Dare enter the castle?
By:Bahamut Dragons
 
 

Action and Horror; the mixture that makes Castlevania such utterly good games!

 Welcome to my second article for Nintendo Land. I hope you like it as much as my first one (on Mega Man), unless you didn't like my Mega Man, in which case I hope you like it more. Again, I will talk about Nintendo classics. Again, I will take on another legend of gaming, Konami's Castlevania. That said, on with the article.
 
Castlevania was first released in 1986, as an arcade game, under the name Haunted Castle. It had every aspect of a regular Castlevania: the weapons count Dracula, and even the famous whip, mastered by the most famous vampire killer in Castlevania, Simon Belmont. The first game released under the name Castlevania was released for the NES in 1987. It was da bomb! Graphics, music, game control, it had it all. The series of a thousand faces was off! In all, 18 games were released, for all platforms. In America, the NES got 3 games; the gameboy also got 3, and the SNES, 2.
 
The story in Castlevania is very simple. Usually, count Dracula is on the loose and you have to stop him. Simplistic, yet catchy. The only difference is in Castlevania (I say CV from now on) 2. In it, you have to find Dracula's 5 body parts, and burn them at the end. Let me explain the stories more in depth.
 
In CastleVania 1, you take on the role of Simon Belmont, a young vampire hunter, who has to enter a castle (thus its name) to defeat all kinds of creatures of the night, and finally, Dracula. First a first in the series, I was pretty good, probably even on of the best firsts. The story takes place in 1592. Overall: 8 on 10
 
CastleVania 2 is, without doubt, the strangest CV of all. It really wasn't the same. Whereas every game is made of stages (including the later 3D ones), this one is like a side-scrolling RPG. You could call it the Zelda 2 of Castlevania. But, it remained fun, even if a little easy. Again, you are Simon Belmont, in 1592. When you fought Dracula, in the first game, he put a curse on you. You don't have much time to live. Your only hope is to find the five parts of Dracula, in five separate mansions, and to burn them. To do that, you need the help of villagers, who will sell you stuff, like weapons, crystals, and whips. Unlike the other CVs, your best weapon is the flame whip, instead of the regular "chain whip" (called Vampire Killer). I can't really compare CV2 with the others, because of its difference. The only similarities are with CV64. Many aspects remain the same. Overall : 8 on 10.
 
CastleVania 3, the best of the NES CVs (unless you prefer side-scrolling RPG). You take on the role of Trevor Belmont, Simon's great grandfather. Again your goal is to stop Dracula in his madness. This is the only CV where you can have friends. By pressing Select, you could use your partner, who was physically different, had different abilities, but use the same energy (d'oh!). This is the first appearance of Dracula's son, Alucard (put it in reverse and what do you get?). This "prequel" is in 1492. Overall: 9 on 10, because I never rating anything as perfect.
 
CastleVania 4 is the first SNES CV. It had many similarities, and differences. It's the only game where you can leave your whip hanging in front of you. This is very odd, since you can block fireballs that way. Or, your can leave it pending through a block floor, thus killing an enemy on a lower floor. Another interesting feature is that it was the first CV where you could jump onto a staircase, which is excellent. One thing though is that it looks like a test game. Konami's looks like it wanted to try out all of the SNES new capacities like mode 7 graphics. Still, I think it was better then it's follower. By the way, again it is Simon, again in 1592. Overall rating: 9 on 10.
 
CastleVania 5, the last game I will review. It was more like a "regular" NES CV this time. One odd thing: your whip is always chain, no power ups. I don't have much to say about this one, maybe expect the character and date. You are Richter Belmont, in 1792. Overall rating: 7 on 10.
 
Of course, I could talk about the other Nintendo games, like the Game Boys and the N64s, but I know them a lot less and want to stick to what I know.
 
Like many games, CV keeps a lot of classics. You always encounter a Frankenstein, skeletons are usually the main enemy, and in the lasts bosses, you usually encounter the Grim Reaper (Death). A couple of music tracks are found in every game, which is good, since they are great. Always a whip, always the same throwing weapons (daggers, axes, cross, etc.), and hearts act as ammo. Sometimes, you break a block and find roast beef, which replenishes your energy. And of course a dark setting in a strange, trap infested, castle.
 
Well, here is the end of my article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun writing it. This is Bahamut Dragons… signing off with one last question: If Simon walks off a cliff, why does he fall faster then if he jumps off a cliff?
 
Note: vania is Dutch for woods, which is fitting since there is always a forest stage right before entering the castle.