Jason Moyer on 29/1/2025 at 03:43
Quote Posted by Thirith
For someone who likes quite a few Metroidvanias (and absolutely loves
Hollow Knight) but has never played a
Castlevania (except for one of those 3D ones that aren't really in the same genre anyway): which is the one you'd recommend I'd check out?
I'm gonna get pushback on this, but my favorite Metroidvania is...Arkham Asylum? If you're talking something more traditional, I think the peak for the genre was Super Metroid and Super Castlevania IV.
Sulphur on 29/1/2025 at 04:12
Sure, Arkham Asylum has a core design philosophy informed by the metroidvania template, I don't think many people would argue with you there. As Castlevanias go, SC IV is my pick too, but it might be too oldschool for anyone trying to get into the series today.
demagogue on 29/1/2025 at 04:24
If you're going to talk oldschool, my favorite Metroidvania is (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMYlXvsaJM) Doriath on the C64, which came out a year before Metroid & Castlevaina themselves.
Briareos H on 29/1/2025 at 07:02
And if we're talking metroidvania-adjacent favourites, I think mine might be Cave Story. I'm overdue for a replay.
But yeah, I'd recommend going for emulating SotN on PS1. My favourites are the GBA trilogy but IMO they require the foundational experience of the original Igavania.
Thirith on 29/1/2025 at 07:38
I greatly enjoyed Arkham Asylum at the time, though as far as I remember it lacked one thing I like about the more traditional 2D Metroidvanias: the way that new abilities can change the way you traverse the world. (Or was there anything along those lines in Arkham Asylum and I don't remember it?) What I do remember is mainly abilities that pretty much acted like keys to gated parts of the map. Obviously the difference isn't necessarily all that huge, but I always enjoy getting the double jump or shift powers or anything along those lines, because it feels a bit more systemic than variations on "Okay, I've now got the pink key, which means I can now open the pink door." Traversal powers tend to change up the game as a whole more.
Also, @demagogue, I've never heard of Doriath, and I thought that I knew the C64 catalogue pretty well. Shame, because it sounds like I might have liked that one.
demagogue on 29/1/2025 at 08:17
Quote Posted by Briareos H
I think mine might be Cave Story.
Yes Cave Story was so incredible it may actually be my legitimate answer too.
I liked Knytt Stories a lot too, but much of that was because it came with fan maps and it's very replayable, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps & its sequel are the
best looking of the bunch and better as platformers, but as for the one best standalone game in the genre, I'd probably still say Cave Story.
Some of the newer ones like Hollow Knight, Bloodstained, Blasphemous, the Princes of Persias, & Unbound haven't grabbed me as much. Oh, wait, there's Animal Well. I think Cave Story may beat that out as well, but it gives it a run for its money.
Thirith on 29/1/2025 at 09:12
I played some of Cave Story a long time ago, but somehow it didn't grab me. I wonder how much of that is the game's look and feel: while I like Hollow Knight as a game, it's really the game's aesthetic and especially its music that make it one of my all-time favourites, so much so that it almost has the Deus Ex effect on me: when I read about it or see it mentioned, I want to reinstall and replay it. I should probably give Cave Story another chance one of these days, though.
Sulphur on 29/1/2025 at 11:56
Cave Story's got a pretty specific vibe to it which may make it harder to like for some people, but the core design is just so impressively solid and fun that most people should be able to set that aside. It's funny that I started loving it in hindsight, because I played it for a few hours at first and then got distracted by something else, and over the days after since those first two sessions, it exerted a sort of magnetic pull that compelled me to return to it.
Anyway, since we're talking about favourite metroidvanias, I've got to say mine is a tie between Cave Story and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, followed by Metroid Prime (is Metroid a Metroidvania? Uh. Discuss?).
Tomi on 29/1/2025 at 11:58
I also tried Cave Story+ some years ago, but I must have given up within the first half an hour. I remember the game looking too ugly, the character movement feeling floaty and not too good, and some of the dialogue being a bit too weird. Still, I've only ever heard good things about Cave Story, so perhaps it is worth giving another chance some time indeed...
