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Post by Bumpyroad on Aug 15, 2018 6:00:11 GMT -5
I wouldn't describe Castlevania's plot as "shitty", more like "simple" (then again, I'm biased). I'd like to bookmark that, too bad the link is dead: "In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don’t care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn’t really matter." hg101.proboards.com/post/411183 |
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Post by toei on Aug 15, 2018 10:11:02 GMT -5
Depends on genre, though. When RPGs actually mattered, story was very much the focus for a lot of Japanese developers. Same went for adventure games. For old-school action games, it almost never mattered, unless a team member felt passionate about some idea. To get a better idea of Japanese development culture, I suggest reading the interviews on shmuplations. It's a much larger sample, with a variety of Japanese devs from different companies known for working on different genres, and not just a thing some guy said once. |
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Post by Bumpyroad on Aug 15, 2018 12:10:56 GMT -5
Depends on genre, though. Sure |
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Post by edmonddantes on Aug 15, 2018 18:12:29 GMT -5
"There used to live a bad man named Dracula. He used magic to create a bad world filled with evil."
Was reminded of that earlier today. Kinda substantiates how little games used to care about plot.
Speaking about cartoons based on action games, you know what one was really good? (Besides Ys)? Devil May Cry. Kinda wish the people behind that had gotten to do Castlevania. Tho like I said, Vampire Hunter D kinda fills the void.
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Post by lurker on Aug 15, 2018 18:40:36 GMT -5
Would be nice if they spread it out a little more, so it's more like an actual show, instead of a chopped up movie.
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Post by edmonddantes on Aug 20, 2018 22:37:26 GMT -5
Yeah, my ideal Castlevania would be sort of like a medieval version of Batman: the Animated Series... or the afformentioned Devil May Cry anime, altho I don't really picture the Belmonts as being uber-badasses like Dante with graceful movements and nonchalant wisecracks.
(Was I the only person who, upon seeing footage of Castlevania: Judgment, gaped in horror and said "Holy hell what did you do to Maria?" And I'm not even a major CV fan)
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Post by Snake on Aug 21, 2018 11:11:22 GMT -5
(Was I the only person who, upon seeing footage of Castlevania: Judgment, gaped in horror and said "Holy hell what did you do to Maria?" And I'm not even a major CV fan) As much as I like Takeshi Obata as an artist for Hikaru no Go and Deathnote, his characters designs really went overboard for Castlevania. They should have stuck with Ayami Kojima; but my guess is, the change was a mass marketing decision from upper management. |
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Post by windfisch on Sept 23, 2018 9:41:34 GMT -5
Just finished the first episode and it was very, very boring, sadly.
I really like most of the games, but those are not known for good storytelling. However they do excel at creating a dense atmosphere utilizing great visual design and fantastic music. So I did not expect the animated series to be faithful or deep. I was rather hoping for a similar vibe or at least to be somewhat entertained by it - neither was the case. The character designs are bland, the animation is cheap (action sequences are choppy as hell), the music forgettable and the writing terrible (but not campy enough to be fun).
I'm going to watch the rest of the episodes, but I don't have high hopes that it will get any better.
Now I really want to check out Vampire Hunter D, which looks far better even in short clips.
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Post by Snake on Sept 24, 2018 10:56:48 GMT -5
Just keep in mind that there are 2 Vampire Hunter D films. The first one came out in the 80's, is based on the first novel. The 2nd film was released in year 2000, based on the 3rd novel, Demon Deathchase. Yoshitaka Amano, the main artist for Final Fantasy 1 -6, and FF 9, was the character designer for Vampire Hunter D. The 2nd movie, Bloodlust is the kind of movie I can watch and rewatch multiple times; as much as I can rewatch Commando or Predator. It's fantastic.
Vampire Hunter D is a series they really should have made an anime out of every novel. It's a very dark and unique dystopian future.
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Post by windfisch on Sept 24, 2018 17:31:28 GMT -5
Just watched the first Vampire Hunter D film and I found it rather enjoyable.
Having a soft spot for 80s anime I liked the general art style, the slightly muted colors and the deliberately handpainted look of the backgrounds. It also served as a reminder that it's not just the amount of individual animation frames that counts but also how effectivly these frames are used. Because even though it probably does not use more average frames than the Castlevania series, it feels much more alive than the latter. Overall it was quite campy and a bit strange, but mostly in a good way. However, I could have lived without the embarrassing excuses to show female nudity/underwear.
Next is Bloodlust, which looks spectacular in terms of art direction and animation. And for the sake of Castlevania-completeness (and because it's a lot of fun) I'll also rewatch Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro, being a huge source of inspiration for the classic games and all that.
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Post by edmonddantes on Sept 25, 2018 2:58:37 GMT -5
It's kinda weird to think that Lupin was an inspiration as Castle in particular (and most of the series in general) doesn't even have a remotely similar tone. I'm guessing its more in the design aspects of the various iterations of the Castle itself.
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Post by windfisch on Sept 25, 2018 8:36:58 GMT -5
If you're interested in similarities between Castlevania and Cagliostro, this blog explains it quite well. |
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Post by windfisch on Oct 3, 2018 7:55:02 GMT -5
The 2nd movie, Bloodlust is the kind of movie I can watch and rewatch multiple times; as much as I can rewatch Commando or Predator. It's fantastic. After waching it a couple of days ago I agree: Bloodlust is pretty great. Not only does it look gorgeous, it also has a solid story - nothing too deep, but for the type of movie it is, it's highly effective. And the overall pacing is excellent, too.
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Post by moran on Oct 3, 2018 8:12:46 GMT -5
I’m not a big anime fan, but Vampire Hunter D always struck a chord with me. Especially Bloodlust. Great movie. I really wish there was more of them.
I enjoyed Castlevania enough to look forward to the new season. It’s not fantastic but enjoyable.
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Post by shelverton on Oct 3, 2018 12:38:47 GMT -5
I enjoyed Castlevania enough to look forward to the new season. It’s not fantastic but enjoyable. I especially enjoyed it more than the last few actual games in the series... So right now it’s the best thing that’s happened to Castlevania in years. Actually, it’s the ONLY thing that’s happened now that I think about it...... |
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