Released: May 2019
Originally Released: October 1991
Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment/Konami Industry Co. Ltd
Original Developer: Konami
Also Available For: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 4, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

The Background:
So, thanks to the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, I recently found out that Super Castlevania IV is actually a remake of Castlevania (Konami, 1986), though the US version of the game positions itself as a sequel to Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (ibid, 1987). Either way, though, Super Castlevania IV (a grandiose title I adore as it implies there was a “regular” Castlevania IV), is widely regarded as one of the best (if not the best) entries in the entire Castlevania series thanks to its tight controls, gameplay mechanics, soundtrack, and, of course, sporting some of the most impressive 16-bit graphics ever seen. Despite the fact that I grew up playing the Mega Drive, I’ve probably played Super Castlevania IV the most out of all the classic Castlevania games thanks to emulators and the SNES Classic Edition. Of all the games available on the SNES Classic, this is one of the only ones I actually took the time to play and beat so I was excited to jump back into it as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection.

The Plot:
When the immortal vampire Count Dracula threatens the land, Simon Belmont, of the legendary Belmont family of vampire hunters, takes up the feared whip of his ancestors, the Vampire Killer, and journeys into Dracula’s castle to end this threat.

Gameplay:
Super Castlevania IV is a 2D, sidescrolling action/platformer that once again casts players in the role of Simon Belmont. Unlike every Castlevania I’ve played as part of this marathon, though, Simon actually controls well in this game. And not just “well”; his control is superb and unparalleled to his predecessors thanks to the 16-bit power of the SNES. For the first time, you can properly control Simon as he jumps and he doesn’t feel like he has weighted lead in his boots. As always, he attacks with the Vampire Killer, a whip that can be upgraded to a chained variant within the first few minutes of play. However, unlike in all previous Castlevania games, players can now attack in eight different directions! This means Simon can attack airborne enemies much easier thanks to his upwards and diagonal attacks and while also making short work of those beneath him. Additionally, by holding down the attack button, the whip goes limp, acting as a shield of sorts and can be manipulated by the player to damage enemies.

Simon can also use the whip to swing across gaps and, of course, to destroy candles to acquire the traditional Castlevania sub-weapons, hearts (the ammo for his sub-weapons), and bags of gold for extra points. In a nice change of pace, he can also acquire a small health boost from chicken drumsticks also found in these same candles (as well as being able to find the odd pot roast by smashing breakable walls). While you can break through some walls to find hidden areas, or will often find power-ups and bonuses hidden away in the game’s stages, the branching path system of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (ibid, 1989) is gone, replaced by a far more linear progression system, but the game’s various stages are so large and varied that I wasn’t even bothered. The game also does away with the frustrating auto-scrolling sections of Castlevania III and replaces them with far simpler (though no less exhilarating) sprints across crumbling platforms and walkways.

The majority of Super Castlevania IV is spent fighting your way towards Dracula’s Castle rather than journeying through it as in the original Castlevania. This takes Simon through some stunning and varied environments, each of which is populated by the usual traps, ghouls, and ghosts of the Castlevania series but also bolstered by some impressive graphical elements. You’ll go through gate doors in chain fences to explore the background of a stage, swing across gaps, leap across swinging chandeliers, and contend with a rotating background thanks to the SNES’s “Mode 7” capabilities. This graphics mode was further employed not only to rotate certain parts of levels in dynamic fashion, but also bolsters some of the boss battles; Simon will encounter the biggest, most complex bosses of the series so far in this game and they’re made all the more impressive by the way they expand or contract thanks to the added power of the SNES. As always, a lot of Simon’s quest will involve him travelling through gothic environments; luckily, platforming has never been better. Simon still flies backwards upon being attacked, which can still send him careening down bottomless pits or into deadly spikes, but the flexibility of Simon’s attack range makes it far easier to strike enemies while making tricky jumps. Additionally, it’s much easier to ascend and descend staircases in this game than in Castlevania III; there was no accidental plummeting to my death when trying to do something as simple as going down stairs in this game and, even better, Simon can even “moonwalk” and is far less open to attacks when on stairs thanks to the flexibility of his whip.

Graphics and Sound:
Unsurprisingly, Super Castlevania IV was the best the series had ever looked at that point. Crisp, highly detailed sprites and environments are the order of the day as the game takes full advantage of the SNES’s vastly improved graphics power and colour palette. Backgrounds are alive with animation and additional elements, enemies pop out from behind background obstacles, and Simon and his gothic surroundings are finally fully realised in fantastic detail.

Thanks to the added power of the SNES and the Mode 7 graphics, the game can handle multiple enemies and projectiles on screen at once; though there is, admittedly, some slow down in some areas with more graphical effects than others (the rotating corridor springs to mind), it’s nowhere near as bad as in the 8-bit titles and there’s never any sprite flickering here. As for music, Super Castlevania IV has some of the most memorable tunes in the series. Even better, by the time you reach Dracula’s Castle, the game will bust out 16-bit renditions of classic 8-bit tracks like “Vampire Killer” and “Bloody Tears”. The added power of the SNES really bolsters the creepy, gothic atmosphere of the game, allowing for weather and sound effects to punctuate the catchy, energetic soundtrack.

Enemies and Bosses:
Being as it was intended as a remake of Castlevania, all of the classic and traditional Castlevania enemies make their 16-bit debut in Super Castlevania IV. Simon primarily contends with skeletons; some will just walk back and forth, some pop out from the background, some throw bones at him, some leap at him and attack with whips, the red variants can reform after being destroyed, and the gold variants are tougher to destroy. He’ll also be swarmed by bats, Medusa Heads, knights who attack with lances or throw axes at either Simon’s head or crotch, and mud men who break into progressively smaller variants the more you attack them. There are some new enemies to content with here, however; the amusingly named “Mr. Hed” (which is a bloodied, disembodied horse’s head that attacks like a Medusa Head), ghosts, floating, severed hands, possessed caskets and dinner tables, and swarms of vipers that spontaneously spawn at Simon’s feet at the most inappropriate times. You’ll also contend with frogs and bothersome little gremlins, who jump around erratically, annoying little hedgehog-like creatures that roll into spiked balls, dogs that rush at you at high speed, and even enemies that emerge from the walls and scenery to grab or injure you.

Super Castlevania IV’s bosses that range from ridiculously easy (like the skeletal horseman from the first stage and the giant bat made entirely of gold coins from the ninth stage), the visually impressive (the massive golem Koranot, which grows so large it fills the entire screen), and the down-right frustrating (I’m looking at you, Slogra!) You’ll also notice that a lot of the bosses from past Castlevania games return here, rendered in all their 16-bit glory: we’ve got twin-headed, fire-breathing dragons, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Medusa Queen and, of course, the Grim Reaper. Unlike in the 8-bit titles, though, while Death is one of the more troublesome bosses, it is much easier to attack and dodge his scythes and he has a clear attack pattern this time around, making it a challenging encounter but not one I wanted to rage-quit over. Before you can even face Dracula, you’ll have to endure a gauntlet of three bosses: Solgra (who is a massive pain in the ass until you learn to dodge, duck, and jump out of his wide-reaching attacks and hit box), Gaibon (a gargoyle-like creature who, despite having a second, faster form, is a joke compared to Solgra), and the aforementioned Grim Reaper. While you might think that this will leave you at a disadvantage for the final boss, there is a well-known hidden staircase just before this battle where you can refill your health and hearts to give you a fighting chance.

As always, Dracula’s weak spot is his head; this time, however, he initially teleports across this throne room in beams of light and attacks with a spread of fireballs. With the boomerang, you can increase your chances of hitting his weak spot and concentrate on using Simon’s limp whip to block these projectiles; once you’ve done enough damage, Dracula spawns two flaming skulls that follow Simon around. You can destroy them relatively easily but still have to be wary of their splash damage; luckily, though, unlike other Dracula fights, you’ll be able to pick up a little bit of health during this battle, increasing your chances. You’ll also need to use the limp-whip technique to shield yourself from a smaller fireball that blasts projectiles in a circular motion and, after you’ve damaged Dracula enough, he’ll assume a more demonic visage and try to fry you alive with four columns of lightning. Standing between them, you can attack his head and, when his health is depleted, the morning sun will break through the castle windows and destroy the Count.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
All the standard Castlevania power-ups and pick-ups are available here; you can upgrade Simon’s whip three times, acquire the ability to throw two or three sub-weapons in quick succession, destroy all enemies on screen with the Rosary, and briefly turn invincible. All the same sub-weapons return in Super Castlevania IV in exactly the same way you’d expect; this time around, I favoured the axe and the boomerang and had little use for anything else. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed that Konami didn’t take the opportunity to bring in some new sub-weapons or Simon’s fire whip but I guess they were more concerned with tightening up Simon’s controls and gameplay and taking advantage of the SNES’s increased graphical power than changing their tried-and-true combat mechanics.

Additional Features:
As with previous Castlevania titles, Super Castlevania IV employs a password system to allow you to return to a saved game after a game over; additionally, once you finish the game, you’ll automatically return to the first stage with your score, lives, hearts, and last-used sub-weapon intact to take on the game’s “Hard Mode”. You can also earn an Achievement on the Xbox One Castlevania Anniversary Collection for finishing the game and apply the same frames and display options as the other games in the collection. In a way, it’s disappointing that Super Castlevania IV doesn’t offer more in terms of replayability (there are no additional characters or even helpful codes to input beyond the level passwords), but I would still rather come back to this title again and again than any of the previous 8-bit games (with, perhaps, the exception of Castlevania III).

The Summary:
With its tight controls and impressive 16-bit graphics, Super Castlevania IV finally allows the series to live up to the ambition it was striving for in Castlevania III and the game more than earns the its reputation as an absolute classic of the 16-bit era. I enjoy the first and third Castlevania’s but it was obvious that Konami had ambitions for their franchise that Nintendo’s 8-bit consoles just couldn’t realise; thankfully, the SNES changed that and we finally got a Castlevania game that looked, sounded, and (crucially) controlled the way they always intended. Every bit of praise you’ve heard for Super Castlevania IV is deserved; graphically, it’s on another level. It builds atmosphere brilliantly thanks to its gothic, moody environments, music, and aesthetic and the game’s difficulty builds just as naturally. All the familiar tropes and mechanics that made the Castlevania series work prior to this game are present, meaning you still have to watch out for sudden tumbles to your doom and the game requires only your very best platforming skills, making for a rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable romp through the haunted hallways of Dracula’s infamous castle.

My Rating:

Fantastic

What did you think of Super Castlevania IV? Where do you rate it in the Castlevania series? What were your favourite games on the SNES? Whatever your thoughts on Castlevania, drop a comment below and check out my other Castlevania reviews.

Released: May 2019
Originally Released: December 1989
Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment/Konami Industry Co. Ltd
Original Developer: Konami
Also Available For: Family Computer Disk System (Famicom), Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, PC, and PlayStation 4

The Background:
After dramatically altering the straight-forward action/platforming of the original Castlevania (Konami, 1986) with the awkward and frustrating Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (ibid, 1987), Konami went back to the drawing board for the third outing and, thankfully, opted to return to the formula that worked so well in the original game. What resulted was one the more well-regarded titles in the series; Castlevania III made up for a lot of the failings of the second game by not only ditching the role-playing elements of Castlevania II but also featuring the unique ability to ally with one of three other additional characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, and being able to switch to them on the fly, and also offering branching paths for the player to take. I was primarily aware of Castlevania III’s due to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, 1997), which continued the story of Alucard and directly referred to the events of the third game, and its influence on Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Inti Creates, 2018), which was, basically, a spiritual successor to Castlevania III. After being unimpressed with Castlevania II, however, I was happy to just return to the tried-and-true gameplay of the original Castlevania.

The Plot:
A prequel to the original Castlevania, Castlevania III sees Simon Belmont’s ancestor, Trevor, arming himself with the legendary Vampire Killer whip and battling the dark forces of Count Dracula. On the way, he teams up with one of three new characters, each with their own motivations for confronting Dracula and, together, they journey to end Dracula’s curse.

Gameplay:
Ditching the role-playing elements of the second game, Castlevania III is, once again, a 2D sidescrolling action/platformer; this time, however, players assume the role of Trevor Belmont, Simon’s ancestor. This doesn’t really alter the core gameplay that greatly, though; it seems clunkiness runs in the Belmont family tree as Trevor is just as stocky, weighty, and cumbersome as his successor, and also attacks enemies with the same whip and sub-weapons as Simon. What is new, however, is that the game offers the player the chance to take different paths at various times; the path you choose leads you to encounter not only different enemies and obstacles, but also an encounter with one of three additional playable characters. Trevor can team up with the sorceress Sypha Belnades, the acrobatic Grant DaNasty, or the dhampir Alucard and, at the press of a button, the player can (sl-ow-ly) switch over to controlling this character. While none of them can use sub-weapons, they each have their own abilities that, like the Vampire Killer, can be upgraded to deal more damage.

Unlike in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, you can only team Trevor up with one of these characters and they all share the same health bar and heart counter. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well: Sypha attacks with a magic wand and can, eventually, unleash magical attacks upon her enemies but isn’t much for jumping; Grant can cling to walls and ceilings but is limited to stabbing at enemies from close range; and Alucard tosses fireballs and can transform into a bat to avoid enemies and obstacles entirely but this drains your hearts considerably. Yes, the hearts are back once again; luckily, there’s no need to waste them buying weapons and upgrades this time. Instead, you once again use hearts as your ammo and replenish your character’s health by breaking walls and finding pot roasts. As in the original game, the player is also fighting against a time limit, though I found this to be quite generous and never actually experienced a time over. Castlevania III offers far more instances of auto-scrolling than its predecessors; more than once, you’re tasked with out-racing a rising or falling screen, all while respawning enemies wait to swarm you at a moment’s notice. Jump too soon and you’ll die, either from plummeting to your death or touching the equally deadly top of the screen, but you’re not always safe on platforms either as Castlevania III loves to have blocks crumble beneath you or flip around to stab you with deadly spikes.

Such areas are often accompanied by broken staircases and fireball-spewing pillars; rather than taking the time to destroy these, its far better to watch their patterns and time your jumps to avoid them entirely. This is made all the more troublesome by the fact that it seems far more difficult to climb up and down stairs in this game; previously, I experienced no real issues with this mechanic but, in Castlevania III, I constantly found myself slipping down a bottomless pit rather than going down stairs as I intended. It doesn’t help that going down stairs seems a lot more troublesome than going up, and Castlevania III is far more vertically layered than its predecessors. There’s a couple of other obstacles to contend with here as well, most notably the rotating gears in the clock tower and the swinging pendulums that you must jump to (while avoiding erratic bats) to reach the final staircase to Dracula’s throne room. The path you choose will determine which enemies and obstacles you’ll come up against, lending the game a much greater degree of replayability than its predecessors as you can experiment with different paths and different characters on each playthrough.

Graphics and Sound:
Castlevania III is a far more ambitious title than its predecessors; there are a variety of environments here, and even Dracula’s castle has received an upgrade in its details, obstacles, and colour palette. This makes the game far more detailed and ambitious than previous Castlevania titles, which can make it difficult to spot your character’s sprite against some of the more meticulous backgrounds, especially as some areas of the game start you on the right-hand side of the screen, rather than the traditional left.

Thankfully, the game seems a lot more stable than its predecessor but is still, clearly, pushing the limits of its 8-bit hardware. There is far less slow down and sprite flickering than in Castlevania II but it is still present, mainly because the enemies constantly respawn in most areas and, when these areas are filled with other obstacles or moving elements, the game can struggle a bit with rendering everything but it’s nowhere near as noticeably or obtrusive as in Castlevania II. Castlevania III features easily the most ambitious soundtrack of the series so far; composer Hidenori Maezawa helped to create a custom VRC6 coprocessor to provide the game with five extra sound channels, effectively doubling the sound channels available in the Famicon version. While this had to be downgraded slightly for the NES version, Castlevania III still features some of the most memorable tracks and versions of Castlevania’s iconic themes, resulting in one of the most impressive 8-bit soundtracks of the time.

Enemies and Bosses:
Like Simon, Trevor will battle a slew of gothic and supernatural enemies and bosses, many of which featured prominently in the first game; he’ll come up against skeletons (who throw bones, wield swords, or reassemble themselves), the always-annoying bats, crows, and Medusa Heads, and giant spiders (who spit out smaller spiders this time, rather than webs…) Trevor also battles against swarms of zombies, fishmen (who hide underwater and attack with fireballs), and axe-throwing knights but he’ll also encounter some decidedly tougher enemies; flying, shield-wielding gargoyles, hunchback-like goblins who bounce around the screen, and mud men, for example.

While Castlevania II largely abandoned boss battles, Castlevania III brings them back in full force…but makes the equally disappointing mistake of repeating many of these battles. You’ll battle the Cyclops and Mummy more than once (which is a shame as these are relatively simple or annoying fights, respectively) and battle new versions of the Queen Medusa, Giant Bat, and Frankenstein Monster. However, you’ll also battle against the Skull Knight and the two Water Dragons; while this first battle is easy enough, the latter is made all the more difficult by the fact that it’s pretty easy for your character to take a hit and be sent careening to the deadly water below.

To recruit Grant and Alucard, you’ll first have to defeat them in battle. Similarly, you’ll also have to fight against a doppelgänger of your character; even if you switch characters during this fight, the double switches accordingly, meaning you can’t just tank Sypha with Trevor’s superior attacks. I found this to be one of the more difficult boss battles in the game, easily up there with Death’s first form and the gauntlet against two Mummies, a Cyclops, and the demonic Leviathan. After being a pitiful shell of his former self in Castlevania II, the Grim Reaper returns with a vengeance here; not only do you have to battle him and his maniacal scythes in a startlingly accurate repeat of the fight in Castlevania, you’ll also have to fight Death’s second form. Luckily, however this is simply a giant floating skull that spits scythes at you and isn’t too difficult…providing you survived Death’s first form with enough health!

Similarly, Dracula is now a far more formidable foe; this time, you’ll face the Count in a three-stage boss battle. In the first, he surrounds the player with pillars of fire, spawning a third right underneath you; in the second, Dracula’s becomes a floating mass of blood-spitting heads; for his final form, Dracula becomes a gigantic, demonic background element who zaps at you with laser bolts and manipulates the ground. As in the first game, Dracula’s only weak point is his head, meaning it’s best to have the axe for this boss fight; the most difficult thing about Dracula’s first form is making sure you have enough room to manoeuvre between the pillars of fire to avoid the third pillar. The second form isn’t too bad but it’s best to run underneath it so you don’t get cornered. The final form is pretty simple but, like the Water Dragons, is made more annoying and difficult by the presence of bottomless pits. Despite this, though, it’s pretty easy to dodge the Count’s attacks and lob axes at his head until he’s finished.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Each character can upgrade their attacks to deal more damage, as is the Castlevania tradition; it’s worth noting that, if you’ve upgraded the Vampire Killer and switch to your partner character, the upgrade won’t carry over and you’ll have to grab the upgrades for your partner as well. This is very much encouraged; I partnered with Sypha for my first playthrough and never upgraded her attacks, meaning she just uselessly smacked skeletons with her stupid little wand. When I switched to Alucard, I upgraded his fireball and it became a very handy spread of fireballs, so it’s best to upgrade each of your characters. All the sub-weapons from the first Castlevania return as well; this time, I found the axe the most useful as there seems to be more flying enemies, or enemies placed above you, or more uses for this compared to the Holy Water.

Additional Features:
Like its predecessor, Castlevania III features a password system, which allows players to continue their game after a game over. Inputting certain player names and passwords will also grant you extra lives, allow you to skip to certain levels with different partners, or jump to the game’s “Hard Mode”. Yep, like the first game, once you clear Castlevania III and view one of the game’s four different endings (each of which is pretty positive, in comparison to Castlevania II’s endings) and the game’s credits, you’ll be plonked right back into the first stage in Hard Mode. As you’d expect, enemies deal more damage to you in this mode and, while some are missing, you’ll encounter tougher enemies a lot sooner. The Xbox One Castlevania Anniversary Collection has four Achievements available for this game, one for finishing the game with each of the game’s partners and one for finishing it with just Trevor, and the same features available for the other games in the collection (save states, frames, and display options).

The Summary:
After Castlevania II turned the franchise on its head with its annoying day/night system, barren castles, and reliance on obscure clues and role-playing elements, Castlevania III is a fantastic, and much welcome, return to form. Unlike the sequel, this prequel takes everything that worked in the first game and improves upon it; there are branching paths, more playable characters, more options available to you, and vastly improved environments. It’s clear that Castlevania III is pushing the NES to its limits and is an extremely ambitious title for an 8-bit system; Konami would go on to improve upon many of these elements in later, graphically-superior games in the series, but it all started here. The bosses are better, the environments are more interesting and varied, the characters add some much-needed variety and, despite the same janky controls that plagued these earlier Castlevania titles, this is clearly the best of the 8-bit Castlevania games and, thanks to the different paths and character options available, offers far more replayability than its predecessors.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think about Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse back in the day? Did you play it on the NES back in the day? Which of the four characters did you prefer? Whatever you think about the game, or Castlevania, in general, leave a comment below and check out my other Castlevania reviews.

Released: May 2019
Originally Released: August 1987
Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment/Konami Industry Co. Ltd
Original Developer: Konami
Also Available For: Family Computer Disk System (Famicom), Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, PC, and PlayStation 4

The Background:
If Castlevania (Konami, 1986) has a reputation for being one of the more difficult games of the days of classic 8-bit home consoles then Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest has an even more infamous reputation for being, perhaps, the most frustrating and confusing title in the entire series. Famously lambasted by the Angry Video Game Nerd for its obscure hints, non-linear gameplay, and frustrating gameplay mechanics, Castlevania II stands as the black sheep of the franchise. Castlevania II follows a trend in NES series of the late-eighties in that, rather than improve and define the gameplay mechanics and structure of the first game, it takes a dramatic right turn; in this case, into a more non-linear, adventure-style role-playing game (RPG). We saw a similar thing happen with Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo EAD, 1988) and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (ibid, 1987), which both featured deviations from the gameplay styles of their predecessors. Rather than being a relatively straight-forward action/platformer, Castlevania II places far more emphasis on grinding for experience points (EXP), levelling up, purchasing items, talking to non-playable characters (NPCs), and using key items in obscure ways. Because of this, and the game’s dodgy reputation, I can’t say that I was too excited to delve into this game; to make it easier, I’ll admit to using a guide so I would know where I was going and what I was doing, which was enough to make this a more annoying experience than playing the first game.

The Plot:
Seven years after defeating Count Dracula in the original Castlevania, Simon Belmont finds himself suffering from a fatal curse placed upon him by the evil Count. To break the curse, he must “prossess” Dracula’s five body parts in order to resurrect, and defeat, the Count once more.

Gameplay:
Castlevania II is a sidescrolling action/adventure platformer; players once again control the legendary vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who controls largely the same. Once again, Simon is a slow, plodding character with little control when leaping from platform to platform, and suffering from the same annoying trend of throwing himself backwards into bottomless pits or deadly bodies of water when hit with attacks.

Simon primarily attacks enemies with his trademark whip, the Vampire Killer, and can throw a variety of sub-weapons at his enemies. As before, the whip can be upgraded to deal greater damage but, in a twist, this must be done by purchasing the upgrades from NPCs. Similarly, the sub-weapons are acquired either by defeating one of the game’s handful of bosses or buying them from NPCs, placing a greater emphasis on the collecting of hearts. As Simon defeats enemies, they will drop hearts; these can then be used to buy new weapons and upgrades, as well as being your ammo for using sub-weapons. As items and upgrades come at a high price, you will be finding yourself farming for hearts a lot throughout the course of the game. This is helpful, in one way, as Simon now gains EXP for dispatching enemies; with enough EXP, he will level up, further increasing his health bar. However, working against him is the fact that, at regular intervals, the game will suddenly succumb to the curse of night. When night-time falls, the enemies deal greater damage, take more hits to defeat, increase in number, and even swarm the game’s usually safe towns. The towns also close up at night; the normally-vague and fearful NPCs hide indoors, the church (which is the only place Simon can refill his health) and other buildings shut their doors, and Simon is forced to sit and wait for the sun to rise and dispel the curse. This night-time mechanic has, rightfully, drawn the ire of many commentators over the years and rightfully so; it’s an annoying, frustratingly awkward mechanic that takes way too long to load up, lasts for far too long, and generally results in you either standing around like a moron waiting for the night to end or battling tougher enemies to gain more hearts.

Compounding the matter is the fact that the game’s translation leaves a lot to be desired; NPCs dish out incredible vague and obtuse “clues” that really don’t help your progress through the game. You’re given items with little explanation as to their purpose and are required to use them in some really weird ways; without a guide, I really don’t see how anyone would be able to figure out that you need to kneel down by a body of water or in front of an impassable wall with a certain gem in order to access new areas. All this might be bearable if the game made up for it with some interesting levels and dungeons but it really doesn’t; the bulk of Castlevania II’s enemies are found in the overworld and all of the castles look and feel the same. You’ll jump across the same spiked pits, attack the same enemies, and acquire Dracula’s accursed body parts in the same way (throwing a wooden stake at a glowing orb, of course). Hell, the final castle doesn’t even have any enemies; it’s just a minor inconvenience of a maze leading to an anti-climatic battle with the Count himself. Depending on how long you take to beat the game, you’ll be treated to a variety of endings; sometimes, Simon prevails but succumbs to his wounds, others he will triumph unabated. This is probably where Castlevania II’s replayability comes into play as you’re encouraged to get the best ending but, considering how annoying it is to slog through this bland adventure, I can’t say that I’m too interested in trying to beat it any faster or better (or play it ever again, for that matter).

Graphics and Sound:
Castlevania II doesn’t really improve upon its predecessor much; it looks, feels, and sounds pretty much exactly the same, with the same limited sprite animations and colour palette.

If anything, Castlevania II is a graphical step down as there are often so many enemies and sprites on the screen at the same time that you’ll notice some sever sprite flickering and super annoying slow-down. As if Simon wasn’t slow enough, he’ll now jitter through the air and, often, it feels like you’re walking through wet mud; it can massively affect your trajectory when trying to clear deadly pits or spikes and mean the difference between a decent health bar and struggling to progress. At the same time, the game does feature a soundtrack to rival its predecessor; “Bloody Tears” has since become a recurring theme in the franchise and I like that the music changes when the game shifts from day to night but, as good as the music and sound effects are, they’re not enough to really increase the appeal of this game.

Enemies and Bosses:
Once again, Simon will battle against a slew of gothic and supernatural enemies; he’ll mostly encounter skeletons and spear-wielding knights in the castles and areas he visits but will also battle mummies, bats, floating eyeballs, and Medusa Heads as you progress. Boss encounters are few and far between and a pitiful inclusion compared to the battles you endure in Castlevania; there are only three boss battles in this game, two of which can be bypassed completely (though you’ll miss out on two of the game’s stronger sub-weapons), and all three are pretty pathetic compared to the first game. This is best exemplified in the battle against the Grim Reaper, which was an annoying test of my endurance and skill in Castlevania.

Here, Death is slow, predictable, and easily dispatched after a few hits. Similarly, Dracula is renowned for his ludicrous ease in this game; granted, this battle is potentially harder if you didn’t acquire the Golden Knife sub-weapon but even without it, you can land a ridiculous number of his as Dracula spawns into the arena and defeat him before he can even launch a single attack. It’s a dismal end to a dismal title and as though the developers knew that gamers would struggle with the game’s level-up system, day/night cycle, and more obscure elements so over compensated by significantly reducing the number and difficulty of the game’s bosses.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As before, Simon can upgrade the Vampire Killer as he progresses to new towns and visits new areas. Certain NPCs will sell you an upgrade that turns the whip into a chain and its eventual strongest form, the Flame Whip. However, to acquire these upgrades, you’ll need to not only locate these NPCs (usually they’re hidden behind blocks or walls that must be destroyed with Holy Water) but also have enough hearts to purchase the upgrade. Similarly, the first game’s sub-weapons return but must be purchased with hearts, which are also necessary to use these items. However, perhaps because of his pivotal the Holy Water is for checking for illusionary blocks, the Holy Water is free to use so you can spam it as much as you like. There’s some new power-ups here as well, though, like the powerful Sacred Flame or the Laurels, which make Simon invincible for a short time, and cloves of Garlic (which, when used in the right place at the right time, spawn an NPC who will provide Simon with free upgrades).

Additional Features:
Castlevania II features a password save system, which was probably very useful back in the day when most gamers were renting the game or, lacking a guide, were unable to finish the game in one sitting. Unlike the first game, though, there is no “Hard Mode” awaiting you; the game is hard enough as it is and you’ll need to be really good at it in order to beat it fast enough to get the game’s best ending. If you’re playing the version featured in the Xbox One Castlevania Anniversary Collection, as I did, you can earn an Achievement for completing the game and make liberal use of the save state feature to chart your progress and come back to where you left off whenever you want. There are also a number of frames and display options, though they don’t really do much to improve the appeal of this game.

The Summary:
No matter how you look at it, Castlevania II is a poor follow-up to Castlevania. I was expecting a lot worse but I can’t deny that the game is far less fun that the original; it’s a slog to get through, even with a guide, and just a far more boring experience. Perhaps if the game made better use of its castles and included challenging bosses it would have more appeal. The day/night cycle is annoying but I like the added challenge it provided; the problem was that, most of the time, I just stood around like an idiot waiting for the sun to rise so I could heal up and continue. Any game that means you have to stand stationary for minutes on end is a bad game for me, and Castlevania II asks way too much from players; I get that a lot of RPGs and games back then were vague and non-linear, but this game takes the piss with its terrible “hints” and massively obscure item usage. I can’t see myself returning to this title again any time soon.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Did you play Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest back in the day? Do you agree with the reputation is has for being one of Castlevania’s weakest titles or do you feel it’s an under-rated gem? Which of the titles in the series do you consider to be the best, worst, hardest, or easiest? Whatever you think, drop a comment below and check out my other Castlevania reviews.

Released: May 2019
Originally Released: September 1986
Developer: Konami Digital Entertainment/Konami Industry Co. Ltd
Original Developer: Konami
Also Available For: Amiga, Arcade, C64, Family Computer Disk System (Famicom), Game Boy Advance, Mobile, MS-DOS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, PC, and PlayStation 4

The Background:
Castlevania (known as “Akumajō Dracula”) is notorious for its reputation as not just inspiring an entire sub-genre of videogame (the “Metroidvania” genre) but also its punishing difficulty. Back when Castlevania was first released for the NES, videogames (especially those on Nintendo’s ground-breaking platform) were built to last. As many gamers simply rented titles, and videogames were still heavily influenced by the pay-to-pay formula of the arcades, it wasn’t conducive for home console titles to be easy to complete and few titles exemplify that mentality more than Castlevania and its sequels. Given that I grew up mostly playing SEGA consoles, my experience with Castlevania has been understandably limited; I tried to change that with Castlevania (Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe, 1999) on the Nintendo 64…but that was shit. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Inti Creates, 2018) was such a fun experience that I jumped at the chance to play through one of Castlevania’s most celebrated titles, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, 1997) which, in turn, led me to playing through its spiritual successor, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (ArtPlay, 2019). Though I have also finished Super Castlevania IV (Konami, 1991) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition, I leapt at the opportunity to buy the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for Xbox One and play through these classic titles and see if I can conquer their notorious difficulty.

The Plot:
With the immortal vampire Count Dracula threatening the entire land, Simon Belmont, the latest in a lineage of legendary vampire hunters, takes up the feared whip of his ancestors, the Vampire Killer, and journeys into Dracula’s castle to end this threat.

Gameplay:
Castlevania is a sidescrolling action/platformer in which players control the vampire killer Simon Belmont. Being an 8-bit title released in the early days of the NES, Simon is a bit of a slog to control; he’s stocky, heavy, and very awkward. Simon does okay when walking in a straight line but isn’t so great at jumping or changing direction on the fly, which can make for some tricky jumps.

Simon attacks Dracula’s minions with his whip, the Vampire Killer; Simon can attack standing up, while ducking, and while jumping but can only attack in the direction he’s facing, which can make hitting flying and more active enemies very difficult. Luckily, Simon can also acquire a number of different sub-weapons, which can make it easier to attack the more awkward enemies or to attack from a distance. Speaking of which, while you’ll collect a whole bunch of hearts during the game, these won’t refill your health. I’ve never understood why the developers decided to have the hearts essentially be the ammo for your sub-weapon rather than health as it goes against every piece of videogame logic I know. Instead, you’ll have to break open walls and blocks to find food, which will replenish your health. Simon also starts the game with three lives and can earn more through earning enough points; once all your lives are spent, though, you do get unlimited continues so it’s not a complete loss.

As you journey through Dracula’s castle, you’ll battle not only a whole slew of gothic-inspired enemies but also the clock; each of the game’s eighteen stages carries a time limit. If you don’t manage to reach and defeat the boss before the timer counts down, you’ll lose a life. You’ll also have to deal with the game’s finicky controls and devastating knock-back, which can easily send you careening down a bottomless pit, into water, or simply to the previous screen. Either way, it’s usually instant death for Simon. You’ll also have to climb a number of stairs during the game and, while Simon can defend himself on the stairs, he can also walk right through them and fall down them, which means certain death. As a result, it’s not really advisable to barge in all guns blazing; enemies all have a specific pattern that you must learn, and exploit, to defeat them. Many times, it might be easier to simply dodge the enemies with a well-timed jump, duck, or simply walking past them as they swoop by; whatever it takes to reach the boss with as much health and ammo as possible.

Graphics and Sound:
Being that it’s an 8-bit title on the NES, Castlevania obviously looks rather pixelated and dated by today’s standards. There aren’t many frames of animation used in the game and, yet, there’s a surprising level of detail. Though limited by the NES’s colour palette, sprites still manage to pop out from the surprisingly-detailed backgrounds; rendered in a reddy/browny hue, Simon always sticks out compared to his surroundings and enemies, making it easy to see where he is. Some enemies can blend in a bit, as they’re mostly black or red against black or red backgrounds, but they’re easily recognisable once they start their attack patterns.

Considering the majority of the game takes place in a castle, the game’s environments are quite varied; Simon journeys through standard brick-and-mortar gothic architecture, across the outskirts of the castle’s rooftops, and through the grimy dungeons and flooded tunnels of the castle. Each levels is punctuated by some of the most iconic videogame themes ever realised; Castlevania introduced gamers the world over to such catchy tunes as “Vampire Killer” and “Nothing To Lose”, which would become staples of the series. There’s also some unobtrusive in-game sound effects, too; Simon’s whip makes a satisfying “Whoosh!” as you swing it, you always know when you’ve picked up items, and there’s even an indication of when you’ve landed a successful hit on a enemy or boss.

Enemies and Bosses:
Dracula’s castle is chock full of all manner of gothic and supernatural enemies, many of which have since become cliché, especially in NES titles. You’ll encounter zombies, ravens, skeletons, and mermen and most of these bog-standard enemies are simple enough to get by or take out but the game soon starts placing them in awkward locations, having them throw projectiles at you, and also has them respawn when you go off-screen. Things really begin to ramp up once you encounter the Medusa Heads; these float around the screen in a predictable arc but seem never-ending, and are at their most deadly whenever Simon is climbing stairs. Personally, I had the most trouble with the hunchbacks, who randomly just hop all over the place and are a pain in the ass. Axe-throwing knights and fireball-spitting dragons also add to the game’s challenge, particularly in one notorious corridor that has three knights and a near-endless slew of Medusa Heads.

The gothic influences continue with the game’s bosses; you’ll battle a giant bat, the Medusa Queen, two Mummies, Frankenstein’s Monster (with the hunchback-like Igor), and the Grim Reaper himself. While most of these aren’t too much of a challenge with the right sub-weapon (generally the Holy Water), the Grim Reaper was probably the most frustrating experience of the game thanks to his sporadic attack pattern and constant spawning of scythes. Eventually, though, you’ll do battle with Dracula himself in a two stage final battle. Dracula initially attacks by teleporting around his tomb and firing a spread of projectiles at you and, while Simon can destroy these with his weapons, Dracula can only be damaged by hitting his head and he has a nasty tendency to warp right into your path. After defeating Dracula’s first form, he’ll transform into a demonic, gargoyle-like bestial form. While he deals heavy damage in this form, he’s actually a lot easier to whittle down, especially if you have the Holy Cross Boomerang sub-weapon; once again, Dracula can only be damaged by hitting his head, so it’s best to run underneath him as he leaps at you, toss the Boomerang and also attack with your whip to damage Dracula and dispel his fireballs. Overall, the difficulty spike in the bosses is noticeable once your reach Frankenstein’s Monster but inescapable when you battle the Grim Reaper; how players managed to trump that asshole with no save states is beyond me.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
As mentioned, you can upgrade the Vampire Killer to increase the damage it deals but you can also pick up items to increase how many of your sub-weapons you can throw. These are pretty much essential to defeating the game’s tougher bosses, especially Dracula, as it allows you to spam the more effective sub-weapons rather than relying on the whip. There are a number of different sub-weapons available in the game, each with their pros and cons: the axe travels in an arc, for example, allowing you to better hit flying enemies and the knife allows you to attack from a safe distance. The stopwatch can briefly freeze all onscreen enemies, but this isn’t really that helpful when you’re surrounded by enemies or battling certain bosses, and the Rosary will eliminate all onscreen enemies. Perhaps the most useful weapons are the Holy Water, which stuns enemies and deals successive damage, and the Boomerang, which flies back to Simon and thus deals twice the damage.

Additional Features:
Once you complete the game and sit through the laughably-bad credits, you’ll automatically return to stage one with all of your upgrades, score, and remaining lives. However, you’re now playing in Hard Mode! Hard Mode places different enemies in different places and ramps up the difficulty significantly as enemies move faster and do more damage. If you’re playing the version featured in the Xbox One Castlevania Anniversary Collection, as I did, you can earn an Achievement for completing the game and can even cheese it using save states; this may be frowned upon by some but there’s nothing stopping me (or you) not using this feature if you wish. There are also a number of frames and display options, though they can’t do much to improve upon the original’s pixelated goodness.

The Summary:
In the end, Castlevania more than lives up to its reputation; even using save states, the game is a tough experience as you can only hold one sub-weapon at a time and having the wrong one at the wrong time can make bosses and certain sections near impossible and the time limit means that you can’t dawdle too much waiting for an opening. Yet, the game is fun; the challenge comes from learning enemy attack patterns, attacking every block and candlestick holder looking for health, upgrades, and hearts, and a bit of trial and error in getting past some of the game’s tougher sections. With the exception of the Grim Reaper boss battle, which I found a tedious and frustrating experience, and a few annoying times where the game crashed on me, I enjoyed myself from the beginning to the end and am glad that I finally got the chance to play Castlevania.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you play Castlevania back in the day? Which of the titles in the series do you consider to be the best, worst, hardest, or easiest? What did you think to the Castlevania Anniversary Collection? Do you agree with the tactic of manipulating save states to win at games? Whatever you think, drop a comment below and check out my other Castlevania reviews.