Help a Castlevania Virgin

So I've only really ever played a little bit of Castlevania 64, and one of the Castlevanias for the SNES. I've always been intrigued and wanted to buy one, but never got around to it. So now as the games' prices skyrocket through the roof, I'd like to pick up some of them (try to find them cheap of course.

Of the current game systems available (That I own or *might buy): GBA, DS, *PSP, PS1, PS2, *PS3

Which Castlevania games would you recommend? If you could tell me the TOP 7, I'd appreciate it. I'd like to know what to invest my money into, and what to stay away from.

SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT

Greatest one ever.

Symphony of the Night (PS1) and Dawn of Sorrow (DS) are both great and easy to pick up and get into. Symphony of the Night is also on PSN, and therefore easily accessible since you have a PS3.

Are those the only TWO I should buy? Are the ones on PSP and DS total crap, as well as the GBA games? I was hoping I'd get at least a list of 5 games to buy. Thanks for the PSN heads up though. I'll definitely be getting it.

Aria of Sorrow (GBA) is the game that leads into Dawn of Sorrow (DS). Aria's beautiful character art style is cheapened with the generic anime designs of Dawn of Sorrow (and later Portrait of Ruin, also for DS. Don't get Portrait). If you can't find Aria of Sorrow on its own (or if it's too expensive), it is part of the 'Castlevania Double Pack' that also comes with Harmony of Dissonance (which you can otherwise ignore).

Order of Ecclesia (DS) is fantastic, and does not have the cheap anime character art. Also features a lady witch.

The handheld games are all basically 'Symphony of the Night' over and over again, but it's not really a bad thing. So to reiterate my recommendation: Aria of Sorrow (GBA) first if you can get it, then its direct sequel Dawn of Sorrow (DS) and Order of Ecclesia (DS).

When you get a PSP, there's a game called Dracula X Chronicles which is a remake of an older game, but also includes Symphony of the Night as an unlockable.

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Originally Posted by Kumo

Are those the only TWO I should buy? Are the ones on PSP and DS total crap, as well as the GBA games? I was hoping I'd get at least a list of 5 games to buy. Thanks for the PSN heads up though. I'll definitely be getting it.

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Unless you can play 7 games at once, no need to rush into buying a ton at the same time.

If you can get yourself to *cough*emu*cough*late*cough*, you could play Super Castlevania 4 to see the maximum level of castlevania's classic style.

Symphony of the Night is a must, but play it after others, because SotN becomes the one you compare every other Castlevania against.

Aria of Sorrow is also very good, and one of the best next to SotN.

You could also get Lament of Innocence or Curse of Darkness if you want to know the 3D games, even though I haven't played the last one.

If you get yourself a PSP, get Dracula X Chronicles. It is a game similar to the classics in style (besides how weird the movement of the character looks like on 3D). It also has 3 other games as extras (Symphony of the Night, Rondo of Blood -the game that became 3Dfied on Dracula X Chronicles-, and Akumajo Dracula X Peke -a minigame-).

For the DS, get yourself Dawn of Sorrow if you liked Aria of Sorrow, because DoS its the sequel, and Portrait of Ruin.

You can also get Order of Ecclesia, but I haven't played the last one neither, and I can't really qualify it. The same goes to Curse of Darkness.

Sounds like I should buy Dracula X chronicles for the PSP so I get SotN! Two games in one is nice. And Order of Ecclesia is stand alone right? So I could get it right away. I think I have my top 5 ^_^

Dracula X (with Symphony of Night), Dawn of Sorrow, Aria of Sorrow, and order of Ecclesia. I'll start looking for these at the local game shops immediately! Maybe Ebay will have some good deals too.

Dracula X Chronicles blows. I got it and couldn't wait to unlock SotN so I could play a castlevania that's actually playable. The graphics are interesting, but the controls and gameplay are horrible. You can get SotN on PSN or XBoxLive. Totally worth it either way. But don't justify Dracula X Chronicles with it. You're not getting two games in one. You're getting a chore and an old game

The GBA games are pretty good. If a little dated now. The Sorrow ones are the only ones I'd compare to SotN, though I haven't played Aria. But I imagine its just as good. Portrait of Ruin was interesting. Not amazing. But good. Just a smidge better than the other two GBA games. Worth a look at. But no matter what anyone suggests or likes. Everyone's going to say SotN is a must either way

symphony of the night
aria of sorrow

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Dracula X Chronicles blows. I got it and couldn't wait to unlock SotN so I could play a castlevania that's actually playable. The graphics are interesting, but the controls and gameplay are horrible. You can get SotN on PSN or XBoxLive. Totally worth it either way. But don't justify Dracula X Chronicles with it. You're not getting two games in one. You're getting a chore and an old game

The GBA games are pretty good. If a little dated now. The Sorrow ones are the only ones I'd compare to SotN, though I haven't played Aria. But I imagine its just as good. Portrait of Ruin was interesting. Not amazing. But good. Just a smidge better than the other two GBA games. Worth a look at. But no matter what anyone suggests or likes. Everyone's going to say SotN is a must either way

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I forgot about the PSN version.

First check some videos of Dracula X Chronicles on youtube, because it is a love-hate situation. I got it because of the chance to play Rondo of Blood outside of a computer, and to have SotN at hand. I liked the normal game, but as you can see, it isn't liked that much due to the controls.

If you don't like it, you can get SotN on the PSN as an downloadable game for your PSP/PS3 instead.

>>> Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, everyone hate these but if you were able to deal with Catlevania 64 these PS2 ones are probably good option for you..:luca:

I actually liked Lament of Innocence... Go figure :}

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Originally Posted by Vyk

I actually liked Lament of Innocence... Go figure :}

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>>> Same here, Joachim and his "I`ll beat you to a PULP!" amuse me to no end..:luca:

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Originally Posted by black orb

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Originally Posted by Vyk

I actually liked Lament of Innocence... Go figure :}

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>>> Same here, Joachim and his "I`ll beat you to a PULP!" amuse me to no end..:luca:

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QFMsT

Dawn of Sorrow is a lot of fun on the DS.

I'm one of the few people who like Portrait of Ruin. The art didn't bother me and it was still a fun game. Plus the final battle was awesome. (SPOILER)You fight Dracula and Death at the same time!

Also Circle of the Moon for the GBA hasn't been mentioned yet. That's another fun one.

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Originally Posted by krissy

symphony of the night
aria of sorrow

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I haven't played more than a few minutes of SotN, but Aria of Sorrow/Dawn of Sorrow were excellent games.

Portrait of Ruin had an interesting concept, but it kind of failed overall.

I'm a Castlevania virgin myself but why not emulate them rather than spend your money? It's really easy to emulate PS1 games nowadays, symphony of the night included. It's totally ethical because odds are you will be paying some dude on Amazon and the creators of Castlevania wont see a dime anyway.

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Originally Posted by nik0tine

I'm a Castlevania virgin myself but why not emulate them rather than spend your money? It's really easy to emulate PS1 games nowadays, symphony of the night included. It's totally ethical because odds are you will be paying some dude on Amazon and the creators of Castlevania wont see a dime anyway.

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If it means anything, SotN is on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace. :p

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Originally Posted by nik0tine

I'm a Castlevania virgin myself but why not emulate them rather than spend your money? It's really easy to emulate PS1 games nowadays, symphony of the night included. It's totally ethical because odds are you will be paying some dude on Amazon and the creators of Castlevania wont see a dime anyway.

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You can buy it from XBL and PSN, I'm sure they see profits there.

I ended up buying both Aria and Dawn of Sorrow no box no instructions from Gamestop for $14.99 a piece. Does anybody know of a website where you can print out the game box art and instruction manuals from? I'd like to have that for Dawn of Sorrow if possible.

EDIT: Sweet! Found some good box art and made a makeshift box, almost looks brand new! If I buy some glossy paper it would look just like the DS packaging.

You have a very weird way of ... trying to be a purist. Without actually .... being one lol

Haha, I know it's a bad habit, but it's always cool to have a box with the art for your games I think. Here's how it turned out!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...570047543a.jpg

That actually is pretty good lol

Thanks! I wonder if it will add value to the game if I decide to sell it in the future ^_^

Would have fooled me if it wasn't for the spine and watermark :P

Just beat Aria of Sorrow and started up Dawn of Sorrow on the DS. On Aria of Sorrow, i'm at 94.5% completion. I have a few more items to get, and A LOT more souls. (SPOILER)I heard that in order to get to the Chaos Realm, you need to have certain souls equipped when you beat Graham.

What's this Chaos Realm all about?

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Originally Posted by Kumo

Just beat Aria of Sorrow and started up Dawn of Sorrow on the DS. On Aria of Sorrow, i'm at 94.5% completion. I have a few more items to get, and A LOT more souls. (SPOILER)I heard that in order to get to the Chaos Realm, you need to have certain souls equipped when you beat Graham.

What's this Chaos Realm all about?

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(SPOILER)It's where you fight the TRUE last battle. Graham isn't the last boss.And the % is just map completion, not game completion.

Worth doing then? Guess I need to get those last two Souls and equip them for that battle against him so I can get to that part . . .

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Originally Posted by Kumo

Worth doing then? Guess I need to get those last two Souls and equip them for that battle against him so I can get to that part . . .

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Totally worth it.

Man, when Soma's profile image changed after his transformation, I had a chill go down my spine.


(SPOILER)http://i49.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:...u:/2m7yk3k.jpg

(SPOILER)Damn, fighting Chaos is a BITCH. Died the first time going up against it but I'm going back for more now. I will complete this game!

EDIT: BEAT THE LAST OPTIONAL BOSS! WOOT. Okay, now it's time to play some Dawn of Sorrow!

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Originally Posted by Kumo

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...570047543a.jpg

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>>> Im playing this game now, this castle and the one from SoTN are pretty much the same.. The game still awesome though..:luca:

Graphics are AMAZING. So much better than Aria of Sorrow. Almost on par with PSOne Castlevania stuff.

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Originally Posted by Kumo

Graphics are AMAZING. So much better than Aria of Sorry.

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>>> Aria of Sorrow is a Gameboy Advance game..:luca:

I'm currently playing Dawn of Sorrow and I'm stuck. (SPOILER)Beat the second candidate guy with fire, got the double jump . . . been looking all around the place for a door I can open, place I can get through but I just can't. Some places are blocked by a giant screw, one with a metal door, and others I can see the switches but can't reach them. After going through the Demon Guest house, know where I have to go next and how to get to it?

>>> Beat the boss from the Demon Guest house and use the puppet master ability to pass through some walls..:luca:

Woot, thanks. I had found the Seal but had forgotten to backtrack up there! Now I can move on.

Playing Dawn of Sorrow still.

Getting totally destroyed by the boss in the deep deep basement area near the end of the game! Wonder if I should just level up . . . tips?