The neglected visual and audial gems of Castlevania

[A-Yty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUxjwo8Zk8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3a-V33i4S8

LoI, though being a largely panned game, did receive praise for most of its music. It's got lots of instantly familiar bits, but the shortly used, ambient tracks don't get enough love, IMO.

Prologue To The Black Abyss is eerie. Nightmare Aria is wonderfully dreamy and gloomy. I especially love these two since the evergreen hits of CV are instantly recognizable by their melodies while the ambients are not the kind of stuff you can just hum to someone and they'll immediately recognize them. Super SCVIV soundtrack had a wonderful symbiosis of ambient and melodic elements and it worked like a charm, so it's not actually a "new" thing thought of by Yamane, of course.

Even if Konami/Mercurysteam didn't want to continue on the path of melodic CV music, they could've and should've at least tried something like this instead of that "epic", orchestratic stuff.

[A-Yty]

Because so many hate Legends, its soundtrack tends to get overlooked:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxwJ3MHnHNs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-5h0z0_OJk

Although I admit Banquet of Spirits is pretty short.

[A-Yty]

NitM players got to enjoy this during their playthrough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BapQXrhSpQo

[Bloodreign]

Heck I don't even remember the last time I touched a CV game, got way more stuff to play these days that I enjoy with some great soundtracks.

[A-Yty]

Darnit, you crazy alligator-wrestling, weapon-throwing knight in underpants and armor. Have you finished all pre-PoR CVs yet? I remember you mentioned you stopped playing the new ones after that. Didn't Adventure Rebirth at least interest you somewhat? 

The last time I actively played CV was OoE for the sake of writing a review. I made it to D's Castle and stopped. That was almost half a year ago 

[Bloodreign]

Yeah, CVAR was the last one I played and beat, I wish the games would go back to this style of gameplay. Stage by stage with a boss at the end ready to be taken down.

Mine game plays have involved stuff like Gunstar Heroes (damn roms, planning on buying one in February), Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, and the old Sonic Genesis games lately.

[A-Yty]

Here's something from a Vania, which, though largely appreciated, doesn't get its soundtrack praised enough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4mEud09pfE

[A-Yty]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTpJUzOhOTo

SCVIV's music is anything but neglected, but I'd guess this CD version of the opening isn't widely known. Certainly new to me. Man..that creepy transition montage is the kind of stuff I wanna hear in future CVs 

[A-Yty]

Seeing as how underrated CV64 & LoD tend to be, I think this is warranted. I think it's one of the most atmospheric CV tunes to date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNLs5fVBlos

[A-Yty]

SCVIV and Bloodlines are hardly neglected as whole games, but I want to point out how I always liked how the music accompanies the scenes proportioned their importance. It's the little touches like the "mini remix" of Bloody Tears in Super Castlevania IV while showing the last area of the map and Simon's Theme in Bloodlines before Dracula. Kind of like acknowledging that it's been a long road and this is the end.

https://youtu.be/jd7P7niYimk?t=3462

In SCIV, the theme gets you pumped up for action, because that's the protagonist's own theme. In Bloodlines, it's more like a homage to Simon the prototypical Belmont. The organs add gravity to a feeling of finality. I think I actually like it more than the SCIV version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijEPu2dH4mM

I think SCVIV was the first "cinematic" Castlevania that wasn't just a horror movie parody. The director really had a sense of visual rhythm. Like how the candles lit up by themselves when Simon walks towards Dracula's tower.

https://youtu.be/jd7P7niYimk?t=4189

And I have to hand it to LoS; as forgettable as the soundtrack was, they did have the good sense to use the main theme in the final boss. It was the right choice.

[Q]

I agree that Simon's Theme in Bloodlines adds that 'feeling of finality' in there, especially with its organ music form. Even though you'd have to stop for a moment to actually listen to the whole track. Note that before the first boss of Bloodlines (the first stage being the Dracula's castle ruins) we also hear the 'final staircase' track from the original Castlevania. Likewise, Portrait of Ruin reused Overture from Dracula's Curse.