Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[Gunstar Green]

I think I've already gone off on Castlevania IV somewhere in the bowels of this thread so I'll spare everyone.

The search function here isn't functional, so please share your thoughts. I'd love to hear 'em.

Google helped me find this in the Castlevania appreciation thread. I was being a little nicer about it than I thought I was.

Super Castlevania IV (Where are the first three Super Castlevanias, Konami?! ) is a game that I have a lot of mixed feelings about. The music is fantastic and despite the complaints about directional whipping making the subweapons kind of a pointless relic it's still fun to play. It's not controller-smashing hard like it's predecessors but honestly dialing back from Castlevania 3 isn't that much of a bad thing.

But it's a little uneven as a game. It's like they made the beginning and the end first and didn't know what to do with the rest of the game. It starts off strong, creepy and exciting and then starts to drag in the middle only for things to click again near the end.

It's one of the few games that I enjoy where I can say I'd probably like it more if it were a little shorter. It's a minor complaint since there are passwords to revisit my favorite parts.

[Czernobog]

Throw me in with those who consider Super Castlevania IV the best of the classic Castlevania titles. Although, I consider the Metroidvania games spiritually an entirely different series and don't think comparing the two types works very well.

As for a different opinion: I think the original giant Xbox controller is possibly the most comfortable controller I've ever used.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Throw me in with those who consider Super Castlevania IV the best of the classic Castlevania titles. Although, I consider the Metroidvania games spiritually an entirely different series and don't think comparing the two types works very well.

As for a different opinion: I think the original giant Xbox controller is possibly the most comfortable controller I've ever used.

You and me both brutha. I have giant hands and the big controller is so comfy.

[Sarge]

Like most folks, I split Castlevania into its classic and Metroid-ish incarnations. Ironically, there's a little bit of exploration in Rondo, which may be why its reputation is pretty good. Well, that, and it's a really solid game. Is it mind-blowing, though? Not particularly.

I'm not sure, though, which game in the series that I'd put on the top of the heap. Almost all of them have some attribute that I like that the others don't have, and it makes it hard to choose a clear-cut favorite. SCIV is indeed great, though, and I love the multi-directional whip. I also like that it's got teeth, but not to the level of its forebear. (Seriously, the US release of CVIII is tough stuff.)

Rondo is actually a strikingly easy game. Well, easy if you use Maria, anyway.

I've got big hands, but I don't really like the Duke. I don't think it's so much a size thing as a placement thing for several of the buttons. It just feels off to me. That, or it fits my hands too well and makes things all gross and sweaty. I like a little air.

[marlowe221]

I prefer the classic Castlevania titles myself.

I like the idea of the metroidvania games but in practice I rarely play them for very long -certainly not long enough to make any progress in them.

[Exhuminator]

How's this for an unpopular opinion?: I think Castlevania 2 is better than Castlevania and Castlevania 3.

[Sarge]

It's different, for sure, but for a long time, I liked CV2 more as well. It has RPG elements, and I loved that kind of stuff. It's also got a really solid atmosphere, and it's not as brutally difficult as the other two.

Now? I still think it's got positive attributes. I'd love to see a version that smoothed things out a bit, kind of like how I'd like to see a remake of Zelda II. I see both of them as two peas in a pod.

[Exhuminator]

I'd love to see a version that smoothed things out a bit

What needs smoothing? Aside from the original bad localization that is.

[Sarge]

What needs smoothing? Aside from the original bad localization that is.

Well, that, and some of the level designs in the mansions are a bit iffy, unclear objectives (which is at least partly the bad localization, although apparently even the Japanese version wasn't above lying to you), and some bosses that are a little more interesting or trickier to deal with.

The foundation that's there is actually quite impressive.

[KalessinDB]

It's different, for sure, but for a long time, I liked CV2 more as well. It has RPG elements, and I loved that kind of stuff. It's also got a really solid atmosphere, and it's not as brutally difficult as the other two.

Now? I still think it's got positive attributes. I'd love to see a version that smoothed things out a bit, kind of like how I'd like to see a remake of Zelda II. I see both of them as two peas in a pod.

Couple years back my brother and sister in law got me a CIB repro of "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Redacted" which was Simon's Quest retranslated to get rid of both the terrible translations and the intentional red herrings so there's a legit possibility to actually beat the game without reading a walkthru.

I hear there's even a version that adds some sort of in-game map but I haven't looked at that.