Video Games
A general gaming community for Piefed.
More games, less memes, no outrage culture.
Rules
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Stay civil.
Debate ideas, not people. No personal attacks, no flame wars. More info here. -
This is not a gamer identity space.
We don’t self-identify as “gamers.” Games are art, not a lifestyle brand. If your whole identity is about consumption, you’ll probably feel out of place here. -
Talk about games as art.
Discussion should focus on design, ideas, and creative choices. What does this game say? What are the consequences of its mechanics? What does its aesthetic communicate? -
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Stay on topic.
This space is for discussion of games as creative works, not for tech support, low-effort memes, or console wars. -
Evolving rules.
These rules may change as the community grows and we refine what works.
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It's quite literally only half of the reason. Castlevania is the other half. :P
I actually dont even know why the "vania" is part of it. Castlevania didnt have the same kind of tool-based progressive gameplay until Symphony of the Night, whereas Metroid was like that from the start.
Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest follows the formula. Unlike the first game, Simon’s Quest is an open world game with lots of backtracking. It has experience points, shops to buy things, and puzzles to solve by using key items in the right locations.
The game also features upgradable whips, secondary weapons to find, and even a day/night cycle.
Metroid didn’t pioneer the progressive tool-based unlocking system anyway though. The Legend of Zelda was built on that concept and released before Metroid (in Japan; in the US Metroid was released a week before LoZ, but both were a year after the Japanese releases).
Imagine getting a new Metroid released and then a week later a new Zelda is released in this day and age.
I immediately questioned myself about Simon's Quest but couldn't remember if it had tool based progression or just your standard kind of RPG backtracking. I didn't play it nearly as much as any others (excluding ghe 64 one which is best forgotten).
But very true about Zelda. Maybe they should be called Metzeldvanias? 🤔
SQ has a bunch of tool stuff going on. The crystals which unlock certain areas (functioning as keys), the relics of Dracula which let you see things you couldn’t otherwise or break certain blocks, the holy water which can be used as both a weapon and as a tool for detecting false floors, and oak stakes which you need to pierce the protective spells around Dracula’s relics.