T. I knew that Castlevania's 25th Anniversary was only a couple months away (started Sept 1986) and they didn't mention any type of project, just a PSN release of Harmony of Despair. My love of the Castlevania brand is now legendary among these forums, so I dropped the subject because I was too depressed. Castlevania has always been in the "well respected with low sales" classification of gaming, so I figured it no longer made financial sense to Konami to release new CV games when they could make ten times as much with some of their other franchises (Metal Gear, Silent Hill).

I should have kept up on the announcements because I just read today that Konami has indeed confirmed a CV 25th Anniversary project! We have no idea what it is. It could be anything from a lame compilation of widely available titles (a la Mario All-Stars) to a symphonic tour featuring music from the games (a la Legend of Zelda). Even a new game in either the Metroidvania style or similar to The Adventure ReBirth is a possibility. What do you guys think? What do you think the project will be? If you're a fan of the series, what would you want Konami to do?

JWK1 · Postby **JWK1** » August 18th, 2011, 12:24 pm

Alright, no one seems to care about this! lol So here is what I would want:

Another game starring Richter in the style of Rondo of Blood with updated graphics in HD would be epic! It's totally time. I also wouldn't mind seeing a proper follow up to Symphony of the Night ON A CONSOLE or the Julius Belmont game about the Battle of 1999 that's been hinted at for the last decade or more.

Honestly, I don't think any of the above will happen. At this point in the series' life cycle Konami just doesn't seem to care. The Castlevania fanbase is rabid, but there's not enough of us. I have to give IGA credit for keeping the series alive and I do enjoy his games, but it might be time to move on from that style. The series hasn't been really popular since Circle of the Moon (the last million-selling game) so I think the best we can hope for is a 3DS announcement, a compilation that doesn't do anything exciting, or a short PSN/XBL game in the style of Hard Corps Uprising. Though it wouldn't be my first choice, I'm okay with any of those (especially since I'm considering a 3DS since the price drop). Hey, at least they're doing something, right??

JustLikeHeaven1 · Postby **JustLikeHeaven1** » August 19th, 2011, 9:55 am

I love Castlevania. It's one of my favorite franchises in gaming. That being said, I think the best thing for the series right now would be to go away for a few years. Perhaps they should wait until the next round of consoles comes along and prepare a game for that. They should really just take 3-5 years and slowly develop a Castlevania project. The problem is that they haven't figured out a formula that works for the series on consoles. They either need bring back an epic 2D "metroidvania" style game or figure out how to really make it work in 3D...

Greisha1 · Postby **Greisha1** » August 19th, 2011, 11:41 am

I think Konami has diluted the series somewhat with shoddy half-baked releases the past couple years.

Judgement? Bad idea!

Harmony of Despair? Weird!

Adventure Rebirth? It's OK!

Lord of Shadow? How 'bout God of War?

As JLH said, they probably just need to take a couple years to regroup ... the franchise has been grinding away with Metroidvanias on the GBA/DS for a while now, and the 3d iterations seem to "miss" more often than not.

Potts · Postby **Potts** » August 19th, 2011, 1:18 pm

I've only played the original Castlevania on NES. I love it. I need to try the other two, but I wanna beat this one first! I can't get passed that bastard that throws scythes at you, the Grim Reaper.

JWK1 · Postby **JWK1** » August 19th, 2011, 9:38 pm

Not bad ideas, guys. As much as I hate to say it, I think JustLikeHeaven's suggestion is appropriate. No Castlevania and then a stronger title after a hiatus might be best. And Potts, use the Boomerang X 3. Your welcome.

JWK1 · Postby **JWK1** » August 20th, 2011, 12:17 pm

Oops, that's boomerang. Just launch those things and jump from one side of the screen to the other.

wur1 · Postby **wur1** » August 21st, 2011, 1:41 pm

I think a good idea would be for them to take a look at Metroid Prime, and try to translate a similar concept into a third person title.

Snesfreak · Postby **Snesfreak** » August 23rd, 2011, 12:54 pm

@: JWK

The one in Castlevania is called the Crucerang because it looks like a crucifix.

Snesfreak · Postby **Snesfreak** » August 24th, 2011, 3:36 pm

Anyone know how to get past stage 9 of Castlevania 4? I'm stuck on the 3rd lower floor where you need to rush to escape the collapsing gold platforms and then as soon as you reach solid ground, a skeleton leaps on from off the screen and knocks me back into the abyss... every time!

There must be someway to avoid him but I don't know how though.