Printable View
Not a relevant point.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSonicRetard
Just compare Level 1 of SC 4 with Rondo's level 1, and see the difference in size.
Also what makes the DX level designs do unique? Aside from the obvious alternative exits (something new than), DX's levels are pretty straight forward.
I played every Castlevania out there. Haunted Castle included. What I have to say about CVIV is that in terms of gameplay, it is extremely good. It's just really ugly. The graphics are pretty bland. The music is the worst though. I don't know what ears you are using but almost every song sounds like a casio keyboard in a blender. Like the level that goes overboard with the Mode 7, that level is really hard to listen to. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that is a good song, you deserve a beating. Not to mention that the remixes of the old 3 songs are probably the worst arranged versions of the songs. If it wasn't for the ugly BG and enemies and crappy music, I'd say it was the best. But Rondo takes the cake in all categories.
Really can't agree with that, this doesn't sound bad at all, I'd say the remixes of old songs are all that's good about the CVIV soundtrack:Quote:
Originally Posted by GriskaGyoran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HyixXJ2kMo
Yes, it is. The levels are larger and invite more than one playthrough. By every measurable standard, they are bigger.Quote:
Originally Posted by Curryman123
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curryman123
The sizes of stages in Dracula X is all over the place and some are pretty massive. With that said, stage 1 of Dracula X is about 26 screens and stage 1 of Castlevania IV is around 32 screens.
There's more to Drac X's non-linear progression than simple branching paths. There are secrets hidden in every stage and not just "an item in a wall" variety. The item you carry at different times has a huge impact on where you can go and some of the things you can do. The game encourages real exploration (as much as a "Metroidvania") and chance taking and genuinely rewards players for experimentation and replaying. The alternate playable character also provides a different gameplay experience. You can't get 100% without uncovering a lot of very un-straight-forward things throughout the stages.
whatever floats your boat. But I still don't think they are bigger. That's a huge claim.
Example:-
DX level 1>2 Screen intro section>brief journey through the burning village>Fight few rock monsters in the 3rd section>boss
CV 4 level 1>Intro section>long yard area>Inside the building>top of the building (where you swing with a ship)>Another area inside the building>animal shed>second floor of the shed>finally the boss.
See what i mean? Even the alternative areas in some levels aren't that huge, and there are levels that don't even have a alternative area.
Less is more in that case.
I think I made a sort of VS topic/poll a while back about how overlooked Bloodlines was in comparison to IV.
I went into IV believing it was going to be one of, if not the, best in the series. Unfortunately, it just wasn't all it's cracked up to be. For the first 8 or so levels things drag along. It isn't until you get to the last 4 levels that things actually start to get interesting, then it's over. Had the majority of the game been like the last few of levels, I'd be more inclined to buy into the hype. It's just like with Contra 3, the SNES games get heralded as God's gift to gaming, while the Genesis counterparts, however superior, get treated like the red-headed step children. I guess history is written by the victors.
Bloodlines isn't without fault, but it's fast-paced, fun, and very replayable. SCIV is one of those games that you complete and you're done with it for a year or so until you forget everything that was in it. And another thing about IV is the absence of any type of difficulty, I wasn't aware that you could even die until I got to Slogra / Gaibon. Rondo is definitely my favorite of the series (have yet to play all the handheld / DS games though). Everything in that game, the soundtrack / level design / enemies / cutscenes / item crashes / etc, just come together to make it the definitive Castlevania experience.
If Konami would have beefed Bloodlines out to about 8 stages and hadn't half-assed the dual character dynamics it would probably get more recognition.
...aww man, I've never played Contra 3, yet I've heard heaps of praise on it. I love Hardcorps, the original, and Super C, along with Contra 4 and Hardcore Uprising... Is Contra 3 going to be another Castlevania IV when I pick it up?
I beat Castlevania and Simon's Quest during the NES era (though I didn't beat Castlevania III, probably because I didn't own it). When Super Castlevania IV came out, it was mildly disappointing, at least to me: too easy, too gimmicky-and-yet-overly-familiar, and the "wet noodle whip" didn't exactly impress.
It's not a bad game, but it's certainly not as good as the first one. I'll have to play through it again, since I haveh't really touched it in, what, 20 years?
I've only played Bloodlines a little bit; it seemed OK. I also own Symphony of the Night and I'm overdue to play through it, but when I first tried it out a couple years ago, I was put off by the cheeseball acting and heavy-handed "atmosphere". My imagination is usually more interesting, or at least less hackneyed, than the contrivances of post-16-bit gaming productions.
EDIT: Now, Contra III -- that I did enjoy. I don't think I ever actually beat it, strangely...
I don't really like Castlevania 1 that much. The controls are god-awful. And if you were to fix the controls, you'd sap out much of the game's difficulty. Which is part of why Castlevania IV is relatively easy. Chronicles is difficult, but most of that difficulty was added in, and it's more fair because the controls don't suck.
Yeah, in the case of Contra 3, it's not so much that it's a bad game, it's just that Hard Corps tends to get overlooked. Plus I loathe the top-down stages. Given all the things Hard Corps does, ie alternate endings/paths, mutliple characters, etc, I'm not sure why it's seen as inferior.
A common Castlevania 4 excuse I see is the old standby of "you shoulda been there". I didn't play Rondo until a decade or so after the fact and it still impressed, so that argument is moot.
Oh man, that's one of the best parts of the game. But enough talk, have at you!Quote:
Originally Posted by goldenband
I wouldn't say I loathe the top-down stages, but they are rather dull. Plus it has some nasty slowdown and very boring music. Hard Corps is better in pretty much every way -- level design, characters, weapons, controls, graphics, sound, everything.Quote:
Originally Posted by JRedmond3
I don't get why Rondo of Blood is so better, yeah, clunky control + 2-directional whipping and the awkward special moves is so superior oo the updated control scheme in Castlevania IV :')
Rondo's levels are layed out with those clunky controls and 2-directional whipping in mind. Castlevania IV, however, never takes advantage of it's 8-way whipping. It seems to me that people talk that feature up simply because it's there, not because it's actually useful. Not to mention that no one says Rondo is better BECAUSE of the controls.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gogogadget
Rather, Rondo is better because it offers more, and better, content. The levels in Rondo are fantastic. They certainly blow the stages in Castlevania IV away.
Incidentally, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy the actual conversation going on here. I cross posted this topic over on penny-arcade, and got a bunch of people trying to take me down a peg (by claiming Sonic sucked... nice argument) or telling me that it's not nostalgia which makes the game good, but rather that I wasn't there at the time (lol what?), or that it's not nintendo fanboyism that makes me not like it, but if I thought the SNES had the best music ever then I'd appreciate the game more (lol what again?), intersperesed with "STOP TROLLING THIS GAME IS GREAT"
ultimately the thread was locked, because making a topic about how a game disappointed you is trolling.
So... yeah, thanks for being great over here, guys. Even if you disagree, it's so much more enjoyable to actually converse and debate with people rather than be called a troll.