(NES) Total Conversion Hack Castlevania 3: Aperture of Corruption

[Toffi]

I'm working on a small Castlevania 3 rom hacking project called Aperture of Corruption. Our goal is for this project to stand out as a love letter to Castlevania, as well as a thank you note to Konami, for 35 years of gothic goodness. Using the MMC5 chip to its fullest potential we have room to almost double the games original content. The plan is to totally convert Castlevania 3 into a whole new game with brand new levels, story, music, bosses, and so much more.

However we need help from the community, we are looking for more people looking to make this project a reality.
If your interested in helping work on the project or have any questions about it, feel free to PM me or post about it below, I will try and answer as much as I can.

What we have done so far with the games original ROM:
-extended the original CHR and PRG banks
-built in instant character swapping on the fly
-added extra mid air control
-created instant weapon swapping (allowing for more than one sub-weapon to be used)
-and introduced slightly faster stair climbing

WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH
-Background art and stage design
-New sound engine
-Boss sprite work
-ASM programming

If your interested in helping out with any of these please feel free to post here or DM me on Discord at Toffi#6064

Basic Lore Summary:
Aperture of corruption is a prequel to CV3, following the mother of Trevor Belmont, Sonia. Lore wise, this project looks to answer; why the Belmont were feared by the start of CV3, solving the mystery behind the time traveler Saint Germain, the disappearance of the Belmont clan after 1792, Dracula's forgotten resurrection in 1897, how Quincey Morris defeated Dracula and the bizarre time stopping pocket watch found throughout the series.
[After Ricther defeated Dracula in 1792, the Belmont legacy/lineage slowly fell into obscurity and eventually became nothing but a legend. Without the Belmont Clan to stop him; Dracula returned in 1897, (following the 100 year curse) and Translevania was once again thrown into chaos. Dracula enlists the help of a brilliant scientist; Claudia, to strengthen his forces and help him erase the Belmont Clan from existence. Using Draculas forbidden knowledge, and dark magic, Claudia crafts a device (like a distance mirror) that allows objects to be pulled from the past called the Aperture of Corruption. Dracula used this device to pull Sonia Belmont; a descendant from the far past, into the future. Can you collect the fragments of the aperture entrusted to Draculas baddest bosses, free the cursed citizens of Translevania, all while saving the future AND the past?]

Plot points from legends that will be ironed out in Aperture of Corruption:
Why Alucard is not Trevor's father
Why Sonia isn't the first or last to fight Dracula
and why Sonia is still important to the lore as a whole.



Title/Stage Mock up:



UPDATED:Screenshot of new sprite and environment in the ROM:

[Vanya]

Sounds ambitious! Good luck, it sounds like it will make for something great.
I especially want to see how the story turns out. It's intriguing.

[Toffi]

Thanks Vanya, super happy to work on this project, and cant wait to see where it goes.
(progress on graphical hacking redesigns)

[sebastianangel]

Fantastic large project! Very nice title screen and sprites (the bats and skeletons seem very good design, also a while ago I started an idea but I was left only in a title screen and some changes :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPbgq5lelVI&t=64s
of sprites ect ... and leave it ...
good luck I hope they come to fruition as it is one of my favorite games

[Toffi]

Looks cool sebastianangel, we need more castlevania hacks out there, I dont believe Ive posted on bats and skeletons just yet, heres some more re-designs
(quick question, do the thick or thin bones look better?)

[sebastianangel]

Looks cool sebastianangel, we need more castlevania hacks out there, I dont believe Ive posted on bats and skeletons just yet, heres some more re-designs
(quick question, do the thick or thin bones look better?)

Thank you very much in my humble opinion I think thin!

[Toffi]

I think the thin bone works better too, (heres two more enemy re-textures, thinking about changing up the owl a bit more, I dont think the head feels right, what are your thoughts?)

[sebastianangel]

I think the thin bone works better too, (heres two more enemy re-textures, thinking about changing up the owl a bit more, I dont think the head feels right, what are your thoughts?)

very good progress! It is a great initiative, I think the owl is very successful for the owl ... perhaps given the size of these it could also be replaced by a gargoyle
variants

[cartridge_rom]

the user Morinis could maybe help, his work in updating sprites is amazing and of quality.

here is your link if you want to consult your help =

https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?action=profile;area=summary;u=19143

He is currently helping on the Metroid Complex project for "NES"

and I work on various Castlevania projects for the NES.

https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=9260.0

[Toffi]

Thanks sebastianangel, At the moment im hoping to just re-design the old enemies before re-designing them so there can be two layers of separation from the original content. The plan is to repaint the old designs before makeing something completely new using the CHR space. A gargoyle is a good idea though, I worked on the flying skeleton and added some more gargoyle-ish features.
(also re-designed the bone pillar)

Hi, cartridge_rom! thanks for the tip, as I am also working on the Complex project, so I will defiantly look into it.

[sebastianangel]

excellent design
the flying skeleton, it seems perfect to me

[Morinis]

the user Morinis could maybe help, his work in updating sprites is amazing and of quality.

I am 

[DavidtheIdeaMan]

Indeed he is.

Plus Im glad I caught wind of this project,it looks amazing.

[Morinis]

Boss concept.  Power Crystal Demon.  I'm extremely rusty on creating stuff from scratch.  Might be customized into something different.  Did not add the tail nor chains as it would have been way too big of an encounter.  Could have added the tail but this would do, a butchered down version 


Since Castlevania 3 can take decently sized sprites this will go into the roster nicely.  Kept Frankenstein in for size comparison 

[DavidtheIdeaMan]

Boss concept.  Power Crystal Demon.  I'm extremely rusty on creating stuff from scratch.  Might be customized into something different.  Did not add the tail nor chains as it would have been way too big of an encounter.  Could have added the tail but this would do, a butchered down version 


Since Castlevania 3 can take decently sized sprites this will go into the roster nicely.  Kept Frankenstein in for size comparison 

Holy crud! Morinis,that looks damn amazing!

[sebastianangel]

Boss concept.  Power Crystal Demon.  I'm extremely rusty on creating stuff from scratch.  Might be customized into something different.  Did not add the tail nor chains as it would have been way too big of an encounter.  Could have added the tail but this would do, a butchered down version 


Since Castlevania 3 can take decently sized sprites this will go into the roster nicely.  Kept Frankenstein in for size comparison 

great design super

[Toffi]

Heres an update on stage concepts, for you guys. Its a take on the port town Aljiba from CV2

[DavidtheIdeaMan]

Looks amazing! Keep up the great work.

[Toffi]

Made a ship belly concept using recycled tiles (the stairs and platforms are pier tiles, and the ship walls are pathway blocks that switched palates) Thoughts?

[DavidtheIdeaMan]

Nicely done,it looks beautiful,keep up the great work Toffi.