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These are your favorite video game soundtracks
Not that long ago we published a list of the Engadget crew's favorite game soundtracks. But, of course, we left some of your favorites out. Well, we listened. What you'll find below are a selection of soundtracks that y'all made impassioned pleas for in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter. The big takeaway? You gals and guys really like the music from Eastern-developed games like Chrono Trigger and Shadow of the Colossus. You'll find those along with other, perhaps more modern, examples as well.
'Castlevania' creator just funded a 'Symphony' successor
In case that two-hour commentary video featuring Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from over the weekend stoked a new fire in you for another side-scrolling dungeon romp, boy have I got some good news. Co-designer Koji Igarashi's taken to Kickstarter for help funding his new game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, that, by all appearances, looks like the Symphony sequel we've been waiting for for 18 years. You play as a girl exploring gothic castle and uncovering its secrets while a curse changes your skin from flesh to crystal. Gameplay focuses on exploration with role-playing and crafting elements sprinkled in for good measure. Sounds pretty familiar, yeah? Unsurprisingly it's proving wildly popular so far. The funding goal is $500,000 and as of this writing it's already hit $510,032.
Revolutionary: Whip it good
What is it about Castlevania that gamers have found so appealing for more than twenty years? Is it the story? The atmosphere? The visceral sense of fulfillment from whipping all manner of damned creatures back to the infernal depths? Is it the one-on-one arena battles in Boy George makeup, steam-punk corsets and leather-daddy fetishware? Yeah, it's probably not that last thing. We had in mind a traditional sidescroller for Castlevania on the Wii, with waggle-enhanced whip cracking, so that's why this week, I've set out to capture that fun that we've so desperately desired.
Dracula's castle crashes onto XBLA
Dracula's ethereal castle, Castlevania, has officially materialized on Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, we speak of the oft cited pinnacle of the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night. The game will set you back 800 points and will cost you a few extra seconds than most XBLA games, thanks to its 90 MB size. There are also some other goodies available should you have any points left, including a 150 point theme and a 100 point picture pack. By the time you're done you might as well slap a Konami logo right onto your Xbox.So, who's getting their Castlevania on?
Symphony of the Night whips XBLA next week
Wow. We never thought we'd say this, but Xbox Live Arcade is on a roll. Two weeks ago, we got Alien Hominid, last week was Worms, and TMNT dropped this week. That's three decent titles in a row. How in heaven could Microsoft keep this up? The answer is Symphony of the Night. Marked by many as the official game to whine about now that Worms is out, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will arrive next Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade. Most Castlevania fans agree that SOTN is the best in the series, so seeing it on Live Arcade is a real treat. The game provides many, many hours of action RPG gameplay and features either classic or "modernized" graphics and sound. Symphony of the Night will be available next Wednesday for 800 points.Is Xbox Live Arcade finally coming into its own? Dare we dream?
Castlevania: SOTN possibly coming this month
Rumor has it that the March 2007 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly confirms the release of XBLA title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night sometime this month. Yup, Castlevania: SOTN within' the next few weeks. Though it is entirely possible that EGM confirmed the release date with Konami weeks ago, but since then could have been delayed. We don't see why the game couldn't be ready for a February release (we already know what the achievements will be), but you know how that infamous Microsoft certification process works. Cross your fingers and wish upon a star, but no matter we're still slapping a rumor tag on this one. Come on fanboys, can we get a Castlevania in February for the win?[Thanks, Aaron W.]
Castlevania breaks 50MB Arcade limit [update 1]
GameSpot reports today that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will be the first Xbox Live Arcade title to break the 50 MB size limit (we were wondering how the hell they got the voice acting and audio in there). The limit was imposed so that 360 owners could transfer Arcade games to memory card, allowing them to be played on another 360. Xbox Live's Greg Canessa told GameSpot that the cap is still in effect, but Microsoft can and will make certain exceptions. Citing SOTN as one of the "most popular games of all time," Cannessa felt that an exception was in order. He further notes, however, that the trial version will fit on a memory card.We've blogged about the 50 MB limit before, and it will be interesting to see how (and if) Castlevania will affect future developments on Live Arcade.Update: It looks like GameSpot got the trial version info wrong. MS informed us (and GameSpot) that it will not fit on a standard memory card.
