castlevania posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Point/Counterpoint: Does Castlevania need new blood?
by JC Fletcher 
{ Sep 19th 2008 at 2:00PM }
Producer Koji Igarashi has definitely found his recipe for Vanias, and he's changed very little since hitting upon the combination of side-scrolling action, free-roaming exploration, and light RPG elements that made Symphony of the Night such a startlingly new experience ... back in 1997.
Let's be clear: both of the bloggers participating in this debate love them some Castlevania. But the issue of the series' increasing potential for staleness is a real one, and worth discussing even just as a thought exercise. Has Metroidvania run its course? Read on and find out ... what two people think.
Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Simon Belmont's shorts immortalized in new figurine
by JC Fletcher { Sep 19th 2008 at 12:39PM }
We must admit that the sculptors have made Simon look damn cool, even if he is dressed like a Tetsuya Nomura Final Fantasy hero. Japan's Konamistyle store is taking preorders on (the final painted version of) this figure, to be released on February 6 for 7,140 yen ($66.50).
Gallery: Castlevania Judgment
[Via Famitsu]
Castlevania Poor Fashion Judgment returns
by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 18th 2008 at 9:00AM }
There are all-new fashion disasters (okay, really, new shots of old disasters) and a lot of explosions of bright, streaky lighting in the gallery below.
*Probably not, but we're afeared of this possibility.
Gallery: Castlevania Judgment
Joystiq hands-on: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
by Majed Athab { Sep 18th 2008 at 8:00AM }
One of the elements that stands out the most in this new Castlevania is the glyph system. In order to carry out actions, characters absorb glyphs (which are usually either weapons, i.e. a rapier, or magic, i.e. flying fire balls) and assign them to the X and Y buttons. You can equip the same glyph more than once, making things slightly more economical. You have a green bar under your red health bar -- this is a magic gauge. This depletes as you use your glyphs, but refills quickly as soon as you stop performing any actions with them; it basically regulates your attacks, so you won't be able to mindlessly breeze through the game.
Killer Fish and the Order of Ecclesia
by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 17th 2008 at 5:00PM }
Konami really wants us to get accustomed to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, for some reason. It's as though they think we won't embrace the title or something, since they keep waving around screenshots and soundtracks. We're surprised they're not shipping free demos and complimentary massage oil or something to potential buyers at this point. But listen, we're not complaining. We'll watch Shanoa beat down fish any day of the week. It's very important to keep those killer fish under control, you know.Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Castlevania Judgment: It's like Soulcalibur Legends (but better?)
by Andrew Yoon { Sep 16th 2008 at 8:00PM }
At the very least, Judgment is much more competent and fun than Soulcalibur Legends. Graphically speaking, Judgment is rather unattractive, featuring awkward character models that certainly don't belong in the Castlevania universe. Textures are low-res, environments are uninspired and character models are poorly constructed with flat textures and low poly counts. Sadly, it doesn't match the visual fidelity of the 3D Castlevania titles on the PS2.
Thankfully, the gameplay in Judgment isn't as shallow as you may expect. Yes, you can swing your Wiimote every which way, but you won't be able to win with blind waggling. Perhaps it's because Judgment is being touted as a fighting game and not an adventure game, but the fighting engine does feature a bit more depth than the one found in Soulcalibur Legends. A huge change, for example, is that you'll actually have to block attacks (!). Players will also be able to equip various Castlevania-themed secondary weapons to unleash upon opponents. For example, I equipped the trusty cross with Simon. A press of the A-button throws it like a boomerang. It's perfect to use after knocking an opponent to the ground. As they get up, it smacks them in the back. Yeah, it's a dirty trick.
Gallery: Castlevania Judgment
IGA talks Castlevania, plays Castlevania
by JC Fletcher { Sep 16th 2008 at 7:22PM }
IGN has several minutes of new gameplay footage of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, showing off new environments, new enemies, and new glyphs, which include a hammer, a giant scythe, and magical attacks like ice and fireballs. According to IGN, it's Koji Igarashi himself on the controls, playing his own game. Surprisingly, his playthrough looks like pretty much anyone else's -- Igarashi takes damage from normal enemies fairly regularly. Maybe he was just nervous with a bunch of IGN guys staring at him.
He also spoke in a video interview (available via the sidebar in that video player) in which he describes the premise behind Order of Ecclesia, including who the Order is and what Shanoa is doing invading the demon castle. While describing the differences between this and past Castlevanias, IGA also says that the animation of the enemies has improved. He must be referring to the ones that have new sprites!
IGA reveals the extra modes in Ecclesia: a hard mode accessible by completing the game, and a mode with a higher (255) level cap unlocked by beating that hard mode -- or by connecting Judgment on the Wii with Order of Ecclesia.
Top 5: RETRO REVIVAL PLZ!
by Kaes Delgrego { Sep 15th 2008 at 11:46AM }
As the release of Mega Man 9 looms closer, the so-called "old school gamers" are about 17 pixels away from exploding out of their skin with anticipation. This is the retro gamer equivalent of a "Phan" witnessing a Phish reunion. The kid inside all of us, having been smothered behind flabby beer guts for years, is beginning to crawl towards the surface. I imagine there's quite a few younger gamers who scratch their heads at all of the love for comparatively prehistoric graphics and gameplay. However, if one were to wipe off the thick coat of nostalgia emblazoned onto the games of long ago, they'd often find enjoyable and satisfying titles. They're not definitively better or worse; just different from much of what is released today. Some prefer that, and they're hungry for more.
The biggest hurdle for those folks is commercial success. Not too long ago, retro revivals were rarely considered serious. After all, it would be silly to have Mega Man 9 released on a retail DVD disc. Yet with the success of downloadable services, the floodgates are now blown wide open. The slightly less hyped but similarly retro-themed Gradius: Rebirth was just released in Japan, and cowboy hat-clad developer Igarashi has stated that he's "very much looking into [WiiWare]." Perhaps the style of retro gaming is seeping into the bloodstream of major retail releases. Despite the beautiful hand-drawn graphics and cutscenes of Wario Land: Shake It!, the gameplay is heavily grounded in 2D. Perhaps we're experiencing a retro-renaissance, if I may quote Mr. Greenhough.
With this in mind, here's a few more dusty franchises we're nominating to be reborn through the birth canal of Nintendo's online service (wow, gross). These range from the unexpected to painfully obscure, so don't be offended if your favorite was not included. A small note: I excluded some IPs due to either a retro-esque presence on the GBA/DS or because they are likely destined for WiiWare. These include Mario, Castlevania, Contra and Metroid.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up. An audible peek at the Order of Ecclesia
by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 14th 2008 at 4:00PM }
Castlevania soundtracks are often so delicious, and from the taste Konami has offered up, Order of Ecclesia will take its rightful place as the successor to the franchise's long legacy of awesome. Check out the soundtrack page, and be sure to click the links (in white) that allow you to sample the tracks. They're all catchy, but number 10 on disc one is a good place to start. Conveniently, it's also likely to be the first link you'll click.[Via 4cr]
Like Castlevania? We do -- to an embarrassing degree. Check out our impressions of Order of Ecclesia from E3, settle in for a trailer, or go Behind the Boxart with a Konami graphic designer. But enough talk -- have at you!Castlevania III rated by Aussie OFLC
by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 14th 2008 at 11:30AM }
So, those old enough to remember, who was your favorite playable character in the game: Trevor, Sypha Belnades, Grant DaNasty or Alucard?
[Via Wii Fanboy, GoNintendo]
Castlevania III: Dracula's OFLC rating
by Chris Greenhough { Sep 11th 2008 at 10:30PM }
Evidently, Konami ill needs logic or sequential order when releasing Castlevania games on the Virtual Console -- which is probably why Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse has only just been rated by Australian regulators at the OFLC.The game, a former star of Virtually Overlooked no less (if you can hear celebratory gunshots being fired into the air, that'll be Alisha), now looks like a certainty to join Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and Super Castlevania IV on the download service. If you read this, you'll be reminded of why that's very special, fist pump-worthy news indeed.
But enough talk. Have at you!
[Via Go Nintendo]
Dead Space may be light on Ellis' work
by Justin McElroy { Sep 11th 2008 at 1:30PM }
Speaking with IGN, executive producer Glen Schofield said, "With all due respect to Warren ... Warren came at the very beginning of the game; we figured we needed a writer and Warren came in and we had our direction, our ideas ... how many of these ideas are leftovers from what he wrote, I don't know – I'd have to go back a reread all his work." We'll probably never know how much of he game was inspired by the prolific writer, but it doesn't exactly sound like Warren Ellis' Dead Space, does it?
On a happier note for Ellis fans, the Castlevania movie is still coming. That's something, right?
DS Daily: Celebrating villainy
by Chris Greenhough { Sep 4th 2008 at 9:00AM }
Villains: easily some of the most interesting characters in the gaming kingdom, more often or not thanks to their megalomaniacal tendencies, difficult relationships with fathers, and the plain, simple fact that being evil pretty much rules, man. But who's the best bad dude on the DS for you? The devious Don Paolo? The crooked Caulder? The hard-to-take-seriously Bowser?
And no picking Dracula. 'Cause we totally just did. Ha!
And no picking Dracula. 'Cause we totally just did. Ha!
Support your Order of Ecclesia
by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 3rd 2008 at 12:00PM }
Dearest Shanoa,We cannot tell you how pleased we were to see new pictures from the front. It has been too long since we were able to gaze upon your icy features and battle prowess, and we are happy to be afforded this new opportunity. We can only hope you are safe and warm, especially at night. We don't hear much of your battles against the eternal and unnameable evil here and we are hungry for any details on the Order of Ecclesia. Please send word when you can. Keep your eyes out for glyphs, and stay safe.
Love forever,
Your fans, who are, as ever, awaiting your release
P.S. We have enclosed a turkey and some pot roast, as we have heard that food is scarce in the field.
Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Like Castlevania? We do -- to an embarrassing degree. Check out our impressions of Order of Ecclesia from E3, settle in for a trailer, or go Behind the Boxart with a Konami graphic designer. But enough talk -- have at you!Wii Warm Up: Filling in for Castlevania
by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 31st 2008 at 10:30AM }
But that doesn't mean there isn't hope, though it might come from a very unusual source. Putting together the bits and pieces regarding Renegade Kid's mysterious new game reveals what might, might be a game about Dracula. At least, it's probably not Batman.
It's taken a while to get to the point, but never fear -- here we are. If Renegade Kid, the minds behind the great-looking Moon and the great-playing (mostly) Dementium: The Ward are putting together a game devoted to Dracula, and it just happens to be for Wii, as it seems, will this assuage disgruntled Castlevania fans? Or is it not so much the ghoulies and ghosties who matter, but instead the gameplay? If the latter is true, not much else will do.
