What's your favorite Castlevania game?

[mcopo]

In your opinion, which Castlevania title is the best?

The best for me is Super Castlevania IV! Personally, I think its style of gameplay works so much better than the non-linear style adopted in SOTN. And the best of all, you can use the Vampire Killer!!

[Gypsy]

Oh boy. This one is enough to make my head rupture. So many candidates so where to begin. Well I'll begin by picking out a top 5.

In no order: Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Circle of the Moon.

Just missing the cut: Order of Ecclesia, Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Dissonance and to a lesser extent bloodlines.

So now I'll work off that top 5. Hard to find any weak link in that lot. First to go would be Rondo of Blood. Great game, but I think a tad under the others here. I'd put Aria of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon both in the next group. Both fantastic games but we are splitting hairs here. So it comes down to SotN and Dawn of Sorrow. A top 5 PS1 game vs the best DS game ever made (imo). Both are in the all-time greats category. In the end I gotta give the final nod to Dawn of Sorrow. I actually thought the use of the touch screen was great in the game.

[CSXIV]

I'm going to say Harmony of Dissonance or Castlevania Simons quest OR Castlevania 64 because everyone and their unoriginal mother is going to say Symphony of the night or Circle(Which is Mad overrated) of the moon(I found this game to be incredibly ugly) or Dawn/Aria of Sorrow(Which are both great but over played like SotN)

[Gypsy]

I followed your post until you said Castlevania 64.

[mcopo]

LoL... I liked Circle of the Moon (again, it has the whip!), but as for SOTN... I think it's overrated. But at least it contains the BEST soundtrack of all time. Seriously, I think this was the reason I had the patience to beat SOTN - the music was good enough to mantain me entertained during the whole game.

[CSXIV]

Not really the only song I could put up with in it was Lost Painting which was every where in the upside down castle so it got annoying quick.

[mcopo]

I actually loved that one

[resident evil2 nemesis]

I do love SOTN, rondo of blood, and 64. i love the divine bloodlines soundtrack. For SOTN yes it can be a little overrated, but thats the charm. Rondo of blood if a great game but its hard, but i guess that is because im not that good in rondo of blood. Castlevania on the n64 is also great, but i dont get it why some people dont like it. For example the AVGN didnt really enjoy it, but in my opinion it was a great game, and everyone has their experiences. Castlevania 64 can be a little bit challenging but its fun.

[Midnightrider]

III, especially it's Japanese counterpart, Akumajou Densetsu(easier, better sound system on the Famicom, uncensored graphics, everyone's at least a little more useful, etc.). Either version with Sypha, the boss wrecker(though Grant is vastly improved in the original Japanese version).

[Gypsy]

I really didn't know people liked Castlevania 64. :O

[CSXIV]

Castlevania 64 tortures you if you try to rush it.

[Arkrosser]

I'm going to go with the mass populace here: Symphony of The Night, Why? because it's one of the few I actually played. Super Castlevania IV was pretty awesome too.

[Rockstar1983]

My two favorites are Simon's Quest (mostly because of the music and graphics), and Dracula's Curse (a good all-arounder) for NES. I plan on checking out the Japanese version of Dracula's Curse, based on Midnightrider's recommendation. Cheers!

Slightly off-topic, I liked CV64. I bought it secondhand, based on the name only. Taken on it's own merits, independent of the series, I found it enjoyable. Decent gameplay, not much plot or story to get in the way (Kill Dracula. Got it? Good.), and lots of thrills along the way. For example, "The Gardener" genuinely freaked me out; For such a big dude, he's wicked fast and takes BIG chunks out of your health bar... no real pattern to his movements either, you just have to RUN LIKE HELL! Also, the way Renon's "contract" affected your story/path was a cool twist.

On the downside is the plot - a weak tie-in to the main story of the Belmont clan. My first thought, upon powering it up, was: "Rinehardt Schneider... Carrie Fernandez... What happened to the Belmonts?" It was like: "Meet Ludwig von Poopenfarten, Simon Belmont's 4th cousin, 3 times removed. He's off looking for Vlad the Impaler, wielding a natty strip of leather he calls a 'Vampire Spanker'." As I said, WEAK.

[Midnightrider]

It has a rom translation, so you know:
http://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_E...a_III%29/54743

[Gypsy]

On the downside is the plot - a weak tie-in to the main story of the Belmont clan. My first thought, upon powering it up, was: "Rinehardt Schneider... Carrie Fernandez... What happened to the Belmonts?" It was like: "Meet Ludwig von Poopenfarten, Simon Belmont's 4th cousin, 3 times removed. He's off looking for Vlad the Impaler, wielding a natty strip of leather he calls a 'Vampire Spanker'." As I said, WEAK.

Yeah, it basically added nothing to the series.

Independently I suppose it's an okay game.