Castlevania
Nintendo Entertainment System
What an iconic game. I come into this review knowing without a doubt that it will get an A+. I'm trying to be fair and entertain the idea that it might not get a perfect grade, but Castlevania holds such great memories for me. It's gonna get an A+.
Castlevania has been a part of my life almost as long as I have memories. I recall as a young kid about 6 years old going to the store with my mom and my brother, looking for a new video game. We had just gotten a Nintendo Entertainment System the previous Christmas. Our library was definitely lacking in games, however. It was July, and I don't think we had gotten any new games since we received the system for Christmas. We were starting to get sick of Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. It was our birthday month so our mom wanted to kill two birds with one stone and let us each pick out whatever game we wanted.
I picked Castlevania, knowing nothing about the game other than that the cover looked cool. My brother got Blaster Master because he liked the name. Both great games, but I totally think I won that birthday.
Looking back at my early years playing this game, I mainly remember this game being HARD. I am not quite sure if I ever actually completed it as a kid. If I did, it was several years after I first got the game. I had a friend who lived across the street from me named Brian, and he also had Castlevania. We would play and play and play but we could never make it past the boss battle where you have to fight two mummies.
One day I came over to his house and he was so jubilant. I wanted to know what was up, and he said that his dad had played the game and beaten the mummies. When he beat them, Simon fell through the earth, down and down and down and down into this giant underground cavern. It sounded amazing! I wished I'd been there to see it.
From my experience older people weren't any good at games, but this kid's dad had accomplished what neither of us could. I was seriously impressed. And I became very dedicated to beating these damn mummies once and for all and seeing this underground cavern by myself.
Which I did.... eventually.
I really don't remember much of what happened after that. I know I pumped some SERIOUS hours into this game. But I really don't think I ever actually beat Dracula for a long, long time. I had a hard enough time getting past the Grim Reaper, who annihilated me nearly every time I'd play. Everyone sucked against the Reaper. My brother, my uncles, my friend Brian. I think my uncles finally beat him by getting a boomerang times three and pummeling him with it so he couldn't move and send his endless supply of sickles after you.
That became my strategy as well. My unsuccessful strategy, I may add. Most of the time I would die before getting to him, erasing my times three and my special item. I'd have to beat him with just my whip and a single item - and that never went well. But I'd say one in every ten times I played the game I'd somehow scrape by him.
The first time was with, you guessed it, my friend Brian. We had played the game so freaking much, we were shocked to beat him and be moving into uncharted territory. We never made it past the bridge with the giant bats, however. At least not while playing with one another. We tried a countless number of times, but failed miserably each and every time. But still, it was very exciting new ground.
To this day whenever I play Castlevania I still try to save up the boomerang times three for the Grim Reaper. I still dread the bridge with the bats, the clock tower with the little jumping monkey things. But most of all I dread Dracula. I hate that mother fucker.
Oh, how he tormented me as a kid. All those hours, all those days, all those years (?) I pumped into this game and he owned my ass every time. I know I had to have beaten the game at least one time as a kid, but considering how often I'd play Castlevania, one time seems an absurdly low number. And I was good at games for my age too!
I still dread Dracula. I know I can make it to the end of the game, that's not a question. If I got this game when I was 6, that means I've been playing Castlevania for 27 years of my life. I know the game inside and out. But that fucking Dracula, man....
Enough with the trip down memory lane. Time to get on to the actual review. I just couldn't help myself, I have SUCH a strong history with the game. Since I don't really have anyone to talk about it with, I figured I'd share it here and immortalize my memories on the interwebs. Well done, Dan. Well done.
How does the game hold up to today's standards? Pretty well actually, considering the game is nearly 30 years old. The graphics aren't fantastic by any means, but like I said, considering its age it looks phenomenal. The music is great too. It's a simple score, but its tunes are catchy and lend even more personality to an already personality packed game.
There really is no story line to speak of. Maybe there is a little something they put in the instruction manual, but I lost that years ago. But it becomes pretty obvious that the story doesn't really matter here. You are here to kill Dracula, and that's all you need to know.
The game starts off with your character entering a mysterious gate which leads to a foreboding castle. The opening area of the game is devoid of enemies, perhaps to get you acquainted to the game's controls. The controls are very simple. You walk, you strike with your whip, and you jump. Over time, you get control of special items like daggers, axes, holy water, and boomerangs, which you can throw by pressing up and the attack button.
Items can mainly be received by whipping various candelabras you find throughout the game. You will find more than just simple attack items. You get hearts, which allow you to fire more items, along with other things like treasures and bags of money that add to your game's score. And of course, the ever important whip extensions which make your whip's reach longer and its effects more deadly to your enemies. Items are also found hidden randomly throughout the game as well. Certain bricks you can whip to reveal secrets like health upgrades and items that allow you to double or triple the amount of special weapons you can use at a time. These definitely come in handy for some of the boss battles in the game.
Your enemies come in all shapes and sizes. You got weird streaking ghost lady things, dogs, fish men, skeletons who dance around throwing bones at you, flying medusa heads, bats, giant undead knights in coats of armor, creepy skeleton snake things, and more.
Your game's progress can be checked by a map they show in between levels. Your ultimate destination is this big tower thing in front of the moon which houses Dracula, but first you have to pass through a multitude of different stages to get there.
I like how each stage has a different personality. You've got a haunted mansion, a manse made of brick, crumbling ruins, the aforementioned underground cavern, a laboratory, a clock tower... the game definitely pays homage to many different kinds of horror movie genres.
The bosses at the end of each stage pay homage as well. Memorable bosses are Medusa, Frankenstein, the Grim Reaper, those mummies I mentioned earlier, and yeah, Dracula himself. Each boss has a different strategy you must employ to defeat it. Medusa you can slam with holy water so she can't move - and then you can whip her into submission. Frankenstein sends Igor (I think that is what he is supposed to be) after you as a distraction and you have to attack him to stun him to get him off your back so you can kill good ole Frank. I loathed this fight when I was a kid! The Grim Reaper I beat on my most recent playthrough by getting holy water times two and peppering him with it so he couldn't move. Otherwise he is usually pretty tough.
Dracula though has always haunted me. He disappears and reappears wherever he damn well pleases, most of the time right on top of your character causing a lot of damage. Even if he does appear at a safe distance, only his head is vulnerable. You can jump up to whip it, but you have to be very careful because he always launches three fireballs at you from underneath his cloak. My strategy beating it last night was to jump around launching boomerangs - hoping I'd get lucky and he'd materialize in their path. And then when I ran out of boomerangs to carefully pick and choose my attacks so I wouldn't get nailed by fireballs.
Killing Dracula in his human form is tough enough, and just four hits will kill you. But after you beat his human form, he turns into this raging white beast that is very hard to kill. He jumps around the stage and launches fireballs at you. You have to jump and whip him in the face. He isn't actually that difficult to beat, but the limited damage you can take after your battle with his human form makes it very easy for him to kill you. Especially when he traps you in the corner and doesn't jump high enough for you to scramble under him to safety!
The ending sequence for the game consists of the castle falling down, followed by the roll of the credits. It seems like this was a popular ending sequence for NES games. Castelvania, Ninja Gaiden, I don't know how many other games had the castle falling down as the big finale.
As long and arduos as the game seemed when I was a kid, I find that I can actually beat it pretty quickly as an adult. I completed it in a half hour or so, give or take ten minutes. I didn't encounter any serious problems until I got to the bridge with the bats. I died a lot there, but eventually figured out the pattern I needed to get through it.
Despite the short length, it is still an amazing game. I think that even if I didn't grow up playing this game, I would still enjoy it. So if you're some youngster out there reading this right now and think that a game this old seems lame, don't think that. You may like it!
It's fun, its challenging, and it is very creative. Considering this game came out when I was four years old, it has aged amazingly well. Every single time I pick it up I know I am going to have a great time. It just makes me feel happy playing this game.
Castlevania is the definition of a true classic. Will it get that A+ I mentioned at the beginning of this review? After a very, very short conference with my inner self, I have come to a conclusion. Yes. It does.
Best game ever? No. But it is a game that holds great memories for me. I will always hold Castlevania close to my heart and treasure it forever.
Overall:
A+
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