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Castlevania Chronicles on PSN today
Just a year and a half or so after it was rated by the ESRB, we're finally seeing Castlevania Chronicles show up on the PSN today for the bargain price of $5.99. So, if you're in the mood for a distinctly different take on Castlevania (well, not that different), merry Christmas.It may have gotten tepid reviews when it appeared on the PlayStation in 2001, but for six bucks it seems like a fine way to spend a December afternoon. Gallery: Castlevania Chronicles
Castlevania Chronicles will appear on the PS Store today
As the ESRB predicted, Castlevania Chronicles will make its debut on the US PSN later today. Wired got word that the PlayStation uno remake of the 1993 Sharp X68000 title will come in the form of a PS Store download. The remake features improved graphics, remixed music, level redesigns as well as a rendered introduction and ending. At one point, this rare game would have fetched a rather fabulous price on eBay, but now gamers won't have to pay big bucks to join in on the Dracula hunting fun -- instead, the price of admission will be a recession-friendly $5.99.Way better than Castlevania Judgement, we'll give you that.%Gallery-39688%
Wii Fanboy Review: Castlevania Judgment
It's hard to place Castlevania Judgment in terms of an ideal audience. The wild deviation from pretty much anything characterizing Castlevania means that the series' fans are unlikely to be well-served by the game, and people who don't care about the series probably would never give it a second look. Furthermore, fighting game lovers would find Judgment too simplistic for their tastes.That said, having given the game a chance, I slowly found myself warming to it. It took me a while to shed my expectations of what it should be, however. It's not much of a Castlevania game, and it's not much of a fighting game, but it is a decent third-person, one-on-one brawler. Like Power Stone mixed with Lament of Innocence.I must confess that I was slightly disappointed to find the game not-terrible, because I expected to completely savage it in this review. Oh, well.%Gallery-27187%
Top 5: Infections
After visiting friends and relatives this Thanksgiving, I was left with something special inside. Was it fond memories? Was it a deeper connection with those who I love? Was it several containers of leftovers? Sure, I received a fair share of those, but the most significant thing I received this Thanksgiving was the flu. I should have known. At least five different folks I saw over the course of the day claimed to be recovering from some form of the dreaded virus. Sure enough, by Friday evening I was sweating and freezing at once, aching all over, and debating on which end to point at the toilet (too much?). Whenever I get sick, I tend to feel very isolated. While everyone else was out enjoying their four-day weekend, I was tethered to the bed. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I'm certainly not alone. Everyone gets sick sooner or later, and no one is truly immune. In fact, even our video game counterparts have their fair share of sicknesses that affect their goals. And thankfully, just like said counterparts, the infections are usually brief. Here's our Top 5 sicknesses to avoid. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Metareview -- Castlevania Judgment (Wii)
Nobody seems to have been whipped into a frenzy by Konami's recent stab at a Castlevania fighting game. A small group of reviewers has finally passed judgment on the Wii-only release, and, by-and-large, the consensus is a resounding groan – and it's not coming from Frankenstein's monster. IGN (75/100): "In the list of games I'm dying to play in the Castlevania series, a 3D fighter was about as far from the top as possible, but Judgment was a pleasant surprise." G4 X-Play (20/100): "The soundtrack is the only thing in Castlevania Judgment that does proper homage to the series." 1UP (D-): "As a fighter, Castlevania Judgment employs too many design ideas that are neither well planned nor well executed. It's a strange misstep for the beloved series, one that Konami hopefully learns from."
Castlevania Judgment launch trailer is too effective
Warning: this trailer for Castlevania Judgment, out this week, may have the unexpected side effect of making you want to play Castlevania Judgment. Until now, we've been insulated by our Castlevania fandom -- we love Castlevania so much that it's painful to see it as an anime-style 3D brawler/fighter with silly character designs (Eric Lecarde doesn't just look like a little boy -- he is a little boy for some reason).But between the top-notch CG and the surprisingly exciting gameplay, we fear that Konami has us under a spell. Oh, look, there's the castle. There's Alucard doing something badass. Oh, they're playing "Vampire Killer." There is officially no hope for us.%Gallery-27187%
Retail and download releases for the week of November 17th
Just as we all found out last week, today marks the release of the fourth episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. Oh, and we're also getting a bunch of other games. This week, seriously, has a lot of games. Head on past the break for the full list. Also, our apologies. There likely won't be a VC Monday Madness video today, but we'll try to get it up as soon as we can. Sorry! %Gallery-27704%
Nintendo reveals early 2009 lineup, Mario & Luigi 3 in Feb.
Nintendo has revealed its Japanese lineup for the onset of 2009 (via IGN). Unsurprisingly, the list consists largely of games that will likely never see an official release overseas, but a few titles stand out. Mario & Luigi RPG 3 is coming February 11 to DS (no release date yet for other regions), while Castlevania Judgment and Play for Wii Mario Tennis are coming January 15. As previously revealed, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time will be coming to both DS and Wii on January 29.Not listed are the recently unveiled Sin and Punishment 2 and Punch-Out!! for Wii. Looks like we'll be waiting a while before getting our hands on them.
The DS Life: Sleepy underground
We've featured "subway gamers" in the past, and we've also posted images of sleepy gamers, but this week, through the magic of candid photography, we have a scene that captures both of those elements together. It doesn't sound that amazing, right? Well, join us past the post break to see why we thought this photo is so special!
Gaming to Go: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Surprised? The Castlevania series typically isn't associated with speedy, high-intensity gaming, so I can say with utter honesty that I had no intention of writing about IGA's latest delicious Metroidvania whenever I finally got my hands on Order of Ecclesia. The game has surprised so far in being pretty different from its immediate predecessors in both combat and environments, the combination of which is like a clean, refreshing punch in the face.It's hard, guys. Really hard, in fact, but with the kind of irresistible challenge that'll have you firing up your DS at every free moment to try and beat that next boss or just make it through the next level without failing too miserably. In that regard Order of Ecclesia is surprisingly well-suited for this week's edition of Gaming to Go, as in at least the first half of the game you'll encounter numerous levels which can be run through and completed without losing vast amounts of time. Whether you'll make it to the end of that level alive is an entirely different matter, mind you, but that's half the fun! Want to hear more? Click the big button down there and see why masochism is good.%Gallery-22992% #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >>
Castlevania Judgment lineup suffers from Dracula's Curse
Konami's questionable tandem of arm flailing and vampire hunting will be afflicted by Dracula's Curse when Castlevania Judgment ships for the Wii later this month. The company revealed the final three characters set to duke it out in the upcoming fighter, including Castlevania III's diminutive thief, Grant Danasty, and Trevor Belmont's main squeeze, Sypha. The pair will be joined by Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness' Cornell, who in addition to having to deal with the inevitable ups and downs of being a Nintendo 64-era werewolf, also shoulders the dubious distinction of being perhaps the only fighter to see his in-game appearance actually improve.%Gallery-36104%
VC Friday: A huddle of Halloween horrors
With a fresh Halloween upon us, Nintendo has settled on a horror theme for its latest update to the PAL Virtual Console. Nintendo restricting itself in this way could have gone tragically wrong -- they could have given us something terrible like Friday the 13th, for example -- but instead the results are ... really, really good. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Devil World -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Ghosts 'N Goblins -- NES -- 500 Nintendo Points Normally we'd whoop unashamedly for Ghosts 'N Goblins alone, but Castlevania III, which is yet to be released on the U.S. or Japanese Virtual Consoles? And Devil World, which North America has also been waiting on (for almost a quarter of a century)? Yeah, we'll take those. Watch bone-chilling footage of all three past the break.%Gallery-21879%
Another new Castlevania character redesign to judge
Hey, it's ... Castlevania Judgment's version of Trevor Belmont? He's got an eyepatch now for some reason! Our guess: to teach kids a valuable lesson about the importance of whip safety. The official explanation is that his injuries are the result of a Dracula fight.Actually, the brown-and-black leather armor Takeshi Obata put him in kind of fits with the coloring of his Castlevania III sprite. It's a lot closer to our idea of Trevor than Ayami Kojima's thigh-high boots, anyway. We've got more screens of Trevor, and of the other two recently-announced new characters, Carmilla and Golem, in our gallery. No sign yet of Sypha Belnades or Grant DaNasty, so we don't know to what degree they've been shoehorned into anime archetypes.%Gallery-27187%
DS Daily: Seriously? This castle? Again?
Sorry folks, but we just can't get Castlevania off of our minds this week. One of the things we appreciated most about Order of Ecclesia was its proposal that we traverse environments that weren't all located in a castle (or an inverted one, for that matter). But, regardless, there has been plenty of GBA and DS installments in the franchise leading up to this one. Which of the portable Castlevania titles could you do without or find to be the worst of the bunch? For those of you who aren't Castlevania nuts, have you played any of the games before? Why not?
DS Daily: The Order
With Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia releasing on the DS this past week, how many of you have jumped into the latest Castlevania title? Have you finished it yet, ready to offer your opinions on the game's overall worth? Are you planning on picking it up? Or, do you think the frnachise needs a reboot or some other overhaul to freshen up what you think is a stale series? Let's talk Castlevania!
VC Tuesday: Simon says 'Buy my game for 500 Wii Points'
It's a week of twos on the Virtual Console in Japan. SNK Playmore's Metal Slug 2, which Metal Slug fans generally like, and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is fairly polarizing. Some Castlevanians enjoy its RPG elements and day-to-night cycle, while some hate its plodding gameplay and completely inscrutable puzzles. Everyone's right! We suspect that the release of Simon's Quest is timed to coincide with the latest DS Castlevania game, Order of Ecclesia, which came out last week. Or it's timed to coincide roughly with the one-year anniversary of the North American release of Simon's Quest!Sadly missing from this week's releases is the SuperGrafx Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, which has failed to make its announced October release. Unless Nintendo surprises everyone on Halloween!Virtual Console releases: Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points) Just one WiiWare game, but it's ... well, okay, it's a cheapo Breakout clone. @Simple Series Vol. 1: THE Block Kuzushi Neo (1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
Castlevania, Lost in Blue out next year in Europe
We're not sure whether this counts as a delay, as we don't recall either of these titles being given a release date in the first place, but Konami has now confirmed that Europe won't see Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia or Lost in Blue 3 until 2009. With any luck, we'll still be getting Time Hollow when promised.We Euro folk can probably all agree to bide our time for Lost in Blue 3 -- especially after the reception it got -- but no Castlevania for at least another 70 days? Noooooo! Considering we have vampires for real here in Europe, we must question the wisdom of not letting us getting some Dracula-whupping practice in at the earliest possible date.%Gallery-22992% Like Castlevania? We do -- to an embarrassing degree. Check out our impressions of Order of Ecclesia from E3, settle in for a trailer, or go Behind the Boxart with a Konami graphic designer. But enough talk -- have at you!
Castlevania Judgment just wants to be loved
Will Castlevania Judgment actually be any good? Heck if we know, though recent hands-on previews have labeled it as superior to Soul Calibur Legends. We think that was meant to reassure us.Anyway, this new trailer is trying its hardest to turn our stubborn, Metroidvania-obsessed heads. The music will always makes us tingly inside, and if you squint hard at this latest video -- squint really hard -- you might detect a spiritual 2008 update to Power Stone.%Gallery-27187%[Via press release]
Top 5: Castlevania Games
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Top_5_Castlevania_Games'; This week marks the release of the highly anticipated Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Poised to be more than the usual Metroidvania-romp, Ecclesia's glyph system coupled with great diversity in environments and level layout (we're apparently not stuck inside the castle anymore) has all of us whip-enthusiasts drooling with anticipation. To be honest, Konami could slap the word "Castlevania" on a box of assorted animal feces and we'd still pre-order. Here's the part where I'm supposed take a cheap shot at Castlevania Judgment, but admit it: no matter how many times we all spit on the brawler, we never seem to stop checking out movies or screenshots. Castlevania has us whipped; pardon the hideous pun. Assuming I haven't lost all credibility after the Mega Man list, here's another stab at ranking the best of a legendary franchise. Unlike most other Top 5's, this list is not necessarily Nintendo-specific. Take a gander, and try to pretend that you don't know what number one is. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
DS releases for the week of October 20th
There are a lot of games out this week. In fact, it makes other heavy weeks look absolutely empty, and yet, this blogger only has eyes for one game. In the shadow of Castlevania, there is so little room for anything else. Luckily, even with such a big list, there aren't a lot of contenders even trying for the spotlight. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?: Make the Grade Back at the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games Backyard Football 2009 Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Dancing With the Stars: We Dance! Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell Ener-G: Dance Squad Ener-G: Gym Rockets Ener-G: Horse Rider High School Musical 3: Senior Year The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon Lovely Lisa Master of the Monster Lair Mechanic Master My Baby Girl The Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game Pass the Pigs Smart Girls: Party Game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows SpongeBob Squarepants: Nicktoons Globs of Doom Tornado TouchMaster 2 Transformers: Animated What's Cooking with Jamie Oliver
