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The Making of Super Castlevania IV & Bloodlines (Splash Wave)
- Thread starter lazygecko
- Start date
Nice recommendation! I was actually very curious as I recently finished both games on emulation 🤩
damn. i always wanted an in depth on CV4's development since i was a kid ... i figured it'd be one of those things lost in time or you could cull snippets from a random ass japanese article from 25 years ago or something. can't believe this was put together in 2020
seems to confirm my notion that the game was made around a lot of youthful excitement and ambition. i could tell they had a blast making it
seems to confirm my notion that the game was made around a lot of youthful excitement and ambition. i could tell they had a blast making it
it is very great. their genesis output is probably my favorite of their 16-bit output tbh
The bits about the development style of Konami at the time are real interesting.
That kind of approach where instead of being a developer's series, the IP was firmly in the hands of the publisher and passed around to different dev teams (for mainline entries) that were often in development simultaneously to have a much faster rate of releases. Sonic did the same kind of thing, if you've watched their other videos.
Game development really isn't like that much anymore, is it? In some ways there are some positives lost now that a single dev team for an IP is the sole maker of core entries, works on one game at a time with all their staff, then if not making something different goes in to a sequel with the same people, especially in high positions.
And magazine contests for fans to get their ideas in games, oh man.
That kind of approach where instead of being a developer's series, the IP was firmly in the hands of the publisher and passed around to different dev teams (for mainline entries) that were often in development simultaneously to have a much faster rate of releases. Sonic did the same kind of thing, if you've watched their other videos.
Game development really isn't like that much anymore, is it? In some ways there are some positives lost now that a single dev team for an IP is the sole maker of core entries, works on one game at a time with all their staff, then if not making something different goes in to a sequel with the same people, especially in high positions.
And magazine contests for fans to get their ideas in games, oh man.
The consistent quality they had with this approach is amazing. 3 very different games, for 3 different 16-bit systems and you can make a great argument for any of them being the best one.
I wish more people were familiar with the making of Bloodlines, as I feel that most people don't understand that the reason for the weird enemies was largely the contest that allowed fans to design enemies for the game.
That video was awesome. Didn't expect it to grab my interest so much, but I was the entire thing and enjoyed every second of it. I'll have to check out their channel to see what other similar videos they have. Actually, I think a cool idea what be a thread dedicated to these types of gaming history/making of videos.
I never really thought about it because SC4, Bloodlines, and Rondo of Blood are on different systems, but Konami absolutely crushed it with Castlevania games in the 16-bit era. Now I'm all the more impressed by that knowing that they were created by different development teams.
Aw yes, that's my kind of content right there. Thanks!
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Agreed, that's not even an hot take lol!
Awesome video as usual from strafefox. Looks like they might do their next video on SOTN, which 👀.
I loved seeing the behind the scenes art designs too. How do they get this stuff?
I loved seeing the behind the scenes art designs too. How do they get this stuff?
It really blew my mind when I found that out. Specially since my favorite mid boss, the evil pillar/silhouette demon from the Versailles stage, was the winner of the contest.
Don't forget that there was also a Castlevania released for the X68000 in 1993.
Castlevania Chronicles - Wikipedia
Konami's output throughout the late 80s and early 90s was positively absurd.
I did forget. I still hope they come out with something new to capitalize on Netflix Castlevania. Finding out the Sony rumor wasn't real hurt cause I know Tomikazu Kirita (Bloodlines producer) is a supervisor at Sony. At least Curse of the Moon exist.Don't forget that there was also a Castlevania released for the X68000 in 1993.
Castlevania Chronicles - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Konami's output throughout the late 80s and early 90s was positively absurd.
For big franchises it can be, see Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed as two examples, where sequels overlap in development time.
Watched the vid this afternoon, so good, the presentation on these vids is always top notch.
A lot of cool information on Bloodlines I didn't know about, like the fan contest enemies and just how much recreation was put into some of the locations.
Gutted that we didn't get the Zeppelin or Ghost Ship though!
Amazing how high Konami once stood in the industry compared to the present.
A lot of cool information on Bloodlines I didn't know about, like the fan contest enemies and just how much recreation was put into some of the locations.
Gutted that we didn't get the Zeppelin or Ghost Ship though!
Amazing how high Konami once stood in the industry compared to the present.
OP
OP
I've always found both SCIV and Bloodlines to have some major faults visually. IV came out in 92, but visually to me it feels a lot closer to a very early gen 16-bit title from the late 80s. Just the way the blocky level tiles are constructed (I realize this has kinda been considered a Castlevania hallmark since the first game, but I never really found it appealing. Didn't like it in Rondo either), and the way the sprites look and animate, etc. For comparison looks closer to Revenge of Shinobi which came out in 1989 as opposed to Shinobi 3 which came out a short time later in 1993. It is more than the sum of its parts though and really digs into the classic horror inspirations more than anything that came out after it.
I think Bloodlines has sprites and animation work that looks better than IV, but the game's biggest issue is a general subpar use of colors. I get the feeling that whoever was in charge of handling the stage graphics wasn't very experienced working within the limitations of the hardware and its palette quirks. The palette looks very compartmentalized in that each element of the environments are given their own tiny pool of bespoke colors, instead of a more flexible approach of constructing 2-3 more universal sets of tones that can be shared and reappropriated for different elements, so as to give a more concise look and have overall better range of shading on things. That's generally what the best looking Genesis games do with an expert grasp of color theory.
There are some areas that flat out look NES-like with the approach they used, like the section with the pistons in the Germany stage.
I think Bloodlines has sprites and animation work that looks better than IV, but the game's biggest issue is a general subpar use of colors. I get the feeling that whoever was in charge of handling the stage graphics wasn't very experienced working within the limitations of the hardware and its palette quirks. The palette looks very compartmentalized in that each element of the environments are given their own tiny pool of bespoke colors, instead of a more flexible approach of constructing 2-3 more universal sets of tones that can be shared and reappropriated for different elements, so as to give a more concise look and have overall better range of shading on things. That's generally what the best looking Genesis games do with an expert grasp of color theory.
There are some areas that flat out look NES-like with the approach they used, like the section with the pistons in the Germany stage.
PerrierChaud but I want to commend you for your great taste in video games!
Was about to make a thread about this, but good thing I searched first.
The first few minutes and the insight into how Konami operated during the 80s and early 90s is...bittersweet. A tale of a glorious bygone era.
EDIT: Also check out their other videos on Castlevania series.
Was about to make a thread about this, but good thing I searched first.
The first few minutes and the insight into how Konami operated during the 80s and early 90s is...bittersweet. A tale of a glorious bygone era.
EDIT: Also check out their other videos on Castlevania series.
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Fantastic video, thanks for sharing!
Edit: Wow, the entire channel is a goldmine. Perfect size for short breaks during development, too. Thanks!
Edit: Wow, the entire channel is a goldmine. Perfect size for short breaks during development, too. Thanks!
Bumping as Strafefox / Super Splash Wave have published a new video on Street Fighter II.
Let's make this a Strafefox thread.
Let's make this a Strafefox thread.