Castlevania: The General Thread

[Peklo]

The combat engine needs to be completely revamped too (ooh vampire puns). I'm sick of lackluster hack 'n slash mediocrity. The thing is that it is not at all necessary to have an emphasis on combat (look at the N64 games), but they seem really caught on pursuing that direction, so it needs to truly excel at it, in that case.

I vote Dracula's Curse. Probably not any single game shall surpass it in my eyes, Castlevania or otherwise.

[A-Yty]

If you would have the opportunity to give Castlevania/Akumajou a new title, what would you call it?

[A-Yty]

Anyone who read the Castlevania Guide by Kurt?

https://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-Gaming-101-Presents-Castlevania/dp/1482742187

[A-Yty]

Linnaavanijat.com is 20 years old 

Crazy how fast time goes by. I remember clearly how around the very beginning I was active active at the Dungeon forums, only couple of years after discovering it. I was in high school and really into Castlevania. Eagerly awaiting Lament of Innocence and playing all the games on emulators I had missed. I think it was the same year I first played SotN through.

It was great finding out there was a site for fellow Finnish fans. All began and maintained by Rod, lord of this castle 

And with all my fellow staff members and regular members of the forums past and present, we have lit the bright candle of Finnish Castlevania fandom. Though some of us have gone on to do other things and other responsibilities have taken precedence, I, for one, am still a Castlevania fan.

Here's to the next 20 years for both Linnavaanijat and Castlevania. Long may they reign.

[A-Yty]

Do you think there should be fluidity with the name of the series?

I think "Castlevania" was quite a clever invention and whoever came up with it deserves to be recognized for it. It does offer more space to maneuver in terms of game settings as opposed to "Demon Castle Dracula", which isn't bad either on it's own. It's exactly what it says on the label: an action horror-themed adventure inside the castle of Dracula. But as we know, not all the game have turned out to be exclusively about Dracula or his presence in the game was at least supposed to be something of a twist. LoI and PoR being examples of this.

The Japanese haven't had a problem with this, because, IIRC, they called LoI "Castlevania" in Japan as well, because "there was neither Dracula nor his castle in the game". Recently, Western publishers have slipped from using "Yakuza" for the Ryu Ga Gotoku series.

I think naming the series "Yakuza" was stupid in the first place, because the games are more or less about leaving the Yakuza instead of playing as a member of it. Also, there are spin offs set in times of the samurai.

When I first heard the name of the series, I thought to myself: "Oh, it must be a Japanese GTA". How wrong was I. It was only the 4th game, as a PS+ offer, that finally made me try it and realize that it was nothing like a gangster simulation. Ever since I played the 4th game, I thought it was a huge mistake not to follow the Japanese naming convention and I can't think of a reason why they didn't. But now they've had to turn back on that decision.

What I'm saying is: it might not have to be set in stone that every game in this series is called "Castlevania". What would you call a Castlevania game if you wouldn't call it Castlevania and can you name a series - especially a Wester one - that has never really been tied to this series naming convention and never had a problem with it?