Castlevania: Curse Of Darkness | The Death Of 3D Castlevania

[@schemingfox]

Curse Of Darkness is finished!! Which PS2 Igavania did you like more? If you need more Castlevania in your life, more video's are here :D kzbin.info/aero/PLYwJcYYZUDNr8T4G2bT4SUbp3bT4Vww1H

[@GloriousGandalf]

I want to like Lament more but I definitely like Curse more.

[@davidedema7641]

Hell no I just realised this channel doesn't have nearly enough views and subs, what the hell KZbin!? Some quality reviews here man! I love castlevania and your reviews have been amazing keep up the hard work!!!

[@schemingfox]

@@davidedema7641 Thanks for the support :D

[@schemingfox]

That's cool, Curse feels a lot closer to the 2D Igavania's than Lament did.

[@schemingfox]

@Prey Sakata Yeah I can't lie, Lament's similarities to DMC really wins me over :L

[@AdrianFahrenheitTepes]

The monster summoning system and the item crafting system were a tad addictive, I must say. Then there is the Trevor gameplay mode.

[@thedanielstraight]

I love the bait and switch with Pokémon to Megami Tensei. Most don't realize that they did it first... and better. Brilliant job on this, sir.

[@schemingfox]

I'm glad you liked that bit, MegaTen was one of the first things I thought of when replaying Curse :)

[@Gay_Charlie]

If they fully remastered this game and Lament of Innocence, that would be everything for me. Twisted Metal: Black also.

[@schemingfox]

I would love a Remaster with some QOL changes like improving the movement speed! :D

[@Gay_Charlie]

@@schemingfox I never had a problem with the movement speed but I can see how other people wouldn't like it.

[@MyRetroLife]

Don’t forget Contra Shattered Soldier!

[@Leon-uh9op]

For me, Lament of Innocence is better than Curse of Darkness. But that does not mean I do not like Curse of Darkness!

[@Gay_Charlie]

@@Leon-uh9op The level design is significantly better in Lament of Innocence.

[@AlbertPuljos]

So mad that this game was given a bad score it just had so much damn swag... from the music to the combat.. who didn’t like the devils? Was fucking awesome. So many different elements in this one game. You had monsters, custom weapons, it was an action RPG. Jeez.

[@jramirez4310]

I want a remake of this game. I had so much fun with this game back in the day. It always kept me coming back. I lost my original copy years ago. Issues with the original could be completely fixed with modernization.

[@epicfailproductions4702]

Same dude same. That and it's not backwards compatible on anything. I was planning on getting a gaming PC setup and syncing an Xbox controller to it and just playing that way

[@megaman15ish]

I love this game! It's my personal favorite 3D Castlevania. The story along with the addictive crafting system and leveling up kept me hooked from start to finish. Excellent soundtrack too. Abandoned Castle is one of the best intro level tracks ever. :D

[@schemingfox]

Abandoned Castle is a savage banger, I listened to it a lot wile working on this vid :D

[@Stoltzy92]

Despite my opinion that lament of innocence is the better game between the two 3-D castlevania's, I still have a soft spot in my heart for curse of darkness. It was the 1st castlevania that I played all the way through and it's what got me into the series in the 1st place. While I would love to see it remastered and given some much needed quality of life improvements, I would still buy it to the instant I would hear of a remaster or re release, along with lament of innocence. Ps. Do not get me started about the treatment of Isaac and Hector in the Netflix castlevania adaptation. To this day that irritates me. They created a brand new character but lazily slapped Isaac's name on for virtue signaling points. What makes that annoying is that the character didn't need Isaac's name to be decent. It's like they got to the very end of a race that they were doing pretty well at but got lazy right before the finish line. And Hector's arc just descended into basically glorified BDSM porn. They got his look down pat but they made him a bitch in almost every other aspect. While this was somewhat remedied with his competence and manipulation skills in either the last or 2nd to last season, it's still doesn't fully redeem them of what they had done to him earlier. For all of the original curse of darkness's faults I believed hector deserved much better than what he got in the adaptation. Tldr: Netflix Isaac is a decent character but is "Isaac" in name only and Hector was portrayed as far too weak and incompetent compared how he was in his original game. Wasteful and lazy use of the characters.

[@megmoore8681]

Just found your channel and I've been binging your Castlevania videos all morning, awesome stuff!

[@schemingfox]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy the channel :D

[@Makareno94]

okay but I noticed lack of using dodge button in this video... like solves most problems, including traveling... I agree that if player have to spam dodge button to move faster it's bad design

[@TheSoulbanker]

it is in the spirit of castlevania to use anything, but walking, as your main way of moving, also you can make corridors shorter with the iytei ID.

[@Marepoto]

SOTN

[@gpweaver]

I guess I'm a weirdo, Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness are my two favorite Castlevanias. And I've been playing since the 1st one released on NES. Man, the PS3 Castlevanias were terrible. Just couldn't get into them. A generic God of War-type action "rpg" with friggin QT events.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

I didn't play this one. I do like the voice actors of Issac and Hector. Maybe I should give this game a chance. 1:20 Draw me like one of your French girls. 5:39 I thought it was Pokémon. Persona is better. 13:13 Fiend! What are you doing here? Uh, killing you? Enough talk. (Kiss) Time to die! Issac is fabulous. I'm upset that Issac is no longer fabulous in the animated series.

[@hariv5664]

Curse of darkness and lament of innocence are the best 3D castlevania games ever made....

[@nickspangler5912]

Great video! This was one of my favorite games as a kid and I think it held much more allure at a time when the internet was still in its infancy, when you had to go on Neoseeker or other forums for information. For me, the strength of this game was in its mystery - not knowing what routes a monster could grow into, having this active system where each fight was actually fulfilling some small purpose via crystals, or having to master some very tough steal mechanics for rare materials. I honestly find it hard to get into any sort of crafting type games these days like The Forest, or even more complex RPG crafting systems, but somehow, 15 years ago, this type of system grabbed me. But yeah the walking speed is abysmal, I want to replay this on emulator but definitely going to have to speed hack the running scenes haha.

[@lordsickomode]

Dude I remember power leveling my IDs in the infinite corridor, and freaking the fuck out at each new version. I lost my shit walking down to legions boss room, i learned ridiculous steals for valuable loot, the game is a masterpiece. Anybody who says otherwise is just flat fuckin wrong

[@nickspangler5912]

@@lordsickomode could not agree more with you!! What beauty and charm this had

[@dalestevenson8947]

Scheming Fox. This game was perfection when it came out and I still stand by it. Curse of Darkness is better than Skyrim. It was ahead of GOD OF WAR 3 and Skyrim. Dragon riding, devil riding, bird riding, pickpocket are just a few things it did before GOD OF WAR II and III. Oh and Skyrim. This is a 19 year old masterpiece. I would happily buy a PS2 to have this game. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@G_Sergeant]

I'd love another 3D Castlevania, I thoroughly enjoyed Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness and heck even the N64 and Lords of Shadow games.

[@magus13131]

As someone who has played them all... Curse of Darkness is my favorite 3D Castlevania by far, miles ahead of Lords of Shadow 1 & 2 even :| Tbh, the best thing about the LoS games is Patrick Stewart. Least favorite is still the original Castlevania N64 though, so there's that :P

[@Coreisus]

Honestly, so many games have so much potential! Like I wish I could play a remastered version of this, and a hundred other games, that don't really deserve remakes, just so they could be fixed up proper!

[@GenyaArikado]

I am playing the game now and it is still awesome as i remember it! The OST is a 10/10

[@silentvoice6737]

Theif

[@TheSoulbanker]

@@silentvoice6737 there is no legit way of getting this game, barely any third party sellers have it at a reasonable price, no digital versions, hell not even for a digital console. I'd dish out money so i could play this once again without the hassle that is setting up a emulator.

[@domoru5264]

When I first fought Julius in Curse of Darkness my main thoughts were PLZ PLZ RUN OUT OF HEARTS RUN OUT OF HEARTS

[@sunflow57]

I'd love to see this get an HD PC port.

[@James-ky6pt]

I can’t get enough castlevania. Great video

[@schemingfox]

Thanks :D

[@MasterJunior93]

It's also a missed opportunity to explore further into the combat, because despite its age, I'm still learning and perfecting some advanced tech. Wish I can make a video explaining it.

[@timesnewgoth]

I saw this great review on metacritic that to me summarizes perfectly why this game is a wonderful hidden gem: Castlevania:Curse of Darkness is the black-sheep of the Castlevania series, but for all the right reasons. CoD utilizes action mechanics similar to the first Devil May Cry game. I'd even go as far as saying CoD has a bit more depth than the first Devil May Cry game. Similar to an action RPG you're able to loot, and craft new equipment, but what's really unique about this game is its summoning mechanic. Kinda like the Shin Megami devil summoner series you're given the ability to utilize companions which you can fuse with other "innocent devils". All these mechanics come together wonderfully, and deliver a very promising experience. This is definitely a "gem" in the ps2 library. The only downside of the game is the repetitive environment, and sometimes a lack of detail within the environment itself. ie:You're in the save room;it's beautifully designed, and the room looks GOOD;then you leave the save room, and you enter the hallways corridors, and it's the blandest thing about the game. This game could have easily been a 10/10 masterpiece with the environment of Lament of Innocence, and retaining the combat, and summoning mechanics of CoD. This game is NOT a metroidvania, but a great action rpg with a twist. Definitely play it at least once. nephy Apr 24, 2020

[@Gunholy1]

Still jamming out this awesome soundtrack.

[@kanalyoutube5132]

I need this game now

[@TheSoulbanker]

their biggest mistake was not leaning into the devil forging aspect, could've had a dedicated mechanic for devil forging/evolving with both the materials and evo crystals. Imagine getting an orc on your side that throws fire bombs or an skeleton that uses boney constructs to fulfil his calcium needs.

[@vaclav222]

1000% times better than all the games combined from 2016 till 2020 and beyond all thier budget and design are shit compared to this master peice which is ahead of its time sad games die and greed rise ,atleast Igarashi is still alive

[@ninafrancescanunez4783]

14:03 THAT KISS ON TREVOR HOLY SH!T I FUCKING DIED! I din't even notice that the first time.

[@StreetSpirit135]

The Arrows that come from the doors are a sign that they were aware of how samey some places can look in this game i think there was something similar in kingdom hearts chains of memories where the worlds were literally just labyrinths with the same features and occasional event rooms

[@schemingfox]

The arrows were in Lament Of Innocence too so that was more of a carry over from there, you also have a map you can regularly check. The issue is that it's just not very interesting to walk down long empty locations that all look the same.

[@BelieveIt1051]

Awesome game, and very fun to play. Good replay value too. Many of the designs even hold up to this day.

[@Devil_Demon_Sparda]

I'm still waiting if he ever make a Symphony of the night 3d remake game. I know that Iga quit from Konami and went to ArtPlay with his Bloodstained series but still there is hope.

[@CornualAustin1]

He should make a 3d bloodstained similar to this game

[@DrBethanyART]

"DeMoNiC *Takes breath* FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUsIoN"

[@schemingfox]

The Best Kind Of Fusion!! >D

[@MrRaivokasMagma]

Makes me think if there was third 3D Igavania... Haven't played this one much, but I sure noticed the large empty areas. And slow movement. And I love the soundtrack, maybe it ticks the innger goth that never really manifested in me 😂

[@Stevem]

the music is still probs the best part of the game to be fair

[@schemingfox]

This game was in desperate need of some polish, it's very rough around the edges and for sure those large empty areas along with Hector slow af movement speed made it a real slog at times. Michiru Yamane cannot be denied though, her talent shines through regardless of the quality of game she is working on.

[@suiken3149]

Yeah, makes Lament of Innocence exploration tolerable.

[@jamescook2973]

The last castlevania I played with my dad he passed away in 2020 we got literally everything in this game lol. Miss you daddy

[@scootboot69420]

the wildest thing about the bosses is that you can actually mount the wyvern and play a flying minigame wherein if you win you get its scale like wtf!? how were you supposed to know about that.

[@Stevem]

Curse of Darkness more like Curse of Slowness

[@schemingfox]

Hector do be a SLOWWWWWW BOY!

[@Stevem]

@Erwin Lii he seemed cool in the second season, have not seen the third but it looks like he spends a long time in a cage which is depressing

[@schemingfox]

@Erwin Lii I really like how Hector and Isaac were implemented in the Netflix series. You learn a lot more about who they were and why they came to serve Dracula, I really empathised with the both of them. I've yet to watch Season 3 however from what I've watched, their inclusion is probably one of my favourite things about the show. I genuinely hope in the near future there is a Season all about the events of Lament Of Innocence with Leon Belmont as the protagonist.

[@Stevem]

@Erwin Lii the third season did really well , like much better than the other two seasons but the head writer got in some hot water so I don't think he'll be coming back

[@Stevem]

@Erwin Lii I'm sure the show will be fine, but i doubt netflix would ignore the 100 odd women coming out against Warren

[@tadaokou4919]

Honestly there is one reason why I love this game: Baljhet Mountains OST. The music in this game is really good in my opinion but that's the least what I expect from a Castlevania game.

[@bippitboppit951]

I've been looking everywhere to proof that this game actually existed and not just a memory of nostalgia i got from hearing castlevania

[@Luke-2954]

This game is amazing, im 30 and my very first video game ever was Bloodlines in 97 when i was 3 and ive loved Castlevania ever since and Curse of Darkness' combat and variety of weapons, crafting, and the Innocent Devil system are amazing, its such a good game and by far my favorite 3D Castlevania Title (SCIV is my favorite 2D) and I so desperately want them to remaster it for PS5!

[@Multienderguy37]

I always roll to speed up. Also I’m glad they don’t make you trudge to the abandoned castle for the trevor fight.

[@greasehole9158]

Next is DS, gotta wait another 7 months

[@Stevem]

Maybe not this time ... ;)

[@schemingfox]

Challenge Accepted :L

[@greasehole9158]

Scheming Fox yeeeeeeeeeh

[@edfitch6025]

You put a lot of effort in your videos, I hope your channel grows! Definitely gained a subscriber!

[@Neobelmont1]

I'm heading to work so I may not be able to comment and get into the usual conversation that we have fox, but I'm at 5:40, and I gotta say, nice most don't even know that came before THAT. I know this is going to be good. Also I'll just say this, raidou kuzunoha vs the souless army, I have a feeling you know this, but still check it out.

[@schemingfox]

Ahaa yeah I love me some MegaTen, unfortunately I've never been able to get my hands on the Raidou games to play them but I'm sure like most of the franchise they're excellent :)

[@ruminator3570]

From worst to best I rank the 3D castlevanias as such. Castlevania 64, Lords of Shadow 2 is tied with legacy of darkness. And the remaining three of lament of Innocence this game and Lords of Shadow rotate is number one. Despite the fact that they don't give everything I would like to see in a Castlevania game this point still stands. I enjoy harvesting all the good strange dark and quirky things that I find in these games. Whether it's the music the gothic atmosphere the combat the enemies or the heroes if I can find a multitude of redeeming qualities in this series I keep coming back.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

I love both of the PS2 games. I'll always acknowledge their flaws but they were given a lower budget than something like the other action games of 2005. The combat in them is so addictive and the music so great. Regarding COD specifically I love the innocent devils and weapon crafting, the music and even the story. Objectively it's a horribly written plot, mainly as St. Germain has literally nothing to do with the story yet is so relevant, but it's such dumb fun and centering it around a few of Drac's minions is a great concept. Taking place directly after CV3 also gives it points in my book. A remaster would do these games so well. Just like the N64 games itd be great to see them with remastered visuals and easier accessibility on modern platforms

[@schemingfox]

Agreed, unfortunately the PS2 games didn't receive much support by Konami when compared to the other franchises they were distributing at the time. I think a remaster could help elevate both games if there were a few QOL changes included, I never like to see older games lost to time so even the N64 games I feel should be accessible to newer players in some way.

[@jmgonzales7701]

Maybe the best approach would be a 2.5 d type of Castlevania game. Something that combines modern aesthetics with the old metriod vania style. Maybe something like the 2.5d mario games or little nightmares.

[@guitaro5000]

What is that first song called?

[@schemingfox]

Abandoned Castle ~ The Curse of Darkness :)

[@fredalejandro9932]

I have to agree with you in almost everything. But it's still a shame we never got a another 3D castlevania, who knows maybe the next one could have been the best one.

[@VicStrange9]

Yeah, I'm gonna agree with you on the "game is fuck all slow". Its the biggest reason against replayability for me. (That, and trying to steal shit from some enemies like the Fire Efreet or the Minotaur, FUCK THAT SHIT), but I still believe it to be one of the best Castlevania out there. Also, Liam O'Brien steals the fucking show again.

[@siamiam]

good video

[@TheVioletBunny]

My man dipped and never made that dawn of sorrow video :(

[@Baki_B]

I spent 3 days trying to find a way of killing those pesky red skeletons to no avail

[@irusu.]

fucking masterpiece, so many weapons and angels, truly refreshing, had me wishing for an alucard version of it even

[@Devil_Demon_Sparda]

As a fan of Igavania games I enjoy your videos. Any ideas when a new one will come out?

[@schemingfox]

Very soon, watch this space ;)

[@Devil_Demon_Sparda]

@@schemingfox I'll wait then.

[@TheVioletBunny]

@@Devil_Demon_Sparda a year later never came out :(

[@andysierra6934]

What made this game jump in value i remember when you couldn't even sell this game now its around $80

[@schemingfox]

I'd imagine the inclusion of Hector and Isaac in the Netflix Series has jumped up interest in the game and therefore bumped up the price.

[@andysierra6934]

@@schemingfox any show or someone on youtube talks about a game and the value seems to sky rocket .

[@DarkMirria1]

I bought the copy of the PS2 version a couple years ago for $25 CAD at an Comic Expo. Back then I also saw the Xbox version for $40.

[@actionfigureshi]

let Platinum games take care of Castlevania

[@AlucardsQuest]

Lament of Innocence actually was re-released on the PS3 store for download. I can only assume Curse of Darkness wasn't because they used a famous opera singer in it's closing credits (probably the same reason Tenchu games never got re-released) and the legal red tape would have been too complicated or expensive to navigate for a straight digital port. Hopefully some day all the 3D games get remastered with quality of life improvements. I would have agreed with you on Ayami Kojima's art ten years ago, but she has serious trouble with her proportions to the point where once you see them, you can't unsee them (although seemingly her more modern art is less bizarre). I won't say anyone is better, but when she did special boxart for Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, I was so disappointed. She has drawn some of the most beautiful ladies in Castlevania, but she made Miriam look like a grotesque gremlin. Scratch that, Yoshitaka Amano's Miriam art was way better than hers, and his just looked like a quick sketch.

[@NguyenThang-zk6pi]

tf are you talking about? her Bloodstained art looks good

[@MegaCygnusX1]

Now I want a SMT title directed by Iga. Goddam it.

[@schemingfox]

An SMT flavoured Igavania would be very interesting for sure! :D

[@Mechtrekica]

Don't like at all how the game teases with this open world but just picks you up puts you where it wants you to be at. Open world games have always had the dilemma of what to do with void spaces where nothing happens. I feel Minecraft solved that by being able to interact with each tile, whether was destroying it or building on it.

[@schemingfox]

It was really jarring that the game has this map design that's interconnected but then at points just seemingly disregarded it.

[@lordsickomode]

Well I mean, its castlevania. You arent gonna get full open world, but for what is gave it was amazing. There was tons of optional content and areas.

[@miriyoussefxx]

this game is a masterpiece to me

[@acm0420]

Hmmm I remember LOVING this game... but I'm pretty sure I didn't use the devils much. I focused on the thief mechanic stealing all the items from the diff. enemies. that was fun, u had to figure out the thief window from every enemy and also know how to trigger it

[@supergobgoblin424]

The best char, was touched by Netflix in the animation

[@Ckoz2829]

16:14 That sounds a lot like Brush Away by Alice In Chains.

[@bojakai2102]

I feel the PS2 Game Chaos Legion was a proto type to this game perhaps Lamented of Innocence also

[@wallymeatson4430]

Why do you have so little subscribers man? I really liked your review of this game wich, while it's not my favourite, it's still fun to play, and yes, hopefully they remaster or at least release a port of this game and use all of it's misused potential

[@schemingfox]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the vid :D I think it would be really cool if Konami were to re release all their 3D Castlevania games on Steam and current systems. Especially with some quality of life improvements :)

[@guerricdeveauxv.h4261]

Didn't knew you were a SMT fan

[@HexerTheHacker]

14:02 -spits up drink- MAKOTO? FROM ENCHANTED ARMS? LOOOL YOOOOOOO WE DOIN IT_

[@meh.96]

My favorite 3D Castlevania, which isnt saying much since there isnt a lot in the franchise. My biggest problem with it, as you said, too much empty space. The dull environment doesnt warrant the long empty section. It add to the atmosphere for sure, but Hector is so slow, it just a hassle going through the whole map. I disagree on combat, mostly on the principle that they want to translate 2D Castlevania to 3D. Like cmon, 2D doesnt have much in that regard either. It did the job just fine. Comparing it to character action game like Devil May Cry just isnt fair. Even in modern era, only few games can come close to DMC in term of combat complexity.

[@n0refuge]

I loved Curse of Darkness. I beat the breaks off this game. I really enjoyed the stealing and crafting of this game.

[@sekory88]

IMO one of the best castlevania

[@LokiTricksterG]

Your video perfectly summarizes the faults of the game. I just started playing it and thought it was really fun initially, but the more I played, the more I began noticing the stuff you had mentioned. The repetitive, bland, and long corridors started getting to me after a while. I really like the concept and what they were going for - a 3D Metroidvania of sorts - but something was slightly off. Definitely not a bad game, but I will probably stick with my 2D Castlevanias in the future.

[@greenhowie]

Yo this is good shit, you should have more people watching your stuff. Have you got round to trying Chasm yet?

[@ThiagoCRocha-fh6lg]

I love this game

[@TzofeOJ]

For my opinion, this game plays very well when you are not in rush to finish it. And not gonna lie it looks like the reviewer was trying to finish the game for the review or rushed for other reasons. For me, exploring the upgrades of the innocent devils was very fun. I was always hyped when a new look and was about to be shown. And i took some time to store my devils in the store and take new devils for other new upgrades, ether to just see how it will look or the get to some locked places. Sure for todays standards the game looks too blurry etc, but I did see some good views from time to time, and over all i was liking what i saw on my screen. I liked the cut scenes with this theatrical speech style. I like the way they made the crafting mechanic (which wasent even really shown in the review). And for me who completed many Castlevania most liked and most hard games I can say that although there where bosses that could be more tricky to play against. Most of the bosses where very epic and needed some good tactic approach with the different combinations of devils and all the goods that the game has to offer. The slow Hector is annoying but even though for me for some reason it wasn't the case but you have the dash like in most other Castlevania games, that you can use to go faster. For my opinion, the reviewer was too hard on the game and didn't take enough time to enjoy the game to its core and really feel something very unique in the game that sets in apart from the same god of war or devil may cry. Not particularly better, but something that you wont find in other games. I personally recommend to everyone who reads this comment, to atleast give this game a try! PS: still a good review!

[@HollowRick]

Completely agree 👍

[@StUrsonSeedlessGrape]

So THIS is the Dark Souls of Castlevania?

[@schemingfox]

Or is it, the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice of Castlevania?

[@jackpenber8959]

I can't in good faith dislike but I also can't like because I agree with like half of your input and disagree with the other half but I respect you for at least talking about it

[@indi1769]

Damn, Ayami Kojima left Konami after this game? That explains the weird portraits in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin... man, that sucks. Hopefully she's enjoying whatever she's doing now, though. Also, what the fuck was that voice acting, with "time to die"????????? that just left me speechless (kisses the back of your head) "time to die" (stabs you) (insert insane laughing that doesnt sound like him at all and sounds like somebody else did the voice acting for the laughing)

[@schemingfox]

Yeah it really sucks, I'm working of Dawn Of Sorrow as we speak and looking into it the decision was made mainly to save time and to appeal to Younger Audiences. Considering she was bought back eventually shows just how iconic she was to the franchise. And yes the voice acting is something to behold, Isaac was voiced be Liam O'Brien who I'd say went on to better things.

[@indi1769]

@@schemingfox "Appeal to younger audiences" ah yes, lets make this game about demons and vampires and evil things and being possessed and being dracula and stealing souls and horrible monstrosities lets take this game and change the art style of the human people to make it appeal to younger audiences hmm yes good decision

[@schemingfox]

@@indi1769Lol I think Igarashi meant teens around 12-15, however yeah I don't think it was at all the right move :L

[@Coreisus]

I will never understand how this game gets so much hate! Edit: Nvm totally get it, after watching this, I remember all these things. Lol

[@gnome6753]

I miss this game, but the farming in CoD was horrendous. Movement speed is bad until you get the double dash.

[@Stevem]

wait when do you get the double dash?

[@gnome6753]

@@Stevem I mean the Double Step: Abandoned Castle F2 (NE room on the inside). That's how you move around the game fast.

[@Stevem]

@@gnome6753 isn't that just the flip forward move? I see speed runners use it and ive flipped about myself,but I wish we had a dedicated dash like in lament

[@gnome6753]

@@Stevem Basically yeah, the dash feature from dissonance was nice, wish it came here.

[@lordsickomode]

Eh, move speed was fine. It could be slow but, its castlevania, not feckin sonic. I wasnt expecting that much speed. The dash thing though, I fucking aggressively cartwheeled everywhere

[@sammadhasnain6051]

I want to say this, this was actually my first Castlevania game, i didn't care for it, music was amazing though. Lords of shadows reinvented my love for series and then i played symphony of the night and the rest. Now i love the series but i still don't like this and lament of innocence that much.

[@Makareno94]

okay shin megami tensei/pokemon joke made me laugh

[@willb9259]

Jade cocoon is by far the best monster collecting game, fight me.

[@ForeignSpices]

#Konami, #PS2 Castlvanias Remastered

[@bloomblock2768]

Isaac from curse of darkness is SO MUCH BETTER than the Netflix one.

[@lordsickomode]

On god, no racism but they made this man a black mr clean from the pale ginger psychopath. I dont understand.

[@bloomblock2768]

@@lordsickomode For the same reason they made Alucard a gaypir and made Sypha more powerfull than a freaking Belmont, WOKENESS

[@jafaral-z1090]

@@lordsickomode new issac is way better written but i wish he was a different character- i kinda wish hector was written as well honestly

[@lordsickomode]

@@jafaral-z1090 Nnnnnnnnah. They just gave him more screen time. The death of Dracula psychologically broke Isaac in a sense, throwing him fully over the edge and setting the blame on hector for diverting both of them away from the castle where they could've saved him. The magical bond affected Isaac more than Hector, hence the greater damage.

[@jafaral-z1090]

@@lordsickomode except issac redeems himself, they give him all the screentime while ignoring hector, wven worse is how they treated hector to begin woth

[@Breaknoon0]

Fromsoft made a pretty good 3D Castlevania game.

[@dommoore6180]

CoD is one of the CV games that I've replayed the most and I agree with a lot of what you've said here. That said, there are a few points I think are a little off. I do agree that the copy past hallways design is misplaced in a game like this and is not done particularly well anyway (see games like Wizardry for where that style can work by playing on anticipation and risk/reward, since there is no risk in CoD these really are just bland corridors to walk through) however that is a direct carry over from the rest of Iga's games. It doesn't excuse CoD but it is true that this is the result of copying the 2d design of his era far too close to the letter for what should be fundamentally different in 3d. I agree most the cast are very bland however I do find Trevor's characterisation here much more entertaining and less pretentious than his characterisation in LoS and the Netflix show. I think that his role being so severely underplayed and him being used as a boos fight, even his character design are all indicative of one of Iga's biggest problems and my biggest issue with this game and the series moving on after it. See, Trevor looks like, acts like, and holds a very similar narrative and gameplay role here as Julius in AoS, in fact Juste and Richter (in SotN which tbf is not an Iga era game and wasn't made by him but still) all have these relatively similar character designs with long coats high boots long hair etc. CoD is a lot like the rest of Iga's games in a variety of ways, it's tone, visuals, structure, plot elements, gimmick, all of it is just quite unremarkable when set against the rest of the series because this game was when Iga's era became standardised - this was the 'vanilla' of his era and the games following this all build on it (leaving it in the dust) yet also stick to the same 'standard' and the same general rules and ideas for the most part (OoE strays the furthest but that is largely just in the plot which still shows shadows of the plot structure here which itself originates in the ideas used in CotM which was copying SotN to a certain degree, so this is a long running problem). I also dislike that every time IGA made a direct sequel to a previous game he threw out that game's cast almost entirely in favour new characters who were generally not as strong (at least imo) this started in HoD, continued here and shows itself again with PoR (a game that features 7 new main characters and cameos from 5 different Belmonts and manages to force Richter into the narrative yet doesn't once feature the protagonist of the game it is a sequel to instead focusing on his son who has the same bloody name as him). This is also far from the death of 3d Castlevania - it is pretty obvious from you making comments along the lines of 'future projects were handed to western studios' that you prefer the more anime style of CV as a series and that's obviously completely valid but although it is true that og Simon had bright red hair which is pretty anime looking, CV was not always the way that Iga made it. His version of the series is just that, a version in a long line of versions. It was also quite different form the previous interpretations - there was the classic run in the late 80s which inavertedly ended with Scv4 (which was never a remake it simply went back to basics and was a good example of that era playing loose with continuity in favour of A. simpler game design in this case and B. the film within a game idea where Simon Belmont was both a person in 1691, a fictional character, an actor in the 50s and 'You the player', this is fairly blatant in the game itself but is expanded heavily in the cv1 gamebook and is never truly lost until after Scv4 with the unfinished novel attached to that game's then separate continuity) that had it's own style and continuity which was followed by the DracX games (which were intentionally different in style and tone and were developed to be non canonical only becoming 'canon' with the release of HoD when Iga started his run and timeline) Bloodlines (again intentionally non canon at the time, was meant to get a sequel) and then the N64 games which ironically enough were the first official sequels to the original run. Regardless of Iga making comments on these earlier games that are just incorrect and much of the fanbase believing him as a result, that is 4 entirely different interpretations of this series that all came before Igas, and Iga's was the most different. He made it dark fantasy instead of horror celebration, he removed any hanging thread of the classic movies connection, turned Dracula into a Japanese high schooler ffs, introduced a 'demon castle war' and retroactively turned Cv3 into a 'war' which is very out of character for the series pre-Iga, he made the series a Metroidvania first anything else second, so on so on. None of this is inherently bad and clearly a lot of people prefer his era but it is very very different from what came before it. If anything LoS is more in line with the earliest CV games than the vast majority of Iga's run, in fact LoS1 is essentially just a game that mashes all of Simon's different stories form the classic run together this being most blatant in Gabriel's design and Marie quite clearly just being a renamed Selena. I think a lot of fans just didn't like the series not being anime, which is fine but does make the apparent hatred of the LoS games (at least 2 of which play far stronger than LoI or CoD) a little immature. Finally it's worth noting that the series backed itself into a wall regarding the 3d CV stigma, it wasn't so much that any of the 3d games were received poorly it was just that they kept on making these metroidvanias for nintendo handhelds and they caught a different crowd than they would have elsewhere, these games kept reviewing well and eventually that initially largely new fanbase overtook the rest of the fanbase if not in number than certainly in visibility. Although around the release of PoR the fandom was sick of Iga 'being lazy' with his games and wanted a return to the classic style - how ironic.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

You're absolutely right there are TONS of different takes on the series and people dont really see that, shaming games that they happen to not like. Always hated the "LOS isnt Castlevania" talk because IT IS Castlevania, just go back to the originals and it takes more inspiration from what inspired those compared to Iga's run. That being said I love Iga's games and they did keep the series alive for a while. He has some great stuff in his run and his writing, while not great, is always super entertaining with bits of philosophical and metaphorical narrative. Also respect him for trying to construct a definitive timeline out of a big series that had some inconsistencies and lack of detail (even if I dont like everything he did story wise). He really cared about the series and it shows

[@dommoore6180]

Obscure Media I like most his games and I think he liked the Dracula c games at least (well those and Cv3 which he clearly adored) but I think his timeline was a load of rubbish. Not in lot did it create a weird situation where crazy amounts of misinformation about early games was spread but it also out the final nail in the coffin of what the series had started out doing with the film within a game thing. That’s something that was so core to the series identity in the original run of titles and yet is never really mentioned anymore and certainly isn’t present in the games. It’s a personal taste thing that but I think it’s a shame as the series lost a lot of its identity I think, I also get vaguely annoyed (as fanboyish as that is) when people talk like the classic titles had no story simply because they weren’t presented as in more modern games and much of the context was in expanded media. It’s fair enough to not want to read all that media but even so it does exist and is relevant. People’s understanding or perception of the older games baffles me at times such as with the Smash bros Simon look being referred to as his original look when that design is from PoR in 2006 and is based directly on a design from 1993 which is the only other time he looked anything like that!

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

@@dommoore6180 Yeah the whole "who cares about the story it's all about that gameplay" thing that goes around infuriates me. Then the fact so many of the games dont get much love because only SOTN and Rondo are talked about anymore kinda makes me sad- theres TONS of games equal to them in quality throughout the series

[@dommoore6180]

Obscure Media agreed fully. The funny thing is I imagine if they brought back the older characters and general plot outlines, put some focus back on the classic horror elements, gave the horror some space to actually be horror instead of just violence (like in the 64 games or the tone of Cv2, scv4 etc.) people would really like it. It may not have as much chance to be mainstream I suppose but I think it would stand out more in today’s market. I actually think that Rondo was something of a low point in relation to its story cast etc. Gameplay was great but the tone felt intentionally silly and I think it may have at least in part have been intended to have elements that were meant to parody the series. Richter’s silhouette and character design resemble the original Simon belmont quite a bit but are much more ‘good guy/anime hero’ and he is presented as being far more one not despite the addition of cutscenes (see Simon in Cv2, Scv4 - where he is a dhampir, though this is only mentioned in the guide and a sequel novel series that was unfinished - for most blatant examples of Simon being less of a clear cut hero archetype. The series obviously brings back classic horror film characters and that was a major part of its identity back when rondo was made, so I can’t prove this at all but I really truly believe this to be the case - I think Maria is the same Maria from the Karloff Frankenstein film, the one that gets drowned. She has the exact same outfit or very nearly the same, very similar hair/features, obviously the same name and she tried to play with the monster and give him flowers etc. I think that Maria Renard who is clearly a joke in Rondo anyway, is an adaption of this character and her fate in the Frankenstein film is contrasted with her destroying everything in her path with the same silliness and innocence of the film version. Maybe, maybe not but I don’t think the Maria connection can be denied.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

@@dommoore6180 I feel the same for Rondo which is why I go back to it less than the other linear games; I love the horror fantasy they went with, taking themselves more seriously and immersing the player. Dracula's design alone is horrendous in Rondo. I do know of the novel you mention and yes Simon was to be a dhampir in it which was super interesting when I first read of it. Dhampirs naturally hunt full vampires so it makes sense beyond just the family tradition in Simon's case- perhaps a bit of guilt from who he is, like Alucard but Alucard would never harm a human. Looking at CV4 as a separate timeline as you mentioned and taking the unfinished novel into the equation is gives us a ton of interesting stuff to consider (one of the reasons I love the older CVs is so much is left to interpretation and hunting down info from manuals and other media, gives that sense of mystery and discovery to games that already have a dark mysterious atmosphere)

[@ClintonKE]

lament of innocence is the better game between the two PS2 castlevania's imo. I

[@davebob4973]

its called resident evil 4

[@vicentgalvan70]

I feel like they finidhed the combat code and just rushed the "story" and the "dialogue." The combat is really cool, but ypu just can't get investes in the "story."

[@RamadaArtist]

It's so weird to see videos like this following the existence of Dark Souls. Like, you want to do 3Dvania right? Well that's what it looks like.

[@alghoulaj7172]

Is this a review, or a rant, or a joke? I'm sorry, excuse my curiosity and how blunt I am, but please, please, explain? I didn't understand what should I take this as? I'm really confused!

[@TellYouHwaet]

I think Curse of Darkness being essentially a side story that looks like a terrible anime in visuals and design (when I read Innocent Devils on the back cover I was like "What the hell is that?) really hurt the game's reach, even among Castlevania fans. Especially as Lament and the other 3D Vanias had been pretty lukewarm experiences.

[@shazzbutter]

I agree. Curse of Blood was a wasted opportunity and a huge meh. I tried playing this on 3 separate occasions but ultimately knew I have much, much better games I have yet to play. Why waste more time trying to like this dud.

[@DarkMirria1]

The funniest joke weapon has to be the electric guitar, that Hector sucks at playing. - 🤔 The main issue I had with CoD was finding all the secret breakable walls to get the rest of the collectables, especially for Trevor/Ralph mode so that he could be more powerful. Seriously, I could not find a single guide telling and showing me exactly where they all were, I legit had to find someones else’s 100% playthrough here on KZbin and watch the entire thing to find out where exactly they all were. Fandom wiki was absolutely fecking useless. Tartarus rpgclassics site did however help give hints to the areas though, just wasn’t specific enough in some cases. Oh, also finding all the chairs was difficult without that sites help too. The site also really helped with developing ID’s and good gear.

[@Pyro-Moloch]

Though you clowned Lords of Shadow, they are still better 3D Castlevania games than the PS2 ones.

[@Stevem]

i don't know buddy i'm pretty sure Fox gave LoS an 9.7 if i recall?

[@schemingfox]

Lords Of Shadow sure are games that exist.

[@schemingfox]

@@Stevem I mean it does have THE Patrick Stewart and THE Robert Carlyle in it!!!

[@bahamutr4270]

This review was trash

[@ecmxcorp]

This is my favorite 3D Castlevania, I have been playing castlevanias since SNES. Having said that, it seems that you're like a modern gaming journalist. There is no point in proposing radical "better" mechanics from a modern perspective. This is an L video, an L take and I'm glad several people said this is their favorite games and it makes you look even dumber.

[@dougbull3230]

Castlevania needs a whip using a sword is cool but no whip noooooo

[@l0n3w01f]

If you want an amazing 3D Castlevania game go play any darksouls game or Elden Ring :).

[@schemingfox]

I have played all of those.