RCBH928 wrote:I meant the transition from 2D to 3D, Castlevania doesn't seem to have successfully transitioned to 3D like some other franchises did ex. Mario and MGS.
I can not compare it to Dark Souls games because I never played them and from what I read they are unlike other games, they seem to be their own genre. I do know it has action RPG elements.
Was exploration always part of Castlevania or was it on SoTN only? I thought they took that from Metroid as the Genesis/SNES/GB ones seemed like action platformers.
Castlevania is divided up into 2 types of games: classic or metroidvania
The classic series are comprised of linear action platformers, with straighforward level design, and consists of: castlevania 1,3, 4, bloodlines, x, adventure 1, 2, legacy, rondo of blood, chronicles and adventure remix. All of these games are very straightforward and have no exploration elements at all with the only exception being rondo which has alternate paths and hidden items.
Castlevania 2 on the nes was actually the series first attempt at what we would now consider a metroidvania as it had upgrades, shops, and exploration. it largely failed because it was probably too ambitious for its time, the metroidvania genre really took off steam with symphony of the night on ps1. The term metroidvania was coined because this game borrowed alot of things that made the metroid series great, but since it was so well refined and became a staple for its genre it kind of created its own. That game was amazing and was all about exploring a large castle, leveling up, acquiring new abilities, etc. After symphony the series largely went in that direction and included all the gba and ds titles (circle of the moon, aria of sorrow, harmony of dissonance, dawn of sorrow, order of ecclesia and one more whose name escapes me right now)
Along the way the series made several attempts to transition to 3d, with largely mixed results. The 64 games were okish at the time but are largely unplayable today and are generally remembered as trash games. There were a few ps2 games which were actually pretty fun but didnt quite pick up steam and then were largely forgotten, and then finally the lords of shadows games. LoS one was actually extremely well received, it was a very good game, that captured the feel and story of castlevania, and is definitely the high point for the series as far as 3d games go. its sequel was released to mixed reviews, I personally loved it but they added some things that were not popular (stealth sections especially) and then the series died after that.
Going forward I think most fans are split over the direction the series should go in, very few people even want a new 3d game, and fans are torn between wanting to see a new classicvania or a new metroidvania. I think part of the popularity of bloodstained is that it gave fans both an incredibly good classicvania(curse of the moon) and a great metroidvania(ritual of the night). Hopefully the success of both these games inspire konami to make a new vania game the way the hype around mighty no 9 inspired capcom to make the absolutely amazing mega man 11.
Having said all that if the series did go back to 3d, I'm not sure what direction the developers should take. I actually do think that making a soulsborne style castlevania game, if done properly, would be a huge success. I just personally would cry if the series went in that direction because I generally find those games boring, tedious, and frustrating for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn't mind another game similar to lords of shadows but would greatly prefer a 2d experience.
