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Konami reveals 50th Anniversary Collections: Castlevania, Contra & Arcade

Rayderism

Rayderism

Member
I've noticed that 7 of the 8 games in the arcade collection are available individually on PSN. While they are cheaper to buy all of them in the collection, you can pick and choose only the ones you want by getting the individual releases. Thunder Cross is the only one you can't get separately. As I already have 4 of the 8, and little to no interest in the other 4, I can't justify buying this collection. Well, unless someone could give a good reason why I'd want the versions in the collection, rather than the individual releases.
 
KOMANI

KOMANI

KOMANI
Ozrimandias said:
They didnt include Rondo and Symphony. As a Castlevania Requiem User, its a relief i think. I miss Portrait of Ruin, or Aria of Sorrow. Even Dracula X. Good Collection tho....im getting it
Click to expand...
Thanks for quoting me, otherwise i wouldnt even know there was an update. Im a requiem player too, so Im not bothered by rondo & sotn’s omission. Saying that, im upset that the PSP version of the SOTN has replaced the psx version.
I would have also loved Dracula X to be on it, but it’s great Bloodlines is on it. Which means to me that Hard Corps will be in the Contra compilation.
 
EverydayBeast

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Konami had choices and dubbed these games are better than MGS4 remaster. We don't need Castlevania remasters, Konami is the best at dancing around the elephant in the room.
 
KOMANI

KOMANI

KOMANI
EverydayBeast said:
Konami had choices and dubbed these games are better than MGS4 remaster. We don't need Castlevania remasters, Konami is the best at dancing around the elephant in the room.
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I dont understand, are you suggesting an mgs4 remaster is better than a Castlevania & Contra collection?
 
Spukc

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Dada55000

Dada55000

Member
...why did they announce games in such a stupid fucking order, if they weren't skipping any of the games?

CV1 to Adventure 2 to CV3 to CV4. Skip CV2&Adv 1. Then announce CV2 and Adv1. The fuck.

Also fuck Kid Dracula. That's the shitty meme pick people on forums namedrop when they talk about CV, to seem knowledgeable about the series. 'Nah, bruh, Kid Dracula tho canun'. Usually meaning they either saw the wikipedia entry or another person memedropping it on an imageboard. I'd rather they just put in the SNES downport of Rondo, since that still fits with their "least emulators required" lazy route anyway.

Atleast Bloodlines got in. But 1 out the last 4 picks not being dogshit sure is something. Collection went from being a potential must have to big a meh. Kinda reminded of Requiem in a way, where it was a shoddy emulated PSP hackjob in the end, as opposed to a polished definitive rerelease.
 
Andyliini

Andyliini

Member
Kid Dracula has never been officially translated into English, and one of the boss battles in the game pretty much requires the ability to undestrand text. We'll just have to see in a month.
 
Andyliini

Andyliini

Member
I have the Arcade Collection on Switch, and have tested all the games at least a bit. Sadly, the quality is not great. The games and their emulation is taken directly from Hamsters Arcade Archives series, which is quite bare bones. There are save states, and you can add some scanlines and whatnot, but for the most part, that's all you'll get. The emulation itself is not perfect either, as some games have problems with controls. There's no balance in the choice of games either, as there are 8 games, and 7 of them are Shmups (and three out of those seven are Gradius clones). Only Haunted Castle gives some change, and even that is one of the worst Castlevania games, so there.

Hopefully Castlevania and Contra collections are done by someone else than Hamster, as most of the Arcade Collection's problems seem to boil down to that.
 
Petrae

Petrae

Member
Andyliini said:
I have the Arcade Collection on Switch, and have tested all the games at least a bit. Sadly, the quality is not great. The games and their emulation is taken directly from Hamsters Arcade Archives series, which is quite bare bones. There are save states, and you can add some scanlines and whatnot, but for the most part, that's all you'll get. The emulation itself is not perfect either, as some games have problems with controls. There's no balance in the choice of games either, as there are 8 games, and 7 of them are Shmups (and three out of those seven are Gradius clones). Only Haunted Castle gives some change, and even that is one of the worst Castlevania games, so there.

Hopefully Castlevania and Contra collections are done by someone else than Hamster, as most of the Arcade Collection's problems seem to boil down to that.
Click to expand...

Spot on. As much as I appreciate what Hamster has done with the Arcade Archives series, this feels like a weak effort. For a collection of Konami’s arcade games, there’s very little variety here.

No Track & Field? No Pooyan? No Tutankham? No Frogger? No Yie Ar Kung-Fu? Nope. But THREE Gradius games? Check.

The Trophies/Achievements are weaksauce, too.

It’s nice that the non-PS4 consoles are finally getting Life Force, at least.
 
C

cartman414

Member
Region locked versions are probably the worst part of this. Hope someone finds a way to swap/mod the JP versions into the Steam version.
 
D

DeliciousDoc

Member
Are they only doing these low effort "ports" to maintain their hold over their IPs? What are they gonna do with hudson soft titles? I'm still mad they bought them out and made them do NOTHING. Do we want them to re-release the suikodens on pc or let their IP right expire so someone competent can legally continue the series?
 
Andyliini

Andyliini

Member
Now don't get your hopes up, but so far Konami has been using screenshots of the collections respective version on their site. However, with Castlevania Collection, the screenshots on the site are definitely from the Japanese version of the game. This could mean they are actually presenting us with the Japanese version of the game in it's original form, just transtaled. This is just speculation though, but those screenshots really imply that.
 
Northeastmonk

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Kid Dracula is definitely worth getting this collection for. I imported the GameBoy version a couple years ago and I really like it. He can fly around the screen and it provides a lot of simple enjoyment. Especially if you're a big fan of Castlevania. I wish they'd get the pre-orders online.
IMG-5424.jpg
 
Dada55000

Dada55000

Member
Andyliini said:
Now don't get your hopes up, but so far Konami has been using screenshots of the collections respective version on their site. However, with Castlevania Collection, the screenshots on the site are definitely from the Japanese version of the game. This could mean they are actually presenting us with the Japanese version of the game in it's original form, just transtaled. This is just speculation though, but those screenshots really imply that.
Click to expand...
Atleast Kid Dracula would have to be, they have to translate it for the collection as it was never released outside Japan.

Or, and I'm hoping this is the case for maximum hilarity, the non-Japanese version of the collection has the GB Kid Dracula instead of the NES one. Would fit with the general trend of horrible lazyness.

Northeastmonk said:
Kid Dracula is definitely worth getting this collection for. I imported the GameBoy version a couple years ago and I really like it. He can fly around the screen and it provides a lot of simple enjoyment. Especially if you're a big fan of Castlevania. I wish they'd get the pre-orders online.
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone who specifically likes CV would get anything out of the game as far a CV type experience goes, even on a parody level. It's mostly a Megaman knockoff. It's fine, charming overall. But I wouldn't say it's anything people should go out of their way for either.
 
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Northeastmonk

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
Dada55000 said:
I don't think anyone who specifically likes CV would get anything out of the game as far a CV type experiance goes, even on a parody level. It's mostly a Megaman knockoff. It's fine, charming overall. But I wouldn't say it's anything people should go out of their way for either.
Click to expand...

tenor.gif

Its a charming game.
 
Pot Meet Kettle

Pot Meet Kettle

Member
Dada55000 said:
Atleast Kid Dracula would have to be, they have to translate it for the collection as it was never released outside Japan.

Or, and I'm hoping this is the case for maximum hilarity, the non-Japanese version of the collection has the GB Kid Dracula instead of the NES one. Would fit with the general trend of horrible lazyness.
Click to expand...

It's already confirmed to be the Japanese NES version with an entirely new English translation exclusive to this collection. Kind of like the Monster World IV version released years ago. In fact, the announcement blog post had a screenshot with the HUD translated.

Nintendo's Game Boy version in English is a sequel of sorts remixing some levels and adding new ones, but it won't be included here. I wonder whether Sony will ask them to cut the first boss more than Nintendo did (where they asked for the manji removal, but were fine with the KKK hood, since it's supposed to be a boss. Not that context matters much these days...)
 
Andyliini

Andyliini

Member
GameSpot claims M2 is working on Castlevania Collection. If true, the emulation quality should be great. There was no source though, so this is just a rumour at this point. However, considering they are putting a bit more effort into this than bare minimum, M2 would be the best company to work with.
 
angelic

angelic

Banned
Spukc said:
all the castlevanias i don't like great XD

man i am craving for the 3 gba games sotn and the 2 ds games
Click to expand...

If you have access to a modded PSP, it will play the 3 GBA games beautifully, and why not just grab a cheapy r4 for the DS ones.

Speaking of CV stuff, I remember getting a wax sealed black box with my DS POR, still sealed now, what is it and is it worth anything?
 
Bullet Club

Bullet Club

Member
FranXico

FranXico

Member
MadYarpen said:
Contra on PS4? Dreams come true.
Click to expand...
The original arcade Contra has been on PS4 since 2016...

Arcade Archives CONTRA

Bonus Purchasing CONTRA will give a free theme as an added bonus CONTRA is an action game that was released by KONAMI in 1987. The strongest warrior CONTRA Bill and Lance will challenge the destruction of the Earth invasion base of aliens, with their passion Toukon Fighting Spirit and their...
store.playstation.com
 
MadYarpen

MadYarpen

Member
FranXico said:
The original arcade Contra has been on PS4 since 2016...

Arcade Archives CONTRA

Bonus Purchasing CONTRA will give a free theme as an added bonus CONTRA is an action game that was released by KONAMI in 1987. The strongest warrior CONTRA Bill and Lance will challenge the destruction of the Earth invasion base of aliens, with their passion Toukon Fighting Spirit and their...
store.playstation.com
Click to expand...
Well I know what I'll be doing tonight!
 
Andyliini

Andyliini

Member
I was able to test the Castlevania collection for a while. I'm glad to say that the emulation quality is much better than in Arcade Collection. The games run well, and there is plenty of options for image quality, and you can also save a replay. There's no option for rewind, though and I couldn't find a way to rempad controls.

The games are US versions of the games, though Konami promised to update the collection with Japan versions down the line. Here's hoping this collection sells well, so we can get more Castlevania in the future.
 
Ozrimandias

Ozrimandias

Member
Andyliini said:
I was able to test the Castlevania collection for a while. I'm glad to say that the emulation quality is much better than in Arcade Collection. The games run well, and there is plenty of options for image quality, and you can also save a replay. There's no option for rewind, though and I couldn't find a way to rempad controls.

The games are US versions of the games, though Konami promised to update the collection with Japan versions down the line. Here's hoping this collection sells well, so we can get more Castlevania in the future.
Click to expand...


I'm on that train too, buy it to play some classic, but expecting to the collection sells well to have more collections Castlevania related, or a whole new game.
 
Ulysses 31

Ulysses 31

Member
Bought for Nintendo Switch!

Are the Japanese versions of the games that different that they're being added?
 
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deriks

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
They could put Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night and the GBA games, but no.

...and I though that MGS V was half cooked
 
Ulysses 31

Ulysses 31

Member
Jasbasse said:
This. The only games I'll buy from them are any Kojima remasters. Other than that Konami is trash.
Click to expand...
What's the reasoning behind this? You don't want to line the pockets of companies you don't like but you'll do it for games Kojima's involved with? 0o

I don't see how liking and buying these old Castlevania game means you approve of current day Konami practices.
 
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