One of my favorite series in gaming is Konami's long-running Castlevania franchise, and an endearing element of these games has always been the incredible music. That being said, it's hard to believe that in over a year of making VGM covers that I haven't tackled anything from this series yet. I decided to right this wrong with a killer track from Aria of Sorrow, one of my favorite entries in the series! The rendition of Heart of Fire from this game is a mash-up of the track of the same name from the original Castlevania along with a track from the arcade release Haunted Castle. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and I'm sure there will be more Castlevania tunes to come!
To get straight to the point, we did not make our goal of beating every North American licensed NES game in the year 2019. Is that a disappointing outcome? Heck no! We ended up conquering 514 of the 669 game list in a single year. We had 30 members participate throughout the year! Some of which I havn't really had a good opportunity to interact with before and it gave me a chance to get to know them better. Beyond those 30 players we had several other members offer advice and support and simply cheer us on. Even though we fell short at the end we had an incredible time exploring new worlds, gritting our teeth over challenging areas, mashing buttons faster than ever before and most importantly, sharing our accomplishments with our peers.
It was quite heartwarming to see people scratch games off their backlog, overcome childhood hurtles and discover new favorites. Every game is not a winner, but I do feel there is something valuable to learn even from playing a stinker. I hope that every player feels that the time they invested in this community challenge was as worthwhile as I did. Whether you joined us for 1 game or 100 I'm incredibly thankful for your participation.
Once upon a time, I was walking through an OfficeMax to get printer paper or some such, when I spotted the PC games cart. Do you remember those? This was sometime in 2004, so pretty much every store imaginable had some sort of budget or reduced price PC cart, and given the breadth and width of PC gaming at that point in time, the contents of the PC games cart were always a surprise, and this time was no different. From the middle I pulled out an orange "small box" PC game with the title, Konami Collector's Series - Castlevania & Contra (KCS-C&C) printed all over. Per usual, I had no idea what I was holding in my hands, though I was pretty sure it was a collection of pre-1990 PC ports of some of the most beloved classic console games, and that had me very excited.
I imagine you can see where this is going. Wait, wait, don't look it up yet; you will spoil the fun and possibly deprive yourself a good chuckle at my expense. The rest of you - well, you know what's coming.
Konami's Castlevania: The Adventure is an old favorite. It was a birthday gift from my parents at age 13, and the first 3rd party Game Boy game I owned. I have many fond memories of late nights and trips to my grandparents' house, bringing the Game Boy with me, and camping out in the living room to play it while the family talked. However, time hasn't been kind to the game, with many people decrying it as one of the worst entries in the series. What are my thoughts on the game now, as we approach 30 years since its release? Watch my review, and then let's discuss! What do you think of Castlevania: The Adventure? And what are your favorite games in the series?
Castlevania is a series I never really got into. I didn't play it any on the NES or SNES when I was a kid, and it wasn't until Symphony of the Night on PS1 that I finally gave it a try. In an attempt to fill this gap in my gaming experience, I played through Super Castlevania IV. My initial impressions weren't great, since Simon felt very heavy to control, but... did it grow on me?
[img width=320 height=318]https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kAyGzRAku1I/V8G4oy90YLI/AAAAAAAAAf8/KPkZDqxY6fQNSsgQuJgFKcjOY5GbZlkMgCLcB/s320/Castlevania%2BAdventure%2Bbox.jpg[/img] Image shamelessly stolen from the Castlevania Wikia page. When I was a kid, this was the baddest looking box art in all the land when it came to Game Boy games. And by bad, I mean AWESOME.
Nostalgia can be a very powerful force. It can make adults look back fondly on all sorts of things that, viewed objectively, probably aren't as great as we remember them. For a child of the 80's, that can be almost anything. From VCRs and teased hair, to classic cartoons and our favorite movies and video games, there are times when it's hard to take a step back and look at those old favorites with a more critical eye. Sure, that one Poison album might be one of your favorites of all time, but musically, does it still hold up? What about your favorite childhood cartoon...could you watch it today without cringing or thinking it's nothing but pure cheese?
Now think about your favorite video games as a child. Sure, some of them probably stand the test of time. But for every Super Mario Bros or Contra, there's always a handful of games that we may still hold in high regard and still have much affection for. If we could set aside our own memories and youthful experiences, would we still hold those works in the same esteem? For me, one of those games is Konami's Castlevania: The Adventure on the Game Boy.
Join RFGeneration Playcast hosts, Rich (singlebanana), Shawn (GrayGhost81), and Steven (Disposed Hero) as we discuss October's retro and modern playthroughs. On the retro side, Rich and Steven discuss Sega's only U.S. Castlevania release, Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis. During the modern segment, Shawn and Steven discuss the first installment of the most popular survival horror series of all time, Resident Evil. We hope you enjoy our spooky show and please leave us some feedback on our discussion thread.
It's been a while since we've had a "People of RF Generation" blog. Actually, it's been a really long time since these posts have gone up. That's why I'd like to breathe some new life into this fun series and let members know a little bit more about the people in our community.
I thought this month would be the perfect opportunity for us to get to know the newest member of the Community Playthrough team, Disposed Hero. So, without further ado, let's get to know more about this gentleman.
Join RFGeneration Community Playthrough hosts, Rich (singlebanana), Jamie (techwizard), Floyd (Fleach), and Shawn (GrayGhost81) as we discuss October's spooky retro and modern playthroughs. In this episode, singlebanana, Grayghost81, and techwizard discuss arguably the greatest platformer (and possibly greatest game) ever released on the PSX, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. On the modern side, join Grayghost81, Fleach, and special guest, Disposed Hero, as they discuss the horrifying and complex narrative of the XBox360 and PC title, Alan Wake. Enjoy!
The RFGeneration Playthrough Group compels you to join us in playing a few "spooky" titles for the month of October. On the retro side, singlebanana will be hosting Castlevania: Symphony of the Night arguably one of the best Castlevania titles ever developed in this classic series (available on the PSX, XLA, & PSN). On the modern side, join Fleach as he hosts the renowned, episodic, psychological action thriller, Alan Wake on the XBox 360 and PC.
[img align=right width=175]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/bf/U-027-S-01240-A.jpg align=right[/img]September 26, 1986 (22 years ago): Akumajo Dracula is released in Japan.
Alternative names: Castlevania, Demon Castle Dracula.
Consoles: Initially Famicom Disc System and MSX2 in Japan, later NES and others.
Heavily influencing the platformer genre in the late 80's, this vampire-themed game is one of Konami's most famous series. The original game is about some Simon Belmont, who disliked vampires for whatever reason, and particularly wanted to destroy Dracula (every vampire hunter's dream). Using his whip along with other awesome weapons (including a Bible and a flying cross), Simon battled through hordes of Dracula's minions in a demonic castle (hence the title), occasionally stumbling upon an angry horror movie cliche as a boss fight.
Throughout the sequels, gameplay underwent significant changes. RPG-type features were introduced in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and removed in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The RPG elements were brought back about ten years later, although in a different form, for one of the most popular titles in the series, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. A surprise PlayStation hit during the era of 3D games, two-dimensional Symphony featured a completely reworked art style (influenced by Gothic and Baroque styles) and complete exploration freedom.
The franchise went on to make at least 24 (!) video games, with a couple more to be released soon. A motion picture based on the games was also promised, but after 3 years of planning, multiple script revisions, and a writers' strike, this possibility is somewhat dim.
