Castlevania: Judgement Gameplay Footage

Oh Konami…why couldn’t you have made a new 3d Castlevania adventure? Instead you went a made a 3d fighter? I know Koji Igarashi said that people would get tired of waggling the wii remote back and forth to attack. But after having played Castlevania: Judgement it became apparent that they could have made a full fledged Castlevania game and fans would’ve been more open to that than a fighting game of all things. Ahh well i gotta give them credit for trying something different that’s for sure. Now the question is will fans flock to this game or condemn it to the deep dark bowels of Dracula’s castle? Only time will tell, for now peep the video and check out our in depth hands on impressions for this game.

Preview: Whipping Some Ass With Castlevania Judgment

It was funny hearing that “Castlevania: Judgment” shouldn’t be called a “fighting” game, even though it could very easily pass for one. In case you’re looking to categorically correct, Koji Igarashi, and the team at Konami are calling “Judgment” a “3D versus action game” and so should you. In their defense, it isn’t your typical fighter, but not calling it a fighter is like saying sky blue isn’t really a shade of blue. Attempting to call it anything other than what it is might take away from the the overall goal in the newest “Castlevania” which is, like all other fighting games, to beat the snot out of your opponent.

At a recent demo, I was told by one of Konami’s product managers that the upcoming title for the Wii was created to be a pick-up-and-play, multiplayer game. In other words, the controls are supposed to be easy to learn (which they are) but not very precise (and they are not), in hopes that this re-imagining of the classic franchise might appeal to the Wii’s broader audience. So much so that, one of the goals of “Judgment” was to take advantage of the Wii’s motion controls, but within reason, and not force players to over exert themselves.

“Castlevania: Judgment” doesn’t appear to be anything but a fighting game from the outset, partially because it’s hard to shake that label when you have two characters beating each other up under the confines of their enviornment and the match’s time limit. However, both of those confines are what really help define this new game in their own unique way. [Continue Reading]

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia trailer

You knew it was coming! That’s right, a new Castlevania has been announced for the Nintendo DS. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia will have for the first time a female protagonist as the lead character. This will be the third Castlevania game released on the DS and in this version you’ll once again hunt for Dracula. At your disposal you’ll have all sorts of magic based weapons with a twist, all your weapon attacks consume mp! No longer will you be able to consistenly mash buttons to attack, you’ll have to watch your MP bar to make sure it doesn’t deplite, otherwise your attacks will have no effect on your opponents.

But before you yell wtf! all is not lost as your MP bar will instantly regain its energy back the moment you stop attacking. Konami stated that there will be weapons in the game that don’t deplite MP when used. And for those that bitched about the anime styled art from the previous games, you’ll be happy to know that konami has gone back to the more painterly styled art.  Gamers will be happy that Konami choose to keep these games 2d and on the ds, the dual screen is a blessing! You can have your map displayed at all times on the top and that helps out a hella lot in my book! This new Castlevania drops this fall in Japan and proably won’t hit stateside until the Winter 2008-09. For now, peep the trailer below and get ready for another trip to that ol’ castle.