I’ll start out this comment by stating that it’s 1:18 AM here, and I haven’t listened to the episode yet. Still, I’ll comment before I get some sleep.
I love the Castlevania series, all the titles, I even derive a weird sort of enjoyment from Judgement, despite how shitty it is (Dracula’s “Where are you looking!” comes to mind). This 4 podcast run on Castlevania has been a fantastic journey through some of my favourite music ever, and it reminded me of the wonders of the castle. I first came to Castlevania for 3, and I stuck ever since, so I know a fair amount about the series.
I feel I must mention 2 songs that stood out as missing (you may have mentioned them though, so ignore if you did):
-Ending, from Super Castlevania 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQJdPLtoXU
This song is fantastic, though I can see why you chose to leave it out. It has a kind of odd, repeating theme through it, so that the music doesn’t really end. But it’s a great piece of music, so I feel it deserves a mention.
-Into the Dark Night, from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTTMgv4SDyQ
I feel personally that this is the one of (if not) the best boss themes from a Castlevania game done so far. The DS sound capabilities aren’t the greatest, but they’re still pretty good, and this song in particular stands out to me as one of the best.
The monsters of Castlevania always stood out to me as a defining aspect of the game, with all the monsters from all across mythology having been put in the castle to defend it from the Belmonts. Each unique monster gave me something new to look at, and all the enemies have something interesting about them! The vast variety is one of the biggest draws to the game.
Anyway, I just wanted to say a few things, because this series of podcasts really got to me. I’ll always love Castlevania, and the very concept alone gets me wanting to play the series all over again. I thank you personally, Brett, for giving me another reason to go back to all those great games that shaped my experiences growing up. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
That track’s orchestral hits amidst that slap-happy bass guitar and double-bass drumming is so freaking epic.
CV4’s ending is fantastic too. It’s a really moving piece that’s filled with resolve, but at the same time sadness: you conquered Dracula, but a phenomenal game has come to its conclusion.
This whole Castlevania run was highly enjoyable, thanks for dedicating a month to it. I noticed you left out Lords of Shadow, but to be honest the only memorable music from it for me were the music box cameo of “Vampire Killer” and “Waterfalls of Agharta” which references CV4’s “Waterfall.”
I too enjoyed Lament of Innocence despite its shortcomings. And despite CV64’s mediocrity, it remains a guilty pleasure of mine (the music was good though, particularly “Dungeon ~ Main Theme”).
“House of Sacred Remains” and “Abandoned Castle” both continued the idea within Castlevania that one of the first tracks you hear during gameplay has to sound freaking awesome and pump you up. I can’t think of a single Castlevania game that doesn’t have a stellar first level track.
I noticed some similarities to Curse of Darkness’ “Eneomaos Machine Tower” and Dawn of Sorrow’s “Cursed Clock Tower.” I guess it would make sense since Yamane composed both of them.
Looking forward to whatever VGM you’ll bring to the table next month (Lunar? Mario RPG? Jet Set Radio? Breath of Fire? Double Dragon Neon? *wink wink nudge nudge*).
very good episode, features some of the best castlevania music i’ve heard over the past few episodes. i particularly liked the last few tracks on this episode.
have to mention though, theres a musical duo i’d like to bring to your consciousness, Mr. Brett.
Super Guitar Bros. theyre very talented and since most of their covers are exactly the music you’ve already covered on the show, I feel they definitely defintely deserve a shoutout.. or something. check em out!
I never really got into the series but acknowledged the renowned quality of the music. Not having nostalgia towards the games kept me from seeking out the music itself, as there’s just so much of it that I was discouraged from going through it all. Your knowledge of and personal experiences with the material brings it to life for me, as I experience a new (imagined?) nostalgia vicariously through your stories.
So, thank you, for being an insightful and passionate guide.
I was waiting – this whole series – for you to play something off the Dracula X Remixes CD. I’m glad you snuck in one track there at the end, although I would say that the track Cemetery of Rainbow represents that album better than Vampire Killer.
Either way, awesome series! I look forward to another theme month if you ever get around to it. If Final Fantasy is too huge to pack into a month, might I recommend Persona?
Hey Brett I would like to thank you for ROCKTOBER! I have only played symphony of the night and recently Castlevania 1 which was brutally challenging. I couldnt help but here your dilemma in dealing with final fantasy music, and I may have a solution. First off I am a massive FF music buff and I would also struggle to make an episode to showcase all of Uematsu’s great scores. So my solution is why don’t you do a month like special with Castlevania (and I appreciate how busy your life is : P) and split the music into “types” aka an episode devoted to battle music, an episode devoted to overworld / airship / field music, an episode devoted to speical themes within each game (terras theme (VI) theme of love (IV) aeriths theme (VII) etc etc) and finally episode where you highlight all the great remix work out there e.g OCRemixes forthcoming balance and ruin project (FF VI), the black mages, earthbound papas etc.
Sorry for the awful layout/grammar its rather early in the morn where I come from : P
So, this comment goes for all four episodes, since it seemed silly to go back and post on each individually. Actually, let’s just say it goes for every episode you have and will do.
This show is great, and you are great for doing it.
Please keep up the good work.
Now, on to specifics. Castlevania has been a series near and dear to my heart for many many years. I played the crap out of pretty much every game in the series, save a few of the 3D ones. It was nice seeing Bloodlines get a shout out, as no one else I’ve ever met has even realized that was a game in the series, and it had some great music. I was also really glad to have had more frequent VGMpire, even if it is only for this month. It’s definitely my favorite of this little family of podcasts, and I’m always ready for more.
Thank you for the Castlevania tribute on VGMpire. I am another one of those Castlevania buffs from all the way back to the first NES game who used to record the background music off of the cart to a cassette.
I thought you did a great job with the format, covering nearly everything over 25 or so years. I especially appreciated that you included Lament of Innocence. I get the impression that the Castlevania community at large really doesn’t appreciate that game much, but it is one of my personal favorites, especially the music.
While I really enjoyed your show, it also makes me very sad. Throughout Iga’s run I could count on a new CV game nearly every October for close to a decade. Here it is, almost Halloween, and no new game in site, and I just know I will be disappointed with the Lords of Shadow sequels, as they seem to have completely abandoned the roots of the series.
Hey guys. Great choice with Castlevania, some of the most memorable game music ever created. Just wanna say I love the podcast and long may it continue. Brett, your enthusiasm for the subject shines through.
I’ll start out this comment by stating that it’s 1:18 AM here, and I haven’t listened to the episode yet. Still, I’ll comment before I get some sleep.
I love the Castlevania series, all the titles, I even derive a weird sort of enjoyment from Judgement, despite how shitty it is (Dracula’s “Where are you looking!” comes to mind). This 4 podcast run on Castlevania has been a fantastic journey through some of my favourite music ever, and it reminded me of the wonders of the castle. I first came to Castlevania for 3, and I stuck ever since, so I know a fair amount about the series.
I feel I must mention 2 songs that stood out as missing (you may have mentioned them though, so ignore if you did):
-Ending, from Super Castlevania 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQJdPLtoXU
This song is fantastic, though I can see why you chose to leave it out. It has a kind of odd, repeating theme through it, so that the music doesn’t really end. But it’s a great piece of music, so I feel it deserves a mention.
-Into the Dark Night, from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTTMgv4SDyQ
I feel personally that this is the one of (if not) the best boss themes from a Castlevania game done so far. The DS sound capabilities aren’t the greatest, but they’re still pretty good, and this song in particular stands out to me as one of the best.
The monsters of Castlevania always stood out to me as a defining aspect of the game, with all the monsters from all across mythology having been put in the castle to defend it from the Belmonts. Each unique monster gave me something new to look at, and all the enemies have something interesting about them! The vast variety is one of the biggest draws to the game.
Anyway, I just wanted to say a few things, because this series of podcasts really got to me. I’ll always love Castlevania, and the very concept alone gets me wanting to play the series all over again. I thank you personally, Brett, for giving me another reason to go back to all those great games that shaped my experiences growing up. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I too was hoping for “Into the Dark Night” from the episode before. Funny you mention it though, I recently wrote a feature about Konami’s infamous orchestral hit sound that permeates that particular track and many others: http://www.pixelitis.net/features/liner-notes-viii-konamis-infamous-orchestral-hit
That track’s orchestral hits amidst that slap-happy bass guitar and double-bass drumming is so freaking epic.
CV4’s ending is fantastic too. It’s a really moving piece that’s filled with resolve, but at the same time sadness: you conquered Dracula, but a phenomenal game has come to its conclusion.
This whole Castlevania run was highly enjoyable, thanks for dedicating a month to it. I noticed you left out Lords of Shadow, but to be honest the only memorable music from it for me were the music box cameo of “Vampire Killer” and “Waterfalls of Agharta” which references CV4’s “Waterfall.”
I too enjoyed Lament of Innocence despite its shortcomings. And despite CV64’s mediocrity, it remains a guilty pleasure of mine (the music was good though, particularly “Dungeon ~ Main Theme”).
“House of Sacred Remains” and “Abandoned Castle” both continued the idea within Castlevania that one of the first tracks you hear during gameplay has to sound freaking awesome and pump you up. I can’t think of a single Castlevania game that doesn’t have a stellar first level track.
I noticed some similarities to Curse of Darkness’ “Eneomaos Machine Tower” and Dawn of Sorrow’s “Cursed Clock Tower.” I guess it would make sense since Yamane composed both of them.
Finally, I recommend that everyone check out Vomitron’s metal Castlevania medley for some more remix bliss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRfVKrC0nfc
Looking forward to whatever VGM you’ll bring to the table next month (Lunar? Mario RPG? Jet Set Radio? Breath of Fire? Double Dragon Neon? *wink wink nudge nudge*).
very good episode, features some of the best castlevania music i’ve heard over the past few episodes. i particularly liked the last few tracks on this episode.
have to mention though, theres a musical duo i’d like to bring to your consciousness, Mr. Brett.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperGuitarBros/videos?flow=grid&view=0
Super Guitar Bros. theyre very talented and since most of their covers are exactly the music you’ve already covered on the show, I feel they definitely defintely deserve a shoutout.. or something. check em out!
I listened to all of these while playing Dark Souls, and somehow every single song played matched up with what I was doing in game.
Castlevania’s music is good to me.
[…] Lament and Curse bring us into the modern era, plus a look back at some incredible official remixes. LISTEN NOW […]
I never really got into the series but acknowledged the renowned quality of the music. Not having nostalgia towards the games kept me from seeking out the music itself, as there’s just so much of it that I was discouraged from going through it all. Your knowledge of and personal experiences with the material brings it to life for me, as I experience a new (imagined?) nostalgia vicariously through your stories.
So, thank you, for being an insightful and passionate guide.
(I’m definitely playing SOTN, at least!)
I was waiting – this whole series – for you to play something off the Dracula X Remixes CD. I’m glad you snuck in one track there at the end, although I would say that the track Cemetery of Rainbow represents that album better than Vampire Killer.
Either way, awesome series! I look forward to another theme month if you ever get around to it. If Final Fantasy is too huge to pack into a month, might I recommend Persona?
Hey Brett I would like to thank you for ROCKTOBER! I have only played symphony of the night and recently Castlevania 1 which was brutally challenging. I couldnt help but here your dilemma in dealing with final fantasy music, and I may have a solution. First off I am a massive FF music buff and I would also struggle to make an episode to showcase all of Uematsu’s great scores. So my solution is why don’t you do a month like special with Castlevania (and I appreciate how busy your life is : P) and split the music into “types” aka an episode devoted to battle music, an episode devoted to overworld / airship / field music, an episode devoted to speical themes within each game (terras theme (VI) theme of love (IV) aeriths theme (VII) etc etc) and finally episode where you highlight all the great remix work out there e.g OCRemixes forthcoming balance and ruin project (FF VI), the black mages, earthbound papas etc.
Sorry for the awful layout/grammar its rather early in the morn where I come from : P
Ben
So, this comment goes for all four episodes, since it seemed silly to go back and post on each individually. Actually, let’s just say it goes for every episode you have and will do.
This show is great, and you are great for doing it.
Please keep up the good work.
Now, on to specifics. Castlevania has been a series near and dear to my heart for many many years. I played the crap out of pretty much every game in the series, save a few of the 3D ones. It was nice seeing Bloodlines get a shout out, as no one else I’ve ever met has even realized that was a game in the series, and it had some great music. I was also really glad to have had more frequent VGMpire, even if it is only for this month. It’s definitely my favorite of this little family of podcasts, and I’m always ready for more.
Just got done listening to the last episode and the new one is up, nice
Thank you for the Castlevania tribute on VGMpire. I am another one of those Castlevania buffs from all the way back to the first NES game who used to record the background music off of the cart to a cassette.
I thought you did a great job with the format, covering nearly everything over 25 or so years. I especially appreciated that you included Lament of Innocence. I get the impression that the Castlevania community at large really doesn’t appreciate that game much, but it is one of my personal favorites, especially the music.
While I really enjoyed your show, it also makes me very sad. Throughout Iga’s run I could count on a new CV game nearly every October for close to a decade. Here it is, almost Halloween, and no new game in site, and I just know I will be disappointed with the Lords of Shadow sequels, as they seem to have completely abandoned the roots of the series.
Hey guys. Great choice with Castlevania, some of the most memorable game music ever created. Just wanna say I love the podcast and long may it continue. Brett, your enthusiasm for the subject shines through.