User:Pilgrimjohn thevampireslayer

Pilgrim John is a member of Castlevania Wiki, and edits articles so that they read better, or more like an encyclopedia than a rushed jumble of words.

So, What Do You Do For A Living?

Whatever I can. I have multiple talents that I try to take advantage of, such as art and writing, but I don't think my skills are quite up to snuff, so I'm not going to capitalize on them yet.

My work is not all that interesting a topic, but for right now, I'm employed at Starbucks. I bring people coffee.

So, What Do You Do For Fun?

Well, I like to read books, especially Edgar Allen Poe, Jasper Fforde, Dean Koontz, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, and even Stephen King when the mood takes me. Yeah, I'm big on horror (Although Jasper Fforde is not a horror writer). I also like to play horror games, mostly [Castlevania.]

I also like to write short stories, and am working hard on a series based on the events of a fictional town called October's Hollow. It's meant to be a series of ghost stories that you can read to your kids and enjoy together, so it's kind of a blend of Edgar Allen Poe, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Chronicles of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, and the original Winnie the Pooh books. Maybe I'll sell copies of it when I'm finished writing them all.

So, Do You Play Anything Other Than Castlevania?

Of course. Silent Hill, Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Megaman, Guilty Gear, Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Starfox, and many others readily come to mind. I even have a ridiculous number of games... spanning several systems. Although, I wouldn't consider myself a collector.

What Made You Join Castlevania Wiki's Group of Editors?

The voices in my head.

What Are Your Favorite Games in the Castlevania Series?

Hard question. I'm not going to limit myself to just one, so I'll just throw out my top five: [Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse], [Castlevania Bloodlines], [Super Castlevania IV], [Castlevania Chronicles], and [Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness]. I'm too much of an old grouch to accept that the Metroid-styled gameplay of recent games is anything stylish. (Plus, you got to play a werewolf in Legacy!)

We Hate to Ask This, But Is There a Castlevania Game You Didn't Like?

[Haunted Castle] because of its poor graphics and broken gameplay; and [Castlevania: Order of Shadows] for its overall lack of anything that made Castlevania awesome.

Who Is Your Favorite Castlevania Character?

Tch. This is a question? [Simon Belmont] all the way! Although, [Cornell] and [Death] are pretty awesome, too.

Who Is Your Least Favorite Character?

Well... If you can claim he's a Castlevania character at all, the worst character ever has to be [Desmond Belmont]. That flaming red hair, that stupid goatee, that retarded fashion sense, that total lack of personality... Yep, Desmond has to be the worst character.

I also think I'm beginning to develop a hatred towards [Alucard]. I mean, he's in nearly every Castlevania game now. That new game on Xbox 360/PS3 is even entirely devoted TO him! He was made the main character in [Castlevania: Symphony of the Night], had major roles in other games, and all that jazz. Does he really need more advertisement? I might as well face it: the Belmonts are no longer the main characters. Alucard (And whatever other laughably put-together fan character of Koji's imagination) is.

We Take It You Don't Really Like Koji Igarashi, Or What He's Done With the Series So Far. Why Is That?

Hey, I grew up on Castlevania. When I was wee, Simon was my hero, and vampire-killing was an extreme sport that separated men from boys.

And then, all of a sudden, everything changed at once. Everything that Symphony did had been done years ago on NES, in games like Metroid, Zelda II, [Castlevania II:Simon's Quest], and even Faxanadu, but everyone heralded it as the finest moment in the series.

Yeah, sure it's the best game in the series... to people who didn't grow up playing the originals. Brutal challenge? Gone. Intense enemies? Gone. Indescribable sense of satisfaction at beating the final boss? Gone. The Belmonts? Gone. A lot of the things I loved about Castlevania vanished in an instant, and I have [Koji Igarashi] to thank. What's worse is that he constantly makes Castlevania games that try too hard to be Symphony of the Night and not enough like the Casltevania I knew; even going so far as to constantly recycle enemies made for the 16-bit games, over-using anime cliches, and using ridiculously generic anime artwork for some of the DS games to "appeal to a broader demographic." Not all of the things he's done with Castlevania have been bad, but most of the time, I just want to shove his stupid cowboy hat up his nose.

So Are You Saying That The Series Has Withered On the Vine?

Well, yes and no. I'm very critical of every game series that I play, so Castlevania's not the first game series to see my tongue lash at it. They're still fun, but nowhere near as good and challenging (Or scary) as they used to be. I just hope that [Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia] and [Castlevania Judgment] turn out to be some of the best 'Vanias in ages, even if Simon looks like Light Yagami wearing a Hard Gay outfit.