This week's Aberrant Gamer is all about the girls of Castlevania. The monsters, I mean. One of my favorite things about the Castlevania series is that it manages to continue kicking ass as a major long-standing franchise in a next-gen world, despite the fact that the gameplay or the thematics have barely evolved in any meaningful way. Sure, there were the 3D titles, which are pretty decent, mostly, but the popularity of a Castlevania title tends to be largely dependent on how closely it resembles the classic whip-crackin' sidescroller.Simple as it is, the old-fashioned formula's compelling for a number of reasons. The various incarnations of Dracula's castle are like an intricate little world in miniature. Grandiose music helps build that pitch-perfect atmosphere, but I think the real key's in the vast bestiary, which is largely consistent from one title to another. Hang with Castlevania for a few installments and you'll come to look forward to the re-appearance of Medusa, Axe Armor, Bat and the gang (maybe not Medusa -- I hate the orange ones). You'd think this would get repetitive and boring, but inexplicably, charting the complex library of haunted crawlies becomes a pleasantly familiar task. I didn't really like Curse of Darkness as much as others, but the bestiary in it was totally awesome, rife with even more creepy details than usual. For example, Phantom Sword "does not realize its master is dead, and continues to search for him."
I'm always interested in the way we connect with game elements -- whether those are the player character, NPCs, bosses, monsters, whatever. And the bestiary of Castlevania just resonates somehow, even though they're generally small, if highly detailed sprites. There are some hauntingly lovely female baddies, too, and so I figured in this week's column I'd round up my favorites. Compelling, psychologically aberrant and creepy-cute, all in some 32 bits or whatever? Check it out!
