It's the first Metroidvania I actually own... like it a lot, I'm at Dracula at about 10-12 hours in (though there's also one other dungeon to explore, and then several hidden modes are unlocked, and there are the rest of the quests and stuff to do...). The main complaint seems to be "it's too similar to past Castlevanias/Metroidvanias" and indeed I do notice a lot of repeat enemies from past games (some sprites in the game even date back to Rondo of Blood...), but oh well... at least they mixed things up a bit with the dual character design (and the first playable-from-the-beginning female character in a 2d Castlevania game since the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night, and that was Japan-only... (if 3d games count, then Castlevania 64 would be the last one; not Legacy of Darkness though, you unlock the original characters after playing it with the first two.)) and the portraits (for some variation in environments and enemies)... it does have grind if you want to though, and seeing all those empty slots in the guides makes me want to... :)
... on that note, during Christmas break I finally really started Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (it's actually a pretty good 3d action/platform game, unlike my expectations), and got almost to the end of Super Castlevania IV...
I haven't played Portrait of Ruin, but the "Metroidvania" (I like that term) games are pretty good. It seems so natural to combine the two game types that I'm surprised it took so long for it to happen.
A Black Falcon Wrote:... all of Igarashi's Castlevania games have been Metroidvania or 3d stuff. Could the current Castlevania team do a good classic-style Castlevania game like Super Castlevania IV or Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood?
That's a good question. They certainly have their own Castlevania style down, but it has been such a long time since the last classic Castlevania game (what game came before Symphony of the Night?) that it might be tough for them to go back to the roots of the series. It would be interesting to see a mix of the two types of games, though, and it could be incredible if done well.
Quote:(what game came before Symphony of the Night?)
Castlevania Dracula X (SNES), 1995, I believe. Castlevania Bloodlines for the Genesis was before that (1994). Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PC-Engine CD) came out in 1993... (and was much, much better than the SNES version)
Symphony of the Night was a sequel to Rondo of Blood, though -- it's set four years after Rondo, and Rondo's two main characters are in it.
Quote:That's a good question. They certainly have their own Castlevania style down, but it has been such a long time since the last classic Castlevania game (what game came before Symphony of the Night?) that it might be tough for them to go back to the roots of the series. It would be interesting to see a mix of the two types of games, though, and it could be incredible if done well.
Yeah, I agree... I got Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania Bloodlines last year and was playing them and thing they're great, and have played Rondo of Blood emulated before (and it's fantastic, makes me wish I could afford a TurboDuo), and there is a huge contrast between those games and the Metroidvania style of the new games... Portrait of Ruin is great fun, but the original style was great too... if done right something with both definitely would be very interesting.
As it is though this isn't bad, though if it was the sixth Metroidvania title I had bought instead of the first, I'd probably be a lot more tired of the formula by now... (or maybe not. Some things are just as fun in numerous sequels as they were the first time -- see Mega Man for instance... and the dual-character design is a new idea for the series. The only one like it before was Castlevania III, and that one had two switchable characters, not two onscreen at the same time...)
In the little while I've had my DS, I'm pretty sure I've put more time into this game than the other five combined...