Konami Gamers' Day 2005 First-Look: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Could this be the first great 3D Castlevania game? It's starting to look like it.
Published: January 31, 2005
A while back, I had to come to accept that there would probably never be a proper sequel to Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation 2. Sony's mysterious indirect (or direct, depending on what developer you talk to) poo-pooing of 2D games essentially meant I had all but given up on the whole notion.
Before you start thinking this is a segway into some kind of earth-shattering unveiling of Konami's SotN sequel, think again; I'm merely waxing nostalgic about something that may or may not happen, if long-time Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi's vague comments about wanting to do a 2D game again during the Gamers' Day event Konami threw last week are to be believed.
Still, all is not lost. I personally would love to see the series make a proper and fitting leap into 3D, especially if it means the quality of the 2D experience can really come part and parcel with it (I'm still not sure it can). If not a full-on sequel, it seems Konami's forays into pushing the series into 3D are making notable strides in the right direction, slowly incorporating some of the RPG and adventure elements that made the old 2D games so damned fun.
The fruits of their latest effort, Curse of Darkeness seem like the first truly exciting step in that direction. A heavy influx of RPG-style character development and action-driven complements to the role-playing formula (including visible feedback on HP damage) as well as some interesting new additions all tie into a storyline that, while a bit on the cheesy side (and really, what would Castlevania be without cheese?), certainly fit with the whole mythos.
Falling somewhere around three years after the events of Castlevania III where Dracula was finally offed, sending a wave of evil across Europe, inciting heresy, disease and all the fun that came with the Dark Ages, CoD tells the tale of Hector, one of two Devil Forgemasters working for Dracula before the events of the first game. As Dracula's motivations became more and more sinister, Hector began to lose faith in his mentor, finally leaving to pursue a normal life with his wife, and opening up Drac to the now-infamous Belmont family's tireless quest to vanquish the gothy neck fetishist.
Fellow Devil Forgemaster and one-time friend Isaac sees Dracula's death as Hector's fault, and convinces the tainted European rabble obsessed with witch hunts that Hector's wife is bunking with the Devil and therefore must stand trial. Everyone knows how logical and well-meaning those trials were, and with wifey's fate sealed and delivered, Hector's purpose in life becomes a single-minded course of revenge, leading him back to his former home, now completely corrupted to the core by the dark magic released when Drac got the axe.
The biggest addition to the series, aside from the fact that the Belmont/Dracula conflict is no longer present, is in fact Hector's Devil Forgery, which allows him to create and upgrade Innocent Devils -- creatures that can take the form of anything from a raven to an animated suit of armor (that's all we've seen so far), offering help in combat (including some impressive combo attacks) as well as allowing Hector to cross chasms or open heavy doors. The process of creating, using and improving these helpers is a major part of the game, and offers an almost Pokemon-esque dynamic to the RPG-tinged adventure elements.
It remains to be seen how CoD storyline and larger focus on experience-driven character development will work, and even more importantly, how the balance of 3D combat will work with the puzzle solving and exploration elements that made the older games so good will turn out. We'll be sure to offer up more goodies as soon as we know them. For now, though, there are a few choice screenshots to whet your appetite for what's to come.
Before you start thinking this is a segway into some kind of earth-shattering unveiling of Konami's SotN sequel, think again; I'm merely waxing nostalgic about something that may or may not happen, if long-time Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi's vague comments about wanting to do a 2D game again during the Gamers' Day event Konami threw last week are to be believed.
Still, all is not lost. I personally would love to see the series make a proper and fitting leap into 3D, especially if it means the quality of the 2D experience can really come part and parcel with it (I'm still not sure it can). If not a full-on sequel, it seems Konami's forays into pushing the series into 3D are making notable strides in the right direction, slowly incorporating some of the RPG and adventure elements that made the old 2D games so damned fun.
The fruits of their latest effort, Curse of Darkeness seem like the first truly exciting step in that direction. A heavy influx of RPG-style character development and action-driven complements to the role-playing formula (including visible feedback on HP damage) as well as some interesting new additions all tie into a storyline that, while a bit on the cheesy side (and really, what would Castlevania be without cheese?), certainly fit with the whole mythos.
Falling somewhere around three years after the events of Castlevania III where Dracula was finally offed, sending a wave of evil across Europe, inciting heresy, disease and all the fun that came with the Dark Ages, CoD tells the tale of Hector, one of two Devil Forgemasters working for Dracula before the events of the first game. As Dracula's motivations became more and more sinister, Hector began to lose faith in his mentor, finally leaving to pursue a normal life with his wife, and opening up Drac to the now-infamous Belmont family's tireless quest to vanquish the gothy neck fetishist.
Fellow Devil Forgemaster and one-time friend Isaac sees Dracula's death as Hector's fault, and convinces the tainted European rabble obsessed with witch hunts that Hector's wife is bunking with the Devil and therefore must stand trial. Everyone knows how logical and well-meaning those trials were, and with wifey's fate sealed and delivered, Hector's purpose in life becomes a single-minded course of revenge, leading him back to his former home, now completely corrupted to the core by the dark magic released when Drac got the axe.
The biggest addition to the series, aside from the fact that the Belmont/Dracula conflict is no longer present, is in fact Hector's Devil Forgery, which allows him to create and upgrade Innocent Devils -- creatures that can take the form of anything from a raven to an animated suit of armor (that's all we've seen so far), offering help in combat (including some impressive combo attacks) as well as allowing Hector to cross chasms or open heavy doors. The process of creating, using and improving these helpers is a major part of the game, and offers an almost Pokemon-esque dynamic to the RPG-tinged adventure elements.
It remains to be seen how CoD storyline and larger focus on experience-driven character development will work, and even more importantly, how the balance of 3D combat will work with the puzzle solving and exploration elements that made the older games so good will turn out. We'll be sure to offer up more goodies as soon as we know them. For now, though, there are a few choice screenshots to whet your appetite for what's to come.
