Castlevania (entire series)

[JarylGaren]

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Konami will make a 3D Castlevania-collection that has the two N64 and the two PS2 games in there.

I know that Castlevania 64 (aka the first one) isn't exactly well-liked, but over the years I've also heard the sentiment that the first couple of levels are kinda the most boring of the game, and that it gets better and more interesting a couple levels in.

And with Legacy of Darkness (the second N64 one), I also heard that it's generally considered to be better than the first game from the get-go. And yeah, it does have Werewolf Cornell as the playable character, so that definitely also sounds like a plus to me!

I've always been really interested in the two PS2 games, though. Though the first one, when I tried that one via... inofficial means recently, kinda reminded me of Devil May Cry 1 and how kinda jank that one feels after having played through DMC3, 4 and 5, so it was a bit of a struggle, ngl.

Curse of Darkness feels like it's also considered the better of the two PS2 games, and from what I've watched it looks pretty fun, so I wanna give that one a shot too at some point!

[heavyserpent]

I really like CV64 - honestly I'd take the first version over the second, as unfortunate as it is to lose out on a playable werewolf, because his storyline puts a lot more emphasis on pure platforming challenges than the balance between exploration and platforming that the original CV64 puts forward, and I don't think the core action of the game, in either case, is developed strongly enough to shine in that context - basically Legacy of Darkness leans a bit more towards being a string of platforming gauntlets, and its pacing suffers as a result. The big strengths of the game are its atmosphere, its sense of place that accentuates its towering, verticality-heavy platforming courses, and its variety. It's a little more of a vibes game than anything else, especially compared to the earlier 2D entries, but it still does that very well and plays solidly.

Both of the PS2 games are much stronger in terms of their combat, but neither are especially great in that genre and neither has much going for them outside of that (though Lament of Innocence's soundtrack is one of the best in the series). Similarly, I think Lament is actually quite a bit stronger than Curse of Darkness. Lament is not much like DMC1, unfortunately, but it feels like its combat was more thoughtfully designed than Curse - in Curse your attack hitboxes are much smaller, making aiming at specific enemies a lot more finicky in some annoying ways (compare to Lament where you are fighting with the usual long-range Belmont whip) and the camera is very zoomed-in, making it a lot more annoying to keep track of muliple enemies on the field (Lament's camera is zoomed out and makes this easier). Lament also has a much tighter runtime and better pacing; Curse is pretty bloated. I do think Curse of Darkness has better big boss fights though, but that doesn't really make up for its weaknesses elsewhere.

I do genuinely like both PS2 games, but they are just pure combat gauntlets without any exploration elements to them - I love beat-em-ups, so I generally wouldn't consider that a negative, but they don't stack up as pure combat games compared to the highest-level contemporary 3D stuff.

[FearRanger]

I like the N64 games a lot actually. They have some very wonky elements and you do have to get used to the messy camera, but I think they have a fantastic sense of scale and feel like great, atmospheric adventure games in ways the later PS2 games don't. And I'd definitely agree, the werewolf Cornell in the second version is a big bonus (as is the rival who transforms into a giant chimera partway through the game haha).

Also nice raven!

The atmosphere and scale is ABSOLUTELY something about the N64 games that stuck with me even as a kid. The first level especially with the weather, the number of graves and crypts, the chasm, the giant skeleton that absolutely scared kid me, I VERY much need to experience that again.

Also AAAA thank you!!! Your snake's really good!

[EdenCoven]

For some reason I keep thinking Bloodlines isn't that tough. Bloodlines is really super tough. Though it's really the limited continues. If it used a similar system to the other games then it would be difficult but not as scary.

[heavyserpent]

The atmosphere and scale is ABSOLUTELY something about the N64 games that stuck with me even as a kid. The first level especially with the weather, the number of graves and crypts, the chasm, the giant skeleton that absolutely scared kid me, I VERY much need to experience that again.

Also AAAA thank you!!! Your snake's really good!

Thank you! :}--<

I'm definitely going to have to at least play through CV64 for spooky month soon.

For some reason I keep thinking Bloodlines isn't that tough. Bloodlines is really super tough. Though it's really the limited continues. If it used a similar system to the other games then it would be difficult but not as scary.

It's a very different kind of challenge than what most of the games throw at you - I think only Haunted Castle and basically the MSX game give you limited continues through the whole thing. None of the individual challenges in Bloodlines are too hard (definitely not outright easy, though), especially compared to the meanest games in the series, but the fact that you only have so many tries to learn them with makes it into a rougher challenge in some ways. Definitely one of the most fun games in the series at any rate, I'm sure you can beat it coming from 1 and 3!