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Truth be told, I can't really think of many of them. Most platformers seem to follow the Mario model or something similar with inertia toned down. Other than Ninja Gaiden, which is Castlevania on crack, I can't really think of any games that follow the same template. Ghosts'n Goblins is pretty stiff to but I'm not sure it's similar, it looks like a run'n gun.

Any thoughts? Or is the Castlevania template simply not very popular?

Kabuki Quantum Fighter is kind of like Ninja Gaiden. Shatterhand is a possibility since you don't have a ranged attack yourself, though your robot helper you can get can. Shadow of the Ninja, Demon Sword, Strider, Run Saber, 8 Eyes, Chakan. Maybe some of these fit the bill.

Well with those names Hobie's dropping, I think it's worth mentioning the Shinobi series perhaps. Maybe moreso the older ones if you want that slower feel of the older Castlevania's.

Shatterhand is amazing, thumbs up.

Maybe the NES Batman's too?

That's a good list of games. I didn't know Shinobi was castlevania-like, I should check them out.

Yeah, I'm mainly thinking of Shinobi 1-2 there. 3 was a bit different, allowed you to run, had levels on rails like you surfing and stuff like that, etc.

I've never gotten too far in Shinobi 1-2 myself though. Apparently things like Batman, Spiderman, and Godzilla are bosses in those... wtf? lol, I guess they decided to take Shinobi 3 a little more seriously as well since there's nothing like that in that one.

SMS - Master of Darkness, blatant Castlevania rip.

Musya - The Classic Japanese Tale of Horror

It's an SNES game I received a while ago that gets a lot of hate, but really enjoy playing. It's Castlevania-esque with a more eastern-horror atmosphere, and you play as a sort of pikeman (like the alternate character in Castlevania: Bloodlines but not as fluid to control). It has the same slow-moving Castlevania style, and noticeable difficulty. Plus, it has some magic attacks you pick up which are a little more Shinobi-esque.

The Goemon series, which was also made by Konami. It had a couple NES releases, along with some pretty fantastic SNES installments. It lead to some decent Game Boy ports, a contribution to two of the 2.5D N64 games, and a gimmicky but decent DS title. There's more to the series, but I can't remember.

scarper wrote:The Goemon series, which was also made by Konami. It had a couple NES releases, along with some pretty fantastic SNES installments. It lead to some decent Game Boy ports, a contribution to two of the 2.5D N64 games, and a gimmicky but decent DS title. There's more to the series, but I can't remember.

Goemon's great adventures is extremely similar to castlevania in terms of gameplay, and a great game to play on the n64.

The Valis games are a lot like the early Castlevania games. Limited mobility, small range of attacks, and a couple of power ups to mitigate your weaknesses.

It's like Simon Belmont dressed as a Japanese school girl.