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Castlevania Chronicles! The X68000 and PS1 versions...and ranking the Castlevania franchise for October!

VGEsoterica

Member
This should be controversial lol...and fun!

I love the X68000 remake of Castlevania and the fact it got ported to PS1 as both the original version (with different midi synth soundtracks) as well as an arranged / enhanced port is just legit awesome. One day I'll own an X68000 but until then it's the PS1 version for me. It has all the classic old school Castlevania action we all know and love before it went to Metroidvania (which I also love). Feels like every October I need to play at least one Castlevania game and this year its Chronicles.

But that got me thinking...how do I rank the main line games? So here goes

Non-Metroidvania

1 - Rondo of Blood
2 - Chronicles
3 - IV
4 - Castlevania
5 - Bloodlines
6 - Castlevania 3
7 - Castlevania 2
8 - Dracula X

Metroidvania

1 - SotN
2 - Dawn of Sorrow
3 - Aria of Sorrow
4 - Portrait of Ruin
5 - Harmony
6 - Circle of the Moon
7 - Order of Ecclesia
8 - the bad 3DS one lol

3D

1 - Legacy of Darkness
2 - 64
3 - Curse of Darkness
4 - Lament of Innocence
5 - Lord of Shadows
6 - Lord of Shadows 2

Gameboy

1 - Castlevania II
2 - Legends
3 - the Adventure

I am sure I forgot some but I'd love to hear everyone's rankings and shit posts about my ranks lol
 

Punished Miku

Gold Member
3D

1 - Legacy of Darkness
2 - 64
3 - Curse of Darkness
4 - Lament of Innocence
5 - Lord of Shadows
6 - Lord of Shadows 2
da-baby-slap.gif


Dude what lol.
 

ssringo

Member
Too much of a pain to work on a list on phone. Generally speaking for me it's Metroidvania > 2d Castlevania > 3d Castlevania with a little crossover at the top/bottom if each section. The biggest standout for me is Rondo of Blood (the proper one, not the Dracula X SNES version). Love that game and its one of my favorites.

#1 is tough to call. I love Symphony and all the 3DS Metroidvanias.
 

SegaShack

Member
Never been into the non stage based Castlevanias. I for some reason thought Chronicles was just a port of the NES game this whole time. Will check this out on my PSOne. Thanks!
 

Kokoloko85

Member
1. Symphony of the Dark
That is all

DS games were great too

As far as 3D ones go, the PS2 ones were pretty good
 
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kunonabi

Member
1. Castlevania 64
2. Castlevania III
3. Castlevania
4. Castlevania: Bloodlines
5. Castlevania X68000/Chronicles
6. Castlevania the Adventure: Rebirth
7. Castlevania II: Simon's Curse
8. Castlevania: Judgment
9. Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
10. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
11. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
12. Vampire Killer
13. Castlevania: Dracula X
14. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
15. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
16. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
17. Super Castlevania IV
18. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
19. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
20. Castlevania the Arcade
21. Haunted Castle
22. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
23. Castlevania: Legends
24. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
25. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
 

VGEsoterica

Member
1. Castlevania 64
2. Castlevania III
3. Castlevania
4. Castlevania: Bloodlines
5. Castlevania X68000/Chronicles
6. Castlevania the Adventure: Rebirth
7. Castlevania II: Simon's Curse
8. Castlevania: Judgment
9. Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
10. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
11. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
12. Vampire Killer
13. Castlevania: Dracula X
14. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
15. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
16. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
17. Super Castlevania IV
18. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
19. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
20. Castlevania the Arcade
21. Haunted Castle
22. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
23. Castlevania: Legends
24. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
25. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
64 at the top...bold move!
 

ethomaz

Banned
The only Castlevania that ever made me likes the franchise was SotN.

The previous games where all unlikable to me… and yes I started my game life with SNES and played the ones there.
 
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VGEsoterica

Member
I wouldn't mind replaying the PS2 3D entries for some nostalgia. Hope those get ported and preserved at some point.
They are still fun. Hopefully if the GBA collection that just released does well and Konami realizes we want more Castlevania. Just give us a new Metroidvania and make a collection of the 3DS/PS2 stuff!
 

SpiceRacz

Member
Great game. The arranged soundtrack is so good.

  1. SoTN
  2. Rondo of Blood
  3. Super Castlevania 4
  4. Castlevania 3
  5. Adventure Rebirth
  6. Bloodlines
  7. Circle of The Moon
  8. Lament of Innocence
 

DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
There are only a few Castlevania games I haven't played. This is one of them along with Rondo of Blood and Order of Ecclesia
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Non-Metroidvania

1 - Rondo of Blood
2 - Bloodlines
3 - Chronicles
4 - Castlevania 3
5 - Castlevania 2
6 - Castlevania
7 - Super Castlevania 4
.
.
.
258 - Dracula XX




No love for Kid Dracula?

All of you people belong in hell, which is what playing through Kid Dracula represents.
NES Kid Dracula, true.
GB Kid Dracula is fine.
 
This should be controversial lol...and fun!

I love the X68000 remake of Castlevania and the fact it got ported to PS1 as both the original version (with different midi synth soundtracks) as well as an arranged / enhanced port is just legit awesome. One day I'll own an X68000 but until then it's the PS1 version for me. It has all the classic old school Castlevania action we all know and love before it went to Metroidvania (which I also love). Feels like every October I need to play at least one Castlevania game and this year its Chronicles.

But that got me thinking...how do I rank the main line games? So here goes

Non-Metroidvania

1 - Rondo of Blood
2 - Chronicles
3 - IV
4 - Castlevania
5 - Bloodlines
6 - Castlevania 3
7 - Castlevania 2
8 - Dracula X

Metroidvania

1 - SotN
2 - Dawn of Sorrow
3 - Aria of Sorrow
4 - Portrait of Ruin
5 - Harmony
6 - Circle of the Moon
7 - Order of Ecclesia
8 - the bad 3DS one lol

3D

1 - Legacy of Darkness
2 - 64
3 - Curse of Darkness
4 - Lament of Innocence
5 - Lord of Shadows
6 - Lord of Shadows 2

Gameboy

1 - Castlevania II
2 - Legends
3 - the Adventure

I am sure I forgot some but I'd love to hear everyone's rankings and shit posts about my ranks lol
Why is CV3 so low?
 

VGEsoterica

Member
Non-Metroidvania

1 - Rondo of Blood
2 - Bloodlines
3 - Chronicles
4 - Castlevania 3
5 - Castlevania 2
6 - Castlevania
7 - Super Castlevania 4
.
.
.
258 - Dracula XX





NES Kid Dracula, true.
GB Kid Dracula is fine.
I appreciate you made a custom number just to prove how disappointing the Rondo remake was on SNES 😂
 

swarley64

Member
My list is something like:
  1. Castlevania 3
  2. Symphony of the Night
  3. Aria of Sorrow
  4. Castlevania 1
  5. Super Castlevania 4
  6. Circle of the Moon
  7. Lament of Innocence
  8. Bloodlines
  9. Harmony of Dissonance

I just played Aria and loved it…. I gotta play Rondo next!
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Except for being painfully easy anyway.
It’s not ridiculously punishing and frustrating as too many other CV games, that’s what it is.

The game is well-balanced as Richter. Maria makes everything a breeze, but she’s also too much fun to use. She clearly shows how most of the difficulty in Classicvania comes from having a character that can barely move around.

Rondo is also well designed, so it’s not like CV4 that is pretty easy too, but also very boring in spite of all the Mode 7 bells and whistles.
 

Andyliini

Member
Speaking of Castlevania Chronicles, they really shoul rerelease it. I still have the original PS1 disc, but I don't have a machine to play it with anymore. It's a fun game too, altough it did not really do much with remastering the original.
 

VGEsoterica

Member
It’s not ridiculously punishing and frustrating as too many other CV games, that’s what it is.

The game is well-balanced as Richter. Maria makes everything a breeze, but she’s also too much fun to use. She clearly shows how most of the difficulty in Classicvania comes from having a character that can barely move around.

Rondo is also well designed, so it’s not like CV4 that is pretty easy too, but also very boring in spite of all the Mode 7 bells and whistles.
Maria was clearly the catalyst for Alucard having so many awesome movement mechanics in SotN. You can draw a direct line from Rondo to SotN in control style
 
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