Mercury Stream: The days of 2D Castlevania are gone.

Poor example, many old games that get re-released and don't sell nearly as much as they did when first released. Why? Well perhaps because I dunno, people have played it already before? HD doesn't exactly make a huge difference. And who really would want to pay full price for a game just to get a HD re-release? You assume it's because nobody cares for those games anymore, that's completely ignorant.

Konami are pretty much becoming another Capcom. Changing or filtering out their games to a point where they aren't recognizable anymore, all in attempt garner more sales and if it means pissing over their entire old fanbases in the process, the people that made them successful in the first place, then so be it. Even Metal Gear Solid is starting to become alien to those that played the previous games.

These 2D titles like Megaman and Metroidvania/Castlevania 2D don't cost nearly as much to make as these million dollar blockbuster titles and both companies have the money to make them happen quite easily. They're just being cheap asses with their money. Saving every little bit they can. The only ones that have the balls to make these type of games anymore are indie developers or those using kickstarter campaign and are you really going to try and tell me those aren't successful? Because they are.

And where has these experiments these 2 companies have been making really got them? Lords of Shadow wasn't even that big of a hit in sales, one has to wonder why it's even getting a sequel. DmC was a complete failure of an experiment. Capcom is practically on the verge of bankruptcy with only 150 mill in the bank. All this pissing on their fanbases hasn't really got them anywhere has it? They're digging their own graves really.

Shit, I would MUCH rather play a 2d Castlevania before another 3d version. There's just no comparison honestly, 2d utterly curb-stomps and monkey rapes anything that 3d can hope to accomplish when it comes to Castlevania goodness. Unless they've done something utterly unheard of before, this I doubt though.

I'd pay premium price for a high quality 2d Casltev, I can't say the same about the one they're about to release. I will consider it once the sale prices start rolling in though if it hits high marks.

They will still make download only version but top dev will work on 3d blockbuster version because this is where the most money is made.

what are you talking about? There is no SOTN HD... or it would of sold on PSN/XBLA . I have it on PSN the Ps1 version and on disk. The PSN versoin came out in 2007 , years before the LOS released.

At least they said that if another 2D CV does come along, it won't be from them. That's actually great news.

The rest of that excerpt is garbage though. It's always troubling to see just how disconnected some of these developers are from the industry.

Let's think about this here... MercurySteam wants to continue with the Konami contract, so it's in their best interest to say things like this as they have no plans to make 2D games, nor is 2D really up their alley based on their entire catalog of work (American McGee Presents: Scrapland, Zombies, Clive Barker's Jericho, Castlevania contract, etc ). See the trend? They weren't hired to make 2D masterpieces, it's not their forte or in their wheelhouse.

Unfortunately, their 3D efforts have not even come close to besting the top 2D Castlevania games.

MercurySteam didn't make the badass 2D Castlevanias, Konami's Igarashi and co. did. I have no interest in playing Mercury's 2D games. Their 3D games are merely ho-hum, decent but not anything special (basically a mish mash of other 3D games from SotC to GOW)...that's my being nice. I'm a legacy, hardcore Castlevania fan though, clearly not the mainstream they have been hired to reach. I HATE what they have done to the lore. These western devs get an older series and just do whatever they want with their 'reboots', and in Castlevania's case it f**ks with the timeline.

Besides, MercurySteam made a 2D Mirrors of Fate on 3DS later ported to PS360 and it simply wasn't very good nor did it measure up to previous 2D Castlevanias. I would like to wrestle this contract out of their hands and let Igarashi back at it.

I know the business reality of letting Koji Igarashi won't probably result in huge sales, so it will never happen, but if I had my way, I would want him to make one more Super High Definition Castlevania SOTN sequel for home consoles. I played his 2D Castlevanias on the handhelds, they were great. It is what it is. To be honest, I wouldn't mind letting Platinum do Castlevania instead of MercurySteam either.

Finally, I got the latest issue of Game Informer and they gave Lords of Shadow 2 a 6/10. It's the only review I read so far, but it wasn't a pleasant read...I can imagine MercurySteam is not too pleased so far with the review either.

G.I.: "This shambling monstrosity is composed of chunks from other, better games. Rather than blend them together into something new like its predecessor attempted, this one just feels like a patch-work mess."

That's funny because that's how I felt about the first game, so I'm not looking forward to Lords 2 as much as I was. I was hoping for improvements....still, I'll know soon enough for myself.

I love what ya did with Castlevania mercury system but you couldint be more wrong.

How is it a problem? Cause you didint like the take on it. LOS felt like a castlevania game to me and yes Im a castlevania fan as well.

That's the thing with reboots. Some fans can appreciate them, while other can't... calling them clones.

I really liked the Tomb Raider reboot and I liked it even more than the old games, which I was a huge fan of. Others hated it and called it a weak Uncharted-clone.

Yea DMC was mainly a failure commercially cause if I recall they had super high sales numbers expected and it didint pan out. I think it sold a mil or 2 . The game was still very well received well review wise. I actually liked it alot as well.

There was a high definition version of SOTN exclusively for Xbox Live arcade. PS3 never got it.

Wut? I downloaded SotN for both the PS3 and 360. The 360 version had some SotN art on the side bars of the screen and as far as I know that was the only difference. And this was long before LoS came out.

If there is some secret HD version of SotN that somehow slipped past me, please share a link.

I'm pretty sure it was running at 1080p, the graphics and sprites where a lot more sharper and you could get rid of the screen borders if you want and have it full screen. Looked really nice on my HDTV. It even says it's running in HD on the marketplace when you buy it. It also had sound enchancements, achievements, leaderboards. The PS3 version how ever was just the PS1 version, it didn't have any enhancements.

If by industry, you mean "consumer base" then yes, it is fucking scary as hell.

The 360 version had emulation filters that smoothed all the sprites and was outputting at either 720p or 1080p (I cannot remember which). It was the only true HD version (other than something emulated on PC through a PlayStation emulator).

Which, for mod clarification, is not illegal if you own an original copy of the PS version of the game and either use it in conjunction with the emulator or a legally made backup from the original copy that you own.

While HD resolutions and achievements are nice, anyone who is seriously into SOTN speed-running should own the PS1 version. Period.

The PSP version that comes with Dracula X Chronicles is the closest to the original (only the dialogue and a few glitches change; and it has similar additional content to the Saturn version) but it isn't as good (a couple important glitches are much harder to do).

That, and the 360 default d-pad is terribad and ruins any serious playthrough (Soul Steal is practically impossible to even complete).

then i must be crazy or incredibly lucky

I own both and that's true...but the PS3 version besides being able to be played on PS3, you could play on PSP and Vita which came in handy for my traveling needs. I bought the XBLA version just to 200/200 it as I was a mega fan. Due to the terrible 360 Dpad, I had a ton of trouble executing hidden Alucard powers killing a lot of the enjoyment. I still got through it though...and I own a Non-GH version of the retail version of SOTN as well.

It's so true and I spoke ages ago in SW about this subject SOTN XBLA. I bought it day one so excited until that damn Dpad poked it's head into my SOTN party.

I quoted you because reading your comment I could hear Alucard's voice echo in my head "SOUL STEAL!".

Yup. A company will always choose money instead of fans. That is the sad truth. Making good games don't matter. Making games that sell is all that matters.

Lets see if that is true if Konami would allow Wayforward to make Castlevania Rebirth 2.

It's a niche market. That much he is semi-correct about.

That said I'd rather Castlevania get a major facelift(not necessarily what Mercury Stream was doing), because the alternative DS animufest looking by the number poor man action rpg fests are boring as ****. I can dig Symphony of the Night as much as the next guy, but I want something that captures the feel of OG Castlevania, Castlevania 4, and Rondo of Blood.

@raging_user said:

@Midnightshade29 said:

@raging_user said:

I remember the first Lords of Shadow coming with an HD version of Symphony of the Night, if people still gave a shit about SOTN or just the 2d aspect in general, lords of shadow 1 would have sold like hotcakes due to the fact it had the SOTN code. Too many people clinging on to the nostalgia factor.

what are you talking about? There is no SOTN HD... or it would of sold on PSN/XBLA . I have it on PSN the Ps1 version and on disk. The PSN versoin came out in 2007 , years before the LOS released.

then i must be crazy or incredibly lucky

That's not an HD version of SOTN. That's the PSone version, PS3 will upscale it, and you can use a smoothing filter. But it's not HD. When people say a new HD Castlevania, they mean a game made in native HD with super high res sprites from the ground up.

2D Castlevania isn't dead but I swear to God if they go and make yet another 'metroidvania' then I am done with the series. I highly enjoyed the Lords of Shadow games (should be getting LoS2 in a few weeks), and while I know I am in the minority, I think it was a great breath of fresh air for the series.

yeah, The Lords of Shadow games are the better 3D Castlevania titles.

Everything before was pretty garbage.