So why do people like Bloodlines so much?

[DragonmasterDan]

a nice order dan. #1 is for certain!

what about the drac xx on sfc?

Ahh, I have that around 8 or 9. I totally forgot about that one.

[SuperDeadite]

Drac XX doesn't exist.  It's a figment of the world's nightmares.

Akumajou Dracula Arcade (Haunted Castle), is an amazing game,
unfinished and rough around the edges, but sill a fantastic game.
Unfairly hated by so many just because they suck at it.  I think
the real reason everyone loves IV so much is because it's so
easy.  IV= "My first Castlevania game", should have been a Pico
game.

[DragonmasterDan]

Drac XX doesn't exist.  It's a figment of the world's nightmares.

Akumajou Dracula Arcade (Haunted Castle), is an amazing game,
unfinished and rough around the edges, but sill a fantastic game.
Unfairly hated by so many just because they suck at it.  I think
the real reason everyone loves IV so much is because it's so
easy.  IV= "My first Castlevania game", should have been a Pico
game.

I like IV because of nice graphics, good music, a great tone and visual style and fun gameplay. Yes it's easy but it's fun.

[Tatsujin]

I totally forgot about that one.

Yeah, it's nothing bad about totally forgot that one

[Raizen1984]

I had no idea everyone hated IV so much.  I thought it was a blast; it's a tad on the easy side, yes, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  After the NES installments, I appreciated the breezier pace.  Also, while I'm probably alone on this one, I like how it's completely linear, with no branching paths or extra playable characters.  I prefer straightforward when it comes to Castlevania.

I only played Bloodlines on an emulator.  Seemed alright.  Nothing special, but nothing to get overly critical about either.

[SignOfZeta]

IV has one big problem for me, the color. The colors are so fruity it looks like a f*cking Lucky Charms ad.

Don't get me wrong, I love colorful games. Star Parodia and Hanatakadaka and Yoshi's Island and all that, but CV games are based on horror movies and demons and other satanic bullshit. Drac X on PC manages to be dark but still have loads of depth and detail (something Bloodlines SUCKS at) which is really hard if you don't understand color design on these old game systems. CV IV though...I think its that fruity colored because they couldn't pull off "gloomy" properly. They probably tried, screwed up, and though "damn, that looks like a bunch of brown and black bullshit, better crank it up a notch" and then totally overcompensated. That's my theory anyway.

Drac XX is the one I don't get. Its so hated just because Drac X exists and is so great. I think if XX was the only X then people would be much kinder to it.

[_joshuaTurbo]

As far as the three real 16-bit Castlevania titles go I would rate them Best- SCIV, Second Best- DracX, and then Bloodlines.

Bloodlines, has great graphics and boss battles are really good too.  Love the soundtrack!  I think I'm such a old school Castlevania fan that I was just happy to see a new Castlevania game at the time.

Drac X on SNES doesn't count for anything, while the music and graphics are pretty good, even at some spots a little cleaner than our beloved Rondo, it's a crippled down 6 level teaser trailer in comparison.

phooey on drac xx, bloodlines is great!

[blueraven]

#1 - Drac X
#2 - Simons Quest

Although I think they're both on equal footing, having completed both games. I put X first because of the sheer amount of content but the game was far too easy.

Let the battle begin.

[SignOfZeta]

Bloodlines, has great graphics...

...what?

[esteban]

I will not succumb to the Drac XX hate. It isn't so bad, goddammit.

Quick, someone link to the old thread that compared DracXX and DracX via 2,000 screenshots...

DracXX still isn't a horrible game.

Also, although I've only played via emulation, I really got into the arcade (Haunted Castle). BUT THERE IS THIS GODDAMN PART WITH MATERIALIZING & FLYING BRICKS that totally kicked my ass. Sometimes I'd pass it with minimal damage, other times I'd be utterly destroyed, and I couldn't figure out the rhyme or the reason to the bricks. I choked. Never devised a good strategy.

[DragonmasterDan]

I can update my earlier statement. I have now played Haunted Castle on an actual haunted castle machine!

[esteban]

I can update my earlier statement. I have now played Haunted Castle on an actual haunted castle machine!

Where, pray tell?! Lucky bastard.

[SignOfZeta]

I know a guy who has had the PCB sitting in a box for at least 10 years.

[DragonmasterDan]

Where, pray tell?! Lucky bastard.

At http://www.gallopingghostarcade.com/ Galloping Ghost Arcade. It's not in their list of games, but it's there as of yesterday when I went and had the opportunity of playing it for the first time.

[SignOfZeta]

That looks like a really nice arcade, apart from the seemingly complete lack of pinball.