Parallels between Metroid and Castlevania

Well, besides being the trope namers for Metroidvania...

They're some of the most well known franchises in gaming, with differences and similarities

They have Dragons who serve as That One Boss(Death and Ridley), who are the most frequently occurring antagonists of the series.

The people who oversee the franchise today are something of scapegoat creators(Sakamoto and Igarashi)

Yet their progression in terms of genre is somewhat opposite; Castlevania started out as a linear platforming series(with a second game with a Metroidvania style), until SOTN, which transitioned the series fully into Metroidvania.

Metroid started out as the iconic exploration games(with a linear second game), before transitioning to more linear games with Fusion.

Metroid fans clamor for more games in the old SM style, while Castlevania fans wish that the series could return to its platforming, Whip It Good roots.

I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things

You got two topics going atm.

How well has Castlevania taken the jump to 3D? I've only played the GBA/DS titles, and Symphony Of The Night. Metroid hit 3D so well that we may never get back to a solid 2D title.

"But don't give up hope. Everyone is cured sooner or later. In the end we shall shoot you." - O'Brien, 1984

Oh shoot(computer was malfunctioning)

I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things

Most all of those points are considerably more complex than you're making them out to be

Also, I'm not certain what comparing them accomplishes

Badly. It improved somewhat with later games, but its first foray into 3D was a painful experience.

I'm in the "Castlevania should never be 3D" camp. I come to Castlevania for brilliantly drawn and animated 2D Metroidvania action. If they could make a 3D Castlevania game as good as Metroid Prime I'd change my tune, but that's a tall order.

edited 3rd Jul '12 12:01:43 AM by Talby

Well the last Metroid game was a pretty big disappointment, at least in my opinion, and now Castlevania seems to be going into a 3D form but its more God of War-y now, less Metroidy

x5 To put it bluntly, Castlevania has never had a successful 3D title, critically or commercially. At least, AFAIK.

edited 3rd Jul '12 12:05:12 AM by DragonGeyser

Lampshade Hanging: It's a lifestyle.

Weren't they saying that Lords Of Shadow actually did very well commercially? I think it got a lot of critical acclaim too.

Taking a break from FE1, for the FE8 draft instead

They both have blonde protagonists. They both have sucky fanged antagonists.

Both insist on making prequels. Both are known for sub par voice acting.

One revels in multiple player characters, the other is despised for ever trying it.

One has continued to push into new places, occasionally pushing the willing suspension of disbelief, the other is content to use Chaos Architecture.

Team Ninja was going to ruing Metroid because of extreme beach volleyball. Hideto Kojima was going to ruin castlevania because of twilight. Both have insisted their innocence regarding whatever went wrong.

Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack

Lords of Shadow is a Dolled-Up Installment. It doesn't really count

I recall that Word of God said that Lords of Shadow was intended to be Castlevania from the beginning, it just wasn't advertized as such when first announced for whatever reason.

Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.

...I'm not going to believe that without a source. There's next to no similarities

That's correct. It's on Wikipedia, which should point to the original source.

I'm apparently one of the few that enjoyed the 3D CV games, with the exception of the N64 ones which I've never played.

EDIT: Found the source.

edited 3rd Jul '12 4:21:31 PM by MasterInferno

Somehow you know that the time is right.

@Hylarn

I was just interested in the different expectations each series has, despite their similarities.

I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things

Zero Mission was very non-linear (More non-linear than even Super), so it hasn't all moved towards that trend. Even Metroid 2 is still very non-linear within the various areas, and it has plenty of powerups that you can completely skip.

edited 3rd Jul '12 11:49:06 PM by Scardoll

Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.

That's because Zero Mission was a remake of the first Metroid with an added segment at the end, albeit a pretty long one.

Lampshade Hanging: It's a lifestyle.

Ridley's firesballs and Death's scythes seem to have an eerie similarity...(or I'm just grasping at straws)

I treat all living things equally. That is to say, I eat all living things

Having played two of the Ys Napishtim-engine games — specifically Ys: the Oath in Felghana and Ys Origin — I'd say that a Castlevania game could work well in 3D if you had it laid out something like that.

Even adding a rotating camera to that could work well.