Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
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As someone who grew up with PBS as a child, I salute this thread that has snuck inside the conversation!
I strongly recommend you stop spamming one liners.
Winter 2016 (Part 3) - Open World Castlevania?
Castlevania: Nightshade Of The Witch
Castlevania: Nightshade Of The Witch is an action RPG published by Ubisoft and developed by Koji Igarashi's new development studio. It features a fully 3-D environment centered around a village, a forest, and a large castle, and the castle is where most of the game's action takes place. The game itself takes place in the early 18th Century, in the time of witch hunts, and sees protagonist Castor Belmont coming to the village investigating a vampiric attack, only to encounter the deadly witches inhabiting the castle, and must discover the link between the vampire attacks and the deadly witchcraft taking place there. The castle itself, as well as its surrounding environments, are infested by beasts, thralls, and the undead, and Castor will need to use a variety of weapons, including swords, whips, and bows, to take them down. Combat is fairly simplistic, with the player able to equip two weapons at once (either one melee and one ranged, two melee, or two ranged) as well as a special weapon, and depending on the enemy and the situation, certain types of weapons will be more useful than others. Castor also has access to different kinds of armor, which can increase his defense and give him special properties to aid him in battle. He also has access to Witchcraft, special kinds of magic acquired from tracing Witch Runes which can be found throughout the castle or by defeating certain enemies. This Witchcraft has a wide variety of special properties, both offensive and defensive, and is crucial to Castor's success. Castor is also an herbalist, and there's an extensive herb mixing subquest that Castor can use to enhance his abilities and give himself power-ups, both temporary and permanent. Though herb mixing doesn't seem so powerful at first, it's actually the key to making the player really powerful, and pretty much essential for speedrunning and battling the game's superbosses. The gameplay itself is quite similar to Bloodborne and the Souls games of IOTL (though not nearly as punishing/difficult), with a similar aesthetic and fairly similar combat (the game isn't hack and slash). It's quite a bloody game, and one of the few Castlevania titles to earn an M rating. The graphics themselves are pretty solid for a modern 3-D title, with Ubisoft's budget helping Igarashi to give his castle a lot of detail and fluidity. The game also features extensive voice acting, with Feodor Chin as Castor Belmont and Laura Bailey as the game's primary antagonist, the queen witch Lefaria.
Castor starts out in the village itself, fending off a group of thralls who seem to have been magically enslaved by a vampire lord. Fighting his way through the thralls, he enters the castle, where he learns that the vampire lord is under the spell of a witch, a young witch recruit named Anna who is testing her powers and has been using them to control various people and creatures. Anna is the youngest of a coven of five witches who have taken over the castle, deposing the vampire lord and imposing their will on every living creature in the vicinity. Castor soon meets Lefaria, but is far too weak to defeat her, and is imprisoned deep below the castle, where he meets several other victims of the coven. He eventually escapes through a series of caves and tunnels, to the forest surrounding the village, where he eventually stumbles upon a sacrificial coven ritual led by another witch that he must eventually defeat to make his way back to the castle. He learns that witches have been seeking vampiric powers in order to survive the witch hunts that have decimated their kind, and that Anna was forced to witness her older sister being burned at the stake before being saved by a vampire named Rostov. Castor remembers battling Rostov to a draw several years back, and that Rostov mentioned a demonic ritual that only a witch can perform. Castor continues to fight his way through the castle, battling and defeating two more witches along the way. He meets Anna again, and tries to reason with her, but she rebukes him, claiming to only have eyes for Rostov. Castor learns that Rostov is alive and nearby, and that he saved Anna in order to have her kill the vampire lord of this castle. He realizes that Anna has been caught up in a vampire power struggle, and that Rostov seeks to defeat Lefaria and leech her power, with Anna's help, playing the two witches against one another by claiming to love both of them. Eventually, Rostov, realizing Anna is useless, betrays her and sides with Lefaria. Anna then battles Castor, realizing her folly only after being defeated and mortally wounded. She grants Castor one final Witch Rune to use to defeat Rostov and Lefaria. Rostov attempts to poison Lefaria, but Lefaria has seen through his deception, revealing herself to already be a vampire, and drinking his blood to gain his power. A drained Rostov transforms into a bat monster before battling Castor, who defeats him and then confronts Lefaria in the castle atelier. The final battle against Lefaria takes place in two phases: the first phase is against a mostly humanlike Lefaria who uses witchcraft and a sword to battle Castor, while the second phase is against a demonic vampire monster Lefaria, who uses more powerful witchcraft and superhuman speed and strength. Once Lefaria is defeated, the castle's curse is broken and the threat of the coven is ended. Castor, empowered by his new Witch Runes, goes forth to slay more vampires, though he's also inspired by Anna's story to see what he can do to end the witch purges.
Castlevania: Nightshade Of The Witch is released in March 2016, not only for the Reality and Virtua, but also for the Connect and Gemini, with slight graphical downgrades and no differences in the gameplay or story. It's the most hyped Castlevania game to come out in some time, especially in the West, with Ubisoft really looking to push the series as a AAA franchise. For the most part, it succeeds, achieving the fastest sales of any Castlevania ever. Reviews are quite good, averaging in the low 8s, though the game's combat system is seen as being a bit too slow and simple compared to most other action titles of its day, and the main campaign is seen as being a bit too short (which is somewhat mitigated by the three storyline DLC chapters that would come later on). It's a nice return to form for the series, which has now settled in as a proper action RPG series, but it could definitely be bigger and better. It's not a disappointment, but a sign of slightly unfulfilled potential. The game's success, however, gives Ubisoft a reason to expand Igarashi's budget for the next Castlevania game... an open world 3-D title set in the modern world. It's extremely ambitious, and it won't be announced until 2018, but it's easily the biggest Castlevania-based project yet, and Igarashi would have the help of a bigger studio and a lot more resources to get it done. Production on the new Castlevania game would begin around the time Nightshade Of The Witch was being released, and the game itself is expected to be released right around the turn of the decade. In the meantime, Ubisoft would also fund at least one smaller scale Castlevania project, and a crossover with an Ubisoft property isn't out of the question either.
Castlevania: Nightshade Of The Witch is an action RPG published by Ubisoft and developed by Koji Igarashi's new development studio. It features a fully 3-D environment centered around a village, a forest, and a large castle, and the castle is where most of the game's action takes place. The game itself takes place in the early 18th Century, in the time of witch hunts, and sees protagonist Castor Belmont coming to the village investigating a vampiric attack, only to encounter the deadly witches inhabiting the castle, and must discover the link between the vampire attacks and the deadly witchcraft taking place there. The castle itself, as well as its surrounding environments, are infested by beasts, thralls, and the undead, and Castor will need to use a variety of weapons, including swords, whips, and bows, to take them down. Combat is fairly simplistic, with the player able to equip two weapons at once (either one melee and one ranged, two melee, or two ranged) as well as a special weapon, and depending on the enemy and the situation, certain types of weapons will be more useful than others. Castor also has access to different kinds of armor, which can increase his defense and give him special properties to aid him in battle. He also has access to Witchcraft, special kinds of magic acquired from tracing Witch Runes which can be found throughout the castle or by defeating certain enemies. This Witchcraft has a wide variety of special properties, both offensive and defensive, and is crucial to Castor's success. Castor is also an herbalist, and there's an extensive herb mixing subquest that Castor can use to enhance his abilities and give himself power-ups, both temporary and permanent. Though herb mixing doesn't seem so powerful at first, it's actually the key to making the player really powerful, and pretty much essential for speedrunning and battling the game's superbosses. The gameplay itself is quite similar to Bloodborne and the Souls games of IOTL (though not nearly as punishing/difficult), with a similar aesthetic and fairly similar combat (the game isn't hack and slash). It's quite a bloody game, and one of the few Castlevania titles to earn an M rating. The graphics themselves are pretty solid for a modern 3-D title, with Ubisoft's budget helping Igarashi to give his castle a lot of detail and fluidity. The game also features extensive voice acting, with Feodor Chin as Castor Belmont and Laura Bailey as the game's primary antagonist, the queen witch Lefaria.
Castor starts out in the village itself, fending off a group of thralls who seem to have been magically enslaved by a vampire lord. Fighting his way through the thralls, he enters the castle, where he learns that the vampire lord is under the spell of a witch, a young witch recruit named Anna who is testing her powers and has been using them to control various people and creatures. Anna is the youngest of a coven of five witches who have taken over the castle, deposing the vampire lord and imposing their will on every living creature in the vicinity. Castor soon meets Lefaria, but is far too weak to defeat her, and is imprisoned deep below the castle, where he meets several other victims of the coven. He eventually escapes through a series of caves and tunnels, to the forest surrounding the village, where he eventually stumbles upon a sacrificial coven ritual led by another witch that he must eventually defeat to make his way back to the castle. He learns that witches have been seeking vampiric powers in order to survive the witch hunts that have decimated their kind, and that Anna was forced to witness her older sister being burned at the stake before being saved by a vampire named Rostov. Castor remembers battling Rostov to a draw several years back, and that Rostov mentioned a demonic ritual that only a witch can perform. Castor continues to fight his way through the castle, battling and defeating two more witches along the way. He meets Anna again, and tries to reason with her, but she rebukes him, claiming to only have eyes for Rostov. Castor learns that Rostov is alive and nearby, and that he saved Anna in order to have her kill the vampire lord of this castle. He realizes that Anna has been caught up in a vampire power struggle, and that Rostov seeks to defeat Lefaria and leech her power, with Anna's help, playing the two witches against one another by claiming to love both of them. Eventually, Rostov, realizing Anna is useless, betrays her and sides with Lefaria. Anna then battles Castor, realizing her folly only after being defeated and mortally wounded. She grants Castor one final Witch Rune to use to defeat Rostov and Lefaria. Rostov attempts to poison Lefaria, but Lefaria has seen through his deception, revealing herself to already be a vampire, and drinking his blood to gain his power. A drained Rostov transforms into a bat monster before battling Castor, who defeats him and then confronts Lefaria in the castle atelier. The final battle against Lefaria takes place in two phases: the first phase is against a mostly humanlike Lefaria who uses witchcraft and a sword to battle Castor, while the second phase is against a demonic vampire monster Lefaria, who uses more powerful witchcraft and superhuman speed and strength. Once Lefaria is defeated, the castle's curse is broken and the threat of the coven is ended. Castor, empowered by his new Witch Runes, goes forth to slay more vampires, though he's also inspired by Anna's story to see what he can do to end the witch purges.
Castlevania: Nightshade Of The Witch is released in March 2016, not only for the Reality and Virtua, but also for the Connect and Gemini, with slight graphical downgrades and no differences in the gameplay or story. It's the most hyped Castlevania game to come out in some time, especially in the West, with Ubisoft really looking to push the series as a AAA franchise. For the most part, it succeeds, achieving the fastest sales of any Castlevania ever. Reviews are quite good, averaging in the low 8s, though the game's combat system is seen as being a bit too slow and simple compared to most other action titles of its day, and the main campaign is seen as being a bit too short (which is somewhat mitigated by the three storyline DLC chapters that would come later on). It's a nice return to form for the series, which has now settled in as a proper action RPG series, but it could definitely be bigger and better. It's not a disappointment, but a sign of slightly unfulfilled potential. The game's success, however, gives Ubisoft a reason to expand Igarashi's budget for the next Castlevania game... an open world 3-D title set in the modern world. It's extremely ambitious, and it won't be announced until 2018, but it's easily the biggest Castlevania-based project yet, and Igarashi would have the help of a bigger studio and a lot more resources to get it done. Production on the new Castlevania game would begin around the time Nightshade Of The Witch was being released, and the game itself is expected to be released right around the turn of the decade. In the meantime, Ubisoft would also fund at least one smaller scale Castlevania project, and a crossover with an Ubisoft property isn't out of the question either.
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If we do see Castlevania mixed in with a Ubisoft property, might I suggest crossing it over with Zombi, and calling it Castlevania: Attack of the Zombis?