When you hear "Castlevania...

[Breetai]

The original series. I started with the first one on the NES, so that's what I think of. I enjoyed Simon's Quest, but never really did get far into it since... well, it's Simon's Quest. I then got, and bought, Castlevania III and really liked trying to get all three other characters and play as them. While Castlevania IV was a huge leap graphically, I actually thought it was a step backwards overall. I thought that at the time even! I liked that I would whip in 8 directions and change jump directions in mid-air, but found myself going back to Castlevania III. I rented the SNES version of Rondo of Blood and liked it more than IV, to be honest.

Then... I played Symphony of the Night. Best.Game.Ever. It is still possibly my favourite game. Despite my love for SotN, the classic series is what I think of first when I hear "Castlevania". Of course, SotN pops into my head right after! I do prefer the "Metroidvania games." The GBA and DS games are all incredible. The 3D series is not even on my radar.

My top 3 Castlevania games:
1. Symphony of the Night
2. Order of Ecclesia
3. Rondo of Blood (PCE Super CD)

honourable mention: Castlevania III

I concur with everything in this post, including your top 3 Castlevanias.

As you should, my brother... as you should...


Just for fun, here are a couple of the better 'vania tunes redone on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/phlrgUGpt38
http://youtu.be/l3c2ix8KaZAA

[brunoafh]

Just for fun, here are a couple of the better 'vania tunes redone on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/phlrgUGpt38
http://youtu.be/l3c2ix8KaZAA

I strongly suggest fan's of Castlevania's music check these out.

[irixith]

My top 3 Castlevania games:
1. Symphony of the Night
2. Order of Ecclesia
3. Rondo of Blood (PCE Super CD)

honourable mention: Castlevania III

Heck yeah, right on the money.

BTW, "Bloody Tears" is the ringtone on my cellphone, and "Vampire Killer" is my morning alarm.

[Breetai]

Just for fun, here are a couple of the better 'vania tunes redone on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/phlrgUGpt38
http://youtu.be/l3c2ix8KaZAA

I strongly suggest fan's of Castlevania's music check these out.

SSH seem to be putting up the irons.

[Xeogred]

Metroidvania comes to my mind as well since I love that formula, but I'm a big fan of all the others as well. Especially the original, 3-4, Bloodlines, and Rondo of Blood. Still a few I need to play (like Chronicles and more of Dracula X I guess).

Symphony of the Night is probably my favorite as well, the awesome charm with the epic dialogue, and the game is just massive. I just really wish it wasn't one of the easiest games I've ever played. But luckily some of the portable ones have the difficulty covered, like Order of Ecclesia which is probably my top choice out of the DS ones. It might not be a favorite for most but for the GBA ones, I really liked Circle of the Moon a ton, the tiny sprites and other weird things kind of set it apart from the rest of the Metroidvania ones. I hated Harmony though.

[Ziggy]

I definitely think of the original format. I love SotN, but I'm not much for handhelds so I never played any of those. The original format is where it's at for me.

Yeah Simon's Quest was a bitch of a game. I never have gone back to it, but I would love to see a remake that fixed some of the problems that the game suffered from.

I think its worth bringing up that Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth was an AMAZING game for WiiWare that played like a classic Castlevania title.

Probably my biggest gripe with Castlevania 2 on the NES was the password. Like Metroid, it was designed for the FDS and had a saving feature. Luckily, FDS games are playable on Retro Zone's NES flashcart and the save feature works too. But CV2 on the FDS is a little inferior to the NES version. So that's why this is great:

http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/735/

I believe it should work on the PowerPak, but haven't tried it yet. If it does work, a repro should be possible. The game still has a few problems, but having the saving feature makes it a lot more playable in my opinion.

And yeah, Adventure Rebirth was amazing. I want them to make more!

When you hear "Castlevania...

i hear stage 1 music of castlevania 3.

You ever play the Famicom version? BADASS music and sound effects!

BTW, "Bloody Tears" is the ringtone on my cellphone, and "Vampire Killer" is my morning alarm.

I had Bloody Tears as my ringtone for a while on my old cell phone. Awesome.

[Xeogred]

Were the passwords like 30 characters like in Metroid? haha.

[J T]

I think NES era Castlevania first because that's what I grew up with, but there is no denying the greatness of Symphony of the Night. Even though I play Castlevania I and IV more for nostalgia, I admit SotN is the better game.

[alienjesus]

When you hear "Castlevania...

i hear stage 1 music of castlevania 3.

Creepy, I was humming that as I read this. I'd normally think Bloody Tears myself though :p

[Ziggy]

Were the passwords like 30 characters like in Metroid? haha.

Yeah, the password is so long and annoying to put it, it kinda puts me off to playing the game. Call me lazy, but it's soooo annoying to put in. Metroid and CV2.

Like I said, you can play the FDS version of the games on the PowerPak flash cart and have the ability to save, but the FDS version of CV2 is inferior to the NES version. Apparently they were able to make the ROM size larger for the NES, so that version has better music and (I think) some better graphics. So the hack (I linked above) makes you able to save/load your progress on the NES version, so it's the best of both worlds. I haven't tried it on the PowerPak yet, but I'm sure it'll work.