Castlevania Judgement

[Hellfire]

Exactly! I think No More Heroes handles it brilliantly, use buttons for most of the fighting and the motion controls for finishers/special moves; no flailing arms and it feels really rewarding to the moves.

 

NMH did come up with an elegant solution, but tbh I don't mind constant "waggling" (I hate this term), since there's no actually flailing unless I want to and I find it more fun that pressing a button. TP simply replaced B with a flick and worked great for me.

Depends on the game, loads of paths can be taken.

[dazzybee]

Yeah, to be honest it doesn't bother me either, speaking more generally. Oh well, this is what we have, so we have to hope it turns our brilliantly.

[Zechs Merquise]

I think IGNs report was a little negative considering it's such an early build. I think graphically it already looks better than a lot of Wii games.

[darkjak]

...the fuck is this?

 

This is as bad idea as making a Zelda racing game, and I would not be surprised one bit if that actually happens in the future.

 

Bullshit. Give us a real Castlevania game.

 

The Wii has a shortage of good fighters. This seems a bit similar to Soul Calibur. And also, all previous 3D Castlevania adventures have been crap.

 

This is a welcome adition.

[Jim]

The Wii has a shortage of good fighters. This seems a bit similar to Soul Calibur. And also, all previous 3D Castlevania adventures have been crap.

 

This is a welcome adition.

 

i personally loved the n64 castlevania I thought the whip might be a great weapon for the wii-mote to utilise, oh wells.

[Jamba]

It's weird, from the screens this really doesn't seem like you can roam around. It seems about as 2D fixed as Soul Calibur, as in you can dodge and move side to side but its no way near as free as Power Stone.

 

In fact to be roaming, wouldn't it be a better idea to tip the camera up a bit to be able to get a sense of moving sideways? I think I need to see some videos.... this title is confusing me now.

[M-PG71C]

At first, I condemned this game. But you know, I think I am willing to keep an open mind now and consider it. It might end up pretty good.

[Deathborn]

Gameplay video:

http://www.gamekyo.com/video12307_castlevania-judgement-premiere-video.html

[Hero-of-Time]

Im on watching Konami conference and the game looks great in motion.

[pedrocasilva]

I like, I like.

[Zechs Merquise]

New gameplay vid looks great, like a darker Soul Calibur.

[Girly hiyaz!~ Gamer]

*cries*

djflksdjflksjfdl

[steggy]

Trailer for the game

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36752.html

 

Not sure why Kiff from futurama does the voice over at the end though

[The-chosen-one]

by seeing some of the gameplay videos i have to say this game has some Potential looks really good in my opinion i hope the story mode is good

and they should have used the original design for Simon belmont he was really cool

 

 

 

hah... the memory's

[Pit-Jr]

It looks like its still early in production but the foundation is there. It can turn out great if they dont rush it out

[mcj metroid]

doesnt look bad...

 

for an early build well excuse it

 

but the ai looks stupid

and the characters do too..

 

but the background looks about on par with soul calibur.. So hopefully they improve the chatacers and for that matter the voice acting

 

could turn out well in the end.

[Deathborn]

 

Thanks for spoiling ...

Now I know that Simon killed Ron and Hermione!

 

[mcj metroid]

by seeing some of the gameplay videos i have to say this game has some Potential looks really good in my opinion i hope the story mode is good

and they should have used the original design for Simon belmont he was really cool

 

 

 

hah... the memory's

they seemed to go with the "lets make him more emo" look..

 

plus that guy looks too much like he man for my liking back in the 80's they always used likenesses to things like that.

[Pete]

This looks like it could be just my cup o tea generally. They will have to get those Wii controls down though. Is it a bad I idea for them to also include the option to use a pad and and have great motion sensor controls as well to choose?

 

Edit :Actually this looks like it could be killer, I prefer Soul Calibur 3D fighting my self to Powerstone style but this still look like it could be a great fighting game.

[Zechs Merquise]

Yeah the character designs aren't classic Castlevania by a long shot - however who's to say there won't be alternative costumes etc?

[Dante]

What could the creators of Castlevania be thinking?

 

After a few years of nothing but portable versions of Konami's classic vampire-hunter action game series, Castlevania made its return to consoles at last week's E3. But instead of a traditional single-player adventure in which your whip-wielding hero plows through levels full of zombies and skeletons on the way to a showdown with Dracula, Castlevania Judgment for Wii is... a two-player fighting game?!

 

Whiskey tango foxtrot, over.

 

Series producer Koji Igarashi, pictured, had an explanation all ready to go when I asked. "Fans have been asking me for a while to do a Wii game using the Wiimote as a whip. But Castlevania is the type of game that fans play for hours at a time, and to swing the Wii remote for hours at a time is a very torturous endeavor. Tiring. So I thought about it a little bit more and thought that if it was a timed sort of game, that you played for a limited time, that would be a nice fit."

 

It all sounds totally logical when you hear the soft-spoken Igarashi describe it like that. But there's something that just doesn't sit right about it. 1up's Jeremy Parish said after experiencing much the same thing:

 

"The saddest thing is watching Koji Igarashi on the E3 show floor, hovering around the Castlevania Judgment kiosk for half an hour, knowing that everyone hates it, knowing that he knows they hate it, then realizing that it's not the game he really wanted to make anyway because his publisher won't give him two dimes to rub together to develop the really awesome games he does want to create."

 

True to form, the eccentric Igarashi did indeed stalk the Konami booth at E3 looking like a character out of his games, donning a fedora and brandishing a whip. This is a man deeply in touch with his fans. Even so, fans didn't want a Castlevania fighting game, but now we've got one. Is it, at least, any good?

 

From my 15 minutes of playing it at E3, it's ... OK. Both players have full run of a 3-D arena, and the gameplay seems inspired by the classic games. You can select a projectile weapon, attack with your character's traditional melee weapon of choice, or use super moves that build up over time.

 

But this isn't Street Fighter. The characters don't have a massive array of secret moves and button combos. They control like characters in a traditional single-player adventure game, like what a true Wii Castlevania would be like if they actually made one. The difference isn't in the controls, it's in who you fight and for how long.

 

Igarashi likens it to the classic Capcom brawler Power Stone. "It's not a fighting game," he says. "It's '3-D versus action.' Unlike a fighting game, which requires very precise timing and button pressing and movements, this one's more of a pick-up-and-play game, where you're collecting items as you're playing."

 

Pick-up-and-play. I've heard that one before, especially in connection with Wii. And sure enough, Igarashi says that he sees Judgment as a way of expanding the appeal of the Castlevania franchise.

"Up until now, Castlevania has focused mostly on the 2-D side-scrolling types of games which have made it successful. But to expand the franchise, I have to try creating other types of things," he says.

 

But Igarashi gave a slightly more revealing answer later in the interview, when I asked him about his feelings on the current state of Japan's game market, and the fact that Wii is outselling PlayStation 3 by huge amounts each week.

 

"Wii is selling, but the 'gamer's games' aren't selling. That's what I'm concerned about," he says. "I think there are two roads you can take: Create a game for the core fans with as low a development cost as possible, the other is to just find a different market for these consoles outside the core gamer."

 

Emphasis mine. If Jeremy Parish is right, and this is a description of how Castlevania Judgment truly came to be -- that is, Konami didn't give him enough of a budget to do anything else -- it isn't especially heartening for series fans.

 

"I have to adapt to the times, but I can't alienate the core fans," he concluded.

 

A few more quotes from Igarashi follow.

 

On the graphics: You'll notice a different style of art that's being used for this game, because the artist we asked to do the art for this game is a famous Japanese manga artist named Takashi Obata. You probably think, wow, the characters aren't what I envision them looking like, especially Simon. But that's Takashi Obata's personal flavor added to what he envisions as the gothic version of these characters.

 

On the music: There is new music, but the way I did it was based on who your opponent is and what game they're from. So when you fight against Simon, it's "Vampire Killer" remixed. Also for example, when you fight Maria, the song from Rondo of Blood called "Slash" will be in the background.

 

On the series' future: Another reason why we did this game was... well, maybe I should have done this for the 20th anniversary of the series, but it's the 22nd anniversary, which I guess is good enough. It's a celebration, bringing different characters from the 22 years of the franchise together. In that sense, when you mention doing a 3-D, single player game in the future, that's definitely a possibility, we could definitely work on that, but right now I'm really focused on this game.

 

On Capcom's Mega Man 9: I'm watching that very closely to see how it does. Myself, I'm a big retro gaming fan, so if it is successful that definitely opens up doors for what I can do.

 

On whether Castlevania just doesn't work in 3-D: Not at all. It's not the franchise itself that won't go to 3-D. I'm actually very frustrated about that and I want to keep trying because I think the franchise can do well in 3-D.

 

Wired.com

[dazzybee]

Tonbe honest he sounds a bit of a dick. Do these people not realise that if you dont put the effort in then OBVIOUSLY the games wont sell. Tell Capcom core games dont sell, tell ubisoft, EA, Sega.... God I hope to fuck Deadly creatures and Conduit and Mad World sell shit loads I really do!!!

 

You dont put the effort or the budget in then you're game won't sell. Dont these people have any intellect!?

[M-PG71C]

Developers, though, are always underneath the heat of the publishers. Iga was basically told by Konami, "Hey, well, fuck, we're not giving you a big budget for a console that consists of mini games. So you got $1000 to work with and if it is not enough, then you better move elsewhere or create something 'casual'". One of the most common complaints going around is that publishers don't want to publish core content on the Wii because they are scared it is going to fail. Which is sad, to be frank.

[DazzeL]

Tonbe honest he sounds a bit of a dick. Do these people not realise that if you dont put the effort in then OBVIOUSLY the games wont sell. Tell Capcom core games dont sell, tell ubisoft, EA, Sega.... God I hope to fuck Deadly creatures and Conduit and Mad World sell shit loads I really do!!!

 

You dont put the effort or the budget in then you're game won't sell. Dont these people have any intellect!?

 

I hear what you're saying but the sad fact is that Deadly Creatures and Mad World will not sell loads. They might do ok but not loads. Not that they'd do amazing on 360 either, they wouldn't. Their core games but very niche core games.

 

The Conduit is our glimmering hope for a big seller imo. It's "standard" enough to appeal widely to the core and it looks decent.

[Dante]

Developers, though, are always underneath the heat of the publishers. Iga was basically told by Konami, "Hey, well, fuck, we're not giving you a big budget for a console that consists of mini games. So you got $1000 to work with and if it is not enough, then you better move elsewhere or create something 'casual'". One of the most common complaints going around is that publishers don't want to publish core content on the Wii because they are scared it is going to fail. Which is sad, to be frank.

 

True and Konami are thinking castlevania is dead series on the back of Dracula X Chronicle's incredible failure on PSP.