Castlevania Chapel of Resonance

elcome to the Chapel of Resonance. This website is dedicated to Konami's vampire hunting Castlevania video game series. For over twenty years, this venerated saga has captured the hearts of people around the world, as it continues to unfold the legend of Count Dracula and the Belmont clan that is destined to face him throughout the eras.

After so long, Castlevania carries on captivating gamers, not only due to its macabre theme steeped in myth and lore, but also because of the polished game play, phenomenal musical scores, and its settings, which seamlessly range from sinister caves and torture chambers to beautiful, sweeping chapels and ballrooms.

Like many of you readers, we, too are fans of this series. To express our adoration for it, we've constructed this website. Enjoy your time at the Chapel of Resonance.

Website Updates - 16 June 2010. Posted by The Successor.

Gametrailers.com has new gameplay footage of Lords of Shadow, the upcoming Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 Castlevania entry, which is being featured at E3 2010. Much of what is shown isn't too fancy, but it's nice to finally see an elongated video that highlights gameplay.

In a tutorial stage set within a sodden village, Gabriel defends peasant villagers from werewolves. It looks decent, taking into light this is clearly from one of the earliest parts of the game, though all we're shown is repetitive arena style combat. It does, however, culminate in a nice confrontation with a saber-toothed warg at the end.

One of my concerns from this is the music. It is very dry and leaves little impression, much like the rest of the pieces that have been heard so far. They fill space and do nothing more. This is disappointing from any perspective, but especially since this music is representing the Castlevania series, which is not known for bland tunes. This seems to be one of those instances where composers believe they can get by with full orchestras playing boring music that doesn't really go anywhere, and is melodically tasteless. We'll see what Konami has in store for us, though.

There's much to feast our eyes on with Lords of Shadow, including a gallery at 1up.com with many screenshots and new characters revealed. The Konami E3 Press Conference is today at 1:00 pm PST. There will no doubt be much more unveiled for this currently controversial title, so keep updated at the Chapel of Resonance for the latest scoops and post your own thoughts about new developments at the Anti-Chapel Castlevania Forum!

In other news, Koji Igarashi has finally been spotted after months of being below the radar. What is he working on these days, you ask? A XBox Live downloadable multi-player game titled Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Find out more about this interesting turn of events at the Anti-Chapel Forum's respective topic about this.

The Successor

Website Updates - 29 April 2010. Posted by The Successor.

Chapel of Resonance, why do I neglect you so? I promise I will begin a more aggressive updating campaign. Enough about that, though, it's time for action! Myself, The Successor, and Beingthehero take on Haunted Castle, probably the most ruthless Castlevania title in existence. See what I have to say about it in this update's main event, the Haunted Castle Review!

"Haunted Castle is the worst Castlevania game that is still worth being mentioned."
Read more.

Another feature that shouldn't be missed is the Haunted Castle OST page, complete with a review and download of the spooky soundtrack.

"Haunted Castle is a lot like a SaGa game; harrowing to play, but a sheer delight to listen to."
Read more.

Hero and I tell of our intrepid exploits journeying through the landscapes in and around Dracula's Castle in the Haunted Castle Areas page.

"Couple that with poor hit detection and relentless enemies and you have a recipe for hair-pulling frustration. Regardless, there's a lot of charm to the stages, mostly stemming from their bad B-movie presentation. "
Read more.

Hero gives profiles and solid strats on each boss.

"His disembodied spirit will morph into his final form; a giant head. He attacks by occasionally spitting out a bat and generally looking ridiculous."
Read more.

There is plenty more to see on the index page, so have a look.

At the Forbidden Library, new character profiles have been added by Nagumo and I, such as Soma Cruz, Dario Bossi, and Dmitrii Blinov. That's going to wrap up this update. Next time, we'll be covering Symphony of the Night, so make sure you're here to see it, Castlevania fans!

The Successor

Website Updates - 22 February 2010. Posted by The Successor.

It's been what seems like an eternity since the last update. Unfortunate circumstances befell the Chapel that held things up. Now it's time to get down to business. The Successor and returning Staff Member, Beingthehero, take on Vampire Killer for the MSX2 Home Computer. The main feature is the review by The Successor.

"The best way to shortly sum up Vampire Killer is that it's a novel idea that fell apart at execution."
Read more.

Hero and Successor take readers on a journey through the labyrinths of Vampire Killer. Join us as we untangle the complicated web of Dracula's Satanic Castle!

"Crumbling statues? Peeling wallpaper? Countless zombies giving Simon a welcome as only the undead could? It's the classic Entrance Hall, and the moment you step into the castle you must whip your way through the swath of zombies towards higher ground."
Read more.

Hero comes forth with boss tactics.

"This is perhaps his most unusual appearance. His head is like that of the classic widow's-peaked, Bela Lugosi-inspired vamp we all know and love. But underneath his tattered red robe is nothing but rotted bones. "
Read more.

Item information.

"The Belmont family's legendary magical whip. It's the default weapon in the game. However, it lacks both range and power. It's best to search for another weapon."
Read more.

And a very useful walkthrough for this difficult game.

Nagumo, the beautiful Mistress of the Forbidden Library has made new character profiles for Hector, Rosalee, Saint Germain, Julia Laforeze, Mina Hakuba, Hammer, and Celia Fortner. Head over to the Characters section for more.

Speaking of Nagumo, she and I have been meticulously working on a special project in which we offer commentary on the Castlevania timeline and our own interesting take on it, which I'm sure has never been seen or considered. Definitely don't miss it. There will also be a huge helping of Haunted Castle content to sate your bloodlust.
All this next!