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Best classic Castlevania clones?
- Thread starter Z..
- Start date
VARIA
Member
I am already aware and have already played Odallus (which is a fucking masterpiece and pretty much second only to Rondo), and though I wouldn't mind playing it again, I'd rather do so when the Vita version comes out as I think this game deserves all the support it can get, it's one of the most underappreciated indie gems ever.
Wait, Odallus is coming to VITA?
I'll never get the Odallus praise. I refunded it and Oniken because the movement felt so crappy and the level design did nothing for me. They're like bad Click 'n Create fan games from the early 2000's. Basic platforming and attacking feel so off and unsatisfying. The pull yourself up a ledge "animation" is the worst.
I loved Castle in the Darkness, Shovel Knight and like how Issyos feels from the little I've played of it. Joymasher's efforts are pretty hackish by comparison.
I loved Castle in the Darkness, Shovel Knight and like how Issyos feels from the little I've played of it. Joymasher's efforts are pretty hackish by comparison.
SpiceMelange
Member
Odallus is a throwback to Castlevania 1/2/3, where you are committed to your actions. Using proper spacing and timing is very satisfying on those games. Sounds to me that kind of gameplay just isn't for you, doesn't make it bad.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
I actually enjoyed Soul of Darkness on the DS and it's somewhat linear like the classic games.
Also, Castlevania Rebirth on Wii should not be missed.
Also, Castlevania Rebirth on Wii should not be missed.
It feels like DS Castlevania went back in time to the NES. I think it plays fine. I like it more than Castle In the Darkness.
To each their own.
I mean, I can't tell you how you feel, I just don't agree that these games feel "hackish". I played all the way through Oniken and enjoyed what I've played of Odallus a lot so far. The controls were spot on for what they needed to be in my memory. I actually enjoy every game you mentioned in your post.
Castlevania 1 became one of my favorite Castlevania's when I went back and finally finished it a few years ago. I think the level design and enemy placement is superb. I'd put it second to Rondo in the classic stage based ones. I like that type of movement when it feels solid. It just doesn't in Joymasher games. It's floaty, especially in Oniken. I think the collisions between sprites, floors and walls feels off. Maybe I'm just too sensitive to the Multimedia Fusion 2 engine underneath. The three other indie games I mentioned in my previous post feel just as good as the best 8 or 16 bit platformers.
Z..
Member
NinjamicWZ
Banned
I can't wait for that Odallus port. mmm good.
Volgarr the Viking's deliberate weighting was the closest thing to come to mind for me too, but there's tons of awesome suggestions in here I've never heard of. I believe Volgarr is still coming to Vita at some point too.
It's not quite a clone and is technically a metroidvania so that may bring up the "I want actual-vania" response, but... La Mulana's whipping, difficulty, obtuseness, stiffness and commitment to jumping/attacking kind of makes it more vania than Igavanias are. Kinda the same reasons you get a bit more of a classicvania fix out of Circle of the Moon.
Volgarr the Viking's deliberate weighting was the closest thing to come to mind for me too, but there's tons of awesome suggestions in here I've never heard of. I believe Volgarr is still coming to Vita at some point too.
It's not quite a clone and is technically a metroidvania so that may bring up the "I want actual-vania" response, but... La Mulana's whipping, difficulty, obtuseness, stiffness and commitment to jumping/attacking kind of makes it more vania than Igavanias are. Kinda the same reasons you get a bit more of a classicvania fix out of Circle of the Moon.
Castlevania itself was mainly a Ghosts n Goblins inspired game, and you should definitely play all of those. Then Ninja Gaiden was the best of the Castlevania inspired games that shortly followed. Majyuuou on the Super Famicom is worth a look as well.
Volgarr is the best of the recent indies in this area, and its influence was more directly Ghosts n Goblins than anything, but Rastan, Zelda II, and Castlevaina were certainly also influences. If you haven't payed Zelda II definitely put that at the top of your list as well.
Odallus feels more like Shinobi than anything else, it and Castle in the Darkness are pretty good but not great.
Volgarr is the best of the recent indies in this area, and its influence was more directly Ghosts n Goblins than anything, but Rastan, Zelda II, and Castlevaina were certainly also influences. If you haven't payed Zelda II definitely put that at the top of your list as well.
Odallus feels more like Shinobi than anything else, it and Castle in the Darkness are pretty good but not great.
Z..
Member
I LOVE La Mulana. But it's old news, sadly. =/
Funny you should mention that as I bought 4 main games recently! Capcom Classics + Ultimate was all I needed in the end, got them all for less than £20! Loved Ghouls, Super Ghouls and especially Ultimate, but the first one is just way too cruel to even be enjoyable. Just way way too hard and really not worth it, I felt. The other 3 are amazeballs, though. Tough as nails, but incredibly fun. Especially passing the controller around the sofa with a couple of friends. They should've kept the infinite continues for Super, though... Our first 2 attempts were met with definitive game overs which sucked a bit, considering how ghouls #1 just let us keep going indefinitely! Gotta get the japanese version of Ultimate to see what all the fuss is about... it IS surprisingly cheap and the PSP is region free so I really have no excuse!
I have to try Ninja Gaiden! Which of the NES trilogy is the best?
I have played Zelda II (quite recently, actually, had been meaning to do so for quite a while and took the plunge a month or so ago after seeing that the Cane & Rinse podcast had an in depth ep about it) but frankly it felt like a chore and I ended up giving up and cheesing it with save states halfway through just for completion's sake as I couldn't be bothered dealing with some of it's design decisions... I see the appeal in it, though, but it just required too much effort for insufficient payoff (imo, of course).
I've only played Revenge and III, but... Shinobi? Whut? Oo
1 is the hardest but is pretty satisfying to actually finish.
2 is the easiest (that's not to say easy) and, as such, is probably the most fun out of the bunch.
3 is weird. If you play the US version, it's super hard as they doubled the damage enemies do and added limited continues. If you can, play the JPN version. It's more fair and more fun.
Emperor Bohe
Member
Odallis looks dope as fuck
Koumajou Densetsu & Koumajou Densetsu II
It even rips off some sprites from Symphony of The Night LOL
It even rips off some sprites from Symphony of The Night LOL
That's true. It's not a SOTN-style game but it's not linear, either--think Demon's Crest.
Z..
Member
So maybe start with 2, move on to 1 and if I fall in love go for 3. Sound about right?
IrishNinja
Member
Well, there's Master of Darkness, on the Master System fittingly enough.
only took 5 posts, and a retro-gaffer no less <3
baudelinog
Member
Well, there's Master of Darkness, on the Master System fittingly enough.
+ 1. Really good game.
NinjamicWZ
Banned
Ha, yeah I think I forgot I was supposed to be giving recommendations and not just talking about subgenre relations for fun.
Definitely follow up on that Ninja Gaiden rec. Not a weighted, heavy affair like classicvania, but it's tic tac lifebar, subweapons, pattern/enemy placement difficulty and NES goodness will take you there. They're all short games, I'd say at least play the first two, if only for the music in both being indispensable.
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For real though, Odallus has amazing level design on par with classics like Demons Crest, fantastic movement, perfect graphics and music, and a very cool progression system with the various level exits. I suggest you give it another go. Oniken is also great.
I haven't played that game in ages but it has some interesting design choices that hold it back from what I recall. Still a great game though, I should really fire it up again sometime.
Yeah, Ninja Gaiden is kind of a different design. Castlevania is more of a slower think in advance sort if design while Ninja Gaiden kind of throws that out the window. It's close enough it can scratch the same itch.
Faxanadu and Zelda 2 both play way more like modern style CV games though.
You want a Classicvania experience, then I've got your shooter right here (apologies in advance for gushing):
Two games, 6 stages with a post-game extra one each. Ridiculous/dumb story in the first one, but the second game has some real professional Japanese VAs they somehow roped into it.
The character art is amazing and you can very much tell how much of a tribute it is to Ayami Kojima's style. In fact the artist later got hired by Konami to do cover art for some albums!
The stages are all also very nostalgic in their art direction, design, and setpieces, although more so in the second game. Bosses fuse the bullet hell trapping of Touhou with Castlevania's dodging mechanics to make a pretty fun combination.
The first game is a bit weak. Other than the lack of voiced dialogue, the story is just dumb all the way throughout. The stages are for the most part kinda linear; there's not much verticality at play, and lots of cramped corridors with too big enemies.
You have your whip, slide, 2 weird subweapons (that never change or are added onto), but no jump kick. You can also fly indefinitely, which makes you shoot very weak projectiles if you want to attack. You'd think this would break the game, and it kinda does at points, because the developers placed indestructible enemies that chase you nonstop if you try to fly over a stage.
Now the second game is a huge improvement in every way. The levels are far more diverse and recall various environments from across different games, verticality and level gimmicks come into play in very good ways. Your infinite flight has been removed; instead there is now a stamina bar with multiple uses that refills over time. You can very slowly fly around a bit with it; alternatively, you can deplete it to use a Crissaegrim style attack. You also get back the jump kick, in addition to a backflip and a weak ranged attack that can be used by backflipping and attacking at the same time.
Before every stage, you get to pick 3 from a variety of subweapons, and you gain more as you progress in the story. You start with Knives and a Pocketwatch and later gain "Partners" that essentially substitute for the Axe, Holy Water, etc...
Enemy variety is much improved. While the previous games mostly had fairies and skeletons, with some minotaurs and werewolves for good measure, this game has both those and a bunch of additions, from golems to angels, the good old knight armors, alraunes, and more.
Character art is as great as always, and the story tries to be serious throughout with one or two humorous moments.
Worth noting, the developers are Japanese, and actually added both English and French support to the games themselves! Which didn't really work in the first game's favor, as they clearly did not have a proofreader or native knowledge of English. Luckily, this is resolved with the second game, which has a much better localized script.
The music in both games is amazing and is very much a big fat tribute to Castlevania tracks. For example, Scarlet Tears here is certainly not based on any track playing in a clocktower (seriously give this one a listen)! And this stage 1 theme certainly doesn't hide its inspiration from Simon's theme.
Don't take these for ripoffs or something, they're still very much their own original compositions, it's just that you can hear the references within the music.
And of course, the most important element... Wallme- Er, WallSandwiches and WallCakes are plentiful in both games.
You can digitally buy both games for about 20$ on FrontierAja's website, where they also host some patches you have to get if you want the game in English.
Credit goes to ProfessorProf for these images:
EDIT: Say, can I spin this post off into its own LTTP? I ended up going a bit too long here, heh.
Koumajou Densestsu AKA Touhouvania by FrontierAja
Two games, 6 stages with a post-game extra one each. Ridiculous/dumb story in the first one, but the second game has some real professional Japanese VAs they somehow roped into it.
The character art is amazing and you can very much tell how much of a tribute it is to Ayami Kojima's style. In fact the artist later got hired by Konami to do cover art for some albums!
The stages are all also very nostalgic in their art direction, design, and setpieces, although more so in the second game. Bosses fuse the bullet hell trapping of Touhou with Castlevania's dodging mechanics to make a pretty fun combination.
The first game is a bit weak. Other than the lack of voiced dialogue, the story is just dumb all the way throughout. The stages are for the most part kinda linear; there's not much verticality at play, and lots of cramped corridors with too big enemies.
You have your whip, slide, 2 weird subweapons (that never change or are added onto), but no jump kick. You can also fly indefinitely, which makes you shoot very weak projectiles if you want to attack. You'd think this would break the game, and it kinda does at points, because the developers placed indestructible enemies that chase you nonstop if you try to fly over a stage.
Now the second game is a huge improvement in every way. The levels are far more diverse and recall various environments from across different games, verticality and level gimmicks come into play in very good ways. Your infinite flight has been removed; instead there is now a stamina bar with multiple uses that refills over time. You can very slowly fly around a bit with it; alternatively, you can deplete it to use a Crissaegrim style attack. You also get back the jump kick, in addition to a backflip and a weak ranged attack that can be used by backflipping and attacking at the same time.
Before every stage, you get to pick 3 from a variety of subweapons, and you gain more as you progress in the story. You start with Knives and a Pocketwatch and later gain "Partners" that essentially substitute for the Axe, Holy Water, etc...
Enemy variety is much improved. While the previous games mostly had fairies and skeletons, with some minotaurs and werewolves for good measure, this game has both those and a bunch of additions, from golems to angels, the good old knight armors, alraunes, and more.
Character art is as great as always, and the story tries to be serious throughout with one or two humorous moments.
Worth noting, the developers are Japanese, and actually added both English and French support to the games themselves! Which didn't really work in the first game's favor, as they clearly did not have a proofreader or native knowledge of English. Luckily, this is resolved with the second game, which has a much better localized script.
The music in both games is amazing and is very much a big fat tribute to Castlevania tracks. For example, Scarlet Tears here is certainly not based on any track playing in a clocktower (seriously give this one a listen)! And this stage 1 theme certainly doesn't hide its inspiration from Simon's theme.
Don't take these for ripoffs or something, they're still very much their own original compositions, it's just that you can hear the references within the music.
And of course, the most important element... Wallme- Er, WallSandwiches and WallCakes are plentiful in both games.
You can digitally buy both games for about 20$ on FrontierAja's website, where they also host some patches you have to get if you want the game in English.
Credit goes to ProfessorProf for these images:
First Game
Second Game
Subweapon Screen
Later Subweapons in Action
Some Setpieces
Your run of the mill boss fight
WALLCAKE!
EDIT: Say, can I spin this post off into its own LTTP? I ended up going a bit too long here, heh.
It's been years and I only played through it once, but I remember liking Demon's Crest quite a bit. I don't like the Gargoyle's Quest games though; the random battles in the first one drive me nuts. The second is almost there, but the pace was a little too slow for me and I stopped playing near the end.
I feel like I gave Oniken enough of a chance since I got as far as the auto scroll water level, which felt like halfway through. Odallus, I got to the second area I think, died partway through and didn't feel like trying again because I was just too bored with it. It's possible it could click with me if I gave it more time, but looking at a speedrun of the game there sure are a lot of dumb block pushing puzzles before you get to some of the cool looking boss battles and better movement equipment.
Lollipop Dave
Member
Scarlet Symphony is pretty good. PC only.
http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Koumajou_Densetsu:_Scarlet_Symphony
http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Koumajou_Densetsu:_Scarlet_Symphony
woopWOOP
Member
Yeah, this guy has some great looking stuff on there.
It's amazing that it's all free. I'd figure Issyos and Castille would sell pretty well with a $10-$15 price point.
Yeah, definitely a decent path through that series from a gameplay perspective, and maybe even lines up the stories a bit better haha
Another game I feel like I should have mentioned:
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Kid Dracula is a fun Japan-only Famicom platformer-parody of the Castlevania series. It also released on the Game Boy, both in Japan and in America (though it's not cheap). As a fan you'd definitely get a kick out of it. If you have a way to play it definitely do so.
If you have access to a Famicom Disk System, Arumana no Kiseki (no relation to -THAT- Kiseki) is one to try. It's a Konami-developed game with an Indiana Jones-style aesthetic, where you use a whip to grapple you up ledges... kinda plays like a CV/Bionic Commando crossover.
Power Blade on NES has some enemy patterns that are reminiscent of Castlevania but the level designs are a lot more open. If you're a veteran of CV, it won't really challenge you but it's still a worthy action game. Sequel isn't nearly as great, and is a LOT more money.
Power Blade on NES has some enemy patterns that are reminiscent of Castlevania but the level designs are a lot more open. If you're a veteran of CV, it won't really challenge you but it's still a worthy action game. Sequel isn't nearly as great, and is a LOT more money.