It's Critter Time!

aka

"the heartrending story of a warrior family lineage and their allies fighting against an entire time of day and the dark lord, who happens to be Dracula"

so I grew up with two of the three NES Castlevanias (namely 1 and 3) thanks to my grandparents, and barring some missed games here and there (like the two N64 games, the PS2/Xbox games and the Lords of Shadow games), I've been a big fan of the series ever since!

the Castlevania series is known for having a couple of different gameplay styles/interpretations:
there's the Classicvanias, which are more straightforward 2D platformers where you have to get from the start of the level to the finish, while having to work around your character's rather limited mobility (for platforming game standards).

then there is the Metroidvanias, which are probably some of the more well-known entries in the series thanks to Symphony of the Night and the subsequent games for GBA and Nintendo DS, though it can be argued that Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest could also count here as well, since that one's more like an action adventure game too.

and in 3D, the series kinda experimented a bit too. the two N64 Castlevanias seem like the closest to bringing the classic style of the series into 3D, where you have to clear distinct levels to proceed, but the levels themselves tend to be much larger, so you have to explore a bunch in them too.

the games for PS2/XBox (Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness) seem more like them trying to make it a bit more like God of War or Devil May Cry, with the combat being very focused on combos, and the platforming looking like it's being kind of a pain in the ass.

and then there is the Lords of Shadow games, which tend(ed?) to garner pretty divisive reactions from a lot of fans of the series. Personally, I just prefer the general vibe and style of the classic- and Metroid-style Castlevanias, but at some point I would still like to play through the LoS series. Those also look like they're going a bit more in a combat-heavy direction, but from what I remember of Mirror of Fate, that one's actually trying to be more like the Castlevanias on GBA and DS.

Love classic Castlevania here. Planning on streaming a bunch of them in October. The SOTN style has lost some lustre over time but we're still very partial to Aria and Ecclesia. Really want to eventually check out the PS2 games also at some point, just because we missed them at first and the style of them seems appealing now. Lords of Shadow is a video game and you can play it.

The N64 games are just so fascinating though we never finished them. They're both extremely atmospheric and also incredibly goofy. You have skeletons on motorcycles hundreds of years before motorcycles were invented. You have a slow-walking segment where you carry MAGICAL NITRO across the level without getting blown up. Absurd gaming. Wonderful stuff. There are vampires as normal enemies instead of jsut Dracula and vampirism as a status effect. So cool.

Harmony of Despair's multiplayer is a guilty pleasure I wish would get re-released, even though trying to complete it is a randomly number generated chore. God's Garb.

I've not played the entire series' library, unfortunately, so I don't think I can offer proper opinions. Of the classic platformers I think I only really played WiiWare ReBirth and stopped at maybe stage 3? I remember that maybe I played a little bit of Super Castlevania for a race or something once, also. I can't remember if I finished or not.

Of the exploratory RPGs, I've played through Symphony of the Night's Live Arcade release (plus its extra characters' modes) and the DS's Portrait of Ruin (plus its own extra characters' modes and the arcade-y boss-rush-y modes singleplayer) only.

I own (technically? DRM is confusing sometimes) a larger amount of the library that I've yet to properly sit down and play, and it's not like there aren't the more modern collection rereleases out there still available I suppose.

for a hundred years people told us to play symphony of the night, to the point that it was like "ok it can't be that good lmao it's gotta be overhyped"

then we finally played it about 3-4 years back (first castlevania game we played honestly) and it was like, ok they didn't lie this is some good stuff

i feel like castlevania has been about gay goths longer than it has hetero he-men and i am okay with this

I will never accept Simon Belmont or He-Man as heterosexual beings

I still maintain that they should've gone with Simon Belmont's Castlevania Chronicles look for Smash Bros Ultimate, where he looks the most like a BDSM barbarian.

as designed by the one and only Ayami Kojima (whose artstyle is *really* pretty, imo!)

I know you could always emulate them, but with the handful of handheld Castlevania games that got put on Steam I was so happy that I could play them. Aria of Sorrow was just kind of always out of my reach.

Now if only we could get Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness ported to modern stuff and I could die happy. They're even on the GOG Dreamlist for their games preservation initiative.

I played all of the GBA Castlevanias and Dawn of Sorrow at release and they blew me away. I thought SotN couldn't possibly live up to those.

but then I played it a few years ago and nope, it's easily the best in that group. it's so weird and chock full of secrets, plus absolutely gorgeous. it's got The Juice. love that god damn game so much

I played through the entirety of Symphony of the Night for the first time through the PS4 version, and it's *really* good, but I feel like the game does drop off a bit in the second half (aka the Inverted Castle). since there's basically no story-stuff happening anymore, and you're just wandering the map, searching for Dracula's Relics to unlock the final boss battle.

I know some people are *really* into that, but I personally prefer just a bit more guidance and story in my games. it's basically the same reason why Zelda Wind Waker and Metroid Prime 1 & 2 kinda fall off towards the end, where you're just wandering all over the map to look for the things that unlock the final area and boss fights

but also, my first SotN-style Castlevania was Circle of the Moon, followed by Dawn of Sorrow, so I was already used to how the sequels handled things before I got to properly play the "original"

While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

Enbyeon wrote: Sat Aug 02, 2025 7:38 am While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

to be honest, I do really miss the Classicvanias too. *especially* because everyone and their grandmother is making Metroidvanias nowadays, so the genre does feel a bit... crowded.
so I kinda found myself replaying Castlevania 1 on the Anniversary Collection a bunch, because even though it's the first game of the series, it still holds up *remarkably* well, imo (which I can't really say about, say, Mega Man 1 for example)

Bloodlines is also *really* good, I played that one on the Anniversary Collection for the first time when that one got released a couple years ago, and I liked it a lot! in fact, I'd say I actually prefer it over Super Castlevania IV, which I just never really vibed with.

though if I had to pick my favorite of the Classicvanias, I think I'd actually pick Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge from the Gameboy. It's a *ridiculously* big step up from Castlevania The Adventure (which is a game I dislike) in terms of quality, and the music is *phenomenal* for Gameboy chiptune standards! shout-outs to the Crystal Castle theme:

Enbyeon wrote: Sat Aug 02, 2025 7:38 am While I adore the metroidvania Castlevanias, we're so spoiled for choice and I really miss Classicvanias. Bloodlines for the Mega Drive/Genesis is still my favorite and I like the handling of the classics, where the movement is more deliberate and committal.

I do think I'm in the minority though, because official and unofficial games are all about the slides, the dodging, the wallbouncing, etc.

Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

Faith wrote: Sat Aug 02, 2025 7:52 am Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

Yeah, I've played both. Love those games. Actually enjoyed them more than regular Bloodstained (although I liked that one too).

Enbyeon wrote: Sat Aug 02, 2025 8:03 am

Faith wrote: Sat Aug 02, 2025 7:52 am Have you played either of the Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon entries that came out in the past few years? Because hot DAMN those are some great Classicvanias (made by some of the original Castlevania dev team, for that matter!). COTM2 might be my favorite of that genre altogether.

Yeah, I've played both. Love those games. Actually enjoyed them more than regular Bloodstained (although I liked that one too).

man, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night burned me *real* bad, because it was the one and only game I backed on Kickstarter. And me, the fool, chose the Switch version, not knowing that the Switch version of the game eventually turned out to be really bad.

supposedly the game got better on it after it got updated a bunch, but the damage was already done for me. And then when I tried to get into the game again on PS5 and Steam, I just couldn't really click with it, despite loving the DS Castlevanias, which this is *very* much a sequel to.