Should Shields return? (Submitted)

They definitely can but why not a little bit of both. Maybe you can enhance your shields with your magic. Maybe certain shields can be used as a way to progress in stages too?

Frankly I don't think I've ever used shields. Backdashing and jump cancelling attacks felt much better and I frequently forgot shields even existed in SOTN.
A Classicvania might've benefitted more from the addition of shields since you have limited movement options, but Metroidvania games have by nature a certain flow to them.
I don't think shields mix with that aspect too well. I wouldn't hate it if they were in the game, but I'm pretty certain I wouldn't use them unless the game put me inside areas where they'd be a real asset, like narrow corridors with fireballs going my way. Which isn't something I felt with SOTN at any point really.

Well, it seems like most people aren't saying they want no shields? They just want it done in a way that'll compliment how combat works in the Igavania world (and I'm gonna throw in Castlevania here too).

Castlievania's defense has always been mainly about dodging, via jumping and/or ducking. Shields, while neat and an option, wasn't given much viability in SOTN outside of just equipping something else which items and food needing to be equipped to use probably didn't help either. There's a reason a lot of people say they're mostly useless outside of the shield rod. The shield system might've been given another look if pretty much all the games after it lost having two dedicated attack buttons.

This is probably why for the poll you see people say they don't mind if they come back if they just have something *more* to them.    

Equip shield = passive defense buff related to shield type.

Shield use = block attacks based on strike type (light med heavy magic whatever)

Shield abilities --

Parry :(lighter attacks) which might leave the enemy stunned foe additional attack/retreat/evade time.

Bash : move enemies around the map such as the kick in dark souls.

Defensive stance : assume a stance in which damage is reduced but defense is Much higher. Able to attack quickly from stance.

Twin shield wielding : operates as melee knuckleduster type weapons with the option to buff the defensive stance to all defense no offense but twice the bash / parry movement / stun (dependent on shield type)

Disarm : cause an enemy to drop his weapon or become unable to attack physically for a small duration.

Megalomania : stand in one place and block successfully more than x attacks. When done auto switch to a secondary set of weapons with a very high damage modifier active for x seconds.

Just some brainstorming.

theres a glaring problem with that setup though that nothing else in an igavania has ever had, and thats forced uselessness, having levels of shield which have levels of usefulness has the side effect of in order to continue being useful you have to keep upgrading, in sotn (and all other igavanias sans shield (or fist in ooes case? i dont remember)) you could go through the whole game naked with just your fists and a leather shield and that shield stays useful against the same types of attacks throughout the entire game (that would be a very slow and extremely technical run, but it can be done)

i do agree with the active use of them to defend though, it gives you more options to suit your playstyle, i think ways to keep shields varied while keeping them useful would be through some of the ideas already in the thread, like through a defense buff that becomes active when the shield is out (which affects all combat whether the shield blocks an attack or not) and the ability to fully block physical attacks for physical shields or magic/element attacks for magical shields (this creates instances where a particular shield may be well suited to a portion of the game just like some weapons or armor, but no shield is ever completely useless)

When you say levels, you mean like an experience system for weapons? I mean that's not unusual in games but its not usually accompanied with a crafting system is it? An experience based system for individual weapons encourages one to use the same weapon over and over again whilst a crafting system encourages you to switch weapons frequently. Is there a game you know of that uses both (I'm legit asking because I may be ignorant of their existence). You could tie that to a skill system (that is to say every time you use shields, you get better as using any shield not just a particular one). I think it might be better to separate weapon abilities by class, type and attributes (which you can influence via crafting) rather than through an experience system though. All the Igavanias have pretty much encouraged you to switch things up frequently (some games do a better job at it than others) so I think an experience system for weapons and skills runs counter to that and is probably an unnecessary addition of complexity.

Regarding weapon types, just as a rapier and a broadsword are both swords but have different animations, reach, etc. so too can many different types of shields have different things you can do with them.  So you could have smaller shields that you can use parry actions with or throw as discusses but would be unable to block more powerful projectiles and then have larger shields that you can only use to block but do a better job at blocking a wide range of projectiles. Like a leather shield would probably suck at blocking fire but something like say a crystal shield may get the job done. In terms of shield actions, I think I'd probably want to keep it varied but simple and not too bloated. Combat hasn't really been the primary focus of Igavanias so I'm not sure IGA wants to change that with Bloodstained. Like you can do it - Gucameele is a Metroidvania with a heavier combat focus - but it does change the flow of the game and I'm not sure that's something fans of Igavanias want.

In summation, you could also describe shields along these axes:

Defense: This is how much an equipped shield boosts your defense rating. The higher the rating, the less damage/knockback you take from blocked attacks.
Size: The size of the shield determines what you can do with it. Larger shields have fewer options and more recovery frames but can block more things and block them better.
Type: Example: A metal shield can block physical attacks well but not magic whereas a crystal shield may do the opposite.
Attribute: Elemental Resistances (your shield makes you immune to eclectic attacks or absorbs them), Status Effects (if an enemy touches your shield with their body they get poisoned or petrified), etc.

I want shields but they should block more significant attacks like beams because blocking daggers and such is not appealing to me.