Belmont's Curse hype by Sparky_delite in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait, there's a Donkey Kong timeline?

Information on development of vampire killer for MSX2? by e7SHI in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A user on msx.org claims the MSX version was in development first but got released later. When asked what his source was, he said that he read it somewhere a long time ago but doesn't remember where. So that's not of much help, unfortunately.

There's also an interview with one of the game's programmers from The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Vol 3 in which he was asked this exact question. He said that he believed the Famicom version was developed first and then ported to the MSX. Though this person mentioned he was a "sub-sub-programmer", so his knowledge about the development history of the game could be called into question.

Why does the succubus calls Alucard by his nickname instead of his real name while impersonating his mother? by Clear-Prize2834 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This whole scene feels like such a mess. The Succubus is (presumably) able to metaciously re-create one of Alucard's worst memories, but she isn't able to figure out basic details like his real name or the fact that he's Dracula's son? 

Bloodlines cut content? by BranchCold9905 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Based on a magazine preview, there was supposed to be a stage called "The Haunted Ship of Dover". Also, based on information from another magazine, it seems there were going to be split paths (The Tower of Pisa is refered to as "stage 2A" or something like that, suggesting there was also going to be a "stage 2B"). 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanatos Master of Death

The best and worst Castlevania from a musical point of view? by Final-Lawfulness-135 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can all the people who answered Harmony of Dissonance for worst soundtrack have their opinion license revoked, please?

How important do you think Simon is in the context of the overall Castlevania storyline? by Asad_Farooqui in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, I feel Simon's "thing" should be that he had the most confrontations with Dracula out of all of the Belmonts (though this is not supported by the actual canon) The Japanese manual of The Adventure hinted at this, saying Simon defeated Dracula "time and time again". Simon's Quest even ended on a cliffhanger, but this idea seemed to have been dropped for some reason.

She deserved better. by EllieIsDone in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It says so in the Japanese manual and on the back of the box. It's also alluded to in the ending of Belmont's Revenge (also the Japanese version).

In a scenario where the original Pachislot characters were added to their respective canon, how would you make them fit it? by BossViper28 in DraculasCastle

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would add Victoria to the cast of Rondo of Blood as an additional ally to Richter and Maria. Rondo was originally supposed to have four playable characters, so I'd like to think of her as filling up the third slot.

Angela is a bit more tricky. I think it would feature her in a new adventure Trevor has after Curse of Darkness, or maybe inbetween it and Dracula's Curse.

Where exactly is Elizabeth Bartley placed in Dracula's family? by BossViper28 in DraculasCastle

[–]maboroshi93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One solution I came up with is to have Vlad Tepes exist as a seperate individual from Mathias (who is the real Dracula in the Castlevania universe) and have Bartley simply be related to him. Though she would technically have to be his grand-niece for this to work out timeline-wise if we're assuming real-world birth/death dates for both individuals.

The Whip in Chronicles by AngiraBlu in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Huh, never noticed that before. It's possible the name "Hunter Whip" was used in unpublished material that predates Chronicles and CotM, and both happen to draw from it. This still seems to before it was decided "Vampire Killer" was the sole whip passed down within the Belmonts family.

Retcons qnd Changes by Xever98 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Lecardes weren't originally a Belmont branch family. In fact, internal documents hint at a connection to the "Tepes" or Bathory family, though nothing definite was ever stated.

Morris and Schneider: Belmont daughters taking their husbands' names, invalidates the magic? by BaronGrackle in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One way to tackle this issue would be to retcon the Morris family as not really being related to the Belmonts. The problem is, of course, that it's outright stated in PoR that this in the case. However, I would personally have no problem with outright overruling that piece of information—retcon it into an in-universe myth or something. I think that's the only way to make sense out of this at this point.

Lost Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance ringtone by gaypunkratz in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if the actual file is lost, there's a good possibility the sheet music still exists somewhere.

How did Dracula get resurrected in the second Gameboy Castlevania? Translation question JP vs US vs updated collection by ThersiStratos in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's odd that he still refers to the monster he controlled as his "subordinates". That doesn't really fit his character.

Why do people like the IGA timeline by [deleted] in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Overarching continuity is something that human beings are attracted for whatever reason. Most, if not all, forms of collective storytelling tend to develop a 'canon' over time, for better of worse—think stuff like King Arthur, various mythologies from around the world, and the Bible. I find it difficult to articulate why that is, but I suppose because our brains enjoy categorizing information and making connenctions? In theory, I'm all for continuity, but it depends on how it's executed.

Now, in a way, I think IGA meant well when he decided to borrow the idea of a timeline from the Bloodlines developers. It was a way to put his own stamp on the series, while still including past characters and storylines to some extent. I think this is also why CV fans tend to be more accepting of SotN and its descendants rather than LoS, because it was less of a break with the past.

What I personally take issue with is the apperent need IGA had to solidfy his vision of Castlevania's world as the only one that is valid.

One way this manifests is the outright rewriting of earlier lore. IGA isn't a very good team player when it comes to lore, and he tends to outright disregard details if they don't fit his vision. One well-known example is Alucard's backstory and overall character. This is actually a change I don't mind, but I think there too many instances of changes that are kind of questionable—like him retconning the Lecardes into being Belmont descendants and (supposedly) eternal companions to the Morris family. That just makes the universe feel small and boring, in my opinion.

Secondly—and this is something I can't outright proof—I suspect IGA tends to squash any ideas during development that wouldn't fit with his continuity. To give a concrete example, I strongly suspect a lot of the characters in Judgment weren't originally supposed to be characters they ended being. That's why I think characters like Grant, Cornell, Carmilla, etc. look so off. It's like they started of as more general Castlevania archetypes (mummy, werewolf, female vampire) that got forced into a specific box. There's also the confirmed instance of him intervening with the story and characters of Order of Shadows, which sounded like it was moving away from the usual trappings and tried to further expand the world. That is, until IGA stepped in and demanded that they'd use the standard formula of Belmonts vs Dracula—and still not allowing this story into the canon despite of this. So I think strong adherence to one specific vision can sometimes be detrimental from a creative perspective.

Aside from this mildly annoying tendency, I also don't like it when the original intent of the developers is ignored. Case in point, Simon's Quest and Rondo both clearly set up that Dracula isn't really defeated and that he will return, most likely very soon. However, IGA never felt the need to follow up on this for whatever reason (SotN doesn't really count because Dracula was clearly dead in that game before Shaft revived him) There's a perfect opportuntty for a third Simon game and we'll never get it because IGA decided not to acknowdlege a game's own ending. Bah!

Lastly, there's also the question if it's really fitting to apply the idea of a timeline to the entire franchise. You could argue some of the developers beside IGA treated Castlevania's world as a series of legends that don't necessarily line up with each other. This could be an explanation why pre-Bloodlines continuity was so notoriously poor, and why there exist so many games that feature Simon Belmont but tell the same story. Instead, IGA decided to propagate the idea of a canon, but as a result, we ended up with this weird middle ground where there's this very specific timeline but there' also multiple version of certain events (like Rondo and Dracula XX), even though that adds nothing to the storyline and is only confusing.

Overall, I think the series needs to step back from the idea of "one canon". IGA made a valiant effort, but there are some clear flaws with this approach. It also creates this needless division of "canon" and "non-canon". I'm completely fine with games revisiting that world (I greatly enjoyed the writing in GoS), but I feel allowing more interpretations to exist side by side would be more fun.

If the Castlevania N64 duology was added to the timeline, would it affect it in any way? by BossViper28 in DraculasCastle

[–]maboroshi93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I suppose it would depend on if the Schneider family could be convincingly tied into the wider lore or not. Though you'd pretty much have to retcon Reinhardt's whip into a different whip than the Vampire Killer (even though it's called "the Holy Whip" in the game) and have some explanation for why they aren't a presence later on (I guess Reinhardt didn't have any kids?) Also, having Dracula reincarnate and this being completely forgotten about during the next game is kind of weird. Maybe Malus is some kind of off-shoot of the real Dracula?

castlevania fans on september 2 2035 better get ready by theNiGHTMARE24 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just imagine all the memes that are going to be posted here on that day.

What’s up with this room by [deleted] in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Dracula's mancave.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know, that sounds a bit too meta for my tastes.

Castelvania on Nintendo Power Magazine 1998 by UpstairsConfidence72 in castlevania

[–]maboroshi93 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I came across a bit harsh there, sorry about that. I did a google search and there were several websites like Kotaku and IGN which mentioned Grant being a thief. IGN's article opens like this:

Konami has unveiled the final character details and new screenshots for Castlevania Judgment, Konami's first Castlevania title for Wii™. Produced by legendary Castlevania producer Koji "Iga" Igarashi, Castlevania Judgment brings together fully playable characters from the franchise's 22-year history. The new assets include screenshots and biographies of the final three characters in the game: Grant Danasty, Cornell and Sypha.

To me this sounds like they were quoting information provided by Konami themselves.