Castlevania games

[stephenp1983]

I've always heard what a great game the Castlevania Symphony of the Night game was, but never had a ps1 to play it.  Well I recently go it on xbox live and it really is incredible.  I was wondering what are some of the other good 2d castlevanias out there.  I've really only played the ones on the NES back in the day.  I played the new 3d one on the ps2 when it came out, but didnt really like it.  Just trying to see what other 2d ones are worth picking up.

[tommy]

If you played the NES ones then the only other option for 2D is the SNES ones. I would guess they are about the same but with slightly better graphics.

[shardian]

There are 2 Castlevania games on the DS that alot of people go on about.

Dawn of Sorrow, and Portrait of Ruin

[versapak]

Being that you really like Symphony of the Night, then the next Castlevanias to play would be the ones on DS.

They are the same "metroidvania" style play that SoN is. The SNES ones are good, but would be a step back in gameplay.

[stephenp1983]

How about the ones on the gameboy advance.  I already have one of those, and dont see myself getting a ds anytime soon.

[RetroGreg]

Aria of Sorrow for the GBA is the same stylt "metroidvania" and definately worth playing through. None of them are as good as Symphony though.

[TOK]

I realize this is the console forum, but are you aware of Haunted Castle in MAME? It was Konami's arcade version of Castlevania. For some reason, that version has a crazy cult following in Japan and the boards for sale go for crazy prices.

[stephenp1983]

Never heard of it, I must try it on my cab next time I turn it on.

Aren't there 3 on the gba?  Is the one you mentioned the only decent one

[SithMaster]

circle of the moon is also on the gba.  I only played a little of the beginning and thought it was okay.

[yalborap]

circle of the moon is also on the gba.  I only played a little of the beginning and thought it was okay.

Circle of the Moon is pretty good, though rather dark in a graphical sense(as in, lack of light). This isn't a big deal if you're playing on an SP, but if you're on an original, it can be annoying.

The remaining one, Harmony of Dissonance, is...Not so good.

Also, if you are the type to need to have EVERY collectable in a game, expect to be spending many long hours playing Aria of Sorrow. Every single enemy has at least one 'soul' drop(if memory serves), as well as some of them having item drops. And then there're the weapons, and the purchaseable items, and the hidden ones, and so on.

[northerngames]

super castlevania on the snes was good and also one of the best for its time era.

castlevania64 for the nintendo 64 was also good they made 2 of them for it there pretty much the same but one has extra charectors and goodies etc.

[Malenko]

Aira of Sorrow is great, very SOTNish, as is Dawn of Sorrow. They have a castle vania 2 pack with aria of sorrow for like $9 at gamestop, definitely worth it.

[mcfreak]

      
   
Dracula X - Rondo of Blood is by far the coolest of them all.  Released on the PC Engine Super CD... 

[AmericanDemon]

      
   
Dracula X - Rondo of Blood is by far the coolest of them all.  Released on the PC Engine Super CD... 

and recently released with enhanced graphics on the PSP with CV:SOTN. 

[Malenko]

SOTN>Rondo

[yalborap]

SOTN>Rondo

That depends on your tastes. Some prefer classic CV style, in which case Rondo is your best bet. Others prefer Metroidvanias, though, in which case SOTN is your best, or close to it(some would argue Portrait of Ruin finally bests SOTN in that field).

[RetroGreg]

SOTN>Rondo

That depends on your tastes. Some prefer classic CV style, in which case Rondo is your best bet. Others prefer Metroidvanias, though, in which case SOTN is your best, or close to it(some would argue Portrait of Ruin finally bests SOTN in that field).

I love how everyone has their favorite - but I'll really take any Castlevania. They are all awesome. 

[AmericanDemon]

I love how everyone has their favorite - but I'll really take any Castlevania. They are all awesome. 

I totally agree.  I think that Dawn of Sorrow was better than Portrait of Ruin.  The dual character system just didn't feel right to me. 

I hated the N64 CVs though.  They were horrible.

[yalborap]

I love how everyone has their favorite - but I'll really take any Castlevania. They are all awesome. 

I totally agree.  I think that Dawn of Sorrow was better than Portrait of Ruin.  The dual character system just didn't feel right to me. 

I hated the N64 CVs though.  They were horrible.

I love the dual-character mechanic.

But I also enjoy the soul mechanic.

I would kill a man to see them both in one good game, and give the secondary character options fully-featured stories of their own, with equippable items and everything.

[Malenko]

I played all of them, even the lame 3D ones on N64 and PS2
SOTN is still the best in my eyes. I was actually a little pissed I was forced to play the rondo remake just to unlock SOTN on the PSP.

[knave]

I had never played SOTN until a couple of years ago...A buddy was raving so I dug up a copy. WOW!  some of the most fun I've had gaming.

Not many other old PS1 games would still hold interest like that nowadays...

[ChadTower]

If you played the NES ones then the only other option for 2D is the SNES ones. I would guess they are about the same but with slightly better graphics.

The PC Engine version (Dracula X Rondo of Blood) is 2d and is one of the best games ever made.

[stephenp1983]

I am considering getting a psp in order to play that one and some other stuff

[ChadTower]

I've had it since the year it was released and I still play it fairly often.  Great game.

[Kajoq]

I can't believe I just read someone saying that Castlevania 64 was good!  Thats right up there with saying Superman 64 is a good game!

SOTN reigns supreme, Aria is awesome, the other 2 GBA ones are playable
Rondo, Castlevania, and Super Castlevania are the best of the old school ones

Oh, Did I mention how awesome SOTN is?  Probably my favorite game of all time

[Jdurg]

Yeah, Super Castlevania on the SNES was fantastic, though in comparison to the other console Castlevania games I thought it was quite easy.  The first and third Castlevania games on the NES were downright impossible. 

I actually enjoyed Castlevania64 as well.  Probably because I was patient enough to deal with the urelenting crap camera design.  It's one of those games where if the developers had just used a bit more brains and didn't rush things it could have been fantastic.  I think the music and atmosphere in the game are incredible, but the system just wasn't powerful enough to do what the creators wanted to do.  Put that game on a modern PC system and let the designers have at it without any time constraints and it would be an absolutely amazing game.

[DaveMMR]

I can't believe I just read someone saying that Castlevania 64 was good!  Thats right up there with saying Superman 64 is a good game!

Okay, Castlevania 64 wasn't THAT bad. Haha.  But yeah, I wouldn't call it good either.  It was simple okay but no where near a reputable Castlevania game.  As a matter of fact, Castlevania 64 was one of the reasons many in the industry, as well as fans, were weary of Metroid's leap into 3D.  Luckily, Retro Studios got it right.  Konami, on the other hand, did not.