“Castlevania Advance Collection” is on sale for home game consoles and PCs from September 24th. “Castlevania Advance Collection” consists of the three “Castlevania” series released for the portable game console “Game Boy Advance” (GBA) released in 2001, and the three titles of the “Castlevania” series released for the handheld game console “Game Boy Advance” (GBA) released in 2001, and for the stationary console “Super Famicom” released in 1990. It is a collection title that combines a total of four works of “Akumajo Dracula XX (Double X)” released in 1995 into one.
The three “Castlevania” series released for the Game Boy Advance are exploration-based action games that follow the lineage of “Castlevania: Moonlight Nocturne” released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The player explores the maze-like interior of the demon castle, collecting items and fighting enemies as they progress through the story.
Another “Akumajo Dracula XX” is a stage-clearing action game. This is a remake of “Akumajo Dracula
The prices of these four games were soaring due to the very small number of them on the used market, making them difficult to acquire. Both were later reprinted for the WiiU’s “Virtual Console,” but the WiiU has already discontinued production. Sales are still ongoing as of 2021, but the purchase hurdles continue to rise every year.
The “Castlevania Advance Collection” was released during this time, making it possible to easily play the four games that had become rare items on current game consoles. I was welcomed. At the same time, with the release and reprint of this work, expectations for “something” are increasing.
It is a reprint for the current console of the three “Akumajo Dracula” titles released for the Nintendo DS, also known as the “DS trilogy.” The DS trilogy is also a game that is hard to get your hands on as prices have skyrocketed on the used market. If it becomes possible to play it on current consoles, expectations are rising.
However, I think it will be more difficult than the four works that have been revived this time. The reason is simple. This is because both titles were released for the Nintendo DS (DS), a game console with unique characteristics, and have elements associated with it.
A trilogy with features and functions unique to DS
First of all, what kind of work is “Akumajo Dracula”, which is called the DS trilogy?
The basic content is the same as the GBA Dracula series mentioned above. It is an action game that focuses on exploring a vast maze-like map. Since the characteristics differ for each work, we will introduce them individually below.
Castlevania: Cross of the Blue Moon (released in 2005)
A direct sequel set one year after “Castlevania Dawn Moon Dance” (hereinafter referred to as Dawn Moon), which is also included in “Castlevania Advance Collection”.
Following on from Akatsuki, the main character is Kurusu Soma, and the story depicts a fight to thwart the ambitions of a cult that is plotting the second coming of the Demon King. The system continues to use the same “Tactical Soul System” as Akatsuki, which collects enemy souls to acquire special abilities. In addition, with the transition to the DS, which features a two-screen configuration, a style was adopted in which information such as the stage map and status are displayed on the top, and the main game screen is placed on the bottom. In addition, a new element called “Mafuujin” has been added, which allows you to create a seal by drawing a line as specified on the touch screen at the bottom when delivering the final blow to a boss.
Castlevania: Gallery of Labyrinth (released in 2006)
A new work that inherits the worldview of “Vampire Killer” released for Mega Drive in 1994. A story about vampire hunter Jonathan Morris and magical girl Charlotte Orlin, who are dispatched by the church to uncover the mystery of a devilish castle that suddenly revived in Europe during World War II.
Its biggest feature is that it allows you to control the two main characters, just as the setting suggests. Switch between the two depending on the situation and explore and battle. It is also possible to have two people appear at the same time, and it is also possible to provide attack support or order them to stand still in order to move the device. In addition, a new sub-event called “Quest” has been introduced, and each time you complete it, you can receive items as a reward.
Castlevania: Stolen Seal (released in 2008)
As of 2021, this is the last title in the exploration-based Dracula series. The story is set in Transylvania in the early 19th century, when the Belmondo clan, who had subjugated the demon king Count Dracula, disappeared, and depicts the battle of Shanoa, a female warrior who belongs to the anti-Dracula organization Elexia. It is characterized by a play style that relies mainly on weapons called “glyphs” and special abilities that activate magic.
The focus is on combat more than before, and the difficulty level has been adjusted to be higher. In addition, the game has been redesigned to incorporate elements of the stage-clearing Dracula series, in which the game progresses by selecting an area from the overall map to explore. In this connection, many areas other than the Devil’s Castle that existed in the previous work “Gallery of Labyrinth” appear in this work.
Although some parts have been omitted, the above is an overview and characteristics of each of the trilogy.
As you can probably tell, all three games are based on the characteristics of the DS, a game console with two screens and a touch screen. This is a completely different work than the three games from the GBA era, which were completed on one screen.
The “Cross of the Blue Moon” particularly shows this characteristic. As the 2005 release suggests, there were many games on the DS around this time that made use of two screens and a touch screen. Although it seems that the operation can be completed with the cross key and buttons, one of them is assigned to touch the touch screen, or it is made to be used in parallel with both.
“Cross of the Blue Moon” falls under the latter category, and requires operations on the touch screen when using the new element for boss battles called the “Magic Sealing Circle” mentioned above. Additionally, in “Cross of the Blue Moon,” you will never be able to defeat the boss unless you successfully complete the “Magic Sealing Formation.” If you fail, the boss’s health, which should have been reduced to 0, will recover a little and the battle will continue.
In addition to the “magic seal”, there is also an obstacle called the “crystal block” that requires operation on the touch screen. It can only be broken by touching the screen directly. In addition, operations on the touch screen are required when selecting which enemy you want to attack with the character “familiar” who will accompany you in exploration and battle, and you will need to touch the screen directly each time. However, compared to “Magic Sealing Formation” and “Crystal Block”, it is just a bonus, and it does not have much influence on the strategy of the game. On the other hand, “Magic Sealing Formation” and “Crystal Block” have a large impact, making it extremely difficult to deal with them using button operations.
Because there are elements that depend on the characteristics of the DS, it is thought that it would be difficult to reproduce “Cross of the Blue Moon” on current machines in particular. In addition, there are elements that use touch screens in the two later games as well. In “Gallery of Labyrinth”, the side story “Sister Mode”, which is unlocked after the game is cleared, almost requires touch operations. In “Stolen Seal”, the touch operation itself is a complete bonus (*as a supplement to “Albus Mode” after clearing the game), and the game is basically designed to be played only by button operations.
For this reason, it is possible to reprint “The Stolen Seal” for the current model, but it will be necessary to consider a solution for the remaining two games. Therefore, the difficulty of reprinting is not comparable to the three GBA games. I think it would be extremely difficult to do so.
However, I cannot say for sure that reprinting itself is impossible or absolutely impossible. In fact, there are quite a few games with elements that depend on the features of the DS that have been reprinted on current consoles by implementing solutions.
Numerous solutions revealed by some reprints
One that is still fresh in my memory is “Rockman Z/X.” This is a new Rockman series that was released in two games on the DS in 2006 and 2007, and was also made with a two-screen configuration and a touch screen system.
In the reprint title “Rockman Zero & ZX Double Hero Collection” released in 2020, a series of features have been greatly arranged.
The two-screen configuration has been addressed by designing a dedicated layout that fits within one screen, and touch screen operations have been changed to cursor operations using the right stick. The latter is a bit annoying as it is no longer able to respond as quickly as the original, but it has little effect on gameplay and creates an environment where you can play without any flaws.
“Extreme Escape: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors,” released in 2009, is one such example.
“Extreme Escape 9 Hours 9 People 9 Doors” was released on Nico Nico Douga in 2012, and the web app version was released for free for premium members for a limited time, and in 2013 “9 Hours 9 People 9 Doors” In 2017, an iOS app version called “Smart Sound Novel” was released, and in 2017, “ZERO ESCAPE 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors – Zennin Shibou Death
Double Pack”, which also included the sequel “Extreme Escape ADV Zennin Shibou Death”, was released.
One of the most iconic of these is the “double pack.” This “Double Pack” was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Windows PC (Steam), and along with it, various systems that were originally designed for two-screen configurations were all integrated into one screen. It has been updated. As a result, some aspects of the story are significantly different from the original version. However, there are no problems with the progress of the game, and the addition of useful features such as flowcharts has made the game even easier to play.
There are also other geeky titles, including “Rocks Quest: New American Archinia’s 100 Days’ War” released in 2009, which was reprinted for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC in 2017 (*PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are available overseas) Proprietary). The screen layout has been updated and the operating style has been changed, making it possible to play the game on current game consoles without any problems.
Given these examples, it can be said that it is not unreasonable to reprint the Castlevania DS trilogy on current consoles.
Although it is essentially a solid port, there is also an example of the DS Virtual Console that was supplied with Wii U.
It all depends on what direction you want to take. Thinking about “Cross of the Blue Moon,” the ideal direction would be “Extreme Escape: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors.” Contain all elements on one screen. Regarding the two-screen configuration, there is an example of “Rockman Z/X”, and the game is not designed to be played unless you are looking at two screens, so it seems that you can deal with it without any problems with that method.
What’s more, this two-screen feature has been changed to a single screen, making it possible to reprint the current machine, including “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate”, one of the Dracula series. Therefore, I don’t think there will be any difficulties in dealing with the screen configuration.
The problems are “Magic Seal”, “Crystal Block”, and “Sister Mode” of “Gallery of Labyrinth”. In particular, the “crystal blocks” that are parallel to the player character’s operations can be made to be able to be destroyed by direct attacks, or can be dealt with by operating the right stick + some unused button based on the original operation style. . From the perspective of someone who has experienced the original version, where the forced use of the touch screen left a strong impression on me, I wish they had made it so that it could be destroyed directly by attacks. However, since there are scenes in the main story where doing so would not work, it may be more likely that the latter method will be taken.
“Magical Seal” will probably also use the right stick.
In that case, the choice is to either allow the cursor on the stick to move freely, or to limit the focus to return to the center when you move the stick in any direction and speak. Ideally, it would be the latter, which is optimized for stick operation, but it may also be an option to completely remove elements that were unpopular in the original version.
Although we won’t know which one will emerge in the end until we see the actual product, just thinking about it like this will help us come up with some countermeasures.
The other question is whether the copyright holder and the developer have the motivation to go through the process of creating a new product, but I think this will really depend on how many requests they receive.
In that sense, if we want to reprint this work, it may be necessary to make it bigger than it is now.
Also, if there is a growing demand for a reprint, it seems possible…?
I am also one of those who wish for the DS trilogy to be reprinted.
Unlike the three games in the GBA series, which were once reprinted, the three games in the DS series have not been realized even though more than 10 years have passed since the first “Cross of the Blue Moon” was released. As mentioned above, this may be due to the difficulty of reprinting the game since it was released on a special game console called DS. However, with revivals like “Rockman ZX” and “Extreme Escape: 9 Hours, 9 People, 9 Doors,” I think it’s worth giving Dracula a try.
It’s easy to imagine that reprinting this game is much more time-consuming compared to the three GBA titles. It is unavoidable to update the screen configuration, and it is also necessary to verify whether the game can be played properly with new touch operations and whether it will work properly. Since the work is almost equivalent to creating a new work, it may take some time to realize it. This is especially true since the volume of all three works is enormous.
Despite such concerns, I hope that a DS trilogy that can be played without problems on current consoles will be released in the not-too-distant future.
Especially as of 2021, “The Stolen Mark”, the last work in the exploration-type Dracula series, is a masterpiece that exquisitely combines the elements of the old stage clear-type Dracula series. The Dracula series is still easy to accept even for those who like old-fashioned stage-clearing games, and it combines excellent playability with outstanding response. The other two games are also ambitious attempts, and are masterpieces that people who only know about them from the often-discussed RTA videos should actually play them and see their hidden charm.
Due to the lack of reprints, the difficulty of purchasing the three DS Dracula titles is increasing year by year. The challenges are various, but I look forward to the arrival of a future where the situation changes completely, with titles that are easy to pick up, just as the three GBA series have achieved.
コメントを残す