An experimental Castlevania 3 demo (and MORE!)

[NickyP]

"NickyP, what the **** are you doing, not working on ClaFan?!!"

I know, I know. It's like the best mod I've ever made, and I should work on it 24/7. But still, I wanted to try something different. And it's.... well, it's kinda neat.



Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?36029zj9zbz4zbv

Controls/How To Play:

-Attack attacks, Skill (Attack2 button) uses an MP-consuming alternative attack. Both buttons can be used in the air.
-You can duck. And attack while ducking.
-5 different characters! Oh boy!

EDIT: Here's an alternative, 16-bit version of the same type of game:



Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?jfl6rclst26dfia

Controls/How To Play:

-Same as above, with the addition of sliding (duck+jump)
-You can't take damage while sliding, so it's like a dodge.

Working on this mod taught me something: I suck at making platformers in OpenBOR. So, I said to myself, why do I have to make a Castlevania mod with platforms? Why can't it be a normal beat em up? Well, this mod taught me that Castlevania + normal beat em up = an awkward experience. Then, I looked at BonusJZ's Vampire Hunters. It's good, but something about just wasn't right. So I studied that, trying to figure out where that mod went wrong. The result is this demo.

See, my philosophy in this demo is simple. If you make it a 2D beat em up, but have lots of small groups of enemies (instead of a few large groups of enemies), the gameplay doesn't get stale so fast. There's a good sense of pacing and progression, even though you're on a flat line. At least, in my opinion. You guys tell me.

I'll go back to ClaFan, but I just wanted feedback on this experiment. Y'know, for future reference, etc.

EDIT: Oh yeah. The clocktower stage is a copy/paste of the village. And there aren't any appropriate Castlevania sound effects. This is strictly an experiment (for now).

[Bloodbane]

 Hey, we need break once in a while!

 I'm getting this now, will comment later. Nice work BTW!

If you make it a 2D beat em up, but have lots of small groups of enemies (instead of a few large groups of enemies), the gameplay doesn't get stale so fast.

 that's how I usually do it in my mods, with exception of Contra, Rainbow and CV collab demo. The latters have different rule that's why.

[darknior]

Thanks a lot, i will try your demo
I love the original  game

[Vyck_St.Judas]

ninja'd... 
How you manage to stay just 2 steps ahead I'll never know. 

[NickyP]

ninja'd... 
How you manage to stay just 2 steps ahead I'll never know. 

You aren't the only one here who has an obsession with using NES stuff. 

Seriously, you have a CV3 project too? Hey, post it here! Why not, right?

[Vyck_St.Judas]

Not a full mod yet. I'm spriting out all the visual resources, ripping all the sfx/music stuff...
hmm... sharing is caring right?
The attachment is all the SFX you need + something else.
The chars are more master system 8-bit because I like the candy colors.
I've got resources for days. let me know somthing.

[NickyP]

You forgot to attach it. 

EDIT: Since you brought up not-so-8-bit...

This guy on the castlevaniadungeons forums, Jorge Fuentes, made some seriously cool sprites. They are like SNES-style detailed versions of the characters from CV3 (well, all but Grant). I'll attach the sheets in case you (or anyone else) wants to use them. I was going to use them for this mod, but they would clash too much with 8-bit enemies...

The two Trevor sheets use colors from Fake Trevor (SOTN), and his classic brown that you see in CV3.

[Vyck_St.Judas]

  
WOW!  sorry!
I just cam back from the gym and face palmed mega hard.
I just feel all silly
It's attached now. Let me know what you guys think of Billy and Jimmy, k?

[Vyck_St.Judas]

I'm a member over at the CV dungeon too!
I got these from there as well.

[Vyck_St.Judas]

Would you mind If I tinkered with this a bit?
If not, a question:
Preferred resolution? 320x240, 480x272 (PSP)? Other?

[Vyck_St.Judas]

I ask because the rondo of blood levels translate to 8 bit pretty well.
Sorry, 8 bit stuff gets me all excited.

[NickyP]

Those sfx will definitely come in handy if I pick this mod up again, thanks!. And I've seen most of those sheets, but the SOTN styled Richter and Trevor are too cute! Aghh, so many cool sprites that I want to use, and there's not enough me to use them...!!

Would you mind If I tinkered with this a bit?
If not, a question:
Preferred resolution? 320x240, 480x272 (PSP)? Other?

Go right ahead dude. Honestly I stick to 320x240 for guaranteed compatibility, but you can do whatever. Even when I play on my PSP, I just use filters to fill up the screen.

[Vyck_St.Judas]

A Castlevania themed Clafan would be Pretty darn cool.
In the meantime Let's see what i can come up with.

[NickyP]

A Castlevania themed Clafan would be Pretty darn cool.

You mean a Castlevania beat em up with the world map/quest style of ClaFan? But I suck at platforming, and making a 3D CV-style beat em up just doesn't "feel" right! I mean it's a (really) cool idea, sure, but I'm still trying to figure out the type of gameplay I should use for a Castlevania anything. 

Did you know that I've even thought of trying King of Dragons type gameplay? You know, with the no combos, most enemies die with one hit, etc? I might try that next, actually.

[Vyck_St.Judas]

Platforms are no big deal.    My problem is enemy grouping. 
What I mean is a setup like "Clafan" but in 2D instead of 2.5D.
There is more than enough material to work with. It's also 8bit, so it's not hard to just make whatever you might need as well. Organizing resources like dust, hit-flashes, or special death effects would be a good place to start... If this kind of thing interests you. 

To start, at the bottom are the NES palettes I use. The first is the traditional NES pallete with extra Gameboy Cream spinach greens. The second Is the NES palette with expanded grays and browns. both can be applied to anything 8 bit.